So quickly turned out of the way?

 

“And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.” -Deuteronomy 9:12

It seems that human beings are so easily turned out of the right way. The Bible points out that sin does “so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1). This is a sad fact of sinful human nature. Paul warns even, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). We must be ever careful. Satan is out to get us and he is always disguising his efforts in such a way as to trap us and he is aiming for the spots in our character where he knows from experience that he will find weakness. He took Adam and Eve that way, Samson, David, Moses, Aaron, Mariam, the Children of Israel, and you just name them, the list goes on. Let us ever be thankful for God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ for if it was not for such then we would all surely be left for dead!

Let us be thankful that in Christ and His word there are power and great promises that will lead to overcome and “to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust” (John 15:4,5; 2 Peter 1:4). And though are sins have been as scarlet, yet they will be as white as snow if we confess and forsake them while trusting in Jesus to deliver by His blood and righteousness (1 John 1:9; Isaiah 1:18; Proverbs 28:13).

Have you been quickly turned out of the way? Have you seen yourself sliding away from God and perhaps doing what you should not have been doing? Did you ever wake up one day and realize that you had followed a path that had led you away (even far away) from God, our Father who loves us? Perhaps you have. Do not despair. It’s very sad. It’s very terrible! But the good news is that God loves you and me still! He longs with a Father’s great heart of love for His wayward child to return to Him and to repent of the sin. God has a place for us still. He shows His great love and mercy for us! He is not willing for any to perish, but desires for all to come to repentance if they will. In fact, He pleads with us to do so (See Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 2:9; Matthew 11:28-30). See also this picture in Jesus’ story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:17-24).

Here is a simple recipe for coming back into the Father’s love and His holiness: Stop where you are…all dirty and sinful. Think of His love. Choose to leave the sinful life and to go back to God’s love (even knowing your unworthiness). The Father will welcome you back with arms of love. He sees you coming when you are still “far off.” When you meet Him confess your sin. He will embrace you, forgive you, cleanse you, fill you, and cover you with His love and righteousness. He will guide you in His way again. Go now and be blessed in God’s love! Do not remain even another moment outside of His love. Stop wallowing in sin and trying to avoid God. Run to Him!! He alone can deliver and save you!

Learning to Fear the Lord through His word

“And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:” -Deuteronomy 17:19

We are to read and meditate in God’s word all the days of our life! I would submit that we cannot learn to “fear the Lord” our God without diligently studying and respecting His word! We must hear it and study it much. We must learn about the God who can turn waters into blood, who can drive back oceans, who can call the dead to life, who can create creatures from nothing and humans from dust.

Learn of the God who can open blind people’s eyes, cause the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. Learn about the God who rebukes disease and sends demons running and cowering in fear. Learn about the One who can change the heart of a sinner (you and me) and make us to desire holiness and seek it forever. Learn about the God who can forgive the hated and despised of human beings and make them into a person you could love and respect. Know the God who put our Solar system into orbit and who is soon coming again to re-claim this planet, to take it over, and who will destroy all evil.

Get to know Him today while mercy yet lingers! Who cannot fear, reverence and respect such a God? Let us learn from His word to deeply respect/reverence (fear) and follow Him. Only with such a relationship with God can we be overcomers and grow in His Holiness. “By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Proverbs 16:6). And only through the Bible (plus prayer and contemplation of His mighty works in nature) can we learn to fear Him! Go and fill yourself daily with His Holy words!!! Be blessed in Christ Jesus today!

Building a Sturdy Character: A Mystery?

“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” -Luke 6:47-49

Most people, if you asked them, would say that they would love to have a better character. Wouldn’t you? Some disagree about how to do that. Some doubt if it were even possible. Others wonder how to achieve such a thing, if it were possible. Jesus tells us that it is possible and He tells us how. It’s actually quite a simple recipe that He gives us. It’s no mystery.

Jesus teaches us that character building is like building a house. It takes time to develop, but everyday it will grow if we follow His plan. Then if done rightly, it will stand the tests of various temptations and hardships in this life. The result will be very rewarding! It is achieved by both hearing God’s word and by choosing to believe and to obey it. We have to put it into practice. We should hear and obey God’s word. Do whatever He says! Seek to do it and strive to do it. Pray to do it and take steps to do it. You and I have to be wise. We need to make a choice today and every moment to fill ourselves with Christ’s word and to practice it. In the end we will be blessed by a strong and better character which is more like the character of Jesus.

If we do not obey God’s word (in anything) then we are sowing weakness into our character (just like building upon the sand) which later will reveal itself when the storms of temptation arise in our lives. The weakness of our character will surely show itself when put to the test! When the floods arise our house will fall because it is weak and poorly built (if we have failed to obey God’s word). “The fall of it will be great” Jesus says. How sad and terrible such things will be? How embarrassing and shameful to have a house so poorly and unwisely built that it collapses when the pressures and temptations arise upon us.

But how wonderful it would be if our house stood firm under pressure! For example, how wonderful if our testimony was like that of Joseph who was tempted by Satan (through a married woman in that case, see Gen. 39) and who stood victorious for God! Joseph did not arrive there by accident. Rather, it was by decision after decision every day (little though they may have seemed) that Joseph was able to have a house/character built upon the solid rock of God’s word! By choosing to obey God’s word time after time (rather than lust or some other thing) in the seemingly little things of daily life Joseph was able to develop a pure and holy character that loved righteousness and repulsed evil. We, through Christ, His word (both hearing and choosing to obey), and prayer can be overcomers even like that! Through Christ we can have the victory! Let us seek God daily and choose to obey His word. Also keep in mind that Joseph did not put himself into temptations way or go looking for trouble. He was there by necessity as a slave, just minding his own business and doing his daily work. That’s when Satan brings sin a looking for us! When it tried to take him he knew the best thing was to RUN away! It is manly and Godly to run away from sin when the temptation seems overpowering. Sometimes that is the best thing! Let us not be foolish. Build on the rock as Christ Jesus taught us to do and you will be blessed with more of His strong and righteous character!

Prayer and Decisions – The Example of Jesus

“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;” – Luke 6:12-13

Jesus had been busy preaching and building up His public ministry work for lost humanity. Although He was indeed the Son of God, he was also the Son of Man. He keenly sensed His need for reliance upon the Heavenly Father and for the wisdom that only the Great God of Heaven could reveal. As Christ entered human flesh he also became subject to the dependence of human beings upon the power, strength, and wisdom of God the Father. Jesus knew that they only way to tap into this power was through prayer! Sincere, earnest, heartfelt, humble, passionate, persevering prayer. Christ often spent whole nights in prayer as He needed strength and wisdom for the activities of the next day.

When it came time for choosing His twelve disciples who were to become the apostles or messengers of the gospel to the whole world, Christ felt the need for much prayer! He chose these 12 men from among those who had begun to take an interest in His work, and who had a heart to follow Him, and even Judas.

Christ prayed for wisdom all night long. And then, knowing that He had received from the Father what was needed, he begun the work of choosing His 12 disciples from among the others. He chose the men who were later going to spearhead the carrying of the gospel to the entire world and begin His church upon the earth. What an important task to be done, and what a terribly important job of selecting these men.

Should we not follow the example of Christ? Oh, let us pray! Let us pray earnestly for the Lord’s wisdom and guidance for our lives and for His work! Before making those critical decisions of life let us bow before the throne of the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth and pour out our hearts to Him for wisdom! Let us linger upon our knees before the Lord, talking with Him sincerely. Let it not be a surface work merely, or just a short uninterested few lines, but rather a season of heartfelt and sincere prayer. Praying about a job? Praying about a move? Praying about a spouse? Consider well our need for God’s incredible wisdom and let us seek it earnestly!