Remember Whose you Are

Proverbs 11:3 "The integrity of the upright shall guide them:but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them."

Integrity is a choice,in a society entertained and amused by deception, manipulation,seduction, and witchcraft, many people have convienced and even comforted themselves with the notion that they do not have a choice as to whether or not to engage in the same sins.(we are to lead the world, not follow it) When Elijah explained to God that he was the only God-worshiper who remained,God replied that "yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,and every mouth which hath not kissed him." Although many people are, not everyone is living a lie,a life of compromise.It is unwise to justify your sins by your presumption of everyone else's sin.Our example must be Christ and him alone.

Christians are called to a higher standard of commitment and responsibility.Our bodies are God's temple,we bear the name of his only begotten son,dedicated solely to his service.In everything we do ,we must glorify God.We are called to a lifestyle that is higher than the world's.Using God's word as our guide for life, we build relationships of commitment,responsibility and trust,with integrity and truth.  (Saints we are a walking recommendation for Christ,and must live accordingly.)It is more important for us to know what is important to God, than to know how doing the right thing will benifits us directly.In a world where it seems it's "every man for himself " is there any benifit to living a righteous life? God says that living a life of integrity results in a fruitful life.Integrity in this sense means living a life of high moral principles, a life characterized by honesty,sincerity, and good judgment.Those who live a life of integrity do what's right even when they can get away with doing something else.They choose to do right when it is more convient to do wrong.

Living a life based on ungodly principles and practices is destined for diffculty.Duplicitous people base their life on cunning and decption, they are driven by the pursuit of self gratification and material comfort. However, on the Day of Judgment their material wealth and gain will be of no value.Choosing a path of integrity is always beneficial in the long term,for those who walk in the integrity of God, walk in a clear path, for they walk in the light , Jesus the light of the world. So in everything you do and everywhere you go,remember whose you are.

Eye's Opened

John 9:1 "And as Jesus passed by,he saw a man which was blind from birth".

Man is born into this world spiritually blind.He cannot see the things and ways of God.This passage is a subject of man's sinfulness.Here Jesus take a man's physical blindness and demonstrated the stages of spiritual insight and sight.(read John 9:8-41).It should be noted that spiritual insight has to do with seeing Jesus and Jesus alone.Jesus is the very theme of God's revalation.He alone is the perfect revelation of God,and a man's spiritual eyes can be opened to see God only through Him. Apart from Jesus, no man will ever see God.

Here Jesus was passing by,and he saw a man who was blind from birth.Now Jesus saw him which indicates interest,care ,concern, and compassion for the man.Jesus is concerned about all who are blinded by the gods of this world to the love and mercy of God.Jesus came to seek and to save all that are lost in darkness.Note it was not the man who reached out for help ,but Jesus took the initiative with the man.The man was blind he didn't even know that help was available.There are many who walk blind today to the life of salvation which is avaiable in Christ Jesus.Jesus told us to tell a dying world the good news of the gospel that a lost world might be saved.How can they believe on Him who they haven't heard.If Jesus had not reached out to the man he would still be blind.If jesus hadn't called us out of darkness we would still be in darkness as we didn't choose Him , but he chose us.Jesus came to be the light of the world,if man wishes to be delievered from the darkness he must come to Christ.Christ is the only one who gives sight to man and His world.

Now Jesus tells the man what he must do to receive his sight,the man's faith needed to be aroused and stirred.Jesus used two things to awaken the man's faith.He touched the man eyes,he used clay made moist by spittle,but Jesus would not want the man to think that spittle cured him.Jesus sent the man to the pool to wash, the blind man by obeying Jesus would receive his sight.His obedience would demonstrate to the blind of the world that they too could receive sight by comming to Jesus and obeying Him.Our salvation lies in our coming to Jesus and obeying Him.

Lost and Don't know It!

Luke 15:8 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver,if she lose one piece,doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it"?

  There was once this drunk man, who stumbled his way into a phone booth, he then dialed the operator and asked her to trace the call and tell him where he was. See this man realized that he was lost. Now funny as this might sound the tragic thing is  the world is full of people who are stumbling through life drunk on pride, self righteousness , personal gain, reeling on the joys and toys of this world,lost to who they are, to their purpose and to the word of God.And unlike the drunk they don't realize they are lost. 

 There are a great many people, who enter church houses around the world to worship and praise God, but who have no ideal they are lost.They are lost in the church.And so there are  many who stay lost outside the church. Over the last ten years or so it seems that God has called a vast number of Apostles, Bishops, Pastors,and Prophets, and yet sin is running more rampade then ever before,and the sad thing is a lot of the trouble is coming out of the church house.We are lost; lost in religion and religious rituals,lost in mans triditions and in denonminations,lost in church leadership, seeking to be part of the whose who of religious circles,lost in positions and titles,busy with church business, but lost to the business of the Church.When asked what church we attend ,we don't say the name of the church anymore, we give the name of the pastor or bishop like they actually have a church.We pass down churches to family members like God no longer gives us Pastors according to his heart.People we are the body not the head.We were called out and separated to be servants of God, to go out into the world, and preach Christ and him crucified.So much time is spent trying to convience the world of who we are,that we forget to tell them about the one who truly matters.The lost in this world don't need to know who we are ,but they need to know who Jesus is;they don't need to know we are saved, but they need to know the savior.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost; he gave us instructions to go into the hedges and the highways and compell them to come in, that his house might be full;To preach the gospel to every creature.We have gotten lost to the message of salvation and replaced it with one of prosperity and self promotion.Let us get back on track and find the lost in the house of God,and go out and preach Christ and him crucified to a dying world.He is the power of God unto salvation.

My Brothers Keeper

Philippians 2:4 "Look not every man on his own things,but every man also on the things of others".

What differecnce has God made in our life? Do all christians talk and act the same?No.But we should all have a love for God first of all,and then love for one another.The sweetness Christians experience in knowing Jesus as Savior and all the good he brings into our lives, inevitably reflects in everyone of our relationships.Paul  asked the believers at Philippi,"Has being a follower of Jesus Christ made any difference in your life? Has the fact that he loves you with an everlasting love caused you to make different  life choices? Have you experienced the Holy Spirit's presence and enjoyed being a part of this glorious unified body? Is Christ's love flowing in, out, and through this unified body with tenderness and lots of mercy?"

If you answered yes to any of these questions ,then you should spend more time talking about the things we have in common, than our differences.We should love each other unconditionally,strive for unity in all we do by lifting up Christ.Saints all have sinned and come short of God's glory, the enemy wants us to focus on the short comings which lie in all of us.But Jesus is the one thing we have in common and it is through him and by him that we are perfected even with our shortcomings,so when we lift Jesus up in the lives of others, we have all things common.We should be thrilled to the heart to lead people to the Lord, and then see them interacting and developing deep, caring, and lasting friendships, as their walk with Christ becomes stronger.

How honest are your conversations? It's a good practice among brothers and sisters in Christ to put self aside, help others move forward ,and constantly check our motives. We must be sure that which we do in the unity of the body is for the glory of God and not to fulfill a personal agenda.Remember the enemy is a deciever,you may want to do it for God's glory,but if un checked pride and self righteousness will creep in, and your good will be evil spoken of. We can emphasize the good in others while still acknowledging their faults and weakness. And the weak should be able to handle correction which is done in love for the building up of the body.(too many of us get mad when someone points out a fault or a shortcoming in our character, but how can we grow stronger if we don't know where we are weak). The Body of Christ can only become unified,loving, and like-minded when we care for the inerest of others as much as we do our own.

Obey The Call!

Genesis 12:1 "Now the Lord said unto Abram,Get thee out of thy country,and from thy kindred,and from thy father's house,unto a land that I will shew thee:"

Abram chose to follow God.It challenges us to this day to obey God's call wherever He leads,what ever the cost. Why do we hesitate? Is that addiction really worth holding onto?Is living in a comfort-zone cocoon what we were made for?Is anger or indulgence or fear or pride or worldliness in the way of our whole hearted obedience?

No matter what challenges we may meet in choosing to obey God's call,there will never be lasting regrets.Why? Because God's faithfulness will prevail in our lives every time we trust His leadership.In fact even while"counting the cost" of following God,we can be assured that any sacrifices we may make along our way,whether real or imagined,will ultimately be eclipsed by the blessings of His love for us in this life and beyond. For example, turning from destructive habits to follow God's call leads us into freedom,peace, and often literally adds years to our lives.Letting go of our most prized and precious possessions in this life to follow our Lord carries with it the promise of eternal life as well as spritual blessings we never could have imagined.As we turn our hearts to follow the lead of God's Spirit, we are set free from the fear of other people's opinions, and we become courageous vessels for carrying the Gospel and speaking the truth, finding our delight in God's approval on our lives.These are just a few of the many ways God calls us to follow Him into the blessing of His presence as well as His promises.

No matter what God's call on our lives may be,rather to a physical move, to abandon sin, to boldness,to let go of something or someone we cherish, or some other challenge, when we answer as Abram did, God will faithfully lead us into the promised blessing He has in store for us.

A Living Witness!

Acts 28:30-31"And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house,and recieved all that came in unto him,Preaching the kingdom of God,and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence,no man forbidding him".

With the weekend now upon us what  will we show the world?Will our weekend life bear witness to the Savior, or will we give in to the lust ,will and desires of the flesh? will we be a lighthouse or a stumbling block to a lost and dying world.Jesus commissioned all believers to witness for him,not just in talk but our walk should also bear witness that he is.Some people will listen and accept Christ with open arms;others will reject the message and the messenger.In our text we see that Paul set a wonderful example of how to give the message and persevere in spite of those who refuse to listen.

As Christians,we have made a commitment to work on growing in our walk with God.The mission is ongoing, it dosn't stop after we have attended church a certain number of Sundays or read through the entire Bible a certain number of times.Of course,those things are important to being a disciple,but a bigger charge is that we not only believe in the Lord,but also believe the Lord and have unwavering faith in Him. Once we learn the Gospel, it is our responsibility to share it with all we see.We will want to share it,because it is such good news to us and everyone else.The Gospel is bigger than our failures, even when we fall short of perfection, we must remain steadfast and determined to believe the gospel and share it.To a dying world we might be the only glimpse of Christ they will see,for "how shall they believe in Him whom they haven't heard".We are ambassadors for Christ,there are no days off and there is no lunch break.Once you have been born you cannot be unborn,so be a living witness for christ at all times.When we minister to non-believers, we will sometimes be met with resistance,as Jesus and the apostles were.This should not discourage us from our unwavering loyalty.

Regardless of what challenges we're met with or what failures occur,we cannot feel responsible for the fate of others.We cannot save others, only God can do that.We are only responsible for remaining true to our commitment to the gospel, and sharing it along with what we have experienced with others.Every day we are met with challenges.We can have bad days when we are feeling down or when others have called us boring or too conservative because we are not interested in the same things they are.The important thing is how we respond,with Jesus' love.We have to continue in our walk regardless.Let our message be situational or circumstancial,

but let it be unwavering. 

You know the Way!

John 14:4" And whither I go ye know,and the way ye know.

Members of the early Church often referred to themselves as those who followed "the way".Paul refers to their way of life as "the way of the Lord" and "The way of God".In other words,the early Christians, directly taught by Christ apostles,were recongnized by their deeds and action.The way they lived, separated them from those of the world around them.It was called the way because they lived the way Christ lived.They followed his example,they obeyed His instructions.The way was then,and still is, a way of living and thinking that is different from that followed by those of this world.

When Christ came to earth He explained that this different way of thinking would through the power of the Holy Spirit, produce the fruit of righteous actions and deeds.He taught that God's way is the way of giving rather than the normal selfish human way of alway getting.The key to living a way of life different from the way of the world is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so we think like Jesus Christ. Through His spirit,God not only leads us in a different way of thinking,He helps us change the motivations that govern our actions.This focus on unselfishness rather than the self-serving approach produced by our natural way of thinking brings,in turn a dramatic change in the way we live and everything we do.God ask that we reorder our priorities,allowing his spirit to change our thinking, serving God by doing his will and seeking his kingdom.When we put God first ,he promises to provide ways for us to meet our needs.He will with hold no good thing from us.

Living a godly life is much more than merely calling on God's name as though that alone will excuse us for doing whatever we please.Living a godly life is doing what pleases God.It is practicing what he commands us, and living a way of life defined by his word.Jesus taught a way of life based on observing God's commandments from a heart of love that willingly makes personal sacrifices for the sake of others, focusing on giving rather than receiving.A true Christian cannot base his way of life, his new way of living on his own ideas about right and wrong.God's law and Christ example of perfect obedience to those laws, set the standards for the genuine Christian way of Life.Our new life is based on giving,a free gift given by God to all who will receive it."For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son",Giving is the way of God and the foundation of His love to mankind.Let us use this same foundation as we give to a lost world that which God gave to us..Share Jesus with a friend and change a life.