Blinded By The Darkness

2 Corinthians 4:4"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them".

We were all at one time we all were none believers, trapped in darkness blinded by the god of this world. The bible represents Satan as the master manipulator of human nature. He uses our weakness combined with his influence  leads to sin. Because of Satan's deceptions and the sinful tendencies of human nature," all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". We must understand, however, that the devil cannot force us to sin, he simply influences us through our fleshly weaknesses. But several major areas of our fleshly nature are easily manipulated by Satan.

First, our selfish, fleshly desires often get us into trouble. The lust of the flesh, the desires of the flesh which calls us out side the will of God. Second, our natural deviousness, including self- deception, is a major weakness of the fleshly mind. We naturally look for ways to  justify our lust, our sinful desires, and the behaviors that arise from them. We deceive ourselves into believing that, since our desires are natural, they are not so bad after all. But God's word reminds us that" there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". Third, we have a natural tendency to resent having our fleshly desires limited by rules, even God's rules. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, set their minds on the things of the spirit.

The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God and blinded to the light of his truth, and love by the deception of the god of this world. One locked in darkness find it hard to see. Those that are in the flesh cannot please God. These and other fleshly weaknesses are what we call human nature. Satan takes advantage of our weak and greedy nature by persuading us to rely even more on our emotions, needs and wants than we normally would. But we play our part. Without the positive influence of God's Spirit, we are simply not naturally inclined to live according to God's instructions. If you live according to the flesh you will die in darkness, but if you live by the spirit of God you will live in the light, in a life everlasting...........

My 911

Psalm 120:1 " In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me".

Who can you call when the world comes crashing down on your head? The world of God tells us "To call upon the name of the Lord in your day of trouble, and I will hear you and deliver you". Yet there are many who have refused to call upon Him. Many believe they can make it with the bank accounts, positions, or on their own, but the truth is Jesus Christ is the only way.

When the cares of this world makes you a prisoner of distress, as you are held captive to lying lips, and a deceitful tongue, know that there is one who awaits your call. When your personal desires, and need for self elevation leads you away as sheep without a shepherd, no that He is the good shepherd who will never leave you nor forsake you. He tells us to cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. God wants us free from worry that we can go out share the good news of salvation to a dying world. He is our 911 emergency call.

Let us not look to the hills for our help, let us look to the Lord, He is our help. Cry out to Him, He will hear you and he will save you. Jesus saves................

Jesus Is The Word

John 1:1 In the beginning was the word , and the word was with God and the word was God.

The word of God is a name for Christ. It is the essential word that in the beginning was with God and was God.But it is also the scriptures, the written word of God, but the Lord Jesus is never separated from them.He indeed is the substance of the written word. Scripture is what it is because Jesus himself embodies himself in them. He comes in the vol. of the book.So we have the word of God,which is the power of God and the sword of God.It is the sword of peace and rest, and also a sword of salvation and judgment. It is the instrument by which we are set free from the bondage of sin and death, but by this same instrument the world will be judged and condemned. It is the truth which makes us free, yet because of unbelief all are not free, many wonder aimlessly in a vast wilderness, a prisoner of our own doubt not trusting or believing God's word.Many right now are wondering, lost in the wilderness of worry, because of unbelief, some are lost in a wilderness of  depression, trapped by the cares of this world all because of unbelief. 

Jesus said come unto me all that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Let us cast all of the care of this world upon Him and walk in His truth, rest in His faithfulness and live in His abundant life. remember Jesus never fails

Faithful Leaders

1 Timothy 3:2"Bishop then must be blameless,the husband of one wife, vigilant,sober,of good behavior, given to hospitality,apt to teach";

Paul wrote straightforward requirements for church leaders,as this part of the ministry was extremely important.It was important that those in leadership positions were able to communicate God's word clearly.Needed to be blameless,faithful in marriage,sober minded, watchful against Satan,and good to the flock.The leadership was to serve the people not be served by the people.

In our desire to do things the right way,we can sometimes apply Scripture in a cold, loveless way.Or in our desire to make people feel good about themselves,we may skirt the difficult parts and compromise when it comes to honoring God's Word.We might be tempted to "fudge" on some of the biblical leadership qualifications, for example. Neither approach to applying the commands, instructions, and principles of scripture is good.Truth must be accompanied by love.Love cannot go forward without truth.So when selecting good leadership, it matters that we are true to scriptural instructions and yet loving as we apply them.To those who do not yet qualify for leadership but wish to serve in leadership capacity,we should encourage them to develop in their conduct and character,that they meet God's requirements. For those who do qualify, we must continue to hold them to the standard,yet in humility and love that recognizes our own failings.We can pray for them,encourage them, talk with them(rather than gossip about them) about concerns we might have. If truth and love are our rules,we cannot fail to do well in this area of church life.

Good leadership matters, and the people of God have seen the harm to the reputation of Christ and his church that comes when leaders are selected and upheld for wrong or insufficient reasons,such as a personal charisma, good business skills, exciting vision casting, or celebrity status.These cannot be the reason for choosing leadership for God's people.As you think about your own church leaders, how do they compare with the qualifications listed by Paul?How does your own life and leadership qualities measure up? A good leader cannot be one thing at home and something different at church,if one cannot take care of his own home ,how can he/she be qualified to take care of God's house.