A Chance To Bear Witness

John 18:17 "Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not.

Here we have a cowardly denial, of both the world and Peter. Peter was innocently questioned by the door keeper he had a chance to bear witness, but Peter denied any association with Jesus. Peter made an attempt to be known as one of the crowd. He joined the crowd, standing around with the many, joining in their activities and conversation and the chance to bear witness was lost.

Too many today deny being associated with Christ and thus lose the chance to bear witness that He lives. People see us in church, or associating with other believers, and when the chance to witness is present, we deny any association to Christ. We deny him in the way we live our lives, the way we don't show our love for one another, in our inability and unwillingness to forgive one another, and give to one another. We deny Him when a chance to witness is presented. We deny Him by not learning His doctrine, and by not proclaiming His teachings, we may not verbally deny Him as Peter did, but we deny Him in our actions. In a world were most religions allows man to be as he is, to do what he wishes and still feel acceptable to God. Just think for a moment, what this world would be like if all who professed Christ was to bear witness every time the opportunity presented itself, if we proclaimed the true doctrine of Jesus Christ. So few are willing to sacrifice their lives and bear witness to the Savior of the world
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When we deny Christ, we deny the lost the chance afforded us, to know Christ and have a chance at salvation. How can we truly say we love one another yet deny each other Christ. How can we say that we love the Lord with all our heart, soul and life,and yet let His blood be trampled under foot, for when a witness is needed, when we need to stand up and speak for Christ, we hide in the crowd and deny Him when a witness is needed . 

Freedom to Serve Not Sin

1 Corinthians 6:14 " And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power".

Many who have professed to be born again Christians have a tendency to believe  everything is permissible to them. While it is true we do have freedoms and liberties in Christ, we cannot use this as a license to sin. Because it is permissible does not make it beneficial.  The Christian life is not just about freedoms, It is about living as ambassador's for Christ, serving the Lord and leading lost souls to His salvation.

When you profess to be a child of God it comes with responsibilities. There is a way we must conduct our selves. Remember we are the light upon a hill that cannot be hid. We are the salt of the earth and we must be careful not to lose our savor. We must live in a manner that shows a lost world that there is a savior who can save the whole world. It is through the power of God that we have been raised from the death of the old man, into a life of the new man, the man born in the spirit of God. It is with the power of God that we can have the freedom to serve and not to sin.

We who are born of the spirit of God must remember that it is His power that keeps us. The life we have been called to live is a holy life, a sacrificial life. Christian should be a union with Christ. Following Jesus is a moment by moment walk with the Lord. We are free to love, serve, and point others to the cross, not to engage in sinful practices offered up by the world.

Know The Truth

Act 17:11 " These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so".

The word of God tells us to study to show thyself approve unto God, yet many today tends to believe what is said about God's word, based on who it is that said it. In this era of the name it and claim it prosperity message many are being deceive by those who are motivated by greed and popularity.  Many of todays ministers of seem to no longer preach the Gospel but instead they have begun to proclaim a message of personal philosophies lined with just enough scripture to be disguised as a truth, full of the promise of material gain.

Here in our text we see that the people of Berea were happy to receive the word preached by Paul. But in their quest for the truth they would search the scriptures to make sure that what they were being taught, was actually what the word of God said. Even though Paul was a powerful preacher of God's word, the people of  Berea didn't let their knowledge of the word be limited solely on what Paul said, so they would study the word for themselves to make sure the message preached, matched what the word said. Salvation is way too important for us to leave it in the hand of men. The bible says it is better to put our trust in God than in man. We too need to search the scripture to make sure that what we are being taught lines up with what the word of God says.

We must be careful not to get hung up on the name, position or title of the one delivering the word of God, that we take what they say as gospel. Don't let the fame and/or fortunes of the messenger, be the measuring stick to what is true when it come to the word of God, and your salvation. Study what God's word says, that you might know the truth for yourself. 

The Walk Matters

Matthew 5:14 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid".

Let your light so shine before man that they might see your good works and glorify your Father which art in heaven. We are instructed to walk in a manner worthy of the name by which we are called. Effective witnessing is not just in what we say to the world in our words, but it is also in what the world sees in our walk. We live in a seeing is believing world, and if you truly want to be an effective witness, let your walk and talk both glorify the Lord.

Here in our text, we see Jesus telling us we are the light of the world. He didn't say we will be or could be, He said we are the light of the world, and a light is seen and not heard. People are lead out of darkness when they see the light and they become drawn to it. Our walk does matter, it actually matters more than what we say, more people see you than hear you. Remember the old saying actions speak louder than words. It is easy to tell someone that God loves them, but to show the love of God, we must be active. We are the light of the world, so let those in darkness see your light, let them see your love one to another. Let them see the love of God spread abroad in your heart in your words and deeds. We are set upon a hill, the world is watching and no matter how small the light it can be seen by all in darkness. Let the world see your light shining.

No mater who your are in Christ your walk matters. There is someone following you on your journey. You are the bible they are reading, the picture of what they believe a Christian to be like, walk worthy of the name that you are a light house and not a stumbling block, that a lost soul might seek Jesus the light of the world and be saved...

Misplaced priorities

Haggai 1:4 "Is it time for you, O, ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie in waste?

We all profess that God is the head of our life, but in reality is He really? Do we truly place His will and desires before our own comforts, and desires? We can all say yes, but if we took a honest inventory of our life, we might find that though we say God is the head of our life, in actuality there are many worldly cares and concerns we place ahead of Him in our daily living.

In our text today we have the children of Israel, they were freed from captivity to rebuild the temple of God, but once they finished the alter, they left the house of God and spent their time and money on their own dwelling places. They used excuses such as not having enough money, not enough time the work is to hard, God understands, but it didn't stop them from working on their own homes. If we were to look honestly within our hearts , we would find we still use many of these same excuses today when it comes to doing God's work. Whenever we are short on funds, God suffers, we pay bills before our tithes and offerings. When we are tired, our witnessing, bible study or Sunday school suffers, while we are willing to work over time to obtain our worldly desires. The word of God says " Seek ye first the kingdom of God". When we have our priorities in order, we can live a life of perfect peace, but when we are out of line with God, our life is off line to the blessings of God, and we find our selves in a state of confusion.

Much like God did to the children of Israel, when He is no longer first in our lives, we never seem to have enough. We work two and three jobs yet still live pay check to pay check, like putting our money in bags with holes. Today we are making more money than our parents did, yet we have less than they had, and can't do as much as they did. Let us reprioritize our life , putting God first in everything and live in the blessed promise of His word, and  live as a tree planted by the rivers of water, and never be in want...

The Road Home

Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadth to life, and few there be that find it.

We all are on a long journey home, yet not everyone is going to the same address. God has made heaven available to all, yet many will choose to travel on the broad downward road. Some tend to think we can live any kind of way, and God has to allow us to enter into His kingdom. It is true that God loves us so much that He gave His son to die that we might live a life pleasing to Him. But remember He gave us all we need to live the life He calls us to live. He sent us His holy spirit to aid us in our living a life pleasing to Him, and He left us His written word, to correct and instruct us in righteousness, that we might be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. He left nothing to chance.

There is a popular false message being proclaimed that God is o.k. with our living a life in sin. Someone has convinced many of us that God's grace and mercy, makes it alright for us to continue to live the life we professed to be saved from. Jesus died to save us from sin, not in sin,  and He rose with all power in His hands, so He is able to keep us from falling. But we must in faith walk in the truth of God's word. This journey we are on is a road paved with the promises of God, lined with the love of God, with the oracles of God keeping us on the straight and narrow road. Many have started on this road but have chosen to take the off ramp of temptation, which leads to the broad road, which is the road which leads to destruction. There is only one road which leads to everlasting life promised by God. There is only one way, and one truth about that way, and one life, that the truth will cause you to live along that way, and that is Jesus the Christ the son of the living God.

Jesus said no man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Let us look to Jesus as our guide and travel up the kings highway on our long journey home, knowing that He is the way we must go, the truth we must believe, and the life we must emulate to be fit for the kingdom..

Soul Saving Love

John 3:16 " For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life".

Here we have the most popular, the most quoted and no doubt the most misunderstood scriptures in the bible. It is misunderstood because of man inability to grasp the love of God. We tend to love base on how we feel about the person or the situation. We love with expectations, we love with our eyes, we love what we see, taste, and can feel. But here Jesus reveals God's great love, a love in spite of.

 

"God so loved the world" , He loved the whole world. The ideal that God loves the world is a new idea. The Jews believed God loved the religious and hated the non religious. These same thoughts are held by many in every generation, especially by the religious community. The Fact that God so loves, is shocking. He loves the saint and the sinner. God loves everyman, not just those who love Him but also those who reject Him. He loves the unlovable, the unloving, the unbelieving, the obstinate, the selfish, the greedy, the spiteful, and the vengeful. The basic of Gods Love is his nature, for God is love. He didn't just love ,He so loved. He loved so much that he gave his only begotten Son. He gave not only all he had but the best that he had. He gave His only Son to suffer judgment for my sins and yours. He gave His only son to be punished for our sins." God commended His love toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us".

 

When the world said we were not fit to live, God felt we were to precious to die, and he gave His only begotten Son, not based on our love for Him, but because of His love for us. Let us now take this love we have been blessed to experience and share it with another, that all may come to know the goodness of the Lord. Let us show our love one to another. Let us give the best of ourselves and all of our selves that the lost  might be saved.