"But The Counselor, The Holy Spirit, whom The Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26 (NIV)
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, recorded by the Apostle John, as Jesus spoke with His disciples. He told them that He would go away to prepare a place for them. (John 14:2) Then He told them that He would ask His Father to send them another Comforter, The Holy Spirit, who would be with them forever. (John 14:16) He promised them that The Holy Spirit would remind them of everything which He had said to them.
Today, The Lord God speaks to us through His Holy Word. When we read or hear The Word of God, He is speaking to us. The Holy Spirit can bring His words to our remembrance today. However, we must first have heard or read The Word of God before The Holy Spirit can remind us of what He said. So, in addition to hearing The Word preached on Sunday, we need to read His Holy Word every day of the week. In fact, we should begin and end each day with prayer and then reading The Word of God. (Joshua 1:8)
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
When We Know What Is Right We Should Do It
"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:47-48 (NIV)
Under the influence and guidance of The Holy Spirit of God, Luke, the physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words of Jesus, The Christ. Although he was not one of those who walked with Christ, Luke had access to the eye witnesses and to their writings from which to draw upon. Here he wrote that after Jesus had spoken to His disciples the parables of the rich fool who built new barns because he had so much to store, and the faithful and wise manager, He then told them about the servant whom the master left in charge of the other servants. The two main points were, one, those who do wrong knowingly, will be punished more severely. Two, those who are given much material goods or responsibility, more will be required of them than those who are given less or given little.
Those to whom much is given, much will be required. We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. People in positions of responsibility, especially those who have responsibility for other people, will be held to a higher standard of accountability. Those who know that which is right, and do otherwise, will be punished more severely than those who do wrong in ignorance. When we know what is right, we ought to do it. With the knowledge of The Word of God comes responsibility to share it with others, and with that responsibility comes the greater expectation that we will live by it.
Under the influence and guidance of The Holy Spirit of God, Luke, the physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words of Jesus, The Christ. Although he was not one of those who walked with Christ, Luke had access to the eye witnesses and to their writings from which to draw upon. Here he wrote that after Jesus had spoken to His disciples the parables of the rich fool who built new barns because he had so much to store, and the faithful and wise manager, He then told them about the servant whom the master left in charge of the other servants. The two main points were, one, those who do wrong knowingly, will be punished more severely. Two, those who are given much material goods or responsibility, more will be required of them than those who are given less or given little.
Those to whom much is given, much will be required. We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. People in positions of responsibility, especially those who have responsibility for other people, will be held to a higher standard of accountability. Those who know that which is right, and do otherwise, will be punished more severely than those who do wrong in ignorance. When we know what is right, we ought to do it. With the knowledge of The Word of God comes responsibility to share it with others, and with that responsibility comes the greater expectation that we will live by it.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Blessings After Blessings
"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16 (NIV) The King James Version of The Bible reads: " And of His fullness have all we received, grace for grace."
In the gospel according to the Apostle John, self described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved", these words were written just after stating that:The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and he was a witness of Him. (John 1:14-15) It is from the fullness of His grace that all of them, and all of us, have been blessed.
The Lord God is an unending well of grace and blessings which is overflowing and spilling unto all of us. (Ephesians 1:23) It is by His grace that we are what we are. (1 Corinthians 15:10) It is by the grace of God that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:28) We have all received blessing after blessing, and we should forever be giving Him thanks. We should thank Him for that which we have, instead of worrying about that which we don't have.
In the gospel according to the Apostle John, self described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved", these words were written just after stating that:The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and he was a witness of Him. (John 1:14-15) It is from the fullness of His grace that all of them, and all of us, have been blessed.
The Lord God is an unending well of grace and blessings which is overflowing and spilling unto all of us. (Ephesians 1:23) It is by His grace that we are what we are. (1 Corinthians 15:10) It is by the grace of God that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:28) We have all received blessing after blessing, and we should forever be giving Him thanks. We should thank Him for that which we have, instead of worrying about that which we don't have.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Pray And Believe Without Doubting
"Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.' " Matthew 21:21-22 (NIV)
These are the words and actions of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew after He had entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and after He had driven the money changers out of the temple. Jesus, being hungry and seeing a fig tree, went to the tree and found only leaves, no fruit. Then He said to the tree, "May you never bear fruit again." Immediately the fig tree withered. (Matthew 21:19) His disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the tree wither so quickly?" Jesus told them that if they had the faith and did not doubt, they could do even greater things, like move mountains. He said that if they believed, then they would receive whatever they asked for in prayer.
Our problem today, as believers, is that we are so well trained in the laws of science that we doubt the power of God. We believe that God exists, and we pray. We just have so little faith, and are so full of doubt, that we are almost powerless. Much faith and much prayer equals much power. Little faith with little prayer equals little power. On more than one occasion, Jesus said to His disciples, "O ye of little faith." (Matthew 8:26) We are no different than they were. Our faith, in size quantitatively, must be smaller than a grain of mustard seed. (Matthew 17:20) We need to exercise our faith so it can grow. We need to eliminate all doubt in God. We need for our will and His will to be so wrapped up together, that we would only pray for things which are within His will. Thereby, when we pray and ask for something, we will know that it is already done.
These are the words and actions of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew after He had entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and after He had driven the money changers out of the temple. Jesus, being hungry and seeing a fig tree, went to the tree and found only leaves, no fruit. Then He said to the tree, "May you never bear fruit again." Immediately the fig tree withered. (Matthew 21:19) His disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the tree wither so quickly?" Jesus told them that if they had the faith and did not doubt, they could do even greater things, like move mountains. He said that if they believed, then they would receive whatever they asked for in prayer.
Our problem today, as believers, is that we are so well trained in the laws of science that we doubt the power of God. We believe that God exists, and we pray. We just have so little faith, and are so full of doubt, that we are almost powerless. Much faith and much prayer equals much power. Little faith with little prayer equals little power. On more than one occasion, Jesus said to His disciples, "O ye of little faith." (Matthew 8:26) We are no different than they were. Our faith, in size quantitatively, must be smaller than a grain of mustard seed. (Matthew 17:20) We need to exercise our faith so it can grow. We need to eliminate all doubt in God. We need for our will and His will to be so wrapped up together, that we would only pray for things which are within His will. Thereby, when we pray and ask for something, we will know that it is already done.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
We Should Think Before We Speak
"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)
These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written to the people of God to share his insights on human behavior and how believers should conduct themselves. His point here was that believers should control their tongue, and not speak everything they think. Those who do not engage their brain before they speak, will end up worse off for doing so.
There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown) Most of us would be better off it we would practice this. However, there is another quote which says, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (Thumper, the rabbit, in the Disney animated film entitled "Bambi") (He may not be the original author, but that was the first time that I heard it) Before we speak, we should ask ourselves these three questions. One, is it truthful? Two, is it helpful? Three, is it kind? If what we were going to say is untruthful, we should forget it. If it is not going to help the person, or the situation, we should keep it to ourselves. If it is not kind, or is insensitive, it is better left unsaid. We should always let our speech be filled with the grace of God. (Colossians 4:6) Some things just do not need to be said.
These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written to the people of God to share his insights on human behavior and how believers should conduct themselves. His point here was that believers should control their tongue, and not speak everything they think. Those who do not engage their brain before they speak, will end up worse off for doing so.
There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown) Most of us would be better off it we would practice this. However, there is another quote which says, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (Thumper, the rabbit, in the Disney animated film entitled "Bambi") (He may not be the original author, but that was the first time that I heard it) Before we speak, we should ask ourselves these three questions. One, is it truthful? Two, is it helpful? Three, is it kind? If what we were going to say is untruthful, we should forget it. If it is not going to help the person, or the situation, we should keep it to ourselves. If it is not kind, or is insensitive, it is better left unsaid. We should always let our speech be filled with the grace of God. (Colossians 4:6) Some things just do not need to be said.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
God Is Always With Us
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' " Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
Under the guidance and direction of The Holy Spirit of God, this unknown human author of The Bible Book of Hebrews recounts the words of God when He says, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." He tells the scattered believers that they can be confident because God is with them. There is no need for them to fear anything or anyone.
It does not matter whatever life throws at us, the loss of a car, the loss of a house, the loss of a job, the loss of our health, or the death of a loved one, God is always with us. He said that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is with us through all of our trials and tribulations, through each and every storm, and through our sorrow and pain. He neither slumbers or sleeps, but He watches over us while we do. He puts a hedge of protection around us to keep us safe from dangers seen and unseen. Because of His goodness, He lets His grace and mercy rain down upon us daily. He is our comforter, our provider, our healer, our protector, our refuge, our help, and our strength. He is our God, and He is always with us.
Under the guidance and direction of The Holy Spirit of God, this unknown human author of The Bible Book of Hebrews recounts the words of God when He says, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." He tells the scattered believers that they can be confident because God is with them. There is no need for them to fear anything or anyone.
It does not matter whatever life throws at us, the loss of a car, the loss of a house, the loss of a job, the loss of our health, or the death of a loved one, God is always with us. He said that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is with us through all of our trials and tribulations, through each and every storm, and through our sorrow and pain. He neither slumbers or sleeps, but He watches over us while we do. He puts a hedge of protection around us to keep us safe from dangers seen and unseen. Because of His goodness, He lets His grace and mercy rain down upon us daily. He is our comforter, our provider, our healer, our protector, our refuge, our help, and our strength. He is our God, and He is always with us.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Have Compassion For The Needy
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' " Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, recorded by the Apostle Matthew, the former tax collector, as He spoke to His disciples regarding the parable of the sheep and the goats. (Matthew 25:31-46) He told them that when the time is come, He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32-33) He will direct the righteous to His right side, and the non-believers to his left. The righteous He will tell to come and claim their inheritance as their reward for how they treated Him. (Matthew 25:34-36) Then they will ask Him, when did we treat you that way, and His reply will be, as you did it for the least of these, My brothers, you did it for Me. (Matthew 25:37-40)
It is clear that Jesus regards our treatment of the least of the believers as if we had done it to Him. Who are the least of His brothers? They are the hungry, the thirsty, those in need of clothing, the sick, and those who are incarcerated. When we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give clothing to those in need, care for the sick, and visit the incarcerated, in His eyes we are doing it to Him. We should be very careful in the way that we treat people, especially the down and out. We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. (Proverbs 11:25) It is possible that we may encounter an angel and not be aware of it. (Hebrews 13:1-3)
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, recorded by the Apostle Matthew, the former tax collector, as He spoke to His disciples regarding the parable of the sheep and the goats. (Matthew 25:31-46) He told them that when the time is come, He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32-33) He will direct the righteous to His right side, and the non-believers to his left. The righteous He will tell to come and claim their inheritance as their reward for how they treated Him. (Matthew 25:34-36) Then they will ask Him, when did we treat you that way, and His reply will be, as you did it for the least of these, My brothers, you did it for Me. (Matthew 25:37-40)
It is clear that Jesus regards our treatment of the least of the believers as if we had done it to Him. Who are the least of His brothers? They are the hungry, the thirsty, those in need of clothing, the sick, and those who are incarcerated. When we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give clothing to those in need, care for the sick, and visit the incarcerated, in His eyes we are doing it to Him. We should be very careful in the way that we treat people, especially the down and out. We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. (Proverbs 11:25) It is possible that we may encounter an angel and not be aware of it. (Hebrews 13:1-3)
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