I Have A New Life Just By Trusting My Lord

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. - Proverbs 3:5-8

That is the message of the Gospel - turn you heart to the Lord. But trusting God is not a "one and done" thing. Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament you can see even the greatest fell away - trusting in things other than God - influenced by relationships with people and the culture they were immersed in. It is so easy to shift your eyes toward something else. "In all your ways" does not give us any wiggle room. We may think that ALL does not really mean ALL. Surely there are some things that are not under God's dominion. Just think about that for a moment. Times up. There is nothing in the universe that is not under God's dominion - the Creator of the universe. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. - John 1:1-5

What we are talking about is a spiritual truth not a carnal one which can change with the popular opinion of man. It is not the confidence that someone might have in their experience and thinking in some-one or some-thing. It is entrusting our body, soul and spirit to God. Returning to Him that which was stolen by sin. That kind of trust is tied to and dependent upon faith in God the Father.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. - Hebrews 11:1-2

Our challenge is not trusting solely on the day of our salvation  - if that were not significant enough - but to continue to trust God - Jehovah Jireh (the God who provides) every day in everything thereafter. And as you know it is too easy to not do that!

As an inheritance - my mom entrusted some poems she had written to me two years before she passed. Over the years, I have written some poems as well - some about faith and some about my love for my wife.  I have converted some of hers and mine to songs. Like the song I shared with you the other day that I wrote using AI to create the music and voices to go along with the words.  Mom passed in 2010 long before people were putting the letters A + I together. She would be amazed to hear her words set to music. This is one of her poems put to music about Trusting God.

_________________

    |       Click Here        |   

_________________

Who do you know that needs to trust Him?

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Leaning Foreword In The Foxhole

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." - 1 Peter 5:8-10

"Leaning Forward In The Foxhole" is a term used in the Army to describe being ready for an enemy attack. Most of you reading this have probably never dug a foxhole, let alone been in one with a weapon. But in a similar way, as Christians we must always be ready for the enemy's spiritual attack. It can be so subtle. You might not even see it as a threat because it appeals to your natural sensibilities. It can be an idea that seems reasonable, even though it is clearly contrary to the Word of God.

You might be surprised to learn that only about 9 percent of Christians actually use the Bible as the measure for what is right and acceptable behavior in their culture. That is called having a Biblical World View. Seeing life through the prism of God's revelation to mankind. That means that 91 percent use some other measure to determine what is right and what is wrong. That thinking started in the Garden when the enemy, the devil posed the question, "Did God really say?". Planting a seed of doubt in the minds of men and women. Encouraging them to exact another measure of what is right and wrong - that being, human reasoning and consensus of opinion. 

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4), he used scripture either misstated or out of context to try to tempt Jesus to sin.  People, today, do the same thing. Satan is called the father of lies. People who are not born again are said to be the his children.

"Why do you not understand My [Jesus] speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me." - John 8:43-45

Does that thought make you uncomfortable? It should. We live in a spiritually dangerous culture and world. But so many live as if there is no danger having their faith compromised and their witness neutralized.  

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." - Ephesians 6:11-13

Be alert and ready to engage the enemy - lean foreword in the foxhole. 

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

What Will You Be When You Grow Up?

When you were a young person, do you remember being asked what you wanted to be when you grow up?  A teacher, a doctor, a fireman – like your dad or your mom. As you grew older. Perhaps your resolve became more defined as life opportunities came your way or they evaded you. The reasons why you would or could achieve your dream either presented themselves or never materialized. Perhaps your interests changed – or perhaps possibilities that you never thought possible presented themselves. Life is complicated and can be unpredictable and our dreams can be elusive – sometimes reality but very often just dreams.

However – when you factor in your faith – well there is a much bigger question than what do you want to be.  That question is – what has God purposed you to be.

the Lord said “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  - Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord spoke those words when Israel was taken captive by Babylon.  Our takeaway from that promise is that God has a plan for us too.  As Life unfolds – good things and bad things befall all of us – but still, in the midst of it, God has a plan and a purpose.

Do you remember the Apostle Paul’s story? Paul said ..... 

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord - Philippians 3:4-8

Paul was born into a family of Pharisees. His future was set. Or at least he thought it was and then he met Jesus on the road ad Paul – the Saul – pursued what he considered his purpose. But then – seemingly our of nowhere- Jesus shows up!

Now you might be thinking  “But that was Paul – perhaps the greatest of the Apostles - what does that have to do with me?” Well ……. , let me suggest that it has everything to do with you.  

When you were born again – God set your feet on a different- eternal path. A path that leads to a life that you will live along with your natural life.  To live that life – to be what God has purposed us to be - He has gifted each of us to accomplish our role in the Body of Christ on this earth.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Those gifts are exercised as we are salt and light in the place on this planet wherever God has planted us.  And beyond those gifts, God has called some of us to places of leadership or perhaps better said – specific places of service.

Christ himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, {WHY?} to equip his people for works of service {that He has purposed for them}, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4:11-13

Some of those people are called out to serve full time in those capacities and some are “part time” or bi-vocational. Having 2 vocations does not lesson the significance, giftings or the specific calling.  It is just that the context of service is different. In all cases those positions are recognized, acknowledged and confirmed by the Body of Christ and are not merely established by “self-declaration”.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. - Matthew 7:15

You might be tempted to discount how God might use you – knowing that you have “feet of clay”

Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? - Romans 9:21

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. - 2 Corinthians 4:7

This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. - Zechariah 4:6

In Christ we find our eternal purpose and identity!

I wrote a song some time back about the nature of the people that God calls  – 

Give a listen and then look to God for what He has purposed for your life – like me – you might be surprised.

The Life Of A Preacher Man

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Serving God Without Conditions

It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket— to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted— not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Have you ever known someone who had to have things go their way or they would withdraw from whatever was going on?  It might be a game, work, ministry, or perhaps a relationship.  Or maybe you are that person. If we live our lives as Christians in that way, we have a conditional faith? Demanding that things go our way if we are to comply with what God has called us to.  

I visited a remote village in Southwestern Haiti some years ago, Donglise (Dawn gleece).  The pastor was not well.  Neither was I, but I went anyway and I prayed for him.  Not to just be healed but that God would give him the health he needed to do what God had called him to.  To serve God, it is not important for me to be completely healed of my infirmities, although that would be a good thing.  I asked that God would give me the strength I need to accomplish His purposes through me.  And if He does nothing, some would say it is because I lacked faith.  I say it does not matter I will continue to serve in spite of it. Do you remember what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth?

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 

What conditions do you have to go and do at the Lord's bidding?

[We] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us]. - Philippians 4:13

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Don't Be Satisfied With Less Than God's Best

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

As I write these devotions, I have begun to see a thread that runs through them .. Coincidentally, it is the same thread that runs through the Bible.  God has called us to a life of faith and holiness.  We cannot achieve that life on our own.  And even when we are born again, even though we are “awakened” to the reality of spiritual Truth, we continue to struggle with living a life of faith and holiness.  

We make excuses for our failings, and unfortunately often resolving ourselves to and becoming satisfied with some lower level of faith and holiness that God never intended as a sort of self-defined compromise.  When you talk to other Christians, even those that you might consider “more spiritual than most”, you should never think that they are immune to that struggle.  None of us are like Jesus, but all of us should want to be and one day will be.  

So should we be content with our not being like Him yet?  God forbid.  We are on a spiritual journey.  We must keep our eyes fixed on Him, and press on.  And so my friend, let me encourage you to press on in your faith with confidence that 

He who began a good work in your will be faithful to complete it. 1 Philippians 1:6  

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am" ― John Newton  

Join with the Apostle Paul in this resolve!

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14

Think about it – Believe it  - Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Your Speech Reflects Your Heart, Your Heart Reflects Your Faith

Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile [someone] … —Matthew 15:18-20

If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest  

Our old nature does not go away when we are born again, but when we are born again, we no longer have to live in subjection to our old nature.  We have a choice.  But, because it is a choice, we can choose poorly and allow the old nature to dominate us. One of the sure-fire ways that I can tell where a person is spiritually is by listening to what they say and how they say it. 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. - Luke 6:45

In other words, your speech will eventually reveal your heart.  We often make excuses for our old nature.  “That is the way our family is.” “I was just kidding.” Actually we don’t have to make excuses for our old nature.  It is what it is.  It will never get better.  It can only be replaced with our new nature.  If our heart is yielded to the Lord then what comes out of our mouths will reflect the Spirit of God.  Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Read Galatians 5:16-25 to understand the contrast).  

We are all vulnerable to spiritual relapses, but the traits of our old nature should not be the dominant characteristic of who people think we are, what they have come to expect of us and how we behave toward others and the Lord.  We must stop making excuses for what we know is wrong and does not honor God.  Our mission in this life is to reflect Jesus, to glorify God, to proclaim the Gospel through the living out of our lives.

In his poem ‘Sermons We See’ Edward Albert Guest wrote "I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day". 

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil -  Proverbs 4:18-27

You can’t do that on your own. Since the day you were born again you have been on a spiritual quest. But success is found only by faith and submission to the Spirit. 

 Think about it – Believe it  - Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

How To Live The Sanctified Life

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

 When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God. Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest 

 There are two parts of sanctification.  The first is at the point of salvation, when you are sanctified – “set apart – declared holy  ”  by the work of the Spirit and your faith in Jesus. The first was the point where you confessed Jesus as Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.  The second is a daily progression of yielding your will to God’s will. Becoming one with Jesus.  Choosing obedience to the Father’s will and rejecting the will of your flesh – your old nature.   Both aspects of sanctification require your unconditional submission to God.

Satan would have you focus on your failures and not your faith. Convince you that you will never overcome the demons that haunt your life.  That you will never be the person that you know you should be – that you want to be.  The truth of the matter is that you can’t be that person by trying more or harder  – but by trying less.  You were first sanctified by faith, not by works.  You are called to live by faith and not by sight (or works). Sanctification is a supernatural phenomenon.  You yield your life and the Spirit does the work.  You could not be righteous through self-effort before you were born again and you cannot be more righteous through self-effort now.

 “Purify My Heart” Maranatha Music

 Purify my heart Touch me with Your cleansing fire Take me to the cross Your holiness is my desire

 Breathe Your life in me Kindle a love That flows from Your throne Oh purify my heart Purify my heart

 ....

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

More Of Jesus - Less of Me

Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

There is an old hymn that describes what our attitude should be with regard to our past, our present and our future.

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay! Mold me and make me, after Thy will While I am waiting, yielded and still

Search me and try me, Master, today! Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now, As in thy presence Humbly I bow

Wounded and weary, Help me, I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit 'til all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!”  Adelaide Pollard , 1906

All of us have things in our past that we regret.  Satan, the god of this world, would have us cling to those things, so that they would define who we are today and limit what we will be in the future.  But Jesus has overcome sin and the grave. (1 Corinthians 15:17) In Him we have new life. (1 John 5:12) Old things are passed away. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  We are forgiven, in Christ. (Ephesians 4:32) 

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. - Romans 8:29

It is Jesus that defines us now. We should not let our sins in the past be a wall that we cannot move beyond.  Oh Christian, I want to encourage you to renew your confidence ... draw closer to Jesus .. say, once again that your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness - you are forgiven through and by faith in Him.

He who says he abides in Him [Jesus] ought himself also to walk just as He [Jesus] walked. - 1 John 2:6

And that we must do by faith not our own will power.

“So turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” 

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Tempted To Lose Your Witness

Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t worry about whether or not you are being treated justly.” Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust.’ - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

When you read those words, does it seem right to you?  I mean shouldn’t you be shown kindness?  Shouldn’t people that treat you poorly be dealt with – divinely?  Wouldn’t that make you feel better?  What did Jesus have to say about it?

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. - Luke 6:27-31

If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE. - John 15:24-25 

Most of us will agree that concept is good .. but when you are being treated poorly how do you feel .. what is it in you that you must control?  I sometimes say, tongue in cheek, ‘I don’t want to lose my witness’ .. what I am really saying is I don’t want to act on what I am feeling and wanting to do.  You know what?  It’s too late at that point.  I have already missed it (the mark).

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. - 1 John 3:15  

We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. - 1 John 4:19-21  

You see it is the attitude of your heart ... the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).  You don’t have to act on your sin to sin.  Thinking that so long as you didn’t do what you were thinking has stopped short of sin is not right thinking.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:27-28  

Remember David on the roof?  He had already sinned before Bathsheba ever entered his house.  Pretty high standard isn’t it.  A standard that cannot be achieved through determination .. will power .. or won’t power … but only by the power of God in us.  Are there things in your life that you have been accommodating? Pretending that they didn’t matter .. Get your heart right … do not sin … James says that sin begins in our heart when we are tempted (James 1:12-15).. that is where it must end … It is only when we are spending time in the Word and with the Lord will we be able to stand against the temptation, but … that is another devotion for another day …

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Is The Sabbath Still Holy

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. - Exodus 20:9-10

The curse the Lord put on man because of Adam's sin was that man would work by the sweat of his brow. (Genesis 3:19) But man was told to set aside on day a week for rest from his toil. A tithe to the Lord if you will. As you know the Sabbath or Shabbat (Rest) is Saturday but actually starts on Friday since the Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset. So, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday. But Christians celebrate the day of rest to be on Sunday - the day that Jesus was resurrected. 

I can remember when there were laws called "blue laws" that prohibited the sale of anything that had to do with work and liquor on Sunday. I think there are still some places that enforce blue laws but most of those laws have been abolished. The Salt, that is the Body of Christ, is losing its savor or influence in our culture. The United States is viewed by the world as a Christian nation but according to our constitution, the US is not a Theocracy but a Republic.  You can Google the difference between a democracy and a republic if you are of a mind to. But bottom line the US is a secular nation.  Our country embraces all religions. In fact not only do we have freedom of religion, but we have freedom from religion.

Blue Laws aside, Sunday was, at one time recognized, as a day of worship. Today as we drive to church we pass community baseball diamonds that are full of children playing in leagues. The parking lots are full of their parents cars. Sports are not a bad thing. But the ball diamonds seem to have become the "high places" where non-believers ( and some Believers) come to worship on Sunday. Like Israel struggled with embracing the gods of the gentiles - the Church in America is struggling with the same thing.  

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25

You might argue that it is harmless and, after all, the people can stream a church service - but in my mind that is just another excuse to go our own way. The drifting toward the norms the secular culture that we were saved from is insidious. Small step by small step. "Ti pa ti pa" as they would say in Haiti. Just a little leaven in the loaf, one teaspoon at a time.

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. -  1 Corinthians 5:6-7

My encouragement to you my friend. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Choosing To Go Along To Get Along Is The Pathway To Sin

 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. -  1 Corinthians 6:8-10

Mankind's tendency, since the Garden, has been to go its own way - to redefine what God has said in favor of conforming to the consensus of the culture. The idea that you can love the sinner but hate what the sinner does is counterintuitive to the reasoning of natural man or woman. Their thinking is that if you hate the sin then, by definition, you must hate the sinner. They are inseparable. Throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water. And so that makes you, the sin hater, a bad person. "And you call yourself a Christian!"

The Lord God says: As surely as I live, I do not want any who are wicked to die. I want them to stop doing evil and live. - Ezekiel 33:11

People have a habit of categorizing sin but in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul spoke to sin in general. If you are practicing any one of those things then you will not inherit the kingdom of God. The idea that my sin is not so bad compared to that sinner - doesn't hold water. James did not leave any room for that reasoning.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. - James 2:10

Having said that, since our culture is celebrating Pride month in June, I will use the sin of homosexuality as an example but I could use any sin to make the point.  I emphasize that it is but one of the 10 things that the unrighteous are declared to be guilty of in 1 Corinthians 6 and one of a myriad that someone might commit. But it serves as example with respect to the manner in which the secular culture responds to any sin that it decides is not a sin or wrong. And I also want to emphasize that there are many kind hearted, loving people who are sinners. Sin is a spiritual condition that can only be resolved through faith and repentance - a spiritual solution. People who sin are not necessarily evil or mean spirited with respect to how they relate to other people. 

Not everyone in our country, Christian or not, embraces homosexuality as being a normal lifestyle. My point is you don't have to be religious to believe homosexuality, or any of the other 9 things Paul mentioned are wrong. But rejecting the Biblical moral code defining what is right and wrong - people are then free to choose their own code so long as they don't impose it on others. In other words - those who are gay may not expect everyone else to be gay - else there would be no "next generation" but, at the same time - in like manner - don't tell them that they should not be gay. So the cultural consensus is that homosexuality is not a sin - it is not wrong.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. - Romans 8:5 

In 1999, President Bill Clinton officially declared in a presidential proclamation that June would be "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month". In 2011, Barack Obama expanded the official Pride Month recognition to include the whole of the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender] community. Then in 2021, Joe Biden recognized Pride Month after taking office, and vowed to push for LGBT rights in the United States. Just so you know - this is not a Democrat vs Republican rant. These were Democratic presidents, but all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There are none righteous no not one. 

My point is this  - the United States government is embracing the right of people to live a lifestyle and embrace a morality that is contrary to God's design and intent. Although our form of government has Biblical roots in its formation - it is NOT a Christian nation. It is a secular nation. We believe in freedom of religion - which is to say that people also have the right to be free OF religion.

So what about those in our country who recognize Jehovah God as the Creator. Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, Islam historically have rejected homosexuality and the other sins mentioned as sin. According to Jesus (Matthew 22;21), we must render unto God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesars - or to our culture what is our cultures - 

But what about when there is a conflict of ideas - as Christians, we must yield, first, to the authority of God. Having said that - there are denominations or what I will call "sub-denominations" that have yielded to the culture and rejected the historical, Biblical view of some sins in favor of embracing the cultural consensus.

Today there is great social pressure to do what people have been doing for millennia. Calling evil good and good evil.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! - Isaiah 5:20

For many churches they have fallen victim to the enticements of the devil that began in the Garden. 

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” -  Genesis 3:1-5

Like Eve, if you do not trust the Word of God then you may be tempted to stray from it in favor of our culture's truth. And that is what has happened with gay rights.

How could that be happening? Well, it is the frog in the pot. Day by day. Year by year the water is getting hotter - like the frog - we get comfortable with the culture's truth which started out innocent like a soft breeze on a summer's night and then without us realizing it - it became deadly - a raging storm. Now we find ourselves asking - how did we get here - so far from Biblical truth. The answer one step - one compromise at a time.  

The problem many Christians have is that they look at the sin first and never get to the sinner. Then they confuse loving the sinner with embracing their sin. Do you remember what God did?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. - John 3:16-17

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

What I hope is that I have reminded you of the spiritual context of what you see happening in the world. Although I used homosexuality as an example - that is a symptom, it is not the illness.  And that is not likely to change until Jesus returns.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Second Guessing God

And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. - 1 Samuel 15:20-23

I am certain that you are familiar with the events that led up to the Lord removing King Saul's anointing and passing it on to David. The verses I opened with are about the second time that Saul went his own way, convinced that he could improve on what God told him to do.  

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. - 1 Samuel 16:7

That verse is reference to the time Samuel was sent to anoint Saul's replacement and Samuel was looking for someone that resembled Saul - Taller than most men and easy on the eyes to look at.  (Hey if it worked once) But Samuel was using man's standards not God's. God looks at the heart of man.

Do you remember what Jesus said the to scribes and Pharisees?

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. - Matthew 23:27

God looks at the heart of man. And He found Saul wanting. It is like you ask someone to do something in particular and when you return they have done something else and are convinced they chose rightly. You ask "Why didn't you do what I asked you to do?" and they reply "Yes, but ....." in an attempt to justify their actions.  Sounds a little like Saul doesn't it?

Why do mere mortals try to out-think God?  Well - the short answer is, it is a matter of the heart. Do you remember the greatest commandment? 

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment." - Matthew 22:35-38

That describes someone who is totally and primarily devoted to God. So how about you? Do you think that you know better than God? Maybe the Bible makes God's mind clear about some matter, but you think it doesn't apply to you. Or maybe you have a better idea - something God didn't think of. That is what one friend of ours would call "stinkin thinkin". It puts your feet firmly on the path to sin. In fact when you decided it in your heart - that was the point that sin happened. The act of sin is merely carrying out what has already happened in your heart.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Serving God Requires Faith Plus The Power Of God

He said to them, "This kind [of unclean spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." —Mark 9:29

 ““His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ” (Mark 9:28). The answer lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can remain powerless forever, as the disciples were in this situation, by trying to do God’s work without concentrating on His power, and by following instead the ideas that we draw from our own nature. We actually slander and dishonor God by our very eagerness to serve Him without knowing Him. When you are brought face to face with a difficult situation and nothing happens externally, you can still know that freedom and release will be given because of your continued concentration on Jesus Christ. Your duty in service and ministry is to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there anything between you and Jesus even now? Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)“ - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

You cannot do anything for God that is acceptable to God unless it is done by faith in God.  Oh, you can do things in His name, but it really amounts to work accomplished by your own effort.  Ephesians 2:8,9 says we are saved by grace through faith not of works lest any man boast that somehow he had saved himself by his own effort.  And so it is when you step out for God.  There is nothing I can do that pleases God in terms of effort, what God wants from me is a broken and contrite heart and a willingness to pick up my cross and follow Jesus.  But God I am so smart. But Who gave you your intelligence?  When you serve God you must lay a spiritual foundation.  If you say “yes” God will take you places that would crush your spirit and cause you to feint in the intensity of the circumstances. Whether it be a lion’s dens, a fiery furnace, or ministering to a difficult person in a difficult situation, God is sufficient to meet your needs. (Philippians 4:19) “… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” 

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a Christian giving someone a drink of water and a non-Christian doing the same thing?  The person receiving the water has their thirst quenched either way.  Sometimes we are guilty of thinking that only Christians can do “good” things.  Not true.  But there is something supernatural going on when a Christian serves others.  Jesus told the woman at the well that He had living water to give her.  He could offer water to her soul … and so can you.  You must have the Spirit of God in you to do that.  

There are organizations involved in disaster relief that have the reputation for being “spiritual” but, in fact merely have a religious veneer. They will not allow Christians to share their faith in their desire to be “ecumenically correct” and not offend people of other beliefs or no belief at all.  Disasters are not an opportunity to take advantage of people’s vulnerability. But they do give opportunity for the Church to rise up and be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within them. (1 Peter 3:15)  There are no spiritual strings attached to our serving others, but there is spiritual power behind it.  God uses circumstances to speak to the lost.  Sometimes He whispers and sometimes He SHOUTS!  In any case we must be ready to shine the light of Jesus whatever the situation and circumstance.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Keeping in Step with God

You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12

Very often, I quote Oswald Chambers as a focal point for the Devotion, but today I am using his scripture reference.  I wrote this while I am in Alabama for a few weeks in 2012.  The year was just about to close so a new one could begin.  For the previous few days I had been feeling the weight of what the Lord had us doing in Haiti.  I suspect it is a similar feeling to how Peter felt when he realized that he was walking on water and was no longer in the boat.  He was instantly in trouble but then he refocused on Jesus.  . Have you ever had that problem?

But when he [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. - Matthew 14:30-32

The message in both Isaiah and Matthew is that God is with you and me .. we have nothing to fear. Just need to keep in step with Him.  Trust Him and not ourselves.  Be willing to go where it doesn’t make sense to go and watch God do something great.

Stay in step with God is my encouragement to you today.  I pray your life will be a living testimony to God’s love, grace, mercy, and sufficiency.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Losing Your Spiritual Edge - When The Lord Is A Faded Memory

Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. - Psalm 78:35

Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost From His Highest

When you see the picture of a friend on Facebook or receive a phone call or have a chance meeting with them, do you feel joy in your heart?  Or perhaps something happens that reminds you of some pleasant experience. Do you feel the same joy at the thought of the Lord? There is a song by Hillsong, “When I Think About The Lord”

“When I Think about the Lord, How He saved me, how He raised me, How He filled me, with the Holy Ghost. How He healed me, to the uttermost.

When I Think about the Lord, How He picked me up and turned me around, How He placed my feet on solid ground.

It makes me wanna shout, Hallelujah, Thank you JESUS, LORD, your worthy, of all the glory, and all the honor, And all the praise...”

Does thinking about the Lord make you want to shout?  Or do you really not think about the Lord that much during the day, perhaps only when someone else brings Him up?  Maybe on Sunday.   I have had a good number of friends, too many, over the years who have fallen by the wayside in my mind and heart.  They were good friends, but I neglected to stay connected with them and our lives took different paths, to the point that they are only an occasional memory, if I think of them at all.  Sad, but true.  

Oh Christian, don’t lose your spiritual edge.  Don’t let who you are in Christ and whose you are with the Father and how you are because of the Spirit become some unemotional facts in your life - distant thoughts.  Your faith should and must be what motivates you, what gets you up in the morning. It should make you want to shout, Hallelujah.  If it doesn’t, as a preacher friend used to say, “Friend, your wick is wet!” Can I get a “Hallelujah, thank you Jesus” from somebody?

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

God Brings The Increase - Understanding Our Role In Someone's Salvation

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

If I asked any Christian if they agreed with Ephesians 2:8-10 they would most likely say - "Of Course".

If I asked those same people if when they shared their faith did they do their best to convince the hearer of the truth of their words. Most would likely say - "Yes". In fact, there are a number of "sure fire" ways of sharing the Gospel that have been used over the years. 4 Spiritual Laws - Evangelism Explosion - The FAITH method, to name a few. But those methods do not save people.

If I reminded those same Christians of Jesus' great commission in Matthew 28

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:18-20

They would agree that Jesus told us to Go. We are to share our faith, baptize new Believers and teach them Biblical truth.

So I would ask - So then we are to share our faith with the lost? They would answer "Of Course" 

Then I would ask - when it comes to the lost understanding the Gospel message what do you think Paul meant when he wrote

For Christ did not send me [Paul] to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. - 1 Corinthians 1:17-19

The Gospel - the message of the Cross - is foolishness to the lost and there is no way that I can convince them that it is wisdom and truth.

The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

The fact is that truth of the Gospel is hidden from the lost - it must be spiritually discerned and the lost are spiritually dead.

If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

 It is God who brings about understanding - salvation - new birth - not me.

He [Jesus] said to them [the disciples] , “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 16:15-17

And then I would tell those Christians that our role in making disciples was to share the Gospel - . Planting seed - like Paul not argue people into heaven.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. - 1 Corinthians 3:6

In the parable, the ground is the heart of the lost person hearing the Gospel. We can't see the heart of man - but God can. And so we are to be like Paul and Apollos.

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” - Mark 4:3-8

Our responsibility is to go and tell - to cast the seed not to persuade.

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, - Isaiah 52:7

My mom planted seed in my heart for 7 years to no avail. And then one Sunday a pastor watered that seed and God brought the increase. I knew the words I had heard them many times  - I saw changed lives in my family - but that did not rend my heart to salvation. None of us know the part that we play on the journey someone may take on the path to salvation. And not all will be saved. We can't save anybody but we can tell everybody.

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone