Silent Witness!

John 12:10-11 "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away,and believed on Jesus".

The Lord said "let your light so shine before man that they see your good works and glorify your Father which art in heaven".Light is seen,and not heard.Jesus wants us to live a life that shows who He is. But many are busy telling  the world they are saved,telling the world what God can do ,but the life they live tells a different story all together.Our life should tell a dying world that the Savior lives.

Here we have one who lived such a life.Lazarus doesn't say a word in the entire bible, there is no record or reference of him saying anything.Yet the life he lived was one that caused others to believe in Jesus. Lazarus was dead and Jesus called him to life.His new life with Christ was such a powerful witness, that not only did it lead others to believe,but the religious leaders wanted to put him to death along with Jesus.We were once dead in sin, once wrapped up in the guilt of sin, and held captive in darkness,but Jesus called us into a new life with Him.We should let the light of our new life so shine that a lost world will believe on the only begotten of the Father.

Jesus said "If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me". It is when we lift Him with the living of our life which draws lost souls to Him.My grandmother once told me a gentleman never says he is one, his actions do.So a real Christian doesn't have to say he/she is one, the life they live will tell the story.Let your light so shine,and lead a lost soul to Christ.

Dying to Live

Luke 17:33 "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it;and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."

Is the life you are living worth keeping?Are you striving to gain the precious pleasure and treasures of this world ,only to lose your soul?Are you willing to lose everything to follow the Lord?Have you made a new life with Christ your choice?

Jesus said those who seek to save their life shall lose it.Those who hold on to the old man, those who seek or look for ways to serve God and mammon,they shall lose their life.But those who are willing to forsake all, those who are willing to die to the old man and live a new life in Christ shall save theirs. Now Christ is not saying we cannot enjoy the good things he has created.No it is not a sin to have riches, or to own things, or even be successful. But like he told the rich young ruler,we too must be willing to let go of everthing to follow God.Many have put the blessing ahead of the blessor.We have made the things God has blessed us with our gods.The new house now get our tithes, the new car gets our offering and the new wife/husband gets all our attention and devotion, andGod gets what ever is left.God doesn't bless us with things that will pull us away from Him. If there is anything in your life that is pulling you out of fellowship with God,you might want to get rid of it. You cannot serve two masters.

There are many things that we have in our life that we put ahead of God.Many things and people we hold to actually hinder our walk with the Lord.These things we should get rid of.Let us not seek to hold on to the old life,but be wiling to die to the old life, and trust Christ in the new life.Trust that he will supply our every need

Positioned to Prosper!

1Corinthians 12:18 "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.

Here we have a passage of scripture which gives the most meaningful description of the Church in the entire bible (1 corinth.12:12-31).The purpose of the passage is to stress the unity of the church.The church is said to be a body,a body of many member,and no one member is  more important or valuable than another.All the parts of the body are still in the body and God placed each member in the body, everyone of them where it pleased Him.You are in the best position to prosper when you are where God places you.

In this era of the mega church and the larger than life religious leaders, it is easy for some in the church to feel unimportant or un-neccesary.But we must understand that God dosn't make any mistakes,every person in every congregation has a value and a gift to be used in the worship service, and a part to play in God's plan of salvation.Each member is set "in the body" as God wills.You are place where you will best be blessed as well as a blessing. Note the words "every one of them",every member has been set in the church by God and gifted by God to do a work in the church. We are all gifted for a specific function,and every function is necessary for the prosperity and health of the body.Even the finger nails are not needed, you might have an itch.We sometimes allow others, the world orlfe's circumstances to dictate to us where God wants to use us in the body but the fact is God places you in the body where it pleased Him.God will place you in a area of the body,that will strengthen your walk and help another along the way.We must remember we are His people,proclaiming His gospel about His salvation to His lost souls, so He knows better than us where we belong.

If you truly want to be in a position to prosper,allow the spirit of the Lord to lead you in the way you should go.God knows what we need, and the things we don't need,so he places us in the body to build up where we are torn down,and to tear down that which we have build up.So where ever he has placed you in the body, be obedient to His word, submitt to His will,and lead others His way.

Committed!

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".

Paul brought the message,Jesus commissioned all believers to witness for him.Some will listen and accept Christ with open arms;others will reject the message and the messenger.During his time in Rome,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 have unwavering faith in Him. Once we learn the Gospel, it is our responsibility to share it,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.

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. 

Look To Jesus!

Jude 24"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding  joy,to the only wise God our Savior,be glory and majesty, dominion and power,both now and ever.Amen".

We must beware of wolves in sheeps clothing.Jude wrote a short but powerful letter about the problem of false teachers,swaying Christians from the Gospel. He told believers to remember the words of Jesus concerning the last days.See the ungodly teachers of the false faith promote a make believe religion,full of immoral living standards which defile and deny the things of God.They practice feeding off the flock instead of feeding the flock.They often tear down and destroy rather than build up and restore. But let us look to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.

Let us have mercy for the doubters:True believers should build each other up,so we must  hold tight to the true Gospel and continue to move forward in the faith.The sincere convert humbly bows in prayer and ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance and influence.  They eagerly expect the mercy of Christ now and in the life to come, and we must show mercy to them and thus save them from the fires of hell.The who have received God's mercy  needs to be compassionate to doubters who stumble and straggle behind. Be patient with those who are hesitant about the faith.We who have been born again of  Christ must be kind hearted and tender, not prideful, pushy, or harsh.Our faith should result in us having a desire to live a holy life. We  should be repulsed by sin, even while trying to rescue those that have fallen into it.We must hate the sin but love and show mercy to those that have been trapped by it.We all have opportunities to respond to people with encouragement. When they come let us leave them with hope, and confidence by sharing with them what God shared with us,Jesus.


Jude's final word was, don't worry about falling.God is more than capable of keeping you standing blameless and tall in His presence. Able to keep you joyfully shouting, singing,and praising Him for sending His son, Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.It is Jesus who deserves all glory, power,majesty,and authority now and forever.Let us look to Jesus and be saved........

A Hallelujah Life

John 15:8 "Here in is my Father glorified,that ye bear much fruit;so shall ye be my disciples".

We bring glory to God, and give Him real praise, when we live a life before men that bears fruit,real fruit that will last.God's spirit working within us helps us change and begin producing right fruit in our lives.Galatians 5:22-23 list the fruit of God's Spirit, which becomes increasingly evident in us as we grow spiritually. Producing the fruit of righteousness is important,it is also important for us to understand that the credit for that fruit goes to God.We must strive to be acceptabled to God, not by our own righteousness,but with the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God.We must trust God to produce righteousness in us,for "it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure".Yet there is a part we must also play.

When God calls us to be His children,He initiates a change in us from our formerly proud, and selfish, disobedient ways.He transforms us by renewing, or changing of our mind,a process to which we must surrender to. Paul said "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God"(Rom. 12:2). Transformation is not instantaneous,it requires ongoing changes in our thinking and outlook that permanently affect the way we live.We become "a living sacrifice,holy,acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service". To bear good fruit we must have the mind of Christ, being like minded, having the same love, being on one accord, of one mind.Doing nothing out of selfish desires, or conciet, but with humility, esteeming others better than oneselfs.We must not look to our interest, but the interst of others.having this mind of Christ makes the  miracle of a transformed fruit bearing life possible.The symbolic meaning of baptism, represents both forgiveness of sins and newness of life in Christ.It should change our lives forever, especially when we recall that these blessings have come at a great price.

 

Jesus Christ sacrificed His own life so we may gain ours through the forgiveness or our sins.We who accepts this truth are to live a fruit bearing life thus glorifying the Father which is in heaven.Let us worship him with our life and praise him with our living, that a lost soul might seek out the salvation of the Lord.Let our life say Hallelujah!

Christ and Him Crucified

1stCorinthians 1:18"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;But unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

The Gospel of Jesus Christ,good news to a dying world.Jesus Christ and him crucified,the foundation of belief for every christian,the food we feed on,the nurishment we grow on,and the source of life the believer lives on.If we are going to build better a relationship in the body of Christ,it must be built on Christ and him crucified.The good news from upon high, which brings about a change in the lives of all who by faith embraces this truth.

It is these truth which reunites us to God.The Gospel don't need any additives, it is good just as it was given.The gospel calls us out of the darkness into Gods marvelous light,and its' success lies in the plain doctrine of a crucified Savior and a risen Lord.The prosperity message sounds good,and might be easy to swallow,and might change a mind, but it dosn't have the power to covert a heart.The faith message feels good on the outside,but holds no power to make you good on the inside.The simple truths of Christand him crucified alone, has the power to turn a sinner to a saint, it is the power of God unto salvation.But who will believe our report.The Gospel:The birth of Jesus; born of a virgin in a feeding tray, to be fed on by a dying world.The death of Jesus; as he accepted for mankind, the wage paid by sin,that we might recieve the gift of God.The resurrection of Christ;to conquor death, and him that had power of death,rising with all power in heaven and on earth in his hands:Who will belive our report.To them that perish it is foolisness,they can't understand the nature and character, of this christian message.

The gospel,a message of a lowly man hung on a tree, for the salvation of the whole world,to them that perish it is but foolishness,but unto us which is saved,it is the power of God.Salvation to every one who who believes,for the power of God works by it.Paul said "woe with me if I preach not the Gospel",for it was the Gospel that called him, the Gospel converted him, the gospel saved him, as it took a sinner named Saul, and made him a preacher named Paul.So proclaim the gospel, Jesus Christ and him crucified, the power of God unto salvation.