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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 The Body of Christ Should Look Like Christ

7/23/2016

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By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Today’s Bible devotional is a reprint from August 30th 2015
What does loving one another look like? What should the body of Christ look like? I would venture to say the body of Christ should look like Jesus. Our traits as individuals and as a whole should be conformed to His image. His Holy Spirit in us should be evident and fully functioning among us. Our love should be apparent. And we shouldn’t resemble the world.
The world doesn’t like to submit to authority or recognize the people who work so hard behind the scenes. They want to show up to a church without being part of the church. They want to be served and not serve themselves. They expect the pastor to give them a nice little message, listen to their whining, give them what they need, and then ignore them for the next 6 days. But the people who do that, though they may come to church are not of the church they are still of the world. There is no unity with the body. Verses 12-13 read,
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”
Paul urges us to respect the people who work among us. We are to regard their work, note it, and give the workers reverence. There shouldn’t be anyone whose work is going unappreciated, but too often there is. Too often the person who cleans the meeting place, who opens her home for fellowship, or who makes the calls to the visitors and absent are overlooked. But when everyone in the church is serving, then most of us will remember to appreciate all the others, and the burden on everyone is lightened. We are all expected to serve. Our gifts were given to us for a reason. Ephesians 4:11-16 says it like this,
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
We are also to give deference to those who are over us, submitting to their wisdom, maturity, and leadership as they guide us toward completion. Hebrews 13:17 says,
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
In submitting to, respecting, and esteeming one another and the contributions each of us makes to the body, we have peace among us. We don’t need to be jealous, envious, or disrespectful of each other. We are in it together, sharing the same Spirit and the same mission. We want the best for each other. We are family, we are interwoven together, each thread is needed and adds to the beauty of the tapestry.
We cannot in love, let someone waste their gifts or remain a new born who never experiences the fullness of Christ during this life. Verse 14-15 puts it this way,
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”
Our unified walk as the body of Christ does not stop at the church doors. We are good to one another, but we also must be good to the world. We should be beneficent, that is intentionally doing good in a concrete way. We deliberately ensure we are not being maleficent, which is to cause harm. Nonmaleficence should be just as premeditated as beneficence.
Hebrews 13:15-16 reads,
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
It is an act of worship and praise to be charitable and kind. It is glorifying Christ, which is reflecting Jesus, being like Jesus to do good for people. Verses 16-18 say,
“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
When do we rejoice? When do we pray? When do we thank God and what do we thank Him for? Always, continually, and all the time, for everything. The Holy Spirit wants to shine through us. He wants to glorify Jesus in us. He wants to fill us to overflowing and show us He can’t be exhausted. Verses 19-22 read,
“Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”
He cannot be exhausted, but He can be quenched, that is stifled, smothered, and left to smolder instead of burn bright. How do we do that? We do it by not rejoicing, praying, and thanking God. We do it by not recognizing that our circumstances have the purpose of conforming us to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:26-30). We stifle the Holy Spirit of God when we disregard His work, or we accept all works that might be from God are and do not discern Godly from worldly. (1 John 4:1-6). We douse His fire in us when we take part in the desires of the flesh instead of the desires of The Spirit.
The muffled and subdued Spirit will not produce the fruit that makes it evident we are sons and daughters of Abba God. Galatians 5:16-26 reads,
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
The fruit of The Spirit is the image of Christ. As we walk, we become more and more mature, showing more and more the character of Jesus. One day we will be instantly perfected but that doesn’t mean we do not strive toward that goal now. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Philippians 3:12-14). We trust the Lord to complete us and keep us. Verses 23-24 read,
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
God does this great work in us. He perfects us. He doesn’t and won’t do it against our will. We have to be in a relationship with Him. We have to want it. And so we pray, we love, we walk, and we strive, not in a futile struggle, but in the peaceful rest of Jesus’ grace. Verses 25-28 close the letter.
“Brothers, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
​
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1 Thessalonians 2 Evangelism: a Way of Life

7/1/2016

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I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 2 Corinthians 12:15
I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 2 Corinthians 12:15
​1 Thessalonians 2
Sharing Christ with people is more than telling someone a preplanned or memorized speech. Although if you do even that, I commend you for your effort to share the Gospel. We share Christ with people by the way we live our lives, offer ourselves, and love people. It is important that we understand the Gospel, are able to present it and defend it, but it is more important that we are able to live it.
When Paul went to Thessalonica, he did more than enter the city square and give a spiel. He showed up and represented Jesus Christ. This chapter describes how he did that and offers us guidance in sharing Jesus with whomever the Lord puts in our path. Verses 1-2 describe how Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica.
For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.
 
The Lord had ordained them to go to the city, they knew that it was not going to be fruitless. They went with a purpose, to share God’s Word. Paul live his life with that purpose. And that is never futile, even when we don’t see the results. Isaiah 55:10-11 says it like this,
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

 
It was not an easy task either. Paul said they had been shamefully treated at Philippi and went to Thessalonica anyway and didn’t have it any easier there. Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail in Philippi. Even through all the trouble there, people including Lydia and their prison guard had accepted Christ (Acts 16). In Thessalonica, many people were converted but the Jewish people became outraged and threated Paul and Silas’ life to the point where they had to be sent out of the city in the middle of the night to save their lives and the lives of the believers (Acts 17:1-10). But that conflict made the sincerity and zeal for the Gospel of Christ that much more apparent. Nothing would deter Paul from getting the truth to the lost.
Nothing has to deter us from sharing Jesus with anyone. What excuses do we use? It might be uncomfortable? The person may not want to hear it? They or we are busy? Jesus laid down His life in agony so you could be saved. Paul and every other apostle suffered prison and torture so people could be saved. All the apostles except for John were martyred in horrific fashion for the sake of the Gospel. Do you think maybe you and I can handle a person thinking we’re stupid or annoying in order to give them a chance to know the hope of Jesus and the love of their Father?
Verses 3-6 read,
For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.
 
Paul and Silas didn’t share the Gospel for their own glory. They didn’t do it so they would look good. Paul wasn’t saying to himself, “I want to be known as the greatest Christian of all time.” It is likely that Paul never even knew the great impact he had on Christianity. He certainly wasn’t being rewarded or made rich from his efforts.
I’ve seen so many people who have ministries and I wonder if they are doing that work to glorify the Lord or themselves. Although, God will use them for His purposes and doubtlessly there are people saved and helped through them, it seems to me that because they have become about themselves instead of Jesus. For some people ministry becomes about how great they are not about how great God is. If I can see that, I think that the deceived of the world see it too and they are not interested in hearing from a person who wants to glorify himself.
I picture a scene from Evita in which Eva Perón is building orphanages and giving charity to the needy of Argentina but it is all in her name, for her fame, and the sake of husband Juan Perón. The people receiving that charity were made to feel humiliated in order for Eva Perón to feel exalted. When we put ourselves in Jesus’ place of honor instead of exhibiting His humility we are not presenting the true Christ.
Presenting the Gospel is at its heart presenting Jesus. We should be the image of Christ to those around us. That means we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and expressing Him in His fruit and the picture of love read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22-23,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
 
And the portrayal of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a reads,
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
Verses 7-8 describe what this meant to Paul,
 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Paul and Silas did more than preach and speak. They lived among the people, they formed a relationship with them. They shared themselves. They earnestly loved them. As they lived, they exemplified Christ. They didn’t behave in the flesh, they lived in the Spirit. Verses 9-12 read,
 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
There was no asking people to stop living one way, while they lived another. They lived in a way that no one could charge them with wrong. There was no way someone could accuse them of wanting money, lying, stealing, slothfulness, greedy, or immoral. They lived out the fruit of the Spirit and love and in that way they could exhort and encourage the new believers to walk in Christ.
Paul practiced what he preached. That is how and why the Thessalonians who accepted Christ could accept Him. They could believe the Gospel because they saw it being lived out. They could grow in Christ even when they had to send Paul and Silas to Berea because they could look at the churches around them and follow their example. They could see the difference between a Spirit-filled follower of Christ and the Pharisees of Judaism who hated Jesus.  Verses 13-16 read,
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
 
Paul didn’t simply make sure they were saved and abandon them. He kept tabs on them, he sent Timothy to check on them and he wrote them letters. He planned to come see them again. He maintained a relationship with them to ensure they were staying on the path of truth and not falling for the lies that would certainly be coming their way. Verses 17-20 read,
 
But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
 
Love is why we share Christ. Jesus’ glory and the glory of the kingdom of God is why we share the Gospel. The hope of eternity is why we follow Jesus and invite as many who will follow with us.
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2 Peter 2 False Teachers and Prophets Hiding in Plain Sight

5/29/2016

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
​2 Peter 2
There are two kinds of unsaved people. The first are those who do not know the truth, who are living oblivious to who God is and what Jesus has done for them. They may have heard Jesus’ name but they don’t know much more about Him. They are lost. My heart goes out to them and my prayers go up for them.
Then there are those who know who God is, who know what Jesus did and yet reject Him or worse yet use His name to gain profit and a name for themselves. They lead people away from the Truth, the Way, and the Life of Jesus. These are the people we are warned about so often throughout the Bible, the false teachers and false prophets who speak their own message rather than God’s. They are the vipers and hypocrites who speak one way and live another. We have to be wary of them and we have to protect our brothers and sisters from them. Today’s devotional helps us to recognize those who may be masquerading as fellow believers among us.
I warn you, not to read these scriptures with an attitude of smugness at how you are not like the people described in these verses. Read them with reflection, humility, and love. Read them and be accountable to the warnings. Verses 1-3 read,
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
Peter calls what the false prophets and teachers speak destructive heresies. A heresy is a false doctrine, something which opposes the Gospel. They bring these teachings in on the sly. They are often made to sound pretty and can be convincing. They take scripture out of context to make the less certain among us think what they say is true. What are some heresies abounding today? False teachings about earning salvation, doctrines that say Jesus is not God but only a prophet, and philosophies which say that Christians do not change and we can live in sin just as we did before we were saved. If someone is teaching anything other than Jesus Christ lived, died, and resurrected as the only way to salvation, they are one of the false teachers or false prophets Peter is warning us about.
Verse 3 reads,
And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
What does that mean? It means that though they claim to be saved, they are not. The wrath of God awaits the false teachers and it awaits the people who follow them. Believers died to sin and its consequences but false teachers and their disciples are not believers, they are following lies and the father of lies, Satan. The false teachers definitely think highly of themselves. They’ve elevated themselves before people instead of proclaiming Christ. They’ve taken all the acclaim for themselves and left The Lord out of the equation. They really think they’re good. They think that God’s wrath is not for them, that Judgement Day is just a scary story, or that they are good enough to enter Heaven. But Judgement is the same for everyone whether they believe it will happen or not. It is based solely on whether or not our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The only way to have our names written there is to submit to Jesus as our Lord and be sealed with His Holy Spirit. There is no one who will be able to enter Heaven based on his earthly acclaim. There are no special dispensations. Verses 4-9 in The Message read,
God didn’t let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them.
6-8 God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment.
9 So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.
The Holy Spirit guards us for eternity and He will not let the wicked escape His wrath. Who are these people? How can we recognize the false prophets among us when they are so good at hiding the lies in pretty words and convincing arguments? Their lives do not produce the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
They do not act out of love, they act out of selfishness and pride. Verses 10-11 begin their description.
and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
They indulge in defiling passion, which means that they give in to basal desires and dishonor the name of Jesus. They despise authority. They must be the ones in charge, they’re probably the ones who complain about their boss or any authority, who rebel against those in power, and refuse to submit to people. That can often look like a good trait to the world but it is not a godly trait. It makes them appear powerful but there is no faith in God when there is fear of letting go of one’s will. They don’t even have the respect not to blaspheme that is to curse or slander angels, people or God Himself. Even angels who might have reason to judge wouldn’t dare to that. Verses 12-13 continue the description.
But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you
False teachers run on instinct and appetite not wisdom and logic. Their lust for themselves will be their destruction and they will have earned it. But they don’t care. They party, they celebrate even when it is time for working, mourning, or caring. They enjoy that people follow them. They give the church a bad name. They take the Love Feast, the Lord’s Supper to look good not with the thankful attitude of recollection of Jesus’ sacrifice. Everything they do is to make themselves look good. Verses 14-16 continue,
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
They were taught the right way, but they abandoned the truth and followed personal gain. It’s all about them and there is nothing there to help anyone else. It looks as if they are doing some good but the only benefit is for themselves Verses 17-19 read,
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved
They’re telling people they will lead them to freedom but they are in heavy chains. They’re in bondage to their lust for power, money, and recognition. They once heard the truth and even believed it and they were free from the chains of slavery but turned away from the truth. They didn’t follow through on the Gospel and accept Christ as their savior. They rejected Him for an easier road. Verses 20-22 in The Message read,
 If they’ve escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they’re worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, “A dog goes back to its own vomit” and “A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.”
 
Please take the time to ask yourself if you or anyone on your church fits this description, not so you can condemn and slander but so that you can pray and act. If it’s you who has not really submitted to God and let His Spirit transform you, do it now. It is someone else then pray first, then talk to him. If he is unwilling to listen, then bring up your evidence to the leaders of your church and give it God. Do not let yourself or others teach lies. We live for God’s glory or our own.
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Romans 14 Christianity is not About What One Eats or Drinks

5/19/2016

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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
​Romans 14
As Christians we are each different. We are quite unique. We all have varying experiences, histories, maturity, personalities, gifts, and talents that make up who we are. But the most important aspect we need to remember about one another is that each of us was called by the LORD, chosen by Him, and is loved by Him.
In our local bodies we will find people who because of various reasons are susceptible to certain strongholds. One brother cannot watch movies with any sexual content, he considers it sinful and those films call to his flesh; he abstains from all movies rated PG-13 and above. Yet for another brother he has no problems seeing those movies and enjoys them. One sister feels that drinking alcohol at all is detrimental to walking in the Spirit, while another enjoys a glass of wine with dinner each night and has no problems with alcohol.
We’re all different. Walking in the Spirit with Jesus is not about things like drinking or refraining from drink, it is about a transformative relationship with Almighty God our Creator. But too often we take our eyes off Jesus and place them on one another, judging each other for our personal choices, abstentions, or leniencies. Boy, the adversary loves it when we argue over silly things like that, especially when one of the participants of the quarrelling is a new or less mature Christian. Verses 1-6 read,
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
 
I know a beautiful woman of God who fasts every Sabbath Day. She honors the Lord each Friday evening through Saturday evening by refraining from food and spending hours in prayer. I know another amazing woman of God who celebrates the Sabbath on Sundays by making those days a special holiday full of good meals, family time, and prayer and worship. A third friend, celebrates every day as the Sabbath and doesn’t believe in designating only one day each week to be holy. All three of these women do what they do to honor God. Each one is glorifying and exalting the Lord, celebrating Jesus Christ and living out the Holy Spirit in her unique way.
What a waste of time it would be for the friend who fasts on the Sabbath to convince the friend who celebrates every day as the Sabbath that she is wrong and vice versa. The only result of that contention would be disunity, ill-feelings, guilt, and possibly temptation to indulge the flesh in any number of ways. Who are we to pass judgement on one another’s service to the Lord? We are in this together! One body, one Spirit and one mission. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 reminds us that our diversity does not have to separate us from one another. In fact our diversity works to unite us further.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
 
We are not walking alone. The Lord gave us to one another. We need to respect God’s Lordship. We need to trust that God can and does save, that He will conform each of us to His image, and that He is not fooled by the deceivers among us. Verses 7-12 say,
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
 
We are not alone. We have a responsibility to one another and in love we want the best for each other. If I know that my brother finds rated R movies tempt him to gratify the flesh, I will not see those films with him, talk about them with him, or try to convince him that it isn’t sinful. What is sinful for him, is not the same as what is sinful for me. My strengths and weaknesses are different than his. For me to talk about the latest Robert Rodriguez movie around a brother who grew up around violence and is vulnerable to those images would be to hurt his walk with Jesus. Where is the love in that? Verses 13-15 reads,
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
 
I enjoy hard driving rock music. But some of my brothers and sisters in Christ consider the music I listen to as sinful. One brother finds when he listens to certain music it changes his mood and takes his focus off Jesus. That music doesn’t have that effect on me. Quite the opposite, that music allows me to express a passion for God, His ministry, and His love in various ways and connects me to Christians in a way that traditional Christian music does not. I have seen the good work this music has played in lives of young people who would never have listened to something more mainstream. My music choice is not better than my friend’s, it is different. My choice helps leads me to worship God, his choice leads him to worship God. Both choices are good. Fighting over it is futile. Verses 16-19 read,
 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
 
Christianity has nothing to do with whether we worship with hymns or modern music or no music. It has nothing to do with whether we drink wine or juice, cola or water. Christianity is about our relationship with the Lord, one another, and the world. My walk with God, my faith is between me and God and it will affect the people around me. If I live in the Spirit, you will be able to see the results of that in the way I live. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us how a Spirit-filled person looks.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
There are no dos and don’ts in there. It doesn’t say the fruit of the Spirit is veganism, carnivorous diets, abstaining, indulging, shouting, or whispering. The dos and donts come in the description of love we read in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
The dos and don’ts there are not a list of rules but a description of an attitude, a description of Jesus and how our transformation will make us behave. It doesn’t say, love doesn’t listen to an upbeat, it reads “love does not insist on its own way.”  If I trust God to be God for me, shouldn’t I also trust Him to be God for you? What will my insistence that my way is the right way do to my sister who feels that eating pork is sinful? God’s taking care of her transformation, and He is taking care of mine. What if instead of wasting time arguing over whether or not we can add bacon to a sandwich, I make us both a tomato and lettuce sandwich or we pray for one another, or I spend time getting to know her? If I try and coerce her to do something she considers a sin, I will hurt her. I will present her with a false image of God, cause her pain, guilt, and shame, and lead her away from the Lord rather than build her up and grow closer to Him. Verses 20-23 read,
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
God is doing a good work in you, and He is doing a good work in your brothers and sisters (Philippians 1:6). Who are we to doubt His ability to save them? We are all different, beautifully unique and woven together into a magnificent tapestry which paints a picture of The Lord to the world. Let’s show them His awesome love, amazing strength, and perfect grace instead of our own agendas, feelings, and liabilities.
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Esther 7 The True Nature Will Be Revealed

5/2/2016

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Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (Image by Lani Campbell is NIV).
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 (Image by Lani Campbell is NIV).
​Esther 7
Who are you? Who are you really? Your life will reveal your true colors to people. The nature inside you comes out eventually. If you have Jesus within you, If His Holy Spirit is abiding in you and you are in Him, your life shows it. That is what Paul was talking about when he described the fruit of the Spirit. If you are the king of your own life, then it is your flesh, your sin nature (your own desires without God will always exalt yourself and lead to sin and death). Galatians 5:16-26 compares the differences.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
 
I hope you’ve been reading this amazing chronicle with me. If not, let me catch you up on the happenings so far.
Previously in the book of Esther: King Ahasuerus threw a week long party which ended with his decree to banish Queen Vashti forever from his presence. He then regretted his decision and followed the advice of young men to find a new queen. He found a new queen in Esther, who was Jewish and not telling anyone on advice of her cousin Mordechai who raised her. Ahasuerus’ advisor Haman rose in the ranks to become his most trusted and also rose in the ego department. He put himself first, even above the king. Mordecai, meanwhile overheard a plot to kill the king, told Esther and saved the king’s life. Haman’s ego continued to rise and when Mordecai did not bow down to him, hated Mordecai, and then all Jewish people in general. He talked the king into having all the people of Persia rise up and kill every Jewish person in the provinces on a certain day and sealed it with the king’s ring.
Mordecai told Esther about who courageously prayed and risked her own life to tell the king and save the people. Meanwhile Haman built a gallows 75 feet tall to have Mordecai killed. But then the king remembered Mordecai and honored him by having Haman lead him through Susa on a horse and having all the people bow down to him. Now we are caught up as Esther is throwing a second feast for the king and Haman and is ready to reveal Haman’s evil schemes to Ahasuerus. Verses 1-6 read,
 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Esther loved the Lord, she put him first. She loved her people, she loved her king. Her true nature was of courage, obedience, and humility. The queen reminded the king of his love for her. She had come to this point slowly and demonstrated her love, let the king offer her anything she desired three times before she finally asked. While she did that, Haman had proved his wickedness and pride by building the gallows to hang Mordecai. God had allowed Haman’s heart to prove itself instead of having the king go solely by Esther’s accusation and He had moved Ahasuerus’ heart to trust and desire Esther.
Haman was terrified and he had reason to be. He was guilty and he’d been found out. King Ahasuerus was a powerful mighty king, this is Xerxes also known as Artaxerxes II, king of 127 provinces. He was feared. He word was irretraceable and people died for infractions such as approaching the king without his permission. He made decision when he was angry and his decisions were final. So Haman knew his life lay in the balance. Esther had been obedient and not told anyone she was Jewish, but now was the time to reveal it. Haman didn’t know when he ordered the obliteration of the Jewish people, he was also ordering the Esther’s death. Verses 7-8 record what happened next.
And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face.
Haman knew his only chance was to appeal to Esther, especially since the king was so enraged. Haman had played him for his own aspirations. While Haman threw himself onto Esther to beg for his life, the king reentered the room. Picture what he saw: Haman clinging to his wife in desperation. It did not look good. 
Haman begs Esther for his life. And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” Esther 7:7-8
​Verses 9-10 read,
Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high.” 10 And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.
Haman had built the instrument of his own death. He had wanted all of Susa to be able to see Mordecai die for his insubordination and now they saw Haman die for his. He had lifted himself up very high in his own eyes; the king lifted him up even higher for his death. Haman got what he sought; all of Susa noted who he was, he went down in history and would be forever known as the enemy of the Jews. His true nature was revealed.
We cannot hide our true selves for long. But praise God, when we accept his invitation to a relationship with Him, He comes in and gives us a new nature, His! Ephesians 4:21-24 reads,
assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
I live in the South and we have a saying, “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” That means that who you really are will come out in your words and actions. You just can’t hide it. Jesus said it too in Luke 6:43-45.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.  The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
 
Believer, what does your life prove about your true self? Does it prove your flesh or the Spirit of God? The rock group Disciple has a song called Radical one of the phrases in that song is this: “Not just my mouth but let my hands speak the glory of God.” make that a prayer for your life. “Lord, change me from the inside so that not just my mouth but my hands would speak your glory.”
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James 3 Control the Tongue and Control Yourself

4/22/2016

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Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,     and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:27
Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:27
​James 3
How do you tell a mature Christian from a new believer? How do you tell a mature Christian from the world? It is by the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in her and the way she expresses Him. It is the self-control she exhibits in choosing to communicate the Holy Spirit and not her flesh, the desires of her old self. One of the clearest exhibitions of maturity, of love through self-control is the ability to command and restrain the tongue. How often have you hurt someone by saying some flippant thing? How often have you been hurt by some careless word? Verses 1-3 read,
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well
No person is perfect, yet as we follow Christ, walking in the Spirit through our lives we are being made perfect (Hebrews 10:14). The closer we come to the perfect image of Christ, the more we look like Him and therefore the more control we wield over the tongue. James talks about putting a bit into a horse’s mouth and by that small piece the entire beast is guided. Words work like that. If we control our words, we can control ourselves. The easiest sin to commit and somehow the hardest to omit is to speak what we should not, to curse (be it ourselves or someone else), to glibly hurt someone, or to obfuscate. And more often than not our glib words motivate follow up in choices and actions. To control the tongue is to control ourselves. Verses 4-6 expand the metaphor.
Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Do you know it is possible to tame your tongue? It really is. It is not easy, especially at first but with practice, love, faith, and trust in God it can be done. But it cannot be done by us alone. It is only possible with the Lord God in us. Verses 7-12 say it this way,
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
A person without the Holy Spirit living in her would have no desire to tame her tongue. Being outspoken is seen as a strength in the world, but it is a weakness in the Kingdom of Heaven. There are people in the political realm who are gaining power and momentum due to the inane and shocking things they say. The current presidential candidates vying for their parties’ nominations are the ones who were willing to sling mud, say awful things, and use their tongues as weapons. My favorite candidate was one of the first to drop out of the race. He did not get the votes he needed because he refused to participate in the backbiting, insults, and war of words.
The Holy Spirit in us means we have His heart as the spring to draw from. We pull from God’s nature which is love and not our own which is pride. We choose to use our words to build one another up, teach the Gospel, lead people to Christ, and otherwise love our neighbors. Jesus told us we would know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:20). He also said that we would be known as His disciples (followers and students) by our love for one another (John 13:35). Is it love to belittle someone or curse them? No! It is love to edify, encourage, exhort, and elucidate. When the Holy Spirit gives me a word for someone, it is always something loving, always something which lifts the person up closer to Him. When He speaks to me personally or through someone else it is the same, He lifts, lights, and lightens. I will even dare to say that if the message does not elevate, enlighten, or ease then it is not from God. We recognize His voice and there is no condemnation in Christ (John 10:27, Romans 8:1). Like Jesus, we are to use our words for God’s purposes not our own prideful will.
If the Holy Spirit is living in us, then we will look more and more like Him. Our desire becomes to be the new creation who is the image of Christ. If we lack in some area (and we do while we are still walking he earth) then we ask Him and He will be happy to bring us closer to Him and give us what we lack. James 1:5 says,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
If you can’t control your tongue, it is best to be quiet until you can. God’s wisdom expressed by His believers glorifies Him and brings people to Him. Controlling what comes out of your mouth is a sign of maturity and wisdom. Proverbs 17:27-28 read,
Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

We do not prove who we are in Christ and who Christ is by superfluous speech and brandishing words. We prove who Jesus Christ is by our self-control, love, and wielding the Sword of the Spirit. Verses 13-18 reads,
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James doesn’t pull any punches here. If you are not controlling your words, the words that are coming from you are demonic! They are not from the Holy Spirit but from Satan and are being used for his purpose to steal, kill, and destroy not for Christ’s purpose to give life (John 10:10). What fruit are your words producing? Are they causing disorder and disunity or are they causing righteousness and peace? Are your words hurtful or merciful?
Believer, God’s wisdom shows through your ability to control your tongue. Compare your words with verses 17-18 are they pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, and produce righteousness and peace? Are they from the Spirit who produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in you? (Galatians 5:22-23). Are your words loving, patient and kind; not envious, boastful, arrogant or rude; irritable or resentful? (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). If not, be quiet and learn to tame your tongue.
 
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Galatians 6 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

4/18/2016

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Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11-28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11-28-30
​Galatians 6
Verse 1 reads,
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 
Throughout Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia he told them that they are not saved by following the law and he slammed the people who were trying to convince the church to follow it. But now at the end of his letter, he talks about finding our brothers and sisters in transgression. If all things are lawful for Christians (1 Corinthians 10:23) then how could a believer be transgressing?
Remember what Paul said, just before this sentence, Galatians 5:16-18 read,
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 
He then went on to contrast the evidence of the flesh and the evidence of the Spirit in Galatians 5:19-24
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we care about each other, we will notice the evidence of a person’s life which they may be blind to. I can tell if a brother or sister is giving in to the flesh by the works of the flesh listed above. That is the transgression we catch them in and that is when we are called to restore them gently while checking ourselves against the temptation as well. Chapter 5 ends with verses 25-26 which goes with verse 1 of chapter 6.
 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 
Last night in church a woman stood up and spoke, claiming to be speaking the Holy Spirit’s words. It was very clear she was not as her words tried to sow dissension in the church and elevate herself. I was involved with praying with one woman and then another so it was not up to me to speak to her. I do believe that the pastor who has a much closer relationship to her than I do spoke to her. I trust that he as a Spirit-filled passionate follower of Christ dealt with her gently.
You see we often just can’t see the flesh in ourselves, it takes a brother or sister to say, “I can see you are going through something, I can see your fits of anger, let’s talk, let’s pray.” That’s what it took with the woman last night. A spirit of division spoke out of her and it was evident to me that she was projecting her feelings of anger and bitterness on to the church, accusing us of hating her and condemning anyone who did hate her to Hell. Life is not easy. It is not always unicorns and rainbows. Since Jesus took our burden of sin and gave us his burden instead, the enemy will try and load us down with a heavy burden. He wants us to pick up the burden that Jesus forgave and carry it. But that is why we are yoked, partnered with one another. With a yoke we walk together; we carry the burdens together. In loving one another we cannot just see a brother suffering with jealousy, hate, lust, pride or whatever his burden is and not bear it with him and restore him gently. Verses 3-5 read,
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.5 For each will have to bear his own load.
In other words, we can’t think we’re better than the brother we want to help. We can’t assume we have no sins, that the flesh isn’t working in us trying to overcome the Spirit. We lie to ourselves when we do that and set ourselves up for letting our own flesh win instead of helping our brother. Has it ever happened to you to have someone try to help restore you but they speak with arrogance as if they can’t relate to your problems at all? In the end you feel condemnation and shame instead of conviction and edification. There is no gentleness in pride. We are responsible for our own lives, our own walks. We can’t put the blame for our choices on other people, but we can lighten the load for everyone by taking gentle and loving steps beside them.
We are in this together. We all edify one another. No one in the church is above another. Christ is our head and we are His body. Some members may have functions which are more apparent or honored. Some have jobs which carry a higher responsibility but we are together in this, yoked together, edifying one another, and using our gifts for the common good. Verses 6 reads,
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
The one who is taught is just as valuable as the teacher. She has benefit to add to the edifice of the church just as much as the teacher. A yoke doesn’t work if one ox walks at a higher elevation than the other. They walk side by side. One doesn’t pull the burden and the other walk with no weight attached. They carry the load together. If the teacher never listens to the student, he will miss out on what the Holy Spirit in her is saying to him. Teaching works better as a dialogue and discussion than a monologue. The teacher who doesn’t listen and the student who doesn’t speak are in danger of sowing their secret sins and feeding the flesh. Verses 7-10 read,
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
God knows what we do in secret, fleshly or spiritually. We are not lying to Him when we secretly feed the flesh, we are lying to ourselves. It is our choice to either gratify the flesh or please the Spirit. Bearing one another’s burdens, loving one another, and loving our neighbor sow to the Spirit. Those acts of tangible love are what prove God in us, strengthen the faith of the Body and reveal Jesus to the world.
Paul ends his letter with a plea to the body to not let people convince them to take up the Satan’s yoke of the law again. Verses 11-18 read,
See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
You can be arrogant about what a good law-abiding Christian you are and race people to hell or you can boast in Christ, knowing it is He who forgave, saves, and makes you the new and holy son or daughter of God you are. You crucified the flesh! You are dead to sin and alive to the Spirit of God. There is no reason in the world for you to try and live under the law anymore. Walk nobly in the Spirit with peace (no division or anxiety) and mercy (kindness, compassion, and forgiveness). 
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Galatians 5 Freedom to Love not Slavery to Law or Sin

4/17/2016

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For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
​Galatians 5
Have you ever seen someone who was recently released from a long term in prison? Sometimes, although he no longer lives behind the iron doors of a cell, he still looks and act like a prisoner. He walks quickly with his head down so as to not gain unwanted attention. He makes his bed according to the rules of the penitentiary. He may go to bed at a strict and early hour every night. He often hides away his belongings. And he has a hard time making his own choices. He is used to the warden making his decisions and the guards and the telling him what to do. He hasn’t learned that he is no longer a convict, he is a new person, a freed man. There are times when these men actually think they miss incarceration and they will commit crimes just to go back to the familiarity of confinement.
Believer, you are free! You were once a slave but now you are the son or daughter of God. You are a king or a queen. But so many Christians cannot grasp the idea of being free that they are swayed by the people who come in and give them the long list of rules and rituals they must obey in order to be saved. Or others believe the list of rules that don’t appear to be rules, rules that give a false freedom. They still look and act like the slaves they were before. Whether following the teacher of legalism or the teacher of antinomianism (an extreme liberalism in which no laws, ethics, moral codes, or otherwise are followed), these people are not following Christ, they are slaves to the law. Verses 1-6 read,
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
It is not that circumcision is a sin, it isn’t. Circumcision for the sake of obliging religious leaders is saying that we must do certain acts, obey laws to be saved. If we choose to obey the laws for our salvation then we are required to keep all of it. And that is impossible since the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer standing. Today we might change the requirement for circumcision to something else, for instance a requirement to abstain from alcohol.
There are people in our churches who preach that drinking is a sin, that Christians cannot drink. They set up lots of rules like that, no drinking, dancing, cussing, whatever. They teach that Christians must follow these rules and if they do not they are at the least not ‘good Christians’ and at the worst going to Hell because they are sinning. Sadly there are also people in our churches who claim grace, grace and more grace. They say we should not conform to the image of the church, we should drink as much as we like, cuss like sailors, and dance like strippers. They claim that as long as you call yourself Christian you should not have to change and that sin is fine because grace abounds! Slavery is slavery whether to laws or lawlessness.
Both of these sides though seemingly opposite are actually opposed to Christ and for Satan. Conformity to the religion or conformity to the world is not conformity to Christ. Why are we letting people teach these lies and lead people straight to Hell? Paul had some strong words for those false teachers.  Verses 7-11 read,
 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
If Paul were saying, “Yes, here is the list of requirements for Christians and it includes a, b, and c (anything other than faith in Christ as Lord) then he would not be hated so much by the world. Satan would want him to keep up his work. But He was preaching the whole Gospel of Christ and so he was being persecuted. He even said that he wished the people teaching circumcision would cut off their own penises! Not very ‘Christian’ of him, right? The believers in the church need to get these liars out so that it is they and only they who will face the penalty of Hell and not the many who they would lead or the few who allowed it.
We were made free. Free men do not wear chains. We are free from sin because we are the sons and daughters of God. We have His blood covering us and we have His Spirit indwelled in us. We are new, no longer slaves but royalty. Kings and queens are not slaves, but they do have a responsibility to be Kings and queens. They may be free to do whatever they choose to do but the truly noble do not go slumming. Verses 13-15 read,
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Did you know that for the believer there is no such thing as sin? (1 Corinthians 10:23). I mean nothing counts against us, we’ve already been forgiven and God has given us his grace. For the non-believer everything is sin, meaning nothing he does will earn him salvation (Titus 1:15). But the Spirit within us, God, He is love, He loves and He transforms us to love. We don’t have to be concerned with this rule and that rule. If we live out loving one another and loving the people of this world, then we are living as the image of Christ.
Coming in to a church and trying to teach believers anything other than the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ is not love. I’ve seen both the legalists and the antinominalists criticizing believers for not being the image of who they believe the church ought to be. “Hmmm, don’t you require the women to wear skirts and the men to wear suits? How disrespectful!” “Hmmm, don’t you think that dressing so nicely will turn off people who don’t have nice clothes? Shameful!” Those biting remarks are the beginning of the meal where the church is the main course and ends when only the carcass remains.
Christianity is not proven through the length of the skirt or disproven by the number of tattoos. Faith is not exhibited by abstinence from wine or drunkenness from wine. It is proven and exhibited by the Holy Spirit in us. We either walk according to God’s Spirit or we walk according to the flesh (the desire to gratify the self). We either walk in the Spirit and exhibit His love or we walk by the flesh and exhibit our selfishness. Verses 16-26 reads,
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
 
The love of God in us causes us to live in love of one another and love of our neighbor. That is the law of Christ. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to one another. God imbued us with His Sprit, His character comes through and we please him by love. We are not slaves to law anymore, we live out His love, love for others not love for us. We exalt God, not ourselves. We glorify the Lord, not ourselves. We serve His will, not ours.
Believer, live free! You are not a slave to the law, you are not a slave to sin. You are free to love, free to be the image of Christ, and free to live as the radiating beautiful child of God He has made you to be. Choose to walk in the Spirit and crucify the flesh.
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Search my Heart, Make me like You, Lord

3/28/2016

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Search me, O God, and know my heart!     Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
​Today, I am taking a brief break from reading Deuteronomy to do a rabbit trail study. I realized recently that there was something wrong. I had let my depression take over my mind, heart, and time. So I prayed. Psalm 139:23-24 reads,
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

Asking The Lord to search our hearts is an important and beneficial discipline that can keep us progressing in our walk with Him. It can help us see areas where we fall short of His example. I listened to My Merciful Lord’s answer, which came quickly and gently. Two passages of scripture come to mind when I think about who Jesus is and who we should be as we mature into His image. One is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; the other is the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
 
Asking myself how I compare with these two depictions of Christ reveals to me where my problems lay. So this time, when I asked, God showed me I had lost the joy I should be demonstrating as a fruit of the Spirit. So I asked Him to reveal the source. He said, “You’ve been resentful, because you have envied others. You’ve been exhausted because you have been suffering and instead of turning to me, you relied on yourself, my Darling you do not have the stores to do this alone. Give it to me.”
I did something I do not often do and that is, open the Bible to a random page and read. But there are times when God will speak that way. I opened the Bible to Joel chapter 2 and I read. Joel 2:12-13 reads,
Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.

I had been sinning, wearing my suffering for everyone to see, tearing my garments, heaping ashes on my head and crying for others to see. I had to break my heart so He could give me a new one. I had to put on the garment God gave me. Jesus said,
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18).
I had exalted my suffering, wore it so that everyone could see it, and reveled in it. There is a difference between telling people I am suffering and need prayer and walking around looking, feeling, and exuding gloom. I should have trusted them to be compassionate since they too have the Spirit in them. We all suffer. I do not know anyone who isn’t suffering. Mine is no more special or important than yours. How can I share the love Paul described if I am glorifying myself through exalting my suffering? How can I demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit if I am busy demonstrated my pitiable self?
Jesus gave me a garment. Isaiah 61:1-3 reads,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

With my torn heart, I can wear a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, I can apply the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and wear the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. When people see me they should see an oak of righteousness and glorify the Lord. Am I praising God or am I walking around faint in spirit?  I have so much to be beautiful and glad about. Jesus overcame death and sin, He rose from the dead and made me alive in Him. One day we will be resurrected, receive new bodies, and spend eternity face to face with God! This life is temporary. We only have a short time to do the good work we were made for and reveal Jesus Christ to the world so they too can have the hope we have. Romans 6:5-11 reads,
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus gave me a new mind and a new heart. I am a new person. But I have to purposefully put on the new self. He gives me these things, but I must put them on. Ephesians 4:20-24 reads,
But that is not the way you learned Christ! — 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Believer, if we want to look like Jesus, who we were created to look like, we have to be diligent about walking with Him. Take off your old filthy garments and put on the new garment washed clean in Jesus’ blood. You are not the sins of your past. You are not your illness, addiction, or bank account. You are not the circumstances of your life. You are a new creation, with a new name. You are a child of the Living God. The devil wants to destroy you. He accuses you of being your old self; he accuses you of being unworthy of God’s grace. Whether you are worthy of grace or not (and who is), you have been granted that grace. God chooses to see you through the blood of Jesus, He chooses to see you as His holy child. You are not what the father of lies claims, you are who the Lord God says you are.
Ask God to search your heart. Listen to what He tells you and put off the old self, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God.

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Deuteronomy 11 Choose the Blessings of The Promised Land or the Curses of Egypt

3/4/2016

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
Deuteronomy 11
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24).
In Christ, we have been taught to exercise self-control. It is a trait of The Lord and it is one we should practice. Love is the pinnacle of who God is. God is Love (1 John 4:8). Joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are how the love of God is expressed. Self-control is how we choose to demonstrate love. The mature Christian should be in control of her thoughts, tongue, and deeds. The less mature Christian should be striving toward that discipline.
We choose to obey the commandment of the Lord or we choose to turn to the left or right and fulfill the desires of the flesh. The Lord had been conforming you, Believer. He has been disciplining you through the trials and the wilderness you have experienced. Verses 1-7 read,
“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3 his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, 5 and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord that he did.”
To love the Lord with your entirety you must know Him. To know who God is you must spend time with Him. To be discipled, one must experience discipline. Moses said, to consider the discipline we have experienced, to think about and remember who God is and has been to us. What trials have you experienced? What sins brought those consequences? Who did you become as a result of the discipline you underwent? What did the Lord do in the midst of the wilderness? The Lord made you able! He has changed and grown you. You were once a slave to the prince of the world like Israel were slaves to Pharaoh. Now Believer, you are free, a warrior, a king, and a trusted confidant to the King of kings. Verses 8-12 read,
“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”
Before you knew Jesus as your Lord and were freed from sin, you had to work hard for your provision. You had to plant the seeds and water them. You had to go to the river with buckets, fill them, carry the heavy burden back to your garden, and repeat the trip until the entire garden was watered. But now in the Promised Land, God takes care of the land and He is your provider. He sends the rains to water your fields. He sends the sun to feed the crops. He takes care of The Promised Land for you. He knows everything that will happen and we only have to trust Him, to love Him completely and know that He is sovereign. He is. We have a choice. We can choose self-control and obey the great commandment or we can let worries and fears creep in and turn our focus from The Lord to ourselves. Verses 13-17 say,
“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.”
Obedience to God comes with promises of blessings and disobedience comes with promise of curses. The curses are for our own good; they are meant to bring us back to remembering who God is. Isn’t it better for you to remember your past discipline rather than suffer it again? We have self-control; we can choose to exercise it. There were several instances in the wilderness when Israel whined about how good they had it back in Egypt under the tyranny of Pharaoh and the oppression of slavery. They whined whenever they took their focus of the Lord and worried about how they would eat or drink. They didn’t have a good time in Egypt. They were oppressed, their children murdered, and their backs broken and whipped. They chose to forget their suffering and focus on their needs. God promised if we focus on Him by loving Him with all our hearts, souls, and strength He would bless us with an abundance. But how many of us hold back part of who we are and choose to worry about how we will provide for ourselves, how we will take care of the problems, or how we will do what has to be done? That is not worshipping and trusting the Lord; that is worshipping and trusting ourselves. But have no fear, God will let you live in Egypt if you choose to and go back to watering your garden instead of letting him rain on your fields.
How do we ensure we are keeping the great commandment? How do we keep The Lord our focus? We choose to meditate on His Word, we choose to know the Lord through His word. We study and pursue Him and we choose to keep the great commandment. Verses 18-25 read,
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.”
Put God’s words on your heart, set them before your eyes, bind them to your deeds, teach them, and make them the heart of our speech from waking to sitting, to walking and to sleeping. What is the whole commandment? Moses reaffirms it in verse 22; it is “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him.” And The Lord reiterates that keeping the whole commandment comes with a promise. He does not promise to barely care for us, He promises that all the enemy’s strongholds will be banished, that everywhere we choose to walk in Him, will be ours. Whatever part of our lives we give to Him, every part of ourselves we want changed from old to new, every fleshly desire we hand to Him will be given back to us new. No part of who we are has to remain a slave to sin. We can be the righteousness of God. Why did Christ die and resurrect? Did He do that so we could become a flickering candle or a shining lampstand? Did He lay down His life and take on all our sin so we could hold onto our sins ourselves? NO! 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
You are not a slave to Pharaoh. The Father called you out of Egypt to The Promised Land. Jesus delivered you. His Holy Spirit has made you new. Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. Pursue the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly and let Him shower you with abundant blessings and provision. Matthew 6:25-34 reminds us,
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Believer, you can choose to obey or you can choose to disobey. It is up to you, you have self-control and must choose to exercise it. It is a fallacy to say you cannot control yourself. It is a lie from the accuser who longs to enslave you to say you can’t choose obedience. And it helps to remember who God is, He is The LORD. He chooses to send the rain and the sun. He chooses to bless and He chooses not to bless. Verses 26-32 read,
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak of Moreh? 31 For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.”
The promises of God are waiting for you. It is time to choose self-control, obey The Lord and be blessed. Worrying is not loving the Lord, worrying means you have put yourself in God’s throne. If you choose to sit there, He’ll let you. But He has also promised to let you experience the curse of Egypt so that you will choose to take possession of the Promised Land. 
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    Donna Campbell

    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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    Ahaz
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    Ahimelech
    A Little Lower Than The Angels
    All Have Sinned
    All Things Created
    All Things Work Together For Good
    Almighty
    Altar
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    Ammonites
    Ammonites.
    Amnon
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    And Moses?
    Andrea Barringer
    Andrew
    And The Life
    And The Life.
    And The Truth
    Angels
    Anger
    Angie Majewski
    Anna Bonet
    Annoint
    Annointed
    Anoint
    Anointed
    Anointing
    Antichrist
    Antichrists
    Anti-Semitism
    Anxiety
    Apocalypse
    Apostle
    Apostle Of Love
    Apple
    Apple Of My Eye
    Approval
    Arguments
    Ark
    Ark Of The Covenant
    Armor
    Armor Of God
    Army
    Aroma
    Arrest
    Arrogance
    Artaxerxes
    Asaph
    Asceticism
    As God Is My Witness
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    Asherah
    Ask
    Ask And You Will Receive
    Ask Anything
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    Audio
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    Awake
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    Axe Head
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    Baal
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    Bad Boss
    Balaam
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    Banner
    Baptism
    Baptize
    Bathsheba
    Beacon
    Bear Iniquity
    Bear One Another's Burdens
    Beast
    Beatitudes
    Beauty
    Beauty For Ashes
    Become Like Children
    Be Doers
    Be Fruitful And Multiply
    Began A Good Work In You
    Behavior
    Be Holy As I Am Holy
    Beleive
    Belief
    Believe
    Beloved
    Ben-hadad
    Benjamin
    Be Silent And Be Thought A Fool
    Be Still And Know I Am God
    Bethel
    Betrayal
    Better Is One Day
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    Bible Study
    Black Lives Matter
    Blame
    Blameless
    Blasphemy
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    Blessed
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    Bless Those Who Curse You
    Blind
    BLM
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    Blood Moon
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    Born Again
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    Boston Dad
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    Branch
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    Bread
    Bread Of Life
    Breath
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    Breath Of God
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    Bride
    Bridegroom
    Bride Of Christ
    Bridle The Tongue
    Broken
    Broken Heart
    Brotherhood
    Brotherhood Of Man
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    Burial
    Burnt Offering
    Burn Weapons
    Busy
    Busyness
    Bystanders
    By This They Will Know
    Caiaphas
    Cain
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    Can't Earn Salvaiton
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    Captivity
    Cast Lots
    Cave
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    Chaff
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    Cheerful Giver
    Cherished
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    Cherubim
    Childbirth
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    Cleansed
    Clothes
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    Continuously
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    Filled
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    First Beast
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    Forgive
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    For The Joy Of The Lord Is Your Strength
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    Forty Days
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    Frank Miller
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    Fringe
    Frogs
    From The Sea
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    Gad
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    Genesis 50:20
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    Glynda Gordon
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    Hosea 6:6
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    How Deep Were The Waters Of The Flood?
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    Idols
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    If You Were Arrested For Being A Christian Would There Be Enough Evidence To Convict You?”
    Ignorance
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    Imitate God
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    In The World Not Of The World
    Intimacy
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    Isaac
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    Isaiah 55:11
    Isaiah 61:1 3
    Isaiah 61:1-3
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    Lies
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    Lighthouse
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    Luke
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    Now You Know
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    October 21st 2015
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    Receiving
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    Salt Of The Earth
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    Seperate
    September 27th 2015
    Sermon On The Mount
    Serpent
    Serpent's Stone
    Servant
    Serve
    Seth
    Seven
    Seven Bowls
    Seven Plagues
    Seven Spirits
    Seven Stars
    Seventh Seal
    Seventh Trumpet
    Seven Thunders
    Seven Years
    Sex
    Sexual Immorality
    Shadow Of Your Wings
    Shakers
    Shame
    Shammah
    Share Your Faith
    She Bear
    Shebna
    Sheep
    Shem
    Sheol
    Shepherd
    Shield
    Shield Of Faith
    Shofar
    Shout
    Showbread
    Shulammite
    Shunammite
    Signs
    Silence
    Silent
    Simon
    Simon The Magician
    Simple Truth
    Sin
    Sinless
    Sin Nature
    Sin No More
    Sin Offering
    Sins
    Sin That Leads To Death
    Sister
    Sixth Trumpet
    Slave
    Slavery
    Smoking Pot
    Smyrna
    Snatch From Hell
    Sodom
    Soldier
    Soldiers
    Solid Food
    Solomon
    Son
    Song Of Moses
    Son Of God
    Sons
    Sons Andd Daughters
    Sons Of God
    Sons Of Korah
    Sons Of The Prophets
    Sons Of Thunder
    Sons Pay For Father's Sin
    Soon
    Sores
    Sorrow
    Sound Doctrine
    Sound Mind
    Soup
    Sour Grapes
    Sovereign
    Sow
    Speak And Remove All Doubt
    Speak Evil
    Spirit
    Spirit Filled
    Spirit Of Courage
    Spirit Of Fear
    Spirit Of God
    Spirit Of Life
    Spirit Of Power
    Spirit Of Truth
    Spiritual Gifts
    Spirituality
    Spiritual Milk
    Spiritual Warfare
    Stand
    Stand Fast
    Stands At The Door And Knocks
    Starvation
    Stay Awake
    Steadfast
    Steadfastness
    Stealing
    Stew
    Stewardship
    Storm
    Straight And Narrow
    Strait And Narrow
    Strength
    Strong
    Stronghold
    Struggles
    Stumbling Block
    Submission
    Submit
    Submit To One Another
    Such A Time As This
    Suffer
    Suffering
    Suffering Produces Character
    Suicide
    Sunday
    Supernatural
    Support
    Sustainer
    Swear
    Sword
    Sword Of The Spirit
    Syria
    Tabernacle
    Tamar
    Tampons
    Tarot
    Tassels
    Taste And See That The Lord Is Good
    Teacher
    Teachers
    Teaching
    Tears In Heaven
    Tempation
    Temple Of God
    Temptation
    Ten Commandments
    Ten Nations
    Tent
    Ten Tribes
    Ten Virgins
    Test
    Testimony
    Testing
    Thanksgiving
    Thanksgivng
    The Day Of The Lord
    The Devil Prowls Like A Roaring Lion
    The Devil Wears Prada
    The End
    The Enemy
    The Eye Is The Lamp Of The Body
    The Fool Says
    The God Who Sees Me
    The Joy Of The Lord
    The Lamb Is The Lamp
    The Lord Is Our Righteousness
    The Lord Is There
    The Love Of Money
    The Love Of Money Is A Root Of All Kinds Of Evils
    The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Kinds Of Evil
    There Is A Time
    "There Is No God."
    The Rider On A White Horse
    The Testimony Of Jesus Is The Spirit Of Prophecy
    The Truth
    The Truth Will Set You Free
    The Way
    The World Will Hate You
    Thief In The Night
    Thirst
    Thomas
    Thoughts
    Thousand Generations
    Thousand Years
    Thou Shalt Not Covet
    Three
    Three Fold
    Three-Fold
    Throne Of God
    Through Him Who Strengthens Me
    Time
    Time Alone
    Timothy
    Tithe
    Titus
    Tolerance
    Tomb
    Tongue
    Tongues
    To The Third And Fourth Generaton
    Traits Of God
    Trample The Enemy
    Transform
    Transformation
    Transparent
    Treason
    Treasure
    Treasure In Heaven
    Tree
    Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil
    Tree Of Life
    Trial
    Trials
    Tribulation
    Tribulations
    Trinity
    Trip
    Triumphant
    Triumphant Entry
    Troubles
    True
    True Beauty
    True Vine
    Trumpet
    Trust
    Truth
    Tsid-Kenu
    Turn The Other Cheek
    TV
    Twin
    Two Edged Sword
    Two Horns Like A Lamb
    Two Or Three Witnesses
    Two Witnesses
    Type Of Christ
    Tyrant
    Unclean
    Undefiled
    Unequally Yoked
    Unfading
    Unfair
    Union
    United
    Unity
    Universe
    Unleavened
    Unrepentant
    Unseen
    Uriah
    Uzza
    Uzzah
    Uzziah
    Valley Of Bones
    Vanessa Giorgi
    Vashti
    Veil
    Vengeance
    Vengeance Is Mine
    Veruca Salt
    Very Present Help
    Vessels
    Victory
    Video
    Vindicate
    Vindication
    Vine
    Vinedresser
    Vineyard
    Vipers
    Vow
    Vows
    Wages Of Sin Is Death
    Wait
    Walk
    Walk According To The Spirit
    Walk In The Light
    Walk In Truth
    Walk On Water
    War
    Warrior King
    Wash
    Washed By The Blood
    Watchful
    Water
    Water Of Life
    Way
    Weak
    Weaker Vessel
    Wealth
    Weary
    Weather
    Wedding
    Wedding Feast
    Wedding Garment
    Weeping
    Well With You
    Were There Blood Sacrifices Before Abraham
    What Does God Want
    What Does Seven Mean In The Bible
    What Does Three Mean In The Bible
    What Is God's Will?
    What Is The Will Of God?
    What's Down In The Well
    Wheat And Chaff
    Wheat And Tares
    Wheat And Weeds
    When God Says No
    Where Grace Abounds
    Where Two Or Three Are Gathered
    While We Were Still Sinners
    Whisper
    White
    Whitewash
    White Wash
    Who Can Be Against Us
    Whoever Believes In Me
    Who Is God
    Who Opens And No One Will Shut
    Whore
    Why
    Why Did Noah Take 7 Pairs Of Clean Animals On The Ark?
    Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen
    Why Do Evil Men Prosper
    Widow
    Widows
    Widows And Orphans
    Wife
    Wilderness
    Will
    Wind
    Windex
    Wine
    Winepress
    Wisdom
    Witch Of En-dor
    Withdraw
    Witness
    Wives
    Wives Submit To Your Husbands
    Woe
    Woman
    Wood
    Word
    Word Is A Lamp
    Word Of God
    Words
    Workmanship
    Works
    Works Of The Flesh
    World
    Worries
    Worship
    Worship In Spirit And In Truth
    Worthy
    Wounds
    Wrarfare
    Wrath
    Wrath Of The Lamb
    Xerxes
    Year Of Jubilee
    Year Of The Sabbath
    Yeast
    Yes
    Yoke
    YOLO
    Young
    Zeal
    Zebulun
    Zedekiah
    Zephaniah
    Ziba
    Zion
    Zoltar

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