Full of Light

Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 5:40 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 11:33-36 (NASB).

Not Hidden

“No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.”

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (Jn. 8:12). So, he is the Light. Jesus also said that we, as his followers, are “the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). This is because we reflect him, who is the Light. For those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives, we have the Spirit of God living within us, and living his life out through us, when we surrender our lives to him. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). So, Jesus is the Light and we are the light when we have the Spirit of God living within us and living the life of Christ out through us, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

So, what is this light? We know it is the opposite of darkness. In the light we can see clearly. In the dark, we cannot. The light lights our way so that we know where to walk. In the dark we stumble around and run into things and fall down. Light is God (and of God). It is truth, righteousness, life and holiness. Darkness is anti-God, anti-Christ, and of the devil. It is wickedness, lies, death and lawlessness. Light is the gospel of our salvation. Darkness is all that is opposed to God and to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, our lamp is lit with the true Light when we accept God’s invitation to his great salvation by God’s grace, through faith. We humble ourselves before Almighty God, admitting that we are sinners and that we need the Savior to save us from our sins. By God’s grace we, thus, turn away from living for sin and self, we submit to the Spirit’s work of transformation in our hearts and minds, and we are given new lives in Christ Jesus to be lived in his righteousness and holiness – all in the power and working of his Spirit within us.

But, it doesn’t end there. We don’t receive the Light and then hide it in the basement so that no one sees it. We allow the Light to shine through our lives by submitting to the Spirit of God and to his work of grace and transformation in our lives, throughout our lives. This means we walk in the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. We no longer live our lives for sin and self but for Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us, for that is why he died (See 2 Co. 5:15). The Light is also not just in a small corner of our lives where it is barely noticed or effective, but it permeates our lives so that we walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and so we live holy lives pleasing to God by his power at work within us. It also means that we share the gospel of Jesus Christ – the gospel that was taught by the apostles – so that others can come to know Jesus Christ, too.

Watch Out

“The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.”

The eye is not only the part of the body with which we physically see, but it can also be understood to mean “judgment, appreciation, discernment, or observation.” If our judgment and discernment are healthy and pure of heart, then what is received into the body (mind, soul, heart) is the true light, and thus the body (our whole being) is full of light. Yet, if our eye, i.e. our ability to make right judgments and to discern correctly is unhealthy spiritually, then what we will take into our lives will be of the darkness (wickedness, lies, deception).

With regard to our salvation, before we come to know Christ we are all sinners in need of a Savior, so not one of us is righteous, and thus we are all incapable of making righteous judgments. Yet, by God’s grace, through faith, our eye is made clear so that we can judge correctly in order to receive the true light into our lives. Yet, there are many who have made a profession of Christ only, but have never had a true heart transformation. They were not sincere in their desire to walk in holiness, when they made their profession of faith, and so their eye is not clear. So, they did not receive the true light but only a fake version of the true light which promised them heaven absent of the crucified life. And so, the “light” in them is not the true light but is really darkness disguised as the true light.

So, this is a warning to make sure that the “light” we have received is the true light and not the fake light which is no light at all, but is darkness disguised as light. This is a call to be discerning about believing that which is false. We will never be discerning about receiving the fake light, though, if we willfully continue to walk in darkness, i.e. if we are not willing to die to our old lives of living for sin and self and to submit our lives to Jesus Christ to allow him to live his life through us. If Jesus is just our ticket into heaven but we have not submitted to the cross of Christ, and we are still trying to control our own lives and to do what we want to do, then our eye is not clear and it is bad, and so we will continue to walk in the fake light which is not light but is really darkness disguised as light. So, if we want to walk in the true light we must submit ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ, turn from walking according to our own sinful desires, and by the Spirit walk in the Spirit in true holiness.

Full of Light

“If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (Jn. 8:12). So, what does it mean to follow Christ? Basically it just means we obey him. We are not to be just hearers of the Word but we are to be doers of the Word. This “doing” is not just following a set of rules, though, so that we can check them off a list. Jesus has to BE our lives, i.e. he has to be the reason we live and breathe and walk the face of this earth. He has to be more than just a “belief,” but he has to be the very purpose for which our lives exist! What this means is that we understand that our lives are to be fully submitted to him, for his will and for his purposes, and that we live like this is true. It means that each day we deny our self-life, we die to sin and self, and we follow our Lord Jesus in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives (See Lu. 9:23-25).

What this also means is that daily we allow the Spirit of God to cleanse and purify us of anything that might be hindering us in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. We willingly submit to the Spirit’s voice in putting a finger on anything in our lives which is not pleasing to our Lord, and we cooperate with the Spirit’s work in purifying us and in ridding our lives of all those hindrances (See Heb. 12:1-2). So, in all practicality, what should this look like? I believe it means that we regularly do self-examinations before our Lord in prayer, asking him to reveal to us areas of our lives which are not pleasing to him and areas of our lives in which we are still walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, and then we should do what he tells us to do about them.

For example, our dedication to Christ may be confined merely to a short period of time each day where we read his word and pray, and/or it may be to attending church services a couple of times a week, and/or to committing ourselves to some type of Christian service. Yet, the rest of our lives may be lived how we want, doing what we want, without regard for whether or not God is pleased, or whether or not he has something better for us to do. We may even be watching TV or movies which glorify sin, or we may be involved in unhealthy and ungodly relationships, or we may be addicted to pornography, food, gossip and the like. So, if we want our lives to be full of light – the light of Christ – then we must surrender our all to that Light and allow Him to truly be Lord and Master of our lives in ALL ways.

Full Release / An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus;

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence,

oh, what peace.

From my self-life

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort,

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully,

oh, what love

That He gives me

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above.

Loving Father; precious Jesus,

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit,

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered

So that we might be alive.

http://originalworks.info/full-release/

https://vimeo.com/115169203

Free From Distractions

Tuesday, February 17, 2015, 4:46 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Broken & Contrite.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 10:38-42 (NASB).

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Troubled and Distracted

Martha invited Jesus into her home. Her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to his word while Martha was busy in the kitchen making meal preparations. Martha’s attention was focused on what she felt needed to be done in order to minister to Jesus’ needs while Mary was focused on Jesus and on listening to his words. So, was Martha wrong in what she did? Should Mary have been out in the kitchen helping her? In all practicality, we do have to eat, so someone has to prepare the food, is this not true? People have to earn a living, pay bills, clean house, cook meals, wash dishes, do laundry, grocery shop, go to school and take care of kids, etc. We can’t all just sit at Jesus’ feet all day long reading his word, can we? So, what are we to take away from this story? What is the lesson that is to be learned here?

Several scenarios come to mind. The first one is that many people, myself included, may, at times, get so busy doing for God that they fail to seek God’s face to find out what he desires and to do what he wants. They get so bogged down with the details and all the preparations that they miss out on what is most important – time spent with Jesus just listening to what he says and enjoying the fellowship with him and personal time of worship of him. The things they are doing for God may, in fact, be good things, but they are not what is God’s best for them. It is not the best use of their time. Yet, some people may prefer to live this way because they are the ones in control, and they are the ones who determine what they will do or won’t do for God, whereas those who listen to Jesus’ words and do what he tells them are those who have found what is best – to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

So, what kinds of things distract us and get us troubled about thinking they are necessary when they are not, or that actually pull us away from doing what is God’s best for us? I can think of some of the things that might be distractions for me, at times, and you may identify with some of them. We live in a technological society here in America. I have a smart phone, a tablet and a laptop computer. I am on Facebook because that is where I connect with family and friends and it is a place of ministry for me, too. I have chat, email and responses to posts which I check daily. I play only one on-line game, which is Words with Friends, but that can be time consuming, as well. I have had to turn off most all my notifications of incoming email, chats, and responses to posts, etc. because that is a distraction. Sometimes I get bogged down with aesthetics (visual appearance and beauty), which is also time consuming, and is not really important in light of eternity.

I believe this last one is a huge problem for the modern church of today. Many churches spend so much time on the show, outward appearance, and on doing what will attract the world to their churches and to their meetings that nearly everything is orchestrated and planned out by humans so that there is no room for the Holy Spirit to do his work. Ouch!

At the Feet of Jesus

Mary found what was best. She sat at Jesus’ feet listening to his words. So, in all practicality, how can this be applied to our lives? As stated above, we can’t spend every day, all day long, sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his words, or can we? What does it really mean to sit at his feet and to listen to him speak? I think some people get the idea that this is a formal time of Bible study, prayer and personal worship which they must schedule each day and then that is it for the remainder of the day, and so then they just go about their business as usual. Is that really how it is supposed to be?

The Lord Jesus just reminded me of Isaiah 58. The people of God seemed eager to know God’s ways. They asked God for just decisions. They fasted in order to be heard by God. Yet, on the day of their fasting they did as they pleased, and they did wicked things. So, God asked of them, “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only a day for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” He said they sought him out, as though they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God, yet they could not continue to do this and expect God to hear their prayers. They went through a religious ritual, but their hearts were far from God. They thought they could just “do” for God and that he would be pleased, but what he wanted was their obedience, i.e. their hearts fully devoted to him.

The same principle applies to our lives and to our relationships with Jesus Christ. He doesn’t want us to just spend a short period of time at his feet each day in a time we call “devotions,” and then go about our day with little to no thought of him at all, doing what we want without regard for what he wants. Time at Jesus’ feet does not need to begin and end with a specified period of time which we call our “devotions.” We should be “on call” with Jesus 24/7. We should be listening to him all the time throughout our day no matter what we are doing. If his word is hidden in our hearts and not just in our minds, and if we are sensitive to his voice, and we are desirous to hear him speak and to do what he says, he will speak to us all throughout the day and even into the night at various times. He often speaks to me through scripture songs while I am cleaning house or doing laundry or whatever. I just need to be receptive to his voice and to learn what he wants to teach me and then to be ready and willing to obey him. I need to not “do” for God what I think is a good thing to do, but I need to find out what pleases him and then do it.

One Thing is Necessary

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

We read in Romans 12:1-2 concerning the type of sacrifice which is acceptable to God. We are to give our lives (our whole being) to God, holy and pleasing to him. This is our reasonable service of worship of God. So, what does it mean to be holy? It means to be different from (unlike) the world because we are like Christ. It means to be set apart from the world and to be set apart to God and to his service. We are to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but we are to be transformed of the Spirit of God in the renewing of our minds so that we can discern what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. And, we are to find out what pleases him and to do it. He is not interested in all the things we want to do for him. He wants our obedience and our surrender to his will for our lives. We can’t live like the world and live holy lives pleasing to God. They don’t mix.

So, this song provides a prayer we might pray to God in repentance over the knowledge and conviction of heart that we have, in some way or another, been guilty of “doing” for God instead of listening to hear what he wants, and then doing that. It may also be in response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit concerning all the distractions in our lives which keep us from sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him speak, and then doing what he shows us. It might be, as well, that we are guilty of spending too much time on aesthetics, thinking that is important, when the Lord Jesus has better things for us to do with that time that would be for his kingdom work. The part of this song which stood out to me this morning was “Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders my walk with you, now I pray.” I don’t want to be wasting time on doing even good stuff if it is not what is God’s best for me. I need to be more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to inquiring of my Lord as to what is next for me rather than me determining how I should spend that time.

Broken and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me;

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

http://originalworks.info/broken-and-contrite/

https://vimeo.com/118841304

In Need of Healing

Monday, February 16, 2015, 6:57 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Broken and Contrite.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 10:25-37 (ESV).

Do This To Live

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

We know from reading the gospels that not one of us can be saved by merely following a set of rules or by keeping the law. For one, not one of us could ever keep the law perfectly. We all stumble in many ways. We are born into sin. There is no one righteous, no not one. Not one of us could love the Lord God with our whole heart, soul, strength and mind 24/7. I know that especially today. I don’t do well when storm systems come through. They play havoc with my head. I don’t always get headaches, but I feel like I am driving through the mountains or like my head is in a tunnel. The Lord woke me 6 hours ago to write this, yet I am just now really getting started. I allowed myself to get distracted with other things, as well. So, if I had to love God with all my heart, strength, soul and mind in order to be saved, let alone loving my neighbor as myself, I would not make it. I am a clay vessel.

So, why did Jesus tell him if he did this he would live? Jesus obviously knew the man could not do this. Perhaps it was to make the man aware that it was humanly impossible for him to be saved. No amount of good works or trying to keep all the law would save him. Yet, nothing is impossible with God, according to his righteousness. Jesus made the way possible for us to be saved apart from human works and apart from keeping the law with absolute perfection, since none of us could do this. Jesus Christ, God the Son, became human for us and died on a cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. He paid the price for our sin so that we could be saved, and so we could live eternally with God. It is by God’s grace, through faith, that we are able to receive such a great salvation (See Eph. 2:8-9).

Nonetheless, our salvation is not absent of works (See: Eph. 2:10) nor is it absent of the necessity of love for God and obedience to his commands (See: Ro. 6:16; Heb. 5:9; 1 Jn. 2:3-5; 3:24; 5:3; 2 Jn. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:2). The difference now is that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are saved by God’s grace, our sin atoned for, and we are forgiven because of God’s great love for us. We are now empowered with the Holy Spirit to live for God. We don’t have to live perfect lives and keep the law perfectly to be saved. We don’t earn or deserve our own salvation. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. Yet, God’s grace is also not a free license to continue in sin thinking we now have our ticket into heaven and that God requires nothing of us. He demands obedience, repentance and genuine love for himself, not to earn our salvation, though, but as a love response to him for what he did for us, and as evidence that we have truly trusted in him as Lord and Savior of our lives.

Justifying and Rationalizing

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The man, possibly realizing that he could not do as Jesus had said, looked for a loophole. He tried to find a way around obeying the Lord, i.e. to justify himself, knowing that he was not loving God fully and that he lacked in love for his neighbors. That is human nature, is it not, to try to find ways around obeying what we know is true? We justify, rationalize and modify so that we can continue to do what we know is wrong or so that we can excuse away not doing what we know is right for us to do. Yet, even when we are faithless, Jesus remains faithful. He will lovingly and gently speak truth to our hearts in ways that will let us know that we are not going the right way or that we are lacking in love and devotion for him or in love for our fellow humans. And, then he will tell us to now do what he has shown us. He will challenge us to not only just listen to the Word but to do what it says (See Jas. 1:22-25).

Jesus’ Life Through Us

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In order to get his message across to the man, Jesus gave him the message in the form of a story (a parable) to illustrate his point. I believe there is a message for all of us in this story. Not one of us loves perfectly. I know I am always growing in this area of loving others with God’s love and according to how God loves me. So, I am praying that the Lord Jesus will teach me what he wants me to learn from this lesson today.

I want to first of all look at who this injured man might represent to us today. The main point of the story, I believe, is that someone was hurting and that he needed help, mercy and healing. There are many hurting people in this life all around us every day. First and foremost, I believe, are those who are dead in their sins, beaten down by sin’s deceitfulness who need salvation. Then, there are those believers in Jesus who have fallen prey to deception and the tricks of the devil who have fallen for false teaching or for Satan’s lies which tell them it is ok for them to continue in sin and that God is still pleased with them. Then there are those who are physically hurting, perhaps due to the mistreatment at the hands of others, or just because they live in flesh bodies on this earth, or because of damage they have done to their own bodies, etc. And, then there are those who are hurting emotionally, either because of painful childhood memories, or because of being beaten down emotionally (and verbally) by others, or because of the death of a loved one or some other kind of loss, or because of loneliness, disappointment or discouragement, etc.

These people are all around us. We can either choose to look the other way and to ignore their pain and suffering, or we can pray for a heart of compassion, mercy, understanding, and sympathy, and for wisdom and discernment to know how best to meet their real needs. And, I believe what I just said there is KEY to their healing. We need to see what their real needs are so we can meet them. There are some people who are the sympathetic kind who genuinely feel with others in their need, but they try to put Band-Aids over serious wounds, or they tell them lies just to make them feel good. Lies are never kind and neither are Band-Aids over serious wounds, though in no way here am I am diminishing or discounting the necessity of a kind word, or a hug or a smile. Those things are essential, too, and we all need them!! I do!! My grandchildren’s hugs are some of the best medicine ever!!

The thing I noticed about this Samaritan who stopped to help the man is that he took this injured man’s needs seriously and he went the extra mile to make sure that the man was brought to complete healing. He didn’t do a quick fix and then go on his way. He didn’t say a bunch of flowery words hoping it would make the man feel better about his wounds. He bound up the man’s wounds and poured on them oil and wine. I imagine that this stung, initially, but that it soon brought relief and much healing. Sometimes, if the wound of people is a sin wound, in particular, we may have to give some words of counsel and correction, and those may sting initially, but if received well, they should result in much healing. The Samaritan assessed the man’s wounds, determined what was necessary for healing to take place, and then he applied the necessary treatment which he believed would bring true healing to the man. Quick fixes or lies to make people feel good never addresses the real wounds and therefore true healing cannot take place.

The Samaritan didn’t just leave the man then, hoping that would suffice. He went the distance. He made sure that the man was cared for, even if he could not care for him himself. We can’t always do this. Sometimes we meet people only briefly and we share words of encouragement, hope and healing with them, and then they are out of our lives. Sometimes people are not receptive to our words or actions meant to bring healing to them, for they want to continue to live with their serious wounds seething, i.e. they don’t want our help. But, as we have opportunity, and if follow-up is possible, and the injured seem receptive to our reaching out to them in love, then we should do what we can to help see them to complete healing (man to man and woman to woman). But, in order for us to do this, again it is imperative that we do like this Samaritan did in assessing the seriousness of the situation and by applying what is truly necessary for the wounds to be healed. God will give us wisdom in this if we call upon him and ask for help.

Sometimes we may be the wounded who are in need of healing, too, and perhaps everyone is just looking the other way or they are ignoring our wounds, which only compounds them more. Sometimes those who should reach out to us in love only wound us more with their rejection, hatred, persecution and mistreatment of us because they don’t want to be bothered with us because we don’t fit into their plans for their own lives or for their “church,” for that matter. We are too messy to them, and they don’t want to be bothered. And, so it is just easier for them to pass us by or to send us somewhere else, but with no plan for our healing and with no follow-up. They are just discarding us, period!

So, no matter where you are right now, i.e. if you are the wounded needing a healing touch, and/or if you are the one needing to reach out to others in need of hope and healing, we should take our burdens to Jesus Christ, lay them at his feet, pray for wisdom and for understanding, follow him wherever he leads us, and be Jesus to the world around us.

Broken and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me;

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

http://originalworks.info/broken-and-contrite/

https://vimeo.com/118841304

Time's End is Nearing

Sunday, February 15, 2015, 9:56 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Tick Tock.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 10:1-16 (ESV).

Pray for Laborers

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

A harvest is a crop, yield or produce a farmer receives from his plowing of the soil, and his sowing of the seed, and his nurturing of the ground and the plants until they reach maturity and are ready to be harvested. A harvest is what the farmer reaps and gathers from his toil out in the field.

Our field is the world, and the seed we sow is the Word of God, which is sown into human hearts, and it reaps a harvest when humans turn their lives over to God via faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives.

There are plenty of people in the world who need to hear the Word of God and the gospel of our salvation so they can be saved from their sins, but the workers are few even today, as so many who profess Christ as Savior of their lives are not fulfilling the great commission to go into the whole world and to make disciples of Jesus Christ of people of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded us.

So, not only do we need to pray for laborers to go forth with the gospel of Jesus Christ into his harvest field, but we need to be going, too, if we are not already involved in regularly sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of this world in need of the Savior.

Lambs among Wolves

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

When we do go out into the harvest field with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we go out as lambs in the midst of wolves. A wolf to a lamb is his enemy for wolves kill lambs. Jesus’ sheep are his followers. He said his sheep know him, they listen to him and they follow him in obedience (See: John 10). There will be many “wolves” (humans) who are enemies of the cross of Christ who will come against us, who will hate and reject us, and who will persecute and may even kill us for our testimonies for Jesus Christ. They will fight against us because they don’t want us to give out the full gospel of Christ to a dying world. We must know this ahead of time so that we are spiritually prepared to stand strong in our faith, bold in our witness, and determined to keep sharing the gospel despite all opposition.

The Bible also talks about wolves in sheep’s clothing. These are those among us who appear to be sheep from all outward appearances, but they are really wolves disguised as sheep. They are false teachers and preachers who want us to believe they are sheep so that we will trust them and will believe what they tell us. They dilute and kill the gospel of salvation in very subtle ways so that many naïve and unsuspecting sheep fall prey to their trickery, their deception and their manipulations of scripture.

Since their tricks and manipulations of scripture are not obvious to a vast number of people, but are sneaky and crafty in their twisting of truth in order to make their clever lies sound like truth, many naïve people follow them unknowingly. These wolves in sheep’s clothing may begin by telling the truth, and then slowly and surely they begin little by little to slip in the lies, which go largely unnoticed, and eventually the lies are so well blended in with the truth that it takes much spiritual discernment to spot the lies so they can be rejected. We must also know this before we go out into the harvest field so that we are spiritually prepared to test what we hear against the truth of scripture, and so we pray for spiritual discernment to spot the lies and to expose them, and so we teach only what is true.

Need to Repent

…Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

Not everyone is going to like us and to receive us and our message with joy. So many have bought into a false grace gospel which does not require repentance and obedience to Christ as necessary components of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. They are being taught that all they have to do is pray a prayer and they have their ticket into heaven and no one can take it away. But so many people are not being taught the crucified life or that we have to die with Christ to sin and self, that we must be born anew of the Spirit of God, and that we must walk in the Spirit and not according the flesh once we have been saved from our sins. So, if you try to teach what Christ and the apostles taught, you may be rejected even by those who profess to have faith in Jesus Christ, and even by church leaders who have watered down the gospel to make it more appealing to the people of this world.

Thus, if you share the gospel of salvation, and those who hear it reject it, then move on. We can’t force anyone to believe in Jesus Christ. All we can do is share with them the truth, but it is up to them whether to accept it or whether to reject it. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts hearts and turns people to faith in Jesus Christ. His word will never return empty. It will fulfill its purposes. All we can do is share with people the truth of God’s Word and trust that the living Word of God and the witness of the Holy Spirit will convict their hearts of sin and that they will humble themselves before God in turning from their sin and in turning to faith in Jesus Christ and to living for him by faith in the power of the Spirit of God within them. If they do repent of their sins and trust in Christ as Savior, then we must commit ourselves to discipling them to maturity, i.e. to also teaching believers in Christ what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to help them to grow in their faith.

Hears or Rejects?

“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

When we are rejected for teaching the truths of scripture and for sharing the full gospel message of salvation, as was taught by Jesus Christ and by the apostles, we must know that it is not just us they are rejecting, but they are rejecting Jesus Christ and God the Father, too. Yet, if they hear what we have to say and they accept the gospel message, then it is because they hear the Savior speaking to their hearts via the living word of God and via the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and thus they respond to the Spirit’s voice.

Today, if we have not already done so, we must all make a choice to either accept Jesus Christ and his gospel message or to reject it. One day Jesus Christ is coming back to judge the earth and to take his followers to be with him forever. When that day comes, if not before, many people will die in their sins, having never believed in Jesus Christ and having not made that decision to repent of their sins and to walk in obedience to their Lord who died for them so they would no longer live for themselves but for him who gave himself up for them. They will spend eternity in torment, punishment and eternal separation from God. Yet, if they hear the Word and receive it, repent of their sins and turn to walk in fellowship with their Lord, as his followers, then they have the hope of eternal life in heaven with God.

Time is running out. None of us knows what tomorrow holds for us. Don’t put off until tomorrow to make that decision, because you don’t know when you will breathe your last breath. Make the choice right now to bow before God, to turn from your sins, to allow the Spirit of God to transform you in heart and mind, and then to follow Jesus Christ wherever he leads you. You will never regret it!

Tick Tock / An Original Work / May 1, 2011

Tick tock, tick tock, time is a passing.

The time on the clock keeps ticking

While the church is fast a-sleeping.

Satan’s on a rampage

‘Cause his time is running out.

Will you worship God the Father,

God the Son and Holy Spirit?

Will you obey all of His

Commands for you today?

Jesus died to pay your ransom,

So that you could be forgiven.

Won’t you come to Him in truth

And penitently pray to Him?

Tick tock, tick tock, time is a wasting.

The cross of our Lord awaits you.

Won’t you come and share His table,

Drink the cup and eat the bread

In memory of Him?

Take a heart examination,

And accept our God’s salvation.

Humbly bow in adoration

And proclaim His name.

He wants for you to believe in

Him who interceded for you

When He died for your sins

And He rose from death in victory.

Tick tock, tick tock, time’s end is nearing.

How He longs to take and keep you,

In His arms He wants to hold you,

If you will but come to Him

And call on Him today.

His desire is that you please Him

In all of your life’s ambitions;

Be a living sacrifice

And be transformed today.

Let Christ’s love and grace sustain you,

And His promises prepare you

For His soon return to earth

To gather all His saints to Him.

https://vimeo.com/119270762

http://originalworks.info/tick-tock/

The Crucified Life

Sunday, February 15, 2015, 1:55 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For By Grace.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 9:18-27 (ESV).

He Was Crucified For Us

Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus Christ often referred to himself as “The Son of Man.” I wanted to understand the meaning behind these words, so I did some research on this subject. What I learned from more than one source is that Jesus’ self-description was the “New Testament designation for Jesus as God incarnate in flesh and agent of divine judgment.” It appears that this reference to Jesus was primarily in the context of his humanity, his earthly ministry, his suffering and death, and his coming again to earth to judge, and to receive his bride (his saints/the elect) to himself (See: http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/view.cgi?n=5959).

Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. He left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer and was tempted in like manner as we are tempted, yet without sin. While on this earth he healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sinners, comforted the sorrowful, and he preached freedom to those captive to sin. He also preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins and obedience to him and to his commands as necessary for receiving our eternal salvation, i.e. as an essential aspect of genuine believing faith (See: Lu. 5:32; 13:5; Jn. 14:15, 21; 15:10), for we are saved by God’s grace through faith (See: Eph. 2:8-10).

I also wanted to understand the meaning of “The Christ of God,” so I looked that up, as well. The Greek word “Christos” means: “Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ” (source: biblehub.com). As “Christ,” Jesus Christ is prophet, priest and king. He represents God to us and us to God, and he is ruler over all things, completely sovereign and in control over all that he has created. He was both the priest who offered the sacrifice for our sins as well as he was the sacrifice. He shed his own blood on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, so that we would have the chance to receive forgiveness of sins and the hope of life eternal with God. He is our Savior who paid the price so we could go free.

We Must Die With Him

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

In Ephesians 2 we read that we are saved by God’s grace through faith. This salvation is not from ourselves, but is a gift from God. Even the faith to believe is a gift from God, but it is one we must decide to appropriate to our lives. We can do nothing in ourselves or of our own fleshly works to earn or to deserve such a great salvation. Jesus Christ was the only one who could secure this salvation for us, and it was through his death on a cross that he did so. Yet, we must receive this gift of grace by faith. This faith is not generated by ourselves, though. God has provided the faith we need to believe. We just have to apply it to our lives through humble submission to the cross of Christ and to our Savior.

There are many preachers and teachers of the Word today who are teaching a faith that is no faith at all, but is a mere outward confession of Christ, or is words that are mouthed only, or is an emotional experience or intellectual assent to who Jesus is, to what he did for us, and to our need to have him save us from our sins. Many of them teach salvation as though it is merely an escape from hell and a promise of heaven when we die. And, they teach that a mere prayer to ask Jesus into our hearts secures heaven for us no matter how we live our lives from this point forward. Yet, what they are missing is that genuine faith, which is required for salvation, involves turning from our sin (repentance) and turning our lives over to God/Christ in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives. Grace that is absent of repentance and obedience is no grace at all, for God’s grace frees us from sin.

Jesus said that if we want to come after him, we must deny (disallow) ourselves (our self-life) and take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow him (in obedience). He said if we want to save our old lives of living for sin and self, we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives (die to sin and self) for him, we will save them for eternity. Some people think this no longer applies to our lives, since it was before Christ died for our sins, and yet the apostles taught the same truth. They taught that we must die with Christ to our old lives of living for sin and self, that we must be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and that we are to be given new lives in Christ, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; & 1 Pet. 2:24-25).

It is not true GRACE if it does not free us from slavery to sin, and if all it does is just promise deliverance from the punishment of hell and promise the hope of eternal life in heaven. True grace is not a free license to continue in willful sin free from guilt and remorse. We read in Titus 2:11-14 that the grace of God that brings salvation teaches us to say “No” to “ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” while we wait for our Lord’s return. Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” True grace transforms human lives away from living for sin and self to living for God/Christ in his holiness and righteousness, in the power of the Spirit of God now living within us. Jesus Christ died, not just to save us from our sins, but so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for us (See 2 Co. 5:15).

If we say that we love God, that we know him, and that we are walking in fellowship with him/Christ, yet we continue to live sinful lifestyles and we do not walk in obedience to his commands, then scripture teaches us that we are liars, that we don’t really know God, and that he does not really know us (See: the book of 1 John). This does not mean we will live in sinless perfection, as the Word also teaches that our salvation is a process of sanctification, i.e. we are saved, being saved and will be saved. We are in the process of being made holy; of being purified; and of being conformed to the image of Christ. Our salvation will not be complete until Jesus Christ returns.

Yet, we should never use the excuse that we are not perfect, or that we are in process, to excuse away willful sin or to justify continuing to live sinful lifestyles after we claim to have been saved. Daily we should die to sin and self, and daily we should surrender to Christ, to the cross, and to our Savior’s will for our lives.

For By Grace / An Original Work / January 27, 2012

Based off Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace we’ve been saved

Of all our sins,

So that with Christ Jesus

Our lives begin.

Cleansing us from sin,

He made pure within

All who trust in Him

As their Savior, friend,

So that with Christ Jesus

Our lives begin.

We’ve been saved through faith;

This not from ourselves,

Lest that we should boast

In our fleshly works.

Our salvation is

A gift from our God,

Who loves us so much

That He gave His Son

To die on the cross

For all of our sins.

So repent of all

Of your sins today,

And He’ll forgive you;

Wipe your sins away.

Obey all of His

Teachings given you,

So that you can walk

With Him now in truth;

So that you can walk

With Him now in truth.

http://originalworks.info/for-by-grace/

http://youtu.be/HyyilFhyssQ

Love and Devotion

Thursday, February 12, 2015, 9:44 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Trust Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 7:31-50 (ESV).

Of This Generation

“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

There will always be people in this life who will think that we, who follow Jesus Christ with our lives, should think and behave just like them, and who will continually find some way to criticize or persecute us just because they don’t like something about us – what we stand for, what we do, and/or what we believe and practice. These are people who judge us by human standards, by traditions of men, and by worldly culture, philosophy and practice, and even by religious norms and customs which exist within the church.

They will mock us because we are different, and for the reason that we are unlike the world, and because we do stand out in a crowd, since we no longer conform to the ways of this sinful world. They will think us strange or crazy or disconnected from reality because we don’t do what “normal” people do. Even fellow Christians will be among those who may be our fiercest critics and opponents because we have not compromised our faith and we have not blended in with the society around us just so we can be accepted.

Yet, those who act wisely by God’s standards will one day be vindicated, if they are not already validated in the eyes of other humans for their love and devotion to Jesus Christ. What these wise servants do out of love for Christ and for their fellow humans, if not correctly understood now by everyone, will one day be confirmed that it had its purpose when the evidence is revealed by God concerning the lives that were changed for the good because of these servants’ love and devotion to Christ, and due to their commitment to following him in obedience to his will for their lives, despite all opposition.

For She Loved Much

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

I love this story! It is one of my favorites in the Bible. This woman was rejected because she had lived a sinful lifestyle, and probably because she was a woman, and because she did something that seemed weird, different, impractical and just plain senseless in the eyes of at least the host, Simon, the Pharisee. Yet, she did not come into the home of the Pharisee to cause trouble or to seduce anyone into sinning with her. She came with a repentant heart and out of love for Jesus – the one she had obviously heard about, or whom she had heard teach, or whom she had watched heal the blind, the sick and the lame. I believe she came because she wanted to be healed, too, and because she wanted to express her love for the Savior of the world, because he first loved her.

This woman was not concerned in the least what everyone might think of her, or else if she was at all, she rejected that fear and stepped out in faith and did what she knew she must do anyway, even knowing the kind of reception she might receive from some of the people there at that meal. Yet, she had a divine appointment with her Lord, and so she went, not knowing what might face her there. She did what she felt prompted to do, even knowing that her actions might be met with ridicule and with rebuke. Yet, her love for her Lord and her desire to express her love to him in this way overcame any fears she may have been feeling at the time.

Jesus’ host, Simon the Pharisee, responded to the woman and her actions with disdain. He looked down on her because of the sinful lifestyle she had lived. He obviously didn’t understand that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not to reject them and not to turn them away in disgust.

Jesus didn’t think like the Pharisee. Although Jesus was fully God and fully man when he walked the face of this earth, and he did not have to come to the earth to save us, he loved us so much that he left his throne in heaven, took on human flesh and eventually died on the cross for our sins so that we could be free of the curse of sin. He certainly did not pacify anyone’s sin, and he did not shy away from confronting sin and calling for repentance, nor did he avoid the subjects of obedience and judgment. Yet, he was merciful to the lost, and had compassion on them, and thus called them to faith in Him.

Jesus Honored Her

And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus told a parable to Simon in which he taught him that those who have sinned much and thus have been forgiven much will also love much, because they have a greater understanding of their true sinful condition (their debt) and thus a greater appreciation for the true grace and mercy of God in forgiving them and in saving them.

I love this next part in particular. It says that Jesus turned toward the woman but he spoke to Simon. He was giving honor to the woman for her act of faith and for her unadulterated love for her Lord. Basically, all the things that Simon should have done for the Lord, but did not do, the woman did.

Sometimes those who think they are so religious look down upon those who are true servants of the Lord and thus are critical of them and even reject and discard them as worthless, because they don’t get it. Their religion is just a bunch of rules and regulations (human-based), and forms and rituals and going through the motions of religious thought and practice, but they lack child-like faith as this woman obviously demonstrated. And, this goes back to the thought expressed early on in this writing concerning people who think we should be like them and who criticize us for being different, and it is because they don’t get it. Simon didn’t get it, either.

So, in conclusion, we should be encouraged by both of these stories to be the people of God whom our Lord created us to be, even in the face of great opposition, and even if the resistance we face comes from those within the church who don’t get it, either. We should have the courage and determination of this woman to do for our Lord what he has called us to do no matter what kind of response we get in return. Now, we should make certain it is the Lord we are hearing, and that our actions are consistent with the teachings of scripture and with the godly examples of Christ, the prophets, the apostles and other servants of the Lord talked about in scripture. Yet, we should not be afraid to be different and to do what may seem out of the ordinary by human standards of what they think is “normal.” We should be bold and courageous in our service to our Lord, but also humble and merciful to those who are in need of the Savior and of his saving grace.

Trust Him / An Original Work / August 15, 2012

Based off Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be of courage;

Be strong and take heart today.

Do not fear when foes attack you.

Trust in God always.

He will rescue you in times

Of trouble and distress,

He’ll comfort you in all ways

As you trust Him with your life today.

Trust in Him always.

God is with you; He’ll not leave you.

You can always count on Him.

He will fulfill all He promised

Before you began.

His word teaches you

All that you need for this life.

Let Him lead you. Open your heart;

Let his truth envelope you today.

Listen and obey.

Love your Lord God; follow Jesus.

Repent of your sins today.

Make Him your Lord and your master;

Trust Him and obey.

Follow Him where’er He leads you

In His service; be His witness,

Telling others about Jesus’

Price that He did pay

For your sins always.

http://originalworks.info/trust-him/  

https://vimeo.com/115369887

Our Words and Actions

Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 8:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “My Jesus, I Love Thee.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 6:43-49 (NASB).

Each Tree is Known

For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

There are certain passages of scripture, which on the surface, may seem to be so black and white, until understood in their proper context. The point of this scripture, I believe, is not to say that, if you are a Christian, that you will never have anything bad in your heart and that your speech will always be pure and good. Then we would be perfect, but we are not yet perfect, as Paul so wisely expressed, as is recorded for us in Phil. 3:12. That is why we are BEING transformed into Christ’s likeness (See: 2 Co. 3:18), because we are a work in progress. We have not yet arrived, but we press on in our walks of faith in Christ so that the purpose for which Jesus Christ died for us on the cross might take hold (have its effect) in our lives, which is that we would forsake our former lives of living for sin and self and that we would now live for Christ in his righteousness, in the power of the Spirit within us. Yet, we should never allow lack of perfection to be an excuse for continued willful sin!

For instance, in 1 John we read that if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not live by the truth. It says, as well, that if we say we love God, but we do not do what he says, we are liars, and we don’t really know God, and he doesn’t know us - in an intimate (personal) relationship. Yet, it also acknowledges the fact that, even though we have been saved by grace, that we are still able to sin and that we will still sin at times, though the goal is ultimately that we would not sin, which is why Jesus died for us, to free us from the control of sin over our lives and to free us to walk daily in his holiness. So, in the context of the whole of 1 John we must reach the conclusion that these verses are talking about lifestyle. If our lifestyle is one where we continue in willful sin, thinking we have the freedom to do so, then we are not in true fellowship with God. If our lifestyle is such that we do not believe we have to do what God’s word teaches us, and so we live how we want, then we don’t really know God and he doesn’t really know us.

I believe the same is true with regard to this passage of scripture in Luke 6. If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, and his Spirit lives within us, this should be evidenced by how we live our lives (by our lifestyles). We should desire to know our Lord Jesus and to walk in his ways and to do what is right and just and pure, and we should back up that heart desire with our actions, i.e. we should live like this is true in our lives. Spending time with our Lord each day in prayer and in his word should not be a drudgery for us, but we should long to be with Jesus and to listen to him and then we should willingly obey him and do what he says. It should be evident by our lifestyles that we love Jesus, that we love his word, and that we live to serve and to please him, as well as it should be evident that we love his children and the people of this world, and that we care deeply about what God cares deeply about it. If this is not true at all about us, i.e. if this doesn’t represent how we live our lives, then we are most likely not true servants of the Lord. So, this calls for a heart examination.

His Mouth Speaks

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

The Biblical principle here, I believe, is that our mouths speak from that which is filled up in our hearts. Christians can sometimes have bad things in their hearts, perhaps due to abuse they suffered as a child or even as an adult, or due to unforgiveness towards others, or because of sin they have given way to, or perhaps because of bad things they have allowed to enter into their thoughts, eyes and ears due to being slack in their commitments to Christ and in their walks of faith. When we are put under pressure or when our guard is not up, out can come from our mouths what is buried down deep in our hearts, some of which we may not have even been aware was there until it surfaced. When this happens, though, our immediate response should be to call upon our Lord in sorrow and in repentance, and to pray for God to deliver us from what has gotten buried in our hearts, which requires our full cooperation with the work of the Spirit in purifying our hearts and in making us holy.

Yet, it is also true that the lifestyle of one who is committed to Christ should have stored up in his or her heart what is of God, and this is what should mostly be what comes out of that person’s mouth, as well as it should normally produce in deed and in action what is godly and loving toward God and toward others. Yet, again, not one of us has yet reached absolute perfection. We are all works in progress, yet again this is never to be used to excuse away willful sin against God. The flip side is true, as well. Sometimes the ungodly of this world can actually say and do more in the way of good than many who profess to know Jesus Christ, at least by what many might call “good.” Yet, by lifestyle, it should be evident that the ungodly do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, that they do not honor him as the holy God he is, and that they are not committed to obeying his word, and to following him in his ways and in his truth. Thus their words and actions will not be godly and holy.

Actions Louder Than Words

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

There are many people in this life who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but they do not do what God says (in lifestyle). They are still in control of their own lives, i.e. their flesh and Satan still have full reign over their lives. They live how they want without concern for God’s plans and purposes for their lives, or else they live with little regard for what God wants and requires of his followers. Some of them have been taught this, and they have bought into the lies, because the lies promise them heaven when they die, yet requires nothing of them at all other than to “believe,” but a belief absent of true Biblical faith.

This false grace and false belief and false hope have permeated much of evangelical Christianity here in America, because they tickle itching ears and tell people what their flesh wants to hear. Those who teach this false grace have so twisted the scriptures to say what will make people feel good, and which makes the “gospel” much more palatable and acceptable to the people of this sinful world. They so manipulate God’s word so as to give people the impression that repentance and obedience are to be equated with works-based salvation and thus should be discarded as untruth, even though much of the New Testament teaches repentance and obedience as necessary requirements for salvation, i.e. for true relationship and fellowship with God/Christ.

The point of these words of Jesus is to reinforce for us that he cannot be “Lord” of our lives if we do not do what he says. As Lord, he is our master (owner) and we are his bond-servants. He purchased us with a price, his blood shed for us on the cross, so that we are no longer our own to do with our lives what we want. Jesus died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for us (See: 2 Co. 5:15). He died to free us from slavery to sin and to make us slaves of righteousness (See: Ro. 6-8); so that we might no longer walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. His grace is not a free license to live however we want, thinking his grace covers it all. His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for his soon return. He died to “redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (See: Tit. 2:11-14).

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is not just words we say or an emotional experience we go through once in our lives. It means death to sin and being alive to Christ, to walk in his ways. We not only must hear his words, but we must do them. Jesus said his sheep listen to him and they follow (obey) him. When we understand this, and when we put into practice into our daily lives what the Word of Christ teaches us we must do as his followers, then when the storms of life come at us, and they will, our faith will remain strong and steadfast as will our commitments to our Lord to live holy lives pleasing to him. Yet if we listen, but we do not do what his word teaches us, then when trials and difficulties come our way, our faith will come crashing down and we will not be able to withstand them but will give way to our flesh and will do what our sin nature desires instead, and it will be to our ruin.

So, don’t be hearers of the word only, but be doers of the word. Love Jesus with all your heart, and do what he tells you. Follow him wherever he leads you, and walk in his ways.

My Jesus, I Love Thee

William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

For thee all the follies of sin I resign. 

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight;

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.