Tag Archives: word of god

Hungry?

Posted on by

The other morning I put breakfast on the table and called our son.  He did not come so I called him again.  He still did not come.  Now I wondered if he had eaten something that I did not know about.  I began to look and could not find any evidence where he had already eaten anything.

I went to his room and told him breakfast was ready.  Sometimes he gets focused on his movie in his room and does not hear me.  Other days he is just being funny and waits until I get to his room and begins to laugh as he goes past me to the kitchen.

This time I think there is something going on in the atmosphere that is effecting him negatively.  Nearly an hour later he comes to breakfast and it is obvious now that he is having a difficult day.  Thankfully, he did eat.

As I thought about him not eating his breakfast I thought about Christians who do not eat spiritually.  What I mean is that we do not read our Bible on a regular basis.  We do not spend time in private prayer.  We have left off personal worship.  This is spiritually the same as what took place physically at our house.

If our son had not eaten he would have become weak.  If he had continued not eating he would have eventually died (in an extreme situation).  The spiritual life is the same.  If we continue to forsake the things that feed us spiritually we will become weak and powerless.  I love the example in Jeremiah 15:16, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”  I want my desire to be like Jeremiah’s.  Do you love God’s Word?  I really hope that you do.

So, how are you doing?

Psalm 1 Wisdom – 2

Posted on by

So many people are just miserable with their lives.  We see all the time of different people that try to take their own lives through suicide.  We see others trying to drown their lives in drugs.  Some try alcohol.  The list is too vast to try to reach the end of.

What is everyone looking for?  They are looking for “A Wonderful Life”.  As we continue this series on Psalm 1 we will look at verse 2.

A Wonderful Life – vs. 2, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  What is a wonderful life anyway?  Well, right here we have it explained.

First of all “A Wonderful Life” is a life that has his delight put into “the law of the LORD;”.  The law of the LORD is His Word.  So, “A Wonderful Life” is a life that is spent reading, studying and obeying God’s Word.  You say that you cannot understand the Word of God.  Have you tried to pray before reading and asking God to teach you from His Word?  Try it consistently for 21 days and I think you will be surprised.

To “delight” in something means to have pleasure in something.  We desire whatever we delight in.  We also put value into it.  This needs to be our attitude toward the Word of God or “the law of the LORD”

Secondly “A Wonderful Life” is a life that is centered around God’s Word or the “law of the LORD”.  So much so that you think about it all the time that you are awake.  This goes even further.   “A Wonderful Life” is a life filled with pondering God’s Word.  We are not just reading to check off something on our “to-do list”.  I mean taking a Bible dictionary and looking up words and meanings and really studying.

“A Wonderful Life” is far more than an old black and white movie from the past.  “A Wonderful Life” is a life centered around God’s Word and obeying that Word.

So, how are you doing?

Synchronized

Posted on by

Our son received a used iphone to use as an ipod for music.  I tried to syncronize it to my wife’s laptop so I could transfer music.  After an hour or so I gave up.  I cannot get it to work.  I guess I will have to take it to someone that knows more about these things than I do.

As I was thinking about this failed procedure I began to think about the Christian life.  Then I began to think about how I can synchronize my life with my Heavenly Father.  One thing came to mind quickly.

If I want to be like Jesus I need to spend time with Him.  They say nearness is likeness.  I can start by spending time in God’s Word.  It is His love letter to His children.  Well, there you go.  Look at II Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

So, how are you doing?

Esau’s Example

Posted on by

Today we go back to our work week schedules unless you are enduring severe winter storms as we are.  As of this writing they are predicting about half an inch of ice to be on the ground as you read this.

Sometimes we do not like the way things are going.  We get tired of always facing opposition.  The blues creep in.  Dissatisfaction with life gets a foothold.  Then what?  Eventually we come to the place that we just want out of it.  We want to do as the old commercial would tell us, “Calgon, take me away!”

Then the realization sets in that we have no control over some of these things.  This really causes the feeling of being trapped.  Then we start to lash out.  Our attitude becomes that of I will do the opposite of what you tell me.  We start to exhibit the attitude of Esau.  Look at Genesis 28:8-9, “And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.”

This is none other than an instance of rebellion.  We feel trapped so we rebel against whatever we feel is pressing against us.  As in our account in the Scriptures, rebellion never works.  The Bible is full of individuals that were rebellious starting with satan himself and we see where that took him.

If you “feel” the rebellion rising up inside of you I would tell you to confess and forsake it immediately.  Maybe you even need to trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour.  I would love to show you how to do just that.  Contact me and I will do what I can to help.

So, how are you doing?

The Sluggard

Posted on by

There are days that I don’t have the energy to hardly get out of bed.  I do because my family counts on me to wake up and perform certain tasks like make breakfast.

I see in our nation that we are becoming a nation of sluggards both physically and spiritually.  I remember when I was in school I was given the privilege of having my own telephone line in my room.  As  young person I was on the phone all the time (my family thought literally).  I remember one time I called the other line in the house and asked my mother for a glass of water.  I was laughing so hard that I could hardly do it.  I was truly joking; but, I don’t know that they believed me.

The other day my wife as having a conversation with someone who is a Church going person.  This person expressed that they did not know that the Bible talked about ants.  I told her that they needed to read the Bible to not only learn about the ant; but, to learn the habits of the ant.  If we would be spiritually like the ant then we would not find ourselves in such a place.  Look at Proverbs 6:6, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”

Now it comes down to you and I are we spiritual sluggards?  What is our attitude toward the Word of God?  I want to be so familiar with the Word of God that It simply flows out of me.

So, how are you doing?

Blinds

Posted on by

Yesterday afternoon I put bird food in the feeder so I could sit and hopefully  photograph birds in my own backyard.  After filling the feeder I opened the blinds in the window and on the back door.  As I was standing at the fridge getting a bottle of water I noticed something.  The blinds were slipping down slowly.  The cord has become worn out and it will no longer stay at what level you put it.

I began to think about our spiritual life.  My first thought was that if we forsake the Word of God that we will eventually begin to slip.  We must daily read God’s Word.  No, this is not some legalistic rule.  We must eat spiritually to build up our spirit.  We eat food daily to keep up spiritual strength and it is the same for our spiritual lives for sure.

Another thing that is vitally important is Church attendance.  The Church is not a social club for so-called saints.  The Church is a hospital for the saved and a birthing center for new Christians.  When we go to Church we are taught the Word of God and we spend time with other believers.  Through them we can get encouragement and many other things we need.  We can be uplifted by the music.  We can be corrected by the Word of God.

Just because “we go to Church” does not mean we will “get it” for sure.  We have to take what we learn and apply it to our lives.  If I am sick and I get medicine it will do me no good unless I take it.  Some people sit in Church week after week and what they hear just drifts in one ear and out the other.  This is sad!  Look at what the Word of God says about that in Hebrews 2:1, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”  The word “let” means to run out as leaking vessels (taken from the Strong’s Concordance).  We need to pay attention on purpose.  That purpose is to learn and grow spiritually.

So, how are you doing?

The Weapon Of The Word

Posted on by

The other day we talked about that we need to know what our weapons are in this spiritual battle we face each and every day.  So many Christians (so-called) do not give the Word of God a second thought.  Many do not even carry a real Bible with them if they even go to Church anymore.  This is sad.

Did you realize that the Word of God and prayer are the only offensive weapons we have?  All the rest of our spiritual arsenal are defensive weapons.  When we pray and read God’s Word we are on the offensive.  We are not to be offensive; but, we are moving offensively.

The other evening I walked into the bathroom to wash my hands and there was yet another spider high up on the wall.  I did not grab something to shield myself from the offending spider.  I went to the kitchen and got a fly swatter.  When I arrived back in the bathroom the spider was still perched there waiting to take me on.  It lost.  I hit him very hard and he fell to the floor and curled up into a ball.  He then took a ride down the circle drain to the sewer treatment plant.  I was offended and I was on the offensive and I used an offensive weapon.  We need to do the same thing in the spiritual battle of life.  Look at these words of wisdom in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

So, how are you doing?

Our Weapons

Posted on by

There was a story of a woman who was shot in the arm in a retail store the other day.  The whole incident was an accident.  A man had his handgun in a holster in the waistband of his pants.  The gun somehow dislodged and fell to the floor and discharged, striking the victim in the arm.  She survived.  She had a small child with her in the cart who was not injured.  Praise the LORD for that.

If we are going to battle with the enemy of our soul then we need to know who our enemy is, what our mission is and what our weapons are.  If we do not know them we cannot use them.  I am afraid that this might be a huge problem in our Churches today.  Most Churches (or so-called) have no idea what their weapons are.

Look at Ephesians 6;13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  This is a command and not a suggestion.  Rightfully so, if we are going to at the very least defend ourselves and our families we must know what our weapons are.  I might add we must know how to use these weapons.  They will do us no good if we do not know how to use them.  They are just dust covered relics.

We have some so -called Churches today that want to argue over Bible versions.  This is bringing confusion into the Church and the Word says that our God is not the author of confusion.  The devil is the author of confusion  So, you and I need to get our weapons ready and know how to use them.

So, how are you doing?

Give Hope

Posted on by

My friend Pastor Jim Kilgore is a top notch missionary and seeks to add value to people everywhere.  He is very much worthy of your prayers and financial support.  Here is a quote from him, “Leaders, give your people Hope for a better tomorrow. we must become “Dealers in Hope”, Biblical Hope.”  When I saw this a thought came to me.  My thought was, “Hope is like a life preserver on a boat. When we lose hope we will drown.”

It is a great understatement to say that the day in which we live is dark.  For sure.  When darkness prevails it seems to me very easy for people to lose hope.  This is one reason that I preached a message on Sunday morning titled, “The Bridge to Monday”.  If God will help me I will try to turn that into a blog post also.

I have lost track of the number of people that have taken their own life that I know due to a loss of hope.  People leave their spouse to whom they vowed before God because they have lost hope.  This is tragic and should not be!  Especially, if we are a Christian.  We have a Heavenly Father who identifies Himself as “The God of Hope”.  If that does not do something for you then you are dead.  Look at Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”  We believe that God authored the Bible and we call It the Word of God.  Our Father moved on the Apostle Paul to write this blessed verse of Scripture and identifies Himself (God) as “the God of hope”.

If you are drowning today then put on the life preserver of hope.  Oh, I should tell you what hope is.  First of all hope is not, “I hope I get a new bicycle for my birthday.”  Hope is the expectation of future good and most often in the Scriptures it deals with the coming of Christ.  That is hope!

So, how are you doing?

Guardrails

Posted on by

I have some very distinct memories of traveling Indiana back roads.  My family originated in western Indiana in some very small towns that if I named them you would not even know them.  Each year we would travel back to this area as a family.  It was so much fun.  I would love to take that trip today with my grandparents.  I would not wish them back from Heaven even for such a day though.

I remember many tight turns in roads were deep valleys lined the roads.  I can remember thinking to myself, “What do they do in the winter?”  I remember places where guardrails lined the roads to keep vehicles on the road and out of the ditch.  The guardrails were aids to navigation so to speak.  Probably not like we think of them; but, they were nonetheless.

In human history there is an ebb and flow to life.  There are ups and downs.  There are times we follow Christ closely and times we try to walk our own path.  The children of Israel were no different.  They seemed to do okay as long as a judge was in place; but, when they died it was a whole different story.  Look at Judges 2:19, “And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.”

God has given to us His “guardrails”.  He has given to us His Holy Spirit.  He has given to us a love letter in the Bible.  He has even given to us more mature believers to help us navigate the winding roads of life.  It is up to you and I to gain access to these helps and put them in place in our lives.

So, how are you doing?