April 30, 2016                                                             THE  WAY
Acts 19:23: “And at about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way.”
Galatians 1:8: “But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
To our own hurt, the culture in which we live resist the idea of absolutes and embraces the belief that all is relative. The popular message of the culture is to live in whatever way pleases you the most; after all, self-fulfillment is the goal and the “right” of every person.  How extreme and how prevalent this idea of self-fulfillment is in the culture was recently demonstrated when a court ruling issued an order saying that if a man “felt like a woman”, he was free to use the women’s bathroom! Even among Christians, it is commonly accepted that it is ok if we all believe different, and as a result the church fails to present the clear message of the gospel to the culture. Man likes to interpret, or even twist the scripture in such a way that it is more palatable to his own preferences. Saul, who became known as Paul, had an encounter with God, in which God gave Paul an understanding of the gospel and Paul spent his life proclaiming this gospel and he was far from “tolerant” when it came to proclaiming and defending the gospel. Before the early believers were called Christians, others referred to them as being part of “the Way.” It may come as a shock to some in our culture, but there is one gospel, one message, and it does matter greatly that we believe the gospel as presented in the scriptures. The gospel is well defined, its message is clear, and a degree in theology is not required to understand its message. There is a maturing process in the faith and in our understanding of the scriptures that should be taking place, and because of this, we may find that we had a misunderstanding of a particular part of scripture, but then we came to understand the true meaning of that particular scripture. We find a good example of a proper view of scripture in Acts 17:11 when we learn that the Berean believers “searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” It also must be understood that the Holy Spirit reveals the scriptures to us, and He often gives us a personal application of a particular scripture but He never contradicts the scriptures. As Peter Parris once said: “The scriptures do contradict themselves-but only in our mind.” There is a right way; there is a wrong way; there is a way that leads to life; and there is a way that leads to death. This is not to say that we can’t have dialogue, and perhaps some disagreement at times concerning how we interpret a particular scripture, but as we grow in our understanding of the gospel, we will find that we will be coming into unity in our understanding of the scriptures. The scriptures were not given as a set of rules by which we are to live, but were given as a revelation of God and given to reveal our identity in Him. God looks at the heart of man, and indeed He has given a new heart to those who believe in Him as Savior. The gospel-the scriptures, were given so that we might learn of Him and learn what it means to be a “new creation.” Yes, we are a part of the Way. May we not be “tolerant” and may we be “absolute” when it comes to seeing the scriptures as THE Way to life.
Proverbs 16:25: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Blessings,
Buddy

April 26, 2016                                               SLAVES  TO  GOD
Romans 6:22: “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
We highly value and promote the idea of freedom and the idea of being a slave is something that is quickly rejected. However, the fact is that we are all enslaved to something; either to self or to God. In Romans 6, Paul is reminding the believers that before they became believers, they lived enslaved to self, in bondage to sin; but now that they had been freed from sin, they were to yield themselves as slaves to God. Some think of sin being some terrible act such as murder, stealing, lying, or whatever; but anything not of faith, or living according to self, is sin. We can “look good”, appear to have it all together, attend church, etc. and yet be enslaved to self. Who we obey is the one that we are enslaved to. (Romans 6:16) The question that begs to be asked is: are we obeying “self”, or are we obeying God? This is a question of great importance, because one results in spiritual death and one results in life. Paul makes it clear that all are slaves to sin, but some become obedient from the heart to the gospel resulting in being freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness.  In verse 17-18 we read: “But thanks be to God that tough you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”  A person that is not a believer is enslaved to sin and only by becoming born again can he or she be freed from this bondage. However, believers must be aware of the fact that they can allow themselves to become enslaved to the flesh or to self, by yielding themselves to it. Paul was admonishing the believers to yield themselves as slaves to righteousness because they now belong to God and were no longer enslaved to sin. Yielding ourselves to God and living according to our new identity is not a one-time deal, but is something we do on an on-going basis. Jesus gave His life that we might be freed from the domain of sin and become slaves to God. It may sound contradictory, but the only way to experience true freedom is to become a slave-a slave to God. The message for us is that because we belong to God, let us yield our members (our body-who we are) as instruments of righteousness. The words we speak, the thoughts we think, and the things we do, can be, and should be acts of righteousness, expressing the nature of God. The idea of being slaves of God is not theory, or just poetic, but is real life on a minute-by-minute, day by day basis-it is what we have been called to be. Let us joyfully confess, right now, that we are indeed slaves to God and that we are blessed as we yield to Him and serve Him.
Romans 6:16  “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Blessings,
Buddy
​

April 23, 2016                                           THE  MEDITATION  OF  THE  HEART
Psalm 19:14: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight    O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”   
Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.”
These verses express the importance of what kind of fruit our heart is producing and also serve as a warning and an admonition to us to watch over our heart.  What our heart meditates on is indicative of the health of our heart because what we value most, is what we meditate on. If we are spiritually healthy and we have a desire to know and follow God, we will find ourselves thinking about and being amazed by the greatness of God and we will have a sense of wonder about the things we don’t yet fully understand about God. This is not to say that we will spend every wakening moment thinking about God because we must think about the task at hand and give attention to it; however, we will find our heart drifting to the things of God when our heart belongs to Him. We can make a choice to think about a certain thing or subject, but at times our minds to go into what I call the “auto-pilot” mode and the thoughts we have during this time say a lot about where I heart is focused. When discussing the mind, and the need for us to take dominion over our mind, I am reminded about what Peter Parris said: “We need to talk to ourselves more than we listen to ourselves.”-how true.  God has provided a way for our minds to produce good fruit on a consistence basis, and He has done so not by renovating our mind, but by giving us new minds. If we are given a new vehicle, we need to read the instruction manuel, become familiar with all the features, and maintain the vehicle if we are to get the best use out of the vehicle. So it is with the new mind that we have been given; we learn about the new mind and how it operates by reading and meditating on scripture, by listening to the Spirit within, and by choosing to obey the voice of the Lord. It is difficult to make a clear distinction between the heart and the mind but basically, out of the heart flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:2) and “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). We influence our heart by what we think about and by what we meditate on; that is how we “manage” our heart. With our mind we read the scriptures to find truth, and as the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us, our heart is impacted. As a believer, God has gifted us with wonderful new minds and He has given us new hearts; now let us make the choice to walk in our newness. Let our thoughts and our words proceed from the new person that God has made us to be-and He will be pleased.
Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in us; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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April 18, 2016                                                  SO  TEACH  US
Psalms: 90:12,14,16-17: “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom. O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Let Thy work appear to Thy servants, and Thy majesty to their children. And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; yes, confirm the work of our hands.”
These verses are the heart-cry of David for himself and for the people of God and they speak volumes about what really matters in life and they connect the awesome power of God with day-to-day life. This Psalm clearly expresses dependency on God and acknowledges His lordship over their lives.  By “numbering our days,” we are putting life into right perspective and we see life as a gift from God and by understanding and by remembering that we have a limited number of days to live, we will value the days we do have. When we come to know and experience the lovingkindness of God in a personal way, we do have a sense of being satisfied because He fills the longings of our heart and the lovingkindness of God does arouse joy and gladness within us. It is interesting that David asked God to “let Thy work appear to Thy servants.” For whatever reason, we may think that God is not working and as a result, we become spiritually stagnant. The ability and discernment to see God at work in our lives and the lives of others is tied to our spiritual health. If by chance you are not seeing God at work, remember that God does not take break time, vacations, He has no days off work and He has never called in sick! There could be nothing grater, or even be compared to having the favor of God upon us. All believers to some degree have the favor of God in that they have been forgiven, etc. However, there is another dimension or level of the favor of God that some believers experience. Basically, when our hearts are completely His, when it is our desire to know Him above anyone or anything, and when we walk in obedience to His ways, we will experience His favor in greater ways.  When His favor is upon us, we will find blessings and  good things happening to us and around us that we can’t take credit for and we can’t explain it other than it’s God that did it. Part of the favor of God is that He does “confirm the work of our hands.” Whatever our vocation in life may be, whatever hobby we may have, and whatever the work of our hands may be, God will confirm, or make what we do successful when whatever we do is pleasing to Him. It pleases God when our full trust and faith is in Him, when knowing Him is our greatest desire, and when we know Him as Father. God confirming the work of our hands does not mean that everything we do will be easy or without challenge, or that we will make no mistakes, but it does mean that we will come to know that what we are doing pleases Him and we will experience His favor. If the prayer that David prayed is the passion and desire of our heart, we can be assured that God will answer because it is His desire to do the very things this prayer request.
2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
Psalms 147:11: “The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness.
Blessings,
Buddy

April 15, 2016                                               TAKING  GREAT  PRIDE
2 Chronicles 16:12: “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”
2 Chronicles 17: 3, 6: “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. And he took great pride in the ways of the Lord, and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.”
Asa started out as a good king who followed God, but then turned away from the Lord and no longer followed the Lord and as you read about the life of Asa, you see the tragedy that results when one turns from the Lord. His son, Jehoshaphat became king and unlike his father Asa, he followed the ways of the Lord and the verse above says the “he took great pride in the ways of the Lord” and because Asa’s heart was turned to the Lord, God gave him success. It’s amazing how even as believers, we sometime have trouble “connecting the dots” in getting the basic concept or truth: follow the ways of the Lord and be blessed, or not follow the ways of the Lord and not be blessed! If you read the bible from Genesis to Revelation, you will find that those who followed God were the ones who were blessed and you will find that God is pleased when one has a heart for Him. Following the ways of the Lord does not mean that we will not have trials and difficulties along the way, but it does mean that we will have his comfort and strength during such times.  By following the ways of the Lord we also avoid a lot of unnecessary tragedy and heartache that comes when we go our own way.  To say we know God is one thing; to follow in His ways is another. God does have a way in which we should walk and we discover His way as we read the scriptures, aided by the Holy Spirit who reveals truth to us. As is always, it is a heart issue. The over-riding and dominant factor that determines how we live comes from the heart. We must remember that the heart is pliable and it possible to “mold” our heart. (As said many times before, God gives us a new heart when we are born again, but it should be our “hearts desire” to live out of our new hearts and to be maturing in our faith-I understand that that may sound contradictory-but it’s not.) If we find that it’s not our heart to follow the Lord fully, let us ask God to change our heart, and then begin to choose to do the things that are conducive to change-primarily, read the scriptures and obey and give expression to what we read-whether we “feel” like it or not. Rather than being led by our emotions, we are to make decisions and commitments based on what is right or best, and let the emotions follow-and they will. We do have but one life to live on planet Earth. What will be our legacy? How will we be remembered? Will we spend our life pursuing our own way or the ways of the Lord? (By the way, when we follow His ways, we are the ones blessed-following His way is not a sacrifice.) What greater gift could we leave behind; what greater life ambition could we ever have that could compare with taking great pride in the ways of the Lord?
Proverbs 16:7: “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Blessings,
Buddy

April 15, 2016                                               TAKING  GREAT  PRIDE
2 Chronicles 16:12: “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.”
2 Chronicles 17: 3, 6: “And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. And he took great pride in the ways of the Lord, and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.”
Asa started out as a good king who followed God, but then turned away from the Lord and no longer followed the Lord and as you read about the life of Asa, you see the tragedy that results when one turns from the Lord. His son, Jehoshaphat became king and unlike his father Asa, he followed the ways of the Lord and the verse above says the “he took great pride in the ways of the Lord” and because Asa’s heart was turned to the Lord, God gave him success. It’s amazing how even as believers, we sometime have trouble “connecting the dots” in getting the basic concept or truth: follow the ways of the Lord and be blessed, or not follow the ways of the Lord and not be blessed! If you read the bible from Genesis to Revelation, you will find that those who followed God were the ones who were blessed and you will find that God is pleased when one has a heart for Him. Following the ways of the Lord does not mean that we will not have trials and difficulties along the way, but it does mean that we will have his comfort and strength during such times.  By following the ways of the Lord we also avoid a lot of unnecessary tragedy and heartache that comes when we go our own way.  To say we know God is one thing; to follow in His ways is another. God does have a way in which we should walk and we discover His way as we read the scriptures, aided by the Holy Spirit who reveals truth to us. As is always, it is a heart issue. The over-riding and dominant factor that determines how we live comes from the heart. We must remember that the heart is pliable and it possible to “mold” our heart. (As said many times before, God gives us a new heart when we are born again, but it should be our “hearts desire” to live out of our new hearts and to be maturing in our faith-I understand that that may sound contradictory-but it’s not.) If we find that it’s not our heart to follow the Lord fully, let us ask God to change our heart, and then begin to choose to do the things that are conducive to change-primarily, read the scriptures and obey and give expression to what we read-whether we “feel” like it or not. Rather than being led by our emotions, we are to make decisions and commitments based on what is right or best, and let the emotions follow-and they will. We do have but one life to live on planet Earth. What will be our legacy? How will we be remembered? Will we spend our life pursuing our own way or the ways of the Lord? (By the way, when we follow His ways, we are the ones blessed-following His way is not a sacrifice.) What greater gift could we leave behind; what greater life ambition could we ever have that could compare with taking great pride in the ways of the Lord?
Proverbs 16:7: “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Blessings,
Buddy
​

April 12, 2016                                      BECOMING  VESSELS  FOR  HONOR
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.”
No doubt that each of us want to be “vessels for honor” and “useful to the Master.” In the letter to Timothy, Paul is giving council and guidance to Timothy on what is required to become useful and effective in the kingdom of God and the instructions Paul gives are practical and easily understood. There are a number of things that Paul instructs Timothy to do; such as be strong in the grace of God, endure all things, teach others the word of God, be disciplined, pursue righteousness, faith and love and peace, be patient when wronged, etc. Paul also instructs Timothy and those he teaches to avoid certain things, and he sums it up in verse 19 when he says: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.” The gospel is powerful, supernatural, spiritual, and it takes the power of God to live out the gospel, but I fear that sometimes we over “spiritualize” the message of the gospel. For the believer, God’s word is clear and it is specific in nature, and its message is easily understood by those who “have ears to hear.” I recently heard a song entitled “He Didn’t Throw the Clay Away” and it is about God being the potter and we being the clay and how He wants to mold us into His image, making us vessels for honor. Our becoming  vessels for honor is what God desires and He has told us how we become such vessels and He is indeed molding us with that end in mind. I’m sure that if clay had feelings, while it was being molded it would feel some discomfort and would have questions about the process! Paul told Timothy to pursue righteousness. There has been much damage done as a result of an erroneous teaching about “righteousness.” I don’t have the space to go in to detail about this, but to sum it up; some would say: “We are righteous in Christ” and end the sentence with a period. It is more accurate to say: “Because we are righteous in Christ, let His righteousness be seen in our life and in our action.” The word of God is full of instructions as to how we are to conduct ourselves while on this earth. Because we have been redeemed and made new and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can indeed be vessels for honor, pleasing to the Master and prepared for every good work. How blessed we can be by being a vessel for honor, useful to the Master! Being a vessel for honor speaks volumes in regards to how we live our life, because only as we are working with Him as He molds us into His image, can we become vessels for honor. As being vessels for honor, we reflect the image of God to those around us-wow!  A key aspect of becoming vessels for honor is to know the love of God-that His love has been “shed abroad in our hearts,” and this love is supernatural.  It can become our ambition to be a blessing to others just as God blesses us. What could be greater or more fulfilling than being a blessing to our children, grandchildren, our spouse, our friends, our co-workers, even to those we don’t know. Being a vessel for honor does not mean that we are perfect, but it does mean that when we stumble, we are quick to confess it and then return to fellowship with our Father. There is no other experience or pleasure in life that can compare to the blessing we receive by becoming vessels for honor, useful to the Master. The good news is that, no matter our past, we can start today becoming vessels for honor.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Blessing,
Buddy
​

April 9, 2016                                              I  WILL  FEAR  NO  EVIL
Psalms 23:4: “I fear no evil, for Thou art with me.”
(Some of the following thoughts come from “Act Like A Man” by Peter Parris.)                                  Because David knew that the Lord was with him, he would fear no evil even when he walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Under the new covenant, not only is the Lord “with” us; He is in us. James tells us that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. James is not saying that the Lord is somewhere else or that He goes and comes, but is saying that we can lose the sense of His nearness. It should be our desire to always be increasing in the awareness of His presence. When we are aware of His presence, in the place of uncertainty, anxiety and fear; we have confidence, peace and boldness. We have been made alive to God and have been joined to Him and we can now enjoy His presence no matter what circumstances we face. The nearness of God does not take away all trials and hardships, but it does mean that because of His nearness, we can have the assurance that He is sufficient for whatever we face. Because of our union with Him, we should avoid any behavior or thoughts that would hinder our experiencing and enjoying His presence. There is much that could cause us to experience fear: fear of sickness and death; fear of being alone; fear of lack of provision; fear of being unemployed; fear of having relationships broken; fear of failure; and the list could go on. The antidote to all fear is the awareness of His presence. Our God is all-knowing; all powerful; ever present; all caring; all loving; all wisdom, and He desires that we know and experience His presence. Just like getting to know someone as a friend, we must spend time with that person getting to know them. Knowing and experiencing the nearness of the Lord is not automatic, but comes as we spend time with Him, getting to know Him. We have been given the word of God, and the Holy Spirit to help us understand the word of God, as a means of getting to know God. A key ingredient to getting to know God is believing what we read in the word and then acting on it. The scriptures reveal the nature and character of God and in a very sense, they are the door way that leads to knowing God. The more we come to know God, the more we see just how great and awesome He is. He has promised to never leave or forsake us-and that is a promise that takes us through any storm. So, when fear knocks on our door, let us not open the door. Instead, let us be reminded that our God is near and He is more than able to defeat any enemy we face and equip us for any circumstance. Let us not live without knowing the nearness of God.
Psalm 16:8: “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is t my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 73:28: “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”
Blessings,
Buddy
​

April 4, 2016                                             JESUS   FED  THE  MULTITDE
Matthew 14:14. “And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:19. “And ordering the multitude to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the multitudes,”
 When we hear the story of Jesus feeding over five thousand people, we think of the great miracle of feeding that many people with just five loaves and two fish-and indeed that was a great miracle. This story servers as a reminder to us that God is more than sufficient to handle any need we face. There is another truth surrounding this story that is even more important than feeding the multitude on that day, and it is a truth that we must not overlook. The simple, but yet most powerful truth is that Jesus saw the multitude and felt compassion for them. Jesus had no desire to impress the multitude with a great miracle; He just saw the people and He knew they were hungry and He wanted them to have food. Whatever we know about God, let us know that He is a God of compassion-that He cares for each of us. Knowing that God has compassion for us has to be more than mental agreement on our part; we must have this truth permeate our heart and our spirit if it is to make a difference. We have to make the connection that the all-powerful God, the God who spoke the universe into existence, the God who created us, has compassion for each of us. God is well aware of our limitations as human beings, our weakness and the trials that are a part of life on earth. “For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are but dust.” Psalms 103:13. For the believer, one powerful way that God demonstrates His compassion is that He gives us the Holy Spirt as a helper, as seen in John 14:16: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” God has not left us alone to “figure it out” or to live as a loner, helpless in overcoming the battles we face. We also must know that in His compassion, He does not simply excuse us when we do not follow in His ways, but because of His compassion, He will discipline us when we need it. Because God knows us fully, His compassion is broad and all-encompassing, touching every aspect of our life. When we are wrong, He corrects us; when we need wisdom, He gives it; when we are confused, He gives direction; when we are lonely, He is our friend. Love starts with God; God draws us to Himself; and God has made it possible for us to respond to His compassion. It was because of His great endless compassion that He sent His Son to die in our place that our relationship to Him might be restored. Today, no matter what your present circumstances may be, respond to the compassion of our Father who not only sustains us, but fills us with His presence.
Lamentations 3:22-23, 25: “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy
​