Monday, October 30, 2017

Fight Temptations

Luke 4:1-13 KJV 

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. (emphasis mine)
Although I've read this scripture many times, I never caught the phrase, "for a season". Christ was able to resist temptation and the devil left Him for a time, but obviously it wasn't the last time the devil  tried tempting Him. He, the devil, only "departed from him for a season."

This should be an encouragement! Christ was tempted many times and yet He withstood temptation every time. I guess I had always thought He had only been tempted three times, but here it tells us that Satan visited Him again.

Take courage! Just as Christ fought Satan's temptations multiple times, so can you!

I would love to hear your thoughts. Had you noticed this before?

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Waiting in Hope

Lamentations 3:21-26 KJV
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

I have been struggling with something for a few months. It is something that I have taken to the Lord in prayer and I have been waiting on the Lord. Sometimes waiting is difficult, but I need to "recall to my mind" so that I can continue in hope.

Have you been dealing with something and waiting on the Lord? Be encouraged that His mercies and compassions fail not.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Justified by Him

Acts 13:38-39 KJV
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

For those of us who come from a performance based background, it is easy to fall into a works based Christianity.

While I know that Christ's love is unconditional and it is nothing of myself that earns salvation, there are times when I find myself doing the things that "good Christians" do in an attempt for Christ to love me more. My desire should be do obey out of love, not because I am trying to earn anything.

Today I was reminded once more of how it is nothing I can do. It is only through Jesus Christ and by him that we are justified. There is no way we could be justified by following the law of Moses. I'm not saying that the law of Moses is bad and that we shouldn't strive to live by the God-given standards, but we need to do it out of love and not to earn anything.

Have you ever found yourself trying to perform the law to earn Christ's love?


Friday, October 13, 2017

Bring Forth Fruit

Matthew 3:10
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Are you producing fruit in your life? Is it good fruit, mediocre fruit, or poor fruit? Scripture tells us (in multiple places) that God will cut down any that does not bring forth good fruit.

How can we make sure we are producing good fruit?

First, we need to be fed. Just as fruit trees need water and sunlight to grow, we need the Living Water and the Sonlight to produce good fruit.

Fruit trees need to be planted firmly in good soil with a good root system.We need to have our firm foundation in the Rock. He is our root system as that is how we take up our nourishment.

Fruit trees that grow wild may still produce fruit, but they are small and not the best looking. Why? Because so much energy goes to the suckers on the tree. To help the tree produce bigger, better looking fruit, it needs to be trimmed. Let Christ trim off the suckers of your life. Pruning is not always pleasant and may create stress to the tree, but the tree is healthier in the long run and so will you be.

Is your root system in Christ? Are you feeding on the Living Water and Sonlight? Are you asking Christ to prune you?


Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Change

I read this quote on a friend's facebook page the other day. I can't stop thinking about it.


Friday, October 6, 2017

Obedience Not Happiness

Genesis 16:8-9 KJV
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

God sees all things. He knew what kind of situation Hagar had run away from. He knew she had been dealt with harshly. Despite her hard situation, He told her to go back.

He told her to not only go back, but to submit herself to her harsh master. She wasn't supposed to go back and fight for better treatment. She was supposed to go back and submit.


Many Christians think that if they aren't happy, they aren't supposed to stay in a situation. They think God would want them to be happy. However, we see here that happiness isn't what God desires. Sometimes He allows us to go through difficult times. We must be obedient and follow Him wherever He sends us.


Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Evil Hearts

Mark 7:21-23 KJV
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

We recently experienced the worst mass murder in the US (besides abortion, but that is for another day). The atrocity that that man did is great. Many people are talking about how evil he was. Some are talking about gun control because it must be because he had access to guns.

However, scripture explains that the evil didn't come from an outside thing such as a gun, but from within the man.

"For from within, out of the heart . . . "

Evil is in the heart and then manifests itself outwardly. Let's look at those outward manifestations: evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, coveting, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.

Do you see that listed right alongside murders, adulteries, and blasphemy is evil thoughts, coveting, foolishness, lying (deceit), and pride? All of those are considered evil in the sight of God.

I am praying for the people of Las Vegas, but I am also taking the time to examine my own heart. Do I have evil in my heart? I suggest we all consider that we may be just as evil in the sight of God. Repent if you find foolishness, covetousness, deceit, etc. in your heart and pray for others as well.


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Wedding Cup

Here is the sermon for 10-1-17. Somehow the recording got paused so part of the scripture passage is not here, but it is 1 Corinthians 11:19-34.