Another Day;Another Chance

Luke 13:7-9"Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard,Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree,and find none: cut it down;why cumbereth it the ground.And he answering said unto him,Lord,let it alone this year also,till I shall dig about it, and dung it:And if it bear fruit, well:and if not,then after that thou shalt cut it down."

Here we have Jesus telling a parable about a fruitless fig tree. A vineyard owner planted a fig tree, which he left in the care of his gardener. three years later, the owner returned to see if the tree had produced any fruit,It hadn't. In spite of the care and attention of the gardner, the tree was fruitless.In this parable the fig tree represents Gods people.God wants his peoples lives to be a reflection of his character so that others could see what he was like.God has nurtured and protected us that he could accomplish this purpose.God wants to see if his careful attention will produce some spiritual fruit.He wants us to be careful not to slip into fruitless legalism,which gives the appearence of holiness but lacks the quality of true righteousness that God cares about.Simply turning away from our sins is not enough, we need to replace our sinful ways with something better,something more pleasing to God.

Even though the fig tree deserves to be cut down, the gardener didn't want the tree cut down.Even though we deserved death Jesus  spoke up against destroying the us.He died that we might have another chance to get it right. Jesus stands in the gap speaking up for us,He is our advocate with the Father. His continious care is so that we might bear fruit.Through this parable we should learn an important lesson about repentance. Though we might deserve judgement,as the wages of sin is still death,Jesus has stepped in and now we have time to repent of our sins and live in a way that honors God.Our past sins may have resulted in a fruitless life , but God, through Jesus, offers all His free gift of salvation.

God expects those who want a right relationship with him to live in a way that honors him.It's not enough just to belive in God or to turn away from sin.We must live obedient lives that will lead lost souls to seek the salvation of the Lord.We must live a life which bears fruit,and fruit that will remain.

Promised Rest

Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"

Here we have an inventation from the Lord, all things are ready.It is the great gospel cry,let him who hath ear hear,let whosoever will, come; for today is the day of salvation harden not your hearts.All things ready, all things prepared, all things removed which would hinder our comming and accepting this invite.Jesus has made himself known to us, he's giving us the opportunity to learn of him. It is finished, the foundation laid, the great invitation now offered, but we must accept it.It's offered to all who realize the burden of sin,those who are convienced of the evil of sin,those tired of being in and of the world, chasing its' joys and toys, its treasures and pleasures,there is a promised rest,and all are invited.

First we must come to this rest, for it is in the best interest for sinners to come to Jesus.We must disassociate ourselves with all that stands between us and the promised rest of the Lord.We must give ourselves up to his conduct, submit to his rule and come to him freely,willingly and on his terms.It's his rest offered to all, but only given to those who truly desire his salvation.Let us come to him and take on his yoke,laying down our yoke of sin,for his yoke is easy.Take his yoke,for his yoke will free us from the bondage of sin and death. Take on his yoke of a servant, so that we might be diligent in our service to God.His yoke of submission, that we will humbly and patiently wait on our change to come.His yoke of obedience,that we might walk in his commands and his statues; yoked together with his love,that we have love one for another.Take on his yoke and learn of him,his yoke, that is lined with love and carries the hope of heaven.

Enter this promised rest.The rest that comes from Jesus, the rest that is with Jesus, the rest that is in Jesus, in fact the rest is Jesus. He gives it to every soul that comes to him in faith seeking this rest.Come rest from the terror of sin, the power of sin,and the guilt of sin.Jesus Christ our rest in the Lord. Come And he will give us rest

Only One Truth

Ephesian 4:5"One Lord one faith and one baptism"

With all the choices of religion before us,we must remember there is only one God. There are many bibles printed,but there is only one word of truth.We have the freedom to live any lifestyle we choose, but there is only one life.And although there are many roads we can travel, there is only one way.The ways of the world have confused many into believing that God loves you so much ,you can live anyway and still get to heaven.But we must realize ther is only one truth.the truth that we who have been called out of the darkness into God's marvelous light,belong to Christ.We are of one spirit, in one body, with one heart, and answer the call to one hope, the hope of eternal life. There is only one Christ we hope in,one heaven we hope to get to, and only one way to get there, so let us with one voice profess him, and one walk proclaim him, for there is only one truth, one Lord,one faith, and one baptism.

One baptism;to be immersed into the word of God, to be covered with the blood of the lamb.One baptism,baptised with the holy spirt, the spirit which joins us all together.This spirit which causes us to walk worthy of the name by which we are called,through the washing of regeneration,we begin a purifacation process,changing us from that which did not, into that which now does.Bringing about a new birth, making us another, different from the first, giving us the characteristics,and attributes of our adoptive Father,putting to death the ways of our natural father.Baptised, burried with Christ, that we can be raised with him in faith, to a newness of life.

One faith;A faith which pleases God. A faith that says that he is, and he is a rewarder of all who diligently seek him.One faith, a unified body of faith, which shows to the world, the substance of things hope for.We are a walking recommendation to Christ, his ambassadors, and being his ambassador, we are the evidence to an unbelieving world that God is,that his love is real and everlasting. The evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.One faith that says every word of God is true.One faith by which we live as a unified body,not knowing what we will be, but trusting we will be like him, for he is the author and the finisher of this faith. Jesus Christ our Lord.

One Lord;who is our shepperd, who is our savior,our provider, and our keeper. One Lord who was given power over all flesh,and he should give eternal life to all who believes on his name.One Lord by whose shed blood, we are made the righteousness of God.One Lord, our redeemer, our strength,our rock and our salvation.One Lord,Jesus Christ, the beloved lamb of God,the word of God made flesh,the spirit of God made humble, the mercy of God shared,the grace of God given, and the love of God sacrificed.Jesus The Christ the only truth there is.

Blessed to Bless Others!

1 Corinthians 12:7 "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal."

Spiritual gifts are special abilities bestowed upon Christians to empower them for service to the Lord and His Body the Church.God has blessed each of us that we might use that blessing to bless others. All Christians have at least one spiritual gift.Every gift is beneficial to the Body of Christ so that no one christian is of greater importance than another.The same amount of blood was shed for you as it was for me.Spiritual gifts are not given for the benefit of the one gifted.They are for the good of the Church, to edify, or build up the Body of Christ. All gifts are given as the Holy Spirit sees fit, and are not meant to be sought after as marks of superiority over other.

Paul used the analogy of the human body to teach the function and aim of spiritual gifts,to create unity with in the body of Christ.Even though the human body is made up of many different parts, it is a single unit.The same spirit who imparted spiritual gifts to believers, is the one who baptized and placed each Christian into the Body of Christ, and no gift is unimportant or unnecessary.you don't miss your nails until you get an itch. All Christians should be satisfied with the gift(s) they have been given, knowing that they were given according to God's own will.God never intended the church to be a one man show. Indeed, He provides numerous spiritual gifts throughout every congregation so that the church operates as "the body of Christ, to which each one of us are a part."

Many believers dismiss their God given talent, skill,and aptitudes, their spiritual gifts,because it dosn't seem to be as important as someone elses. Every gift is significant and needed.They are bestowed on Christians to equip them to serve God and his church.They are not for us to feel important,but for us to do the important work of Kingdom building.We all have at least one special gift for the edification of the body.It is vital that we exercise our gifts so that the ministry is complete and God is glorified through them all.

False Professions!

Luke 22:33 "And he said unto Him,"Lord I'm ready to go with thee,both to prison and to Death".

There are many who profess to be willing to surrender and forsake all and follow Jesus, but their words don't always coincide with their actions.We say we love the Lord,that he is the head of our life, that He is our everything,and I do believe that we who profess this truly believe we mean what we say at the time.Yet when it comes right down to it,we have things in our lives that we choose hold on to that hinders our following Jesus.We really feel we want to follow Him, but we either refuse to or don't know how to let go of some things in our life which hinders our ability to walk with Him.

Here Peter professed to willing to not only follow the Lord but to go to prison and even die with Him, yet we all know that before the cock crowed Peter denied the Lord three times.But are we really that different from Peter? How many times have we denied the Lord in word or by and ungodly action when a witness of Him might have save a lost soul.How often do we hang on to old habits which exclude Christ in our lives, instead of creating new habits which  will make Him a bigger part of our life?How many things do we have in our life which when we think about it honestly, hinders our ability to walk with Christ in the truth of His word.I'm not talking about saying we are walking with Him, but to truly die to self and be taken prisoner in the spirit of God, where others can see Him in your life.Remember the story of the rich young ruler,He came to Christ and asked how he might inherit eternal life.Now he came to the right person, he came the right way as it says he fell at Christ feet, He asked the right question,and he seemed to know what the word of God said.But there was one thing he lacked,he wouldn't let go of his riches to follow Christ.

Are you really willing to forsake all and follow Christ? Are you willing to make a sacrifice and go to Sunday school?Are you willing to forsake "Ladies Night" at the club to make prayer meeting and bible study?Are you willing to make changes in your life to be a better witness for Him.Are you willing to search yourself and ask God to remove all in your life that is hindering your walk with Him, and then let it go?Will you really follow Him even if it means death and prison, or are you making a false profession.

The Way Of Christ

Luke 6:27-28 "But I say unto you which hear,Love your enemies,do good to them that hate you, Bless them that curse you,and pray for them which despitefully use you".

What would happen if, as Christians, we started actually living out what Jesus taught us?Jesus teachings on love attacks several traditions and misinterpretations of scripture that we sometimes use to justify our sinful and unloving nature.While we have learned to love thy neighbor, we sometime seem to exclude our enemies. But Jesus shatters this line of thinking by instructing us to love and do good to our enemies. The love Jesus instructs us to love with, does not result from any merit or attractiveness in the other person, but comes solely from the heart of the one loving, and we are to seek the best interest of that person, despite their behavior toward us. Now this love does not result from a weakness or failure to stand up for truth or justice, it is a purposeful love that flows from a strong heart that seeks the eternal salvation of others. This sacrifical love demonstrates that our purpose for living is larger than ourselves.

Jesus commands us to pray for and bless those that offend us. Our natural responce is to strike back when mistreated, but Jesus teaches us to do the opposite. Jesus gave two illustrations to show the extent of how far our love for others should go, there is a blow to the face and stolen clothes, in such cases we are not retaliate.The purpose is to reach out in love instead of satisfying ourselves through revenge. Our love must be strong and purposeful in accepting mistreatment,as it shows our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. Jesus not only taught us our love must be strong and purposeful when mistreated, but we must also be merciful to others in our daily lives, as the Father daily pours out new mercy on us.

The standard of sacrificial love goes beyond what others might do or what we might feel we should, but it is what Jesus teaches us to do, it is what he did.The prime example of selfless giving is our heavenly Father himself, who showed kindness to all humanity regardless of how they treated him, as he gave his only begotten son that we might have everlasting life. When we love others the way Jesus instructed us to, we show the world we are his.We often ask WWJD, well now you know, will you follow the way of Christ?

Run Tell That!

Matthew 28:8 "And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy;and did run to bring His disciples word."

The resurrection is the basis for hope in the Christian faith.The women who came to the tomb expected to find death.Instead, they met an angel who told them that Jesus had risen.Belief that Jesus rose is the key to the completion of his promise that we will rise also.Believers can also experience Ressurection power in their lives.Without this assurance, Paul said,"we are of all men most miserable".The first witnesses were commanded to go and tell the disciples then later tell the world.Go and tell remains the command for believers today who have discovered the wonder of the risen Christ in their lives.

Go and tell is the command to every man and woman who has discovered the power of Christ.It is through the sharing of this good new that we have the power to change the world.We must tell people that the resurrection brings regeneration into the lives of those who are spiritually dead,through the power of the Holy Spirit,bringing about a new birth,changing one from the inside out.This is the basis for the Church's witness to the world. Every believer can share this certainty with confidence.Of course a great controversy has always surrounded the Resurrection.The Jewish priest paid the guards to deny what happened that day,and there are still millions of People who deny the resurrection, in word and in deed.Sometime we ourselves don't live like he rose with all power.We sometimes doubt that he truly overcame the world and all it's temptations,and thus this harms our ability to witness to the world. A witness is one who tells what he or she knows as a certainty. You can only witness that which you seen or experienced.Countless people who have been touched and their lives changed by meeting Jesus provide undeniable evedience of the resurrection.The way they live their life is their witness that he rose ,and rose with all power.

The women were told to run tell the disciples.The disciples were commanded to be witness, to go into all the world and tell of the good news of salvation.Each of us whose lives have been changed by the resurrection must invite those who need Him to know Him.The Resurrection's reality gives hope to a needy world so let us run tell that!