Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Who Are You Gonna Blame?
Genesis 3:11-13
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Don't you think it's a little bit funny how this story played out? Adam and Eve were caught in sin. God asked them about what had happened. Then the blame game began. Adam blamed a Eve, Eve blamed Satan and Satan had no one to blame.
So many times we hear our children say, "Billy made me do it, Sally was doing it so I did it too". Or we hear Christians say, "The devil made me do it."
How easy and simple it is for us to say that the devil made us do it. But in truth, Eve was deceived by Satan but she sinned on her own. And although Adam listen to his wife, he is the one who sinned. And although Satan did the trickery and deception, we are the ones who sin. He may lure us and entice us, but we are driven away by our own lust and commit sin.
We can blame it on computers, but they only display what you type into them. We could blame it on our televisions but they only go to the channels you press. We could blame it on alcohol, but it is you that take it into the body. We can blame it on half-dressed men and women, but it is you that looks with lust. See we can justify and blame our sins on all the people and things around us and eventually, when Christ calls us out on our sins, the blame game will have to stop.
Stop blaming others and confess your sins this morning. Don't look at what others are doing, or not doing, you follow Jesus. You do right.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
I Say Boy, Pay Attention
Proverbs 1:7-9
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
and forsake not the law of thy mother:
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,
and chains about thy neck.
I've noticed something in my studies of the book of Proverbs. Many, many times it begins with... "My son, give thine ear to instruction". "My son, don't lean upon your wisdom". Have you noticed that?
Well, what would give Solomon the authority to say such things? I mean, how could God use this man to tell me about wisdom? I know that he was the smartest and wealthiest man of his time. I understand that he received his wisdom from God. But looking deeper, I can see that some of the very things he spoke about were the things he failed in. Who better to warn us of traveling down a certain road than someone who had been there before.
I've heard people say things like, "Who's preaching about Jesus now?" "Are you kidding? I know that old boy and believe me he has done a lot of things sinful and contrary to God". I've heard some say, "How can that person give advice on marriage when they made a mess of theirs?" When people come to Jesus and confess their sins, He can greatly use them. No, He can't use us if we stay in our sins, but He will definitely use us when we are saved from our sins.
Really when it all boils down, it's about how Jesus can forgive, and put lives back together. The instruction and wisdom we receive from those in Christ who have been there before, is truly from God himself. So when people give you a "I've been there before" story, pay attention.
Pay attention son, I say boy, pay attention. - Foghorn Leghorn
Monday, July 11, 2016
Late Hit
Romans 12:17-21
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
In high school, one of my activities was football. I can remember many, many instructions that coaches would instill in us. Some a little more than others. One of the rules I remember was, "If someone hits you after the whistle blows, take it." This would sometimes result in a penalty against the team doing the late hitting, but not always.
Being a lineman, we had certain missions. First, find the football. Second, destroy the man who had the football. Third, and never really taught but certainly a rule, if anyone sucker punches or basically whips you in your position...seek and destroy. I can remember getting hammered by a sucker hit on a play and recording the guys number in my mind. I knew there would come a time when he wasn't paying much attention to me. You see I was lining up across from him the whole game. So every play he knew where I was and what was expected. Until coached called for second string kickoff team. Finally, my turn! I scanned the field and found him in my sights (all the way on the other side).
Now my position I was in didn't call for me to block him. So rules number one and two were not in effect. No, rule number three had become my top priority! The ball was away and so was I. I was running as fast as I could. He was looking back to where the ball was fielded, which was on the other side of the field from him. (I hope you are getting this... The ball was kicked to my side of the field and I could have been in on a genuine tackle but I was on the other side of the field fulfilling my mission three) No one was on our side now, just me and him. He was blindly running toward his ball carrier when out of the blue... BAM! The greatest and hardest hit all night! Justice has now been served! I said nothing. I just stood over him with that "Remember me?" glare.
Then that's when it happened... A bright yellow flag hit me in my helmet. The referee was shouting something about unsportsmanlike conduct, you know how crazy those zebras can be. If he would have only known the whole story. This guy cheap-shotted me first! As I was coming off the field, now my coach is yelling at me and asking me why in the world would I do something so stupid. "But coach, he had it coming. He hit me first."
This morning maybe you've recorded the number of the one who has done you wrong. Maybe you're lined up against them right now and you're thinking of a way to retaliate. Allow Christ to move upon your heart right now. Give the hurt and pain to Him. Don't be charged with a late hit. Believe me, It's not worth the fifteen yards or standing on the sidelines the rest of the game because you couldn't control your temper. God can handle them as well as you.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
In high school, one of my activities was football. I can remember many, many instructions that coaches would instill in us. Some a little more than others. One of the rules I remember was, "If someone hits you after the whistle blows, take it." This would sometimes result in a penalty against the team doing the late hitting, but not always.
Being a lineman, we had certain missions. First, find the football. Second, destroy the man who had the football. Third, and never really taught but certainly a rule, if anyone sucker punches or basically whips you in your position...seek and destroy. I can remember getting hammered by a sucker hit on a play and recording the guys number in my mind. I knew there would come a time when he wasn't paying much attention to me. You see I was lining up across from him the whole game. So every play he knew where I was and what was expected. Until coached called for second string kickoff team. Finally, my turn! I scanned the field and found him in my sights (all the way on the other side).
Now my position I was in didn't call for me to block him. So rules number one and two were not in effect. No, rule number three had become my top priority! The ball was away and so was I. I was running as fast as I could. He was looking back to where the ball was fielded, which was on the other side of the field from him. (I hope you are getting this... The ball was kicked to my side of the field and I could have been in on a genuine tackle but I was on the other side of the field fulfilling my mission three) No one was on our side now, just me and him. He was blindly running toward his ball carrier when out of the blue... BAM! The greatest and hardest hit all night! Justice has now been served! I said nothing. I just stood over him with that "Remember me?" glare.
Then that's when it happened... A bright yellow flag hit me in my helmet. The referee was shouting something about unsportsmanlike conduct, you know how crazy those zebras can be. If he would have only known the whole story. This guy cheap-shotted me first! As I was coming off the field, now my coach is yelling at me and asking me why in the world would I do something so stupid. "But coach, he had it coming. He hit me first."
This morning maybe you've recorded the number of the one who has done you wrong. Maybe you're lined up against them right now and you're thinking of a way to retaliate. Allow Christ to move upon your heart right now. Give the hurt and pain to Him. Don't be charged with a late hit. Believe me, It's not worth the fifteen yards or standing on the sidelines the rest of the game because you couldn't control your temper. God can handle them as well as you.
Friday, July 8, 2016
The Itsy Bitsy Liar
Proverbs 12:19
The lip of truth shall be established for ever:
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
So the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
This was a nursery rhyme when we were children. Don't get me started on our nursery rhymes. Wow, they were crazy and scary. I can see you right now. You were reading the lyrics and singing along. Maybe even some of you were doing the motions with your fingers.
Some people say, "It's only an Itsy Bitsy Spider". No harm can come from a small spider right? I mean it's just trying to build a web. Well as a child I heard this rhyme over and over again. But as I grew older I heard a new phrase. It goes something like this... Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
I find it so amazing that it's just a small spider. It's just an Itsy Bitsy Spider. It couldn't harm anyone. No damage could ever come from this web. It reminds me of a lie, an Itsy Bitsy Lie. If they never see it, it will never effect them. Well I know this is not the truth. Many years ago I knew a beautiful woman who made her living selling women's cosmetics and jewelry. She was bitten by a brown recluse spider. A spider that is about the size of a penny, legs and all. Surely nothing this small could harm anyone. But those bitten would share a different story. My friend was bitten right in the center of her hairline of the forehead. A huge patch of her hair died and rotted out. She struggled so much during this time. Because of her beauty and business, she battled hard.
Just as my friend gave no thought to this small spider the day before she was bitten, many people give no thought to the lies they speak and it's damage. Count the damage of lies. It would be more than hurricanes, tornadoes or tsunamis. The devastation is terrible. Be changed by Christ today! Truth will stand forever, while lies last but a moment but leave destruction in its path.
The other day I thought of a new nursery rhyme we should share:
The Itsy Bitsy Liar spewed out his sinful spout.
Then came the pain and destroyed the liar's house.
Out came the Son and took away His shame.
And the Itsy Bitsy Liar through Christ is not the same!
The lip of truth shall be established for ever:
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
So the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
This was a nursery rhyme when we were children. Don't get me started on our nursery rhymes. Wow, they were crazy and scary. I can see you right now. You were reading the lyrics and singing along. Maybe even some of you were doing the motions with your fingers.
Some people say, "It's only an Itsy Bitsy Spider". No harm can come from a small spider right? I mean it's just trying to build a web. Well as a child I heard this rhyme over and over again. But as I grew older I heard a new phrase. It goes something like this... Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
I find it so amazing that it's just a small spider. It's just an Itsy Bitsy Spider. It couldn't harm anyone. No damage could ever come from this web. It reminds me of a lie, an Itsy Bitsy Lie. If they never see it, it will never effect them. Well I know this is not the truth. Many years ago I knew a beautiful woman who made her living selling women's cosmetics and jewelry. She was bitten by a brown recluse spider. A spider that is about the size of a penny, legs and all. Surely nothing this small could harm anyone. But those bitten would share a different story. My friend was bitten right in the center of her hairline of the forehead. A huge patch of her hair died and rotted out. She struggled so much during this time. Because of her beauty and business, she battled hard.
Just as my friend gave no thought to this small spider the day before she was bitten, many people give no thought to the lies they speak and it's damage. Count the damage of lies. It would be more than hurricanes, tornadoes or tsunamis. The devastation is terrible. Be changed by Christ today! Truth will stand forever, while lies last but a moment but leave destruction in its path.
The other day I thought of a new nursery rhyme we should share:
The Itsy Bitsy Liar spewed out his sinful spout.
Then came the pain and destroyed the liar's house.
Out came the Son and took away His shame.
And the Itsy Bitsy Liar through Christ is not the same!
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Taking Grace Into Our Own Hands
Romans 5:20
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
"He's too bad to be saved. There is no hope for that boy. Will she ever be saved and surrender to God?" Do these things sound familiar? They should. Many of these statements are spoken at dinner tables, on car rides and even on the front steps of our churches.
There is no doubt that sin is prevelant and abounding. Everywhere we turn and everywhere we look, there is sin and the temptation to sin. It is so much easier to commit sin in our sin-soaked society. Even the internet makes it simple for someone to satisfy their addiction. Ordering online alcohol, drugs and even sexual satisfaction is very real and very easy. Sin is truly abounding! A true sign of abounding sin is when society fails at understanding that it's sin.
My favorite part of this scripture today... "But". But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. What is grace? The best description of grace is found on a hill called Calvary. The Son of God stretched out his hands on an old rugged cross and offered grace. God literally took matters of grace into His own hands.
Our offer of grace, that comes from His hands, should be offered just as He offered. Sometimes I'm guilty of taking grace into my own hands and for this Lord I'm sorry and repent. It's your grace and I'll offer it the way I received it.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
"He's too bad to be saved. There is no hope for that boy. Will she ever be saved and surrender to God?" Do these things sound familiar? They should. Many of these statements are spoken at dinner tables, on car rides and even on the front steps of our churches.
There is no doubt that sin is prevelant and abounding. Everywhere we turn and everywhere we look, there is sin and the temptation to sin. It is so much easier to commit sin in our sin-soaked society. Even the internet makes it simple for someone to satisfy their addiction. Ordering online alcohol, drugs and even sexual satisfaction is very real and very easy. Sin is truly abounding! A true sign of abounding sin is when society fails at understanding that it's sin.
My favorite part of this scripture today... "But". But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. What is grace? The best description of grace is found on a hill called Calvary. The Son of God stretched out his hands on an old rugged cross and offered grace. God literally took matters of grace into His own hands.
Our offer of grace, that comes from His hands, should be offered just as He offered. Sometimes I'm guilty of taking grace into my own hands and for this Lord I'm sorry and repent. It's your grace and I'll offer it the way I received it.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Settled On It Since Yesterday, Today and Forever
Hebrews 13:7-9
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of [their] conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For [it is] a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Why is the Bible different from any other book that you've read? Why does it stand out? I mean the word "Bible" is defined as the "books". Isn't it just a series of books that have been compiled by men? Isn't it full of allegories and historical stories? How can it be different and why?
The answer is... It is God's Word. As a believer or non-believer we must decide on this issue. It is either God's Word or it isn't. A book that was written over centuries and centuries apart but has the same central theme of Jesus Christ woven through it convinces me. The fact that over forty different writers spread out over this time span hold the account of Christ in the same context and truth also convinces me. The most convincing would be the Holy Spirit.
You may not believe this but I am in a constant battle, daily, for the truth. I live in a society and nation that always questions the truth. I don't mean researches truth, I mean questions it. If speed limits are posted at seventy, most see that as a partial truth and drive eighty and eighty-five. If something is free and has a sign posted above it, "Take One", that is a suggestion not a truth or command.
God's Word is either God's Word or it's not! Jesus Christ is either the same yesterday, today and forever or He's not. Watch out for those who are trying to convince you that God's Word is changing or evolving to meet culture. God's Word has always met culture right where it is. Be careful of those who are convincing you that God's Word is old fashioned, out of date, or written with errors by men. It's either His Word for us or not. I'm settled with it. Since yesterday, today and forever.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of [their] conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For [it is] a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Why is the Bible different from any other book that you've read? Why does it stand out? I mean the word "Bible" is defined as the "books". Isn't it just a series of books that have been compiled by men? Isn't it full of allegories and historical stories? How can it be different and why?
The answer is... It is God's Word. As a believer or non-believer we must decide on this issue. It is either God's Word or it isn't. A book that was written over centuries and centuries apart but has the same central theme of Jesus Christ woven through it convinces me. The fact that over forty different writers spread out over this time span hold the account of Christ in the same context and truth also convinces me. The most convincing would be the Holy Spirit.
You may not believe this but I am in a constant battle, daily, for the truth. I live in a society and nation that always questions the truth. I don't mean researches truth, I mean questions it. If speed limits are posted at seventy, most see that as a partial truth and drive eighty and eighty-five. If something is free and has a sign posted above it, "Take One", that is a suggestion not a truth or command.
God's Word is either God's Word or it's not! Jesus Christ is either the same yesterday, today and forever or He's not. Watch out for those who are trying to convince you that God's Word is changing or evolving to meet culture. God's Word has always met culture right where it is. Be careful of those who are convincing you that God's Word is old fashioned, out of date, or written with errors by men. It's either His Word for us or not. I'm settled with it. Since yesterday, today and forever.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Hasty Tongues
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Our mouths are dangerous members of the body. It gets us into more trouble and sin than anything else. There is nothing that fights against us as much as our mouths. Now I understand that it speaks that which is in the heart and mind but remember it is the instrument that allows it to flow. Many, many times in my life I wish I could have kept quiet. I've even thought in my mind, "Steve, shut up."
In another scripture the Word tells us that the tongue is set on fire from Hell. It is a builder or a destroyer. More times than others it is the latter of these two. Oh, Lord teach me to be quiet. Help me study to be quiet and a listener.
One thing we should especially keep in mind this that when we tear down others we could very well be them tomorrow. Take heed of your words you speak of those walking with, or not walking with Christ because you may be where they are someday soon.
God, please forgive me of my hasty words. Forgive me for talking too much. Forgive me for my many words in prayer sometimes. I spend too much time telling you of my situation or quoting Your scripture to you and not listening like I should. I have missed out many times in your answers because I can't close my mouth. I come this morning with my ears open and my mouth closed... I'm listening.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Our mouths are dangerous members of the body. It gets us into more trouble and sin than anything else. There is nothing that fights against us as much as our mouths. Now I understand that it speaks that which is in the heart and mind but remember it is the instrument that allows it to flow. Many, many times in my life I wish I could have kept quiet. I've even thought in my mind, "Steve, shut up."
In another scripture the Word tells us that the tongue is set on fire from Hell. It is a builder or a destroyer. More times than others it is the latter of these two. Oh, Lord teach me to be quiet. Help me study to be quiet and a listener.
One thing we should especially keep in mind this that when we tear down others we could very well be them tomorrow. Take heed of your words you speak of those walking with, or not walking with Christ because you may be where they are someday soon.
God, please forgive me of my hasty words. Forgive me for talking too much. Forgive me for my many words in prayer sometimes. I spend too much time telling you of my situation or quoting Your scripture to you and not listening like I should. I have missed out many times in your answers because I can't close my mouth. I come this morning with my ears open and my mouth closed... I'm listening.
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