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CALLED TO GOOD WORKS

1/9/2022

January 9, 2022 CALLED TO GOOD WORKS
Galatians 6:7-10 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
There is no way to confuse or not understand the message of the above scriptures. The very first admonition of this passage is a warning; “Do not be deceived.” It is wisdom to realize that it is possible for us to be deceived; Satan is a deceiver, disguising himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14. We avoid being deceived by being renewed in His word and by listening to and obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit. A second truth that we must not forget is that God is not mocked; what God says, comes to pass-He is never not sure or uncertain; He has a plan and nothing nor anyone can hinder what He is doing. This section of scripture is about the law of sowing and reaping-a sure and steadfast law that is no respecter of persons. This law is that whatever a man sows, that is what he reaps. The law of reaping and sowing can be either a frightening thought, or a law of promise and hope. We have but two choices when it comes to sowing; we sow to the flesh (our desires and what we think will make us happy), or we sow to the Spirit. Another sobering truth is that if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption-there is no denying that reality; we cannot ‘out-smart’ or maneuver around this law and avoid the consequences of reaping corruption if we sow to the flesh. Now the good news; we can sow to the Spirit, and from the Spirit reap life. We sow to the Spirit by turning our heart to the Lord, by learning of Him through His word, by obeying what He has said in His word, by living out the teachings of scripture, and by doing the good deeds that God has prepared for us. It is simple enough; we are to do good. God is good, and we are His children. To ‘do good,’ we must turn the focus from ourselves to others; we must decide to do good and then do it. We may be about good works, but not see the fruit of our good works and may be tempted to give up on doing good; however, the passage above tells us not to lose heart in doing good, because in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Let us not put off doing good works, let us take the opportunity we have now to be about good works. It is crucial for us to understand that our motive for doing good works is not to gain God’s love. Because God is good and because He loves us, and because we are being transformed into His image, and because He has given us a new heart, it is only natural to be about good works-and these works glorify our Father.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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THE GREAT EXCHANGE

1/7/2022

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January 7, 2021 THE GREAT EXCHANGE
Romans 8:13 “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die: but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Scripture makes it clear; if I live according to my own desires and preferences, by my own strength and determination-in other words, according to my flesh, I will die spiritually. We make the choice of living according to the Spirit, or according to the flesh. The good news for us is that we can exchange our life for the life of Christ-the greatest exchange we will ever make. It is possible for a person to be born again, to be a believer, and yet live according to their flesh. A great portion of the New Testament contains instructions and admonitions, encouraging believers to live according to the life of Christ who indwells them. As we think about dying to self, about not living according to our flesh, we must be alert to a potential error that we can make. It is ironic, but we can try to die to ourselves in our own strength! That in itself is a work of the flesh. We often hear others telling us what we should and should not be doing; many live by a list of rules. It is my belief that, and I believe that it is true to scripture; when we come to know of our true identity as sons and daughters of God, when we come to know in our inner man that God is our Father, and when we come to experience His love personally, we then have a desire to live in a way that pleases Him-according to the Spirit. Knowing God in this way changes our desire to live for self, and we begin to live out of our relationship with Him; we find great joy in living in a way that is pleasing to Him; when we live in such a way, we are fulfilled and the longing of our soul is satisfied. It is all about knowing that Christ lives in us and that He came that we might have life to the fullest-no matter our circumstances. Nothing compares to living in and experiencing the kingdom of God here on earth. His kingdom is unlike this worlds kingdom; life in His kingdom is about giving, blessing, serving, preferring others, godly character, being patient and long-suffering, forgiving, trusting God, being kind-hearted, and etc. Again-this life comes as a result of knowing God and being conscious of His presence in us. Trying to live by a list of rules simply does not work; what does work and what makes a difference is truly loving God-not with lip-service only, but from the heart. Dying to ourselves and choosing not to live according to the flesh is something we do as a way of life-it’s not a one-time deal. The Spirit is constantly guiding us; it is our place to live according to the Spirt and not according to our flesh. As believers, let us not hesitate to exchange our life and our ways for the life of Christ.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Colossians 1:27 “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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NEVER THIRST AGAIN

1/4/2022

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January 4, 2021 NEVER THIRST AGAIN
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.’”
John 7:37b-38 “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”
Every person has an innate desire to be fulfilled; practically everything one does is done with the goal of satisfying his or her deepest longings. There is an endless number of ways in which man may seek for fulfillment, but they all fail to deliver. Many seek after wealth, popularity, prestige, and etc.; some even believe that by engaging in good deeds and helping others, they will be fulfilled. (Helping does cause one to feel good about himself, but it does not satisfy the longing of the soul if our ‘helping’ is of our own strength and commitment.) Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, man has been searching for fulfillment; the joy and the fulfillment that Adam and Eve had with God was lost when they sinned against God. For the first time in all of human history-since the fall of Adam and Eve- Jesus came, announcing and proclaiming that He was the fulfilment that mankind was searching for. Someone has said that every man has a God shaped vacuum in his heart that only God can fill. How true. It was an astounding proclamation that Jesus made when He said that whoever believed in Him would never thirst again! When Jesus came, the search for fulfillment was over!! No longer does man have to seek for that which does not satisfy. There is an important truth in verse 37 above; we must believe in Jesus “as the Sctipture said.” Jesus was and is the solution to the emptiness of mankind; to believe in Jesus is the answer. However, one can say that they ‘believe in Jesus,’ and yet not really believe; we tend to use the word ‘believe’ very lightly and superficially. To believe means ‘to count it as so,’ or ‘to accept as true.’ If we are to be fulfilled in the deepest part of our being, we must believe all that the scripture say about Jesus-to count it as so. We cannot have two lords; we cannot be committed to making ourselves happy, and at the same time truly ‘believe’ in Jesus. Jesus boldly says that He is the way, and that all who come to Him find life; only Jesus holds the keys to life that satisfies. The irony is that only as we die to ourselves and receive Jesus as our life, do we find what we are looking for. To believe in Jesus means that we are laying aside our agenda and our understanding, and embracing all that Jesus says about Himself and what He says about us. As we get to know Jesus in a personal way, as we spend time reading about Him in His word, and as we act on His word, we begin to experience the peace and fulfillment in our inner most being that Jesus promised; we soon discover first hand that nothing other than Jesus brings lasting satisfaction. Let us respond to the invitation Jesus gives; let us go to Him and drink the water He offers; not only will our thirst be satisfied, there will also be a rivers of living waters flowing from deep within.
Psalm 107:8 “For He satisfies the thirsty soul, and He has filled the hungry soul with what is good.”
Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirst, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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LETTING PEACE RULE

1/2/2022

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January 2, 2022 LETTING PEACE RULE
Colossians 3:15 “And letle the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.”
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God which passes all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Peace in our hearts and minds does not just happen; if our peace is dependent upon circumstances, our peace will come and go with the circumstances. We live in a time when there is much that would rob us of peace of mind and cause our hearts to be troubled. However, God sent His Son into the world to redeem us and to restore us back to our Father; we have been redeemed and have been made new creations. Because we have become members of the family of God and have been made new, we are no longer subject to the ways of the world. The ‘ways of the world’ refers to the world’s philosophy, the culture of the world, to living with no knowledge of God, and living life with the goal of self-satisfaction. The gospel that Jesus was sent to proclaim is truly ‘out of this world;’ the gospel of God sets us free to live as God designed, and only by living according to our Creator’s design, can we experience life to the fullest. If not alert spiritually, we can live life on ‘auto pilot’ and find ourselves living ‘under the circumstances’ instead of overcoming the trials we encounter. To live according to God’s design and to live according to the gospel does in no way mean that every day will be rosy or that we will not experience difficulties in life; but it does mean that we can let the peace of God rule in our hearts, that we can live without our hearts being troubled, and that we can live without being anxious for anything. To live in such a way is indeed super-natural; and that is just what the Christian life is-super-natural. God has not simply refurbished us or improved us; He has made us new and has given us His life. As I am writing this, I am reminded of when I knew these truths in my mind, but not until God revealed them in my spirit did they really make a difference. You may be at the same place; in your mind you agree with what the scriptures say, but your life has not been transformed by the good news of the gospel. If that is the case, I encourage you to acknowledge that to the Lord; continue to seek Him, read His word with the view of discovering who He says you are, and ask your Father to reveal the truth of the gospel in your spirit. John 4:24 tells us that “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Knowing truth in our mind is certainly essential, but we also must know God in our spirit. As we launch into a new year, let us do so with confidence, faith, hope, and courage that comes from knowing God as OUR Father. May the peace of God that passes all comprehension guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Have a blessed and happy new year.
Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people.”
Blessings, Buddy

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CALLED TO GOOD WORKS

THE GREAT EXCHANGE

NEVER THIRST AGAIN

LETTING PEACE RULE

Buddy Fitzgerald

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