"Go to now, you that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain. 14. Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 15. For that you ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that."
This text is about not getting so busy with our own plans that we leave God out altogether. James was addressing people who were so involved in their own lives, and so concerned about tomorrow that they forgot all about God. James is telling these people that life is very short (vs. 15) and that we need to get busy with doing what God wants us to do, not just what we want to do. I will confess that it is not always easy to know what God's will is, but it is certainly not impossible. My question for you is do you consider God's will in your life? It has been disconcerting to me that I seldom hear God's people say that "If God wills I will do so and so." This is true even of our church business sometimes. We make plans that are our plans and do not consider whether this is what God wants for us. It might seem odd to say that these last few months in my life, where I have been fighting with cancer, have been God's will for my life. I didn't see it going in, but I see it now. Take my word, and the Bible's word for it, God's will is important in the life of every Christian - even yours. Bro. Joe
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"And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. 60. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."
Stephen was chosen as one of "the Seven" to administer the distribution of food among the Christians. From this we already know that he was a man filled with the Holy Spirit, that he was honest and was of "good report." But the real test of a person's faith is seen in how far he will take it. Stephen witnessed and debated with those who refused to believe. He was an effective witness because the unbelievers could not shut him up with their own arguments. Because of this, they made up a story about him that they had "heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God." In the first part of Acts 7, Stephen preached a sermon based on the history of Israel and concluded by telling them they were just like their fathers, who had killed the prophets in Old Testament days. Because of this, they condemned him to die by stoning. How far would Stephen take his faith? He was willing to die for it. But this does not tell the whole story, for we must look at how he died. Most people would have furiously lashed out at those stoning them and cursed them. What did Stephen do? The first thing that he did was to ask Jesus to "receive his spirit." Stephen knew that when he left the earthly plane that he would go to Jesus and to a heavenly plane. He was willing to die, because he knew that something better awaited him on the other side. But it doesn't end there. Instead of condemning his persecutors, he asked that this sin not be laid to their charge. How far would Stephen take his faith? He took it as far as Jesus did, for Jesus' first words from the cross were: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Stephen's final prayer was in the same vein. To be honest with you, this makes me angry with myself when I realize how easy it is for me to get angry with people who might even dare to disagree with me, let alone stone me. Doesn't Stephen's reaction make all of us ashamed of ourselves when we live petty lives and wear our feelings on our shoulders? It makes me ashamed and I pray that it will have the same effect on you. How far are you willing to take your faith? What a challenge for today. Take it! Bro. Joe “But there is a God in heaven….”
Daniel made this statement to Nebuchadnezzar just before he interpreted his dream. There is certainly an article in that dream, but I want to deal with the statement of fact that Daniel made: “There is a God in heaven.” This is not only a statement of fact, it is a comforting statement. When we are going through the difficult times of life, we need to remember this and, perhaps, quote it to ourselves. We need God! He made us in His image because we need Him. Christians know this God as He has been revealed to us in Jesus. What do I mean? There is a God who loves us. John 3:16 forever reminds us of this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Everything that Jesus did in His earthly ministry, tells us that God loves us. He proved it ultimately by dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus shows us that God loves us unconditionally. We don’t have to do anything to make God love us, because He loves us no matter what. I don’t mean that God is always pleased with us. God doesn’t have to be pleased with us to love us. Just think of your love for your children. You love them no matter what, but you are certainly not always pleased with them. Jesus shows us that God loves us completely and fully. I think that God wants the best for us. We certainly do not always live up to that, but He still wants what is best for us. Our problem is that we do not always want it for ourselves. There is a God who hears us. Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Psalm 40:1-3: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. 2. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3. And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I have preached on it many times over the years. These verses tell us that God not only hears us, but He acts on what He hears from us. He wants to hear from us about all of our needs, all of our doubts, all of our fears – all of everything that we might have in our hearts and minds. The great thing is that God hears the cries of our hearts. We don’t always have to verbalize our needs, because the Holy Spirit prays through us and Jesus intercedes for us. Indeed, we have a God who hears us when we call. This is well documented in the Bible. There is a God who watches over us. We can always remember this when we think of God’s relationship with His people, the Jews. We read about how God divided the Red Sea for His people to pass through as they escaped Egypt. He knew what they needed and did it in a miraculous way. We see this in Jesus when He stills the stormy sea for His disciples. He just said “peace be still” and it happened. He does this for us in the storms of our lives as well. One of the last things that Jesus said to His disciples, and to us, was “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages.” (Matthew 28:30) God is watching over us when we are awake and when we are asleep. God is watching over us when we are going through good times and when we are going through bad times. We have a God watching over us who never sleeps. Psalm 121:1-4 tells us this: “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, when whence comes my help. 2. My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3. He will not suffer your foot to be moved; he that keeps you will not slumber. 4. Behold, He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” There is a God in heaven…..You can depend on it and you depend on Him. Bro. Joe "For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
We cannot overcome the world by ourselves. Why? Because we can't overcome Satan by ourselves. He is much too strong for us and he is in charge of the world. We need help in overcoming the world - if we want to. There are millions of people who enjoy the world, and they see no need to overcome it. We who believe in Jesus, though, find a great tension with living in the world and living for Jesus. Even to us the world is awfully attractive, but we know, because of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives, that the evil things of the world can destroy us. This does not mean that everything in the world is evil, but a lot of it is. John warns in 1 John 1:16-17:"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." The attractions of the world are temporary at best. As we say, "nothing lasts forever." Consequently, when we want to live eternally while in the world, we have to put our faith in Christ. It is faith in Christ that saves us, and faith in Christ that sustains us through life. Bottom line: "....and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith" - faith in Jesus Christ. We are in the world but not of the world. We were not saved to fulfill the world's purposes, but the purposes of God. We have faith to enable us to overcome the world and to fulfill God's purposes. Let's use it. Bro. Joe "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds."
Messages about God's nature can be very confusing today. If you listen to some preachers, God has given up and encourages us in any old kind of lifestyle. If you listen to others they tell you that God is so mad at you that you had better watch yourself. Of course, both of these are caricatures of the two natures of God portrayed in the Bible. He is a God of wrath. He even refers to Himself as a "jealous God." But the Bible never says that "God is wrath." It does, however, teach us in 1 John 4:8b that "God is love." Psalm 36:5 gives us two of the greatest evidences of God's love - mercy and faithfulness: Thank God that He is the God of mercy (and grace), for, if He wasn't we would all be in very deep trouble. The greatest example of His mercy, of course, is the coming of Jesus Christ into the world to share His mercy on the cross. Jesus is God's personal statement of His mercy - "mercy in the flesh" if you please. Without the mercy of God, we would have to live daily with His wrath. What I know about His wrath from the Bible, I prefer mercy. The second aspect of His love is faithfulness. Throughout the Bible, God proves Himself faithful to us. 1 John 1:9 states that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." This means that if we sin and come to God in true repentance, He will practice mercy and be faithful to forgive us. Being faithful means that when we come to Him in true confession, the Lord will always forgive us. This is one of the greatest promises of the Bible. Let us be grateful that in His great love, God did not leave us with only His wrath, but that He practices mercy and faithfulness in our lives. Thank Him! Bro. Joe "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."
When God says that He is a "jealous God," He is not speaking from insecurity. He is speaking out of concern for people who ignore Him, or worship other "gods." In the USA we are not overrun with "graven images," but we have surely come up with some good substitutes. Today, we have secularism. The strategy of secularists is to take all spiritual, or religious, things out of our society and put our Christian witness into a church ghetto. Secularists are doing a good job of helping destroy our country and God is not pleased, because "He will not give His glory to another." Closely tied to secularism is atheism. It appears to me that the national religion is becoming atheism. They have succeeded in getting the Bible and prayer out of schools, but have succeeded in some quarters in getting condom distribution in schools. Say what you want, atheism is a religion today. Atheists have put their faith in the hope that there is no God. Then there is materialism. To a certain extent, we are all guilty of this. We are as guilty as the atheists and the secularists. We are enamored with "things" to the extent that we run up credit card debts that we cannot pay back. (By "we" on the credit card issue I don't mean Mary and me. She pays off the credit card every month.) Now I'm really going to meddle. "Churchanity" is a "graven image." What is churchanity? Notice that this replaces Christianity. In chuchanity we put buildings and programs ahead of Christ. Buildings and programs are important, but they are not to be our focus. We are to focus on Christ and put Him at the head of our churches. (Read Colossians 1:16-18) The final "graven image" is doctrinal compromise. There are churches and preachers that have done away with Biblical doctrine and have replaced it with secular doctrine. The guide for churches is the Bible, and if the Bible condemns something everytime it is mentioned, then it does not belong in a Christian church. There are other "graven images" but these are on my mind at the present time. Isaiah 42:8 is still true: "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." He still means it. Bro. Joe “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes is a puzzle to many people, because it has so many negative things in it that seem to take away from a positive, joyous life. That is because they misunderstand the reason for the book in the first place. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon relates that he had tried everything, pleasure, wine, work, etc. and it all proved futile. In the final analysis he wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” These two verses make the whole book understandable. There is nothing on this earth that can bring the satisfaction to our lives that a relationship with God can bring. This is true of our text as well. In a sense there really is nothing new under the sun. For example, history repeats itself frequently. The settings are different, fashions are different, communication is different, but we human beings keep making the same mistakes over and over. I think the book of Judges gives us an example of that. After Joshua and his generation died, Israel went into a spiritual spiral. Repeatedly throughout the book, Israel made the same mistakes. Today, it seems that people think paganism is a new thing. It’s almost as if people think that “anything goes” is a new concept, dreamed up only by this “enlightened' generation. If you will read world history, you will see that it is just like Judges: We keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We keep thinking that immorality is “freedom” and morality depends on what an individual wants it to be. The closing words of Judges describes our own situation: “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” It is true that “there is nothing new under the sun,” if you remember that this pertains to the things of the earth. But the Bible also deals with that which is new, that does not just have to do altogether with worldly matters, but with our relationship with God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 explains what I mean: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. 18. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Jesus makes all things new in the life of the Christian, and gives him or her, a new purpose in life. Romans 6:4 relates to us that “we also should walk in newness of life.” The day is coming when all things will be made new: “And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new…” The Bible promises a new heaven and a new earth. In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon wrote of the tired materialistic life that he was living. It is still true that in the matters of earth there is “nothing new under the sun.” Newness comes only in that which is eternal. It is in Christ that we have newness in our lives. Otherwise, life just goes on monotonously from day to day, and we try to find “newness” in that which is not, and cannot be new. God wants to do a new thing in the lives of every person on this earth. In fact, He sent His Son, Jesus, to give every person that newness. But most people choose the monotony of the world, and never learn what real newness is. I hope that this is not true of your life. If it is, Jesus is available to you. If you have given your life to Jesus, rejoice and enjoy the new life that God has given you. Bro. Joe “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from, along with all malice. 32. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
I felt moved to write about grudges today. It is something that we all have to deal with, and that we all need to get out of our hearts and minds. Webster defined it: “a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment.” “Persistent” is the key word. It began with anger over something, and that something has been internalized and rules in your heart – persistently. What is wrong with grudges? Grudges are bad for us personally. When we persistently hold ill will against someone, it literally robs us of peace of mind and heart. Persistent ill will can also ruin our health. Grudges can stunt, or halt, our spiritual growth. Think of it: We are saved by the grace of God. This means that grace becomes a part of our lives. We are to act toward other people with grace. If we are filled with bitterness and hatred, we cannot practice grace towards other people. Grudges interfere with our prayers. Really, if you are holding a grudge against someone, do you, or can you, really pray for them? What we need to pray is for the Holy Spirit to remove that grudge so that He can help us in our growth in Christ. Grudges hurt our witness for Christ. People are not drawn spiritually toward bitter and resentful people. What do we need to do about our persistent ill feelings towards other people? Paul gives the answer in the next verse. He wrote, “be kind to one another.” That advice might have blown someone’s mind. You might ask, “Do you really think that I can be kind to that person?” Hey, you might give it a try. For example, bake him her a cake, or, more likely, go to the bakery and get a cake, and take it to the person who is eating away at your witness and, for that matter your health. Paul followed that with be “tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” Grudges make us grow callous in our outlook on life. To be tenderhearted is to be merciful. (Doesn’t that look something like Jesus?) I tell myself, when I get peeved at someone and they are beginning to, let us say, get on my nerves, I know that I need to forgive them. Why? Let’s let Paul answer that question: “…forgiving one another, as Christ forgave you.” It’s not always easy but it will always be Christlike. Come on! Let it go! Bro. Joe “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
The world had become so wicked that God put all living things to death except Noah, his family, and the animals that he took aboard the ark. After the flood, God gave Noah a promise that He would never send a worldwide flood again. The sign of His promise was the rainbow. Even today when we look at a rainbow we can remember the promise that God made concerning a flood that will never drown every living thing. The rainbow gives us a message about the nature of God. It is a message about the sovereignty of God. What do I mean by “sovereignty”? I mean that God is in charge of everything all of the time. There is nothing that God cannot do. There are plenty of things that God will not do, because part of His sovereignty is His holiness. God created everything; He knows everything; He is in charge of everything all of the time. The reason that God could make a promise like the rainbow promise is that, in His sovereign majesty, He knows that if He does not want it to flood it will not flood. There are also plenty of things that God allows to happen in His sovereignty. A good example is God’s dealings with Israel. His promise to them in the Old Testament was that if they would obey Him and live by His will, they would do well. They did not, so they went into Babylonian exile. Of course, there is a lot more to the story, and the story has not ended, but the point is that God allowed Israel to be defeated at that time because they disobeyed Him. We should rejoice in the sovereignty of God. It is comforting to go to bed every night and wake up every morning to a world in which God is in charge. It is a message about the power of God. I want you to think about the flood for a moment. It was not just forty days and night's of rain that flooded the whole earth over the tops of mountains; it was that God unleashed the water under the earth. Here is what the Bible says about it: “On the seventeenth day of the second month – on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11b-12) Only God has the power to unleash all of the power of nature for such a cataclysmic occurrence as the flood. Human beings are capable of a lot of harm, but even the most powerful human being could not unleash all of the waters of the heavens and the earth at one time. We should rejoice in the power of God, because it is through His power that we are able to be saved and to serve Him. It is a message about the grace of God. If the message stopped with the sovereignty and power of God, and those two things were all that characterize Him, we would need to be really afraid. But the rainbow also tells us about the grace, mercy and love of God. He looked with pity on the world and promised that He would never again send that kind of flood upon the earth. We can trust our sovereign and powerful God, because He is a God of grace. His grace is seen throughout the Bible. This doesn’t mean that everything that God brings about is positive. What it means is that God is working everything to the good of His people. According to Jeremiah in his Lamentations, that it is because of the mercies of God that Israel was not consumed, “because His compassions fail not.” (Lamentations 3:22) This was written even while Israel was being taken into Babylonian Captivity. In the final analysis, God will work out everything for all time in His grace. What a great promise and what a great cause for rejoicing. I’m sure that this is not all that the rainbow tells us about God. These are things that are uppermost in my mind about the subject. Bro. Joe “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. 3. With joy will you draw water from the wells of salvation.”
The twelfth chapter of Isaiah is a song of praise, as well as a prophecy of the trustworthiness of God. Verses 2-3 give us a glimpse of Isaiah’s personal faith and hope. (Let us pray that it will be contagious.) Isaiah declared that the Lord Himself was his salvation. He also declared that because of this, he would not be afraid. As I read my Bible this morning, this was an encouraging word to me in this troubled day. We need to put our faith and trust in the Lord and not be afraid. Isaiah lived during the Assyrian invasion that captured the northern tribe of Israel and was threatening the southern tribe of Judah. Isaiah encouraged Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and helped give him the courage to face Assyria, and to see the Lord save Judah – which was what happened. The same Lord will give us the courage to face our own problems and fears. The Lord will lead us over, around or through our problems and fears. Isaiah declared that “the Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation.” We need to really put it in our minds and hearts that the Lord Jesus Christ will give us the strength to overcome whatever we need to overcome. In the Lord Jesus Christ we have strength greater than our own. Where did David find the strength to face Goliath? Did he trust in the strength of his sling shot and five stones? Here is what David said to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45: “You have come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord almighty….” David found his strength from the same source that we can use, that is in the strength of the “Lord Almighty.” Isaiah’s message to his fellow Israelites promised that: “With joy you will draw water from the well of salvation.” It is in God’s salvation and strength that we find joy. It is a well of joy that will never run dry. In John 4:14, Jesus told the woman at the well, and us, that: “Whoever drinks of the water that I give him shall never thirst.” No matter what we face, we know that the Lord will be with us. I have found in my own battles with fear that His presence is enough. There is strength and joy in knowing that He is present with us in all that we face in life. This is true for you! Let’s join Isaiah and trust in the Lord in His salvation, strength and joy. Bro. Joe |
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