Saturday, January 17, 2015

ONCE A FRIEND

ONCE A FRIEND

I knew a man who followed God’s plan;
He was a friend, I thought, to the end.
But when things went not his way,
Sadly, he went astray.

Bitterness and trash-talk became his way,
Then and now and throughout the day.
But God is faithful, that I’m sure,
And will keep knocking on his door.

It seems a pity that many of his ties,
Instrumental to the bye and bye,
Have been severed in a disagreeable state, 
Driven by pride, insecurity and hate.

But He who is faithful will bring it to pass,
Romans 8:28 will triumph at last. 

In my   (In my case it’s probably 100 times.  LOL!) 
sermon, “The Holy Trinity – Meet the Father” (Revelation Study 40, ser3394), we addressed the faithfulness of God and how the Holy Spirit will speak to us more than once with something He wants us to know or do.

Friday morning I awakened with a word percolating in mind regarding “once a friend – no longer a friend.”  Recall, we established “God will confirm what he tells us via the Holy Scriptures.”  My Scripture reading for Friday was the book of Isaiah.  (I had just finished Song of Solomon.  Now, that’s an interesting book to say the least.  J )  This is what I read:
Hear, O heavens! Listen O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me. …
they have forsaken the LORD …
they have turned their backs on Him. 
Isaiah 1: 1-4 (selected)

We have all been there – poured our lives into someone(s) only to have them turn their backs on us and say hurtful and untrue things.  If we are not above our Master and He was betrayed, too, should we expect anything different?  Furthermore, He was perfect and we are not!  So, where do we find our comfort?  In that what we pour into others, and how we treat others, we first do UNTO GOD.  These are the two GREAT commandments -- love God and love others.   

The beauty is that Romans 8:28 is at work REGARDLESS of how a person responds to your friendship and love.  Trust and rest in Romans 8:28 and Genesis 50:20.  Isaiah 1:27 assures us that “Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.”  And the “willing and obedient will eat the best of the land.”  Isa 1:19





Friday, January 16, 2015

PONDER THIS!

Ponder this!

Although we will never achieve perfection in our Christian walk, in the midst of our failed efforts to get it right, there are certain disciplines we can do.

We can: 

1. Pray daily and listen for God’s reply;

2. Attend church regularly; 

3. Share Christ in and with a lost world;
4. Give God tithes and offerings, which provide for the Church, advance the Kingdom and prioritize our own personal lives;

5. Love others. Mother Teresa profoundly said, "A life not lived for others is not a life." 

6. Love and live for Christ above all else. 

Everything else goes the way of all the earth, but what we do with and for Christ is eternal.
'Father, give me a heart that longs to please you. Grant me Your mercies EVERY day. In Jesus' name, amen'.

"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” Psa 18:30

From my heart to yours,


JBS

Friday, January 2, 2015

DOWN TO THE LAST PENNY

Dear Pastor Bruce,

Our God is amazing and faithful! There are no words in the English language that can adequately describe the blessings he bestowed on my wife and me in the last month.

We have always trusted God to meet our needs and have followed Biblical Principles in our past financial dealings and commitments.

For the first time in my life I found myself unemployed for a period of three months. Now the real test was about to begin. Were we truly going to be dependent on God’s promises and tithing principle when times were very difficult and the funds were limited.

We continued to tithe and honor our commitment to support missionaries and Christian Organizations through funds from my weekly unemployment payments. The funds in our banking account lasted exactly to the day I was offered a job as a principal in a private school. The new salary was $18,000 more than my previous salary as a Christian School Principal.

What happened next is even more unbelievable in human terms. A second financial door was opened and more blessing were received from GodI was offered a part time educational consulting job at $18,000 per year.
The Lord was not done. A legal matter was resolved in an amicable manner. When I added the total funds from all three blessing I received a net gain of $54,000 per year.

My wife and I truly believe tithing is more than giving 10% of your income; it is about obedience, eliminating your pride and trusting God and his principles.

We give God all the glory and praise for his faithfulness and provisions.

Sincerely,

RKP and LSP

Thursday, January 1, 2015

CONTENTMENT


Just this week I asked a friend how I could pray for him, he replied: “That I would be content.” This is what God gave me.  Maybe it’s apropos to you as well.

TRUE CONTENTMENT is in complete opposition to the world.  The flesh and its lusts CAN NEVER satisfy - what we accomplish and what we achieve - they are insatiable appetites.  Life's ONLY TRUE contentment is in LIVING FOR and OBEYING Christ.
 True contentment comes through Christ: walking with, and in obedience to, Him.  Nothing else matters; it is all rubbish and will count for nothing in eternity.  It's a hands breath, a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow. Only what's done for Christ will last.
 And, what is done must be for Him and not us - that is the struggle for all of us, I believe.  For whom do we do what we do?  Is it for us, because it makes us feel good? (I don't think that's a bad thing – but it doesn't count for eternity.)  Only what we do for Him will count for eternity, therefore that is our true satisfaction and ONLY contentment.
 Today my Bible reading was in Ecclesiastes 7: 2-4. “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of pleasure, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.  … 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.”
 What is the preacher saying?  That when a person lives for pleasure they only think about the now, which is a vapor. But if we hang around funeral homes (lol!) we realize life is brief and what we do must count for “the forever.”  Pretty powerful stuff!
Personally, I have found that my only true satisfaction and contentment is in Christ.  I love my wife; she is God's best gift to me.  But I could live without Sheryl, I could live without Joel and Noelle and the grand-children, and my best friends.  But, I could never live without Christ.  He is my everything.  He is my true satisfaction and contentment.  And whenever I'm not content or satisfied it is because I have moved away from HimHe has gone nowhere.