February 26, 2015                                         BE  ON  GUARD

In 2 Peter, chapter three, Peter is reminding believers that the “day of the Lord” is coming, and it is coming like a thief. It will be like a thief in that it will be sudden and unexpected; when we least expect it.  When He comes this time, He will not be riding a donkey, but will appear in power and might in great triumph. The “day of the Lord” will be unlike any day the world has ever witnessed. Much of scripture is given to prepare His people for the return Christ.  Even though we do not know the day or the hour of His return, we should be expecting His return and be found living our lives in such a way that we will not be ashamed at His appearing. Being ready for His return involves more than claiming to be a Christian. We make ourselves ready for His return by hearing, believing and living in agreement with the teaching of scripture.  In Luke 18:8 Jesus asked: “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  In view of Christ return, Peter asked “what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.” So, it is up to us individually as to whether are not we will be ready for the great day of the Lord’s return. In the latter part of chapter three, Peter refers to the letters that Paul had written and Peter stated that some of what Paul had written was “hard to understand”, and that some had distorted what Paul had written. There is a need to “be on guard”, to study, even “wrestle” with the scriptures in order to be grounded in the truth of the scripture so that we will not distort the scriptures and be led astray by false teachers and wrong beliefs.  2 Peter 2:17: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,..” Being ready for His return is not a complicated matter neither is it a difficult matter. In the verse above, Jesus asked would He find faith on the earth when He returns. The one thing that makes all the difference is faith-or the lack of. If we truly believe the scriptures, then we have “faith” in what the scriptures teach. To say we “believe” something and then not act on what I say I believe is a contradiction-either I really don’t believe what I say I believe, or for some reason, I choose to live a life of contradiction. If I am in need of something and you tell me you deposited 1,000.00 in my account, if I believe you, I will make a withdrawal and buy what I need. It would be a sad case to be in need and not believe that I have money in the bank. God has done something far greater than putting money in our account (you may be thinking; “I wish He would!”). In 2 Peter 1:3 we read: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the full knowledge of the one who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  If we are living life as unto the Lord, if we believe the scriptures, if we are trusting God, if we are desiring to be pleasing to the Lord in all we do- then we will rejoice when He returns. Looking for and expecting His return has a purifying effect on us as seen in 1 John 3:2-3: “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  When we take time to digest what these two verses are saying, we begin to look forward to his His return.  There will be a certain day, a point in time when: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53) Let us not be distracted and be without hope concerning His return. God has given us every reason to joyfully anticipate the return of Jesus and may He find us with faith. I remember a song we use to sing-“lift up your head, your redemption draweth neigh.” It could be today, it could be tomorrow; but one thing for sure-He is coming back for His bride. Be ready!

Blessings,

Buddy

February 22, 2015                        HOLINESS  IN  THE  PRACTICAL

 1 Peter 1:15: “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.”

The subject of holiness is not reserved for higher theological discussion but is a relevant, vital reality in daily living for the follower of Christ. Some believe that “holiness” cannot be achieved in this life time but only in heaven will they be holy. However, the scriptures make it clear that holiness is for the here and now – to be expressed in flesh and bones. We cannot be holy by our own will power or by our own strength, but we are holy only by the work of God in Christ Jesus. Because of Jesus death on the cross, we are cleansed from all of our sins and we were accepted by the Father. We have been joined to God and we have been made holy.  In John 4:17 we read: “As Jesus Christ is, so are we in this world.” The truth of this verse needs to be imbedded in our spirit and in our thinking as it speaks volumes about how we are to live in this world. It may be a stretch for us, but as the verse plainly states, we are to be like Jesus!  According to 1 Peter 1:15; we are to be holy in all of our behavior.  It’s not that we have to try to be holy, but rather, our behavior is holy because of who we are. Being holy in conduct and behavior is natural when we are in tune with the Spirit and walking according to His ways. It is freeing to know that we do not have to produce holiness; we just “act naturally” in the Spirit and as a by-product, we are holy in our behavior. We are not called to be holy in thought only, but in all behavior as well. We just have to look at the attributes of God, or just look at the life of Jesus to get a picture of what holiness looks like. For example; because God is love and He demonstrated love; so should we. Because God forgives, so should we. Because He gives, so should we. Because He restores and reconciles, so should we. Because He is kind, we too should be kind. Because He does not become angry with us, neither should we become angry with others. You get the idea. It’s in the nitty-gritty of life, in the trenches, is where our holiness is to be expressed. I know that we are not perfect, and I understand that we are human, etc., but the main track that we are on in life should be that of living holy lives. When we sin, get derailed; we simply confess that to God and get right back into holy living. When we understand the price that God paid in order for us to partake of His holiness, we are humbled by the fact that we, vessels of clay, are called to participate in His holiness. Let us take these scriptures to heart and let us reflect His holiness in all that we do – starting right now!

1 Peter 2:9: “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Romans 12:1: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Ephesians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.”

Blessings,

Buddy

 

February 19, 2015                                       PERFECTING  HOLINESS

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

I thank God for His grace! If it were not for God’s grace, we would never come to know Him and eternal separation from Him would be our destiny. We are saved by grace; not by our works. However, a misunderstanding of grace can result in thinking, perhaps in a subtle way, that what we do or don’t do (works) is not the issue-because after all, we are saved by grace and not works. This misunderstanding can also cause one to not to be accountable to other believers nor to the body of Christ-the church. With this view of grace, one places emphasis on his or her “freedom” to do as they see fit. I think that this misunderstanding of grace has had monumental negative effects on individual believers and on the church as a whole. I realize that what I present in this article could be construed as legalism, but an accurate understanding of grace leads to the ultimate freedom, and that is, to be the person God designed us to be. There is in fact, a “growing in the faith” that should be taking place in us; or as Paul puts it, we should be “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” One result of misunderstanding of grace is that it causes one to lose a healthy fear of God. Dennis Peacock makes the point that a healthy fear of God is a “safety net” for us in that the “fear” of God should prevent us from turning from God, etc. In our verse for today, Paul states that we are to “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.” We are not to wait for God to “zap” us and make us pure or clean-that is something we do and we can do this because the Spirit of God enables us to do so. The Holy Spirit in us will make us aware of any areas in our life in which we need to “cleanse ourselves.” God says that we are holy because He lives in us; but He also says that we must be “perfecting holiness”. In other words, we are to be becoming more and more like Him in our thinking, in our beliefs, and in our action. Growing in the Lord, perfecting holiness, becoming more like Him, should be our ambition for the remainder of our days. Paul said in Philippians 3:14: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We don’t have to earn God’s love and acceptance because that is a done deal. But as the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:10, he was “trying to learn what was pleasing to the Lord”. In the verse above, we are told to “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh.” We are to live by the Spirit and not according to the flesh. When we find areas of our life that are “according to the flesh”, we are to “cleanse” these areas. It may sound over-simplified, but we simply stop doing whatever it is that is according to the flesh-that’s cleansing ourselves. It’s right to pray and confess areas of the flesh and to ask for God’s help; but we still have to make the choice to eliminate areas of the flesh as the Holy Spirit points them out. If the Holy Spirit points something out in our life, then He also will enable us to deal with it. God has wonderful promises for us and by His grace we can become more and more like Him in every aspect of our lives. Let us be about “perfecting holiness if the fear of God.” In my next blog, we will look at what holiness looks like in “flesh and bones.”

2 Timothy 2:21: “Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”                                                                                                               1 Peter 1:14-15  “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FORM I AM HOLY.’

Blessings, 

Buddy

                                                                                     

February 16, 2015                  HE  LET  THEM  FIND  HIM

2 Chronicles 15:4: “But in their distress they turned to the Lord of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.”

We no longer live under the Old Covenant, but in reading the Old Testament, we see the heart of God that He has for His people. It is evident throughout scripture that God is consistently pursuing relationship and fellowship with His people. As we read the scriptures, we often see God using the enemies of His people to cause them to turn to Him and seek Him. Nothing causes God to stop loving His people. If you read chapters fourteen through seventeen of 2 Chronicles, you will see clear examples of how God deals with His people when they turn away from Him and how He deals with them when they turn to Him. In this section of 2 Chronicles we find the story of King Asa-and it is an amazing story. In one chapter Asa has a heart for God and we see him removing the “foreign alters” and we see Him asking God to give him victory in battle. In chapter sixteen, near the end of his life, we read this about King Asa: “..yet, even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa slep with his fathers, having died in the forty first year of His reign.” How can one who knows and experiences the love and goodness of God turn away from God? Before we cast a stone at Asa, let us realize that we too can turn from God; perhaps not in some overt way but in a subtle way in our heart.                                                                                                                                                      We are blessed by having a God who pursues us and does not relent. The fact that the creator of the universe desires a relationship with us is a staggering thought. It may be over-simplifying, but you might say that the entire Bible is the account of God pursuing His people. 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 is an amazing verse: “Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” We know that God will not forsake or leave us as Hebrews 13:5 makes very clear. However, it is true that when we are walking in fellowship with God, when our heart is turned to Him, when we are submitted to Him, when we are enjoying Him; we will find that He reciprocates, He responds to us. If we are not “with Him”, in that we are not pursing Him, etc. we will not experience, or will not be aware of His nearness and will not enjoy His presence. It is important for us to know that enjoying the presence of the Lord in our lives personally is not automatic just because we are a Christian. This goes against popular thought, but yes, there are “conditions” to our enjoying God and experiencing His presence. The “condition” is that we turn our heart to the Lord and pursue Him.  By using the word “conditions”, I am not referring to a “works” mentality but rather to the priorities of our heart. As we pursue Him and as we read and study the scriptures with a heart to know Him, we will discover our true identity-who we really are-in Christ.  Everything changes when our eyes are opened and we come to understand that we are indeed “new creations” and we have a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. Now we know in the depths of our being that Jesus is our brother and God is our real Father! Now, we are truly free for the first time. Now we enjoy God. Now we overcome in life. Now we are not defeated by the obstacles that are in our path. Our God wants us to find Him-not just for salvation, but for a relationship. He will let us find Him-but we have to do some seeking.

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”

Colossians 3:1:  “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Blessings,

Buddy

February 12, 2015                                    HAVE  YOU  NOT  HEARD  ?

Isaiah 40:28-31: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to Him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

Our God is so great, so awesome, so all powerful, that a lifetime is not enough time to fully comprehend just how great He is. As we deal with life, as we face battles and disappointments, we will at times become weary or tired. However, our God never becomes weary and does not get tired. Our understanding is limited whereas God understands everything—how awesome. God has the ability to give strength to those that are weary and power to those who lack might. We have all seen the seemingly endless energy that young people have, but even they become weary and tired and even the young men will stumble. When you think about it; the life of the one who does not know God, is quite fragile and quite limited.  We are surrounded by reminders and examples of just how weak and limited man is. YET, there is hope-there is good news indeed- for those who wait on the Lord. Those who wait on the Lord will be given new strength-- they will mount up like eagles—they will “run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” This is a terrific promise for those who wait for the Lord. The verse above talks about “waiting” and it also talks about “running” and this may seem like a conflict. How do you wait, and run at the same time? The admonition to wait is a not a call to inactivity. We are to wait on the Lord, not wait for the circumstances to change. Waiting on the Lord has to do with trust in our Sovereign God; knowing that He rules the universe and that “He causes all things to work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose.” The scripture also says that if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our steps. Our basic operating mode in all of life should be that God is in control; I trust Him; God loves me; I love God; I walk in fellowship with Him; and I seek Him first. With such core beliefs, I then proceed to “do all that I do as unto the Lord.” We are junior partners with God and we are called to be about His business. Daniel 11:32 declares that “the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” We do need to do what we do in God’s timing as God opens doors and closes doors and arranges opportunities for us to be used for His purpose in  particular situations. God has promised to give us strength if we are weary; He has promised to increase power when we lack. If we wait on the Lord, he says that we gain new strength; we will soar like the eagle; we will run but not get tired; we will walk and not become weary! The question for us is: do we truly believe that God will do just as He promised in this verse? May we continue to learn more about what it means to wait on the Lord, and may we at this very moment acknowledge to God that we are waiting on Him.

Psalms 45:5: “Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day.”

Psalms 37:39: “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.”

Blessings,

Buddy

February 7, 2015                                    KEYS  OF  THE  KINGDOM

Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

During my high school years, I worked during the summer months at a department store. The store had one manager and two assistant managers. One particular afternoon, the manager-the big boss-the guru himself, came to me and gave me a huge set of store keys on a big ring and said; “Here are the keys, you are responsible for closing up tonight.” (The two assistant managers were not at the store that day). You talk about feeling important-that was me! For a high school boy from the country, that was a big day. I clipped that big ring of keys on my belt and walked around the store like I owned it!                                                                                                                                          Having keys implies ownership or delegated responsibility or authority. Keys can unlock doors and can lock doors. I don’t propose to fully understand the verse above, but I do know that there is important truth for the believer in this verse. Jesus was talking to Peter in this section of scripture and Jesus said to Peter; “..upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.” It is evident that Jesus was announcing that by being a part of His church, you get the keys of the Kingdom of God. In verse nineteen above, and in other verses, we see that God is inviting believers to partner with Him in the work He is doing on earth. God gives His followers-you and me- authority and responsibility to carry out Kingdom work.  Jesus demonstrated the Kingdom of God and He taught Kingdom principles during His earthly ministry. After Jesus ascended back to His Father, God inspired the writing of the New Testament where we see Kingdom of God demonstrated by those that belonged to Him.  We know for certain that Jesus intended for His Kingdom to be realized on earth because when He was teaching His disciples how to pray; in the first part of the prayer He said: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-13). There are only two kingdoms; the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s kingdom), and the kingdom of light (God’s kingdom). The scriptures teach that believers have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light-the Kingdom of God.  We must be alert to the fact that it is possible for one to be in the kingdom of God-to be saved-yet not about kingdom work-not using the keys he or she has been given. As mentioned above, it is vital to understand that we are called to partner with God in His work on earth-what a privilege! This partnership comes under the umbrella of His church because He made it clear to Peter and the others that He would “build His church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.” There are countless ways that one can use the keys of the Kingdom and the Holy Spirit will show each of us individually how and when to use the keys we have. With the keys of the Kingdom, we can: bless, show love, pray, forgive, explain the scriptures, live in joy and peace, encourage, correct, show kindness, visit those in prison, help those in need, give, train, worship-and the list goes on. God has seen fit to include us in His work and He has given us the keys of His Kingdom-wow! May we not lose our keys or just lay them aside somewhere and not use them. We have been given authority to do business in His name! Nothing we could ever do in life would compare to the blessings that are ours when we use the keys. 

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and is still ministering to the saints.”                                                                                                   1 John 4:17 “By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this word.”                                                                                                                                                      John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.”

Blessings,

Buddy

FEBBUARY 3, 2015                                    STAND  AND  SEE

2 Chronicles 18:17 “You need not fight in this battle, station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”

Jehoshaphat is facing an overpowering enemy and it seems that his days are numbered. However, Jehoshaphat prays to God, and his prayer finds favor with God and God responds. Jehoshaphat prayed (20:12): “O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee.”  This prayer of Jehoshaphat offers key insight into what makes prayer effective. First, Jehoshaphat is honest before God and he tells God how he really feels and what he is thinking. He confesses that he and the people “are powerless” before the enemy they face. Jehoshaphat goes on to say that they do not know what to do-they are clueless. At the end of this short prayer, we find the key part of the prayer when Jehoshaphat said; “but our eyes are on Thee.” God heard and God responded to the desperate prayer of Jehoshaphat in an amazing way. God said that He would fight the battle on Jehoshaphat’s behalf!  All that Jehoshaphat and the people had to do was; “station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord.”  They were instructed to “go out to face them”; however, God would fight the battle. We may not have multitudes coming to destroy us, but we do face battles that may seem insurmountable at times and we may feel helpless just as Jehoshaphat did. When we face a battle, when the enemy comes to attack us, let us do as Jehoshaphat did when he faced the enemy. Let us be honest before God and bare our soul before Him and not just tell him what we think He wants to hear. It’s good to admit our weakness and our inability to conquer in our own strength. And, it’s good to confess that we do not know what to do. Just as God instructed Jehoshaphat and the people, we too must “go out to face the enemy.” Rather than hiding, we must face our enemy face to face with confidence and boldness in the Lord because it is the Lord who will fight on our behalf! Our part is to “station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord.” This does not mean that we are called to inactivity, or to be passive in the battles we face. (There are times when the Lord allows uses a battle to change us).There are times in some battles we must take certain action as the Lord directs. Even though the Lord may instruct us to take certain action, or give us a specific assignment; we must know that it is the Lord who fights the battle. Whatever the battle we face, we must be honest with God about the battle; we must admit that we are helpless apart from the Lord; we must confess that we do not know what to do; we must put our “eyes on Him”; and then we must face the enemy and “station ourselves to see the salvation of the Lord.” The deliverance may be quick or the battle may continue for some time; but our part is to keep praying and trusting in God’s deliverance.                   

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”                                                                                                                                         

2  Chronicles 14:11 “…..Lord, there is no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those that have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee.”                                                                                                                     

Blessings,

Buddy