Importance of Being Available

Luke 14:16-24 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: (17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (18) And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (19) And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (20) And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. (21) So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (24) For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Your property, cars, and family are important to God. God knows we need these things to function properly in our society. He is the source of every blessing.

Where we get off balance is putting these before things of eternal importance.

God does require sacrifice [Romans 12:1-2] but he also wants us to use wisdom and not overdo it to the point of exhaustion and discouragement. [Matthew 23:23] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

We should notice two things about the above scripture. Jesus wasn't saying not to sacrifice, He told them "these ought ye to have done". But he also said Judgment, Mercy, and Faith were weightier matters of the law and "and not to leave the other undone. It all comes down to balance and we must each seek the Lord's will to be sure that we have this proper balance of sacrifice and mercy.

To the pharisees, who were so harsh and so critical of others he said, "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."
[Read in Context] They had condemned the disciples for picking corn to eat on the Sabbath.

Pharisees always get mad and look down on others when their rules are not kept. Pharisees also think they are more spiritual than others and feel "justified" in condemning those they feel are compromising. Remember, when the "rules" are etched in stone, common everyday needs may sometimes get in the way. Let us not be so inflexible that we don't see the "needs" of others and bend the rules at times. I am not saying we should allow sin in our lives and not repent of them.

Inflexibility can cripple God's revival. This needs to be applied to everyone in the church.

You see, you cannot legislate righteousness. That's where the Law failed. It let us know what God expected of us and helped us to know that we needed a savior [Galatians 3:23-25]. The Law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. Look at the progression in that last passage. 1] Before faith (in Jesus Christ) we were under the law [Verse 23]. 2] The law was supposed to teach us [schoolmaster] that we needed Jesus and that we could be justified (declared righteous) through faith in Him [Verse 24]. 3] When faith in Jesus comes we are no longer under the law (the schoolmaster). Now at this point we must say that this is not a license to break God's holy moral laws. Remember that Paul said, "shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." [Romans 6:15 Read in context]

So how does this thing work, for we are not under the law but shouldn't sin and sin is the transgression of the law [1 John 3:4 Read in context].

Here it is and why the New Covenant is so much more effective than the Old.
"...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." [Romans 5:5 Read in context]. The love of God is now in our heart through the Holy Spirit (Ghost) that we have received. The law was only an external code, much like "mans rules" but when we experience the new Birth [John 3:3-8; Acts 2:38], we receive the Holy Spirit and a love for God. The Love of God and for God enables us to keep the righteousness of the moral law like never before. When you truly love someone you want to please them, especially in the case of an individual who is all good and always fair and has loved us so much He was willing to die for us.

It's so important that after we receive the Holy Spirit that we follow Jude's advice.
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. [Jude 1:20-21]

Keep building yourselves up, praying in the Holy Ghost, to keep yourselves in the love of God!
Strive for balance so we are available to God and others as the two most important commandments state... Love God and your neighbor as yourself.


CYA,
Puddles

PAIN

Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.
( The Problem of Pain) C.S. Lewis

CHOOSE!

Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it.
(The Case for Christianity) C.S. Lewis

Control of Ourselves

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

From Matthew Henry Commentary
Note, A preacher of salvation may yet miss it. He may show others the way to heaven, and never get thither himself. To prevent this, Paul took so much pains in subduing and keeping under bodily inclinations, lest by any means he himself, who had preached to others, should yet miss the crown, be disapproved and rejected by his sovereign Judge. A holy fear of himself was necessary to preserve the fidelity of an apostle; and how much more necessary is it to our preservation? Note, Holy fear of ourselves, and not presumptuous confidence, is the best security against apostasy from God, and final rejection by him.

Reflection on the Psalms

The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.
(Reflections on the Psalms) C.S. Lewis

God's Blessings & Commitment

Text: Genesis 30:27

And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

Sometimes God does bless others for our experience with Him. Laban said, "The Lord hath blessed me for thy sake."

In all fairness we must remember that Jacob was still very much a deceiver [look up his name's meaning] at this point in his experience. He wasn't quite fully changed into a "Prince” that has power with God yet [See Genesis 32:24-32]. He was still looking after himself and his family first as is evidenced in the next verses."And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?" [Genesis 30:29-30]

We have to die to ourselves and carry our "cross" daily to find the true experience and happiness He desires for us to have. He wants us in a similar fashion as himself to die to ourselves that we might bring forth much fruit.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." [John 12:24; In context: John 12:20-32 Jesus speaking of His death].

God gives blessings because of the goodness of God and not because we deserve or have earned them. If we received what we deserved it would be "the wages of sin is death" [Romans 6:23].

Generally speaking, we get out of our experience what we put into it. If you pray and read the Word and try to be a Christian, God will bless you. There has been very few times I've gone to church and been "blessed" in a powerful way without seeking him first. Consider this verse, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" [James 4:7-9].

Also, consider this verse for a more effective prayer life...

"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." [1 John 3:21-23]

Lord Jesus,

Help us to be faithful to you in prayer and not let a day go by that we are not seeking direction from you in your Word. In this we have all failed but forgive us and change us so we shall not be condemned by the accusations of Satan against us. We also ask that you would help us to die to ourselves so that we might bear the fruit you desire.

In your Name we ask

Amen

Cya later friends,

Puddles : )

Counsel [Part 2]

UNDERSTANDING THE THINGS OF GOD.

Jesus tells Nicodemus here [John 3:1-8] that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. A person has to experience the new birth in order to understand the things of God and the kingdom of God.
Reference: John 3:3,5

In context: John 3:1-8

WORD STUDY: "see" from John 3:3. Look this up in the Greek with a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. The word means "to know" [Strong's number = G1492].

NOTE: There are examples of the new birth in the book of Acts [Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19]. The book of the Acts of the Apostles is the history of the Church starting on the Day of Pentecost. We cannot argue from silence the things of God but we must take our truest examples from the Bible. This implies we believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God. It must be the final authority for all truth and not mere experience alone. We cannot trust opinions for something so important to us as the salvation of our souls the the souls of our loved ones.

THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST

In order to find the true counsel of God you must submit to the true Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Reference: Luke 6:46

In context: Luke 6:43-46 [Dake's Bible - Secret of discerning mere professors].

More follows this scripture with Jesus speaking of the 2 types of houses that people build [Luke 6:47-49].

The only difference between the house that weathered the storm and the one that didn't is that one heard and did the words of Christ.

TWO PARTS TO THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS -LOVE AND FEAR [REVERENCE]

LOVE

Jesus asks us "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Reference: (John 14:15)

In Context: John 14:15-17

Not only do we have to do [obey] the things Jesus says to be disciples and not mere professors, we must do this in Love for Jesus or it becomes mere legalism. Let's use an example. The only difference between Church "A" and "B" is that Church "A" is obeying the scriptures for outward appearances [the Pharisees did this] and Church "B" is trying to obey Jesus to honor and glorify Him because they love him.

APPLICATION: We can apply this to ourselves on an individual basis by praying and asking Jesus to help us do the things of scripture because we love him. We need the Holy Spirit's help to accomplish this.

FEAR [REVERENCE]

NOTE: There are 78 verses in the New Testament containing the word "fear" and a total of 84 hits.

More to follow later...

Puddles : )

Counsel

The Heart is Hopelessly Dark and Deceitful
Reference: Jeremiah 17:5-9
IN CONTEXT: Jeremiah 17:1-18

Sometimes people think wrongly of us.
Reference: Matthew 27:43-54
Sometimes people can pick up on our faults and if we listen closely we can improve ourselves with God's help. Don't always discount all criticism. Some of it may not have a satanic origin, but may be sent to help us become more like Christ. As Peter said in his first epistle, there are two kinds of suffering. Are we suffering for doing well or being buffeted for our faults [See 1 Peter 2:19-20]?

It seems like the get away with it too. That's what David thought.
Reference: Psalm 42:10
In context: Psalm 42:9-10

They think God cannot help us but we can pray. We should make it our goal to always be fair and not to retaliate.
Reference: Psalm 3:1-4

Counsel that is really coming from above is like this.
It is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
Reference: James 3:17
In context: James 3:13-18

More to Come later...

Puddles : )

Slander

2Sa 19:27 And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

Hebrew - H7270 - râgal [raw-gal']
A primitive root; to walk along; but only in specific applications, to reconnoitre, to be a tale bearer (that is, slander); also (as denominative from H7272) to lead about: - backbite, search, slander, (e-) spy (out), teach to go, view.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words
&lt1,,1228,diabolos>
an adjective, "slanderous, accusing falsely," is used as a noun, translated "slanderers" in 1 Tim. 3:11, where the reference is to those who are given to finding fault with the demeanor and conduct of others, and spreading their innuendos and criticisms in the church; in 2 Tim. 3:3, RV (AV, "false accusers"); Titus 2:3 (ditto): see ACCUSER, DEVIL.

Paul is speaking of those who hold the office of Deacon.
1Ti 3:11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

Greek - G1228 diabolos [dee-ab'-ol-os]
From G1225; a traducer; specifically Satan (compare [H7854]): - false accuser, devil, slanderer.

It is the same word translated "false accusers" here.
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Tit 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;