Jan 22, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WE MUST BE CONVICTED BY OUR CONSCIENCE!!

The Jewish elect brings a woman to Christ that was accused of adultery, claiming she had been caught in the act. So my friends what were there real motive. “The question was then asked Teacher, what do you think her punishment should be.

Now Moses, in the law Commanded she be stoned. But the reaction of Christ was swift and to the point, He stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, ignoring all of her accusers. But persistent, they continued to ask.

He then raised Himself up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard Him and saw the writing, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one.

And now Jesus and the woman was left alone. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11 (NKJV) My friend’s do you ever wonder what Christ was writing with his finger on the ground. The more popular understanding is, it was the sins of all the accusers.

But as I focus on what actually took place I find myself thinking, He could have just as well outlined a picture of the cross that he would soon carry on His back to Calvary for the sins of the world.

Or maybe he thought of his home in heaven that he had left on our behalf, and begin to draw some of the beauty of paradise, maybe the tree of life or the streets of gold. Or maybe He just wrote the words, “My Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.”

My friends, we can’t say for certain what was written with those hands that would eventually be nailed to the cross, the same hands that created the world in six days. The hands that reaches no matter how far we have drifted away to rescue us from the clutches of Satan.

As a child of God, I don’t believe He needed to take the time to write the sins on the ground of her accusers. But like the text tells us, “those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, left out one by one.”

In other words their conviction I could only imagine was driven by their conscious which can only occur in the presence of Christ. A conviction that heals our sin sick souls that  begins with “You hypocrites, you are completely forgetful of the time that you yourself have erred.

So, it is only when you are willing to suffer yourself, if need be in order to help your erring brothers and sister that you can “see clearly” and be of any help.” So Their conviction as ours must be personal once in the presence of Christ as we say, I’ve been changed, Healed, Freed, and Delivered.

I’ve found joy, Peace, Grace and now I’ve been changed In the presence of the lord, and right now is the moment, today is the day That I have waited for and I won’t let it pass me by because I won’t go back, to the way it used to be Before Christ presence came and changed [my life]. (William McDowell, I Want Go Back)

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan. 19, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WHO CONTROLS THE CONSCIENCE OF A CHILD OF GOD?

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.” 2 Cor. 13:8-9 (NKJV)

“Truth as is in Jesus Christ, the truth of salvation, as set forth in the word of God.” “And this Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NKJV)

So now my friends, we have looked at truth and how it deals with our salvation. But the question we must ask and where we must place our focus today is, who controls truth in a child of God? Is it Jesus Christ who is presented before us in the word of God?

Or is it in the god of this world who has said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;….I will be like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13-15 (NKJV) And once He has become like the most High He has promised “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Things meaning “broken hearts, wars and rumors of wars: nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: famines, pestilences, earthquakes, in divers places, which is only the beginning of birth pangs as iniquity abounds, and the love of many continues to wax cold.”

Now let’s look at the word Conscience; which by definition is the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action” My friends once again who controls our conscience?

And who  in our life is deciding right or wrong?  And who decides within us to read God’s word, our Sabbath or Sunday school lesson, or watch Empire, Scandal or House wives of Atlanta on our TV’s sets?

The question was asked who controls our Conscience, but what we must understand about ourselves is “every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws [or the laws of God].

Our choice determines the consequences [and where our destination lays. And nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices [which is life or death].” (Alfred A. Montapert)

But My friends because of the love our God has for us along with His grace, we will never be forced to choose life over death. But each day He does knock and pleads for us to make the right decision. Decisions to love the Lord our God, and walk in His ways, and keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments.

[Because He wants] we His Children] to live more abundant lives in this foreign land. But we must also listen to God’s voice  and not be drawn away from Him by the things of this world, as we worship other gods, and serve them.

But if we will allow self to die and live our life through Jesus Christ then we shall be blessed as we travel on this Journey to a ” A land “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard. Nor have entered into the heart of man [or woman] the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Deu. 30:15-16 (NKJV) 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan 16, 2016

MY FRIENDS, MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN!!

We must never cease to realize that our Salvation is only possible because of God’s “amazing grace. My friends it’s personal today because “I’ve had trials, test, heartaches, and pains I’ve prayed and I praised, and at times it seems like nothing had changed.

But Still I will trust God’s sovereign tear. [“and if He never does anything else for me I still believe in miracles.”] No way, can I explain how things change at his command. But, I still believe miracles happen.

And If you ever need a miracle, just believe that he can do it. If you ever need a miracle, just have faith” (Stephanie Dotson – Miracles Still Happen) Because they do still happen we just have to believe that our Savior the One that wakes us up each day also raised the dead.

And He also made the blind to see and the lame to walk and the deaf to hear and the dumb to talk, before we can believe He can take care of every situation and circumstances in our life. And that is why we must go before our Lord and Savior with humility as we cry out in admiration to the one who gave it all for our Salvation.

“So who am I, that you call me by my name, and count me as one of your sons and daughters” “Heir to your throne and joint Heir with your Son who gave it all so that His brothers and Sisters may share our whole life with Him. Even throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.

Oh what an amazing feeling we must feel as Gods chosen to be called by name. And what is so great about that is, it’s personal. And my faith lies in the fact that God, “being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace [we] have been saved.

And [He] raised us up with Him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Eph. 2:4-8 (NKJV)

But my friends, we must still “be sober, and vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) So his objective is to get us away from the Shepard.

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Romans 8:36 (KJV) But we have a Savior who personally “seeks the lost” a Savior that will “never leave nor forsake His Chosen” But we must stay prayed up as we keep our eyes focused on Christ.

“The author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12:2 (NKJV) And one day there will be one final miracle if we believe and endure and it is called “a new heaven and a new earth.”

But we must stand still and recognize the voice of God as He leads us on our Journey to the promise land. A place “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man or [woman] The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan. 15, 2015

MY FRIENDS, ARE YOU STILL WAITING IN FAITH FOR AN ANSWER?

It’s personal, because the season is changing and we must make sure we are “laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us [beginning with self], as we run with patience the race that is set before us. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those He predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. So Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.” Heb. 12:1 (KJV) Romans 8:29-30 (KJV) 2 Peter 1:10 (KJV)

So first we must “let go of every single dream of this world as we lay each one down at our Saviors feet as we take up our cross and follow Christ. Yes my friends, the journey becomes weary at times and today we need just our Saviors comfort and with that comfort we will know our God is by our side.

And “when the mountains are not moved, that we are needing Him to move. When He doesn’t part the waters we are trying to walk through. When we don’t get the answers we are looking for as we cry out to God where are you today.”

We will still trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross so that we would get through each day on our journey to the promise land. The three Hebrew boys told the king.

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up!” Oh what faith!!

James 1:2-4 (KJV) tells us “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Perfect results, complete, lacking in nothing.

Those words tells us our faith is “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” My friends before Christ comes for the second time. Our goal of living through the ceaseless ages of eternity in a place “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him.”1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

Must be based totally on our faith and endurance. And each day we must ask ourselves what have we done or will do before the day is over to affirm that faith needed to take us to the next level on this journey.

Remember with greater faith comes greater grace. There need never said of us oh “You of little faith, “why did you doubt?” But we must understand God allows the storms of our life to build strong characters for His kingdom.

That is when the terrain gets rough and we just don’t understand why. But remember, God is preparing us to be “safe to save” for His kingdom because He is the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God, [preparing to bring us home soon] Heb. 12:2 (NKJV)

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan 13, 2016

MY FRIENDS, GODS REACH HAS NO LIMITS!!

Sinner, how far has been our decent at times into total destruction? But what is so amazing, no matter how far we have strayed, there are no limits to where our God will go to rescue us. “From the mighty mountains of New York.

From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. From the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. From the curvaceous slopes of California. From Stone Mountain of Georgia. From Lookout Mountain of Tennessee and from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.” (M. L. King Jr.)

He reaches, Just to let his children know that His “grace is sufficient for His strength is made perfect [in each of our] weaknesses.” 2 Cor. 12:9 (NKJV) Consistent with this, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do?

Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish. Matt. 18:12-14 (NKJV)

My friends one of the definitions of lost is “Insensible to, or lost to all sense of duty” In other words if we define lost around one’s spirituality, we are not just lost in regards to trying to find our way back home, but we also become lost in regards to our responsibility and opportunity towards where Christ is trying to lead, as we become numb to the fact that we are even lost.

Therefore we cease in trying to find our way back. We become comfortable in our environment that the god of this world has made for us. His invitation is “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” Matt. 4:9 (NIV) We then accept.

My friends, Christ was made this same offer from Satan. So He knows how to defeat the enemy and He has also “made a way of escape” for his children. That is why we must not forget His reach is limitless alone with His love and grace which are also limitless.

So He brings our attention to a song we may have sung as a child in Sabbath or Sunday school. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so. Or it could have been a song we sung as a congregational hymn in church which says;

“There were ninety and nine that safely lay In the shelter of the fold; But one was out on the hills away, Far off from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains wild and bare; Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine; Are they not enough for Thee?” But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine Has wandered [far, far] away from Me. And although the road be rough and steep, I go to the desert to find My sheep.

”But none of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through Ere He found His sheep that was lost. Out in the desert He heard its cry; ’Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.

And all through the mountains, thundering, And up from the rocky steep, There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven, “Rejoice! I have found My sheep!” And the angels echoed around the throne, “Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!” Because Gods reach has no limits.

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan. 12, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WE MUST FIXED OUR MIND ON ANOTHER TIME!!

“I have fixed my mind on another time, and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light, and that is today, today, and today, until He comes, and I see him for whom my soul yearns.” (William Miller)

“For whom my soul yearns.” How sweet the sound “I have fixed my mind on another time.” If we as Gods chosen like Jeremiah take those words, eat them with a passion, and once we allow that to happen they will become the joy and rejoicing of our heart.”

And then through our faith we can completely leave the cares of this world into the hands of our Savior who has taken on that responsibility. The psalmist tells us in Psalm 55:22 (KJV) “Cast our cares on the Lord and he will sustain us; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Now my friends focus on the words He will never let the righteous be shaken. And as a child of God “The righteous are His faithful who “live by faith.” And of course “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (KJV)

Righteousness, faith, and knowing God’s Word, each essential to the life expectancy of the other. So if we take one of those elements out it would be a real catastrophe. Because then “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19 (KJV)

In addition, this lets us know before “I can fix my mind on another time” we must dissociate ourselves from the things of this world that do not center our attention on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, starting with what we watch on TV, the internet, what we read, and how we spend, and what we spend the resources that God gives us on.

If we are serious about our Salvation there must be a deep passion to study Gods word which then leads to a personal relationship with God through our faith. In addition, alone with our faith, is our service to God.

“If someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him [or her]? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:14-26 (ESV)

So as Christians our faith and works guide us on this journey to a place God has prepared for His children, a promise that comes from Christ on words, “Let not your heart be troubled; if you believe [or if you have faith in God], believe also in me [the Son because], in my Fathers house are many mansions.

[and my friends mansions prepared just for the redeemed to live in]; and if it were not so, I would have told you. I now go to prepare a place for you……that where I am, [all of Gods Children] may be also…..” John 14:1-4 (KJV )

“There you may be also.” What an awesome promise this is why “we must fix our mind on another time” Because God’s promises assures us if we have faith then we must believe this world is not our home, we are just passing through.

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.

Jan 11, 2016

MY FRIENDS, BUCKLE UP, EYES ON THE ROAD, AND WATCH YOUR SPEED!!!

Let’s begin our journey by first, “buckling up” as we Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth or [personal integrity and moral courage,] and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” Ephesians 6:14 (ESV)

“Eyes on the road” “Let our eyes look straight ahead, And our eyelids look right before us. Ponder the path of our feet, and let all our ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove our foot from evil.” Prov. 4:25-27 (NKJV)

“Watch your speed” The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength, they are eighty years, yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away … so teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

In addition we “do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is our life? For [we] are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead [we] ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” Ps. 90:10-11 (ESV) James 4:13-15 (ESV)

“If the Lord wills” that must be our aim, motto and pledge for whatever time God has given us here on this earth. But first there must be some clarity, of our purpose and why we exist? And what steps it will take to finish this journey?

Remember my friends, it’s a process that can only be found in our searching the scriptures daily. Like a buried treasure it is there, but it will take some effort which requires a passion from within on our part and a desire to understand the teachings of God as we allow God’s Spirit to guide us in all truth and understanding of His precious treasure.

That is why we must buckle up, as we keep our eyes on the road, allowing every “trial in our life to become a triumph and every battle to become a victory” through Jesus Christ, forever watching how far we have come and what distance we have left in eliminating self.

In addition, we do not want to “deviate or wander aimlessly away from what God’s purpose is for our life, we must always remember the plans He has for our lives, “plans for our welfare and not for evil, [to give to His faithful who are willing to endure too the end,] a future and a hope.

And that future is ”in a place “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV) Love Him meaning with all our heart and soul.

C. S. Lewis tells us, through His word, God defines all our heart and soul by saying “Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want you!!! All of you!!

I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to kill it! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams.

Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self—in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.