July 31, 2015                                                  NOT BY BREAD ALONE

Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Matthew 4:4: “But He answered, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Romans 15:4: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

One of the inborn tendencies of man is to think that he is sufficient in and of himself and that he is in full control, believing that he has the ability and the wisdom to determine what is best for him. The unalterable truth is that man is in total darkness and does not have the ability or the wisdom to find true life outside of God. Man is on a continual search for life that will satisfy. The truth is that man can find what he longs for only in a relationship with God. The quote that was popular a few years ago still rings true: “There is a God shaped vacuum in every person, and only God can fill it.” Man has a choice that he must make-either believe that God is his creator, or that God is not his creator. Because God is the creator of man, He knows man better than man knows himself, and only He knows what it takes for man to be complete, and for man to find fulfillment. We also must realize that it is possible for believers to fall back into the place where they desire to take “control” of their lives and be independent. A real test of whether or not we are at the helm-in control-is our adherence or our obedience to the scriptures. If our view of the scriptures is that they somehow limit us, or that the commands in scripture are optional, then we, just like the unbeliever, have desire to be in control. It is so important, so critical for us as believers to know deep within our hearts-not just with our mind-that the scriptures reveal the source of life. Every command of God found in the scriptures and all of the teaching of the scriptures are “made to order” for the person who God created us to be. Realizing that we find completeness only by “every word that comes from the mouth of God” is the truth that indeed sets us free. The ultimate life on planet earth is to live according to how our Father designed us; He has left us the blue prints of our design-His written word. Knowing our design is not something we can know on our own.  God has given us His Holy Spirt who gives us understanding and wisdom so that we may know Him and that we may know our true identity. May each of us have a desire to hear and to obey every word that proceeds from the God who created us. 

Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 26, 2015                                                 ALWAYS  ABOUNDING 

1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore,  my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 3:12-14: “Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.”

There is good reason not to quit-and there is good reason to keep on. There will be a reward for those who are steadfast, immovable, and who are always abounding in the work of the Lord.  The “works of the Lord” are those activities and expressions that reflect, and honor our Lord. Certainly, the works of the Lord would include keeping His commandments-such as loving one another, serving one another, preferring others above ourselves, blessing others, giving, exhorting, worshiping, praying, showing hospitality, and etc.  In addition to the works that are for all believers, there are particular works assigned to each believer. One may be called to provide meals to those in need, while another may be called to be a missionary in a far country. Some are called to persevere and be faithful under pressure at a particular job, and some are called to lead a bible study. Some are called to live their life in such a way that their unbelieving spouse may come to know the Lord. The work of the Lord may mean expressing love to someone who seems to be an enemy.  Whatever work the Lord has for you, stay with it-whether you see good fruit or not. Paul tells us that our “toil”- our work in the Lord- will not be in vain. “Toil” means to labor, to work hard, or to grind away, and there will be times when our work in the Lord will require such toil. Anything, any work we do will be in vain if what we do is “not in the Lord.” We read in Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”  When our work is in the Lord, we are building on the foundation with gold, silver and precious stone and what we build will not be destroyed when tested by fire. When our work is not in the Lord, we are building with wood, hay and straw and it will not withstand the fire. Not only are we to be immovable and steadfast in His work, but we are to be always abounding in His work. Doing His work will often require emotional and physical energy on our part, but He supplies all of the strength and energy we need, and we actually “abound” in His work. When we do the work of the Lord, we are energized and we are rewarded by the Lord Himself! The work that the Lord has for us is not burdensome as we see in Matthew 11:29-30: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” May each of us be “always abounding” in the work of the Lord-starting right now.

Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 23, 2015                                                 SALTY  WORDS

Colossians 3: 6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

Ephesians 4:29:  “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

If these two verses were modeled by believers, we would see and experience bountiful blessings in the home, on the job, in the market place and in the church. Our words carry great  power and influence. Proverbs 18:21 says it well: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  The instructions in these two verses may seem impossible to carry out on a consistent basis, but any command that God gives, He also provides the power to obey. As believers, we have the ability and the opportunity to speak words that edify, encourage, instruct, admonish, and heal; but we also have the ability to speak words that harm and destroy. Our speech can always be with grace because we have experienced the grace of God when we did not deserve it, and we can now have an attitude of grace toward others. Salt preserves and it brings out the taste; likewise, our words can have an aspect of “preserving”, and adding “flavor.”  Psalms 38:8 challenges us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The words that proceed from our mouth can and should reveal the goodness of God. The Colossians verse above points out that it is important to know how to “respond to each person.” We can be guilty of not thinking-or listening-before we speak and be guilty of quickly giving a superficial or pat response that is over used. Because every person is unique, and circumstances vary with people, we should not have a “cookie cutter” response in our communication with people. As we are in conversation with others, we should listen to their words as well as their spirit, and at the same time, we should listen to the Spirit in us as to what our response should be.  In the Ephesians verse above, we see the instruction to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth”. The word “let” once again reminds us that we have been given the ability to control what comes out of our mouth. It’s a new day for us when we commit to speaking “only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear.”  If you want to see God at work in you and those around you, then take these two verses to heart and put them into practice-you will be glad you did. Finally, we must remember that we speak from our heart; so for our speech to be what it should be, our heart must be in tune with the Spirit who dwells in us.

Luke 6:45: “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Ephesians 4:29: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 20, 2015                                                LIFE  AND  DEATH  

Romans 8:5-6.,9,13: “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

…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.”

We must choose one of two mindsets or realities –a choice every individual must make. We either live life with our mind set on the flesh, or on the Spirit. In other words, the source, the power and the direction of my life comes from the Spirit of God who lives in me; or I live my life in my own strength with self in full control- “according to the flesh.” The shocking truth is that the mind set on the flesh always leads to death-not necessarily physical death, but an absence of real life. Living life with the mind set on the flesh ends up being a life lived in vain. No doubt, one may have temporary pleasure or satisfaction while living according to the flesh; but it is not lasting nor fulfilling. The person that does not know God is limited to having his mind set on the flesh and he cannot understand the things of God, or what it means to have his mind set on the Spirit; and actually, he lives in a “small world” due to the limitations of self.  It is also possible for a believer to set his or her mind on the flesh and thus not experience the abundant life that is available. Setting our mind on the Spirit or on the flesh is something we do on a continual basis-we make the choice-“but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  We make the choice as to where we set our mind; but it is the Spirit that gives us the wisdom and power to set our mind on Him. The deeds of the body refer to anything we do or think that is “not according to the Spirit” including such things as lust, greed, jealously, anger, greed, wrong thoughts, immoral actions, laziness, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear, untruthfulness-and the list could go on.  To walk in the Spirit-to have our mind set on Him-means that when we are tempted to yield to the flesh, we simply say “no” and by doing so, we are “putting to death the deeds of the body”-and we will live. It is important to note that Paul tells the believers that they are “not in the flesh but in the Spirit” and that is because God had made them knew and He enabled them to live according to the Spirit. When a believer lives “according to the flesh”, it is because either he has simply chosen to do so and he does not follow the leading of the Spirit, or he has not come to know his true identity in Christ. As believers, let us understand that we do make the choice-either we set our minds on the things of the flesh and we die; or we set our mind on the Spirit and live.

Colossians 3: 1-2, 10: “If you then 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 things that are on the earth.

…and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him…

 

Blessings,

Buddy

July 17, 2015                                               THE  MASTER  DECEIVER

Genesis: 3:1:  “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Genesis 3:5: For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan is crafty and he is the father of lies and he has caused many to go astray. Satan, formerly named Lucifer (angel of light), was a high ranking angel in heaven that wanted to be as God and he led a revolt against God. Obviously, the revolt was a failure, and he was cast down to earth and he is still in rebellion and is full of revenge toward God and his desire and goal is to turn God’s precious creation-man-against God. Satan’s strategy is to deceive. In the verses above we find the lie that Satan used that led Adam and Eve to sin, and it is the same basic lie that he uses today to deceive. Satan does not deny God’s existence, but he attempts to cast doubt on the goodness of God and his plot is to cause man to have a misconception about the nature of God. Satan attempts to portray God as a God who withholds good from his creation. Entwined in his plot is the appeal to the pride that is in mankind. Satan has come up with a rather clever-crafty lie that says:  “God is keeping something from you that you deserve to have.” Satan has deceived many by getting them to think independently form God. Even believers can find themselves believing the lie that God is withholding good or that in some way their life is less than it should be. If it is in our heart to do so, we can find all kinds of reasons to think that God is not good-just look at the evil and the travail that takes place in the world. If one buys into the lie that God is not good, then he or she will take life into their own hands and live according to their own dictates. Basically, we either believe that God is good or that He is not good-or we have doubt about Him being good. We need to be reminded that God is a good God, full of grace, mercy, kindness and forgiveness and He desires that man experience abundant life. (Yes, because God is good, He does judge sin because sin is not good.) Let us rejoice in the fact that we love and serve a God that is good-all the time.

James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Psalms 34:8: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Mathew 5:45: “….He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Psalms 145:9: “The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 13, 2015                                       ENDURANCE

James 1:25: “But the man who looks intently into the perfect  law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.”

Colossians 1:11-12: “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

There is a lot of truth in the statement that says: “If you don’t quit, you win.” Perseverance and endurance normally produces good results even for the non-believer; however, there is another dimension of enduring and persevering reserved for the one who has been born into God’s kingdom. As believers, we are called to endure and persevere; but not in our own strength and will power, but by the super-natural power that God supplies.   Experiencing the power and strength for endurance that is available to believers is not automatic; it requires that we know who we are in Christ-our new identity.  In the above verse from James, we see that the “man who looks intently” into God’s word “receives freedom” and when he “continues to do this,” he is blessed in what he does. When we are called to endure, we must continue to look at God’s word and do what we hear-that is the key part. For example, we are to rejoice and give thanks even in the difficult time-so we do what it says-rejoice and give thanks, and by doing so, we will be blessed and encouraged. In the Colossians verses above, we have the incredible promise that we can be “strengthened with all power” and that we can experience “the attaining of all steadfastness and patience” and we can even with joy give thanks to our Father! Somehow, we have a mind-set that life should be free of trials that would call for our endurance. In contrast to our culture, the early believers considered it a privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ and they did rejoice in the difficult times. (We can bring about our own trials that have nothing to do with suffering with Christ-but even then, we must endure.) It should be our desire, our goal, to have one dominant purpose in life and that is to experience the gospel of the kingdom and to live out of our new identity, and whatever trials come our way, we endure with the strength that we have been given. By doing so, God is honored and we are blessed.  

James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

James 1:2-4: “Consider it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing,”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 10, 2015                                               LET  US  FEAR

Hebrews 4:1: “THEREFORE. Let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.”

There is something that we as believers should fear; and that is that we do not enter into His rest. It is possible for a person to trust Jesus as savior, but yet not experience the rest that is found in Him. The writer of Hebrews is not talking about the rest that is needed because we are physically tired-even though that may be a part of it. When we live out of our own limited understanding, we will not know the rest that God offers. We would all agree that life can become complicated and can be a challenge; however, God has made provision for us to live in such a way that we do not have to be overcome with the circumstances of life. We find rest when we come to the place where we know that God is ruling and reigning, that He is all powerful, and that He loves us.  We may know in our mind that God is in control and that He loves us, but until this knowledge is somehow imbedded in our heart and soul, we will not experience His rest on a consistent basis.  If we hunger to know God more fully and if we “draw near to Him,” He will reveal Himself to us and we will find the rest that He has for us. The more we know God as Father, the more we trust Him. What could be greater or more powerful than knowing that the Creator God is our Father and that He is watching over every detail of our lives. Yes-we will have trials in life, but we can experience His rest as we trust in Him and we know that “He is working all things for our good.”

Exodus 33:14: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Hebrews 4: 9-11: “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Mathew: 11:28: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Psalms 62:5: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God: my hope comes from him.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 6, 2015                                                 YOUR  PRESENCE  IS  DESIRED

John 17:24: “Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou has given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou has given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world.”

This verse removes any doubt as to whether or not God, and His Son, loves us and cares for us. Jesus expresses His heart in a very personal way as He tells the Father that He desires for us to be with Him! How awesome! John 17 describes in great detail the relationship that Jesus and God have and the relationship that we have with Jesus and with God. The love that the Father and the Son have for us is what led Jesus to the cross where the ultimate price was paid so that the relationship described in John 17 could be reality. You and I are a gift from God, given to Jesus---a truth that should settle forever any doubt about our self- worth.  John 17:6: “I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou givest Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word.” The fact is that we were known by the Father long before our physical birth and God knew even before our creation that we would need a Redeemer-and Jesus became our redeemer. The salvation that we have guarantees heaven, but it also includes the power to live on earth in such a way that it pleases the Father.  The overriding them in John 17 is that of unity-Jesus in God, God in Jesus, and us in them so that we may be one, and this unity will be seen by the world. John 17:21: “…that they all may be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they may also be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.”  The world is full of dis-unity, division, conflict and confusion with man doing whatever is right in his own sight. On the contrary, in God’s kingdom we find unity, clarity, purpose and love that honors others and blesses others. As you read the words of Jesus, it becomes obvious that He enjoyed the unity that He had with His followers even though His followers may not have fully understood this unity to the extent that Jesus did. Perhaps we also do not yet fully understand the priority and the blessings of the unity to the extent that Jesus did, but Jesus prayed to the Father that we would indeed come to know and experience the same unity that He and the Father enjoyed.  Unity with the Godhead is not something reserved for heaven, but is available to us in the here and now. At the conclusion of Jesus’ life on earth, Jesus made it abundantly clear that His desire was that those who received Him would spend eternity together with Him and His Father—and eternity has already begun.

John 15:15: “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

John 17:22-23: “And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.”

Blessings,

Buddy

July 3, 2015                                            HE  IS  NOT  HERE

Matthew 28:6: “And the angel answered and said to the woman, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”

I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to be in Mary’s place that early morning!  What a moment!  One could rightly say that there are two divisions of time-pre resurrection and post resurrection-and this account of Mary is the first recorded event that is post resurrection. The four words-“He is not here”-is the greatest news that you and I will ever hear. Certainly, it could be said that the birth of Jesus is the greatest event ever; but had not Jesus lived a sinless life and been the perfect sacrifice, His birth would not have had its intended impact.  The resurrection of Jesus was the confirmation of all scripture-sin was defeated and salvation had come to man. The resurrection of Jesus was a demonstration of the power of God and the love of God.  I have heard someone ask why or how the resurrection of Jesus two thousand years ago makes any difference in their life today. We may give a quick response by saying that the resurrection of Jesus was for our salvation-and that would be true-without the resurrection, there would be no salvation. However, the resurrection of Jesus reaches for beyond being our ticket to heaven.  To realize that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us is almost unbelievable. Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwelleth in you.” The danger for us is that somehow the resurrection can become just a fact that we know, instead of being the reason for our living and our motivation in life.  Keeping the resurrection “fresh” in our mind, heart and soul, is a matter of our heart; what we believe and what we do. First, we must have foremost in our heart, a desire to know God in a personal way and when it is our desire to know Him, He responds by revealing Himself to us. We must believe that He is a God who desires fellowship with us and that “He will draw near to us when we draw near to Him.”  Also, we must walk in the Spirit-hearing and obeying what God is saying to us through His word and through the Spirit-He is pleased with an obedient spirit. If need be, let us re-visit the empty tomb and be awe-struck with the resurrection and what it means to us personally. We are called to live life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead-when we do; life will never be the same again. Bill and Gloria Gather said it well: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow-all fear is gone…”

1 Corinthians 15:17: “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sin.”

John 10:10-11: “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Blessings,

Buddy