Will I Have Work?

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Lately, I have been reading of reports of increasing layoffs again in the US. It is a scary thing for many people, including myself. My job has been on shaky ground for quite some time now. Even though I am employed at the moment, wages have not kept pace with inflation. Many are hurting these days; many are worried sick. The government say’s our economy is getting better, yet one does not require a PHD in economics to see that we are facing some trying times. Many have lost faith in our leaders. Some say they are intentionally selling us out. I do not know, but maybe. What are we to do? Where are we to turn?

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, 

And establish the work of our hands for us;  

Yes, establish the work of our hands. 

(Psalm 90:17)

³ You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴ Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength. 

(Isaiah 26:3-4)

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:31-34)

I pray all of us hold fast to the Lord in the days ahead with our eyes set on eternity. Let’s all live Godly lives sharing the message of Jesus Christ with whoever will listen. Let's not forget our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are hurting and be steadfast in prayer for the body of Christ. God has called us for a time such as this, let’s be prepared to answer the calling. Many feel something dreadful is fixing to happen; if it does, we will see a time of great opportunity. Many will be willing to listen and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. God will allow us an opportunity to make eternal differences in many people’s lives. Of course, things may smooth out for a season, which is a good thing. However, preparing for the worst and praying for the best is a wise move.

All scripture: NKJV

Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom?



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1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. (Matthew 18:1-5)




Something about our fallen sinful nature, we desire being the greatest. This can be on the job, in the church or anywhere else. The apostles argued “who will be the greatest in the kingdom?” In the corporate world, we put a lot of effort into working up the corporate ladder. However, Jesus said “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” What is this all about? Humble myself and become as a little child? Should I not go out and work for it? Afterall, I must earn it? Right? This goes against everything I have been taught.



Honesty is a vital part of humility. Let’s take a look at little children for a moment; they have a hard time with lying. When pressed, they will tell the truth. If children are sad, they will not appear happy and so forth. We adults will ask someone, “How are you doing?” We do not want to hear the words, “not good.” Many times when that happens we want to be on our way. We will also put a mask on our face and pretend all is well when, in fact, it is not.



I believe pride is what keeps people from receiving salvation. Many people believe they will go to heaven when they die. When witnessing, it is beneficial to ask people “on what basis will they enter into heaven.” Many times I have asked some form of that question, yet very few times I have received a response with Jesus’ name in it. I have heard “because I attend church," or "I sing in the choir.” Other common replies are “because I am a good person" or "I try to keep the commandments.” Many put their faith in their “good deeds.” They might say “I try to do the right thing and I am responsible.” I have heard people say “they do not sin.” Ask the question, “Have you ever told a lie?” They will say “no I have not.” Stolen anything? “Nope.” Then there are the people when hearing of grace through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, that He paid their sin debt. They refuse to receive it because “no one is going to pay my penalty for me, it is my debt.” Still others believe God is evil because He will forgive the worst of sinners if they repent of their sins and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. They will say “I would rather spend eternity in hell than with a God who will forgive someone like that.” Pride leads us to these responses. It bases everything on one's self and not God. In other words, it's all about me.



This is where honesty and humility comes in. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he also saw himself as a man with unclean lips. We must be honest and confess our sins to God and not attempt covering our sins ourselves. Remember when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden? They tried hiding and covering themselves with fig leaves? Pride will cause us to try to either hide or cover our own sins, but it is always inadequate. God supplied the only sufficient covering for our sins. As God clothed Adam and Eve, He has provided a covering for us, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Imitate God as Dear Children

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¹ Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

One day on the job someone I never met before came in to work on the phones. I was showing him around and discussing the situation, but our conversation was business related only. Then out of nowhere he asked the question “are you a Christian?” I replied “yes I am.” He said, “I could tell.” This individual was not a Christian, but he was seeking and this opened up the door for a wonderful witnessing encounter. This sure did make me day.

I do not write this to receive amen’s and that-a-boy’s because many more times I have not looked like Jesus at all. (Not only that, any good within me is because of God, and He gets all the glory). One such occasion  my boss said something I did not like and I behaved in a very un-Christian like manner. What she said was nothing to get excited about, I just did not like the way she said it, as a result, I went off like a rocket for everyone to see. What an embarrassing example that was.

One thing we must all remember, someone is always watching us. There is an old saying “I may be the only Bible someone else reads.” While we will always fall short of the glory of God, when the unbelievers see Christians behaving in the same way as everyone else, they question “Who is this Jesus?” When they see us believers committing adultery, cursing, getting drunk, anger problems and on and on…they think “Why come to Jesus? What will He do for me?”

I truly believe, when we fall in love with God with all our heart, the more Christ like we become. The more Christ like we become, the more we will live an abundant life serving the Lord. The way we behave will affect many people beyond us, for the better or worse.  Let us have the love and concern for other people that we humble ourselves and let God mold us into the image of His Son, so we may be a light in this dark world.

Some questions to ask of ourselves:

Does my speech testify that I love Jesus, or not?

Does my character testify that I love Jesus, or not?

Am I more concerned about my (fill in the blank), or Jesus?

Plant Me by the Rivers of Water

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1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Psalm 1:1-3)

If I were a tree with a choice as to where I was planted, where would I choose?

    A. By the rivers of water.

    B. Out in the middle of the desert.

As Christians, why is it so much of the time we desire to be out in the desert just close enough to the river for a sip of water every now and again?

I do not know about you, but I want to be healthy and bear much fruit in the Lord. When the trials and temptations come my way I want to be grounded in truth so the wind does not blow me away.

4 The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

(Psalm 1:4-6)

 

All scripture from the NKJV

Rahab the Harlot...Saved!

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This morning I read the story of Rahab in the Bible, which was a most thought-provoking read. The Bible say’s Joshua sent out two men to spy out the land, especially Jericho. The two men came to the house of the harlot named Rahab and stayed there. The king wanted her to turn them over, but Rahab hid the two spies on the roof while informing them of the terror which was upon the land. When the time came, she helped them escape by lowering them down from the window with a rope . While everyone in the land was terrified, Rahab begged for kindness and mercy for her and her family. As a result, she received specific instructions to follow in order to be spared from death.

So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” (Joshua 2:14)

¹⁷ So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, ¹⁸ unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. ¹⁹ So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰ And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” (Joshua 2:17-20)

In today’s society, we hear people call us narrow minded bigots for believing Jesus is the only way to be saved.

What do you suppose the outcome would be if she replied “you narrow minded bigot, I dare you to instruct me tie a scarlet cord to my window and order us to stay inside the house, and did you forget I was kind to you?”

We do not make the rules, we both believe and follow God’s plan of salvation or we do not. We must not make our own way to salvation. God has provided the only way which is through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’^{[a] 12} Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

By the way, not only was Rahab the harlot and her family delivered from Jericho (and her sin), but she is in the genealogy of our Lord and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king… (Matthew 1:4-6a)

She also was written about in Hebrews and James:

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31)

 ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:24-26)

Do not feel like your sin is too deep for Jesus to save you?

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,

“ Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool."  (Isaiah 1:18)

For more reading on Rahab the Harlot see Joshua chapters 2 and 6.

Hope

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast… (Hebrews 6:19a)

To me, one thought I never want to entertain in my mind is the loss of hope. A person may keep plugging away as long as they have hope. When it is all gone, one may just give up. What if one is giving up on life? This is a very dark and scary place, a place I never want to be.

We must look at what we place our hope in. For example, many people place their hope in their careers, wealth, expensive toys and luxury living. This is their hope in life, living the “good life,” so to speak. I read here (The Economic Collapse Blog) where a survey stated that 48% of the people believe it is likely we will be in another great depression within a year. Will this happen or not? I do not know. For 48% percent of the people to think so, it must certainly be a possibility. If it does happen, will these people who lost their hope in wealth find something else to place their hope in? Of course, economic collapse is not the only threat to one’s hope in wealth; end of life brings it all tumbling down. Like the old saying goes, “you cannot take it with you.” As we can see here, this hope is only temporary.

For when God made a promise to Abraham,

because He could swear by no one greater,

He swore by Himself…

(Hebrews 6:13a)

Why hope in something which will end when we can have hope in Someone who is eternal and bigger than everything? Life will always have its storms, but none will be more powerful than Jesus. When we hope in Jesus, He anchors our soul. No matter how powerful the storm is, Jesus anchors our soul. He will always hold us secure. When the storms come crashing down we know it will pass and our future is secure. As a Christian, we may always have hope. Even if we are on our death bed, we may still have hope. Even in the last hours He may choose to heal us. If He does not, then we are moments away to a new beginning, an eternity with Him where there is no more suffering. We will be experiencing a joy so incredible, it would be impossible to come anywhere close to describing it with words.

When we hope in Jesus, we are hoping in God because Jesus and God are one. Jesus is God. I pray all of us hold onto Jesus at all times, during both the calm and stormy days for He is the One who anchors the soul.

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)



All scripture from the NKJV

Witnessing after Church

A few weeks ago I did a post titled “Jehovah Witnesses at the Door.” I intended on showing them Jesus was the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, but I was not prepared, thus I searched in the wrong chapter of Revelation. Since that time, I memorized where they are and formed a game plan. Today it paid off during a witnessing encounter when two friends and I went knocking on doors after church.

We went to an apartment complex going door to door. Most people were not much interested but took the tracts we offered and were quick to shut the door. Then we knocked on this one door to find a young woman who would listen to what we said. My two friends were doing the talking at first while I listened. Then she made the remark “I was raised as a Jehovah Witness.” My eyes light up wanting to challenge her from Revelation. So I spoke up and asked “do you believe Jesus is God?” Her reply was, “no, He is not God.” I then opened up the Bible and had her read “ 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End', says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.' ” (Rev 1:10 NKJV) Then I asked “who is the Alpha and the Omega?” She and I agreed that it was God (Jehovah God). Then I had her read while asking herself this question, “when did Jehovah die.” (Rev 1:17b-18) “I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” She hit me with “see it only says the First and the Last.” I respond "now let’s go to the last chapter of Revelation and read:” 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Rev 22:12-16 NKJV) I pointed out to her it says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last and Jesus is the one speaking here.” She did not know what to say to that except “I am going to have to look into it.” My friend added to the conversation something even more powerful to her when he asked “do you know that Emmanuel means God with us?” This was an eye opener for her. This young woman was not a practicing Jehovah Witness, but she still believed what they taught was the truth. She was going the way of the world. Most Jehovah Witnesses will not take the literature Christians offer, but she did.

Last night I found an article from Dr Ron Carlson who wrote a noticeably similar strategy for witnessing to Jehovah Witnesses. I think it would have been better using his example, except I did not have it down yet, so I used what I already planned.

You may read it here (christianministriesintl) if you like. It will not take much time.

I would like to encourage everyone to get out and share your faith with the lost. Every time I do, I am blessed beyond measure. My friend Sandra at Lions Share Majesty wrote a post the other day concerning witnessing to the lost. I encourage you to go on over and give it a read if you have not. She gave an uncomplicated way to reach out to the lost.

You may read it here if you like. Lions Share Majesty