The Messenger

Mal 3:1a Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me….

Because He is faithful He sends His messengers to give words of hope or warning. The messenger comes in various forms and God uses them to communicate to us what we need. The messenger most often will speak through the Word of God. The Bible is God’s message to us. Within the pages of its cover hold the word of eternal life and eternal damnation. Hope and warning is given to all who seek Him in His word. The Messenger is also the man of God, or women of God that proclaims His truth without fear or favor of men. The messenger can also be a friend of a foe who speaks the truth. The truth spoken by a foe may be intended to hurt, but God can use them to reveal or heal. Lastly, God uses circumstances in our lives and the Holy Spirit speaks to us that there is a message for us to learn and be drawn closer to Him. Let us open our hearts to the message that God has for us.

Wonderful Things of God

Isaiah 25:1 Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

The wonderful things of God are seen everyday in our lives, even when things don’t always seem to be wonderful. When everything in life appears to be going wrong it is hard to see the wonderful things that God is doing. In spite of the circumstances, God is good and every good things comes down from the Father above. We may not always get what we want or what we thing we need, but He who knows best provides for the things we need. Let us look beyond our troubles and start to see what God is doing. Praise Him for all things, for those who love Him, all comes out for good.

All Things Created

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

His name is Jesus. Before the world was created Jesus, one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, created the heavens and the earth. All things were made by Him and for Him. He made man in His likeness. Man was made to have fellowship with Jesus, given a free will to choose to love and worship the Creator. Sin has warped the nature of man and put within man a desire to please the self-nature of the human heart. Jesus came to earth to redeem man from this nature, but man must make a choice to deny self and believe in the redemption power of Christ. Satans, the enemy of God, does everything he can to keep man from believing. the struggle to believe is real because sin reigns within the heart of man. The choice is still ours. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”  We were made to live in Christ, but we must choose to do so.

Repent and be Converted

Act. 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Repenting is to be sorrowful for wrong doing and to turn away from doing it again. Many people will often be sorry for their behavior, but find themselves repeating the offense. They have not truly repented, but seek only to be relieved from the guilt of doing wrong. The process of true repentance requires a conversion. All things passed away and all things become new. A born again experience in Christ. Being converted is more than just changing religions or a mind set, it is a change of heart. The heart is the centrality of man’s passions and desires. From the heart rise the issues of life. A true repentance, will convert the heart from doing what is wrong to doing what is right. This is the center of the teaching of Bible Holiness. The heart is made new through the blood of Christ that blots out our sins, and Holy Spirit indwelling the believer to live a life that is truly repented. 

Ponder On Jesus

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Christmas activities are coming to an end. Potlucks, church dinners, recitals, parties, programs, caroling, and white elephant gift exchanges. All were done in the spirit of the Christmas season. Christmas Eve and Day will wrap up the festivities of this special occasion. But, have we taken the time to ponder the reason for the season. Yes, we know the real reason, but do we really ponder the wonderful love of God. God, who so loved the world, sent His Son to earth to live and die among us. To be the everlasting gift of salvation. The gift of forgiveness, the burden of sin is gone, our sins cast into the sea of forgetfulness. His Spirit given to us to abide in us, and lead us on this earthly journey. Ponder the gift of hope, love, joy and peace. Ponder and think on Jesus. Like Mary, let us take time to ponder these things in our heart.

Look To The Lord

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

We have a habit when things start to look bad to look to the Lord for help. Sinners often will partition the Lord when things spiral out of control. Unfortunately, they often forget God after the unfortunately event has past. God is pleased when His sons and daughters cry out to Him in time of need and distress. His desire is for us to look to Him for help. It is our hope that God will not only hear our cry, but will meet our need. It may require us to wait and be still. but He is the God of our salvation and we but need to trust Him. Look to Jesus, and see what He desires to do for you. 

My Father's Business

Luke: 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

What is your business? What do you find yourself being busy about? We are all busy taking care of business. This is a heart searching question. What are the priorities in my life that keep me busy from day to day? What business occupies my time that I don’t take time to be about my Father’s business? As I event journal from day to day, I find that work consumes much of my day. I spend a lot of time preparing myself to be the best teacher I can be. Being good at what I do is important to me. To be fair to myself, this is what God called me to do. I’m about doing by Father’s business, doing what He called me to do. But everyone needs to work and some people work because they are just try to survive to pay the bills. My Father’s business goes beyond the 50-55 hours I put in each week. Then there is the cares of life the also consume hours of our day. Cleaning, repairing, cooking, shopping, and washing are all things that keep us busy. When do we find time to be about doing our Father’s business. Most of us are not called into full time ministry, but we all have some part in contributing to building the kingdom of God. We all have work that we can do to be about our Father’s business.