"The Price to Pay" - Too

 "But to call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;" (Hebrews 10:32 KJV)

  "A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison - your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple."" (Luke 14:25-27 NLT)

 If there is one thing that I have strived hard to do, it is not giving up on believing everything will be as it may, just as the Lord has promised me! Take my word for this, there has been times when I failed to be faithfully doing what I should; even times doing the things I should not; but no matter how much I messed up, there was always security in knowing how to get back home! 

 I have watched so many people that have given up; many of which I prayed for, that they would make a U-turn and turn back to the Lord. Some of those who seemed to be so strong, finding out that trials and tribulations do happen, they simply walk away from the Lord, forgetting what they were saved for! 

 When you forget why you are safe and secure, the trials we face can sometimes make us doubt what we were safe and secure from; that is something that can happen even to the strongest of us, if we take our eyes off of Jesus! Even John the Baptist ended up with doubt; as he was imprisoned and had his disciples go ask Jesus, "Are you the One, or do we look for another?" Yet, he knew who Jesus was, even before he was born! 

 Don't be surprised when you pure out everything to serve the Lord and then find yourself in a storm that seems to last forever! The storm will end; you will be safe and sound; He will get you to the other side, one way or another: Keep the faith and never give up...

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14 NLT) 

  

"The Price to Pay"

"But call to remember the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;" (Hebrews 10:32 KJV)

  "Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it." (Philippians 1:27-30 NLT)

 We should all know by now, this world is not going to be friendly towards us, after we have decided to follow Jesus. Satan is the cause of that, as he rules the dark forces of this world, which is what makes us an enemy of the world in which we must temporary live in. Jesus made this abundantly clear: 'The world hated Me, it will hate you also!' 

 There is more to this life of believing and serving the Lord, than the fellowship and learning what we should do and how we must live; there are persecutions and things that come against us, most of which sometimes hit us off guard, which can sometimes make us feel conflicted. It is those times that matter the most, as we can be testimonies of the grace we have been given! 

 I know there are certain days that will make us feel as though we have not got the strength to bare the heavy load; but that is best part of this wonderful journey: He never gives us more than we can handle; which makes it clear to us that everything will work out for the best, one way or another...

"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and one purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form. he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." (Philippians 2:1-8 NLT)  

"Formidable!"

 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31 KJV)

  "We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. You spread out our sins before you - our secret sins - and you see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. Seventy years are given us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." (PSALM 90:7-12 NLT 'A prayer of Moses, the man of God') 

 Let me start this be sharing a song from Danial Amos, the title of which was, "Glory Road." In this song, there was a few lyrics that always inspired me and motivated me from time to time, especially when I was feeling a little less adequate and a lot less worthy. The one that made me the most motivated was really quite simple and easy to understand: "Can't back out now, that we have paid our admission!" 

 To make this point more practical and easier to understand, once you are on the bus you are stuck on it, and there really is no way to get off, you are the property of Christ Jesus, and He doesn't let go of those who belong to Him! There are several people I know that will question that, making it the person's will that matters most: to which, with a very sincere and hopeful heart, I say, "God's will is greater than ours, no matter how hard we might fight Him, He is not letting go!" 

 You can believe what you want, but I am sticking to what I believe, no matter how much I mess up, I still will surrender to Him, time and time again. Even though we might fail and do the things we know He doesn't like or want us to do, we get the message that He means business, and we do what we always do, and surrender again, into the arms of our Formidable God! 

 If you can't believe that is so, then you must somehow change and must release any power you might think that you have over God, because you certainly don't have what it takes to win that fight...

"It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at time of Hanukah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. The people surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father's name. But you don't believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from my Father's hand. The Father and I are one."" (John 10:22-30 NLT) 

"The Sense of Requital" - 2

 "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people." (Hebrews 10:30 KJV)

  "Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD. Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads." Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil be doing good." (Romans 12:14-21 NLT)

 Sense we know that God will faithfully carry out all that He has promised to do, then we should clearly believe that He will judge everyone, as He has clearly said He will! This is not anything we need to be fearful over; that is, unless you are guilty of not loving others as you should! That is a pretty big deal, in God's book; something that He has shown us, time and time again: "Treat others as you want to be treated!"

 The judgment for those who have done right, will be that of rewards, not that of penalty or punishment; but that of being judged as a righteous servant, a judgment of being blessed for doing good. At the same time, those who meant to harm us, even though we did them good and tried to love them, they will be an example what happens to those who persecute His anointed ones! 

 That is what that word, "recompense," is showing, which is also both good and bad! It's good for those that do good, but it is bad for those that do bad! God will judge His people; everyone belongs to Him, no one cannot be judged by Him, especially those that don't believe in the Good News and His Son...

"Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. And God will use this persecution to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. I his judgment he will pay back those who persecute you. And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse the Good News of our Lord Jesus." (2 Thessalonians 1:3-8 NLT)  

"The Sense of Requital"

 "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people." (Hebrews 10:30 KJV)

  "The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets. From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. Our God approaches, and he is not silent. Fire devours everything in his way, and a great storm rages around him. He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people." (PSALM 50:1-4 NLT)

 I thought that I might have shared a little more about that last verse, but it already seemed as though I might have said too much. To be perfectly honest, I know for a fact that I have grieved the Holy Spirit more times than I care to remember; but I also know that He is a Gentleman, and He does receive my deep cries for forgiveness! 

 The title for this post was taken from Marvin Vincent, in his description of the word, "Vengeance." There is good and bad in the meaning, as God judges everyone! Nobody will escape being judged; but not everyone will be judged to be punished. There are still some things we do not know; nothing we think we know has been fully discovered or made perfectly clear. 

 When Paul was stoned and left for dead, he shared a small little glimpse of what he heard in Heaven; not what he saw, but that which he heard: "But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell." (2 Corinthians 12:3b-4 NLT) 

I heard a brief message about the fact that no one has actually seen GOD; yet, Jesus has shown Him to us! In a strange sort of way, we cannot see Jesus without God, and we can't see God without Jesus...

""How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony. But if you don't believe me when I tell you earthly things how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."" (John 3:9-17 NLT)     

"Reverse the Curse"

"Of how much sorer punishment, supposed ye, shall be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29 KJV)

  "The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."" (PSALM 91:14-16 NLT)

 For your information, this is more about a warning of what not to do, than it is of something that has already been done; if that makes any sense to anyone, who might be paying attention. There are several things listed, at least three, if you are counting; most certainly almost all of us have done at least one, without even realizing just how harmful it was, and the consequences of what we have done. 

 There is one thing that I have grown to know and believe with all my heart: God is for us and is not against us! His Son is pleading on our behalf! And the Holy Spirit is always waiting to work in us! We must do our part and turn from our wicked ways! This is not just something that is won and done, because the longer we live here on this earth, the more chances we have to mess thing up. 

 This might sound sad to some, but I truly believe that we, (meaning those who are determined to do what is right,) are safe and secure in the salvation that we have been given; what is the sad thing that we might be overlooking, is those that we neglect and abuse, who might not might not make it! There will be tears in heaven, but only for a little while! 

 Anywho, this isn't meant to be about judgment, it is about what we must not do; and if we do what we must not do, we must, with all of our heart, cry out to God for forgiveness and mercy! There might be reasons why some of depart earlier than others, but the truth still remains the same: God really loves us! 

 Grace is what we must hold on to, and don't let go! Because grace is God giving us what we do not deserve...

""The rain and snow come down from heaven and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD'S name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love."" (Isaiah 55:10-13 NLT)   

"The Great Escape"

 "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:" (Hebrews 10:28 KJV)

  ""Your own law says that if two people agree about something their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other." "Where is your father?" they asked. Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father." Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come." (John 8:17-20 NLT)

 As you might know, if you have been following this blog for this past year or so, when I was around twelve years old, I had tried to get serious about serving God; memorizing the Ten Commandments, I thought I could actually try to keep them, but I discovered that was pretty much impossible to do. So, I went totally in the opposite direction, and did whatever I felt like doing, not caring about anything; especially about obeying the law! 

 Several things were the outcome of my rebellion, as I was placed on probation and had gone in and out of jail frequently. All that time, from the time I was a child to the time I became a man, I never stopped believing in God; yet, at the same time, I pretended to not care about His judgment, or even the thought of ending up in hell. 

 You have to understand, when you get to the point when you don't care about God's judgment, you are surely not concerned about man's judgment, and you pretty much do whatever you want. Fortunately for me, God had different plans than I did, and He introduced me to His Son! 

 Whether or not you can believe it, knowing and believing, not just who Jesus is, but what He came for and why, that makes all the difference in the world; there is absolutely nothing more important in this life then knowing and believing in the wonder working power of what He has done; absolutely, positively, nothing else matters more than knowing Christ...

"Later Jesus said to them, "I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going." The people asked, "Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, 'You cannot come where I am going?" Jesus continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins."" (John 8:21-24 NLT)    

 

"Bon Appetit! - Too

 "But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." (Hebrews 10:27 KJV)

  ""Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk - it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will eat the finest food."" (Isaiah 55:1-2 NLT)

 The 'but' in this is the "nevertheless," the "moreover," as to represent those who resist because they know full well that there is only one way to the Kingdom of God, and we must remain on the path that leads to it! This "fiery indignation," which can cut both ways, like a "two-edged-sword," is about zeal, pursuing, and defending anything. In other words, standing firm and defending that which you know to be the Truth, no matter what! 

 It is one thing to know the Truth, that sets you free; but it is more than critical that you use that Truth to defeat the desires of your flesh and the temptations of the enemy. That is even what Jesus did, while being tempted by the devil in the wilderness: He used the Word of Truth, to counter the attack of the enemy, and the enemy left Him alone!

 There are certain things we might not want to give up, thinking that they don't harm others or even ourselves; but if we have any doubt about whether it is good or bad, then we should choose the side that best pleases the Lord, even though you don't think it is harmful; it's for your own good...

"Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. That is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."" (Ephesians 5:10-14 NLT) 

"Bon Appetit!"

 "But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." (Hebrews 10:27 KJV)

  "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJV)

 Okay, so those situations of testing how to make sinful desires take control, although they seem rather childish, they are very real and they must be defeated! Let me tell you from experience, the thing about walking in the Light, is that you really don't get to hide in the darkness, because you will be noticed and you will feel the discomfort of all those that look upon you.

 This portion of Scripture was the main theme of brother Jay's book; and he called it, "The Polar Bear Alert." It is something that we practice saying to ourselves when we are thinking of doing something that we should not be doing, which was the title of his book, called, "Counterattack." 

 The thing we must always look out for, especially when we are being victoriously walking as we should, the enemy will do all that he can to make us vulnerable and off-guard; we won't even realize it, unless we prepare ourselves by remembering the principles of "The Polar Bear Alert." 

 As we look upon this Scripture in Hebrews, there are some positive points to this, which some might be easy to overlook; mostly because it is part of the precious Scripture. If we could take a good look, the way I see it, there is a "But," that is meant to mean to reconsider! In other words, once we know the truth, we must use the Truth that we know, in order to defeat the enemy! 

 There just so much we can do on our own, in these frail and envious bodies; the power is not from us, but it comes from God...

"I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that the same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan the flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:5-7 NLT)  

"Christ or Judgment" - Two

 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins," (Hebrews 10:26 KJV)

  ""There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."" (John 3:18-21 NLT)

 If you don't know this by now, it really shouldn't come to a surprise to you, if it hasn't happened to you yet, because we only keep hold of those sins that we like! That doesn't justify holding on to them, because sooner or later Jesus will cause you to turn from them and will give you the ability to turn the other way, making you hate whatever it was that you were holding onto. 

 If you haven't experienced it yet, I pray that you will, because it is very necessary that we do our very best to obey everything the Lord tells us to do; especially when it is something that is hindering our walk with the Lord! If you haven't had a chance to read that little booklet, "My Heart, Christ's Home," it is well worth you to give it a try. There are several different issues that are brought up, most of which are the things we do that grieve the Lord, without even giving it a second thought. 

 I really liked the part about going out to be entertained, without inviting Jesus to come with us; as he returned home, He is still sitting by the fireplace, asking, "Why didn't you ask me to come with you!" We should have no problem remembering what that looks like, because I'm pretty sure we are all guilty of it, in one way or another. 

 Having said all of that, we have many different ways to willfully sin, even though we know the truth! It is just a matter of preference and ability, like our brother Jay would say, 'It's like putting something you should not eat in the refrigerator,' as if you won't eat it, but still save it, just in case! Or that one about going into a place you should not go, but saying, 'only if there is a parking spot, right in front of the building,' and then you drive around the block several times, until a space becomes available...

 "Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the LORD'S blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior." (PSALM 24:3-5 NLT; A psalm of David) 

"Christ or Judgment"

 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins," (Hebrews 10:26 KJV)

  "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep you servant from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then I will be free from guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (PSALM 19:12-14 NLT)

 Today's post is one that takes us into some serious controversy, much of which is something that has a lot of judgment; most of which is the kind of stuff you might think are sequences from Soap Operas, such as General Hospital or Days of Our Lives. I have been involved in several arguments with people that have determined someone to have never been saved, just because they deliberately committed a sinful act, like having an affair or doing something which should never be done, especially from a man or woman of God. 

 Not to name names, but I know several very influential and well-known Pastors, some that were the heads of very large congregations, who fell from grace, as it were, by cheating on their wives; some even left their wives, even stepping down from their ministry in the process. The sad thing is, there were those that judged them as being lost for what they did, saying things like, "I don't think they were ever a Christian, but just pretended to be saved!" 

 Here is the point when we must think about something which God has made perfectly clear: We all our sinners, and some are more sinful that others! Sometimes the ones with the kindest hearts will be guilty of doing the cruelest and most unloving things, if they try to cover over their sins. If you don't think it is true, then you should remember King David, who had one of his faithful warriors killed, just to cover up the sin of sleeping with his wife, Bathsheba. 

 Did what he do make him destined to hell? Absolutely not! David begged for mercy for what he did; and God poured out grace in the process! Oh, there was several consequences which were in his life, due to the sin he committed, but those were all things that stayed here on this earth. David will be seen by us, when we meet all of the saints in heaven!      

 With all of that, there is nothing we can do that cannot be forgiven; with the exception of not asking God for His forgiveness...     

""Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious."" (Isaiah 55:3-5 NLT)

"What Makes Me Happy!"

 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25 KJV)

  "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT)

 If there was one thing I could say about the importance of going to church, it is the charge I get from being together with by brothers and sisters! It like charging up your battery, from one service to another, we have fellowship and remind ourselves as we come together that we are all one glorious body, even though we all have different lives and circumstances, we still all have one thing in common: We Love Jesus! 

 Actually, I think it is one of the most important things we can do, to make every effort to fellowship with one another. Besides charging up our spiritual battery, we also have some way to keep holding each other accountable. If we don't keep fellowship together, and stay to ourselves, we begin to feel alone and start thinking we don't really matter. That is a terrible thing to feel, because each of us do matter!  

 The thing I really like the most, (which might sound weird,) is to notice who hasn't been to church for a while and to pray for them to show up. The is one of my happiest moments, when I see them walk into church, thinking in my heart, that maybe that little prayer made a difference. 

 I know it really sounds weird, but we all need to have people that continually pray for us, even if we don't know who or why they do, we all need to be prayed for by someone! Praying for others is not meant to point out their discrepancies or problems; but to admonish the good and ask God to bless them. We all have things that are wrong in our lives, in one form or fashion, but we, just like every family, must focus upon the good in each other and not try to sniff out the bad in one other.

 Anywho, that is my take on what real fellowship looks like, because more than anything, love does not look at what is wrong in anyone, but cherishes the good in people, always reminding ourselves that we are all not perfect, but we soon will be! 

 If that was not the case, I would have given up a long time ago! But I keep looking forward to the day, that glorious day, when I see my wife totally healed and us speaking together in a perfect place with everyone else that we have loved and cared for! That time will happen, which is what makes me happier and happier, as the day grows near...

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sister, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:4-8 NLT) 

"Love and Good Works" - To

 "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" (Hebrews 10:24 KJV)

  "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important." (Galatians 6:1-3 NLT)

 If you must know, sometimes I get really carried away with certain words, especially those that call us to action. There are certain times when we really don't know what we must do. It is times like that when we really need to stop and pray, asking God to show us how to be humble enough to love, even though we might not like doing it! 

 There are so many different things that set people off and telling them that they are wrong, only makes for more disagreement. Like Jesus said, ""And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."" (Matthew 7:3-5 NLT)

 Therein is the point I was trying to make yesterday, that the, "provoke," which might appear to be a negative thing, is actually a good thing when it involves us, as we are those responsible to consider how we must act and what we most do, even when we might not want to do it! 

 The NLT has that used in a different term, saying, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works". Which is all well and good, as long as you are doing the love and good works first, which allows us to show the way, and not just talk about it! 

 Anywho, I am probably the least likely person that can always do what I feel the Lord wants me to do; anytime I plan to be loving and caring, praying to God that He will make me so; the next thing I know, I'm dealing with someone that pushes my buttons, and sets me off! Go figure! 

 You ask God to help you to love, and then He give you a situation where you don't like loving the way that you should; but that is how you learn to love, regardless of how you might feel; you deny yourself and love them anyways... 

"What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but then you don't give that person and food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless." (James 2:14-17 NLT)

"Love and Good Works"

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works:" (Hebrews 10:24 KJV)

  "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)

 Sometimes it just doesn't matter how hard we try; we are always going to need to count on the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit within us that will allow us to surrender our selfishness and put others first, even if it means we don't get complemented or admonished for doing so! We serve the Lord more than anything else, which actually means, we don't expect to get rewarded for serving others, because then that will be our reward, which is completely temporary and easily forgotten. 

 "Only what you do for the Lord will last!" Something that is sometimes easily forgotten while we serve and try hard to love and serve others. If we don't receive any thanks or acknowledgment for what we have done, we might feel as though we are not appreciated; but it not for sake of getting rewarded here, on this earth; the rewards we are looking for are stored up in Heaven! 

 It is very interesting to see this word, "provoke," used to show the passion, because it isn't a verb or an adjective; it is a noun, a masculine noun, at that! The actual definition is one of hostility, such as would be contention or dispute (in anger). If you could make that appear in a form that might show action, the word, "to," and the word, "unto," would make it easier to understand. 

 Putting others first is also something that must be put into practice; it is something we must learn how to do, even though it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, it doesn't really work without learning how to use it! Challenging, yes; but not impossible if you allow the Spirit to guide and direct you, without trying to do it on your own. 

 That is something I know I need to work on, because without His help, I will protect myself more and think about myself first, before I consider the needs of others first. Just saying...

""Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets."" (Matthew 7:12 NLT) 

"Holding the Course!" - Too

 "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10:23 KJV)

  "One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they got into the boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?" The disciples were terrified and amazed. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!"" (Luke 8:22-25 NLT)

 This is something that I have shared more than once, maybe three times; but it never gets old, because it is always something we go through, time and time again. Most of us know that little thing about the poster or picture, "Footprints in the Sand"; I have one on my wall above my coffee bar, so it is always there to remind me that Jesus always keeps His promise: "He will get us to the other side!" 

 It is the storms in this life that strengthen us and cause us to know how important it is to trust the Lord, no matter how hard or difficult the storm might appear, He is always faithful to get us through whatever is going on, no matter what circumstance we are in, His promise is still the same: We will make it to the other side! 

 If you are not familiar with the, "Footprints in the Sand," it is basically the tale of a believer who died and is with the Lord, looking back at his life, seeing the trail of footprints along the shore. As he studies the prints, both Jesus and his footprints are seen walking together; yet, in the stormy time of his life, he sees only one set of footprints. So he questions Jesus, asking Him, why there was only one set of footprints when my life was at its worse? Jesus replied, "Those were the times when I was carrying you!" 

 I know that we sometimes get into problems and issues that we make our own, some of which we just never think we can get out of; but no matter what it might be that caused our calamity or disaster, we can always trust in the Lord to get us through the storm; even if it was our own mess that caused it! It might be debatable, but the messes we make sometimes can't be fixed; but the Lord can make beauty from ashes! 

 This particular storm, which caused the disciples to fear death, was not really to test their faith, but was an act of the devil to try and stop Jesus from getting to the other side. Although the devil can try, he cannot change the course the Lord has established; Jesus was sleeping, because He knew they were going to the other side. The disciples knew nothing else, but that they were in danger of dying!  

 There is really no difference from our storms and that which the disciples feared over; we really have nothing we can do, except let Jesus do whatever it is He wants to do. We just need to trust in Him, and have a little faith...

"Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLT)