Forgive And Be Forgiven

We all mess up and sometimes we hurt or disappoint people. Usually this is not done intentionally. That is why we apologize and ask for forgiveness. However, it is easier to ask to be forgiven than it is to forgive someone.

When someone does us wrong, we should forgive them. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15

In the model prayer which Jesus taught us we were to ask our heavenly Father to "... forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ..." Matthew 6:12

So, don't hold on to that grudge you have against someone who did you wrong. Forgive them and let it go. We get forgiveness only as we give it out.

To Live Christ Like

Being a Christian is not an easy thing to do. In fact, some times it is quite difficult to act in a Christ-like manner.

Jesus said that we should "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you ... Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48

Christians are expected to live by a higher standard. We are charged not to give in to our sinful human nature. Whenever we are confronted with a situation, we should ask ourselves, "What would Christ do, or say, or think in this situation?"

Most of us are not as bad as we could be, but we are not as good as we should be. We need to pray to God to help us do, say and think the right thing much more often.

Let Your Light Shine

"Ye are the light of the world ... Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Matthew 5:14-15

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Jesus is The Light. He said, "I am the light of the world ..." John 8:12 He is in all believers. It is The Jesus that is in us that we must let shine so that the world can see it.

We are not to hid it, but we are to display it out in the open so that all may see and benefit from it. Not only for those in our household and family, but for all that we encounter and all who see us, that they may see The Lord in us and give God the glory.

Let your light shine. Let The Jesus in you shine so that the world can see it.

The song says, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ...
Every where I go, I'm gonna let it shine ...
All in my home, I'm gonna let it shine ...
My God gave it to me, I'm gonna let it shine ...
Shine, shine, shine, I'm gonna let it shine ...
I'm not gonna make it shine, I'm gonna let it shine ...
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."

Tithe And Be Blessed

"Even from the days of your fathers ye have gone away from mine ordinances , and have not kept them. Return unto me , and I will return unto you, saith The Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith The Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes ... And all nations shall call you blessed ..." Malachi 3:7-12

Give The Lord one tenth of all of your income and He will bless you abundantly.

Speak The Truth, Don't Lie

Why do we lie? We know that God does not like liars. We were commanded to tell the truth, yet still we tell lies. We want to appear to others that we are better than we really are. We lie on others to make them appear to be better or worse than they really are.

"These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor ..." Zechariah 6:16

"Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor..." Exodus 20:16

The Bible says that there is a special place reserved for liars, "... and all liars, shall have part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone ..." Revelation 21:8

We know this and yet we still tell lies. What is wrong with us? We truly need God's help to turn from our wicked ways.

Consider Your Ways

Why is it that we work hard to fulfill our own personal agendas, but put very little effort into our work for The Lord? Why do we let God's house get dirty and in disrepair, but we constantly clean up and fix up our homes?

"Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled (cedar paneled) houses, and this house (The Lord's house) lie waste? Haggai 1:4

"Yet now be strong ... saith The Lord ... be strong ... and work; for I am with you, saith The Lord of Hosts ..." Haggai 2:4

The phrase "... consider your ways ..." is used or implied five times throughout this prophecy, 1:5 & 7, 2:15 & in 2:18 twice. It is a plea on the part of God for the people to take note of what they are doing and amend their ways accordingly with respect to His temple and His work.

We should not put ourselves before God. We should not put anything before God, Exodus 20:3. We should first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, Matthew 6:33

Let's consider our ways and start to put God first.

The Day Of The Lord Is Near

According to the prophet Zephaniah, God is not pleased with the behavior of mankind. He states that "The great day of The Lord is near ... that day is a day of wrath ... in the day of The lord's wrath ... the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy ..." Zephaniah 1:14-18

We are encouraged to get our selves together before that day comes. "Seek ye The Lord, all ye meek of the earth ... seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of The Lord's anger." Zephaniah 2:3

This prophecy was a warning of the imminent judgement of Judah. However, there are many that believe that it also is a warning that applies to us today. "The Day of The Lord" is a day of wrath, trouble, distress, devastation, destruction, darkness, gloominess, clouds, thick darkness, trumpet, and alarm. Zephaniah 1:15-18

The Bible says that there will be "a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ..." Revelation 21:1

Most people do not like "hell fire and brimstone" preaching but it is in The Bible. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15

The end is near, so s the song says, "let's get right church and let's go home."

Don't Worry, Rejoice

Have you ever been in situations where you were not sure of yourself and not sure of exactly what you should do? Have you ever been down in the dumps? Feel like you've been whipped and defeated?

God can lift you up, plant your feet on a solid rock, and help you to climb any mountain, no matter how rough the terrain.

"Yet I will rejoice in The Lord, I will joy in The God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon high places." Habakkuk 3:18-19

Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we are to rejoice in The Lord because He is greater than our situation. If He brought us to it, He can bring us through it. And if we got into it on our own because of our wrong choices, He can lift us up out of it.

"Rejoice in The Lord always; and again I say, 'Rejoice'." Philippians 4:4

"Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4

God Is Good

"The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7

When trouble comes our way, all we have to do is go to Him. He can keep us and fix it, whatever it is. We just need to wrap ourselves up in His will.

Because He knows us and our sinful nature, "The is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked ..." Nahum 1:3 but He is quick to forgive us, His children.

The song says, "God is the joy and the strength of my life; He moves all pain misery and strife; ...
He promised to keep me, never to leave me; ...
God is ... God is ... God is ... God is ... God is my all and all ..."

Look To The Lord If You Need Help

When we need help, we should look to The Lord instead of calling on our friends and family. He will hear us and help us. People will just let us down.

"Trust ye not in a friend, put no confidence in a guide ... Therefore I will look unto The Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me ... when I fall, I shall arise ... The Lord shall be a light unto me." Micah 7:5-8

When we fall, and we fall frequently, we should look to The Lord for help. Call on God, in the name of Jesus, and He will hear us and help us.

What God Requires From Us

What does man have to do to please God? Put another way, what does God require of man?

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth The Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8

This rhetorical question was asked by Micah because men should have known what God wanted from them. God wanted a spiritual commitment that was sincere and from the heart, from which right behavior would result. That is what God wanted from them back then and that is what He wants from us today.

In the previous verse, 6:7, Micah makes it clear what God does not require to come before Him. And in the following verses, 6:9-12, Micah lists the sins of Israel.

We know what God wants from us. The question is are we willing to do what God wants us to do?

Doing Right After Being Punished

It doesn't matter how bad the situation gets, we should always pray. Even when we have made some bad choices that resulted in our bad situation, we should should still pray.

When The Word of God came to Jonah saying, "... go to Nineveh ...", Jonah fled to Tarshish. Jonah 1:1-3 After being thrown overboard, Jonah was swallowed up by a great fish. Jonah 1:17

While he was in the belly of the great fish, Jonah "... prayed unto The Lord ... and ... cried by reason of mine affliction unto The Lord ..." Jonah 2:1-4

He had brought he negative circumstances upon himself. He knew that he had turned from God and in the mist of his bad situation he said, "... I will look again toward Thy holy temple." God did not leave him, he choose to flee from God, then he decided to return to The Lord.

"And The Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land. And The Word of The Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying '... go to Nineveh ...' so Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh ..." Jonah 2:10-3:3

After being punished for not doing what The Lord told him to do, then Jonah did what he was told to do.

Like Jonah, we mess up by doing what we want to do instead of doing what God wants us to do. We need to see and confess the error of our ways and get back to God's program.

Just like bad kids, we have to get a spanking for doing wrong before we do the right thing.

Are Our Friends Ungodly?

Are our friends ungodly people? We should be careful of the friends that we choose. The people that we choose to associate with exert an influence upon us. If we as Christians cannot influence them to walk in a Godly way, then we should part company rather than walk in their sinful ungodly ways.


"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3


We will be deemed guilty of sin by our association with sinful people. "Guilty by association with the guilty." Unknown It has been said that "Birds of a feather flock together" Unknown


It is a good thing for us to take The Word of God to our sinful ungodly 'friends'. However, if we cannot get them to do right, then we should not continue to 'hang with' or to 'run with' them while they are doing what we know to be wrong.


If we can't bring them up, then we should not let them bring us down.

A Lack Of Knowledge

How often do you read the Bible? How often do you study The Word of God and dig deeply into it to increase your understanding of it?

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee ..." Hosea 4:6

A lack of knowledge of God is a bad thing. Being ignorant is bad, but refusing to learn is worse. Do not reject the instructions of The Lord by refusing to read His Word.

We can easily be misled by false prophets and false teachers when we do not know The Word of God for ourselves. Everything that sounds good, isn't good or true.

Think about how much time we spend in other less significant activities as compared to the that we spend in the study of God's Word. Let's read and study the Bible more. Let's not be destroyed for a lack of knowledge.

Peace And Power

Don't worry, be happy, we can get whatever we want; as long as what we want give God glory.

Nothing should worry us. Jesus said, "... my peace I give unto you ... Let not your heart be troubled ..." John 14:27

Jesus also said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7 That makes us very powerful.

The peace of God removes all of our fears, and all of our prayers will be answered and fruitful.

We can have His perfect peace and powerful prayers. All this is ours, as long as we stay in His word and keep His word in us.

Jesus Is Coming Back

Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled ... I go to prepare a place for you ... and ... I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also." John 14:1-3

These are truly words of encouragement. Jesus is coming back for us and does not want us to worry in the meantime. He has a place for us so that we can be with Him. Earth is not our final destination, heaven is where we are headed. That is good news.

When He comes back, we shall be rewarded for following Him and doing His work. "For The Son of Man shall come ... and then He shall reward every man according to his works." Matthew 16:27

Our works do not save us, our salvation is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 Our works just determine our rewards in heaven. Every body in heaven will not be equal. No works down here on earth, not rewards up there in heaven.

Do Others Know That You Are A Christian?

Do our family and friends know that we are Christians? Do our colleagues and co-workers, associates and acquaintances know that we are Christians? Would someone who sees us as we go about our daily activities know that we are a child of God?

We really should not have to tell people that we are Christian, but if you told someone that you were a Christian, would they be surprised?

The problem is that our actions and our words are not always consistent. We do not always act in a Christ-like manner, therefore the people who see us do not see Christ in us.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one to another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35

Our actions speak louder that our words. If we loved one another and acted like we each other, then we would all behave differently. We would not have to tell people that we are Christians, they would know that we are by the way that we behaved.

I have hear it said that if the Christians would act more Christ-like, more often, then the world would be a much better place.

Let us all endeavor to be more Christ-like. Let's all love one another as Christ loved us.

Lift Him Up

If we want to be a part of kingdom building here on earth, we need to tell people about Jesus The Christ. If we lift up the name of Jesus, He will do the rest.

Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John 12:32

At Calvary, they thought that if they killed the man, that they would kill the message. They were wrong. The mistake that they made was after they nailed Jesus to the cross, when they raised the cross to secure it in place, they lifted Him up for all to see.

Then they lifted Him up physically, now we lift Him up figuratively. We talk Him up with positive comments to those who do not know Him.

The song says, "Lift up the name of Jesus, tell it everywhere you go. Lift up the name of Jesus, you've got to let the whole world know."

Have you lifted Him up today?

For The Glory Of God # 2

Ever wonder why good Christian folk get sick, suffer major illnesses or have serious accidents? Sometimes it is not a punishment for sins but it is part of God's plan.

When Lazarus was sick, Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that The Son of God might be glorified thereby." John 11:1-4

As I have stated previously, bad things can happen to good people. We may not always understand why because we do not see the big picture. All things happen for a reason.

Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed, "Father ... because of the people which stand by ... that they may believe ..." John 11:41-42

"... All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Maybe bad things happen to us so that the people around us can see God working in our lives that they might believe. So continue to walk the Christian walk, even when the world around you seems to be falling apart. To God be the glory!

God's Got Us

There is safety being in God and having God in you. We may feel the ill wind as it blows past us, but we still have God's protection constantly.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." John 10:28-30

So, no matter what is happening in our life, once we are in God's hand, no real harm can come to us.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Don't worry, God's got us.

They Know His Voice

Years ago as a you boy I remember watching cartoons on television as seeing a character with a decision to make and there were two miniatures of the character standing on his shoulders and whispering in his ear, one representing an angel and the other the devil.

This representation of the voices in our head, telling us the right and the wrong thing to do, was just a graphic illustration of what we each deal with several times a day. Do you hear the little voices and do you know which one is which?

Jesus said, His "... sheep follow Him; for they know His voice. And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10:4-5

As Christians, we should talk with God often enough so that we recognize His voice. If we would follow His voice, we would do and say the right things. We get into trouble when we choose not to listen to Him or choose not to heed His Word.

If you do not know which voice is the voice of God, then either you don't know Him or you do not talk with Him often enough.

Are you one of the sheep of The Good Shepherd? His sheep know His voice and follow Him.

For The Glory Of God

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We don't understand it and we often ask why. Remember the Bible story about Job. Sometimes things happen to us so that God can use us in order to show someone else what He can do.

"Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." John 9:1-3

Let us not be so quick to complain about our situation, whether our bad choices led us to it or if it was the result of something over which we had no control. We should act Christ-like regardless of the situation. God is still in control. Whatever it is, it can still serve a purpose. Our negative situation can be used by God for His glory, for our benefit, or for the benefit of others.

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts ... Let The Word of Christ dwell in you richly ... And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of The Lord Jesus ..." Colossians 3:15-17

When bad things happen to us, we should "... count it all joy ..." James 1:2

As Christians "... we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

So let us live for the glory of God, no matter whatever.

Continuing In The Word

It is easy for a Christian to 'get into' The Word of God. We can even occasionally behave, speak, and think in a Christ-like manner. Our problem is not in doing it, but in continuing to do it.

Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed ..." John 8:31

Continuing in The Word implies being in it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, and 'moment by moment'.

If we continue to be in His Word, then we would always be in it and would never be out of it. That is a pretty tall order. That sounds like being the perfect Christian, a goal well worth striving for.

We need to be firmly rooted in The Word of God and not be fickle, falling in and out of it frequently and regularly. Do you read The Word of God daily? In a 24 hour day, how much time do you spend 'in The Word of God'?

We all could do much better, so let us endeavour to spend more time 'in The Word of God' with a goal of being continuously in His Word.

Don't Judge, Forgive

Human beings are sinful by nature. We will frequently do, say, or think the wrong things. However, let us not be so quick to condemn others for their wrongdoings. None of us is perfect.

The Bible says that we should "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1

Jesus said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone ..." John 8:7

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ..." Romans 3:23

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15

Don't be quick to judge others for their sinful ways, be quick to forgive them.

"Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?"

Do you really want to be a better person? Do you really want to stop all of your sinful ways and be more Christ-like?

Most of us like our bad habits. We often make excuses for them when talking to others, but we really do not want to change.

Like the man by the pool of healing waters in Bethesda, we are full of excuses. Jesus asked him "Wilt thou be made whole?" John 5:6 He did not answer the question. He said that he had no one to help him get in the pool and someone always got in before he could get in.

If Jesus asked us that same question, how would we answer it? Before you respond remember that God gave us a choice and more often than not we choose to do wrong. The devil does not make us sin, we sin because we want to.

We prefer earthly pleasures, possession, and praise now rather than seeking God and His righteousness. We only want God to fix the things that we want changed but we do not want Him to change our whole life to His Godly ways.

Think about it, "Wilt thou be made whole?"

Read The Bible

Read the Bible. The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired, inerrant, Word of God. It may not be the easiest book in the world to read, or to understand, but we should read the Bible.

When we pray, we talk to God. When we read the Bible, God speaks to us.

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear to words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand." Revelation 1:3

There is a special blessing in store for this book. The Book of Revelation is probably the most difficult of the books of the Bible to understand. We need to keep in mind that it was written by a first century man, using the language of that time, trying to describe twenty-first century events.

We may not understand all that we read, but the Bible did not say blessed is he that understands. It says, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear ... and keep ..." for the end is near. Read the Bible and obey God's Word. Pray first, then read The Bible.

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Do you know someone who always seems to be trying to keep the peace, always trying to stop two others from arguing or fighting. They never seemed to want to take one side or the other, saying something like 'you are both right and you are both wrong'.

"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9

'Peacemakers' are not just sitting on the fence. They are capable of making a decision, they have decided that we should all 'just get along' and love each other. The Bible teaches us that we should love our enemies. Peacemakers are just reminding us of that, trying to help us engage rational thought instead of letting our emotions cause us to fly off the handle.

They are at peace with God and their desire is to live in peace with all men and to have all men live in peace with each other. Romans 5:1 Their peace with Christ enables them to be ambassadors of God's message to a troubled world.

So, don't put down those who promote peace, they may be promoting God's message of love. You may not agree with either side, but fighting is not the answer.

You Must Be Born Again

"... Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Matthew 3:3

"...Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Matthew 3:5

"... Ye must be born again." Matthew 3:7

We must have a spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by The Holy Spirit. This new birth is an act of God based upon a person's belief in and acceptance of Jesus Christ. It also implies becoming a new born child of God.

Without this second birth, we will remain lost for eternity.

Blessed Are The Meek

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5

A lot of people mistake 'meekness' for 'weakness'. The meek have the power to rise up and defeat others, but they choose not to use their power or strength.

You would not pick a fight with a professional boxer. If you did, he would probably just look at you and walk away. He knows that if he hit you that he could really hurt you, but he chooses not to hit you but to walk away from you.

The meek are blessed of God. They have an unseen source of power and strength. Don't mess with the meek, you might get hurt. Their power is greater than their physical strength.

Walk In The Light

It is much harder to 'walk the walk' than it is to 'talk the talk'.

"Blessed is the people that ... walk, O Lord, in The Light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all day ..." Psalms 89:15-16

That is a blessing that I would love to enjoy. The song says, "Walk in The Light, the beautiful Light ..." I wish that I could keep my fleshly desires and sinful nature in subjection long enough that I could walk in The Light of the face of The Lord and rejoice all day long. I find that hard to do that continuously for an hour, not to even mention for a full day.

If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we don't walk in The Light very well. We frequently fall down and sin in our thoughts, words, or deeds.

Sometimes I feel like a toddler learning to walk, just a few steps then falling down. When I try to walk in The Light, I don't get very far before I have a sinful thought and fall. Yes, I pick myself back up and begin again to walk the walk of the Christian way.

My goal is to walk in The Light all day, every day, in heaven, but while I am down here the plan is to walk a little bit farther each time between the falls. How about you?