"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

                                 - Colossians 3:1, 2

We are born with a sinful nature. Nobody has to teach us how to lie, cheat, hate, etc. Those things come naturally to us. Likewise, our affections are naturally for the things of  the Earth. We don't have to make any effort whatsoever to be carnally minded, but it does require effort to be spiritually minded. That is why Paul admonishes us in this passage of Scripture to set our affections on things above.

"My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."

                                 -Proverbs 2:1-5

Notice how many verbs are used in these verses: receive, hide, incline, apply, seekest, searchest, find, etc. Being spiritually minded requires a lot of effort,  but that effort is anything but wasted

"....to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

-Romans 8:6

Even though it requires a great deal of work to become spiritually minded, it only makes sense that we should be so. After all, our lives are but a vapor. How much more then are the things of this life! Why would we spend our time working for a treasure that will one day vanish away?

"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

                    -Timothy 6:7

If we spend our life being carnally minded, we are in essence building our castles in the sand, for material possessions and earthly achievements are only temporary. One day the "...earth...and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (II Peter 3:10) Any castles that we have built in the sand will then be destroyed. We will have to give account for the way we have lived our life and what we have made our treasure.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

                    -Luke 12:34

If our treasure is on the earth, then we are carnally minded. But, if our treasure is in heaven, we are spiritually minded. We ought to strive to remain spiritually minded, remembering that, "...the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Romans 8:7).

"But I say unto you, 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;"

                            -Matthew 5:44 

Loving your enemies is probably one of the hardest things Christ has asked told us to do, but at the same time I'm not sure there is any way to be a better witness for Christ than to "do good to them that hate us." When somebody does us wrong, oftentimes it is hard for us to keep from blowing up and doing something to "get them back", let alone trying to love them and do good to them. But, regardless of how hard it may be, it is a must if we are going to call ourselves followers of Christ.

Something we should keep in mind is that Christ rarely calls us to do something that He has not already done Himself. Jesus showed us the ultimate example of loving our enemies when He prayed for those that Had just crucified Him (Luke 23:34), and when He washed the feet of Judas Iscariot, even though He knew this was the same man that would soon betray Him (see John 13:2-5). Though He had the ability, and the right, to send those people to hell right then and there, He loved them too much to do so. He gave them opportunity to repent of their evil deeds, and apparently it paid off because the Bible says that one of the centurions who took part in the crucifixion finally came to the knowledge that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).

Let us learn to love our friends, as well as our enemies,  "for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour." (I Timothy 2:3) God be with you as you endeavor to do so.

"And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

             -Exodus 20:1-3 

When we hear the word ''idolatry'', our minds almost immediately drift to third world countries at the other end of the globe, where people bow down and worship graven images and things of that nature. However, when I looked up the word in the dictionary, one of the definitions I came across simply defined it as, "Blind or excessive devotion to something." That puts a whole new light on the subject, doesn't it? That means that anything in our life can become an idol. It doesn't have to be a wooden figure with hands and feet; it can be a monitor, a book, or even a person that we esteem too highly. Basically, an idol is anything that takes our devotion away from God and toward that particular thing.

"And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction."

                            -I Corinthians 7:35 

Though Paul wasn't necessarily addressing the issue of idolatry when he wrote these words, I think that they are very fitting nonetheless. As Christians, we must serve the Lord wholeheartedly if we intend to make heaven our eternal home; in other words, we must serve Him "without distraction." The author of Hebrews wrote, "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1) If any of you have ever watched professional swimming (Michael Phelps, maybe?), then you know that there is not a single hair visible on a swimmers body. Why? Because it slows them down. Even if it means gaining just 1/100 of a second, to them it's worth it (and if you watched the 2008 Olympics, then you know that 1/100 of a second can make all the difference in the world). Now if they are willing to go to such lengths to win an earthly contest, how much more should we be willing to sacrifice in order to win the "race" that is set before us as Christians? After all, "...they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." (I Corinthians 9:25)

Christians must constantly be on guard against idolatry in their lives. In fact, it often sneaks in with such subtlety that we don't even realize it's their until the Lord Himself shows us. Let's each seek the Lord today and ask Him to show us if there is anything distracting us from Him, and that if there is, He would give us the strength to let it go.

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

                            -I Corinthians 10:12 

As Christians, a lot of times it is easy for us to think that we are beyond making a mistake, or turning our back on the Lord. We get in our heads that we are too righteous to become unrighteous, too holy to become unholy, and too perfect to ever mess up. However, it has been my observation that such an attitude is usually an indication that we've already faltered, in that we have succumbed to the sin of pride, and thus aren't as close to God as we think we are anyway. Rather than encouraging the Corinthians to hop up on their high-horses and look down on everybody else, the apostle Paul urged them  to "take heed lest they fall." He realized that nobody is so close to God that they are beyond messing up.

Take the story of Peter, for example. When Jesus told him that he (Peter) would deny the Lord three times before the cock crowed, Peter immediately claimed he would gladly die with Jesus and would never deny Him (Matthew 26:31-35). How quickly that changed when Jesus was dragged before Caiaphas, the High Priest, to be put to death and Peter stood on the sidelines saying nothing - that is, until he was asked if he knew Jesus, at which time he denied Him with curses and swearing (Matthew 26:69-75). Not only did he mess up, but he made himself look terrible considering his previous claims of loyalty and faithfulness.

Let's take a lesson from Peter's failure and always retain a spirit of humility before the Lord, "...for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (I Peter 5:5) The fact is, humility makes us much less likely to fall as opposed to being prideful; not to mention the fact that when a prideful person falls, they usually make a fool of themself in the process.

"A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit."

                            -Proverbs 29:23

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

                            -Romans 8:1 

For those of you who don't know, this blog was inspired by these words (notice the URL). Actually, I would have to say that this is probably one my favorite 10 verses in the entire Bible. It's one of those verses that you've really got to meditate on in order to fully appreciate it, but I'll do my best to put into words what it means to me.

If we want to understand what it means to be without condemnation, we must first understand what it means to be under condemnation. As sinners, we were all under the wrath of God; so much so that the apostle Paul referred to us as having been "the children of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3) That's pretty blunt, but it's absolutely true. All have sinned (Romans 3:23), and have thus placed themselves under the wrath of God, for "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men..." (Romans 1:18) We were like Damocles (430-367 B.C.) at Dionysius' banquet, where a sharpened sword was hung over his head by a single horse hair. We were in a dangerous place, and judgment was fast approaching.

That's what it means to be under the wrath of God. Now lets look at what it means to be under the grace of God...

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

                            -John 3:16-18

The state of being without condemnation can be summed up in one word: justified. The Lord looks on me Just-As-If-I'd (read that again) never sinned. He takes our righteousness, which is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and instead clothes us in robes of white. When He sees us, He doesn't see our sin; He sees the blood. He has removed the "...handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross" (Colossians 2:14), and they are as far from us "...as the east is from the west." (Psalm 103:12). No longer must we carry around the weight of our sins, for the Lord Jesus Christ has borne that weight for us (Isaiah 53:4). Now, instead of being His enemies, we are His children (Romans 8:15), and He loves us as such. When the devil, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), brings up our past sins to the Lord, I can imagine our heavenly Father answering and saying, "Sin? I see no sin when I look on my child. He is without condemnation." Truly, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Praise God!

"The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."

                            -Psalm 119:72

Though he was human, and thus made mistakes from time to time, it is obvious from verses like this that David had his priorities straight. Gold and silver are two of the most precious materials on earth, and yet he said they were nothing in comparison to the law of God. Despite the fact that all he had at this point was Genesis through Deuteronomy (and the psalms, of course), he valued those words more than many of us value the Bible in it's entirety today.  Verses such as John 3:16 and Revelation 21:4 had not even been penned yet, but yet he realized the importance of what he did have.

How many of us feel that way? What if somebody offered you $100 to tear out those first few hundred pages of your Bible? What about $10,000? $1 million? I know that I would not accept any amount of money to abstain from eating for the rest of my life, but didn't Job say that he esteemed the Words of God to be more necessary than food? (Job 23:12) The Bible, from cover to cover, is inspired by God, and nobody can put a price-tag on it.

Let us come to the place where it can be said of our generation, "...and the word of the LORD was precious in those days;" (I Samuel 3:1)

By Request:

 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast."

                            -Ephesians 2:8-9 

The Bible lets us know that salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift from God; and just like any other genuine gift, it is not earned or deserved. It is not earned or deserved, because it can't be earned or deserved. As humans, we are incapable of earning our salvation because we are all sinners and thus are unable of living a holy life apart from Christ.

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

                            -Jeremiah 13:23

Just as it would be a hopeless endeavor for a leopard to try and wash away its spots, or for a person to try and change the color of its skin, likewise it is impossible for humans to do good who are accustomed to doing evil. Even a sinner's most "righteous" actions are usually tainted by impure motives and pride, both of which are an abomination in the eyes of God.

"For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD."

                        -Jeremiah 2:22 

Many people mistakenly assume that if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, then they will be alright. But as God said in this passage of Jeremiah, no amount of personal effort can erase our sins; they are "marked before the Lord", and they must be punished (that is, unless we accept Christ's offer of salvation, in which case God will accept Christ's death on the cross as atonement for our sins). Just as a judge would not pardon a murderer because, other than killing someone, he was a relatively good person, God will "...not at all acquit the wicked" (Nahum 1:3) based on their good works. Their sins must be dealt with.

Paul said that we were all dead in our sins apart from Christ (see Ephesians 2:1). A dead person cannot possibly bring himself back to life - no matter how hard he tries. How wonderful that through the death of Christ, we can be made alive!

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

                            -I Corinthians 15:22

In the day and age in which we live, many people see no real need to memorize the Bible. With countless commentaries, devotionals, dictionaries, study Bibles, concordances, and cross-references, we have an "all-you-can-eat buffet", so to speak, of God's Word. But it doesn't matter how readily available the Bible is to us, memorizing It is still a God-given command!

"Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

                            -Psalm 119:11

"...lay up His words in thine heart." 

                -Job 22:22

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:" 

-Deuteronomy 6:6

Though this country might be bursting at the seams with Bibles, what will happen when you are trying to witness to someone on the street corner, or at the grocery store? You can't run home and get your Bible; you've got to have it in your heart. That is one good reason why we memorize it.

Now I understand that some of you are probably reading this and saying to yourselves, "But I can't memorize. It's too hard, and I don't have a good memory!" But let me ask you this: what is your favorite song? When you think of it, go ahead and sing the chorus...yes, sing it!
Do you see? You can memorize; it's just a matter of willpower. We memorize what is important to us, and if the Bible is important enough to us, we'll put forth the necessary effort to hide it in our hearts.

So what can you do? A verse per day? A verse per week? Whatever you are able to do, I challenge you to give it your best and, I promise you, the rewards will be well worth the effort.



NOTE: Scripture Memory Fellowship is an amazing organization that has memory books, Bible trivia games, and CD's that are all designed to help you memorize the Bible! I strongly encourage you to check it out! Also, memverse.com will store, and quiz you about, your memory verses - all for free!

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink."

                            -Genesis 21:14-19 

I know this passage is somewhat lengthy, but I have something I really want to share with you out of it that has been on my heart the past two or three days. First, though, let's take a quick look at what has just taken place:

Earlier in this same chapter, Abraham had hosted a feast for his new son, Isaac. Whether it was out of jealousy, or just plain hatred, Ishmael (Abraham's other son by Hagar) began to mock and make fun (v. 9). Of course this offended Isaac's mother, Sarah, and she requested that Abraham send them away. So he did. The next morning he gave Hagar some food and water and sent them out, "...and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba." (v. 14) After wandering about for quite some time, their water supply ran dry and Hagar placed Ishmael under a shrub and went to cry, afraid that her son was going to die of dehydration. The angel of God then appeared to her and promised that Ishmael would not only survive, but that he would become the father of a great nation (the Ishmaelites). The Bible says that after these things, "...God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water..." (V.19), and she and Ishmael were thus saved from death.

What I find so intriguing about this story is that the Bible doesn't say God miraculously created a well; He simply showed her one that was already there. It's quite possible that this well was only a short distance - perhaps even within eyesight - from where she was crying, certain that they would both die. She just didn't see it.

How often do we do the same thing? We go through difficult situations in life, and we feel as if all hope is lost and that we aren't going to make it through, while all the time the answer is right there in front of our faces; we just aren't seeing it.

If you are going through a hard time, and you don't feel like you have the strength to keep going, remember Jesus' words in John 4:14: "...whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The well of salvation never runs dry.

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."

                            -John 6:35

Last Tuesday, I felt led of God to organize a "Day of Praise" in which those who participate would simply praise God all throughout their day. The response has been great, and I have between 10 and 12 people who have pledged to join me in this day of praise to our Father.

My blogging-friend, Camden, pointed out to me the relevance of Paul's words in Philippians 4:4:

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."

When you think about it, praising God is nothing more than rejoicing over what He has done in our lives. And, as Solomon said in Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..." Praising the Lord fills us with a greater joy than just about anything else. Not only that, but it pleases our heavenly Father, which should be our greatest desire.

If the Lord has blessed you in any way, shape, or form, then let me encourage you to use this day as a day of praise and worship for all the blessings He has given you.

"Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice."

                            -Psalm 63:7 

The following is a quote from "The Evidence Bible", written by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. Copyright 2003.

 "You've always wanted to skydive, but the thought scared you too much to try it.  That is, until you met someone who had made over 100 jumps. He talked you into it by explaining how safe it was. His enthusiasm was contagious. He spoke of the freedom of falling through the air...the adrenaline rush...the unspeakable exhilaration."

   "Now you are standing on the edge of a plane, looking down on the earth far, far below. Everything has been checked. Double-checked.  This is safer than driving on the freeway--a thought that helps you deal with the fear. Modern parachutes are state-of-the-art. Besides, there is a backup chute. Still, your heart is beating with apprehension."

  "Suddenly, you jump! You have trained so much for this moment, you instinctively spread your hands and legs. The speed is unbelievable. The power of the air forcing itself against your body is incredible. It's like a dream. You are defying the law of gravity, racing through the air at more than 120 mph!" 

   "The earth is coming close. All normal sense of time is lost. Speed, thrust of air, unspeakable joy. You glance at the altimeter on your wrist. Only another ten seconds and you will pull the rip cord and feel the jolt of the parachute opening. All that you had been told was true. The adrenaline rush is like nothing you have experienced. If only it could last a little longer. Reluctantly, you pull the cord. It opens, but there is no jolt!"

   "You tilt your head back to see a horrifying site: the parachute has twisted and is trailing like a flapping streamer. Your heart races with fear, pounding in your chest. Your eyes bulge in terror. Your chest heaves as you gasp for air. You try to keep a clear mind and remember your training...pull the second cord. Nothing happens! You pull again. Again! Harder. Harder! Nothing. Your throat lets out a scream, a groan of panic. Your heart is pounding so hard you think your chest will burst.  Sweat breaks through your skin. A thousand thoughts speed through your mind. Your family! Your fate!...Safer than driving on the freeway! You whisper, "What a fool I was...to think that I could defy the law of gravity." Now a merciless law waits for the moment of impact. The ground accelerates toward you. No words can describe the terror gripping your mind. A voice is speaking to you. It is the voice of good sense. It is the voice you ignored so often; "You have played the fool. You have given up your life, your most precious possession, for a cheap thrill. You have exchanged your loved ones for a rush of adrenaline. What a fool...what a fool! "

  "One word stands alone to describe how you feel about what you've done. One word screams within the corridors of your terrified mind as the earth races toward you, as death readies to embrace you. One word, a word that you have never understood fully until this moment. That terrible word is remorse! The world, the flesh, and the devil whisper to you about how pleasurable sin is. That God isn't angry at sin. God is love. It is safe to jump into the arms of iniquity and abandon yourself to a free fall through its vast domain."

   "You go where angels fear to tread. But it is worth it. The rush is everything sin promises. You drink in iniquity like water. You love the darkness. Conscience speaks again and again, but you ignore its warning. You are defying the Moral Law and loving every minute."

   "Now you stand before the Judge on Judgment Day. You pull your first line by telling God what a good person you are. Nothing happens. The Moral Law rushes at you. In panic, you pull the second line and tell God that you believed in Him. Again, nothing happens. It is no use. Your mouth is stopped. The Moral Law accelerates toward you even faster, promising to so impact you that it will "grind you into powder" (Luke 20:18). Death and hell wait to embrace you. Unspeakable terror fills your heart. Conscience speaks so clearly now: "What a fool you have been. You rejected the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. You have given up your loved ones in exchange for the joys of a sinful lifestyle. You relinquished your most precious possession, your very life, for the cheap thrill of sin. "What a fool! What a fool!"One word will stay with you for eternity. One will echo forever within your tormented mind. Remorse!..."

"And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."

                            -Genesis 19:14-16

I recently finished reading all the way through the Bible, and have just started again with the book of Genesis. With that said, it has obviously been a long time since I read about the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah, and I noticed something brand new yesterday as I was reading this passage of Scripture: the words, "while he lingered." In verse 14, Lot was doing everything he possibly could to save his sons-in-law, yet in verse 16 the angels of God had to pretty much drag him away from his home so that he himself would be saved.

If you read this entire chapter in Genesis, and then turn over to the New Testament and read about the second coming of Christ, you will doubtless see many parallels between the two. God destroyed Sodom and Gamorrah, but first saved Lot, just like He will destroy this earth after first delivering His saints from the wrath to come (I Thessalonians 1:10; II Peter 3:10, 12). However, just as Lot "lingered", I'm afraid that many saints of God today are doing the same. Jesus has told us that we must always be ready for Him to return at any time (Mark 13:32-37), and yet many of us are still unprepared.

"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."

                            -Matthew 25:10-12

When Christ comes, we will either be prepared or unprepared. If we are unprepared, there will be no more second chances, no more do-overs, no more restarts. We've got to make ourselves ready today.

By Request:

In a world where God is often pictured as nothing more than a big candyman Who goes around handing out blessings all the time, it is no wonder that many individuals struggle to understand how He could "send people to hell." But, as has often been said, God doesn't really send anybody to hell; they go there by choice. Matthew 25:41 says that hell was created for "the devil and his angels." This means it was not originally intended for mankind. However, because the human race took part in Satan's rebellion against God, the unsaved must also take part in Satan's punishment: hell.

Another common misconception deals with the very nature of God Himself. That misconception is that God is love...and nothing else. People love to quote I John 4:8, but seemingly forget such passages as Job 8:3: "Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?" Before I posted this blog entry, I did a google search for bumper stickers that say "God is Love." As you probably guessed, I had no trouble finding any. Now I am not at all against displaying the Word of God on your vehicle, but I have never in my life seen a bumper sticker that says, "God is just." The closest thing I could find was one that said, "God is Just Pretend." Sad, I know.  

The final reason hell is often misunderstood is because humanity has grossly underestimated the seriousness of sin. Instead of recognizing that sin is, at its root, rebellion against God, people try to belittle it by saying things like, "Oh, it was just a white lie.", or "God wouldn't send me to hell for stealing just one thing." But the fact is, even the "smallest" of sins are very serious in God's eyes; so serious, in fact, that He sent His Son to  pay the price for them with His own life! If God would not compromise His justice for the sake of His own Son's life, then why should we expect Him to treat us any differently? 







Hell is not a place where anybody truly wants to go. But there is good news! You don't have to! If you have not yet been saved from sin and from hell through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, then please click here to find out how you can be redeemed!

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

                            -Jeremiah 33:3

Prayer is an extremely powerful thing. In fact, I don't think there is anything that strikes more fear into the devil than when he sees a saint of God on his knees before the Lord. Why? Because "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) There is no mountain so high, and no valley so low, that cannot be conquered through prayer.

"I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God..."

       -Psalm 17:6

When we call on the name of the Lord, we can be absolutely confident that He is listening. Not only can we be confident that He is listening, but we can also be confident that an answer is on its way. Granted, the answer may not always be what we want it to be, but we will get an answer nonetheless. How amazing it is to think that the Creator of the universe listens to the cry of our hearts, no matter how great or small the need may be! Oftentimes it is hard to get even family and friends to pay attention to what we have to say, and yet Almighty God takes the time to listen to every request, every burden, and every care that we bring before Him!

"But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."

                            -Psalm 66:19, 20

Prayer is more than a weapon; it is a gift. What a comfort it is to know that Jesus Christ Himself is always nigh, ready and waiting for us to call upon His name! Let us not disappoint Him.

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come."

                            -Psalm 65:2

"I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live."

                            -Psalm 116:1-2 

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that one thing I post about quite often is the importance of loving God. I hope that the Lord has used those posts to ignite, or else rekindle, a love for Him in your hearts, because today I want to examine the reasons why we love God.

In this passage of Scripture in Psalm 116, David is speaking of the reasoning behind his own personal love for the Lord. He said that he loved God because He had heard his "voice and...supplications" and had "inclined his ear" unto him. In other words, David loved the Lord because He had shown Himself  to be worthy of love. But what reason did the Lord have to love us? We had never shown ourselves to be worthy of love in any way whatsoever; nor had we answered His prayers, delivered His soul from the hand of the enemy, and prepared for Him a place in heaven, which are all things He has done for us.

Do you see where I am going with this? We love God because He gave us good reason to; yet He loved us even when we were in our sins being anything but lovable. By no means did we deserve His love, yet He poured it out freely upon each one of us. That, my friend, is true love.

"We love him, because he first loved us."

   -I John 4:19

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

                            -Romans 5:8

I have recently been doing a study on man's disobedience to God and his consequential need for a Savior. Six verses that I have been looking at especially closely are Romans 5:12-14, Romans 8:7-8, and I John 3:4. (Click the verse references to read them.) Throughout this study, I have seen more clearly than ever before that the simple fact we are all human places us in need of redemption.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come."

                            -Romans 5:12-14

Death (the result of sin) passed upon all men due to the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This means that each one of us was born with a need to be reconciled to God. While many people do not consider it fair that "...by one man's disobedience many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19), we must also bear in mind that "...by the obedience of One [i.e. Christ] shall many be made righteous." (same verse) (See also Ezekiel 18:25)

As N.A. Woychuck so accurately put it, "God's estimate of humanity is summed up in one frightful word, 'lost.' It means that man is estranged from God by his sin and is lost to God. Although this frightening state of affairs arouses little concern upon earth, it moved all of heaven from whence came the Savior 'to seek and to save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10)"*

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see"

                                 -John Newton



*The Incomparable Salvation - N.A. Woychuck

About a month ago, I decided to spend a half hour doing nothing but praising God. I realized that my prayers were (and still are) usually weighed down with countless requests and petitions. Whether they were physical, financial, or spiritual, I found that I was constantly asking God to meet a need of some kind. While this is not wrong in itself, we need to make sure that we give God due praise as well. So that is why, this coming Tuesday (4/20), I am not going to ask God for a single thing. Instead, I am going to spend my prayer time praising Him for all that He has already done.

I am asking all those who are willing to please join me in this "Day of Praise." We know that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), and perhaps this will bring a much needed revival to the Church.

When Paul and Silas were put in prison, they prayed and sang praises to the Lord and "...suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."(Acts 16:26) Not only were Paul and Silas loosed, but all the prisoner's shackles fell off! Let's praise the Lord for all that He has done in our lives, and watch as God loosens the chains of the prisoner!

So spread the word about this Day of Praise! Post it on your blogs, e-mail your friends, tell your church - whatever it takes to get as many people praising God as we can!

"Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" 

                            -Psalm 107:8

O.K., so I know this is really different from my usual posts, but I just wanted to share with you guys this really awesome website that I found this weekend. You can check it out at www.memverse.com. I know a lot of people out there have trouble memorizing Scripture, but this site makes it really easy. It helps you learn new verses, and keep them in your head once you get them down. There's no stuff to download, no flashcards to carry around, or anything like that. It's all online! You can even check the leader boards to see how you (or even your state as whole) rank among others. So go ahead! Click the link, and start memorizing!

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

                        -Psalm 119:11

BY REQUEST:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

                            -I John 1:9 

While this particular passage of Scripture is generally cited as a promise of forgiveness to Christians who have fallen in their walk with the Lord, it also clarifies for us that God can indeed forgive and still remain just. In a world where God's forgiveness is often described as "the canceling of a debt that was owed", it is no wonder that many people wonder at how rapists, murderers, kidnappers, etc., can be simply pardoned and be viewed by the Lord as if they never sinned  at all. Is that justice? No. And that is why God doesn't work that way. The fact is, forgiveness is not the canceling of a debt, but the payment of a debt.

When Christ died on the cross, He bore the punishment for the sins of all humanity as if He had actually committed them, though He himself was in fact sinless (II Corinthians 5:21). Say, for example, you were convicted of a crime in court of law and were fined by the judge a total of $2 million. Unable to pay your debt, you knew that prison surely awaited. But, as you were being dragged to your cell, a man rushed into the court room and handed the judge a check for the amount that was owed and said, "This is for him."  The judge could then release you, and still be perfectly just in doing so.

That is what Christ did for those who are saved. By accepting His offer of salvation,  we are justified in the sight of God (Titus 3:7). Our only outstanding debt is a debt of unceasing praise and, when God sees us, that is the only debt He sees. He doesn't see our sins; He sees the blood.

"When He sees me, He sees the blood of the Lamb,
He sees me as worthy and not as I am.
He views me in garments as white as the snow,
For worthy is the Lamb and He washed me this I know"*

NOTE: Don't forget to vote on the poll to your left and pick what you want Part 3 of this series to be about!


*When He Sees Me - The McKameys

"Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

                            -Matthew 18:32-35

As a Christian, I have been forgiven of a debt that I could not possibly pay. Not only was the debt exceedingly large, but it was constantly growing. Every time I sinned, that debt was increased enormously. With no way of paying, I did the only thing I could: I prayed. I sought the Lord's mercy, and for some reason I'll never understand, He gave it to me.

Such forgiveness is virtually unheard of in this world. How many credit card companies do you suspect have ever canceled the balance on their most in-debt cardholder's account? Or how many car companies do you think have ever payed their customer's debt out of their own pocket? Not many, I'm sure. But that's what Christ has done for us. He didn't just cancel the debt; He payed for it with His own life.

After receiving such forgiveness themselves, it's mind-boggling to think that some Christians withhold their forgiveness from others. Nobody has ever done anything to us worse than what we did to the Lord (after all, we did put His Son on the cross). That's why the Bible tells us that if we don't forgive others, then God won't forgive us. Not only does unforgiveness show that we don't love that person with the love of Christ; it shows that we lack adequate appreciation for the forgiveness we ourselves have been given.

Is their someone in your life that you are still holding a grudge against? If so, take this opportunity to put it under the blood. Don't just forgive them; forgive them from your heart as Jesus commanded.

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

                             -Matthew 25:21

Jesus taught us through this parable (25:14-30) that we must first prove our faithfulness in little things before God will trust us with bigger things. Many times we want the Lord to use us in a big way, yet we are unwilling to fulfill our smaller obligations, claiming that those things are "insignificant", or "don't really matter." We want God to send us halfway across the world as a missionary, but we ignore Him when He tells us to talk to our neighbor across the street about the Gospel. We want to be used to negotiate peace with foreign nations, yet we can't even get along with the members of our own household.

"He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands."

                            -Psalm 78:70-72

When God was looking for somebody to make king over Israel, He looked for someone who was already proving their faithfulness to Him. David had to first show that he could lead a flock of sheep before the Lord would entrust Him with the leadership of an entire nation. We have no record of David complaining that being a shepherd was a waste of time or insignificant. Instead, he used that time to practice the skills he would need later in life (leadership, bravery, patience...), as well as to draw closer to God. Obviously, that time was by no means wasted because He ended up being the greatest king Israel would ever have.

"Pray without ceasing."

                    -I Thess. 5:17 

Prayer is a vital part of every Christian's spiritual growth. If we fail to spend time with God in prayer, we ought not be surprised if we find ourselves with a lack of joy and peace in our lives, for prayer is what supplies us with those things. Just as neglecting to feed our physical body leaves us weak and tired, forgetting to feed our souls through prayer and Bible study will leave us weary and rundown spiritually.

When Paul admonished the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing", he wasn't just trying to make a point by using figurative language. He was being very literal. In fact, he was merely echoing the words of Christ Himself, who taught "...that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;" (Luke 18:1) The Psalmist David also spoke of the importance of praying constantly:

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice."

                            -Psalm 55:17

 While none of us is able to spend every waking moment on our knees before the Lord, we are all able to always have a prayer in our heart as we go about our daily lives.

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;"

                            -Ephesians 5:19

Frank Laubach once wrote, "Oh, this thing of keeping in constant touch with God, of making Him the object of my thought and the companion of my conversations, is the most amazing thing I ever ran across...Now I like the Lord's presence so much that when for a half hour or so He slips out of mind - as He does many times a day - I feel as though I had deserted Him, and as though I had lost something very precious in my life."* Let us all come to this frame of mind. Let us make Christ the object of our every thought and conversation, knowing that we are the object of His!



*Practicing His Presence - Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach (NOTE: I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to "practice the presence of the Lord" in their lives.)

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word;"

                            -John 17:20 

Robert McCheyne once said, "If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." To know that Christ is constantly before the throne of God, intercessing on our behalf, is one of the greatest consolations that a Christian will ever know. That is why I love this passage in John 17:20. I remember the first time that I read this verse thinking to myself, "Wow! Jesus was praying for me!" Realizing that Christ is pleading my case before our heavenly Father gives me a greater confidence to live my life from day to day.

In Old Testament times (and even now on Yom Kippur), the high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies only once per year to, in essence, make intercession for the children of Israel. This was the only time God's people had a "representative" to go directly into the presence of the Lord on their behalf. But now, for all New Testament saints, Christ "...ever liveth to make intercession..." (Hebrews 7:25) No longer do we have to wait for that one day out of the year when the high priest would make intercession, but we have One Who is in God's presence unceasingly entreating the Lord to grant us mercy, grace, and forgiveness when we fall.

Praise the Lord for Jesus Christ - our Great Intercessor!

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

                            -Romans 8:34

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
"For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

                            -II Corinthians 4:10-11

We've all heard the old saying, "What Would Jesus Do?" We ask ourselves that question for two reasons, the first being that we should all be seeking to be conformed to the image of God's Son (see Romans 8:29) in order to please our heavenly Father; but the second reason is that we are the only Bible some people will ever read, and the only light they will ever see. With that said, we've got to makes sure we are doing what Christ would have us to do. After all, people's eternities are at stake.

That is what Paul is talking about here in II Corinthians chapter 4. Twice in these two verses he speaks of the life of Christ being "made manifest in our mortal flesh." What does this mean? It means that we must allow Christ to live through us so that we can reach the world for Him! It means being able to say, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) It means crucifying the flesh [i.e. carnal nature] with the affections and lusts as It says in Galatians 5:24. In other words, Christ living through us requires us dying to self and living wholeheartedly for Christ.

This coming week, let's make every effort to allow Christ to have His perfect will in our lives, without restriction (example: "Lord, I'll follow you anywhere except...") Let's present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

"He made the lame walk, and the dumb talk,
He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time,
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need,
And the world waits while His heart aches to realize the dream,
I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus live through you and me."*

* Big Daddy Weave - What Life Would be Like     

"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

                            -Matthew 28:1-6 

As we all know, Easter is a day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sadly though, for many people, Easter is the only day in which the resurrection of Christ is even considered, let alone celebrated.

The apostle Paul plainly stated, "...if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." (I Corinthians 15:14) Why? Because if Christ is not risen, then we are serving a dead god - and a dead god is really no god at all. The resurrection of our Lord not only gives us hope for future victory over death personally when the dead in Christ shall rise (I Thessalonians 4:16), but it also affirmed His sinlessness, for "...the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) The Lord's power over death proved that He did indeed live a perfect life on earth (II Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus Christ raising from the dead effects more than just one day out of the year, so we should therefore celebrate it more than just one day out of the year. Without the resurrection, the Gospel is of none effect. Praise God that the story didn't end with the crucifixion!

I was thinking to myself this morning that it would be cool to have a series of posts about controversial issues in the Bible. So, every Saturday throughout the entire month of April, I'm going to be publishing a new post along those lines. Since I'm just starting today, I have chosen the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as today's topic. However, the rest of the posts in this series will be topics chosen by the readers of this blog! So send me your comments, emails, or vote on the poll (to your right) and give me your input!

"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

                            -Genesis 2:9, 16-17

I have heard the question asked time and time again of why God placed the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. Was God tempting man? No, for "...God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:" (James 1:13) The fact is, God has instituted a "whosoever will" program (Revelation 22:17), and He does not force anybody into serving Him. Think about it. If there was no Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then man would have had no option but to serve God.

One of the ways that we are "created in the image [i.e. likeness] of God" (Genesis 1:26), is that we have a freewill just as He does. Had God created man with no choice but to serve Him, then man would have been little more than a drone, serving God because He had to. That's not love, is it? No, and that's not what God wanted either, because He desires that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Mark 12:30).

The Lord wants us to serve Him out of our own freewill, not out of obligation. It's a choice that nobody, not even God, is going to make for us; we've got to decide for ourselves.

"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

                            -Genesis 1:4 

Only four verses into the book of Genesis and we see that it has always been God's will for there to be a distinction between the light and the darkness. Two things so very different cannot coexist, and thus God separated them by creating day and night.

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

                            -I Thessalonians 5:5

"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"

                    -Ephesians 5:8

"While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light..." 

                            -John 12:36

Verses such as these clearly convey a similarity  between the things of God, and His children, to light; namely because light exposes what was hidden, just as God's children reveal Christ to the world. However, many people who love to call themselves "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14), forget the fact that light and darkness must remain separate. They cannot have fellowship one with the other.


No, I'm not trying to say that we should live in a box and hide away from the world. In fact, sometimes we must go into that darkness in order to shine the light where it needs to be shone (it wouldn't do much good to shine a flashlight in lighted room, would it?). But we must remember that we are in the world, not of it. We may not be able to avoid the darkness completely, but we can avoid it's influence if we stay true to God.

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

                            -I Corinthians 10:21

We cannot associate with darkness unnecessarily and expect not to be impacted by it negatively. God desires a holy people, set apart unto Him!

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"

                            -II Corinthians 6:14-17

"Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee."

                            -Deuteronomy 23:5

Many times in my life, I have found myself in situations where it seemed that nothing good could ever come out of what I was going through. To my left was heartache, to my right was suffering. Behind me was pain, and before me was uncertainty. The sun showed no sign of ever rising again, and I felt as if a heart full of grief was the only thing I would benefit from the entire experience. 

I wonder if Joseph felt the same way when his brothers sold him to the Ishmeelites in Genesis 37? Or if Mary and Martha still had any hope left after Lazarus had been in the grave for four days? Though both or these situations seemed hopeless, God used Joseph to save the entire land of Egypt in time of famine, and he used the death of Lazarus to show forth His awesome power as well as give us one of the most encouraging stories in the Bible.

Just as Christ turned to water into wine (i.e. grape juice), the Lord can take a curse and turn it into a blessing, as it says in today's verse. God's greatness is not limited by our circumstance, and oftentimes our darkest nights simply give Him the opportunity to shine a little bit brighter.

"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