BEING RICH; BEING SAVED

Matt. 19:23-24  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth; it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  I say it again---it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.”  NLT

       What was the point Jesus was making?  I believe that He was saying that whoever is not willing to let go of everything and follow Him is not able to be His disciple.  If we withhold anything from the Lord and let it hinder us from serving Him, we are not true disciples of Him.  If we become attached to anything more than Him, we are in danger of not making it to heaven.  Attachments become adorations.  We tend to direct our affections toward those things we become attached to.

       The Lord can’t have our full attention when we become attached to anything or anyone more than Him.  He must be our first priority, our first love in life, if we are going to make it to heaven.

       Is the Lord your first love today?  If He is, you will not withhold from Him your life.  You will allow Him to take you wherever He wants you to go and do whatever He wants you to do.  If He is your first love, then you will value His role in your life more than anyone else’s.  You will be willing to let Him change anything He wants to change in your life, no matter how difficult or demanding that change may seem to be to you.  Again I ask you today, “Is the Lord your first love?”  If He isn’t, you are not in the center of His will for your life and you will never be happy or satisfied until He is.

MARRIED FOR LIFE

Matt. 19:4-7 "Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied, "They record that from the beginning God made them male and female."  And he said, "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together."  NLT

      God is the perfect matchmaker. He knew exactly what man needed and thus He made woman. He made her as a perfect fit to fill the need of man physically, emotionally, and socially. Men and women are different because we need to be. We complement each other and supply what is lacking in each other for a well-rounded and balanced married life.

      God made it clear that the life man and woman share is sacred. It is a life that is to be lived independently from their parental lives and independently from everyone who would want to mess up their lives. God warns us to be careful how we handle married life.

       He warns us not to interfere in someone else's marriage. Let no one separate a married couple. This means that if someone is married, they are off limits. It is never okay to become involved emotionally or physically with someone who is already married. To do so is sin.

       It is also never okay with God to let yourself become involved with someone other than your spouse. No matter how much you may think it is justified, it isn't. It is living in sin.

       Married life is a committed life before God. The commitment must be to strive to keep your life together fresh so that love does not grow stale and tempt you to look elsewhere. If your marriage is struggling, get help while you can. Ask the Lord to show you how to fix it and to give you the desire to do it. Seek out wise counsel and strive to do what is right in God's eyes. He holds you accountable for it.

FORGIVE MUCH!

Matt. 18:21-22  Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”  “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!”  NLT

     We think we do so well at practicing our faith.  We listen to what our Lord says and strive to obey Him.  We know that we don’t always get it right, but we do alright.  We do better than many people we know.  We must be a sweet aroma to God, right?  Not necessarily.  Jesus told Peter that what he thought was enough was not nearly good enough in God’s eyes.  The problem wasn’t in Peter’s efforts, it was in his heart.  What Jesus wanted Peter to understand is that the motives of the heart are the key to pleasing God.

       Peter thought he was really being noble by suggesting that maybe they should forgive someone seven times, for the law only required one time.  The law was more about justice and not forgiveness.  Therefore, when Jesus suggested ten times as much as Peter did, He was pointing to a much deeper and better way to live.  Jesus’ way is a way of grace instead of meting out justice.  God will take care of the justice part; we are to act graciously towards one another. 

       If we are trying to keep score and noting how well we are doing, we are missing the point.  If the heart is right we will always do what is right before God with no regard for how many times we have done it, even if it is thousands of times.  There is no such thing as resting on our laurels or stopping our obedience to God.  His life is our way of life.  It is who we are and to not live like Christ wants us to live is out character for us and should be unnatural.  If we want to please God we will always strive to do what is right before God.  Period.

AGREEMENT IN PRAYER

Matt. 18:19-20  “I also tell you this:  If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.  For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them.” NLT

      One of the things these verses tell me is that it is good and even necessary for us to pray with others.  It is good to be in our prayer closets alone, but if we never invite others into our space, we are hindering God from working on our behalf.  There is great power in two or more people being united together in one heart before the throne of God.

      It is important that when we invite others to pray with us that we agree together on what we are praying for.  If our hearts are joined together as one, Jesus said that we will have what we ask for.  Perhaps one of the reasons why we don’t see as many answers to our public prayers is that we often aren’t united together in what we are praying for.  When was the last time you were led in prayer by someone who prayed for things that didn’t concern you at the moment?  When was the last time you sat down with someone before you prayed and carefully discussed what you were going to pray for?  I have to admit that I have often failed to join my heart with another before I prayed and while I was praying.

      When we are praying differently, it does not mean that the Lord is not with us and will not answer our prayers.  It just means that we deprive ourselves of the strength in prayer that united hearts have in prayer.  It only makes sense to think that there is strength in numbers.  Don’t give up on praying with others.

       Jesus said that when we are praying together with others, He is right there with them.  Isn’t that an awesome thought?  We know with our heads that God is with us when we pray, but have you really grasped it with your heart?  The next time you pray with someone, think about it.  Jesus is right there with you as you pray!  Every time you pray over a prayer someone has prayed on your behalf, Jesus is right there with you as you pray! 

      Maybe we should be looking for more opportunities to pray with and over others!

JUDGING ANOTHER

Matt. 18:15-17  “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault.  If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.  If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church.  If the church decides you are right, but the other person won’t accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.”  NLT

       These verses have been used and abused so often in the church.  Because of our sinful nature and often spiritual immaturity, we have used them for our own advantage and agenda. Jesus gives us clear instructions on the right way to deal with sin in the church, but most churches either don’t understand them or they ignore them altogether.  The purpose of Jesus is reconciliation, not alienation.

       Notice first of all that this passage deals with private matters of sin between believers.  It is about issues that affect personal relationships, not community relationships.  We are to deal with personal issues as they come up so that they do not become issues that affect the whole body.

       It is so easy to sit in judgment of another.  It’s another thing to work with another with the intent of reconciliation.  When someone sins against you, you are to go to that person in love and humility and seek peace.  If that doesn’t happen, take one or two others with you who are spiritually mature and do so that they may be able to offer wisdom on how to restore peace between you and before God.  If that doesn’t work, then the matter needs to be brought before the church so that the church can decide what must be done for the good of the body and individuals involved.

      Also, before a person is judged to be in the wrong, the accuser must first be sure that his own sins are dealt with before God.  Only the pure in heart should ever try to hold another believer accountable for sin.

       Needless to say, everyone involved seeking peace should first of all be much in prayer so that the discernment given will be from God and not man.  It is only when all efforts fail that a person is then alienated from the church’s fellowship.  As long as a person is stubborn and too proud to listen to wise and godly counsel he cannot be a part of the fellowship of the church.  When the will is broken and the offending party humbles himself before God and man, peace can then be restored.

       I believe that applying these verses in the life of the church is needed, but it should be done sparingly.  It is necessary to hold one another accountable for sinful behavior, but it is a very serious matter to remove someone from the fellowship of the church.  We better be right before God before we exercise this step in the peacemaking process of the church.

BEWARE OF TEMPTERS

Matt. 18:7  “How terrible it will be for anyone who causes others to sin.  Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting.”

      The world is full of people who make it their life to tempt others to sin.  We cannot escape them.  They infiltrate every area of our lives.  They have become such a part of living that we scarcely recognize them anymore and don’t seem to care.  We accept their presence and allow them to influence our thinking and living.

      Think about it.  Take note of everyone today who offers you some way to sin.  Listen to the lyrics of the songs you hear.  Pay attention to what you read.  Look around you at work and take note of how things are being done.  Pay attention to the ads on TV and the content of the shows you watch.  Listen to what others are saying to you.  If you take note of these things, you will discover just how much temptation to sin you encounter each day of your life.

       It takes great determination to resist the temptations to sin.  It takes a lot of prayer and exposure to God and His Word to have the willpower to say no.  It takes staying close to the Lord to even recognize much of the temptations we encounter to lure us away from God.

       It is a terrible thing to fall into sin.  But it is even worse to be the one who leads others into sin.  Stay alert and don’t let sin have a foothold in your life.  And, make sure that you don’t cause others to sin along the way.  There are people watching you.  They notice how you live and talk.  If they respect you, they will conclude that if it’s okay for you then they can do it, too.  If you are a believer, then it is obvious how you can influence others to sin. 

      Guard your soul and strive to live a godly life always.  Sin is a big deal to God as is being the cause of another person falling into sin.  Terrible is the fate of those who lead others into sin.  Terrible is the fate of those who fall into sin and do not repent.  How we live does matter to God.

CHILDLIKE FAITH

Matt. 18:1-6  About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”  Jesus called a small child over to him and put the child among them.  Then he said, “I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  And, anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trust in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck.” NLT

      Faith is being simple-minded before God.  It is simply trusting in God.  It is that absolute confidence that God always stays true to His character and His Word.  Faith is not letting the things we don’t know or understand throw us for a loop.  It is enough to know that God knows.  Faith is letting God worry about details and how to take care of us when we get into messes.  In other words, faith is simply living in the comfort and security of God’s love.

       Little children are reactionary.  They sometimes react in negative ways that are not acceptable behavior in the world.  They must be taught and disciplined so that they will change their behavior and attitude into a more acceptable way of life.  If a child never learns and adapts, he will never mature to the point of fitting into life in the world.  It will affect relationships and his ability to enjoy life. 

       Like little children, faith grows up.  But, like all of us, there always remains a little bit of a child in us.  He who forgets how to act like a child ceases to live.  All joy goes away and all that remains is a miserable life waiting for it all to end.  And, so it is with faith.  We must never lose our childlike qualities of faith that enable us to trust and enjoy the life we have in Christ.  We must get rid of the bad, but retain the good.

        There is a grave danger for anyone who causes a child of faith to wander away from God.  Anyone who leads a child of God away from God will be held responsible for it.  His fate will be such that it would have been better if he had never been born.  Be sure that what you teach and preach leads a person to Christ and not away from Him.

ENOUGH FAITH

Matt. 17: 19-20  Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”  “You didn’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them.  “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move.  Nothing would be impossible.”  NLT

      How much faith do you have?  Does your faith enable you to move the mountains in your life?  Is your faith enough to help you overcome whatever life brings you?  There is nothing in life that is beyond our ability to handle if we have faith in God.  If we have absolute trust in Him, we will not lose heart, or hope.  Faith shapes the way we think about life’s circumstances.  If we lack faith we will be overpowered by life and live in defeat instead of victory.  Faith draws us closer to God.  When the tough times of life overwhelm us, faith makes the Lord more real and precious to us.  The journey is often very difficult, but faith makes any journey possible.                   

     Faith is rooted in relationship.  A faith that is rooted solely in the brain is no real faith at all.  Faith that will move the mountains is rooted in the heart where Jesus is.  The more Jesus influences our lives, the more we trust Him in life.  Jesus changes us from the inside out and that change enables faith to take root and govern our lives.

      How much faith do you have?  Is it enough to move the mountains out of the way in your life?  Jesus said that just a little faith can make the impossible possible.  There is no limit to the victories you can have over the obstacles in your life if you but believe in God’s ability and willingness to help you.  Buckling underneath the heavy loads of life is simply a lack of faith in Him who can carry them for us.  He is able to do immeasurably more than anything we ask for Him to do or for us to imagine Him capable of doing.  Ask anything in the will of God and don’t doubt and He will do it for you. 

WORTH LIVING FOR

Matt. 16:26  “And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul in the process?  Is anything worth more than your soul?”  NLT

      There are so many whose only goal in life is to gain as much of the world as they possibly can.  They buy into the lie that the more you get out of the world, the happier you will be.  They become convinced that this life is all the life there is and so it only makes sense to go for it.  Fame and fortune become their necessities in life.  Live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow becomes how they live.  Death is not a concept that is taken seriously as far as how it affects how they live.

      Then, when their dreams are not realized, they have nothing else to live for.  Life becomes a pain instead of a joy.  Negativity rules the soul.  Anger is not unusual.  Defiance is common.  For those whose only life is wrapped up in the world, they are disappointed and disillusioned.  It may come early or late in life, but it does come.                       

      Yet, everyone must somehow come to grip with their soul.  No matter how much one may try to bury it, no one can go through life without dealing with it.  What happens after death?  Can it be true that there is eternal life?  If so, where do I fit into it?  Will I go to heaven when I die?  Is there any criteria I have to meet in order to get there?  If I don’t make it to heaven, then what?  Is there really a hell that awaits me?  Really, is gaining all I can from this life worth the risk of losing my soul?  What if there is a heaven and hell? 

      Whether we want to or not, we must think about these things.  Waiting until you die to find out if it is all true or not is not a good idea.  If it is all true, which I know it is, then if you have not lived so that you are ready to die, you will go to hell.  Life is not about gaining what the world has to offer; it’s about living in Christ so that when you die you will go to heaven and not hell. 

        Are you willing to take a chance on missing out on heaven?  Are the world’s offerings worth it?

ALL OR NOTHING

Matt. 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.”  NLT

      Jesus did not mess around.  He told it like it is.  If anyone wants to be known by Christ and live for Him, there must be some real decisions made.  First, we must put aside selfish ambition.  One of the ways to determine the genuineness of faith is to look at what one lives for.  A true follower of Christ lives for Christ and not himself.  He is not driven to please himself and make himself known amongst his part of the world. 

       A true follower of Christ also takes up his cross and follows Christ.  A cross is where self is sacrificed and love is displayed.  It is where total commitment to Christ is proven.  A cross is very painful.  It is a lonely place to be.  It is misunderstood by most and mocked by many.  The cross is where faith and trust in God is proven.  It is immoveable and requires all that we have to give.  The cross is not easy to endure and never is to be taken lightly.

       A true follower of Christ understands the dynamic of giving over to Christ his life, all of his life.  He understands that only Christ can save the soul and nothing on earth is worth holding onto compared to Christ.  Jesus is the focal point of his living.  He is willing to give up all of what this life has to offer in order to remain faithful to Christ.

     Only those who surrender to Christ all of life will have eternal life.  Failure to surrender to Christ costs one eternal life in Christ.  Are you sold out to Jesus?  Have you given Him all of you, or are you still trying to hang on to parts of you?  Are you living for Him alone, or are you still living for what the world has to offer?  God will not ignore our divided loyalties.

FAITH BEFORE WORKS

Matt. 15:10-11  Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, “Listen to what I say and try to understand.  You are not defiled by what you eat, you are defiled by what you say and do.”  NLT

      Practice trumps procedure.  It is not the rules and regulations that we try to keep that make us right with God; it’s what comes out of our hearts.  The heart determines what we say and do.  If the heart is not right with God, it doesn’t matter how strict a person may be in his behavior.  We are not holy because we act or talk a certain way. 

      This can be a very difficult thing to balance out in our lives because we know that our works are essential to our faith.  We tend to do the right things because we know that is what pleases God.  The danger comes in when we get the idea that we are saved because we do those things.  Rather, we are to do what we do because we are saved.  We are made righteous in Christ alone.  Our relationship with Christ is what motivates us to do what pleases God.

      If you are relying on how you are living for your salvation, you need to humble yourself before Christ and let Him be your salvation.  You cannot make it to heaven based on how “good” of a person you are.  Jesus alone can make us righteous before God.  If it were any other way, Jesus died in vain.  There would have been no reason at all for Jesus to come to earth.  Everything we know and understand about God, life, and salvation would be a lie.  If works could save us then there would be no such thing as forgiveness or true peace with God. 

      Jesus is THE way, truth, and life and no one will ever be made righteous and holy before God except by Him.

DECEPTIVE FAITH

Matt. 15:8-9  “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.  Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.”  NLT

       I wonder how many people fall into this category.  I often have wondered how many people who go to church and are involved in it really are honoring the Lord in their lives.  It’s easy to talk the talk of salvation.  It’s easy to give the Lord praise and thanks.  It’s easy to tell of what the Lord has done and even what He means to us.  But, what we say is not always what is really in our hearts.  We can go through the motions and be very deceptive to both others and ourselves.

      How can we really know that we are right with God?  I believe this is probably the most crucial question we can ask of ourselves.  God clearly tells us that if we really do love Him we will obey Him.  So therefore, we must determine whether or not we are really obeying Him.  The only way we can know is for us to know what He commands us to be and do.  We must evaluate ourselves in light of God’s Word.  There is no room for debate on this.  What God says we must do.

       We often make up our own rules for Christian living.  We determine what we can live with and what we can’t.  We adjust what God says to fit our comfort levels.  We try to legislate faith instead of living by it.  We tend to impose our standards on God’s standards and if there is a conflict, our ways generally win out. 

      All of God’s commands are doable when we live fully surrendered lives to Christ.  He gives us the power and will to do them.  He changes us so that we humbly strive to conform to His ways and not our own.  We learn to live in Christ’s righteousness and trust Him to work out His holiness in us.  Honoring God in our lives is simply letting Jesus be our Lord and living to please Him.

DON'T LOOK AWAY

Matt. 14:29b-30a  So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.  But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink.  “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.  Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him.  NLT

      When you are looking around you, you are not looking ahead of you.  It sounds simple enough, but it’s hard for us to do.  We are prone to notice most all that is crashing in around us.  We see the magnitude of our storms.  We become overwhelmed by all that is going wrong and that is all we can think about.  Instead, we should be keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

      When we keep our focus on Jesus, the storms lose their strength.  They may not go away, but their impact on us is minimized.  As long as we are focused on the Lord, we understand the bigger picture of life.  We understand that our storms will pass away, that there is always something better in store for us if we persevere through them.

       Peter did not give a thought to the possibility that what he was doing was impossible.  All he thought about was Jesus and His invitation to come.  He did not consider the fact that he might not make it to Jesus.  All that mattered was getting out of his comfort zone and going.  We need to be just as willing to go to Jesus when He calls us.

       Peter had the faith, but he made a very bad mistake.  He took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the storm and the impossibility of what he was trying to do.  Peter was shaken by what he was trying to do and believed the lie that he could not do it.  He began to sink and fail the test of his faith.  Yet, to his credit, Peter understood where his help came from.  He called out to Jesus and was not turned away.

      When we call out to Jesus He hears us and answers our call.  He is able to help us, no matter how big the storm is we are in.  All we need to do is take a hold of His hand, hold on tight, and let Him take us out of our storm.                       

AFRAID? FOCUS ON JESUS

Matt. 14:25-29a  About three o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water.  When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost.  But Jesus spoke to them at once, “It’s all right,” he said, “I am here!  Don’t be afraid.”  Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.  “All right, come.” Jesus said.  NLT

       Has life ever frightened you, really frightened you?  Usually we get scared the most when the unexpected happens and we think we are in danger.  Circumstances can really overwhelm us.  We get ourselves into situations that we can’t handle and we imagine the worst.  We don’t see any way that it can be good and we get scared of what might happen.  It causes us to pull back or run away from our circumstances.

       Yet, there is Jesus.  For those of us who know Him, there is nothing to fear.  His very presence reassures the soul and calms our fears.  When we fix our thoughts and hearts on Him, there is a peace that takes over and enables us to put things in their proper perspective.  Instead of seeing the bad that might be, we see the good that is. 

      When we fixate on the Lord, we begin to see ourselves as able to do what we thought was impossible.  We no longer fear what is going on around us, we step out boldly where we have never stepped before.  No matter how stormy things may be, with our eyes fixated on Jesus we can handle them.  It’s when we take our eyes off the Lord and look at the storms and what we are trying to do that we begin to sink and drown. 

       Jesus bids you to step out into the stormy waters and take His hand.  Trust Him and you will overcome.  You can do it because the Lord says you can.

AND THEN, JESUS CAME

Matt. 14:24-27  Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had arisen, and they were fighting heavy waves.  About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water.  When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost.  But Jesus spoke to them at once.  “It’s all right,” he said.  “I am here!  Don’t be afraid.”  NLT

       In verse 23 we find Jesus praying.  Have you ever wondered what He was praying about?  Was He praying for the crowd He had just sent home after feeding them physically and spiritually?  Was He praying for himself because by now He surely must have been exhausted?  Or, was He praying for the disciples?  Perhaps He asked our Father to send them a storm to help them believe and trust in Him.  Perhaps He prayed for them because He knew they would be in trouble and needed His help.  Perhaps they would need the strength to endure until He got there.

       I believe Jesus does pray for us ahead of our difficulties in life.  He knows what we need even before we need it.  He knows what lies ahead of us and works to prepare us for it.  He never lets us face life’s struggles defenseless or lacking the resources to deal with them. 

       We find the disciples in trouble.  Perhaps you have been there as well.  It is no fun to be in a situation that you can’t control and threatens your very existence.  I am sure by now the disciples were at the end of their ropes.  They simply did not know what to do.  They were helpless and by now hopeless.  And then, Jesus came.  I can understand how they became scared.  His appearance was totally unexpected and very unusual.  After all, wouldn’t you be scared to be at the end of your rope and then all of a sudden see Jesus appear walking on water to come and help you?  And, don’t overlook the fact that it was 3:00 in the morning.

      Jesus did not leave His disciples helpless or hopeless.  He came to their rescue.  He waited until they were ready for His help, and then He showed up.  He came to them in their hour of need and spoke words of comfort and peace.  He reached out to them to help them out of their trouble.  There is no time in which He is not available to help those who call on Him.

       Don’t wait until you exhaust all of your strength and resources before you let the Lord help you.  When you find yourself heading for trouble, call on Him right away.  Save yourself a lot of grief and pain.  Let the Lord lead you out of your trouble and give you the comfort and peace you need.  He will do it if you let Him.

JUSTIFIED SPEECH

Matt. 12:36-37  “And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak.  The words you say now reflect your fate then, either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.”  NLT

       I pray that today’s verses will grab your attention.  I know how easy it is to say things you later regret.  I have often spoken words in haste or under duress that I should not have said.  I have spoken words against others that I should not have done.  I have said things to others that I should not have.  It is hard to guard the tongue!  Does that justify us?  No.  Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said.  Therefore, we must pay attention and deal with ourselves in this area of our lives.  So, what can we do?

      First of all, we must admit we have a problem.  It will do us no good if we deny the fact that we fail to always speak in love and kindness.  It is what it is and we must own up to it.  We sin in this area of our lives.  Next, we must understand our helplessness.  We can’t control our tongues by sheer willpower.

      We must take our problem to the Lord.  Only Jesus can forgive us for having loose tongues and only Jesus can give us renewed hope that we can gain victory over our sin.  We must stay in close touch with our Lord.  Every time we sin, we must flee to Him.  We must not give up the battle.  If we want victory, we have to fight the good fight and win as many battles as we can.  We will not gain total victory in the flesh, but we can make progress.

      Gaining victory over our loose tongues is not a hopeless endeavor.  What comes out of our mouths is rooted in our hearts.  When our hearts are right with God, we will be able to produce better and more productive fruit from our lips. 

      Don’t skip over this issue.  Jesus said that how we speak and what we say will carry great weight on Judgment Day.  Keep your soul right with God and your words will be right before God.

YOUR SPEECH MATTERS

Matt. 12:35  “A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil hear.” NLT

      Your speech matters.  Who you really are in relationship with God comes out of your mouth.  This is a truth that many don’t seem to get.  I know of many professing believers who do not speak like a child of God should speak.  They use the Lord’s name loosely.  They sometimes use the vernacular of the world.  They are quick to speak out in disgust or anger.  They talk people down.  They stretch the truth when it’s convenient for them to do so.  They do these things while proclaiming to love the Lord and are often heard praising Him in worship and witnessing for Him.

      How can this be?  Can we do these things and have hearts that are right with God?  Jesus says no we can’t.  He says that what comes out of our mouths indicates what is in our hearts.  If a person is really a child of God, what comes out of his mouth will be good.  If what comes from the mouth is not good, then the person is not really a child of God.  It cannot be both ways. 

      We must listen carefully to what comes out of our mouths.  Is it obvious to those who hear us speak that we are children of God?  Do we speak words of kindness and love?  Do we speak of the Lord with respect and reverence?  Do we speak the truth always?  Do we speak encouraging or discouraging words?  Are we careful about what comes out of our mouths? 

       We may be able to fool others with our words, but we will never fool God.  He hears what we say and judges the heart accordingly.  Our words do matter a great deal.  If you are having trouble with what is coming out of your mouth, humble yourself before God and repent for out of the heart the mouth speaks.

HELP OR HINDRANCE?

Matt. 12:30  “Anyone who isn’t helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”  NLT

      Is what you are doing with your life helping or hindering the cause of Christ?  In light of Jesus’ statement, we are doing one or the other.  This should cause us to stop and look at what we do with our time and lives.  While we can get carried away with our self-examination, I do believe we need to be aware of what we are doing in light of Christ’s role in our lives.

      Our life purpose should be always to advance the Kingdom of God while we are here on earth.  There is no greater purpose for life than this.  We do various things with our lives, but we should share a common purpose.  Life isn’t about what we may be able to accumulate or accomplish in the world; life is what we can do to work with Christ to reach the world for Him.

      Jesus went so far as to say that if we aren’t working with Him, we are working against Him.  It is easy to see how that is true for the unbeliever, but we don’t see it as easily when we look at the life of the believer.  It’s not unusual to do very little with our faith to advance the Kingdom of God.  We want faith and all its benefits, but we don’t want the work that goes with it.  If we aren’t working with Him, we are working against Him.  Strong words to ponder today.

       If you aren’t working out your salvation in the world you are actually opposing Christ.  Do you need to make some changes in your life today?

THE LORD'S DAY

Matt. 12:11,12  And he answered, “If you had one sheep, and it fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you get to work and pull it out?  Of course you would.  And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep!  Yes, it is right to do good on the Sabbath.”  NLT

       I have always been careful on how I handle the Lord’s Day.  There are a lot of differences in our opinions on what we can and cannot do in it.  Each of us must let the Lord guide us in this.  What concerns me the most is that for many of us, the Lord’s Day is not looked upon as being any different than any other day of the week.  We have no qualms about what we do.  We fill it with so much activity that we are ill-prepared to begin another work week.  We don’t let our bodies or souls rest long enough to be refreshed.  We don’t give much thought to honoring the Lord or letting the Lord’s Day be a day of worship and rest.  In fact, many of us aren’t bothered much at all if we don’t even make it to church to worship Him.

     You have to let the Lord guide you in this, but I would challenge you to at least take into consideration what the Lord says in His Word about remembering the Sabbath Day and keeping it holy.  Regardless of which day you choose to set aside in your week for a day of rest and worship, it is clear to me that the Lord requires that we do it.  To not have a Lord’s Day in your week is an act of disobedience.  It is sin.

      Jesus said that it is okay to do good on the Sabbath.  He does not say that we can do anything we want to do.  We need to carefully consider the good that we do or don’t do.  If what you do serves no good eternal purpose, then I challenge you to wait before the Lord about it and let His Spirit guide you as to whether or not you should continue to do what you do.

     You have to let the Lord guide you in this, but I would challenge you to at least take this into consideration.  If we don’t give our souls time to refocus on the Lord and appreciate the life He gives us to live, we will dry up and wither away in our faith.  We need to set aside a day to be renewed in our souls through praise, thanksgiving, and meditation on His Word.  You cannot keep your soul healthy unless you do.

A LIGHTER LOAD

Matt. 11:28-30  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you  rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”  NLT

      There are a couple of thoughts I want to share with you about this very familiar passage of Scripture.  First, in order for us to find relief for the burdens we carry in life, we must come to Christ.  We all struggle with life’s burdens.  It’s not easy to live in this world.  Various things happen to us to weigh us down.  We get tired of all the struggles.  The only way we are going to be able to handle them effectively is to go to Christ and put them on His shoulders.  

       As we unload on the Lord our burdens, it is imperative that we don’t pick them up and try to carry them some more.  It is foolishness to think that we can continue to handle things on our own just because we have prayed.  By faith we have to let the Lord work things out.  He is quite capable of handling whatever we give Him.  It is a waste of time to pray over something and then act as if we had never prayed.  The Lord says He will take care of us and work out all things for good for us, so why don’t we believe Him? 

       Another thing we must do is to let the Lord teach us.  Let Him teach you about trust.  Let Him teach you about His compassion for you and His ability to help you.  Let Him teach you about the benefits of letting Him be your burden bearer.  Let Him teach you that the way He handles things is perfectly fitted for you.  You may not understand what the Lord is doing to help you, but in time you will.  You may not think that He has taken up your burdens, but He has.  You may want to pick them up and help Him, but don’t.  You may feel like trusting in the Lord with your burdens is a waste of time, but it isn’t.

       The Lord will help you if you will let Him.  What keeps you from doing that? 

Whatever it is, get rid of it.  You will be glad you did.  The longer you try to carry your load, the heavier it will get and the wearier you will become.  Let Jesus take the load from you today.

JESUS CAN HELP YOU

Matt. 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”  NLT

       I don’t know what kind of a burden you are carrying today.  Your heart may be loaded down with sorrow or grief over a loved one.  You may be concerned about your job or finances.  You may be under attack by someone who doesn’t like you.  You may be concerned about some health issue.  You may be loaded down with guilt and shame over sin in your life.  Whatever burden that you may be carrying around with you today, hear the words of Jesus.  Let them grab hold of you.

        Jesus has the power and heart to help you.  He wants to take the burden off your shoulders and carry it for you.  He wants to replenish your depleted soul.  He wants to give you the strength and desire to continue on.  He wants to show you how you can move forward in your life once again.  He wants to embrace you in His love.  He wants to show you that it is true, He will never give you more of a load to carry than you are able to do.

      Jesus wants you to know that today if you will let Him, He will do the heavy lifting for you.  He will make your load lighter so that you can do it.  He will see you through this tough time of your life.  Things may seem to be too much for you and you may feel little hope of things not changing.  Let me leave you with this truth.  Never doubt in the dark what you know to be true in the light.  Truth never changes no matter how dark things may get.  What the Lord promises to do for you, He will do.  You have His Word on it.

LIVING FOR JESUS?

Matt. 10:32-33 “If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven.”  NLT

       There is not much to say about this truth. The only issue I would raise is whether or not we are doing it. Are we proclaiming Christ or denying Him? You cannot live in a neutral zone. Your life is either reflecting Christ or it’s not. You are transparent. People see who owns you. It shows up in the way you live. Your actions and works are determined by who rules your heart. You can easily determine how healthy your soul is by taking an honest look at your life.

       You will deny the Lord if you are embarrassed or ashamed of Him. Whenever you let people hinder your witness, you are more concerned about their opinions than those of Christ. You deny the Lord when it makes you uncomfortable. You deny Him because you lack a passionate love for Him.   You deny Him when you fear man more than you do God.  You deny the Lord when you get too busy to properly take care of your soul.

      The Lord is not a badge you can put on and take off when it is convenient for you. You are either all into Him or you are not. Our witness for Christ is being noted and recorded in heaven. Do you acknowledge Him as your Savior and Lord every chance you get, or do you do it only when it’s convenient for you to do so?