The Difference

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11

SUPPOSE PAUL were alive TODAY and visited our  churches, went to a few basketball games, watched TV in the homes of the people he met at church, visited the shopping mall, and interacted with the crowd at the local bar. Would he see any difference in the people he met on the patio of the church and the ones at the games, the mall or the bar?
     The people to whom Paul wrote his 13 letters were st one time no different from the ones who hung out at the public games, the drinking establishments, and the brothels of the first century. The brothels in ancient Ephesus was the largest and most palatial in the city. The Temple of Aphrodite in ancient Corinth was filled with a thousand prostitutes, operating as priestesses under the veil of religion.
      To the church in Corinth Paul wrote, " Do not deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will Inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were." Then he adds, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Their lives had been changed, and what they were prior to their encounter with Jesus Christ was vastly different from the individuals they had become. How about you? Are you allowing Jesus to change you?
     This is why He came to make a difference in your life so that you are clearly seen as set apart from the world. God's children should always reflect the image of their heaven!y Father.

The Book of Kells

The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our God stand forever.
ISAIAH 40:8

IT HAS BEEN CALLED the most beautiful book ever written Its name: The book of Kells. Kells was village in the Monastery of kells painstakingly copied the pages of the first four books of the New Testament. They decorated the pages with the most exquisite calligraphy and pictures rivaling those in the finest museums. This was done by no using local dyes, between the seventh to ninth centuries.
    Eventually this magnificent work made its way to the Trinity college Library in Dublin, Ireland, where I had the privi!ege to view it. The colors have been remarkably well preserved, and how these gifted men ever something so intricate and beautiful is part of the mystery that surrounds it today.
    The remarkably thing to me is that the message found in others Book of Kells is just as refreshing and important today as it was when the monks first painted the book's pages. The same message you find in Latin HSS been translated into literally thousands of languages and has been spread around the world. It's marvelous story of God's love in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who set aside His royal robes and became fully human, giving His life so that those of us who had wandered far from God could come back home.
     If you have never read the New Testament, start with the Gospel of John, then go back to Matthew, then read Mark and Luke. But get to know the story! The Bible is God's love letter to a world that has lost its way and needs to come home.

IMMANUEL

"The virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us,"
Matthew 1:23

Since that first Christmas day 2,000 years ago, the assurance that God is with His people has taken on new meaning. Before Jesus was born, the Israelites were assured that even in judgment they could have hope because God was with them (Isaiah 8:8-10). Yet they didn't know God as fully as we can today.
    We have a great advantage because through reading the New Testament we can see the glory of God "in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Corinthians 4:6). And we can sense His presence in all situations of life because He is made real to us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:10-16).
    When I need to be reassured that God is with me, I think about Jesus as He is revealed in the New Testament. I recall how He took little children in His arms and blessed them (Matthew 19:13-15). Then I think of His crucifixion, which reminds me of all He endured to be my savior (27:27-54). Finally,  I reflect on His promise, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (28:20).
     The birth of Jesus gave new significance to the name Immanuel, which means "God with us" (1:23). Because He lived among us, died for us, and sent His Spirit to indwell us, we can rejoice!

Do Not Prove Disobedience

There, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

ACTS 26:19

God does everything for a reason. God met Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road for a purpose (Acts 9:1-9). Saul had planned to persecute Christians, but his encounter with Christ changed him forever. God did more in that encounter than save Saul from his sin. God began to reveal His will for Paul's life. God's assignment for Paul was clear: "He is a chosen vessel of mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him many things he must suffer for My name''s sake's (Acts 9:15-16).
     God's plan for Paul, revealed through a vision, involved both testifying before kings and suffering persecution. Paul was to enjoy the thrill of performing miracle, preaching to large crowds, and starting churches. But Paul ead also to be stoned, shipwrecked, whipped, mocked, conspired  against, and imprisoned (2Cor.11:23-28). Would we accept this part of his assignment as readily as the first? We never hear of Paul complaining about his commission from God. He never asked that he be given a role like Peter" s or James's or John's (Gal. 2:9-10). It was enough for Paul that he be given  any task in the kingdom if God. As he neared in the end of his ministry, Paul could boldly state to King Agrippa, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision."
    Oh to have Paul's tenacity and devotion to the Father's will! What joy there is not Binky to begin well in our Christian faith, but also to end faithfully! It us God's desired that each of us could day at the endbof our lives "I was not disobedient."

Where is your focus?

Then Peter turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following. . . Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"
John 21: 20-21

The first thing you do after God speaks to you is critical. Jesus was telling Peter what type of ministry he would have and what type of death he would suffer (vv.18-19). It was a sacred moment in Peter's life, as his Lord pulled back the curtain to his future. His was not to be an easy life but a life ordained and blessed by his Lord and Master.
    Rather than responding to what Jesus told him, Peter looked around at his fellow disciples. His glance fell upon John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. "But Lord, what about this man?" Peter asked. Peter had just been given the somber news of his future death. How natural to compare his assignment with that of the others! This is the great temptation of God's servants to compare our situation with that of others. Did God give my friend a larger house? Did God heal my friend loved one and not mine? Did God allow my friend to receive appreciation and praise for his work while I remain anonymous? Did God allow another Christian to remain close to her family while I am removed from mine?
      Jesus assigned Peter and John to walk two different paths, but both Peter and John have enriched our lived. Jesus knew how dangerous it is when a servant. Where is your focus? Have you become more concerned with how God is treating someone else than you are with,f how He us relating to you?

BARIER--FREE LOVE

O Jerusalem. . . ! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as s hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
Matthew 23:37

Not long ago I heard the  distresses chirping of a bird coming from the side of my neighbor's house. I discovered that a nest of baby birds was inside a vent covered by screen, placing a barrier between the mother bird who trying to feed her hungry chicks. After I told the neighbors, they removed the screen and took the nest and chicks to a safe place to be cared for.
      Few things are as heartbreaking as a barrier to christ, the long awaited Messiah of Israel, experienced a barrier to love when His chosen people rejected Him. He used the word picture if hen and her baby chicks to describe their unwillingness to receive it: " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. . . ! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! " (Matt.23:37).
      Our sin is a barrier that separates us from God (Iss. 59:2). But, "God do loved the world that He gave this only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus took care of the barrier to God's love by His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection (Rom. 5:8-17, 8:11). Now He longs for us to experience His love and accept this gift.

GUARD OVER MY MOUTH

"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord keep watch over the door of my lips."
Psalm 141:3

It happens so often. You're itching to say something, but before you double-check yours words against the Holy Spirit, you let the sentence slip You drop a precisely timed phrase that manipulates. Toss a few flirting words the entice. Aim a verbal barb that stings. Send a signals that you dare not be crossed.
       Whatever the message, you've hit the target with your words.
Someone's reputation has been slandered. heart has become divided. Feelings have been crushed. A testimony is compromised. spirit is badly bruised.
       Someone once prayed, "Before I move, before I speak, perfect wisdom I will seek." That's good advice for the Christian who ignores the Spirit's prompting  and proceeds to be slow to hear and swift to speak.
Matthew Henry builds on that prayer when he says, "Since my lips are the door to my words, let grace keep that door, that no word may go out which in any way dishonors God or hurts others."
       And in case you still think a few, subtle words can't do that much harm, let the following serve as a warning:
       "The tongue also is fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6).

 Proverb 13:3 is another reminder, "He who guards his lips 

 guard s his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."

  Your mind, will, and emotions are dangerously exposed to   ruin when you say things with an impure or hurtful motive    So before you speak, ask yourself, " Will what I say hurt or help? Will it gkorifg God? Would I be ashamed if others  heard?   Lord, before I move, before I speak, perfect wisdom I will seek.

THE ENTREPRENEURS OF TOMORROW

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
PROVERB 16:3

IN ALL PROBABILITY you've never heard Entiak Transportation, Ltd., a Kenyan company headed by Stonik Kopiah a young man determined to make it the hard way. Stonik was born in a Maasai Mara kraal (s term for small villages in South Africa in Southwest Kenya. There, the Maasai people eked out a sparse livelihood. They tended cattle on a desolate landscape with little water and lots of burning sand driven by winds from Sahara.
   The situation there is heart breaking. Children get two meal of mush a day with milk and when the milk supply runs low, it is mixed with blood extracted from a cow. When the youngsters run and play, they have to fight the flies that swarm around their faces.
         Is there not a cause? " the lad David once asked his brother who were too timid to face the Goliath of their day.
All generalization about the youth, however, are not valid.
There are scores of young people today who give up their summer vacations to build Habitat for Humanity houses.
There are many who choose to spend their time in remote areas doing relief work. But for those who take the road less traveled, there are throngs holding on to the "me" and "mine" mentality.
       The reality is that the Stoniks who leave behind a Maasai Mara settlement can one day be driving the sleek cars and running the corporate world. The fact that diligence and hard work produced its own reward is not lost on those with incentive and determination.
     Stonik HSS not succeeded financially. He has also become known for his honesty and integrity as well as his commitment to his family and the Christian community.

FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12 :1

After running 32 kilometers (20miles) of the Salomon kielder Marathon in Great Britain, a runner dropped out and rode a bus to a wooded area near the finish line. Then, he re-entered the race and claimed third prize. When official questioned him, he stated that he stopped running because he was tired.
   Many of us can relate to the exhaustion of a worn-out athlete as we run the race of the Christian faith. The book if Hebrews encourages us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (12:1) Running with endurance requires that we Lay aside the sin that stand in our way and aged the weights that hold us back. We may even have to press on through persecution (2 Tim 3:12).
   To prevent weariness and discouragement in our soul d (Heb 12:3). The Bible urges us to focus on Christ, when we pay more attention to Him that our struggles, we will notice Him running alongside us-- supporting us when we stumble (2 Cor.12-9) and encouraging us with His example (1Peter 2:21-24) keeping our eyes on "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb 12:2) will help us stay close to the source of our strength and remain faithful to finish

SEE THE LIGHT

For Thou art my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord illuminates my darkness
2 Samuel 22:29 NASB

Helen Keller may have lost her ability to see, hear, and speak at a very early age, but she did not lose her gift if inspiring others.
In her many books and through a world tour design ed to promote the education of others who shared her disabilities, Keller spoke e!oquently on the subject of darkness tgd kind that invades the hearts and minds of the sighted.

Truly I have looked into the very heart of darkness, and refused to yield to its paralyzing influence, but in spirit I am one of those who walk the morning. What if all dark, discouraging moods of the human mind come across my way as thick as the dry leaves of autumn? Other feet
have traveled that road before me, and I know the desert leads to God as surely refreshing fields and fruitful orchards. I, too, have been profoundly humiliated, and brought to realize my littleness and the immensity of creation. The more I learn, the less I think I know, and the more I understand of my sense-experience, the more I perceive it's shortcoming and its inadequacy, as a basis of life. Sometimes the points of view of the optimist and the pessimist are placed before me so skillfully balanced that only by sheer force of spirit can I keep my hold upon a practical, livable philosophy of life. But I use my will, choose life and reject its opposite-- nothingness."

When the day ahead of you seems shadowed or darkness threatens to overcome you seems shadowed or darkness threatens to overcome you, choose life! Take Helen Keller words to heart and reject ,"nothingness" by turning to the Lord. He will bring light into your soul and joy into your heart.

Mercy: our source of Relief Part 2

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and s violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.
1 Timothy1:12-13

Look closely at those three descriptions of Paul's former life.
First, he says, "I was a blasphemer." The word means "insulter." "I insulted God's  people. I was angry at Christians. I accused them of crimes against God. I was a blasphemer."
Second, "I was a persecutor." He took every means open to him under Jewish law to hurt, to humiliate, even annihilate, Christians.
And then that terrible admission, 'I was a violent aggressor." The Greek word suggest a kind of "arrogant sadism." It describe a person who is out to inflict pain and injury for the sheer joy of inflicting it. "I loved to make them squirm. I love to watch them cry. I loved to see them removed from earth!"
We don't  usually think of Paul in these terms, but that's the way he describes himself before Christ. And lest you cluck your tongue at Paul or wag your finger and say, "Shame, shame," realize that the same nature is inside of you. It may not work its way out in these kinds if action, but it comes out in other ways. Most of us can remember acts of cruely we've committed. What is true of the apostle is true of us. God showed Him mercy, and He does the same for us (What a relief!)
   Can you imagine what Paul's conscience must have been like when the Lord found him on the way to Damascus? Can you imagine the guilt? Can you imagine what he felt when his life passed in review while he was blind, before he saw God's plan for his life? Can you imagine how he felt? The enormity of the pain of his past? And to hear God say, "I want to use you Saul, in My service"?
John Newton knew the same kind of anguish, which he revealed when he composed his own epitaph for his tombstone:
       
     John Newton Clerk,
      Once an Infidel and Libertine,
     a Servant of Slave in Africa,
      Was by Mercy of our Lord and
      Saviour Jesus Christ, Preserve,
      Restored, Pardoned, and appointed
      to Preach the faith he had so long
       laboured to destroy.
The wonderful thing about the writing of the apostle Paul is that he frequently returns to the sins of his past. He reminds me of what Great-heart says to Christian's children in Part II of Pilgrim's Progress: "You must know that Forgetful Green is the most dangerous place in all these parts."
Try hard not to forget what life was like before Christ and you will be a frequent visitor st the gate of mercy.

ETERNAL EYESIGHT

We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen
2 Corinthians 4:18

I received good news at my eye checkup last month my faraway vision has improved. Well, I thought it was good news until a friend informed me: "Faraway vision can improve as we age; close up vision may diminish."
    The report made me think of another kind of improved faraway vision that U have observed in some Christians. Those who have known the Lord for a long time or who have gone through great trials seem to have a better heavenly vision than the rest of us. Their eternal eyesight has gotten better and their close-up "earthly" vision is diminishing.
    Because the apostle Paul had that of eternal vision. he encouraged the church in Corinth "our light affliction. Which is but for a moment. Is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. . .  the things which are not seen are eternal"  (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
    For now we struggle with our "eyesight." There is a tension between  enjoying all that God. Is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodation s here." Seeing Him will bring perfect vision.

A Faithless Faith

They exchanged the truth of God for s lie, and worship and serve created thing rather than the Creator, who is forever praised.
ROMANS 1:25

A COUNSELOR at a church summer camp pointed out to Ford Vox, then 14, that the lyrics of many of the songs he listened to were filled with sexual innuendo and immoral messages. Vox was offended and said, "Why should the church tell me what to do?"
    Vox abandoned church and began to drift spiritually, intensifying his isolation loneliness. A back injury further heightened his sense of estrangement. He then began swapping e-mail message with others who felt as he did. That's when he decided to establish a "faithless faith"--a religious expression that asks for nothing, demands nothing, and gives the same.
    Universalism or faithless faith misses the whole point of the Bible--man could not find God so He sent His Son who revealed the Father, who showed us how to have eternal life and find the way back to heaven. It dismisses the central person of the entire Bible--God's only Son, Jesus Christ. It completely ignores what He did, what He taught, and for what He died.
   If you think that the Bible is unreliable and just another book, then close the cover. Try to find a way out of the human dilemma as Ford Vox HSS done. Yet when you lie dying, peering into the dark unknown with no light to guide you, it's a pretty dismal future.
    Embracing a faithless faith is more than dangerous; it I'd destined to be fatal, with no hope. It's a strange world that makes darkness attractive and light dangerous. But you don't have to embrace a faithless faith to do that; simply ignore the truth, trivialize it, or push it aside, and you have done the same thing. Hold on to the real thing. Hold on to the real Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

ON A WEEKDAY MORNING

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the  morning, for in you I put
my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for you I lift my soul.
Psalm143:8

Regular frequent prayer is an important part of the lives of people who desire a meaningful relationship with God. John Wesly, a devout Christian had a deep concern he regularly prayed two hour a day Here is one of John Wesley prayers, which you may want to include in your devotions.

O God, who are the giver of all good gifts, I your unworthy servant entirely desire to praise your name for all the expression s of your bounty toward me, Blessed be your love for giving your Son to die for our sins, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. Blessed be your love for all temporal benefits which you have with a liberal hand poured out upon me; for my health and strength, food and raiment, and all other necessaries. . . I also bless you, that after all my refusals of your grace, you still have patience with me, have preserved me this night, and given me yet another day to renew and perfect my repentance.

Make yourself always present to my mind, and let your love fill and rule my soul, in all those places, and companies, and employment to which you call me this day. O you who are good and do good, who extend your loving-kindness to all mankind, the work of your hands, your image, capable of knowing and loving you eternally; suffer me to exclude none, O Lord, from my charity, who are the object of your mercy, but let me treat all my neighbor with the tender love which is due to your servants and to your children. Let your love to me, O blessed Savior, be the pattern of my love to them.

Preserve my parents, my brothers and sisters, my friends and relations, and all mankind in their could and bodies. Forgive my enemies, and in your due time make them kindly effected toward me, O grant that we with those who are already dead in your faith and fear, may together partake of a joyful resurrection. "

JOY TO THE WORLD

Their Lord has made known His salvation, His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
Psalm 98:2
Going home alone from the church service to the bus stop I remembered reading a devotion the story of about the church service in Southampton England, 20-year-old Isaac watts told his father that the metrical psalms sung at their service lacked the dignity and beauty that should characterize hymns used in worship. His father encouraged him to try to create something better. So in the year 1694 Issac Watts began writing hymns, and eventually put the book of Psalms into rhyming meter for worship.
     Watts took the prophetic references to the coming Messiah in the Psalms and expressed them in their new testament fulfilment. His hymns proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. When Watts came to Psalm 98, he wrote:

     Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
          Let earth receive her king:
     Let every heart prepare Him room,
          And heaven and nature sing.
     Joy to the earth! The Savior reign!
          Let men their songs employ;
     While fields and floods, rocks, hills,
          and plains
     Repeat the sounding joy.
This hymn has viral become a favorite of the Christmas season. And playing at radio station. It call us to acknowledge Christ as Savior and King, and to open our hearts to His rule of love and grace.
The psalmist wrote, "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!" (98:1). Isaac Watts did just that in his proclamation that Christ has come, and we can rejoice in Him. So let there be light and there was light.

MERCY: OUR SOURCE OF RELIEF (Part1)

Read: And you were dead in  your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the list of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest
    But God, being rich in mercy, because (continue reading to verse 7).
Ephesians 2:1-7

The beautiful thing about mercy is that it is demonstrated to the offender as well as to the victim. When the offender realizes his or her wrong, God bring mercy. When the victim needs help to go on, God gives mercy.
Several years ago, my sister Luci asked me a question that I'd never been asked before: "What is your favorite feeling?" Ever thought about that? My answer to her was, ,"I believe my favorite feeling is the feeling of accomplishment." (Sounds like a driven person's answer, doesn't it?) I like the feeling of getting g something done. "Finished" is one of my favorite words.
When I asked her to answer the same question, she said, "My favorite feeling is re!ief."
I thought that was a great answer. In fact, better than mine! When I checked Webster' later, I found that the feeling of relief means "the removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing."
When we are in physical pain, re!ief means that the pain subsides.
When we are emotionally distraught, relief calms us, gives us a sense of satisfaction.
When guilt assaults us in transgression and we seek God's forgiveness, the guilt that ate like a cancer inside us goes away as God bring relief.
When a relationship is strained, perhaps with someone we were once close to, we do not not feel relief until we have worked through the painful process of making things right with that person.
When we are burdened by heavy financial debt, getting that paid off brings the sweet release of relief. We learned that the sovereign Most High God is ruler over our lives. So it's obvious that if we ever have the feeling of relief, God has given it to us. He's the author of relief. He is the one who grants us the peace, the satisfaction, the ease. In fact, I think relief is a wonderful synonym for mercy. Mercy is God's active compassion which He demonstrates to the miserable. When we are in a time of deep distress and God activates His compassion to bring about relief, we're experienced mercy.
Mercy, It isn't passive pity. It isn't simply understanding. It isn't mere sorrow. It is a divine action on our behalf through which He brings about a sense of relief. God, our compassionate and caring heavenly Father, is the author of relief. And when it comes to those mysterious, confusing times when doing His will results in the unexpected, there's nothing like mercy to make it bearable.
"But God," the apostle writes, "being rich in mercy." The connecting link between a holy God and a sinful person is God's love, which activstes His grace, which, in turn, sets in motion His mercy. They're like divine dominoes that bump up against one another. He loves us not because of something in ourselves but because of something in Himself. And in His love He demonstrates His grace, which brings forgiveness. And on too of that, grace prompts mercy. . . and there it is relief.
To make it even more personal, look at Paul's own testimony in 1 Timothy 1:12-13 In Ephesians 2 he writes about everyone. In 1 Timonthy1 he writes about himself.

The Inescapable Tension

Read Roman 6: 1-15 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

Because of grace we have been freed from sin's slavery, from bondage to sinful attitude, urges, and actions. But that creates a tension. Once we become free in Christ and live by grace, we can take our liberty to an extreme and live a life of license. Paul addresses this tension in Roman 6:1-15.
What then,? Shall we sin because we are not under law but grace? May it never be!
     The freedom we have in Christ is not a freedom to do anything we want to do, but to be everything God creates us to be. Before our conversion we are enslaved to sin. Since then, we've become emancipated not to run riot through the dead-end alleyways of self-indulgence, but to serve a great master. . . righteousness (see v.18).
     Maybe an illustration would help bring the concept down to earth. Suppose you were given the keys to a new car whose speedometer went to 120,mph. Does it follow that you have the right to race through the streets with reckless abandon? To go on a joyride that jeopardizes the safety of everyone you go speeding fast? No, certainly not. That's why Paul warned the Galatians to steer their freedom in another direction. Sayest, For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13).
Joyous Benefits of Being Liberated
With our freedom in Christ come several exciting benefits. We are no longer bound by our fleeting impulse or our flaming desires. We are free to make good, objective choices. We are able to them independently without the tyranny of needing to compare ourselves with others. And we are able to grow toward greater flexibility and maturity into the person God created us to be.
Telltale Signs of Being Irresponsible
Freedom--whether we,'re talking about it in the political realm or in the moral realm--doesn't imply freedom from responsibility. Some however, have interpreted their freedom in Christ to be absolute, without restraint and without and without responsibility to others.
    These libertarian are easy to spot. They have a lack of love and concern for others. They rationalize sin. They are unwilling to be accountable. They resist anyone getting close enough to give them advice. And they disregard new converts and those weak in the faith.

Shaking the status Quo

"Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shrivWeled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Then Jesus asked them, Which is lawful on the Sabbath; to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, A stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored."
Mark 3:1-5

Often it's not what Jesus did, but why He did it. Healing people was, for Jesus, a daily part of His public ministry. But the point behind the above story has to do with Why Jesus performed the miracle.
The Lord was deep!y disturbed by the indifference the congregation showed toward the handicapped person. He was upset that the people were more concerned about the letter of the law and the proper way to do things rather than meeting the need of a hurting person in their midst. It was their cold stubborn apathy that prompted Jesus to act.
There are many reasons for reaching out to meet the needs of people around you. One reason may be to simply lend a helping hand. Another may be to put your gifts and talents to use. But a valid reason could be that you must take action against the nonchalance and indifference others have toward the needs at hand. Many a church has been sorely convicted when a believer steps out and shakes up the status Quo!

IMMEASURABLY

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world
1John 4:4

It's not going to happen. Aunt Julie. You might as well erase that thought from your mind."
     "I know it's unlikely," I said. "But it's not impossible."
       For several years, my niece and I have had variations of that conversation regarding a situation in our family. The rest of the sentence, which I said only occasionally, was this: "I know it can happen because I hear stories all the time about how God makes impossible things happens The part of the sentence I said only to myself was this: " But they happen only in other people's families."
       Recently my pastor has been preaching from the book of Ephesians. At the end of every service we say this benediction. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in them in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Eph'3:20-21 NiV)
      This was the year God chose to do " immeasurably more" in my family. He replaced indifference with love,  How did He do it? Beats me. But I saw it happen. A d why should I be surprised? If Satan can turn love into indifference, certainly God can't change I defifference

A Dangerous Challenge

The battle is not your, but God's.
2 Chronicle 20:15

While millions watched on television, Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls on a 1,800-foot wire that was only 2 inched in diameter. He took all the precautions he could. But adding to the drama and danger of both the height and  the rushing water below, a thick mist obscured Nik's sight, wind threatened his balance, and spray from falls challenged his footing. Amid and perhaps because of these perils, he said that he prayed a lot" and praised God.
    The Israelites also praised God in the middle of a dangerous challenge. Theirs involve a large group of warriors who had gathered to fight them (2 Chron. 20:2). After humbly asking God for help king Jehoshaphat appointed a choir to march out into battle in front of the Israelite army. The worshipers sang: "Praise the Lord, for his mercy endures forever" (v21). When they began to sing, the Lord caused the enemy forces to attack and destroy each other.
     Praised God in the midst of a challenge may mean overriding our natural instincts. We tend toward self-protection. Strategizing, and worry. However, worshiping can guard our hearts against troubling thoughts and self-reliance. It reminds us of the lesson the Israelites learned: "The battle is not [our] God's" (v.15).

THE CORRIDOR STREET LINE: Citizen in God's City

THE CORRIDOR STREET LINE: Citizen in God's City

Citizen in God's City

"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Good Himself will be with them and be their God"
Revelation 21:3,b

When David selected the site for the city of Jerusalem, he chose a piece of land that neither the northern nor the southern kingdom would find valuable. It would be a place of peace where the people could come together in community and worship the Lord. It would be a place where they could go and be in the manifest presence of Jehovah, worshiping Him and receiving blessing. God called Jerusalem Mount Zion, the hill where the people came to meet with Him. He called it His "holy hill,," where only the holy could ascend and have fellowship with Him. On this hill, the people would gather as one, unified by the Spirit of God, under His rule and by His authority.
     Some thought this blessed and holy city could never be destroyed, but it was. Many missed the point that this physical city was fore shadow, a type of the one to come. There would come a day when God would build up His city once again, and those were called by His name would gather together to worship through His Son. Those who are unified in Him are part of this heavenly city, for like the apostle said, they are stones being g built up into a glorious building, with the corner being Jesus Christ.
    The city of Jerusalem was the place where God"s people left the world and congregates as a community. Today, the living Jerusalem is where the people are in communion with one another. This congregation includes all those who are pardoned by grace of God, both living and dead. We are part of the city of God, subjects in the kingdom of Christ with saints from the fast and those in the present. But what keeps us from enjoying this fellowship of the saints?
    Paul emphatically stated that the light does not have fellowship with the darkness, that unbeliever s cannot be yoked with believers, for they worship different gods. Believer are to have fellowship with one another,not with the world. We live in the world. We live in the world and interchange with it, but we do not have intimate fellowship with it we must, therefore,be willing to go outside by city and suffer the shame that Jesus suffered, bearing the disgrace He bore, "for here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come" (Heb.13:14). The city that is to come is the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city,where God Himself will be with us ,( Rev.21:3).
    When you see religious figures ridiculed by the world, what do you think and feel? read Hebrews 13:11-14. Are you willing to bear the same type of disgrace Jesus bore at the hands of unbeliever? Do you have undue attachment to the world that are hindering your walk with Christ? identify those hindrances and remove them.

For This I am Thankful

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
1 CHRONICLE 16:34

GIVE THANK IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCE, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus," wrote a man who had known more than his fair share of difficulties. His name? We know him as Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. No matter where you live, every day should be a day of thanksgiving. For what should you be thankul? Don't limit your gratitude to my list, but may I mention some of the things for which I give thanks?
  First, I give thanks for the assurance that I am God's child, that He has forgiven me and brought me into the Kingdom of His dear Son---not because I deserved it, but because of the Father's great love for me.
 I also thank God for the bumps in the road, challenges that bring me face to face with my weakness and cause me to cry out for God's help and provision that come in such a way that tells me He has provided--as opposed to something "just happening." What He has withheld, I haven't needed, and what He has given me is a stewardship to be wisely for His work.
  I'm thankful that in a world of turmoil, our great God will allow nothing to happen that escapes His attention or ability to prevent. That's why Paul wrote," In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).
  And what of the future? It will arrive just one day at a time and when tomorrow comes, God's Son will be there to take my hand and walk me through the valley one step at a time. Yes, be thankful, Friend. Give thanks to the Lord.... For His love truly endures forever.

"When He Is Easily Lord"

Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding,'
Yes, we will come to you, for you ate the Lord our."
                                                Jeremiah 3:32

Who is the truly obedient Christian? Is it one whose life exhibits blue-ribbon behavior? It is the believer who demonstrates the Lord's commands in their highest possible measure?
     When we heed the call to begin afresh  a life of obedience, we may think that by more Bible study and self-scrutiny we will grow into it. Then, we assume, obedience will gradually come. That's a mistakes. Jeremiah learned this lesson when the Lord said to him, "Return. . . I will cure you." God pointed to Himself as the curr. In the Lord's eyes, the truly obedience person us the one who truly longs to know Him.
     God doesn't want our achievement, He wants us. God doesn't want our rule keeping, He desires us. He will never insist on being your Master. Instead, He insist on loving you..
     "In certain moods we wish God would make us do the right thing, but He will not; and in other moods we wish He would leave us alone altogether, but He will not, if we do not keep His commandments, He does not come and tell us we are wrong," says Oswald Chambers.*
      When you make Jesus the center of your thoughts and the desire of your heart, when you live in adoration of Him... He is easily Lord.
      Father, I know now that the life of continual obedience is impossible obedience is impossible without continual fellowship with You. Help me to see that obeying You is perfect liberty and that in turning to You,  I shall be happy, safe, and free. Have sway over my heart that I might turn to You and obey.


*Draper. Edythe, Draper's Book of Quotation for the Christian World.

Do You Love Me

We love Him because He love us.
                                                                                            1 John 4:1

JESUS JUST PREPARED BREAKFAST of bread and fish for the disciples. When they finished eating. He asked Simon Peter, "Somon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
     Peter must have been surprised that Jesus should ask,!"Do you truly love me?" For three years they had been together, Peter had seen Jesus transfigured before them. He had distributed the bread and fish feeding the multitude, He had deen Jesus heal the sick. Why did Jesus need to hear Peter say he loves Him?
     One of your fundamental emotional needs is to give as well as to receive love, and the fact that even Jesuswanted a commitment of love is a reflection that God wants to know that we love Him. In His ministry Jesus  taught that loving God was the greatest of all the commandments,,but how does rhis translated into our lives today?
    Telling God that you love Him is part of it, but allowing His love to flow through you as you love others demonstrates that love. Should Jesus appeaf to you and ask the same question, how would you answer? Saying, "Of course, you know that I do," wouldn't satisfy Him. He wants to know. On a scale of 1to 10, how would you rate your love for Him?
     John wrote that "We live because He first loved us" (1John 4:19). Tell God that you love Him too. He wants to know tha you do.

"Your Presence is heaven to me"

"You have made known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
                                                                                   Psalm 16;11

pleasure things give delight and satisfaction to the soul. Pleasure is found lying under an oak tree on a windy day, with the cool grass beneath and the rustle of leaves above. Pleasure is discovered by a cheery fire, curled upon a couch with your favorite afghan and herbal tea. Pleasure is capture in the soft smile and gentle eyes of the one you love.
    Our souls are restless, raging and thirsting for fulfillment, for delight, for. . . pleasure. Someone has said, "The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." Who we are in our innermost being is revealed by those things we passionately desire. If we desire dull, sensual thing our souls when He commands,"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." God is not only the one who gives pleasure, but is Himself all pleasure.
    Eternal pleasure are found at God's right hand. Stop there. You don't have to look any further. God places passions within you so that you'll keep searching until you find utter delight in Him.
Don't deny your desire for delight. Guard yourself on God and discover real and deep delight.
You are the delight of my soul, Lord, and I look to you for all fulfillment. Help me to see that the longings You're placed within me are signpoint directing me always and always to you. Your presence is heaven to me.

Yes He care!

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Hinself for me.
                                                                      MATTHEW 6:25-34

If you are ever tempted to write yourself off as insignificant among the billions of people on earth, consider this: You are a one-of-a-kind creation of God (Psalm 139:13-14). That's true even of identical twins. There never has been and never wil be  another person exactly like you.
   Even more important, God values you (Matthew 6:26-30) and has gone to great lengths to show His love the Bible says that His Son  Jesus loves you so much  that He gave His life for you (Galatians2:20).
   If you were to ask a loving mother of a large family which child she would be willing to give up. I"m sure she would think your questionwas absurd. Susannah wesley, for example, had 19 sons and daughters. Among them were John and Charles, who spearheaded the evangelical revival in 18th century England. yet if you were to rrad the letters she Wrote to each of her children, you would marvel at her concern for their unique personalities and problems. It was as if each child was her one and only offspring.
  That's a picture if how much God cares about you. If you are ever tempted to wonder if He knows you exist or cares what happens to you, remember what Jesus did for you pn the cross. That's how much He loves you.