Word for the Day

A Brief Look at the Prophet Hosea

         Here’s what we know about Hosea. He was the son of Beeri. The name Hosea means “salvation”. The people he spoke his prophesies to were the people of Israel, which was the Northern Kingdom. This book was written in roughly 715 BC and recorded events from the period 753-715 BC. His ministry began during the end of a prosperous time in Israel. The reign of Jeroboam II brought moral decline, in that while the upper class were doing rather well, they were oppressing the poor people of that area, which angered God. Hosea was used by the Lord until a little after the fall of Samaria in 722 BC.

            Little did Hosea realize that God would choose to use his life as a living example of how Israel disregards and disrespects their Lord. Hosea was commanded by God to marry a woman (Gomer) who would be unfaithful to him, causing him much heartache. Hosea’s real life was meant to be an illustration of how easily someone can lose their appreciation for the special relationship they have with God. Christians back then and also today allow compromise to enter into their faith life and that is tantamount to adultery or being unfaithful to the Lord. 

            God was looking for the people from the Northern Kingdom to return to a life of worship as they honored him with their lives. However, they continued on with their evil ways, therefore the Lord makes it clear to them that disaster comes after disobedience mixed with a attitude of ingratitude. 

            Don’t allow yourself to forget God and become disloyal as a result of prosperity that you’ve been blessed with. Don’t let success cause you to dismiss your need for God’s love. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

A Brief Look at the Prophet Joel

            We don’t know very much about Joel, just that he was a prophet of God & the son of Pethuel. Since his audience was Judah (Israel’s southern kingdom) there’s a good chance he lived in Jerusalem. Joel delivered a very somber warning to the people of Judah, but finishes by giving them hope. He states that God is the omnipotent judge who also is merciful. God’s desire is to bless everyone who places their trust in him.

            Joel speaks of a terrible locust plague that stripped the land of all its crops. Desolation was the end result. This was just another call to repentance for the children of Israel. 

            The time period of Joel’s service as God’s prophet was roughly 835-796 BC. During this time period Judah had become prosperous, which led to complacency. They began to take God for granted, turning to self-centeredness, idolatry and sin. Joel’s warning to them was that their lifestyle would inevitably bring about God’s judgment. This judgment would be the dreaded Day of the Lord, when a global reckoning will take place.

            The message Joel has is for us today too, for many of us call ourselves followers of Christ, yet are spiritually lazy and have lessened the importance of imitating the Lord in our own minds. Joel 2:12-13 says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Comes with fasting, weeping and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.” That is God’s message to you today. Repent of all that is contrary to God’s word and draw close to him once again.  

            Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Thoughts From a Random Mind

            Look around you and see the destructive work of Satan. He has twisted the eternal truths of God until they are a stark contradiction of what the Lord intended.  Worldly people embrace this new, softer, more palatable version of God. It’s all about love circa 1969. Peace & Love. Surely God wouldn’t turn his back on us for a few minor infractions? Sounds like the serpent from the Garden of Eden, doesn’t it?

            To steal a line from the song Lola by the Kinks (c.1970) … “Girls will be boys and boys with be girls, it’s a mixed up, messed up, shook up world … “. Mixed up indeed. This is what happens to a world without God at its core. Everyone is living out his or her own personal definition of ‘normal’ and it reeks of a selfish, ingratiating mass of nothingness. That which we feel will satisfy us will not satisfy anyone for long. 

            As for the believers in Christ, too many of us are merely spectators and I’m afraid I might just be one. For my thinking, there are two different types of selfishness … 1. Selfish for personal pleasure and gain; 2. Selfish thru apathetic inaction. Sitting doing nothing is just as selfish as going off doing what you please in spite of what others may think or say. I’m afraid I’m the one doing the sitting. Put on my armor and just stand stock-still. No offensive or defensive moves. 

           Maybe we’re thinking too hard about all this. Maybe we need to focus a bit more on Christ and follow his lead. Satan is a defeated foe. We know it and he knows it.  Be prepared to do battle using all the weapons the Lord has placed at your disposal. If you don’t know what they are you need to find out. God has chosen to use us. The evil in the world, though prevalent, is no match for God’s burning wrath. Allow God to have his will and way in your life daily. We aren’t playing here. This is serious business and as each day passes we draw closer to Christ’s Return. No one knows when but God, but the warning signs are beginning to show themselves. Open your spiritual eyes and be prepared. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing. rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

Can We Work Our Way to Heaven?

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”- Ephesians 2:8-9

            The first question that always comes to my mind when the topic of works or good deeds for God comes up is if it were possible to earn our way to heaven by doing good deeds, then why on earth would Christ have had to die a gruesome death on a cross? What does the Bible have to say on the topic of doing good works for the Lord? 

            When we are born we have a carnal or sinful nature. God’s standard, The Ten Commandments, was established to reveal to man their sinfulness. There is nothing man can do to eradicate the sin nature within. “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.” – Romans 8:7. 

            Even when you do “good works” in the name of God, if you have one slip up and break any part of God’s Law you will be cast out of union with him.  “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” – James 2:10. Christ’s death was the fulfillment of the Law.  A blood sacrifice was required to remove the blemish of sin, so“With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”- Hebrews 9:12

            Listen to Psalm 103:12, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Micah 7:19 says: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Some refer to this as the ‘Sea of Forgetfulness’, not that God could ever be forgetful. Instead, the Lord CHOOSES NOT to remember our sins against us any longer.

            Non-believers are still under the Law because they’ve never accepted the cleansing of their sins. Christ took all the punishment connected to that Law onto himself so we might be free of the Law’s penalty.

            Ephesians 2:8-9 (today’s text) eliminates the whole idea of working ones way to heaven. God sent his Son Jesus to pay the penalty for all our sin. That is a demonstration of his grace or undeserved favor. We did nothing to deserve or earn this favor; it is the result of our submitting our will to Christ by recognizing and acknowledging our sinful state and asking for forgiveness. Salvation from sin is in no way tied to anything good that we may have done in this life so we have nothing to brag about. Christ alone receives the glory, honor and praise. 

            We do good because we love the Lord and wish to please and serve him. It’s a choice. We do good deeds as an outcropping of our faith and trust in our Lord.  We do them not for any personal gain or accolades, for all praise goes to our God and he shares his glory with no one. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing. rlkeller

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; http://www.gochristianhelps.com/tracts/stl/cantearn.htm

Word for the Day

Thoughts from a Random Mind

          So as it was in the days of Noah shall it once again be, only the next time it will be a consuming fire and not a flood. Noah was mocked. Not one person on the earth listened to him and believed. They scoffed at the coming of God’s judgment against mankind.  Rain? What was rain? Scripture tells us the ground was nourished from water bubbling up from under the ground. It had never come down from the sky before. Flood waters? This has never taken place in their world, but this is what God promised was coming. Once it began to rain the people panicked, wanting desperately to enter into the tremendous ark Noah had built, but alas, he had closed and sealed the mighty door and was not to open it again until the floodwaters had subsided and the land was dry again. The people’s unbelief was their eternal undoing.

            Fast forward to today. There are millions of people who still scoff, ridicule and disbelieve the message God is sending out. There will come a day when the time for repentance will be gone forever. Time as we know it will be no more. A reckoning will take place where God will separate the wheat from the chafe. The warning signs are all around if you take the time to look. If you don’t believe in God’s existence you better be right. That is in no way a threat, but it is a promise. Sin cannot abide with the Almighty. Those who are still filthy with their own sin will have to bare the cost on their own with no hope of reprieve. God will not change his mind. Man has laughed off their need for forgiveness for too many years. The time will come and when it does it will come quickly. There will be no time to repent on that day. It is a fearsome thing to have to face God’s wrath. Nothing will stop it once it begins. Scripture tells us “no man knows the day or the hour”. This is why man must repent NOW and be ready for the 2^ndComing of Christ. Don’t fritter your time away on trivial, meaningless endeavors. Surrender your life to the One who created you. rlkeller

Taking One Last Look at Isaiah

“Everyone will see the Lord’s hand of blessing on his servants – and his anger against his enemies. See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind. He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke. The Lord will punish the world by fire and by his sword. He will judge the earth, and many will be killed by him.” – Isaiah 66:14-16

            The Lord starts out the final chapter of Isaiah by pointing out that any temple made by men would never be sufficient to contain his great glory. That’s because God cannot be confined to any human structure (2 Chronicles 6:18; Acts 7:49-50).  He says the humble will be lifted up and the wicked will be destroyed. The Lord (and only the Lord) will judge all people. I mention specifically that God alone will judge because so many of us are determined to pass judgment of others without considering our own shortcomings. God is the only one capable of meting out justice without allowing emotion or favoritism to be involved. 

            Verses 2-3 summarize Isaiah’s message to the people of Israel. “My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine.  I, the Lord, have spoken. I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways – delighting in their detestable sins – will not have their offerings accepted.” Those who love the Lord will apply his word to their hearts and lives. God shows mercy to those who are humble, yet curses the proud and self-sufficient. We mustn’t let our free will to do as we please lead us away from the pathway of God, for our own path eventually leads to our own destruction, while the path of the Lord leads to eternal life.

               The verses at the top of the post give us a crystal clear picture of the great judgment that will occur at the 2^nd Coming of Christ. The first worldwide judgment in Noah’s day was done by water. This next time will be by fire as told to us in 2 Peter 3:5-8. From what Isaiah reveals I think mankind may have a wrong view of the judgment side of Almighty God. The consequences that come from an ungodly life are not pretty. Has your belief in God become nothing more than a Sunday morning ritual or has it blossomed into the intimate relationship God wishes to have with all his children. Seek the depths of God’s never-ending love while he may be found. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.” – Isaiah 65:17

            In Revelation 21:1 John, the Apostle of Christ, sees a new heaven and a new earth. The old ones simply disappear. That is the fulfillment of Isaiah 65:17.  When the final judgment has taken place and time is no more, then a new heaven and earth will appear and the life that believers in Christ had been promised shall begin. Babies will no longer die in their first few days; adults will live a full life. Only those who are cursed will live to 100 years old, but the righteous will be considered young at 100.

            Invaders will no longer take the land from people, but the homes the people have built and the vineyards they have grown will be theirs alone to enjoy. The people will no longer work in vain and their children will no longer be doomed to face misfortune. The people will be blessed of God, and because of that their children will also be blessed of God. The Lord will answer their prayers even before they speak them out. As a sign that peace has come, the wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow, but snakes will dine on dust. There will be no injury, sickness or death. 

            “… eye has not seen nor ear heard that which the Lord has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). In spite of scriptures best efforts to reveal the beauty and wonder of our future eternal home, the human mind is incapable of comprehending what we are in store for. In that day whatever we had enjoyed in this life will seem trivial by comparison. What we were promised and have been waiting for will have arrived and it seems as though anything we can imagine is possible. A brief glimpse at the future of the believer in Christ provides hope for those who struggle in the here and now. 

            Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“… when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned – before my very eyes – and chose to do what you know I despise.” – Isaiah 65:12

            Chapter 65 of Isaiah speaks of judgment and final salvation for the children of Israel. Their stiff necked, rebellious nature brought them much pain and unnecessary angst, but that’s what you get when you disobey the Lord. No blessing ever came out of disobedience.  

            Israel considered themselves the only people of God, not realizing that one day other nations – Gentile nations - would one day seek the Lord. In spite of their disobedient actions they wrongly believed they were spiritually superior to others. Jesus referred to such people as hypocrites. The Jews broke God’s Laws when they worshipped and sacrificed to idols (Exodus 20:1-6), consulted the dead and evil spirits (Leviticus 19:31), and ate forbidden foods (Leviticus 11).  Even though all this was regularly taking place, God still loved them and showed them mercy by not destroying them.

            Regardless of all the disobedience taking place in Israel there was always a remnant of faithful believers who God would preserve, those who would remain loyal. Jesus made that point in Matthew 13:36-43. That was true then and it’s true now. In spite of how evil the world gets, there will always be those who remain loyal to God. Those that are purposefully disobedient to the standard set forth by Almighty God will lose in the end. There will be no place for them to hide from God’s wrath.  Serve God out of a deep abiding love and trust thru faith and you will be with him in glory at the appointed time. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Word for the Day

Word for the Day

Word for the Day

Word for the Day

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence!” “For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him.” – Isaiah 64:2, 4 

            Within the prayer for mercy and forgiveness, which began on verse 15 of the last chapter, lies a description of God’s power and majesty. It has been said that his appearance is so intense that it will be like an all-consuming fire that burns everything in its path. The only way believers, who are impure, can survive is because of God’s mercy and grace. We stand forgiven and no one can take that away from us. When Christ returns again his glory, which is a reflection of the Father, will be overwhelming to us. Were we not forgiven we wouldn’t be able to stand in his presence.

            The Jews must come to the realization that God sees even their good deeds as filthy rags because of their rebellious nature. So they get on their knees and beg God for forgiveness and mercy … again. Fortunately when God forgives he doesn’t keep a count of wrongs. He looks at the heart. If it’s  sincere the request for forgiveness is honored.  Having said that, there are examples in scripture where people lied about something and before they ever had a chance to seek forgiveness they were struck dead. Would that still happen today? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t want to chance it.  Sin is sin and you will pay for it at one time or another unless the sin is removed.

            There is no earthly way of knowing what wonderful blessings are in store for those who are waiting for him. Since the Lord knows the deepest motivations of our hearts, we can be assured that if our heart is pure and our motives are pleasing to God he will take good care of us as we work at living for him. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“In his love and mercy he redeemed them. …But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. …Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt.” – Isaiah 63:9-11

            The mercy God showed the children of Israel is pretty amazing and clearly shows the never-ending love he has for them. If you want a clear indication of just how patient God is review the relationship he has with the Jews down thru the ages.  He is truly far more patient then any of us could ever hope to be.

            The Jews grieved the Holy Spirit by willfully hindering his leading thru disobedience and rebellion. It is very much like biting the hand that feeds you. In verse 8, the Lord said: “They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.” But they did just as they had before. It’s much easier to simply obey to begin with then run away.  One of the most glaring examples of disobedience in the Old Testament was that of Jonah. When called upon to preach to the Ninivites that they might repent he boarded a ship that was sailing off in the opposite direction instead.  Even then God showed mercy to Jonah. The whale that could have eaten him was sent to transport him. 

            Here is a shining example of how important our memory is to us. Verse 11 starts by saying “Then they remembered … “.  They remembered all the wonderful and even miraculous things the Lord had repeatedly done for them and they prayed for God’s mercy and compassion once again and God gave it to them. This is a message to all believers past, present and future; there is nothing you could ever think, say or do that cannot be forgiven by God as long as you ask and determine to follow the leading of God’s Spirit rather than follow your own path. The Lord is always watching to guide and protect. Don’t tread on his grace. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller 

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

Selfish vs. Selfless

Selfish is very easy to fall into …

Selfless means placing the needs of others above your own … 

All people are at the very least a little bit selfish … 

It’s a human flaw we are born with … 

It is contrary to what God desires for us … 

Selfish submits to self …

Selfless submits to God …

Who are you submitting to?

Rlkeller – BOL Min

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.” – Isaiah 62:8

            The Jewish people had experienced oppression by their captors thru the years. The Babylonian Exile was a prime example. Egypt is another one from Moses’ day. That oppression stemmed from a general lack of obedience on the part of the Jewish people. In this chapter God gives good news to the oppressed peoples of Israel. Whether they deserved it or not, God’s love for his children caused him to fulfill all the promises he had laid before them prior to this time. His blessings were that the brokenhearted were to be comforted and captives were to be set free. The Lord will faithfully reward his people for their suffering, making an everlasting covenant with them.

            Joy would overwhelm those who walk in righteousness. They would be clothed in righteousness as a reward for trusting their God. Luke 4:21 has Jesus repeating the prophetic utterance that it is the beginning of the period of the Lord’s favor.  After he rolled the scrolls closed, he said, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” That day saw the priests become irate at his setting himself up as the fulfillment of that prophecy.  All these things must take place to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. Every bit of it, which is why we all say ‘everything happens for a reason’. The Lord has been and still is bringing all the necessary pieces together to fulfill the arrival of the time of the Lord’s favor. Once Christ returns for the church, the day of God’s anger towards his enemies will have come. His wrath will have been unleashed, but God’s children will be protected from these events.  

            The Jews are a blessed people, however, they still believe the Gentiles that call themselves believers are living under a grand delusion. The non-Jewish believers in God are seen by Israel as those who will be kept from entrance into heaven, but that is not true. Their arrogance deceives them. Their own rejection of Christ as their Messiah ushers in the Gentiles as additional children of God. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.” – Isaiah 59:1-2

            Sin is the culprit.  It is the fly-in-the-ointment. It is the one and only thing that can cause man to be separated from God forever and all time. The Bible deals with the topic a multitude of times. Once again in chapter 59 we find the Lord telling the people of Israel, and by extension, all men, women and children, that sin cannot abide with God. I’ve heard it said that God doesn’t send people to hell; they go of their own volition. In the OT people turned away from God seeking a way they felt would be less demanding. God’s way isn’t demanding; obedience is easy when you love the one seeking your devout allegiance. Devout allegiance is easy when you realize that the Lord loves you unconditionally and that everything is under his complete control.

            Scripture is extremely clear, especially in verse 2 that a person’s sin cuts off godly fellowship. God still loved and loves the Jews and he still loves you all, as well, but it’s the sin factor. The consequences of a life not lived for God can be devastating now and spill over into eternity if not forgiven.  Since “the Lord is holy, he cannot ignore, excuse or tolerate sin as (if) it didn’t matter.”^[1] 

            For those who have turned from their sins God will restore his covenant with them.  His spirit will not leave them and his words will be burned onto their hearts.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

^[1] From footnote for Isaiah 59:1-14 on p1535 in The Life Application Study Bible.

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue you own interests on that day, … .” – Isaiah 58:13a

            In this chapter the Lord speaks thru Isaiah regarding true and false worship. Some Jews worship God to appear pious, becoming ritualistic by going to Temple every day, fasting and listening to scripture readings. The Jews were missing the point of worship in that the Lord isn’t looking for their outward act of piousness when they still have unforgiven sin in their hearts. Scripturally speaking to worship God properly and live out his doctrines they were to have genuine compassion for the poor, helpless and oppressed. By doing these things they are being God’s hand extended.  

            The same applies to us today. We were grafted into the vine, which is Christ, due to Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. Therefore we are spiritual Jews as a result of the grafting. The only difference between Jew and Gentile spiritually speaking is that Christ’s death fulfilled the OT Law, which ushered in the period of God’s grace, which is still in play today. The Jews still live under the Mosaic Law.

            There is a long-standing controversy as to whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday. The Jews and the Seventh Day Adventists observe Saturday, saying that is the seventh day of the week, which ties in to the seventh day of creation when God rested. Most Christians observe Sunday as the Sabbath, believing Sunday to be the final day of the week. 

            There’s a lot more to this then just that, but suffice it to say we are all to keep it a holy day and many of us don’t. The world has encroached on our Sundays with youth athletics. It creates a dilemma for Christians who want their children to be involved in sports and what parent wants to be the one to tell their child they can’t participate in sports on Sunday because they have to go to church. The devil doesn’t play fair.  Make your decision wisely because God is supposed to come first. Some of our choices are difficult and affect more then just the decision maker.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Word for the Day

Taking a Look at Isaiah

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”- Isaiah 57:15

            There are times in scripture when God says he either has been angry or IS angry with the Jewish people. He loved them anyway and met their needs just the same, however, the Lord truly seeks a humble and repentant heart; one that is turned toward him and seeks to live a life that is pleasing to him.  God’s patience was on full display with the nation of Israel. Verse 18 says, “I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway. I will lead them.” The Lord knows what all of us are doing every second of every day. Our motives are plain to him. Our thoughts are known as well. In spite of that he loves us.

            God may be disappointed or upset with us because of our thoughts, words and/or actions at any time, but he withholds punishment because of his great understanding that we are frail and fraught with ungodly ways. He means to teach us and lead in his ways, a universal standard that is fair and just for all peoples.  If he were to remain mad who could possible stand. Verse 16 states: “I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away – all the souls I have made.”  

            Those who continue on in their stubborn ways shall find that God has withdrawn from them, leaving them to their own devices. Regardless of God’s patient kindness with those who have thus far rejected him, some will remain as a “restless sea, which is never still, but continually churns up mud and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked,”says my God. If you are remaining stubborn when all along you know the Lord wants you to be at another place in your spiritual maturation, let go of your selfish self and become humble and contrite toward him and his ways.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Word for the Day

Word for the Day

Taking a Look at Isaiah

“You have committed adultery on every high mountain. There you have worshiped idols and have been unfaithful to Me.” – Isaiah 57:7

            “When the people turned from God & gave their love to idols, God said they were committing spiritual adultery – breaking their exclusive commitment to God. “^[1] What men are guilty of back then they are still guilty of now, only the idols have been modernized.  In this chapter God is chastising the Jewish people for turning to idols made of wood and stone to worship, rather than worship the unseen God who had looked after them and carried them thru life to that point. 

            What are some modern day idols? I’ve heard it said that some worship at ‘the altar of ME’.  Self-centeredness is an idol for you to worship yourself, placing your interests number one over all else. Television can be an idol if you allow it to take the place of God in your life. I’m not saying watching Television is evil or wrong … not at all. We must be careful not to have the watching of it rule our lives. Nothing on TV can match the majesty of Almighty God. There is no eternal value in the vast majority of what can be seen on our televisions. Musical artists like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Pitbull (to name just a few) become idols to an adoring public. We hang on their every word. We buy their music, and want to dress like them … we want to BE just like them. I believe that to be a form of idol worship. 

            Basically, anything that pulls us away from being attentive to God’s standard of living is like an idol to us. We allow other things to distract us and keep us from immersing ourselves in the things of the Lord. Don’t misunderstand me, God has placed many blessings all around us to enjoy this side of heaven, just don’t become so wrapped up in other things that we forget to honor the Lord with our thoughts, words and deeds. Our focus is to be on the Lord, not that which lies all around us. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

^[1] Footnote for verses 7-8 in The Life Application Study Bible; p.1532.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

          Well, it’s the beginning of a new decade. The 2020’s have begun. Time to make all your New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions that will probably be broken before you know it. What is a ‘resolution’ anyway? “It is a “firm decision to do something. A course of action determined or decided on. It is a state or quality of being resolute … to have firm determination.”^[1]

            Now that we know what a resolution is, we must decide what area of our life requires a course of action that initiates change in our behavior. It has everything to do with what is most important to us as individuals. This decision doesn’t necessarily have to involve someone else although it can. The change has to come from within. It has to come from the heart. It has to be sincere and honest. We must truly want the change to take place or it won’t. We don’t get an ‘E’ for effort on this.  In past years my resolution has been to “see others as God sees them”.  Another time it was “help me be more like Christ in my daily life”.  I’ve had others but those were the two biggies. To not see others as God sees them leaves you prone to judging others by their appearance, by where they are from or how they dress. We have no right to judge ANYONE for ANY REASON. Christ is the judge, not us. Being more like Christ means people will begin to see Christ in you as you go thru your day. We’ll never be perfect this side of heaven, but that’s no reason not to try for perfection. Yes, we will fail, but it is in the trying that we will eventually succeed.

            With all the resolutions we could make and all the things that seem important to us, maybe it’s time to decipher which things are MOST important to us. Might I suggest that God is and certainly should be the most important element in our entire lives? This is simply because all things come from and are sustained by Almighty God.  If it weren’t for him we might have all the “things” we could ever want yet still be the loser in the end. “Things”or even other people, like your spouse are important to us but they cannot provide forgiveness for past accumulated sins. They cannot provide the way into our eternal home with Christ. It is based on that reasoning that their importance pales in comparison to our infinite and eternal God. 

            Make it your resolution today, the first day of the new year, to both see those all around you the way God sees them AND strive to be a little more like Jesus Christ every single solitary day from now on. Shed those things that hold you back or weigh you down from accomplishing that which you resolve to do.  I’m in the business of changing my own life. Join me as we travel side by side to heaven, bringing as many others with us as we are able. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

^[1] - American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.