Judgement Day

Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead,small and great,stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened;which is the book of life;And the dead were judged out of those things written in the books,according to their works."

There is a day coming when we will all have to stand before God.On this day no excuses will be tolerated and there will be no mercy only judgement. A day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess  that Jesus is Lord.This is the great day of the Lord;How will you stand?

Jesus said not all who say "Lord, Lord" will enter into the Kingdom.Not those who cast devils out in His name,or performed miracles in His name.Not those with fancy title, or important posistions,but only those who do the will of the Father will enter in.What is the will of the Father? To believe on Him who he sent.Only those who believed on the only begotten of the Father will enter in.Now this belief has to be more than just lip service,cause everybody says they believe,even the devil believes.But God's word says faith without works is dead.So there has to be evidence of your belief. Just as the children of Israel had to cover the door post of their house with the blood of the lamb for the death angel to pass, we to must show the blood of the lamb over the door post of our hearts, by living in accordance to God's word for the death angel to pass us by.God is Just, and He gave us all we need to live in accordance to His word and to carry out His will,He even sent His spirit to aid us in our work. 

Is your name found in the book of Life?Are you sure?

Have you been washed in the blood of the lamb? For it is only through the blood of the lamb that we can stand before a Holy God.It is in Christ Jesus that we are made th erighteousness of God.Remember there will be no mercy on this day so let us use the mercy we have today and repent of any unconfessed  sins.Let those of us who know, walk worthy of the name which we bear, that a lost world will follow us out of the darkness into His marvelous light, and God's will be done and none perish.

The Unveiling

1John 3:2 "It doth not yet appear what we shall be:but we know that when he shall appear,we shall be like him,for we shall see him as he is".

The present condition of the believer,not looking at its imperfection,is a state of much joy and honor.Looked at in the light of faith it is inspiring,for "now we are the sons of God". We are near to God's heart as his children.We nestle under the wings of God for protection.We abide in his tabernacle for communion.We feed in his pasture for our provisions. With all this,our earthly existence is not a life which we would desire to be have forever.It is as a pilgrims journey,a sailors voyage,a soldiers warfare; and we look forward to its end with joyful expectation,to be like Jesus.

"It doth not yet appear what we shall be",as we are veiled and we travel through this world incognito. Our master was not known here,His glory veiled in flesh,His diety was concealed in infirmity,His power hidden under sorrow and weakness,and his richness burried under poverty and shame.The world knew him not,for he was made flesh. "But we know that when he shall appear". We speak of our Lord appearence without doubt,for we know.Our faith is so sure it becomes knowledge.He will appear surely,and so we speak of it as a date for our own manifesting."when he shall appear".Oh the hope,the glory,the bliss, the fullness of delight which surrounds this great appearing.We shall be like him,having  a body like his body,sinless,incorruptable,painless, and spiritual.Having a soul like his soul, Holy, perfect, instructed ,developed strengthened,delievered from temptation,conflict and suffering.We must be made something like him now,or else we shall not be found like him at his appearing,see we must be born again to see this change.

"We shall see him as he is".This glorious sight will perfect our likeness,this will be the evidence of our being like him as only the pure in heart can see God.God showed power in making us creatures but love in making us sons.Behold what glories come out of our being sons of God!Let us not rest till by faith in Jesus we receive power to become sons of God,and then let us go on to enjoy the privileges of sonship.

Were You There?

Luke 23:35 "And the people stood beholding.And the rulers also with them derided him, saying He saved others; lt Him save Himself if he be Christ,the chosen of God."

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?There is an old negro spiritual which ask this question,the obvious answer to most people is no.No person alive today could have been there.But the spiritual is insistent as it says were you there.Believe it or not many of us were there.The text says and the people stooding watching,let us look into the crowd and see who was there.

 Nicodemus was there in all his judicial pride.The man who came secretly to Jesus to inquire of salvation,who called Him Rabbi, and Master,who even helped bury Him,yet stood by in His pride and said nothing as they crucified my Lord.So if you have ever let pride hinder your service to the Lord, you were there.Judas Iscariot was there,led by greed,selling out the master under the disguise of friendship yes he was there.If you have ever put selfish gain before the service of the Lord yes you were there.Peter was there,he drew his sword to defend Jesus while he was near, yet followed Him afar and denied Him when a witness was needed.If you have ever denied the Lord in word or deed when a witness was needed ,yes you were there.The religious leaders were there,caring more about the temple and tridition that the Savior and salvation,seeking to destroy Him before they would surrender to His power.If you put tridition before truth, caring more about church image more than church duty, you were there.The centurian was there,he witness the miracle of the restoration of the ear,he heard the words and prayers of Jesus from the cross,he saw something more than man dying on the cross, "for surly this is the Son of God",If you have ever heard the word of God and profess Jesus as the Christ the Son of the living God, you were there.

So I ask were you there?Maybe not physically,but because of our sins the Lord was crucified,our sins of pride,greed,cowardice,neglect and fear and more all nailed Him to the cross.As our sins were gathered at the cross,so we must return to the cross to be delievered from our sins.Were you there?

Don't Forget God

Jeremiah 8:20 "The harvest is past,the summer is ended,and we are not saved".

We live in the end times.Many believe that this world,and this life is all that there is.Many spend their whole life seeking the things of this world.The word of God tells us to seek first His kingdom and all other things will be added to us, but we today seek first the things of this world and then add God to that which we have,and then that is only if he fits.Time is winding down and there is still a lost world who has  made God an after thought.

In our story today Jeremiah mourns for the state of his people, we to should mourn for the many unsaved in the world today. See much like many today, the people of Jeremiah's time were seeking peace and prosperity in everything but God.Though He had saved them,provided for them and kept them,they sought peace and prosperity in their material gains,graven Images and the many idols they had propt up in their lives.They stood in their own light,like many today they live in their own self-righteousness. They live base on what they believe salvation to be, although God says "His ways are not our ways". They put a bar on their own door,as they locked God out of their lives.They are not saved because they are not ready to be saved.They live a life which does not include God.

We must realize ,the harvest is quickly coming to an end.Summer is slowly turning to winter and their are many who are not saved.Many who are living a life that God is left out of.Jesus told us to go into all the world and proclaim the good news of salvation, so let us who know tell all we see that Jesus Christ is the way,so everybody will live a life that includes a relationship with God.

He's Calling You!

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,fear or pride,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.

The Lost Believer

John 13:18 "I speak not of you all:I know whom I have chosen:but that the scripture may be fulfilled,he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me."

Here we have a picture of a lost believer. The story of a man who walked with Christ,yet turns away from Christ to the world,and this should be a strong warning to every man who professes to follow Christ.When any man betrays the Lord, the Lord's heart is cut to the core because a soul is being lost. Jesus desire is that none be lost and it truly hurts when one turns from Him to the things of this world.

Now understand, Christ did not choose Judas,but Christ did draw Judas.He did move upon Judas' heart to quicken his mind.He did stir Judas to understand that He was the Messiah,the son of the living God. But Judas rebelled against the drawing power of Christ,as he wasn't willing to totally surrender his all to the Lord.He rejected the quickening power of Christ.He was lost to the will and purpose of the Lord. When a person betrays Christ and begins to live in sin,he shows that he did not truly respond to God's spirit moving within his heart.He exposes his true unregenerated nature.The betrayer eats with Christ, yet his heel is against him.Judas ate with Christ,he was a friend of Christ, he didn't hate Him;he cared for Christ.He on many occasions walked into the house of God with Jesus and had close fellowship with Jesus.Judas was His follower, a choice disciple, yet Judas lifted up his heel against Jesus.Judas true nature exposed itself, one of disloyalty;as he forsook Jesus;of contempt, as he rejected Jesus,and one of betrayal as he turned his back on Jesus. When a witness was needed,he sold Jesus out, choosing the things of the world(money,recognition and power),over the salvation of the Lord.He was one of the many lost believer,lost to the will, purpose, and the way of the Lord.

Have you betrayed the Lord?Are you a lost believer? Have you walked with Him, supped with him,went into the house of God to fellowship with him, only to sell him out for the things of this world.Have you discounted his word in search of power, prestige or a position in the church.Have you replaced soul saving with money making as the purpose for your walk with him.Have you raised your heels against the Savior of the world for personal gain?

Willing To Stand Alone

Exodus 23:2 " thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt tou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment".

We live in a time where religion is big business.It is said that religion raises billions of dollars yearly. We are in the age of the mega church, the world famous preacher and the multiplatium chiors.In a time when it seems like anything is acceptable in God's house and from God's people and that God is o.k. with it all.We seem to be more concerned about the collection plate than we are the souls which Christ died for.

We who profess Christ are in fact telling the world that we are like Christ.That we bear His image ,His likeness, His character, His love, mercy, giving and forgiving, yet some of the actions we display are nothing at all like Christ.We have turned His house from one of prayer to a money making operation.We no longer feed the flock but we tend to feed off the flock.Jesus came to seek and to save the lost,yet we seem to be more interested in raising money than we are in saving souls.We must be careful not to be like Peter who denied Christ in favor of being like the crowd,or those who allowed the crowd to pursuade them to seek barabas and kill Jesus, when moments before they were shouting Hosana in the highest.Let us not get so caught up in the crowd that we lose track of who we proclaim to be.

God's word tells us not to follow the crowd to do evil,and don't pervert that which is right by siding with the crowd.We must be willing to stand alone,remember Christ as the suffering servant stood alone. The crowd is not always right, remember "narrow is the way and few that be that find it".When we profess to be Christ like, we must accept the whole Christ, the crucified Lord and the risen Savior. Many want the joys of Christ ,but are unwilling to endure the suffering of Christ.So stand for what is right ,even if you must stand alone.