Thankful

I am going to start here with the worst expression in the English language today...and with the best.  The worst expression is "Oh my God."  This is so common, yet so demeaning to our God.  It is using the name of God in a useless, meaningless way.  It is taking the name of God in vain, and He doesn't like that.  Don't do it!

The best expression, I think, is "Thank you, Lord."  I say this all of the time, but no human ever hears it.  There are so many times in every day that we all have to thankful to our Lord.  When I had a car wreck about a year and a half ago, a semi swerved into me on the interstate, I hit it with a smash and I didn't get a scratch.  I was thankful, and I continue to be thankful.  And while life can be hard many times, we all have lots of good reasons to be thankful...every day.

We know that life is short.  James 4 says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow I will go to this or that city, live, do business and make a profit' when you don't even know what will happen tomorrow!  What is your life?  It is a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills I will live and do this or that.' "

There are two thoughts here:  One is that we need to put our trust in the Lord.  He sometimes steps into our lives.  We don't know when or why always...but we know that He does.  The second thought is that our lives are short and we need to use our time and resources wisely. 

But whether God steps into our lives here on earth, one thing that we know is that He does save us, all of us who follow Him, eternally.  He offers us salvation...forever....and that means everything.  This life can bring unbelievable pain and heartache; but He offers us freedom from all of that forever! 

So we can be thankful.....everyday....to our Lord.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life."  He is the way, the only way.  He tells us the truth.  And most importantly, He gives us LIFE, real life, forever life.

Trust in the Lord!   Thanks, for reading.  Have a really great..and thankful...week.

Self Control

There are so many things that beset us, things that tempt us, try us, entrap us.  The devil is real and out to get us....and he does sometimes.  Sometimes he wins.....and we let him do it....freely.  It is interesting that we all have different challenges in our lives.  We know that what tempts one person may not tempt us at all.  And sometimes we marvel that another person could be so weak in an area of their lives, knowing that what is so difficult for them to avoid doesn't look attractive to us at all.  But that is life.

The subject of self control is much broader than that.  It seems to extend across all aspects of our lives, all temptations.  Whatever tempts us, each of us, has one solution:  self control.  In all of the Bible, the one thing that is taught for us to control is Self.  We cannot control so many things in our lives.  Think about that.......politics, weather, traffic, other people's actions, even health sometimes.  Many things are out of our control.  But Self....now there is our challenge.

Peter in listing the things that we are to add to our faith, includes self control.  It is a critical ingredient to our service to God.  (2Peter 1:6) "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Notice Paul's teaching in Acts 24:24, "Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess.  He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now...."  Felix was a man whose life was totally out of control, at least in the sense of righteousness.  But we also know that, while me may not be a Felix, we have our need for self control.

I wish for you all the best of God's blessings in developing more and more of the control of self...and the service to our Lord.

The teachings are many for our practice of self control.  But we know that it is easier said than done in controlling ourselves.  Let us each work on us; let me work on Me.  Surely I need it. 

Sons of Abraham

We are sons of Abraham.  That may seem a bit strange since Abraham lived several thousand years ago.  But in fact, Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation through his son Isaac and on down through the generations.  And Abraham is the father of the Arab world, the Muslims, through the son Ishmael of Abraham.  And since Jesus is a distant relative of Abraham...in an earthly sense, we too are children, descendants of Abraham...in a spiritual sense.

We see the latter connection, the Christian connection, by going back to Genesis 12 and seeing the promise of God to Abraham there.  Several promises were made to Abraham by God in this passage.  But the one of great significance to us says, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

Galatians 3 makes the connection clear between Abraham and the Christian.  It is here in this Galatians passage that this Jesus, a descendant in an earthly sense, is the seed of Abraham.  Note verse 16: "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ."  And verse 29 sums it all up:  "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

We then, as Christians, are heirs of Abraham; not in a physical sense or any bloodline.  But we are heirs in a spiritual sense...through the gift of Jesus Christ..and heirs "according to promise,"  the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12.

Somehow this seems a bit complicated; but it is wonderful thing to be an heir to Christ and to the promise of Abraham.  Only a Christian, a true follower of Jesus has this comfort.  Yes!

Thanks for reading.....and have a great week!