The Things of this World

Job 1:21

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

How obvious it is when we attend a funeral that the person laid in the casket no longer is in possession of their worldly things. Without the life flowing blood of life, the flesh on the bones slowly decomposes and we return back to the earth. All of our striving for the things of this world are counted as insignificant compared to the eternal things of God. Society has conditioned our minds and hearts to desire the things of this world, that the things of this world will bring happiness and contentment. To a degree, they do, but they only last for a season. It is necessary that we maintain a spiritual mind set that our treasures are not of this world, but we have set our hearts on things above. We are born into this world without possessions , and we will leave this life empty handed. We are grateful for what God gives us and He desires that we be good stewards of it, but all things belong to Him, and like Job, we commit our lives into His hands, and praise Him regardless of the circumstances 

God Is Not Far Away

 Psalm 22:19

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

There are times in our lives that we may feel that all is against us. Everything that happens cries out that God does not care, and He is far from us. Like Job, we look on every side and God is not seen. (Job. 23) We examine our hearts and ask God to search us for anything that may have displeased Him. Jesus went through his last days in a like manner. On His way to the cross, the Pharisee hated Him, the Roman government turned their back on Him. His followers denied and forsook Him, and on the cross, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” (Matt. 27:46). But God who not only searches our heart, but knows our desires. He looks into the depths of our heart and sees that our heart is set in serving Him. After Job looked and could not find Him, he declared, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” God sees the big picture, and will not forsake us in our time of need. He knows the way we have taken, and will not be far off!

That Good Thing

 2 Tim. 1:13,14
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

“That good thing.” We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinth 4:7) We pray that good things will happen. We desire the blessing of God to bring us things that will bring joy to our lives, and bring contentment. But we know that for reasons not always known, bad things also happen, because that is the consequences in living a fallen world. But despite all the bad things that are happening, we have “That good thing” that God has given us through Christ. He has given us a clean heart, through His blood shed on the cross we have forgiveness of sin. We have the assurance that God is good and He does all things well. “That good thing” that is given to us remains in us because the Holy Spirit is living and guiding us each day. Giving us the power to overcome the bad things that come our way. We hold fast the sound teaching handed down through scripture and feed on the  good things of His word. We hide His word in our hearts and integrate them into the way we live our lives. Let us not let go of “That good thing” for it is the treasure He has given us. 

The True Church

 Matt. 6:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock (Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; Eph. 2:20) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

A Church is born. Not a building or edifice, but a body of believers that unite together in one spirit. Born of the Father, made through the death of Christ on the cross and the resurrection, that the gates of hell could not prevent. This Church is a spiritual structure bringing together all who put their trust in Jesus Christ. He is the foundation, the chief cornerstone that all who claim Him as Lord and Savior can stand firm. Regardless of our origins or birthplace we are fitly put together to worship Him in the beauty of holiness. We gather together on the Lord’s day, we come to church, a physical building, a place we have dedicated as the house of God. It is not the Church, but a church where a group of believers come together as part of the Church for the purpose to worship, grow in grace, fellowship, and share our burdens. Some have said that the church is a “hospital” for the sick, a place for sinners to find Christ, and for those who need spiritual and physical healing. Therefore, the doors of the church are open to all who desire to know or find God. The church is not exclusive, but inclusive to both sinners and saints. Membership into this physical church varies from church organizations. To guard against heresy, statements of faith are put in place to maintain the doctrine of Christ and moral values of the church that are taught in scripture.  Such statements should not preclude or restrict worship of God according to the dictates of one’s heart. All are welcome, especially the child of God who is part of the Church that is built on the chief cornerstone. In the house of God, the wall of division are broken down and all come together as one in Christ to honor and glorify Him. He is the Rock, His church will prevail.

Thirsty For God

 Psalm 42:2
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God …

It is speculated that the average person can go 3 days without water before the organs start to shut down. Even within a day the body becomes thirsty and we start looking for somewhere to find water. Jesus is the Water of life, and my soul desires each day to drink from Him. We cannot survive spiritually without the Water of life. That is why it is imperative that we daily come to the well of living water, and draw from the living God. We may not always be able to take a block of time from our day, every day,  but daily it is necessary that we call upon Him, and put our trust and faith in the One who cares for us. He is our substance and He provides the strength and endurance to help us stand in the face of life’s challenges. The unbeliever wake up each day, and takes no thought of seeking God, thirsting after righteousness. They are blinded to spiritual things and seek only the carnal and natural things of humanity, but the Christian has been made alive and the source of this life comes from the Living Water. Like the women at the well, He desires to give us the living water, water that will satisfy the longing of the soul, water that will fill the heart with His divine love, water that flows from the fountain of life. “Lord, give me this Living Water for I thirst for you”

Our God is Awesome!

 Psalm 33:8,9
Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Our God is an awesome God! A chorus we sang in our children’s VBS one summer. We only need to look at His creation and the handiwork of His hands and we stand in awe of His might power. God said, "Let there be light, and there was light.” Our God is an awesome God. Jesus, on the sea of Galilee, spoke the words, “Peace be still.” and the waves and winds obeyed Him. Our God is an awesome God! Jesus spoke the words again, “Raise up and walk.” and the lame were made whole. Our God is an awesome God! Jesus touched the eyes of the blind man, and his eyes were open. Our God is an awesome God! The Publican cried out, “Be merciful to me, a sinner.” and this man went home justified, and forgiven of his sins. Our God is an awesome God! Facing two men possessed with demons, He commanded the demons to go, and they fled into a herd of swines. Our God is an awesome God! Even as Jesus was hanging on the cross between two sinners, the thief cried out to be remembered in the next life. Jesus says, “Today, you shall be with me in paradise.” Our God is an awesome God! I stand in awe and praise Him today, because He is faithful, and His mercy endures forever. He is an awesome God! Sing with me, “Our God is an awesome God!”

To Our Old Age

 Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age I am he  and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear;  I will carry and will save.

I recently received a photo of myself, and had to take a second look. Surely that was not me? The years are beginning to show on my face. I’m aging to an old age. My hair is gradually turning gray, and my days on earth are becoming fewer and fewer. It is the way of all flesh, Time marches on and our days are numbered. “​The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they are fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”(Psalm 90:10). I’m at threescore and almost five, and have found God to be faithful. For even in my old age, He has carried me through the valley of life and has brought me to this present day. I don’t know how many more days He will allow me to live, but this one thing I know, He will never leave me or forsake me. His promises are true and I choose to believe that He is able to do all things to His glory. Until He calls me home, I desire to live a life that is unspotted from the world, lifting holy hands, doing His work, and expect Him to return soon to receive the young and old who have given their hearts and life to Him

Doing Good on the Sabbath

 Mat. 12:12b
…So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 
The Pharisee in Jesus time made many laws based on their scripture interpretation of the Torah. It was clear in the Torah that work was not to be done on the Sabbath. “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work..”(Ex 20:9,10). It was one of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses. From this, the Pharisee broke down the daily tasks that they thought were things that should not be done and things that were allowed on the Sabbath. They were man made rules that were brought about by human interpretation. I don’t claim to know the mind of God in regards to what can and cannot be done on the Lord’s Day (Christian Sabbath), but God did set apart one day of the week and made it special. Jesus did not do away with keeping this day special, but He did correct the mis-interpretation that the Pharisee had. “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:37,28) The Sabbath was not made to bring man into bondage, but was made to provide man a day to rest from their labors to focus on the things of God. Jesus said it was a good thing to help others and to minister acts of mercy on this day. Reaching out to help others who are hurting and are in need of God’s touch. What this looks like in today’s world and culture may not look the same for everyone. We should approach the Sabbath with the expectation of doing good. In the spirit of keeping the Sabbath holy, we avoid work that we normally do the other six days. We stay within the spirit of the law to do what is good and right. Let us enter into His house with thanksgiving on Sunday morning, let us put aside those things that distract us from worship and do what is good on the Sabbath. 

Doers of the Word

 James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
It is dangerous to receive God’s word and not do something with it. It is possible to become comfortable with listening to and agreeing to truth, and even believing it in your mind to be right, but fail to take action to the truth that God has spoken, Many of us have attending church all our lives, gone to revivals, camp meetings, and conventions hearing God’s word preached. For the moment it speaks to our heart and we have good intentions on taking actions. But, we return to our daily routine life and the spoken word starts to fade away. We deceive ourselves in thinking that just attesting to truth is adequate.  Being a doer of the word is to take His word and apply it to our daily walk with Him. “We not just talk the talk, but we walk the talk.” Our lives need to speak louder than what we say. As a matter of fact, speaking the truth and not living it, can become a great stumbling block for those under our influence. James says it in another way when he writes, “Faith without works is dead.” Putting our faith into action (being a doer) is the completion of our religion. Pure religion is not just a profession of our faith, but a living relationship with our God. If our faith is dormant we become ineffective for God. May we step out with our faith, and become doers of the word, believing God that He through the power of the Holy Spirit is able to help us to be doers of His word.