Getting More Out Of Life

Jesus said in John 10:10 "I came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." It seems that more people are just existing from day to day rather than getting the most out of life. As the story goes, many years ago there was a circuit riding preacher that would go from Church to Church on horseback. During the summer months he would take one of his kids to go along with him. On this particular Sunday, he was going to a new Church. Having never been there before, he wasn't familiar with how they took care of the visiting preacher. Upon arrival, the Church's only Deacon showed him the collection box and told him that people would drop their offering in as they arrived and that at the end of the service all that was in the box was his. So as to be a good example for his son, the preacher reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter and dropped it into the box. All seemed to go well and the preacher waited until everyone had left before going to the collection box to receive his love offering for making the long trip out there. As he reached in, to his disappointment and surprise, all he got was the quarter that he had previously dropped in. They mounted the old horse and as they began to head on back home, the preacher - being human - began to grumble about how he had come so far and preached so hard and all he got was just his own quarter back. Then came these words of wisdom from his young son, that spoke volumes. "Dad, if you had put more in you would have gotten more out".
Sometimes we come to church with so much of the world situation on our minds and we just sit there, only to go home thinking I sure didn't get much out of the message today. Or we go through the day, traveling in our rut of an existence, and come to the end thinking another day has come and gone. Try putting a little more into life. Don't just experience life, let life experience you.

This Is The Day

Psa 118:24 says "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it".
So, what does that mean to you? It means that when the sun is shining and the birds are singing that we give God the credit for providing us with such a glorious day. It means that when it is cold outside and the bills aren't getting paid and the kids are sick and .... whatever it is that makes you day a bummer, that we tend to complain to God because it isn't the kind of day that we were wanting. But, the Psalmist simply tells us that this day, the one we are experiencing right this very moment, is a day that Sovereign God designed just for me. He knows the weather, either sunshine or storm, and He knows the whether - you know, whether we will rejoice or not. God knows that we love the beautiful things that come our way, but He also knows that without the comparison of the not so beautiful things, we would fail to appreciate God's kindness to us. Let me encourage you to develop an attitude of gratitude for each and every day. One thing to remember is that regardless of whether our day is filled with joy or happiness, it still only last 24 hrs. I like the story of the old country preacher who was asked what his favorite verse in the Bible was and he quickly replied "and it came to pass". When asked about his strange response, he said that no matter how bad the situation may seem - it came to pass, and not stay. Enjoy the day, for it is a gift from God.

I Know That I Know That I Know

One of my favorite Bible doctrines is that of Eternal Security. Sometimes referred to as "once saved, always saved". I firmly believe that is true for a variety of reason that we simply do not have time nor space to deal with here. But, if you would like more information, please email and I would be happy to comply. Now, here are a couple of points that are especially meaningful to me. Eternal Security gives me a sense of peace that regardless of the fact that I still have a sin nature, judicially I will never stand before God the Judge and be condemned to hell. Rom 8:1 says "There is therefore now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...". My daily sin will hinder my fellowship with my Heavenly Father, but it can never sever my relationship with Him. Since I had nothing to do with obtaining my salvation, other than to receive my free gift, there is nothing that I can do to negate it. It wasn't my sins that I committed that had condemned my to hell, it was my sin nature that had separated me from God. Eph 2:1 tells me that I was dead in trespasses and sin until He gave me life. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 that "ye must be born again". Later, He would say that whosoever believes has "everlasting life". If it starts and stops and starts again, then it is not everlasting. I know that those who oppose this doctrine say it gives a person a license to sin, but that is certainly not the case.
II Cor 5:17 tells us "Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new". In other words, we have a change in life. So, without hesitation I can say that I know that I know that I am on my way to Heaven - as a free gift from God Himself. Are You?

Every Little Word Is Important

God has so graciously given us His Inspired Word to show us how to know Him and how to live for Him. Too often we read it and get a message but fail to see the importance of every little word or phrase. For instance, when we open to Gen 1:1 and begin to read "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth". Immediately, our minds simply goes to the truth about how this world came into existence. That tells us about Him - that God is the creator of all things. And later He would tell us that all things were created by Him and for Him. But, there is a message there concerning how to live for Him in there as well. "In the beginning - GOD". There it is. Right before our very eyes. The instruction that God is to be the beginning of everything. We know He is the beginning of our lives and that He breathed into man and man became a living soul. But, do we make Him the beginning of everyday? Do we thank Him for allowing us to live another day, since He is not only the giver of life, but also the sustainer of life? Do we recall what the Psalmist said when he proclaimed this is the day the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it? Begin each day recognizing the person of God as He is revealed in His creation without and the presence of God as He is revealed through His Spirit within. Make today a better day, because it begins with God.

Pleasing God

Iattended a pastor's conference some time ago and was blessed with a great time of fellowship and singing praise to God and of course, some great preaching. The theme was "Pleasing God" and both preachers that morning used the text from Heb 11:6 where we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please God". As I was thinking about what they had shared, the thought came to mind that we spend more time being pleasing unto God or being pleased with God than we actually do pleasing God. Holiness is pleasing unto God, because He is Holy and we are expected to be Holy as well. I Peter 1:16 says "Be ye holy for I am holy". Being pleased with God, no doubt, makes God happy because we are happy in Him. But, it is the life lived by faith that really pleases God. Paul tell us in Rom 1:17 that "the just shall live by faith" Our first thought would be, why? And the answer is very simple. Because in order to live by faith, we must keep our eyes on God and trust what He is doing in us and to us and through us. We cannot keep our eyes on God if our focus is on the world. Living by faith is an exciting life and one that is usually misunderstood. For some reason, we have the idea that faith living is like living in the dark and we just take what comes without question. Not so! Faith is based upon fact - the facts of the Word of God. Faith living is living with our eyes wide open in direct obedience to God's Word - without question. The only way to please your Heavenly Father is to live by Faith obeying His every wish. And what a blessing that is.