Confused

Luke 6:46

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Being a parent is an absolute blessing from our Lord. The Bible tells us... "Psalms 127:3 - Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."  We are blessed by a God to have children and be able to help and encourage them. We love and cherish them beyond our own capacity of love. But at times, few as they may be, they can confuse us... See, we can tell them over and over again to not do this... Or to not say that... Or even to stay away from them, those, or that. And what happens?  Sometimes they fall into it. 

When this happens as a parent we feel like... Why am I here?  If you're not gonna do what I say, then why do I even waste my breath?  Sound familiar?  Well, how many times have we made our Lord feel this same way?  I wonder if we include Him in every decision that is made in our lives? He daily is waiting to give us instruction and guidance. His lips are ready to tell us things to avoid and things to enjoy. He is our constant instructor, and how often to we listen?

In my life, I have seen that my parenting should be patterned after the greatest Father. He asked the question, "Why do you call me Lord, and do not the things which I say?"  He is not reprimanding these people. But rather He is showing them that if they would listen and obey His words, they could avoid much damage. He continued His message with telling them about building on the sand and the destruction that could come from it. 

If you've ever been confused by the actions of your children, think today about the actions of yourself to our Father. Would He be confused from your actions and obedience today?  Why do we call Him Lord if we aren't willing to follow His instructions. Remember, He instructs you to keep you from sin and its devastation. 

Wearied By Our Words

Malachi 2:17

Ye have wearied the Lord with your words.

Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?

When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord,

and he delighteth in them;

or, Where is the God of judgment?

The definition of wearied is... "Feeling or showing tiredness". Being wearied can come from losing sleep or working hard. It can also come with being lied to constantly. The prophet tells us that we have wearied the Lord with our words. With the promises made every Sunday that are broken every Monday. Look the the scripture and we will see how we have wearied Him. He says, "By saying everyone that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them". Then the people even scoffed and mocked God by saying, "Where is the God of Judgment?"  They thought God's judgment would never happen. "Nothing has happened so far", they would say. 

We weary God by justifying our sins before Him. People love sin. Sin is pleasure for the flesh. I have learned that all sin roots from selfishness. This same selfishness causes us to justify the sins that please the flesh. Before long, you will begin to call the evil sin good and ok in God's sight. Call sin by what it is...sin, evil, and hurtful. 

Our words can be so powerful. They are the ones that will bring us peace and joy. But they are also the very ones that will judge us. Our words shouldn't weary God, but they should GLORIFY God. 

Psalms 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Right in Front of Your Face

Mark 12:32-34

And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth:for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

I can remember getting directions before and thinking we were so close to something only to find out that we were miles away from our destination. On the flip side of that, I've asked directions before thinking we were miles away from somewhere and finding out we were just around the corner from it.  

Imagine this man and the question he had for Jesus.  He asked what the greatest commandment was?  He wanted to know about true life and the source of truth. He wanted directions and found out he was so close. Notice what Jesus said about the man's response of keeping all these things. He said, "Thou art not far". "Not far", not there, but not far. You are so close but yet not there just yet. 

You see, keeping commandments are for those who are His servants or are enlisted in service. Following Him is an act of trust and love.  We are saved by His Grace alone. There is nothing, nothing good that we can do.  No greatest commandment can get us in right standing with God. Only the blood Jesus shed for our lives gives us a righteous standing before our God. 

This man was so close, so close that the Son of God was standing right in front of him. The Savior of the world was looking him in the eyes. How close are you? You are closer than you think. 

Do You Believe?

John 11:25-26

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Have you heard the story of Lazarus?  He had passed away from sickness and been placed in a tomb where has now laid four days. Jesus tells his disciples that this has happened so God could receive the glory. When He arrives in town, many of the Jews had come out to mourn with the family. They were gathering when Jesus came closer. Martha ran out to meet Jesus and ask him for help. Then she went and told Mary to come out because Jesus called for her. Everyone there was down and discouraged. They knew Jesus had the answer and the power to do whatever He wanted. 

As they were weeping, Jesus began to weep.  He wept because of the faithlessness of the people. They saw Him weep and thought that it was because Lazarus was dead, but Jesus was there to raise Lazarus. His tears were for them and their disbelief. 

Look at what he told Martha... "I am the resurrection, and the life:". Jesus told her that he was the answer to death and living. He was telling her that he could handle anything. Then he asked her something... "Believest thou this?"  He said , "Do you believe this?"  

My question this morning is, "Do you believe Jesus?"  Has he ever lied to you? How much faith do you have? Do you believe? Not as demons believe.  Not as the world believes he was here. But do you believe He can do it?  Do you believe He can speak life into you and your situation?  Then why are you crying?

Only believe, only believe... All things are possible, only believe. 

That Kind of Faith

Matthew 8:1-3

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Just to simply believe!  That's the kind of faith we need. Jesus told us to believe as a child would believe. This means we must totally depend upon Him and not upon ourselves. When we believe totally, God can do great things in our lives. 

Look at this man in the scripture. The leper came and worshipped Him. What power and liberty there is when we realize who Jesus is. When we stop and realize that our Lord Jesus is much greater than our problem or situation at hand. When we come to this kind of worship we can find the solution to every problem. In his worship he made the statement, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean". Notice what he was saying?  "If you will, I know you can do it". 

So many look for healing, solutions and answers and then when God answers in a different way than they expected, they are disappointed and walk away from Him. This leper was sick with a physical disease. His life was in a mess because of his condition. But remember, he was in worship!  He was worshipping God even though he was a leper. He said, "If you will..." This means he was fine with either way. He knew Jesus would still be Jesus even if he had to live as a leper the rest of his earthly life. He knew that his request was one that would help his life, but that it was more important to worship through adversity in his life. Notice that he didn't say, "If thou canst make me whole, I will worship you". 

How many of us today are willing to worship Jesus even when it's difficult?  Even when it's pouring rain?  Even when our snares seem delayed?  Boy, to have faith like that! 

  

Hope in the Word

Romans 15:4

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

What do you think of the Word of God?  Some people view it as a rule book full of "do's and don'ts". Many see it as a book with allegories of spiritual meanings. But Peter said, "We have not followed cunningly devised fables". How do you view the Bible?

When I read the Bible, I see love. Love in the cross, Love in the tomb, Love in the Old Testament, Love in the New Testament, Love is sewn throughout the entire book. But also there is patience and comfort in God's Word. Think of John chapter fourteen, "Let not your hearts be troubled..."  Think of what He told us in the book of Thessalonians, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words..."  God's word is full of comfort, peace, promises, instructions, correction so that we would be ready to face the world. 

Where does your hope and comfort come from today? What about peace and patience?  Maybe you should try opening the Word of God more instead of those novels and other books. Maybe read the Bible for thirty minutes instead of watching that television show that you so love. 

Notice what our scripture says... For our learning and our hope through patience and comfort of the scriptures. 

Take time today to search His scriptures. Take time right now to thank Him for His word that has been given to us. Lord, I thank you for the precious words that you gave to these men. Thank you for the Jewish scribes that thought of it so highly that they protected it for years. Thank you of how it applies to everything in my life. When I need instruction, I find it in your word. When I need Grace and help, I find it in your word. When I need comfort and patience, I find it in your word. When I needed salvation, I found it in your word!  Thank you Lord for my Bible. 

Losing Our Minds

Philippians 2:5

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Have you ever felt like that rubber band stretched to its limits is your mind?  I have many times. The old "Calgon" commercial comes to my mind. The woman is burning something on the stove, dog is barking, children running though the house and the phone is ringing. Then she says those famous words, "Calgon, take me away". (Please tell me that you just read that part out loud)  

I feel this way at times. Even in Christian ministry it gets stressful. Life is stressful. We feel like we get so many things going at once and we couldn't possibly take on something else. Our minds are so busy on family, children, work, church, etc...  

Sometimes our minds are so preoccupied that we forget things. Have you ever walked into a room only to find out that you forgot why you walked into there in the first place?  Hahaha, so many times. It drives you crazy and you say those words, "I must be losing my mind". 

Well I want to tell you something. Losing our minds isn't a bad idea. We need to lose our minds and search for the mind of Christ. How great would it be to have His thoughts in our minds? To have His wisdom in our decisions?  Take time this morning to ask in prayer for the mind of Christ to be in you. Phone ringing? children yelling? ministry stressful? marriage tough? work difficult? big decisions? Say these words, "Jesus, take me away". Crawl up into His arms and lose your mind in His love.