The New Year: Looking Back and Looking Forward

  It is unbelievable how 2010 has flown by! It seems like the older you get the faster the years go by. So as we finish up 2010 and move on to 2011, there are two things I think we need to consider. First of all, has this past year been a time of spiritual growth in our lives? Have we grown in our relationship with Christ? If we have not, it is a good indication that there are some problems in our spiritual lives that need to be dealt with. If this is the case, the first step to getting back on track is to examine ourselves to see if there is some sin in our life that could be hindering our relationship with God. In Psalm 66:18, the Bible says,"If I regard (withhold or cherish) iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." We need to repent of any sin that we have been withholding from God and start seeking to draw close to Him by reading His Word and praying.
Secondly, we all need to dedicate this new year to the Lord. I think an ideal model prayer of dedication would be as follows:
"Lord, thank you for this past year that you have given to me. Thnak you for your faithfulness to me even in the small things. I now want to dedicate this new year to you. I want to follow you and your will in it so please work in my heart and give me the grace to do so. I am also giving my struggles that I face to you. Please give me victory over them through your power. I pray that this new year would be a year where I would grow in my relationship with you. So please keep my heart close to you so I may do this by your grace. In Jesus name, Amen."
If this prayer is prayed out of sincerity, the Lord will answer it for 1 John 5:14 says,"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing acoording to His will, He hears us." May the Lord bless you in this new year as you seek to draw closer to God in it.

The True Christmas Spirit

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..."- Philippians 2:5

During Christmas time we hear allot about the ''Christmas spirit.'' What truly is the "Christmas spirit'' though? The answer lies in Philippians chapter 2, verses 4-11. It says:
"Look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
This passage of God's Word tells us how Jesus was equal with God but was willing to give up His rights and privileges that He had being God's Son. He humbled and submitted Himself to God the Father and received a human body. Our Sovereign Lord became a servant. Ah, I think we have hit the true Christmas spirit. What is Christmas all about? It is about how Jesus did not just think of Himself, but submitted Himself to the Father's will and thought of us and our need to be saved.
So, do we have the true Christmas spirit? Are we seeking to be a servant and trying to think of others during this time? If Jesus, God's Son, did it, then why cannot we do the same? I pray that God will help me and you have this attitude that was in Christ Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas: Zacharias and Elisabeth

Christmas week is finally here!!! This year has certainly flown by in so many ways. As we remember the Christmas story, we come across so many people who had an important role in the true story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. One couple that I think of is Zacharias and Elisabeth who are talked about in Luke 1:5-25, 57-80. These two were were an old couple who were looked down upon by many. Why? Well, because they had no children. In the days of Jesus, if a couple had no children they were considered inferior. In fact, most people thought that if someone was childless that there must have been some serious sin in their life for God to cause them to be without a child. However, none of these things were true about Zacharias and Elisabeth. Luke 1:6 says,"And they [Zacharias and Elisabeth] were both righteous before God..." Of coarse this does not mean they were perfect, but it means that they were faithful to God and when they did sin, they got it right with Him. God, for some mysterious reason that they did not understand had shut up Elisabeth's womb. They had prayed and prayed for a child, but God just din not seem to answer. Until one day when Zacharias, who was a priest, was offering incense in the temple, an angel suddenly appeared to him telling him that Elisabeth would have a baby. Zacharias at first did not believe and as a result, he could not speak until the baby boy was born.

There are so many lessons we can learn from this true account:
1. God can do anything. Zacharias and Elisabeth were way past child-barring years, but God performed a miracle and allowed them to have a baby boy. " For with God nothing shall be impossible." -Luke 1:37
2. God hears and answers prayer. We need to make sure we are not holding back sin in our lives from Him because when we do, God will not hear our prayers (Psalm. 66:18). If our requests are in accordance with His good will and purpose, He will answer them.
3. God highly values faith. Zacharias did not have it and as a result he couldn't speak for nine months. When God tells us something we need to believe it and claim it as true because it is. Hebrews 6:18 tells us that God cannot lie because it is so diametrically opposed to His nature.
4. We need to be careful about judging others. Zacharias and Elisabeth were wrongfully looked down upon and reproached by their countrymen. Many times we are so quick to judge someone's heart just because something bad happens to them or because thay may do certain things in a different way than we do. In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus warned about being judgemental about someone's heart motives. This does not mean that we should not be discerning or show the unsaved their need for Jesus, but it means that we should not take one-sided opinions (even if they are our own) and make quick judments about others and their heart-motives.
As we can see there are many things we can take out of this account of Zacharias and Elisabeth. You can probably think up of many more too! All of these prick my heart and I pray that God will help me and everyone put these principles into practice.

Inspiration from a Grandma

Just the other day my grandmother was talking with my brother Jesse. Although I was taking a mid-term exam in the next room at the time, I still overheard their conversation. She mentioned to Jesse how the sun was like God's love in so many ways. First of all, she told how the sun dispells gloom and makes you feel better. Jesse also mentioned how the sun can bring warmth to a cold day. As they taked about these things, they compared them to God's love. God's love can wipe away the depression or sadness in our lives; it makes us feel better (what a understatement, right?). Our Lord's love can also bring warmth and encouragement to the cold, tough day.
However, there is one very important way in which God's love is different from the sun. Matthew 24:35 says,"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." The sun will eventually be destroyed; however, God will never stop loving His children. Nothing can separate us from His love- no, not even the really dumb things that we consistently do (Rom. 8:35, 38-39). What a encouragement! He loves you and me no matter what.

Birthday!

Just recently, I celebrated my sixteenth birthday with my family and I thought I would post a few pics of the celebrations.

Making the traditional home-made cake

                                                                        My mom and I

 
                              Me with my grandma. These were taken on Sunday, the actual birth day.

                                                                      My dad and I

    
                                                                      Me with my mom

I really thank the Lord for the family He has given me. They are such a daily blessing to me as they continually encourage me to live for God and show their love in many ways. Sad to say, many times I take them for granted; however this is not the right attitude because we should enjoy the blessings God has given to us. I pray that God would help myself and all of us enjoy the times we have with our families however big or small they may be.

Discouraged?

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends." - Job 42:10

This is a very interesting and important passage from the God's Word, the Bible. I think we all know the story of Job and all the afflictions and problems he had. This verse tells how God took away Job's afflictions when Job prayed for his friends and interceded on their behalf.
Next time you go through a rough time and you just seem overwhelmed by everything that is facing you, remember that God greatly blesses and helps those who help others. When we get our mind off of ourselves and onto others, God just seems to work everything else out. It is something that I have to refocus my mind on everyday because my natural tendency is to think of me but God wants me to thinks of others. Let's respond to the call of God to start thinking of others first; because when we do, God will do great things.

He Cares

Have you ever thought something like this: "Does God really care about these circumstances in my life. I mean seriously, aren't these problems just too small for God." I have thought this before too. However God showed me that He does care about our cares and concerns no matter how small they may seem. How do we know this is true? Well, two verses tell us about this. The first is Philippians 4:6-7. It says:
  "Be careful [or anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
 You see, the apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that God does not want us to be worried about a thing. Therefore we need to take all our requests and burdens to Him.
The second verse that gives us assurance that God cares and wants to hear about our burdens is 1 Peter 5:7 which says,"Casting all your care upon him; for He cares for you."
So it is clear that God wants us to take our cares and concerns to Him. I think we all can improve on taking our burdens to God more often; so let's try to make our Heavenly Father our Heavenly Friend.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matt. 5:3

This passage of Scripture is such an important and key to going anywhere in life.  These words were spoken by Jesus and He was referring to the fact that in order to have eternal life one must first admit that he is a sinner. The phrase "poor in spirit" means humble of heart, I.e. not being too proud to admit your mistakes and short-comings. This is so key.  Why? Because without this "poor in spirit" attitude, one cannot recieve eternal life. You see, one must see that he is a sinner before he can accept the Savior.

These words in Matthew 5:3 are also applicable in many ways. Any counsellor will tell you that in order for one to overcome any sort of struggle or stronghold in his or her life, they must first recognize that they have a problem. Then and only then will be able to go onto the road of recovery. Because this principle is so key in every area in life, we all need to make sure that we are humble enough to be willing to admit our weaknesses and try better. Without this attitude, one will just go in circles all his life until God has to teach different and as it says in Hebrews 10:31,"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

All Your Needs

Recently, the basketball team I am on (the CCA Chargers) had to raise some money for new jerseys that we needed. We had three car washes and one entire spirit-night at Chick-fil-A in order to get enough money for the jerseys and shorts. I remember when at one of the car washes we were having allot of trouble getting people in to get their cars washed. It can be pretty discouraging when you're yelling at cars that are passing you by at fifty-miles per hour and holding a sign all to no result. I was thinking,"How in the world are we going to get these uniforms?'' Still, what kept running through my mind was the verse from Philippians 4:19. It says,"But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Well, a few months later, here are the uniforms:

My brother Jesse and I in the away side of the uniforms.

God will provide your needs too. You are His child; will not a loving, good father provide for his child's needs? Well, so will your loving and good Heavenly Father. God wants us to do what we can do, however. Just as we had to do car washes, many times we need to work for what we need and not just sit back and do nothing (although there are sometimes when that is all we can do). God will bless us when we do this. The Lord also wants us to do what we can to help others and not just be concerned about ourselves. Isaiah 58:8-11 talks about how when we reach out to others and try to provide for their needs, God will bless us and provide for us in times of need. God blesses those who bless others. So if you are in true need (not just want- there is a difference) then commit your need to God and try to help others. God will bless you for it.

A Great Blessing

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.
 The LORD is my portion saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD." - Lamentations 3:21-26

Hope Is Not Lost

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and He did hear my voice out of His temple, and my cry did enter into His ears. He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters; He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay [support]." - 2 Samuel 22:7, 17-19

Have you ever been in a place in your life where where you felt like all hope was lost? Well, you are not alone because I have felt that way too. There have been things in my life overwhelmed me to the point where I felt like there was no hope left. I knew that those things in my life were too great for me to handle and that made it seem even more hopeless. But I knew of One, the only One who could help me and deliver me. His name was Jesus. So I went to Him and poured out everything before Him, asking for His help and deliverance. You know what, in His mercy the Lord heard me and rescued me in that circumstance. He gave me hope and the promise of His strength.
My friend, just as the Lord was there for me, He is there for you. God does not view one person as more important or worthy than another. Romans 2:11 says, ''For there is no respect of persons with God." This means than God is not partial to one person over another. We cannot say,''Well, God helped them in their sorrow, but He would never do that for me.'' No. If we turn to Him in a true and humble heart that is willing to admit that we need help, He will always be there for us - for you. LET Him work on your behalf. Be submitted to Him and His will. He is your Rescuer and Redeemer. Cry out to Him, and He will hear you give you hope.

For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, hope is never lost.

Different Post Dates

Today, instead of having the usual Sunday Scriptures, I wanted to announce that the post dates will be changing to Monday's  and Thursday's due to my very busy schedule with school, basketball, and other responsibilities. If the Lord allows, I will be able to increase the number of post days once my schedule gets a little lighter. Thanks and God bless.

                                 Mike
                             Eph. 6:10

Others

      ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
      Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
      And your righteousness shall go before you;
      The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
       ⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
      You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’


   “ If you take away the yoke from your midst,
      The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
       ¹⁰ If you extend your soul to the hungry
      And satisfy the afflicted soul,
      Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
      And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
       ¹¹ The LORD will guide you continually,
      And satisfy your soul in drought,
      And strengthen your bones;
      You shall be like a watered garden,
      And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  - Isaiah 58:8-11

A Guest Author

I recently asked my dad, John Pereira if he would write a guest post for the blog. He accepted and here it is. My dad is the pastor of Central Florida Bible Church in Winter Park, Florida. You can listen to some of his sermons at Sermon Audio.com.

Dear Reader,

Are you going through difficult times today?  Is your faith in God being tested?  Are you ready to give up on serving the Lord? Does it appear that life’s trials don’t make sense.  Let’s read God’s promise in Philippians 1:6

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

In this passage of scripture the Apostle Paul encourages us to trust in the totality of His work in our lives.  Paul’s statement of confidence speaks volumes of his faith in what God was doing in His life. The word “being confident” is in the perfect tense which depicts action which began in the past with effects continuing into the present.  In other words, Paul is saying: “Lord everything that you have allowed in my life (trials, imprisonments, suffering, shipwreck, bad things, and good things) are all part of your process of making me more like you.  I can not only be confident, but I know that you will continue to work on me until your process of spiritual growth is completed.  Someday, at an event known as the “day of Christ Jesus” your process will be completed, and I will be conformed after the image of your own Son (Romans 8:29).”

So dear reader, don’t be discouraged.  God will bring you through your difficult times.  Trust in God’s purposes and plan for your life.  He will never let you down.

He Makes No Mistakes

My Father's way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I'm glad to know,
He makes no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But I'll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.

Tho' night be dark, and it may seem
That day will never break,
I'll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He makes no mistake.

There's so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight's far too dim;
But come what may, I'll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He'll make,
Through all the way, tho' dark to me
He made not one mistake.

                                                          By A.M. Overton

Sunday Scriptures

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 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 8:28-29

I truly think that this is one of the most claimed promises in all the Bible. It promises that no matter what happens to those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, it will all work out for good. The second part of that passage of Scripture explains that God allows hard times to come into our life so that we can become more like Christ. It is all for our good as Hebrews 12:10 says. Another result of suffering in our lives is that after we have gone though it we have compassion on those who are going through the pain we went through and we can be an instrument of God to help those people. God neveer allows suffering in our life that will not be turned around for good for us and other people. Just be faithful to God and keep close to Him in the midst of the trial. The good ahead of you will be far greater than pain of the here and now.

Brought Near: Part 2

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13

''For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,'Abba, Father.'" - Romans 8:15

Tuesday we saw how mankind is sinful and how that sin separates us from God. We also saw how Jesus Christ, God's Son, came to die for our sins and rise again so that all those who repent and put their faith in Him to save them from their sins can have fellowship with God and live with Him in heaven forever.
Today we are going to look some of the great blessings and opportunities that we have as God's children.
As those who have put their faith in Christ, we were totally separated from fellowship with God before we came to know Jesus as our personal Savior. We could not experience the many blessings that are now ours. Now, as Romans 8:15 says, we have been adopted into the family of God and God is now our heavenly Father. He is a good, loving, and kind Father who will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Just as any good father would, our heavenly Father does not take sin lightly and has to discipline us and get the things out of our lives that are not pleasing to Him, but He does it all for our good (Heb. 12: 9-10). Remember how in Romans 8:15 the word Abba is used. Well, that is the same Aramaic word that Jesus used when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to God the Father. The word Abba has basically the same meaning as the English word daddy. It speaks of a especially close and intimate relationship with a father. God is now our "Abba," Father. He is always here for us. When we have turned away from Him and gotten into sin, He is always there to pick us back up and dust us off if we are truly repentant. He is always there for us in the storms and trials of life to help us and carry us through. When we face temptation of any sort, He is the One who stands by our side to give us strength and help us not to give in.
So remember next time you are struggling or you feel like nobody cares that you have been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus Christ and you have a heavenly Father who is just waiting for you to come and find your help in Him.

Brought Near: Part 1

"But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13

I have been reading lately in the book of Exodus where God and Israel made the covenant at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19-24). It was very interesting how that it is mentioned that when God was speaking to the Children of Israel the people were extremely afraid and they stood far away because of the great power and majesty of God that was showed in the lightening, the thunder, the mountain smoking, and the thick cloud surrounding the mountain. In fact the people could not even touch the mountain on which God's presence was resting. Why? Because of God's great holiness. We are sinful, but God is perfectly holy. As a result, we cannot have fellowship with God. It is because of our sinfulness that we need a Savior. Our sin condemns us to eternal punishment because God is a just and holy God who has to punish all sin even the sins that we have done that we consider insignificant. Romans 6:23 says,"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Our sin separates us from God and sentences us to an eternity in hell. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved..." -Ephesians 2:4-5. God loved us wanted to have fellowship restored between mankind and Himself and He did not want us to have to spend eternity in hell. So He made a way that we could be forgiven of our sins and be brought near to Him. God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth to pay the punishment for our sins. Jesus' blood was shed as He died on the cross for us and three days later He rose from the dead. He was our substitute. On that cross He took our punishment for our sins. Because He is God, Jesus never sinned, yet He paid the price for your sins because He loved you, yes, even you. The Bible says in Romans chapter six and verse nine,"...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord [confess that He is the Son of God and as God's Son, He is equal with God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Just pray to Jesus and tell Him that you are sorry for your sins and that you believe that He is God and that He died and rose again to save you from your sins. Ask Him to be your Savior and if you do, you are guaranteed to live with Him in heaven forever (Rom. 10:11). For all of us who have done this, we are now God's children and we have been brought near to this great and wonderful God.
This Thursday, if the Lord permits, we will look at the part the great blessings of being made near to God and how to appropriate this grace that has been given to us. So come back then, and I know you will receive a blessing.

Sunday Scriptures

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holiness and godliness...?" - 2 Peter 3:10-11

This passage is talking about the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation period. When Chirst comes to establish His kingdom here on earth, He will literally cause the atoms that make up all things here on earth to be dissolved and burned with fire. Peter's main goal in telling this is to show the readers of this passage that because all the things of this earth will be gone and destroyed someday, should not we be living for something, or should I say Someone, that will last? It has especially been put before my eyes lately that it is useless to live for the things of this earth because when you die, you will not be taking any of it with you. It is all temorary; it will only last for a little bit and then it will all be gone forever. So what will last? A life that is lived for Christ - a life that is dedicated to following Him. All those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior will stand before the Lord to give an account of the life they have lived, and all that will matter then is whether or not you have lived your life for Jesus. Once that time comes there will be no going back to live a life that is pleasing to Christ. We will have to live with the choices we made. This motivaes my own heart to make sure I am making the most of this life and living it solely for God. I pray it does the same for you too.

The Cards You've Been Dealt

Here is another thought-provoking video that speaks to my heart, and I hope it will speak to you as well.

                               
  

"...For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." - Philippians 4:11

Getting Back Up....Again

Has there ever been a time in your life that you messed again and you feel like you have too far, to the point where God can not forgive you any more and there is no turning back? I think everyone who has trusted in Christ as their Savior has felt that way at one time or another. But it is comforting to know that no matter what we do, no matter how many times we stumble God's love and forgiveness is still there. 1 John 1:9 says,''If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." True repentance is a acknowledgement of our fault and if we are truly sorry there will be a seeking to turn from the sin in our life. If you have that attitude, and you ask God to forgive us, it is guaranteed that the Lord has forgiven you. You can have a new beginning. God is with you to help you do better. He is the One who holds you up and gives you the strength to live this life. There are going to be times where you will fall...again, but God is here to pick you up if you are sorry for your sins. God gives us His grace that holds us up. Believe me, you can never sin so terribly or mess up so many times that God's forgiveness and grace can not reach you. So get back up again and keep going in the power of the Lord. He will never let you down.

Sunday Scriptues

We are going to take a look at Psalm 57:7 this Sunday. Though just one verse, it provides great insight into the constant battle in the Christians life between faith and feelings.

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." - Psalm 57:7

So what is this verse trying to say. Well, just as in any passage from God's Word, you have to look at the context. The author of this Psalm was telling God about how his life was in danger and even though this was the case, He would choose to trust God. Did you notice the word choice. I said choose. That is what Psalm 57:7 is talking about. Just as David did, we need to choose to fix our heart to not listen to lies that Satan tries to get us to listen to but rather to trust God. One thing that helps us to do this and strengthens our faith is when we praise and even sing to the Lord about how He is faithful and true. I struggle in this area alot and I wish I could say I am always victorious. But a true victorious life is when we get back up and keep trying in the power of God. So do not listen to your feelings. Choose to trust God.

God's Chisel

Here is a great skit called "God's Chisel" that speaks to me every time I watch it. Before you play the video ask God to speak to your heart and believe me- He will.

Everyone Who Names the Name of Christ...

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity"-2 Timothy 2:19

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Wow! These verses are really eye opening aren't they? As Christians it is so easy to get caught up in the things of this world and we totally forget that our citizenship is in heaven. If we have turned to Jesus Christ to save us from our sins then we no longer belong to this world or it's ways. We have been born again (John 3:3-8) into God's family and we are called to a new life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:1-14)
So this poses a serious question: Are you walking in your new life? Are you seeking to serve God, Live for Him, and depart from iniquity? Christ shed His blood on that cross so that we could be forgiven and live a new life that is dedicated to following after God. Read what Romans 6:4-5 says,"Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.''
This is serious. It is not something that you can just read and then forget about it five minutes later. God has explicitly said ''Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity" - 2 Tim. 2:19. It is time that we turn from seeking our ways and the things of this world that go against the what God wants for us. The things of this world are fleeting. We as true believers in Christ will stand before God at the Judgement seat of Christ to give account for the things we have done in this life. So will we be able to say," Lord, I gave You the number one spot in my life; I followed You not the fleeting things of the world I lived in." As I evaluate my own heart, evaluate your own also. Again this is not an option. God did not say,"Well, if you want to live for me than go ahead, but you don't have to." No way! He has commanded us to turn from sin in our lives and whatever we have put before Him and to seek Him wholly. It is a daily choice that we have to make. When we get up in the morning, we need to in our hearts choose to follow God and put Him first in our life that day. Ask God to help you because there is no way we can do any of this the way we should in our own power. When you humble yourself and ask Him for help, He will come to your aid.

''Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." - Romans 6:13-14

If you have never asked Jesus to be your personal Savior from your sins, just see the page to your upper-left entitled "The Most Important Decision of Your Life" where you will learn how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Sunday Scriptures

This weeks passage of Scripture is James 4:7-10.

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.'' - James 4:7-10

All of us need to check our hearts and ask ourselves if we are seeking to draw closer to God and to go deeper into a close relationship with Him. If we are not then we probably have some sin in our life that we need to be mournful and repentant over. Sin cuts off the intimate fellowship we should have with God. We need to guard our hearts from the sin that would do that. A intimate relationship with the Lord brings true and lasting joy and peace that lasts even throught the tough times. So draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

By the way, make sure you check back on Tuesday for a very important post.

Reaping

"And let us not be weary in well in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." - Galatians 6:9

This is one passage of Scripture that sometimes is hard to believe. However no matter what we feel God's Word is still true (1 Samuel 15:29). Without going into too much detail, here is an illustration in my own life that proves that what this passage is saying is true.

A while ago I was pretty discouraged about a ministry God had given me. It just seemed to be going nowhere. I did not really know whether I should let go of that ministry or not so I prayed about it and got some counsel from others. For a while I did not feel like God wanted me to continue, but the Lord showed me later that I should keep going and serving in that ministry. So I did. Still there seemed to be not too many results, but I knew I should perform the task God had given as unto the Lord and not unto men. I also thought,"Who knows, maybe the Lord is causing that ministry to reaching people I don't even know."

So a while later, I found out that God was using that ministry to help people that I did not know! It was unbelievable to see God working and using what I was doing. I have seen that ministry blessed more and more as time goes on.

Then it came to me that maybe the Lord was trying to use this experience to teach me something. It hit me like a ton of bricks: the Lord blesses faithfulness to Him even when things look bleak. Our Heavenly Father is very well-pleased when we choose to obey Him and follow Him even when it seems like following what God would have for us would not be what is best for us. But remember what Isaiah 55:8-9 says. God's ways are not always our ways and His thoughts are not always our thoughts - but they are certainly better than ours. If we remain faithful to God eventually we will see the fruit of our perseverance. Sometimes we will not even see those fruits in this life, but we will see them when we get to heaven. God rewards those who trust Him and choose to follow Him no matter what.

Decisions, Decisions

"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." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever been faced with a decision and you just were not sure what to do? I sure have! Here is a acrostic that will help you alot.

Determine the options that are before you.
Inquire of the Lord.
Search God's Word to see what it has to say about your type of situation.
Consider godly counsel.
Eliminate worldly thinking that goes against what God's Word teaches.
Recognize God's leading.
Never compromise the truth.

OK. We have this acrostic that can help us make Godly decisions, but all this is not going to help you unless you have a submitted heart. Are you willing to do what God would have you to do even if it goes against would you would like? "... God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." - James 4:6. It really is pride and selfishness when we hang on to our will and do not yield to what God would have. God's way is perfect and best. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" When we follow these steps with a willing heart, we will feel an assurance of what is God's will. Just as it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, we should not rely on what we think is right, but we should acknowledge God and seek what He would have. Trust Him that He will show you what to do because He will! Just follow what He would have you do.

Sunday Scriptures

Here is a verse that promises God's strength in our weakness and His comfort in our distress.

Isaiah 25:4 "For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall."

Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..."

Have you ever had something in your life that you battled with, some sin that you just could not seem to get the victory over . If you say you haven't, you should probably check your pulse because I think every person, except the Lord Jesus Christ, has battled with something huge- a stronghold in their life. The reason why we don't have the victory over our own personal struggles with sin is because we tap into the wrong power source. We try to do the battling in our own power, our own strength, but that just will not work. In Romans 7:13-25 we see what we can have victory over when we battle in our own power- nothing. The only way we can resist temptation is when we rely on the power of God and when we gird ourselves in the armour of God (Eph. 6:10 -18). Take a good look at Ephesians 6:10-18. Look at what we are supposed to stand strong in- the truth of God's word, guarding ourselves by standing firm in righteousness, preparation to give the gospel, faith (which is the most important according to v.16), living in the new and righteous life we are called to, using God's word against temptation, and a solid prayer life. Draw close to God and rely on His power to resist the struggles that you face whatever they may be. There will still be times that you may fall flat on your face, but don't be discouraged. True victory is when you get back up and keep fighting in the power of God. Proverbs 24:16 says,"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again..."

God wants to use the struggles that we face to bring us into a deeper relationship with Him, but we must come to Him to experience that relationship. You can have the victory in your life- just trust God to help you. 

It's a Relationship

Have you ever felt that your personal devotions time was becoming dry? Does it just seem like it's become a routine instead of the special time with God that it used to be? I know what this is like because I've had it happen to me too. One of the main problems with these situations is that Satan can really use them to get you off the spiritual coarse you should be.
 If you find yourself in this situation, you need to find what went wrong and go the other direction. Ask the Lord to show you what went wrong. Many times it can be because sin is in our life and we need to get it right with God. Other times, it can be because we have let our private times with God become a routine. If this is the case, we need to focus on the fact that when we read our Bible and pray, that is our personal relationship time with God. We speak with God and He speaks with us through His Word, the Bible. God comes to have fellowship with you. Those special times with God are so wonderful and precious. They bring us peace and they draw our hearts closer to God. When we do not have any sin in our hearts that hinders our relationship with God, and we have not let it become routine, our private times with the Lord are so wonderful. It's a relationship- not a routine.

Sunday Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11-14

This is one of my most favorite verses in the entire Bible. It is a promise that can keep those who have trusted in Christ going even through the times when things just seem to be falling apart.

"'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,' says the LORD,' thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you' says the LORD..." -Jeremiah 29:11-14

Even when you may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, just remember, if you stick with God and don't turn away, you will see God turn it all out for good. He does have a good future planned for you filled with hope and peace. Just keep seeking Him.

Come Thou Fount

                         Here's a little part of the great hymn "Come Thou Fount.''

"Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander , Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love..."

The author of this hymn knew how his sin nature always tried to draw his heart away from the Lord. The same is true with us. WE ALL are prone to wander from the Lord. Satan is always trying to draw the heart of those who believe in Christ away from the Lord. We need to have check and guard our hearts against drifting from a close relationship from God. I encourage you, evaluate yourself and ask the Lord to help you stay close to Him.

Lesson from a TV Show

Not to long ago I was watching an old television show. I came in at the middle of it, but I caught enough to get the story line. There was a father who was upset with his son because he thought the boy was telling a lie that he just would not admit to. The boy was actually telling the truth, but his story seemed so far-fetched that his father just did not believe him. Finally, after having a talk with his son and looking into his honest and truthful eyes, the father began to believe his son's story not because it seemed rational or realistic, but because he knew the character of his son. In the end he found out his son was right all along and that he was telling the truth.

After watching this, it suddenly struck me that sometimes we are like that father and the Lord is like that son. The Lord gives us a promise that is true and sure, but maybe due to circumstances or feelings, we just do not see how what the Lord has said could be true and we doubt Him. However it is at these times when God's promises seem unrealistic and impossible that we need to fix our eyes on who we know our God to be. The Bible says over and over that God is faithful to His word. 1 Samuel 15:29; Romans 4:20-21; Lamentations 3:22-23,25; Psalm 36:5; Psalm 37:5 - all these are just a few passages from Scripture that confirm God's faithfulness.

So be like that father who looked past what seemed believable and looked to the character of his son. Our God is a merciful and faithful God. When we choose to trust in Him we will find, just as the father did with his son, that the Lord was speaking truth all along.

Sunday Scriptures

Have you ever wondered if you are secure in your salvation. You may think,"I know I trusted in Jesus to be my Savior, but can I lose my salvation?" The answer is NO. Here are just a couple verses proving this.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

John 10:28-29: "And I give them eternal life life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

John 4:24 : "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life."

If you have realized that you are a sinner in need of a savior and have asked Jesus, the Son of God, to be that savior, then you have eternal life. Don't let Satan lie to you, telling you that you are not saved. Choose to believe God. If you haven't accepted Jesus as your personal savior but you would like to, just see the page The Most Important Decision of Your Life just to your right and you will learn how to be saved.

The Bible

The Bible-it's God's perfect inherent word. Psalm18:30 says,"...The word of the LORD is proven..." That word proven means refined or pure. When the Bible speaks on a matter it is always true. How do we know that the Bible is from God? Well, there are two verses that clearly answer this. The first one is 2 Peter 1:20-21 which says"...that no prophesy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (Italics mine). The Holy Spirit superintended over what the authors wrote, leading them into exactly what to write, even to the exact wording using their vocabulary and personalities. Therefore the Scriptures in their original copies were directly inspired or "God breathed." Another passage that talks about how the Bible is from God is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which says,"All Scripture is give by inspiration [lit. "God-breathed"] 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." The Bible is from the One true God, the God of the Bible. Another proof is all the fulfilled prophesies throughout Scripture. Only God could have given those precise and accurate predictions.

We see that the Bible is the word of God, but what are we doing about it? Are we letting it permeate and influence the way we think and the way we live our lives? Romans 12:2 says,"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." How do we transform our minds so that we can live the way God would have us to? Well, we just read it. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says that all Scripture" is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished for every good work." Jesus in John 17:17 said,"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." ''Sanctification means to be set apart for a special purpose or use. Jesus was originally praying this for His disciples, but it is just the same for us. So I ask you, are you in God's word (the Bible) the way you should be? Are you making a special effort to spend time with your Savior Jesus Christ? We will grow spiritually no other way. God wants to set you apart for His great and beautiful purposes. He wants you to grow in your faith. So make a special effort to have a private time with God where you pray and read His word. It is the best thing for you.

The Bad Fruit

Just a few days ago I was rummaging through a bag of grapes to see if I could find some that were still fresh. I grabbed the main cluster of grapes and started pulling off the ones that were mushy and bad. It suddenly occurred to me that just as I was removing the sour grapes that made the cluster bad, so our Lord day by day, month by month, year by year purges from our lives the things that do not please Him. This process is called sanctification - the life-long process in which God makes us more like His Son, Jesus Christ. However, if we are constantly fighting God and stopping our ears whenever He convicts us of something in our lives, then we will only make the process harder on ourselves. God will have to break our will until we are on our knees in submission to Him. True joy and satisfaction comes from a life that is submitted to God. Just look at the differences between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit shown in Galatians 5:19-25 and you will see that life to the fullest comes from obedience to God. Look at what Hebrews 12:5-11 says:

"And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:'My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.' If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening of which all have become partakers, then you are illigitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it"

So keep being submitted to God. He always works in you what is best.

Sunday Scriptures

"...Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today...The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." - Exodus 14:13, 14

All those things that you face that only God can do something about, just give them to God and trust Him with it. He will fight for you and work His perfect will in your life. The Lord is here to help you in every area of your life.

He Restores My Soul

"The LORD...makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul." -Psalm 23:1-3

Have your ever felt like you just couldn't take anymore and that you just had to have some rest from your burdening responsibilities or the trials you face? Well take courage. The Lord is your shepherd and He knows how when His sheep need rest. I have seen it in my own life and in others. God gives us special times of restoration in which we are able to rest and regain our strength. If you are going through a trial or a hardship and you just feel like you are at your wits end, just remember, God will give you grace and strength to endure until He leads you into His time of rest for you. Just make sure you wait on the Lord for His time of rest for you; do not run ahead of Him. His timing is perfect.

His Unconditional Love

Have you ever batteled with feelings that tell you that God has stopped loving you, that you are not secure in His love? I imagine we would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't struggled with this. However, the truth is that God love us NO MATTER WHAT.

Here's an example that illustrates this: I remember one time when I messed up big time. I went to my dad and mom about it and they were disappointed but they forgave me! Their love didn't end just because I messed up. No, but their love was not dependent on what I did; they loved me because I was their son.

It is the exact same way with our Heavenly Father. We sin and slip up all the time. Why does God not stop loving us? Because "...He made us accepted in the Beloved."(Eph. 1:6) Our Father's love for us is not dependent on what we have done. He loves us UNCONDITIONALLY because we are accepted on the basis of what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did for us. If we have repented from our sins and trusted in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, then we have God's unfailing, unconditional love. Jesus was our substitute when He died and shed His blood for us and through His ressurection God has applied Jesus' righteousness to us. In Christ, God views us as righteous; that doesn't mean we are perfect but positionally we are considered righteous in Christ. That is the reason we are loved unconditionally by God; because of what Christ did for us. We are "... accepted in the Beloved. Here is Romans 8: 35,37-39. It sums everything up.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall triblation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Rom. 8:35, 37-39.

Here are some more comforing words from Jesus from John 10:28-30: And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

He will always love you and hold you in His all-powerful hand - no matter what.

Sunday Scriptures

I love these passages from the Bible because they are so true. They are Isaiah 25:4 and Isaiah 26:3-4.

Isaiah 25:4- "For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

26:4 - "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Bad Turned into Good

"And we know that alll things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 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 8:28-29

Have you ever worked really hard on something only to later on lose all the work that work that you did? Well, that happened with me not to long ago in my school work. I was assigned a paragragh to write by English teacher. So, I "brainstormed" as they call it, and wrote down all my ideas about what to write. After that, I meticulously wrote the paragragh and then edited it. I was really happy with what I had done. I showed it to my mom to see what she thought and then I stuck it in my grammar book. Later on, I was doing some other homework in my grammar book and when I was done, I accidentaly threw the paragragh that I had worked so hard on away. The next day I realized what i did and I was mortified. I couldn't believe it! Then it came to me that maybe there was something God wanted to teach me through this. I asked Him and then I realized that I needed to be more careful with all my work. I have the tendency in school to rush through things and not take notice of the things I need to. If I'm going to do good in school, I needed to learn to slow down and be careful with my work.

You know, God uses things that give us pain in life to teach us something that we could learn no other way. These lessons are invaluable. We all at one time have asked God,"Why" at one time or another. I know I have! We ask this question while were going through a time of pain , but what we don't realize is that God sees the end of the road. He is using that pain to teach us something much greater than the pain itself. I've seen it in others lives as well as my own. Yes, it's ok to feel the pain of a trial,but just remember that God is still good and will lovingly cause everything to work together for good for you. God is love, no matter what we feel and He is gradually molding us into His image. Stick with Him; you won't regret it.

Faith

" The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation!" - 2 Samuel 22:47

Here's a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier. It is so true and applicable to all of our lives.

Faith

John Greenleaf Whittier

Nothing before, nothing behind;

The steps of faith

Fall on the seeming void, and find

The rock beneath.

There will be times in all of our lives where we have to take a step out in faith. We don't see how God's going to come through and it seems like if we did take that step of faith we'd be steeping right off into air. However, no matter what we feel, God's promises are true. "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man that He should relent." - 1 Samuel 15:29. God is not going to go back on His word. He promises that when we commit our way to Him and trust Him, He will handle everything (Psalms 37:5). The Lord Jesus promised He would never leave us or forsake us (Mattt. 28:20, Heb. 13:5-6). We don't have to worry. The Lord is our Rock, our firm foundation. When we take that step of faith we will find the Rock underneath.

Sunday Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 2:14

I love this passage from 2 Corinthians. It reminds that in Christ we are more than conquerors.



"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." - 2 Cor. 2:14



So next time you feel like your back's against the wall and you're going down for the last time, remember Who is on your side and Who is holding you up.



"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors though Him who loved us." - Rom. 8:37

Nighttime Reruns

Have you ever laid down to sleep at night and all of a sudden, all sorts of anxious and racing thoughts about the cares and concerns of the future come shooting through your mind? Well, they sure have mine! One thing that I've found that helps is when you pillow your head at night to instead of thinking about all the worries of life, to review the entire day in your mind looking for the many different ways that the Lord has helped you throughout the day. You will be so surprised as to how much God helped you and how He carried and supported you throughout the day.

This habit of reviewing the great things that God has done in that day will help you in so many ways. It has made me more aware of how the Lord helps me throughout the day even though I don't realize it that much. You will see God as your personal Helper and Strength.

All of us need to start having our eyes opened not only at night but all the time to the great things God does for us every day because He does do so much. I'm not perfect in this by any means. This is something that I, by the grace of God have to work on too. However when we do put this into practice we will find ourselves having more joy because we see that we have such a friend in Jesus.

Give Thanks?

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."- I Thessalonians 5:16-18



Just a few days ago, I was felling pretty down about some circumstances in my life. My family has a practice where each of us have a journal where at night we write in that journal about some way that God has showed Himself faithful to us that day. Well, the night I was feeling pretty down I wrote in that journal about the ways the Lord had helped me that day. As I wrote, the Lord just seemed to put it right in front of my face how that I had many things to be thankful for and I needed to focus on those things not my circumstances.



Many times in life we get so discouraged about so many different things. However, we all seem to forget that God commands us to give thanks in everything not just when we feel like it (1 Thess. 5:16-18). You may think,"But I can't find anything to thank the Lord for." Well, are you saved? That's one major thing to thank the Lord for. He saved your soul from eternal hell separated from Him because of your sin. But God in His great mercy, when you repented( acknowledged was sorry for your sin ) and trusted in Jesus Christ, saved you from hell. If you look around and ask the Lord to open your eyes, you will see the many blessings God has given you. So don't get too down, just thank our good God in heaven for what He has done. Thankfulness is a choice not a feeling. We may not feel like being thankful but we are commanded to do it by God because it is one of the keys to having peace (Phil. 4:6-7). I'm telling this to myself as much as anyone else. Almost evrything I write about is something that God has spoke to me about and that I need to work on too. We all are human and have our weaknesses, but the Lord Jesus is with us holding us up and giving us strength to live this Christian life (Ps. 37:23-24, Heb. 13:20-21).

Sunday Scriptures

Here's a great passage form the Bible that shows how God is a loving Father Who, after He corrects, will comfort and restore.

"For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." - Lamentations 3:31-33

No Other Gods

There once was a father who had three children whom he loved very much. The children loved their father very much also and whenever he came home from work, the kids would run to him and yell," Hi Dad!" as their father lifted them into his strong arms and gave them a kiss. One day, in expression of his deep love for his children, the father bought them a big screen TV. The children thanked him and were extremely excited.

However pretty soon, when the father came home and in expectation yelled,"Hey, kids, I'm home!" This time there was no sound of little feet running to him or the sound of little voices greeting him. The father walked further into the house and saw his children sitting in front of the new big-screen TV. With their eyes still riveted on the television, they nonchalantly waved and mumbled a "Hi Dad."

The father walked in front of the TV and said to the children,"Kids, I bought this TV for you. It was an expression of my love for you and I do not appreciate you giving your love to this television instead of me."



Do those kids remind you of anyone? We can be like them so much can't we? In his great love for us, God gives us things that are good in and of themselves like talents, friends, ect. But we turn around and give those things preeminence to the great One who in His love gave us those things in the first place. We sacrifice the wonderful, strong love of our heavenly Father for the temporary things of this earth that will never satisfy us. The Lord is the one who will give us the grace and peace to make it through all of life's trials. Nothing compares to Him and His fellowship. If we give our whole hearts to seeking after things on this earth and put them before the Lord we have commited a terrible sin (the first of the Ten Commandments to be exact: Exodus 20:3.) Dueteronomy 6:4-5 says,"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." The first step to doing this is to put the Lord first in everything in your life. We will never know the fullness of His fellowship if we do this.

We will not be sorry when we put the Lord first. He and His everlasting love and grace will always satisfy us. He will endure forever not the things of this world. Let's put Him first.