James chapter 4 is interesting in that it tells us some things to do to be better people, to better serve God. Verse 7 says, "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." This emphasizes that there is a spiritual world, spiritual beings within reach of us all. We can control the actions of the devil simply by resisting him. And we can bring God closer by drawing near to Him.
But drawing close to God means a lot of things, some of which are shown here in the rest of this chapter. Verse 8, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners...." Verse 10, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." Verse 11, "Do not speak evil of one another..." Verse 14, "....you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
Let us remember to "submit to God," to do it His way. He knows what is best for us. Have a good week!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
What God said most
Throughout the Bible, God said one thing more than any other when He was talking to His people. He repeated this one thing over and over. Perhaps I've mentioned it before, but if so I will repeat it because it seems so significant. He said, "I Am the Lord." And I would suspect that it was said rather impressively!
One particular time is in Malachi 3, I believe verse 6, where He said, "I Am the Lord; I do not change." That is not a lot of words, but it carries a lot of meaning and power. As the Bible progresses from beginning to end, God changes how He deals with man. In the earliest part of Genesis He dealt with individuals, heads of the family, speaking directly to these leaders. As time progressed, He gave the Law to the Jews. Then in the New Testament, He gave us Jesus and a new law through Him.
In all of this, God never changed. He has always been the same, even if He chose to deal with people in different ways. With so many other things changing constantly in our world, it is nice to know that God doesn't change. That is indicated in the words, "I Am the Lord." Not was, or will be, so much; just "Is." He always Is; constantly Faithful, True, Right, Good, Love." God does not change! Thanks for reading. May God's love be with you!
One particular time is in Malachi 3, I believe verse 6, where He said, "I Am the Lord; I do not change." That is not a lot of words, but it carries a lot of meaning and power. As the Bible progresses from beginning to end, God changes how He deals with man. In the earliest part of Genesis He dealt with individuals, heads of the family, speaking directly to these leaders. As time progressed, He gave the Law to the Jews. Then in the New Testament, He gave us Jesus and a new law through Him.
In all of this, God never changed. He has always been the same, even if He chose to deal with people in different ways. With so many other things changing constantly in our world, it is nice to know that God doesn't change. That is indicated in the words, "I Am the Lord." Not was, or will be, so much; just "Is." He always Is; constantly Faithful, True, Right, Good, Love." God does not change! Thanks for reading. May God's love be with you!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
"What does the Lord require of you?"
The title question was asked of the Israelites, but is applicable to us today.
This comes from Deuteronomy 10:12: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today, for your good?"
This kind of love and commitment will solve a lot of our other questions and problems (notice the "for your good" at the end of the statement). Putting our total trust in Him will take us far, actually far beyond this life. It will make us spiritual in this life and a happy spirit beyond the grave.
He goes on to say in verse 14, "Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it." He owns it all, created it all, and gave it to us for our use. It only makes sense that we put our trust in Him as our Father, and in Jesus.
God is great, God's word is great! Let's all rejoice in it this week. Thanks for reading.
This comes from Deuteronomy 10:12: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today, for your good?"
This kind of love and commitment will solve a lot of our other questions and problems (notice the "for your good" at the end of the statement). Putting our total trust in Him will take us far, actually far beyond this life. It will make us spiritual in this life and a happy spirit beyond the grave.
He goes on to say in verse 14, "Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it." He owns it all, created it all, and gave it to us for our use. It only makes sense that we put our trust in Him as our Father, and in Jesus.
God is great, God's word is great! Let's all rejoice in it this week. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Forgiveness of Sins
The bottom line is forgiveness of sins. But let's go to the beginning of the story.
Paul began his first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 13, by sailing with Barnabus to the island of Cyprus, taking along John Mark. After preaching in Cyprus, they sailed north to the mainland of Pamphylia to the city of Perga, then on to Antioch in Pisidia. Starting in Acts 13, Paul preaches to the Jews in the synagogue, reviewing some of their history. He mentions John the Baptist in vs 24, how John was preaching "the baptism of repentance."
As the sermon progresses, Paul talks about Jesus, how He was crucified, died, buried, and was raised from the dead and appeared to witnesses. He then comes down to a conclusion in vs 38: "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins." That is, through Jesus is preached the forgiveness of sins.
So the point here is that this is the main message of the gospel, God's word. That is, by following Jesus, believing in Him, and doing His will, we can have forgiveness of sins. And that is the secret to eternal life.
In summary, the message was not about how to have the perfect life here on earth, how to solve all social ills or any other kind of ills. The primary purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to preach about the forgiveness of sins. By serving Him here, which is to also serve our fellow man, and obeying His will, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Let's do it!
Take the time to read Acts 13.....and I'll see you next week!
Paul began his first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 13, by sailing with Barnabus to the island of Cyprus, taking along John Mark. After preaching in Cyprus, they sailed north to the mainland of Pamphylia to the city of Perga, then on to Antioch in Pisidia. Starting in Acts 13, Paul preaches to the Jews in the synagogue, reviewing some of their history. He mentions John the Baptist in vs 24, how John was preaching "the baptism of repentance."
As the sermon progresses, Paul talks about Jesus, how He was crucified, died, buried, and was raised from the dead and appeared to witnesses. He then comes down to a conclusion in vs 38: "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins." That is, through Jesus is preached the forgiveness of sins.
So the point here is that this is the main message of the gospel, God's word. That is, by following Jesus, believing in Him, and doing His will, we can have forgiveness of sins. And that is the secret to eternal life.
In summary, the message was not about how to have the perfect life here on earth, how to solve all social ills or any other kind of ills. The primary purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to preach about the forgiveness of sins. By serving Him here, which is to also serve our fellow man, and obeying His will, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Let's do it!
Take the time to read Acts 13.....and I'll see you next week!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Avoiding Evil
Well, the computer has been down, and I do mean down, low down. But we're back!
The passage in 1Corinthians 6:9-11 is not very comfortable, but worthy of our reading anyway. It says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
God expects His people to be different from other people in the world. And this difference must not be hidden, but must be a light to the world, as we read in Matthew 5. We all know that the world needs lights right now. It always has, but it certainly is needed now. Let's let our lights shine and be the exceptional people that God wants us to be!
Thanks for reading! See you next week.
The passage in 1Corinthians 6:9-11 is not very comfortable, but worthy of our reading anyway. It says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
God expects His people to be different from other people in the world. And this difference must not be hidden, but must be a light to the world, as we read in Matthew 5. We all know that the world needs lights right now. It always has, but it certainly is needed now. Let's let our lights shine and be the exceptional people that God wants us to be!
Thanks for reading! See you next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
