RANDOM RAMBLINGS 42

            Several weeks ago something dawned I me. Let me go back to before last Christmas to tell this story. I went to church and upon entering the sanctuary I saw a lone old man sitting on the back row against the wall. I meandered over and sat down next to him, extended my right hand and said “Hi, my name is Rich.” He shook my hand, smiled and responded with “I’m Charlie.” We chatted a bit. I sat with Charlie during the service. I made a point of saying “Hi” to Charlie each time I saw him and made sure to ask how he was doing each time. He always sat by himself, alone. No one else ever spoke with him or came up to greet him. I honestly never gave it a second thought.

                A couple months ago it was announced from the pulpit that “Charlie” had passed away. I put two and two together and realized that it was the Charlie I had been speaking to. I asked the pastor about him and found out that Charlie had not been a very good man. Seems he mistreated his wife and was simply a very, very bad man. We discussed how perhaps it was his way of making some sort of peace with God. I began to think. You know, I knew nothing of Charlie’s misdeeds during this life and greeted him and was nice to him as if he had never done anything wrong in his life. The thought crossed my mind at that very moment and I shared it with Pastor:  Isn’t that just the way God is with us?

WALK WITH THE KING AND BE A BLESSING!!

GOD AS CREATOR

Colossians 1:16-17 “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

          If you believe the Bible is the infallible, unalterable, perfect word of God for instruction, encouragement and edification, then these two verses in Paul’s letter to the Colossians prove that God created all things. If you don’t believe that about the Bible or believe it only contains the word of God, then I guess you will believe whatever you choose to believe as divinely inspired or just consider it good reading material. Faith requires trust and belief in what you cannot see, hear, taste or touch. To the average mind, it simply doesn’t exist. To the seeker, the individual who feels there must be more than just being born, living and dying, and feels there must be a higher power at work, these words in Colossians mean something. Once the Holy Spirit quickens a spirit within one of God’s created beings, a hunger begins. We are drawn to God by that very same Holy Spirit. Faith will take you to the foot of the throne where God sits and orchestrates all of creation.

          To those that believe, it should be understood and generally accepted that Jesus is God in human form and the Holy Spirit is also God. Jesus walked the earth nearly two thousand years ago and once He ascended back to His rightful place at the right side of the Father the Holy Spirit was sent to inhabit all those who truly believe. The Holy Spirit is God in us. This doesn’t make us gods, nor does it make us God. It makes us children of God inhabited by His spirit. How can we not allow His spirit to guide and direct us? Why must we insist on straining at the leash, seeking to do our own thing? God knows us better than we could ever hope to know ourselves. Even so, He loves us and attempts to speak to us through His word, whether read, spoken or sung. Many times it’s like He is knocking but isn’t being allowed to enter in. We readily accept His forgiveness, yet mistakenly think it ends there. It doesn’t. God wants to use each one of us for His glory. We strain at the leash because we feel like we know what we’re doing.

          We strain at the leash because we don’t understand the complexity of God’s plan and the way things work in the spiritual realm. God desires only the absolute best for His children, however, that involves trust and surrender. We need to acknowledge to ourselves that we are truly lost without Him. We couldn’t save ourselves and we cannot get to heaven alone. Allow the Spirit of God to lead you where you need to go. God created all things; He can take good care of us if we let Him.

 

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

LOVE & OBEDIENCE

John 14:23-24 “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.’”

 

          In a world where people wear ‘Jesus is my home boy’ tee shirts and huge crosses filled with bling dangle from necks, we tend to wonder if they truly know Jesus or are just following the latest fashion trend. It seems popular to advertise the brand name rather than to live according to the statutes laid out and proclaimed by the individual linked with the name. God isn’t interested in advertising. He doesn’t need our help to proclaim in gaudy, obnoxious ways His existence through clothing or jewelry. He wants us to live for Him with our heart, mind, soul and strength. If we truly love Jesus we will obey His teachings. To not obey is to make a sham of everything He represents and truly is. Christ died so that we could live. What does that mean to us? Saying you love Jesus and obeying His teachings are two completely different things. If you love someone you tend to want to please them. You want to spend as much time with them as possible. You want to know all you can about them. Why is it so different when it comes to God?

          To know the teachings of Jesus is to read the Bible. That seems too much like exercise to us. Some would rather learn it by osmosis, unfortunately, even in the high tech day and age that’s not yet possible. We are going to have to pick up the Book and actually read it. And reading it isn’t enough. We must listen to what is being said. We don’t get to pick and choose which parts we want to obey. We must obey it all. Just like a ferry boat coming into dock, we are given a wide berth so as not to get damaged. God’s patience and kindness is unprecedented. You won’t find anyone this side of heaven who can match it. His never ending, unconditional love is in play continuously. He wants us to succeed in this life and has given us the instructions to do so. We must read them. We must live by them. We must trust God to provide for and sustain us through this life. If we don’t obey the teachings of Christ, then we are not truly His. And if we are not His then by association, we are not God’s. Who ever heard of loving someone and yet ignoring what they say?

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

THE PLAN

Matthew 27:65-66 “‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

 

          God’s plan went something like this: His Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth as a mortal man, was born, grew up and lived among men, ministered for three years and allowed Himself to be brutally beaten and nailed to a wooden cross. Once dead, He would be buried and three days later, be raised to new life. He would show Himself to His disciples, then ascend back to heaven from whence He came.

          When Christ was buried the Jews feared that His followers would remove His body from the tomb where He lay and proclaim that He had risen from the dead (vv. 62-64). So they went to Pilate and his plan to avoid such an event is documented above.

          We all know what happened according to scripture. Isn’t it interesting how God’s plan was so different from man’s plan? Also take note that nothing could stop God’s plan for taking place. Pilate’s plan was shoved aside, quite literally, as a single angel of the Lord was able to diffuse it simply by moving a huge stone it took several soldiers to put into place. That alone is testament to the size and strength of angels. I have found estimates to the size and weight of the stone in front of the tomb which state that given the size of the opening of the tomb, the stone may have weighed as much as 1-1/2 to 2 tons or the weight of a midsized car*. No single mortal man could have moved it. I believe God orchestrated this entire event to prove that Christ was not only raised from the dead, but that it would have been impossible for His body to have been stolen in front of Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb. An angel, endued with power from on high, was able to move any size stone with the greatest of ease. This tells me nothing on earth can thwart God’s plans. No matter what man may conjure up to stand in God’s way or discredit Him, their efforts will be shoved aside just like the huge stone that covered Christ’s tomb. Nothing can stop the plans of God – nothing. God does as He pleases for His own glory and for our ultimate good. We can choose to believe that or disregard it as myth or just plain rubbish. The evidence is given in scripture, however, you have to believe that the Bible is true to see that. It all comes down to faith. Who will you trust? Will you trust God or will you trust man? What good has any man done without being impressed or moved upon by God Himself in this life? I shudder to think of what this life would be like if there truly was no God.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

* http://www.riverpower.org/resurrection.htm

CONDITIONS

2 Timothy 2:11-13 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

 

          Nestled in this letter from Paul to Timothy we find four conditional clauses. The first one speaks of our future with Christ and is borne out in the following verses:

 

John 5:24 "whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Romans 6:8 "if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."

 

          The second clause speaks of the condition of the saved person. If they endure in their faith to the end and do not fall away they shall be with Christ for all of eternity. The third clause reveals to us that to deny Christ is to result in being denied in the end. This is not referring to a singular event, such as when Peter denied Christ three times within a very short period of time, but rather an extended period of denial which would be represented by the individual’s lifestyle. The fourth and final clause tells us that though our faith may fail and unbelief may enter our hearts, God shall remain faithful, keeping each and every promise He has declared in His word.

          Redemption is a very real event in the life of an individual. We are not to serve God as we choose, when we choose and do as we please otherwise. God is a very faithful, loving, merciful Heavenly Father to us. However, His benefits and promises made are for those who would believe and not doubt. When I speak of doubting, I am speaking of habitual and repeated doubting as if to be double minded, not trusting God to do that which He has said. Faith and trust are the backbone of Christianity, with the crucifixion being the focal point and the resurrection being the glorious result of all of God’s precious promises. For without a blood sacrifice, represented by Christ’s bloody, horrific death on a cross, God’s redemptive work to save mankind from his sin would have gone undone. Without the subsequent resurrection, the completion of such a redemptive work would have gone unfulfilled. We must as believers take our walk with Christ seriously. Seeking God must be a part of our daily schedule. Even a short time in God’s word, when done sincerely without a sense of obligation, but rather a genuine desire, can benefit us tremendously. We don’t have to read the Bible and serve God, but we can. The fact that we have the opportunity to read the word of God should thrill us and the fact that God wants to use us for His glory should make us feel honored. Does it?

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!

LIVING FOR GOD

Isaiah 48:17 “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

 

          Throughout the Old Testament the nation of Israel proved to be a stubborn, stiff-necked people. In Chapter 48, the prophet Isaiah is voicing God’s reminders of what He has said to them and done for them in the past. Above we see a key reminder that we can apply to ourselves as well.

          God was and is and ever shall be. He knows all things that can be known and yet we still strain at the leash and want to run ahead as if we know the way to go. He attempts to teach us that which is in our best interests yet we barely pay attention, believing in our hearts that we know exactly what we are doing. Sadly, this is rarely the truth, if ever. We, as the people of God, believe in our hearts far too often that we can find our own way and know what is best for us. We cannot know. We are too easily drawn to the baubles and bangles of this life. Even the most focused individual struggles to stay on the course of their own choosing, stopping all along the way to dabble in diversions. We find it hard to comprehend and therefore pay no mind to the fact that God truly does know us better than we could ever hope to know ourselves and definitely has our best interests at heart. However, seeking, waiting and knowing God takes time and we simply aren’t willing to wait.

 

Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Proverbs 21:2 (NLT) “All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

 

          Unfortunately for mankind, they take far too many things in the Bible as mere suggestions, or statements that are from mortal men rather than God Himself. Solomon, in all His wisdom, authored the Proverbs for our instruction and spiritual growth, yet we barely give them a cursory glance, feeling God can’t possibly know what our circumstances are. We forget where we came from and rely on our own intellect to accomplish those tasks that confront us. It’s God who created us and God who wishes to assist us in this life. If we fail to realize this we will stumble through life unfulfilled and ill at ease. Believe in God or don’t, but don’t say you believe and then ignore His directives. Being a Christian isn’t simply going to church on Sundays or any other day for that matter. Being a Christian is to allow God to alter your life and your lifestyle from the inside out each day of your life on this earth. Christ didn’t die for us to live as we choose, but rather for us to choose to live for Him.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

RANDOM RAMBLINGS 41

          Went to see the Charlie Daniels Band last night at the Taj Mahal Resort and Casino in Atlantic City. Walking through the resort portion of the facility on my way to the arena I heard the following from what I refer to as a carnival barker … you know, the people with a microphone who hawk stuff to the public. Well, apparently they were giving gifts away to people in attendance. The woman with the mic brought a man up by her, asked how his day was going. He must have lost money gambling because he said “not very good”. Her reply caught my attention. “Oh, well at least you’re having fun, right? Cuz that’s what it’s all about.” Obviously not for him. Her reply was curious though and indicative of much of society today. ‘Aw, you lost a thousand dollars tonight in the casino, too bad. But you had fun doing it, didn’t you? Yes, of course you had fun. Work with me here … cuz having fun in spite of your pain or loss or despair or embarrassment is all that matters, right?’ Wow. Sorry, don’t see the correlation between losing money and fun. The hedonists of the world, those seeking pleasure, rejoice at the whole concept of winning and losing and drinking and free stuff and just plain having fun. Their idea of ‘fun’ is grossly skewed and seems dictated by what others have defined as fun. Frankly, I have fed a twenty dollar bill into a machine in AC once or twice but have learned my lesson and learned it rather quickly. It’s not fun to watch your twenty dollars slowly dwindle down to nothing in the course of 5-10 minutes. Hmm, so this is fun. Never knew that. Gotta stop having so much fun.

          The concert? It was great! Charlie is a Christian man who loves America and can still play a mean fiddle and guitar even at 76 years of age. Played all his big hits, did some jamming with the band, played Folsom Prison Blues in honor of the late Johnny Cash and sang a heartfelt rendition of How Great Thou Art. Played for about 90 minutes and the crowd left satisfied.