Living in Christ

  Many believers will readily state that they are living for Christ.  My question is always, "Does your life demonstrate that you are living for Christ?"  What is the nature of this question?  Do we only say that we are living for Christ, or do our actions demonstrate that we are living for Christ?  Do we take a stand for the weak, or do we decide that it is not our business and do not want to get involved?  Are we ready and willing to give our time, talent, and treasure, or do we only do so when its time to tithe and go to church?  Are we setting a Christ-like example outside of our churches, or do we conform to the world when we are in the world?  A life that is lived totally for Christ will be demonstrated by the fruit that life yields. "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear god fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.&qu

  Many of us believers confess Jesus as our Savior, and many of us confess Jesus as our Lord.  But, how many of us can confess that Jesus is our Master?  Let's take a look at what each confession means:  When we say that Jesus is our Savior, according to Webster's dictionary, what we are saying is Jesus is our Rescuer--somebody who rescues somebody or something from harm or danger.  When we say that Jesus is our Lord, according to Webster's dictionary, what we are saying is that Jesus is our Powerful Person--someone who has considerable power or influence over others.  But, what are we saying if we can say that Jesus is our Master?  According to Webster's dictionary, Master-- Boss, a person in a position of authority over a business or servants.  How many of us have made Jesus our Master? "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  Whoever does not take up their c

  In your mind, what do you believe is the right thing to do for the Lord?  Let me ask this question in a different way:  As believers in Jesus, are we supposed to be passive in our witnessing to the Lord, or are we supposed to be aggressive in standing up for righteousness?  As I look out at my world I see many believers going about their own business while the rest of the world cries out for help.  I see the children living just doors down from us, abused and assaulted while we turn a blind eye assuming that it is none of our business, until it is too late.  I see government leaders making a mockery out of truth and justice while we go on along believing that as long as it doesn't directly affect me I don't have to be concerned with it.  I see many things happening in our world that we could make a difference in, if we would answer the call to go.  But, sadly, many of us remain in our pews unwilling to get involved because we are afraid of what getting involved might cost us.

  What is is that you seek?  Is it a new job?  Is it peace and harmony?  Maybe it is a healing that you are in need of?  In any case, we as human being are seeking many things.  Life happens, things change, circumstances capture our attention and we become entrenched in emotions and thoughts.  We pray for God to give us, to deliver us, to promote us, or to protect us.  In any case, it is quiet amazing how simple the Word of our Lord is, and how complicated we make it.  Consider: "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 1:19-20 NIV.   Through out the Bible, there are many promises that God has made.  Some of those promises have been fulfilled, and there are still promises that man is waiting on.  Still, the promises exist!   God will never, ever break a promise.  In fact, if you search the Scriptures you would notice that in ever

  You know, there is a lot of the world around us to enjoy.  But there is also a lot of world around us that we should be mindful of not enjoying.  One of the most important functions of our bodies is that of sight.  Sight can be a wonderful thing for us to enjoy.  Looking all the splendor and glory of our God around us, seeing loved ones and friends, exploring all the "sights" around us.  But there is another part to sight that we should be mindful of, that of our wants and desires. "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you." Proverbs 4:25 TNIV.   Much can be said about where we focus our lives, especially for those of us in the faith.  Last post I talked about our heart, or inner self.  Continuing on that we look at one of the ways we bring about change to our heart, whether good or bad.  One of the Ten Commandments given to Moses from God deals with this:  Exodus chapter 20 verse 17 we read, "You shall not covet your neighbor&

  A few weeks ago, my own pastor did a teaching on guarding our hearts.  He did an outstanding job and opened my eyes to some new truths about myself, but, I just couldn't put out of my mind the teaching.  So, I started searching and asking God questions.  What would the world look like if everyone started to pay attention to what we fill ourselves up on?  You know, 25 years ago, you would never have heard of children taking guns to school to kill others just because they were teased, but you hear that all the time know.  Why is that?   Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." NIV   The Bible has a lot to say to us about the condition of our heart.  Not the flesh heart that we know, but the heart that is the real us.  The heart that the Bible reefers to is who we are.  It is what makes us operate in our world.  Many of us have spent years filling our hearts with things that most of us would not wish upon others, and most o

  I haven't written anything for a few weeks, not that I am neglecting writing, but because I had to take a break and engage myself in other commitments.  I was reading an article today that caught my attention.  The article focused on miraculous healings and why some people experienced them and others did not.  I thought about this and I wondered how do we trust these stories of healing when so many of us often have our prayers for healing go unanswered?  What exactly is going on when Jesus heals someone?  "Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  One who was there had been a invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, "Do you want to get well?"  John 5:2-6 NIV.   Look at this st

  Welcome to another new year!  Full of changes and challenges.  One of those challenges for me is to search my heart and to be careful what I put into it, and also, what comes out of it.  Scripture stresses that what comes out of our mouths is a very accurate picture of what we are carrying around in our hearts.  If our words are used to bless and encourage others, there is good evidence that we have a compassionate heart.  If we share the good news of Jesus Christ, our heart demonstrates that we are grateful for our own salvation.  There are many messages that our mouths proclaim the condition of our heart.  When others around us are in a crisis, do they know that they will find peace and comfort in our words?  Do we frequently and spontaneously offer prayer for others?  Do our words and they way in which we say them demonstrate a patient heart?  All of these behaviors indicate a heart condition that is the same as that of our heavenly Father, a heart of love! "But the things