GET SMART 2

 

GET SMART 2

James 1:5 If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. NLT

There is a difference between being smart and being wise. Wisdom is using your smarts wisely. There are many smart people in the world today who are not wise in their thinking and living. Book smarts does not guarantee wise living. In order to become wise, we need to know where wisdom comes from.

In order to be truly wise, one must first of all know Jesus as one’s Savior of life. He is the source of all wisdom that comes from God. The more surrendered you are to Christ, the wiser you become.

Wisdom comes from having a humble heart. It is understanding that I cannot do life without Christ. It flows from a constant need for Christ to overshadow and influence all of our living. It is understanding that who and what we are is because of Christ in us. It is knowing that we are dependent on Christ for whatever we accomplish in life.

Wisdom comes from a generous God. He is the source of all wisdom. Proverbs reminds us that wisdom characterized all that God created, and a careful look at life testifies to the wisdom of God at work. James tells us that all we have to do is ask God for wisdom and He will gladly give it to us. It is what Solomon asked for when he began to rule over Israel. He was given more wisdom than any other human being has ever had because he sought the Lord with the right motives and understanding that without God’s help he would not be able to rule his people.

Wisdom comes from a bountiful supply. Because all wisdom flows from God, there is an ample supply for everyone who is willing to let Jesus be their Lord have some. If a person lacks wisdom, it’s because he lacks Christ in his life. Jesus is our wisdom from God. Wise is he who is filled with the righteousness and holiness of Christ. Wise is he who will not settle for anything less than letting Jesus be Lord of his life.

If you lack wisdom, all you have to do is ask God for it. He will not resent your asking. In fact, God longs for all of His children to be wise, able to discern right from wrong and live rightly before Him.

GET SMART

 

GET SMART

James 1:5 If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. NLT

Perhaps you are old enough to remember that old TV show starring Don Adams, Get Smart. Maxwell Smart was a goofy special agent who always managed to get the bad guy with the aid of his woman partner. While the show has long been buried in the archives of TV shows, the title of the show grabs our attention.

The first few chapters of Proverbs give us a good idea of what wisdom is, why it’s important, and where we can get it. I Cor. 1:30 tells us that Jesus is our wisdom from God. So, in order to become wise, we must first know Christ as our Savior. The more influence we allow Jesus to have in our lives, the wiser we become.

Wisdom begins when we acknowledge our sins before God. A fool denies he has a sin problem. He refuses to admit that he struggles with sin. He lives with no sense of his accountability to God for how he lives. He refuses to agree with God what God declares what sin is. Wisdom is then accepting responsibility for our sins. It is turning to Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

Wisdom influences how we think and act. It overshadows all of our living. It keeps us alert to our times of being tempted to sin and causes us to think twice before we act. It causes us to want to please God. It causes us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Wisdom enables us look at life through the lens of God’s righteousness instead of self-righteousness. Wisdom holds us steady through the maze of life. It enables us to see life from an eternal perspective instead of a worldly one.

For the child of God, wisdom comes naturally. We may not be as wise starting out in our faith walk as we should be, but we do become wiser as we learn to let control of our living and let Jesus be the Lord of it. Victory in Jesus comes when we become wise in Christ. It’s a process that we will never perfectly master in this life, but we do make progress as we go along. Let Jesus be Lord of all of your life and you will indeed become wise.

JESUS IS COMING SOON

 

JESUS IS COMING SOON

Luke 21:29--38

We don’t know when, but we know for a fact that Jesus is coming back to take the church out of the world. There are a lot of opinions as to how it will all play out, but one thing is for sure, Jesus is going to keep His word and come back. I personally believe it’s going to be sooner than later. Things are happening all over the world that seems to point to it Christ’s soon coming. In light of today’s Scripture, we need to take it seriously.

We must be alert for the Kingdom of God is near. 29-31 There is a spirit of anticipation in the church today. People are talking about it throughout the church. The message is too strong and loud to miss. We are looking forward to Jesus coming and taking us out of this world’s mess. Stay alert; the King is coming! Stay ready lest His coming catches you by surprise.

Be assured. Jesus assured His disciples that His words will never pass away. 32-33 Jesus is the way, truth, and life. It is impossible for Jesus to lie. He has given us His word.

Be careful. Your hearts may be weighed down. 34-35 There are two options available to us. We can look at what the world is like and the direction it is going and become very depressed. Or, we can look at things and get excited because of what is in store for us. Don’t let your heart be weighed down by life; look up for your redemption is drawing close.

Be watchful. 36 Keep your eyes open. Don’t be lulled to sleep by your daily living. Don’t be like those who are skeptical about His coming because it hasn’t happened yet. Be informed and watchful.

Be prayerful. 37-38 Stay in close fellowship with the Lord. Pray for the lost. Pray for boldness to reach out to the lost while there still is time.

Jesus is coming. It will not be when we expect it. It will happen like a flash of lighting. It behooves us to always live in readiness so that when it happens, we will be amongst those who are taken hone with Jesus when He comes.

JESUS IS LORD

 

JESUS IS LORD

Luke 20:41-21:28

It is popular to declare that Jesus is the Savior of the world. While He is, there so much more to Him than being our Savior. We do a disservice to others when we fail to declare Him as being Lord as well. The reason so many fail to mature in faith is because Jesus is not Lord of one’s life. Most are comfortable with knowing that their sins are forgiven, but few are comfortable with letting Jesus control their lives. Only when Jesus is Lord is victory over self and sin found.

In our text for today, Jesus is revealed as the Lord of David. Lord of the humble, and Lord of history. Jesus was born into the lineage of King David. He is the fulfilled of God’s promise to David that there would always be on sitting on his throne. David was declared to be a man after God’s own heart, in spite of his spiritual failures. Isn’t it great to know that we don’t have to be perfect in order for God to be pleased with us? We cannot excuse our sins, but when we live under the lordship of Christ, we are deemed to be righteous and holy before God. God always holds us accountable for sin, and when Jesus is Lord, we are convicted of them and repent.

Jesus is Lord of the humble. 46-21:4 We must always be aware of our tendency to become proud. Pride becomes the downfall of so many. We read through the Scriptures and this truth is made clear over and over again. We become proud of our accomplishments, our popularity, our wealth, our knowledge, our “spirituality”, etc. It’s such an easy thing to fall into. We must always let the Lord examine us and show us our areas of self-pride. The humble in heart do not flaunt what they do for others to see. 1,2 They do what they do whether anyone knows or cares about it. They do what they do out of love and obedience to Christ. 3-4

Jesus is Lord of history. 5-28 Whatever is in the world passes away. No matter how majestic things seem to be at the time, they pass away. No matter what happens in the world, they fade away into history. Nothing in this life is permanent. The only thing that surpasses time and remains the same is Jesus. Heb. 13:8 He always has been and always will be Lord. If you want to invest your life and efforts into something that you can always count on to remain the same, invest yourself in Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords for all time.

JESUS IN MINISTRY

 

JESUS IN MINISTRY

Luke 20:1-21:38

Living in the footsteps of Jesus is not easy. It wasn’t easy for Jesus to live a holy life on earth. He had much opposition from those who tried to be holy by their works instead of their faith. We likewise face much opposition from those who are not holy, or even try to be. People don’t like to be around people live better lives than they do. What did Jesus do that made so many people opposed to Him?

The most obvious answer is Jesus’ testimony about being God. Jesus did not hide the fact that He was God and was here to do God’s will. He claimed to have an intimacy with God unknown to anyone else. Those who don’t know God have real issues with those who do know Him, and they will often go out of their way to harass and quiet them.

Jesus’ preaching and teaching both amazed and irritated people. He spoke of the things of God in such a way that people gravitated towards Him. He had a following that made the religious elite jealous. Jesus did not let His enemies silence Him. He continued to share the Good New with all who would listen knowing that some would take it to heart and be saved.

In fact, Jesus often put His enemies in their place. He called them out and refused to let them go on sinning without being held accountable for their sins. We ought to follow in the Lord’s footsteps. Instead of being quiet about known sin, compromising the truth about sin, or being afraid of offending someone, we should boldly declare what the Word of God declares is sin.

People desperately need to hear the Gospel message being boldly proclaimed. They need people who are not ashamed to take a stand for righteousness. They need to hear what God says is sin. They must hear so that some can repent and be saved.

Follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Reach out to the world with the Gospel. Do not be silenced by those who would oppose you or mock you. Let your voice be heard; eternity is at stake.

BE REJUVENATED

BE REJUVENATED

Is. 40:28-31

Do your batteries need recharged? Are you running on an empty tank? Does the future look bleak? Don’t despair; there is real hope. Look to Jesus and He will rejuvenate your soul.

Isaiah penned the words, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God.” He will never cease to be God. He always has been God and is always able to do for you immeasurably more than you could ever ask for or imagine.

The Lord, our God, never grows tired or weary. He is always available and able to help us in our hours of need. He never will get tired of touching and rejuvenating us when we turn to Him.

The Lord knows what it is like to be one of us. He lived iu the flesh for a season. He experienced what we do. He faced things we never could handLven if no one else understands what you are going through, Jesus does. He was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin. There is nothing you have to deal with in life beyond the ability of the Lord to help you with.

Cast all your cares on the Lord. He cares about your struggles, He will help you deal with them and rejuvenate your soul so you can carry on. He will lift you up above all that weighs you down and you will soar on the wings of an eagle. You will run and not be weary. You will walk and not faint. Let Jesus help you today.

LEARN TO REST

 

LEARN TO REST

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” NLT

There are a lot of “helps” out there for getting rest. There are pills you can take, pillows to lay your head on, mattresses to lay on, and various other remedies. I prefer God’s remedy. Jesus invites us to come to Him and He promises us rest. I don’t believe He is talking about a good night’s rest, although it is much easier when we discover what really causes us to not sleep well.

First, we struggle with things we have said or done that we are not proud of. Guilt and shame haunt us. When we turn over our sins to Jesus, He forgives us and gives us peace and contentment of heart. He bathes us in His love and provides us with a joy that only comes from a right relationship with God.

When we place all of our worries and concerns in the Lord’s hands and leave them there, there is nothing to fear about any of our tomorrows. Jesus will not let us carry around burdens that are too great for us. We will not get weary from trying to handle things we can’t handle. However, if we fail to surrender it all to Jesus, there will be no rest for the soul.

Sometimes instead of just removing the load from us, the Lord will provide others to come alongside of us to help carry our load. We need to be humble enough to what weighs us down and let others help us.

There is no rest for the weary so why not let Jesus help you? Learn to rest in His love. Learn to trust His ability to help you. Learn, to not doubt what the Lord can do for you. “Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”