Why NOT me?

Luke 9: 24

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

 

Have you ever heard the expression…… “No Pain—No Gain”?

That seems to fit the experience, of walking every day with Jesus.

 

Yet so many people, when something trying happens to them, their first reaction is often….. “Why me”?

There are some, who think that by following Jesus, it allows them a, “Get out of Jail, FREE card.”

That’s hardly the case.

 

The Bible says that we should not be surprised at all, when a fiery trial comes our way.

Believer’s in Christ should not expect their lives to be a bed of roses all the time.

We should expect to suffer, just as Jesus suffered for us. The Bible even says that we should be happy about it.

 

Sorry if this sound crass, but American Christians are some of most spoiled people on earth.

I told a friend the other day, that Americans only make up 10% of the world’s population, yet we consume 70% of the worlds goods.

I think that proves my point.

 

But I often hear people say….. “I just can’t do this anymore!”

What I’d like to say to them is….. “When did this ever become about you?”

 

When we suffer, it is the perfect opportunity for God to reveal Himself to us.

Jesus is coming back for those who overcome. Overcome what? Trials of many kinds……..

Intentional Relationship

Revelation 1: 8

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

 

Did you stop to realize, that God is an intentional God.

One day He decided to form the earth, and everything in it.

 

To be intentional, means to be firmly steadfast or fixated and firmly directed.

It is to be determined so that nothing stands in the way of the ultimate goal.

When it came to us, nothing would stand in the way of God providing for our every need.

 

Are you intentional in your relationship with Him?

Often times, we’re filled with good intentions, but we so often we let many things stand in the way in them being completed.

 

Being intentional with God, requires deep thought, and taking His Word and applying those Words to every area of our life.

It requires all of our heart, and all of our mind, and all of our strength.

 

Will you give that to God today?

Will you be intentional, to include Him in every area of your life?

Will you allow Him to fix the areas of your life, that are totally mixed up?

 

To be intentional with God today, will require action.

Sacred Holdings!

2 Peter 1: 18

We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

Do you remember a time, when the people of the church, held things sacred?

Sacred means to be separated from sin, and 100% dedicated to God.

What are the sacred things in your life?

We need to remember, that God is Holy, and He has called us to be Holy as well.

There was a time, when the church held in honor, honoring the Sabbath and worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

That’s a tenant of the faith, that doe not appear to be sacred anymore.

So it begs the question this morning….. What area of our lives used to honor God, that no longer do?

What are those things that we would never do or say, knowing full well that they are seen as offensive to God?

So much has changed in Christianity—at least for some it has.

There used to be a time, when the church was like a virgin who was keeping herself for the bridegroom.

The return of the Bridegroom could be at any time, but don’t we see things unclean and unfit come into the church from time to time?

Maybe it’s just me, but it sure appears that the church has become reckless, idle, relaxed, and casual, and we have allowed things to come in, that truly defile God.

If we’re really dedicated to God, we cannot be devoted to anyone, or anything else.

Maybe it’s time we stopped again, to hear the voice that comes from Heaven.

Maybe it’s time we go back, to serve Him, on the Holy mountain, and not serve ourselves……….

Fruitless talk

Proverbs 4: 24

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Words are powerful, aren’t they?

They can wound the spirit of another person—Words can leave permanent scars.

Words can sew seeds of corruption, and can tarnish a good reputation in nothing flat.

Words can also produce a very profound blessing.

I wonder if this chapter of Proverbs, is just telling us to keep from using foul language?

Probably not.

There are many forms of corrupt talk.

Gossip—deception—slander—rumor—negativity……

All of these by the way, contradict the revealed charter of God.

Scripture tells us to get rid of fruitless talk.

We are responsible to use speech that build up, not tear down.

Do you guard the way you use your tongue?

The tongue is a formidable weapon, and it can wield power that most of us never thought.

Maybe we should use our tongue, so it brings honor to God, and the people around us?

A wise person knows when to speak their mind—and knows how to mind what they speak……….

Wisdom

Proverbs 4: 21 – 22

Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;  for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.

Do not let them out of your sight? Keep them within your heart?

The Word’s of God……

The one living a Godly life, does not do so without exerting energy.

It certainly is not a life of wandering to and fro.

Those who are looking for God’s Word to change them—only do so by actively feeding themselves with it.

Just purely listening to one of my sermons will leave you completely frustrated.

The only way change comes about, is when a person begins to apply the truth’s of God to their lives.

Sitting in a pew week after week, will never do anything radical in a believer’s life.

Wisdom from God received, must be consumed and absorbed.

Do you hear truth, and then turn your heart to other things?

I met someone one day, who was having trouble with a hidden sin.

They told me…. “I just think this was the way that God made me.” Really?

So do we think,  that God made serial killer’s that way on purpose?

Not hardly!

We must set our affections on God’s Word and then lock them in our heart.

The promises from God for doing so, will bring about something truly amazing……..

Firm level path!

Proverbs 4: 26

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

 

I wonder what “level” means in this context?

Which ways are, “firm” ways?

 

What the world considers “level” and what the world considers “firm”, are two distinctly different paths.

Was the way of the cross for Jesus, a “firm”, “level” path?

According to God it was, and it was the ultimate expression of faithfulness for the furtherance of the Gospel.

 

Following “firm”, “level” paths does not require conventional wisdom.

It requires a deep and selfless act of faith.

 

When you and I seek spiritual direction in our lives, we should give no credence of whether the path is safe or not.

Walking the “firm”, “level” way of Christ, always requires risk and sacrifice.

 

Is the path you’re on, one that you have chosen, or one that God has chosen for you?

Is the path you’re on, sensitive to God’s truth, and has an ear attentive to listen for His voice of reason?

 

If not—you could be on the wrong path…………

Look up!

Proverbs 4: 25

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

My dad could do many things. Among them, was that he was an accomplished welder.

He could weld almost every metal, including aluminum.

He would always wear goggles or a welding helmet for protection for his eyes, because of the bright light.

Sometimes I think we all should protect our eyes. Not from the bright lights necessarily—but from the pending darkness that lurks.

Many sins begin with the eyes. What the eyes gaze upon, the heart begins to crave.

Our eyes take in the great big picture, and we allow them to make way too many demands on us.

A glimpse can turn into a gaze, and before you know it, the gaze can turn into a deep craving.

When it’s a godly craving—not to worry. When it’s not, then there’s a real need to be concerned.

Glances can become compulsions and idols and coveting and lusts, if we allow that to happen.

What you and I gaze at, tells a lot of what’s really important to us.

We should fix our eyes on what is ultimately worthy of our attention.

My suggestion…..Maybe we should gaze upward, toward our heavenly calling…………

Be on Guard !

Proverbs 4: 23

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

 

Oscar Robertson was one of the best point guards, to ever play the game of basketball.

He enjoyed an illustrious career in the NBA, and guarded his opponents with great intensity.

 

Our hearts are pretty much given free reign by many of us.

Our hearts often change as often as the weather changes.

 

Many of us make decisions based on feelings.

I know folks who let their emotions define who they are.

Just be sure of this—that’s a very dangerous way to live!

 

We should be careful to guard our hearts, and we should also be very careful of what we allow to come in to them.

The Word of God implies that our hearts should never be an open door, to allow unbiblical beliefs to enter in.

 

Sadly, that is the case for many people.

We are not to be held captive by feelings or emotions, but governed by the very Word of God.

 

If your heart is dictated by feelings, finding direction from God, might become a toilsome task.

Today, I encourage you…….to be on guard!

Direction

Hebrews 12: 11

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

Our Grandson Carter, when he first arrived home from the Ukraine, was totally dependent upon his Mommy and Daddy.

Since he’s grown up, he has developed at times, a mind of his own.

On occasion, he even has his own agenda.

 

He needs direction, and guidance, and his life needs to be shaped by some pretty incredible parents.

One day he’ll know that it was Jake & Ashley’s tender, and not so tender love, that shaped his life.

 

In our walk of faith, we need direction too.

Sometimes we need a good old fashioned walk to the wood shed with the Lord.

We must always accept His discipline, and we must accept it humbly—especially when we seemingly have our own agenda.

 

He knows what’s good for us, and we should never grow frustrated or discouraged when discipline comes from the Lord.

He really wants to use us, but we all need to be made ready for use.

 

I don’t know about you, but as for me, He still has an awful lot of work to do with Dan.

I’m looking forward to the righteous and peace part of this process, even if getting there, hurts once in a while…….

Searching

John 6: 24

Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

 

The average cell phone user glances at their cell phone over 150 times per day, checking for messages or reading texts.

They also use at an average of 459 minutes per month of air time.

I wonder what might happen, if we used that almost 8 hours per month, reading God’s Word—the Bible?

 

This New Testament story says, that these people went to another town in search of Jesus.

How much time will you use today, searching for Jesus?

I’m not sure I want the answer, of how much time the average person spends reading the Bible each day.

I’ll bet it’s a far cry from 459 minutes per month—which is 7.65 hours.

 

The average person uses various sources of technology over 6 hours per day.

That just boggles my mind!

 

Is it any wonder why, we live during the most Biblical illiterate time in the history of mankind?

Is it any wonder why marriages are taking a dump?

Is it any wonder why kids seem to be more rebellious than ever before?

 

Maybe if we spent more time searching for the things of Jesus, we’d actually find them…………

Mourning

Psalm 30: 11 – 12 (NKJV)

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

 

I’m so glad that we have a God who cares enough, to turn our mourning into dancing.

Maybe you’re going through something tumultuous right now—well when God shows up, that all going to change!

 

A time is coming, when this old world will have passed us by.

A time is coming, when we’re all going to give thanks to Him, forever and ever and ever……………

Holy Loyalty

Psalm 78: 36 – 37

But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.

 

Did you know that holiness in the church, is having the same mindset of God?

It is when we allow our thinking, to come into agreement with the Word of God, that something powerful begins to happen.

 

The very tenants of the covenant of membership of our church in Winneconne, are saturated with God’s Word.

Sometimes we need to take heed of the promise we made to God—and the promise we made to each other.

 

Loyalty is important to God, and it’s important to the people we attend church with.

Sometimes we get out of alignment with God’s Word, and it is at the time, that we need to realign ourselves.

Sometimes we say one thing in the church, and then we do another.

 

Holiness is being in one mind with God, and in one mind with God’s people.

It’s when a person agrees with what God’s says is right—and with what God says is wrong.

We are to pursue holiness, and the Bible says that without holiness, we shall not see God.

 

How is your walk of holiness today?

Do you see things the way that God sees them?

Are you loyal to His calling, and loyal in the church you attend?

 

Holiness and loyalty is something that has to be worked out day by day.

How will you work that out today?

Don’t say one thing, and then do another……………

ALL things!

Matthew 19: 26

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Don’t you just love it, when Jesus uses the word… “all”?

What impossible situation, are you dealing with today?

Jesus has the power to make something impossible, very possible.

Do you really believe that?

Remember, the word in the Word of God today says, “all things”, not “some things”.

Will you trust Him enough today, to open up that door that has been forever closed?

Will you trust Him for that job, that seems impossible to find?

Will you trust Him today, to repair that relationship that seems beyond repair?

Will you trust Him for the healing in your health, that has been slow to come?

You might be feeling lately like giving up, but don’t ever count Jesus out of the equation.

He ALWAYS shows up at the right time—and in the nick of time.

Remember—Jesus is able to do the impossible in every area of our lives.

Will we have enough faith in Him today, and will we trust in Him today, with the impossible?

Before we answer that question, we should also give credence to this verse;

Hebrews 11: 6

And without faith it is impossible to please God………..

Holding your tongue

Proverbs 18: 21

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

The power of the tongue has the power of life and death.

Which does your tongue bring more consistently?

Maybe it’s just me, but my Momma always told me….. “If you can’t say anything nice—then don’t say anything at all!”

I don’t know if I fully subscribe to that way of thinking, but I do know that if I held my tongue more in some instances, it probably would have saved me a whole lot of trouble in the long run.

Do you feel like you have to always have the last word?

What if that last word, brought pain and heartache?

I love words of encouragement, and really don’t like disparaging remarks.

I guess as I consider how I feel when someone says something crass to me—maybe that will motivate me to be more careful in what I have to say.

How will you choose, to use your tongue today?

You know that everything we think—does not necessarily have to come out of our mouth.

Maybe there is something to that old adage, of holding our tongue………

Show Kindness and Love

James 4: 17

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

 

How many times have you and I sinned, because we knew something God wanted us to do, and we chose just not to do it?

There are countless ways to show kindness and love to those around us.

 

As a believer in Christ, we need to learn to live our lives according to God’s standards.

Look at your life……Are there things that you know God desires you to do, that you have decided not to do, because you were too busy or you just didn’t feel like it?

 

It’s easy to say that we’re going to do good tomorrow.

It’s easy to say that tomorrow we’ll have more time to touch the lives of those around us.

It’s easy to tell ourselves that tomorrow we’ll  stop and help those around us.

 

However, we are judged today for what we do, or don’t do, today…………..

Grumbling

James 5: 9

Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

 

Most of the warnings that come from the Word of God, are actually directed to the people inside of the church.

You’d think that by now, we’d have things well figured out—but that must not be the case.

The people outside of the church are the ones that have it all wrong—but that does not seem to be the case either.

 

From time to time, we still grumble about other people inside of the church.

I could be mistaken, but I thought we were supposed to build one another up in the church??

 

On this first day of the week, why don’t we all try this.

Instead of grumbling about a person in church—or a leader or the Pastor at church—why not start praying for that person?

I’ll bet a whole bunch of grumbling would stop—if we all started praying……..

Test Everything!

1 Thessalonians 5: 22

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

 

There will be situations that will come in the New Year, that must be tested.

Paul was not talking about what felt good—he was talking about what is good.

Good in the Father’s eyes.

 

The enemy will bring deception and he will package it in such a way, that will look appetizing.

Those are the things that Paul said we should avoid.

 

Should we avoid EVERY kind of evil?

It sure seems like that would be the case.

 

Good things come from God.

Those are the things that we should hold on to.

 

What are you holding on to?

Something good, I hope……….

Spiritually Fit

Matthew 2: 11

On Coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him.

 

How will you worship God in this new year?

What gift will you bring to Him, that shows your appreciation and affection?

 

Department stores are promoting equipment to stay in fit.

You can save as much as 30% off the regular prices.

 

God’s gift is free.

To stay spiritually fit, God has given us His Word.

What if our true purpose in this New Year, was to stay spiritually fit?

 

I don’t know about you, but I could sure use that kind of workout……………