He has the last word!

Proverbs 16: 1 (The Message)

Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.

I have had a number of conversations with distraught people in the last 24 hours.

Some are distraught over the ruling of the highest court of this land, related to marriage.

Some have received devastating news, regarding injustice in their family.

Be sure of this my friends—those of you, whose steps are orchestrated by the Most High God—all is not lost!

In the end , God will have the last word about everything.

No matter how persuasive the legal opinions of lawyers might be, Jesus has the last word in every person’s life.

That’s why it’s so important to trust in God’s unfailing Word—and not in the opinions of man.

The opinions of man, legal or otherwise, have never stood up to God—unless they are of God to begin with.

The world is filled up to the brim, of advice of many kinds.

As for me and my house…. “I dare not trust the sweetest frame—but wholly lean on Jesus’ name!”

When this world looks like it’s about to cave in at any minute—who will you trust?

It is only Jesus, who can truly lay claim to these words….. “I AM THE ALMIGHTY!!”

Maybe those of you who are riddled with fear and worry, you need to remember who Jesus is.

Too many times, we have the wrong idea, of who has all the power.

Remember—HE is the author of our faith—and HE’S the finisher of it too!

Offer a hand of Peace!

2 Corinthians 5: 18 – 19

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.

 

The ministry of reconciliation, especially when it’s found in the church, is something beautiful to behold.

Followers of Christ cannot stay embittered toward anyone, because it is a mark of a Christian.

 

Regardless of how it’s received, we must make every effort to offer a hand of peace.

We must always make that effort!

 

Did you every say something to someone, and didn’t think about the ramifications, before the words spilled out of your mouth?

We’ve all done it, but there is something so wonderful, when someone allows us to go free.

That’s reconciliation.

 

Paul is telling us all in this verse, how important it is to demonstrate the love of Jesus.

Jesus made the first move toward us, and reconciled us.

Maybe we should make the first move, more than we do.

 

Refusing to reconcile with other people, is a complete failure to comply with the order of God’s Word.

Since we have been reconciled to Christ, through His sacrifice, then we ought to be bearers of the light of His love.

 

Was the misunderstanding you had, really worth the effort of carrying that burden?

Who do you need to be reconciled to, today?

 

Maybe it’s time to get over it. Maybe it’s time we get over ourselves….

Out of Order!

Galatians 2: 11

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.

 

It seems that no matter where we look now days, we see conflict abound everywhere.

We see it in the work place—we see it in marriages—and we often see it in the church, as much as we would not want to admit it.

 

Peter had changed his position, and quite frankly, the Apostle Paul called him out on it.

How could Paul do that, to the one person Christ was going to use to establish the church?

 

Did you know that Paul was following the pattern that Jesus put in order, regarding conflict?

We think that we should all just get along and sit around and sing Kumbaya in the church.

That would be nice, but once in a while, things need to be set straight in the church—especially when someone or something is out of order.

 

People are afraid of conflict for the most part.

No one wants to ruffle any feathers, and so the person out of order, is often left unchecked.

That’s a dangerous place to be, especially when it happens in the church.

 

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 18—that when a person is out of order—you go to that person—and you correct him/her.

That’s what Paul was doing here to Peter….and once in a while, a rebuke needs to come to the darlings of the church.

 

I personally believe, that the church would be a whole lot healthier, if we made corrections, right when they needed to happen.

People leave churches over conflict—and people even build new churches over conflict.

That sure sounds to me, like a big waste of time. Maybe if the record was set straight right on the spot—we’d actually see more growth in the church…..

A Solitary Place!

Mark 1: 35

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”

Followers of Jesus, often ask why it’s important to pray.

I guess if Jesus lived a life of prayer, maybe so should we.

The Bible describes many events where Jesus prayed.

Jesus prayed for guidance—He prayed for his friends and all believers—Jesus prayed prayers of praise—He prayed prayers of thanksgiving.

His prayer posture was always a reverent one—and we know that He prayed during trying times of anguish.

Let’s not forget the time He taught the disciples how to pray, when he taught them what we know to be, The Lord’s Prayer.

I’ll bet the first time the disciple heard Jesus pray the Lord’s Prayer—there was much more excitement than there is in the church today, when it’s prayed aloud.

It’s plain to see, that Jesus loved the Father, and communicated with Him quite often.

One thing Jesus prayed with, that most folks don’t display in their prayer life these days—was that He prayed with great expectation.

Do you pray expectant prayers?

Thought should be the goal of every believer.

I hear people pray from time to time—at least those who are willing to pray audibly—but I don’t often hear people pray expectantly.

I’ll bet if we learned to pray expectantly, we might have more results in our prayer life, than we have right now…..

Never give up!

2 Chronicles 15: 7

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."

Day after day, I meet more and more people, who would just as soon give up.

You would think it would be more people outside of the church that feel that way, but many followers of Jesus feel so defeated these days.

It got me thinking about arguably the greatest President of these United States of America.

Abraham Lincoln failed in 8 different elections before he was elected President.

Did you know that he was a failure in many business ventures, that left him feeling totally inept—but he never gave up.

Can you begin to imagine, what might have happened to this country, had Abraham Lincoln given up the ship?

The other thing I want you to think about, are the people who are depending upon you, to keep up a full head of steam, in your faith walk.

You might not realize it, but during these uncertain times, people are watching how we take the blows and punches of this culture.

We must always rely on the power of God, which is inside of us, that makes us determined even more, to win the prize.

Walking with Jesus every day, is not at all for wimps.

We must insist on overcoming sin, which by the way is doubt and fear, and we must be focused on pleasing God in all that we do—yes, even if it’s hard!

We must resist on giving up, because the devil would love nothing better.

We must be strong—and we must succeed—and we must NEVER EVER give up—because one day, we will be rewarded for our steadfast work….

20/20 Vision!

2 Corinthians 4: 3 – 4

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel….

 

Paul’s greatest mission on earth, was to bring sight to the spiritually blind.

Fact be told, the church today is filled with spiritually blind people.

 

Scripture tells us that only those who know and love Jesus Christ, have spiritual sight.

We also know, that the Word of God says that those who love Jesus, obey His commands in full.

 

Many people in the world, think that Jesus was the most narrow minded man of all time.

Those are the kinds of people, who can’t see spiritually beyond the end of their nose.

 

I’ve actually had people attend our Winneconne church for a time, and then stopped when they found out what Jesus requires to follow Him.

Those are the people I’m talking about, who do not have sight, to see the things of God—at least not yet.

 

Jesus is narrow minded, and that’s why He encourages us to take the path less traveled. The “narrow” road.

People with spiritual blindness, only see what they want to see, and end up taking the first easy fork that comes along in the road.

People who know Jesus, can actually see the light, because the Kingdom of Jesus, is the Kingdom of light.

 

We all have a choice in this life—spiritual sight or spiritual blindness.

The result of spiritual sight is a sincere and sacrificial worship of God.

Spiritual darkness is always a life filled with emptiness, darkness and gloom and doom…..

Loyalty

Ephesians 2: 19

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household….

 

There are some people in the frame work of the church, that think church membership isn’t important.

The true teaching of God’s Word though, says that we should be local members of the fellowship of believers.

So if we’re part of God’s family, why do so many stay outside of that organization?

 

Did you know that unity within the body of saints, requires loyalty?

We don’t see loyalty in the church like we did some centuries ago.

Something happens that slightly ticks people off, and they often run for the cover of another church.

 

The question should not be when we come to church…. “What’s in it for me?”

The question should be…. “How can God use me, to fulfill the spiritual and practical needs of others in this fellowship?”

 

It’s obvious that there is no shortage of needs to go around in the church.

Each person if they look deep enough in their heart, can find someone to help.

Many hands do make lighter work.

 

Each person should bring a loyal heart into the church house.

We’re supposed to be a family, and the church is a great place to foster that kind of attitude.

 

We’re not a part of a church, to be served—we’re part of the local church, to serve…..