"When you pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overcome thee; when you walk through fire, thou shalt not be burned; nether shall the flame kindle upon thee.
This was a promise to Israel in their present situation. It was a word of protection. It is also a word to us that God will protect us. First, this means that we will know that God "has our backs," as we say today. We will also know that at some times in our lives we will need His protection. The words "I will be with thee..." ring out to me, and says that God will be with me. In the past few years I have literally found this to be true. When I think of God's protection, I always think of Psalm 23:4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me. thy rod and thy staff will comfort me." Second, nowhere in the Bible does it say that God will always deliver us from all of the troubles that we will have in life. The biblical promise is that God will be with us as we go through life's troubles. Look again at the text: "I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee..." The promise is that when we go through troubles, God will be with us. I will tell you that when I went through cancer, then a few years later, a stroke, I certainly found God's presence to be sufficient to take me through the troubles - or take me to heaven. (That was a long sentence. lol) Third, I have seen God at work in the lives of a lot of people when they went through life's troubles. In the fifty nine years that I have been in the ministry, I have stood by the bedside of people who were dying, people who were gravely ill, and people who were having problems of all kinds. Not everyone that I ministered to was depending on the Lord, but those who were depending on Him, knew the reality of God's promise, "I will be with thee." Do you believe in your heart that God will be with you as you encounter life's problems? Have you experienced the comfort of His presence in your life? The promise of God's presence and protection will mean nothing to you until you personally know Him through faith in Jesus Christ. He is standing at your life's door, wanting you to invite Him in. Take Him up on it! If you have already done this, praise Him, thank Him----and lean on Him. Bro. Joe
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"But now thus saith the Lord that created you. O jacob and He that formed you, O Israel. Fear not: for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; Thou art mine."
I am suspicious that I wrote on this text some time ago, but it touched me today, and I want to share it afresh and anew. It is such a word of encouragement, and I think, like me, you need a word of encouragement. The first word of encouragement is that we were created by God. We are not an accident of history. A monkey is not our uncle. We are God's creative masterpiece. God waited until He had created all, then He created Adam and Eve. In time, He created the nation of Israel through Abraham. He sent His Son, Jesus, to give us new life. You are not a stranger to God, for He is also your creator. i am aware of all of the theories of creation, at least a lot of them, and I stick with the Bible's version of it. The second word of encouragement is that, God has redeemed us; "Fear not O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you." And we know that through the blood of Jesus, we have been redeemed. "Redemption" was the word that was used to buy back a slave and give him, or her, freedom. You probably remember reading in Hosea that Hosea bought back, or redeemed, his wayward wife Gomer for fifteen pieces of silver and ten bushes of barley. Jesus has redeemed those of us who have come to Him by grace through faith, and saved us for all eternity. " The third word of encouragement is that we Belong to God: "I have called thee by name; thou art mine." As Israel belonged to God through Abraham, we belong to Him through Jesus. (Jews who are saved now belong to HIm through Jesus.) In John 10:14 Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." By your faith in Him, Jesus knows who you are, where you are presently, and where you will be for all eternity. He knows where you are in your spiritual growth. He knows where you are in your relationships with people. Jesus actually claims you as His own. I sincerely hope that you have taken this word of encouragement personally, and claimed its promises for your own. Bro. Joe 'Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. 15. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing trouble you, and thereby may be defiled."
What does it mean to "fail of the grace of God." The trouble is not with God's end of the bargain. His grace does not fail. The problem is with us, because sometimes we do not share God's grace with others by our behavior. The author gives us two things that we need to be careful about lest we "fail the grace of God," or fall short of living the grace of God. He tells us to "follow peace with all men - all people. " Paul reminded us of this in Romans 12:18: "If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with alll men." (If course this doesn't mean that we should not live peaceably with females. We had better! lol) We cannot live peaceably with others if we are not at peace in our hearts. We cannot live peaceably with people if we do not love them. This means that we should live in peace with Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, and heathens (for lack of a better word). Are you at peace with God, within yourself, and with people? (This doesn't mean that you have fallen out of God's grace, but it means that you have failed to live the grace that He has given you to enable you to live peaceably with other people.) Then he tells us to "follow...holiness." We do not seek holiness to enable us to live self-righteous lives. We seek God's holiness through Christ to enable us to live a better life, and to enable our witness to the world. Being holy does not mean that we have become perfect. Only Jesus accomplished that in His life on earth. We are to be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and confess our sins and seek the forgiveness of God. 1John 1:8-9 tells us about this: " But if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sin, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from unrighteousness." Ask yourself whether or not you are following peace with all people, and whether or not you are you seeking God's holiness? I did not write this to make you feel guilty, but to remind you of our daily need of God's forgiveness to enable us to live in holiness, and that we seek to live in peace with other people. Think of the difference that following this verse would make in our lives, in our families, in our churches and in our work. . Give it some thought today. Selah Bro. Joe "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be ye thankful. 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts in the Lord. 17. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."
I originally intended to end the Christian portrait with verse 14, but when I followed my own suggestion and reread the text, I saw that verses 15-17 had to be a part of the portrait. Paul reminded the Colossians and us, that when we are compassionate, meek, patient and loving, the peace of God rules in our hearts. Surely when we follow the teachings of verse 12-14, we have the peace of God in our hearts. If we are at peace within ourselves, we are more likely to be a peace with other people. There can never be too much love and peace! The question for you is, are you at peace within your heart and mind? Frankly, these verses caused me to stop and think about my own life. Will you stop and think about your own life? Are you at peace within yourself and with other people? When we are at peace within ourselves, we are more likely to be thankful, which is the next quality. When we stop wrestling within ourselves, and stop letting disagreements steal our peace, we will be at peace within ourselves. Where there is continuing quarreling, it is obvious that a lot of people need to be at peace within themselves. It is obvious that people involved are not thankful for each other. You read that right: Are you thankful for your fellow Christians? Are you thankful for your family? Are you thankful to Christ for loving you, saving you, and using you in His service? (Perhaps we need to pause and pray for God's peace to rule in our hearts, and that He will make us more thankful!!!) Verse 16 reminds us that we are part of a Christian fellowship, and that we need to encourage each other in this fellowship. We need to enjoy singing together, learning the word of God together, and just serving God together. God saved us individually, but He did not intend for us to not be in fellowship with other Christians. Our worship services are intended to blend us together in Christ, and to encourage each other in living for Him and serving Him. Our worship services should be a witness to those who are not Christians, and they should be an encouragement to those who are Christians. Verse 17 puts an end to this portrait: "And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." We exist to serve Jesus, and if we realize this, we will be compassionate, kind, meek, patient, forbearing, forgiving, loving and thankful. Do you truly serve Jesus, in word and deed? Are you thankful for that opportunity and all that it entails for your life? Bro. Joe "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14. And above all these things put on charity (love), which is also the bond of perfectness." When I began writing on this text, I thought I could take care of it in one article, but it is so loaded that I will continue it. The text reminds us to be compassionate ("bowels of mercies"), kind, humble and meek. To these qualities Paul added that we should be "longsuffering." This means that we are to be patient people. It literally means what it says, we are to "suffer long" if need be. We get a lot of opportunities to fulfill this quality. Sometimes we get on one another's nerves, so to speak, and we want to snap back at each other. This is how quarrels start, and how troubles start. Before we quarrel, we should remember to "suffer long." The next two qualities are really a continuation of longsuffering. To "forbear" means to "put up with each other." That looks negative, but it is a quality that we really need if we are to thrive in our churches. If there is someone in your fellowship that "rubs you the wrong way," so to speak, remember that you also probably "rub them the wrong way." That is when you can reveal the quality of forgiveness. It is interesting that the qualities of forbearance and forgiveness are written together. 'If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Paul really set the standard of forbearance and forgiveness high. If we want to be Christlike, we need to remember to "forbear" and "forgive." (Actually these qualities would solve a lot or problems, not only in churches, but they would solve a lot of problems in all of life's activities.) The next quality "charity" or "love," will enable us to fulfill all of the other qualities. Notice that Paul wrote "above all these things..." If we do not love people we will not be compassionate, meek, longsuffering. forbearing or forgiving. Love is the one ingredient missing in a lot of church quarrels, quarrels in the workplace and in families. We need to simply ask ourselves if we really love people? Think of the person that causes you the most trouble, do you really, really love that person? Disagreeing is not a sin, in fact it is inevitable in multiple relationships. But disagreeing becomes a sin when it breaks human relationships and causes quarrels. Well, do you really love people? Wow! These verses were loaded, and could keep us away from a lot of trouble and heartache if we would truly live by them. Read the text again and ask God to help you to live by the qualities revealed there. (Really do it.) Bro. Joe "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgive you, so also do ye. 14. And above all put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfection."
In the three verses printed above, Paul gives what should be the portrait of a Christian. First, Paul told us that as God's people, we should be compassionate ("bowels of mercies"). Jesus always acted in compassion toward people, even with those with whom he disagreed. (He died on the cross for even them.) Jesus even gave a parable of the actions of a compassionate Samaritan in ministering to an injured man on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Being compassionate does not mean that we ignore sin; rather it means that we love, minister, and witness to those who are lost in sin. Second, Paul remind us that we should be kind. If we had a "kindness meter" in our lives, I wonder what it would register? Kindness should be a natural Christian quality. But are we kind? I want to share a few incidences that might test our kindness: Are we kind to those who serve us at restaurants? Are we kind to the person who checks us out at Walmart? Are we kind to the person who breaks in line ahead of us at the checkout counter of a store? Are we kind to the person who disagrees with us in church conferences? etc. etc. etc. Being kind does not mean that we are not strong, indeed, it reveals spiritual strength. Third, Paul referred to "humbleness of mind and meekness." Being humble and meek does not mean that we are not strong. It means that we are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. "Meek" is not spelled "weak." Humility and meekness reveal to the world that we belong to Jesus, and that we are not selfish and self-seeking. Humility and meekness reveal that we are strong enough in Christ to live as He lived. Being humble and meek reveals that we take our relationship with Christ seriously. Being humble and meek does not make us door mats; rather, they reveal that we have entered the door of salvation and are seeking to live an effective Christian life. (To be continued.) Bro. Joe "If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. 2. Set your affections on things above, not on earthly things."
This is Paul's call to lift our hearts and minds to things above earthly things. When we received Christ into our lives, we took a higher road, and we need to be reminded that we should live our lives on a higher road. In verse 2, Paul told us to set our hearts and minds "on things above, not on earthly things." What is your heart set on? I want to offer some thoughts on what it would mean to set our hearts on things above, instead of always on earthly things. We need to set our hearts on Jesus. It was Jesus who made it possible for us to live on a higher plane. We need to consider what Christ has done for us. One of the main things is that we need to set our hearts on is the love of Jesus. We grew up singing a song: "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so...." We sometimes need to think personally about the love of Jesus. We should really know that it is true that Jesus loves us. It would be a good exercise for you to simply repeat: "Jesus loves me!" Let that sink into your heart and set your heart on the love of Jesus. We need to set our hearts on following the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we were saved, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in our lives and to lead us in living a contagious Christian life. The Spirit's presence in our lives is a profound and magnificent fact. Here is what Jesus said about the matter in John 16:13-14: "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. 14. He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of mind and show it unto you." Set your heart on the presence, and the leadership, of the Holy Spirit in your life. We need to set our hearts on the service to which the Holy Spirit has called us. God doesn't just call preachers to serve Him. All Christians have been called to serve Him. What is it that the Holy Spirit has called you to do? Is it to sing in the choir? Has He called you to greet people in the name of Christ? He has called you to witness to people in your community? You can know that He has called you to live a Christian life at the places where you work, play and shop. We need to set our hearts on the calling of God on our lives. Jesus has something for you to do, and He has sent the Holy Spirit to lead you in what it is for you to do. What is your heart set on? Bro. Joe "I beseech you therefore, brethren, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
I read these verses this morning and the word "transformed" captured my imagination. When we are transformed, we have not just changed, but we have been made new. This would be a good word for us to read as we meet the challenges of each day, that we might be renewed. I thought of three areas of our lives that need to be transformed. We need to be transformed in our thinking. It is in the thought processes that we make the decisions of each day. We need to lift our thinking to thoughts of victory instead defeat. It is here that we often make our mistakes in life. When we are confronted with the challenges of each day, we need to believe that the Lord will give us the wherewithal to meet them. Ask the Lord to transform your thinking - whatever that might mean to you. Give the Lord control of your thinking, and depend on Him to transform your thinking. We need to be transformed in our trust in God. Do you trust God to give you victory? I do not know what victory may mean to you, but I know that there are things in your life that you need victory over. For example, do you trust God to help you in your knowledge of the Bible? Do you trust God to help you share your witness about Christ to the world? Do you trust God to help you in your fellowship with other Christians? Do you trust God to enable you to be an effective servant? Do you trust God to enable you love the people who make it difficult for you to love them? Instead of thinking of the difficulties that cause you problems, do you trust God to enable you to handle them? We need to be transformed in our talking. For example, when you talk to, or about, your fellow Christians, do you lift them up or do you tear them down? I know that uplifting words by fellow Christians has been a great help to me in my ministry. Sometimes there is nothing like a positive and uplifting word from a friend to change our outlook on life. In our talking, we need to be encouragers instead of discouragers. I try to remember this as I talk to people. Does what I'm going to say encourage them, or does it discourage them? We need to be transformed in what we say to, and about, people. Let us pray that we will be transformed in our thinking, in our trusting God, and in our talking to, or about. others. Let the Spirit of God transform that in your life which needs to be transformed. Bro. Joe “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
We are all in process of seeking something. Look at the advertisements on TV. Those who make advertisements know that we are seekers, and they try to get us to seek their products. We are told that if we seek what they are selling our lives will be fruitful and fulfilling. It is almost as if we don’t have their products, we have no reason for living. One of the problems of humanity is that we are prone to seek the wrong things. It began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sought the forbidden fruit. We need to be careful what we seek, and our text gives us the answer to the problem. If we will heed Matthew 6:33, we will have fruitful and fulfilling lives. The first thing that we are to seek is the kingdom of God. If we seek God’s kingdom first, then the things that we seek after that are more likely to be pleasing to Him. Jesus is telling us here to seek the highest that we can seek. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He proclaimed that the kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is ruling and reigning. Therefore, in seeking first the kingdom of God, we seek Jesus, and He gives us the abundant life that He promised. Seeking the kingdom of God, then, means to seek Jesus. It is to Jesus that we come for salvation. He is the only means of eternal salvation. All other things that we seek first are temporary and destined to fail. It is to Jesus that we come for fulfillment in our lives. Nothing on earth can give us the fulfillment that we yearn for, or the satisfaction that always seems to elude us. People seem to be always seeking that possession, that job, that thing that will fully satisfy them. They seek fulfillment in these things in vain. We need to “seek first the kingdom of God.” The second thing that we are to seek is “His righteousness.” The Bible reminds us over and over that we are sinners, that we have no innate righteousness. Romans 6:23 tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” When we seek our own righteousness we are destined to fail. This was the problem that the Pharisees had. They thought that because they lived up to their traditions, they were righteous. They were self-righteous. The spirit of the Pharisees has not died. People still try to seek their own righteousness. Jesus told us here that if we “seek first the kingdom of God,” we will seek “His righteousness.” Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit in order for us to live out His righteousness on the earth. When we seek the righteousness of Jesus, we become His servants and seek to please Him and not ourselves. Jesus does just “turn over a new leaf” in our lives. Rather, He gives us new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away, all things are become new.” The third thing that we are to seek is “all these things (that) shall be added to you.” (I added the parenthesis.) What are “all these things”? The verses preceding the text verse, mention the necessities of life, such as, clothing and food. We can add to these things all of the necessities of life. When we “seek first the kingdom of God” we trust Him to meet our human needs. We spend a lot of time and effort trying to make ourselves comfortable, when God wants us to make ourselves available to Him. When we seek “things” first, we put “the cart before the horse.” God never promises to give us all that we want, but He does promise to give us all that we need. He calls us to find our fulfillment and satisfaction in Him. What are you seeking first? Bro. Joe “When (Jesus) was come down from the mountain (after the Sermon on the Mount) great multitudes followed Him. 2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. 3. And Jesus put forth His hand, touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy was healed.” (I added the parentheses.)
There is a lot to write about in this text, but I want to focus on the one thing that really caught my attention, i.e., the man asked Jesus if He was willing, and Jesus answered “I will.” At that point Jesus touched the leper and he was healed of leprosy. This text told us something about Jesus that we need to know – He is willing. This is a fact about Jesus that reaches out across to the centuries from this incident to our lives. We need to get in touch with Jesus’s willingness in our lives. Here are my thoughts on the subject: He Will! Jesus is not reluctant to help in our lives. When we pray, we need to remember that we are not trying to overcome Jesus’ reluctance, but that we are joining Him in His willingness. He is always ready to do what is best for us. Sometime what we see as the reluctance of Jesus, is that He is really teaching us what we really need. I believe in “name it and claim it” with this caveat: We need to claim the answer that Jesus gives whether what He gives is not specifically what we asked of Him. We just need to trust Jesus that in His willingness, He is doing always what is best for our lives. Obviously, the leper needed to be healed at that instance. We can believe that is what was best for Him. I have seen both sides of His willingness in my own life. Many, many times, Jesus has given me specifically what I have asked for. At other times, I just had to accept that Jesus knew what was best for me. Here is a quote from Alan Redpath that has served as an anchor for me in my own bouts with illness: “There is nothing, no circumstances, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until it has come past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose.” The willingness of Jesus always comes with a purpose. He Can! We should never doubt that Jesus can do what is asked of Him. The power of Jesus that we saw in the stilling of the storm, turning water into wine, feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, plus healings like the one in our text, is still there for us. We just need faith in Jesus that He can do the impossible if the situation calls for it. There is no circumstance in this fallen world that Jesus is not aware of and is not working His purpose in people’s lives. Man, this is hard for us to accept today. Because of everything going on, we think that Jesus is standing hopelessly by, not able to do anything. We need to always remember that we live in a fallen world since the Garden of Eden. Please do not allow Satan to convince you that Jesus is powerless. Jesus’ promise that He will always be with us in the good and the bad that happens in our lives still stands. He still walks with us “through the valley of the shadow of death.” He Has! I want to close with a reminder of what Jesus has already willingly done on our behalf. He gave Himself as a willing sacrifice for our sins. We need to accept what Jesus has done for us and that He will and can make our lives better by doing what is best for us.. Join Jesus in His willingness. Bro. Joe |
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