The God Who Is There

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

Psalms 14:1

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God has made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Romans 1:18-20

King David said it well, only a fool would say there is no God.

We are not left to wonder about God’s existence, we are presented with the evidence of His existence.

Paul in his letter to the Romans explains that God has revealed Himself to all men. God created the universe and all that is in it. If man simply looks at a new baby, he can see that only the hand of a divine God could create something so wonderful.

Only a fool having seen the universe could deny the creator of it all - the strong, powerful, true God.

 

Care For One Another

 

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

When we have big problems, we help each other along. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are there to pray with us, encourage us and to help us.

We should not be timid about asking for help and we should not be timid about extending help. It is what we do for one another.

No burden is too heavy to bear when others help us carry it.

Walk Boldly

 

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Colossians 2:6-7

When we walk with Jesus, we consider what we do in life with an eye to doing the best we can to represent the love of God in the world.

Asking the question, "What would Jesus do?" gives us pause to consider that perhaps erring on the side of mercy serves both mankind and our Lord in a way which is beyond that which we might ordinarily do.

Walk boldly with Jesus.    

That Will Show Them

 

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:17

In his writings John is affectionate toward us and he is also a tough task master. He lets us know that if we say we are Christians, we need to behave in a Christ like manner and do what Jesus commanded us to do – love one another.

One day, my mother sent me to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread. A head of me in line was Mike. It was summer and he was wearing a dirty undershirt, torn pants and no shoes, and he was paying for a loaf of bread with deposit money from pop bottles he salvaged from an overgrown lot next to the store. Mike was short six cents and the cashier sent him back outside to find three more bottles. Bread was twenty-eight cents a loaf then. Don’t you think someone standing in line could have paid the six cents? Nobody did.

Mike was shown tough love. It could be argued that it did not hurt Mike to dig through the weeds for pop bottles, but if someone would have said, “Let me get that for you,” and paid that last six cents, Mike might have seen God’s love.

Don’t miss an opportunity to show God’s love.

Stop Spending, Start Living

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;

And You who have no money come, buy and eat.

Come buy wine and milk

Without money without cost.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And delight yourself in abundance.

Incline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that you may live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you….

Isaiah 55:1-3

God says we do not need to use brute force to muscle our way through life. There is a better way, His way. Satisfaction does not come from accumulating great piles of things. Satisfaction comes from knowing God, and the free gift of God, His Son – Jesus.

Spending money on things to make us happy is only a temporary fix. Things break, rust, and expire, but the love and mercy of God is forever.

Stop spending. Start Living. Get to know Jesus.

 

God Hears Us

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

1 John 5:14

In Christian circles there is a lot of discussion regarding what we should and should not pray for. There are those who say to pray for our own needs is selfish, and there are those who say that since God is intimately acquainted with us and loves us that should not shy away from asking God for what we need and want in life. I vote with the latter group.

We can pray for others and for the world and for ourselves.

God wants us to bring everything to Him. God cares that you are having financial problems and God cares that you need a better car. God cares about where you live, where you go to school, and where you work. God is interested and has an interest in us. God wants us to do well and be well. We are not being selfish when we bring our needs and desires to God; we are being obedient to the scripture.

When we ask, God hears us.

 

The Confession Leading To Salvation

But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead).”

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” –that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Romans 10:8-11

There is only one confession of any consequence to Christians. That is the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. We believe this and we are saved. Faith alone leads to salvation.

We should not confuse the confessing of our sins with this the true confession. Yes, we may still confess our sins, but the true confession leading to salvation is that of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Take Action

 

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 

 

Ecclesiastes 11:4

 

When we know we need to do something, we can spend a lot of time finding reasons to wait.  

 

We are paralyzed by inertia.  We are unable to make a decision regarding what to do, even if what the right thing is, is apparent.

 

God wants us to be people of action.  When we know the right thing to do, we need to do it.  

 

Take action.  

Get To Work

 

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life….

Philippians 2:14-16

The Apostle Paul understood that it is human nature to complain, but he also understood that serving God requires that whatever task is set out for us to do that we needed to get it done.

So, let us be quiet and get to work.

Justified By Faith

 

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2

Comfort comes from making Jesus our Lord, Master and Savior. We are no longer left to our own devices in our attempts to make our lives right. Faith in God brings us to a place where we can know that we are not alone, but are loved and cared for by God.

Give It Up

 

Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

1 Peter 2:1-3

If you feel hate or malice, if you have a bent to deceit, or if you recognize hypocrisy in your life, give it up.

God is kind to us, and we should be kind to our fellow human beings. Our goal is to grow in the love of God and in knowledge of His ways and be reinvented as one who not only follows God, but strives to be godly.

Because God is kind to us, we are kind to others.

Amen.

I Am Not Going To Let That Bother Me

 

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

I think this is one of the keys to good human relations – the ability to overlook and forgive those things which rub us the wrong way. It is easy to get mad because we are snubbed or slighted or not invited. What is more difficult is to understand is that we have all done this to someone sometime, either intentionally or unintentionally, and if we allow these things to rule our emotions and relationships, we will be too busy being sorry sacks to do anything else.

Therefore, I propose, if we think we have been slighted or that we have slighted someone, we overlook the former and apologize for the latter, so that we can get on with working together for the Kingdom of God.

Go on now; say something kind.

Again and Again

 

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the ways of the Lord are right,

And the righteous will walk in them.

Hosea 14:9

Hosea again and again preached doom and gloom to the Israelites. And, the Israelites had it coming because they refused to give up idolatry and return to the one true God.

In all this there is the undercurrent that in spite of the Israelites unfaithfulness, God was ready to welcome them back if they would repent of their sin and come to Him.

This true for us, too.  No matter how far we stray from God, He is still there waiting to welcome us back. God is merciful and all we have to do is ask forgiveness for our sins and accept His mercy. 

Even In Hard Times, God Still Loves Us

 

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

Job 2:20-22

Job had more troubles than anyone could ever imagine. He lost his children and all he owned. His wife told him to “Curse God and die.” And, his friends suggested that he must have done something wrong to have so much bad luck. But Job remained faithful to God. He continued to praise God and be comforted by God’s love.

When we face hard times, we can remember Job. Everything we possess on earth is temporary. And no matter what happens, we can take comfort in God’s never ending love for us.

Help People Help Themselves

 

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.

Ephesians 4:28

Every day the Church faces the dilemma of how best to serve new Christians who have criminal pasts. One way is to help them secure a jobs so they can earn money to live and support their families. This is no easy task, but by forming job clubs and recruiting employers who are willing to give those who want to change their lives an opportunity to do so, the Church can minster to those who are often under-served by the Church.

And, enable those helped to help others who are in need.

Kiss and Make Up

 

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Matthew 5:23-24

God desires our full attention. When we are stewing about disagreements with friends, relatives, neighbors or associates, it takes the focus away from worshiping God.

The easiest way to make up with a friend or enemy is to say, “I am sorry.”

It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong because, when we think about it, most of our disagreements are small when we look at the big picture. And, the act of saying, “I am sorry,” clears the air for discussion if it is needed.

Plus, saying “I am sorry,” costs us nothing, except our pride. And, do we want to let our pride get between us and God? I don’t think so.

The Salve Of Mercy

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

Jude 2-3

If you know someone whose life is in turmoil, these are the perfect words of comfort. We cannot solve their problems, but we can offer the salve of mercy, peace and love.

 

There Is Hope

 

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Who made heaven and earth,

The seas and all that is in them;

Who keeps faith forever;

Who executes justice for the oppressed;

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free.

Psalm 146:5-7

God's promises are true.

We can take to heart that God will set the prisoners free, and because of this pray for all people who are unjustly imprisoned around the world.   

We hold fast to God's promises and know that He is working to fulfill His promises. 

Everybody Has Something

 

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!

Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

It is hard to believe that these words were written by the Apostle Paul, who was a Rock Star of the Faith. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. He spoke with great authority to Christians regarding the teachings of Jesus and the application of the Word of God to everyday life.

Yet, here he is, Paul the Apostle, confessing that he has an affliction which is so big that it humbles him. Some theologians think Paul may have lost his eyesight, others think that he had a difficult wife, but no one knows for sure what the affliction was. We do know it interfered with his daily life and his ministry.

Paul’s affliction made him feel like less of a Rock Star of the Faith and more like a regular person. It humbled him.

We too may have afflictions which interfere with our Christian ministry to others. We may have a bad marriage or bad kids or a bad financial situation or a physical ailment or limitation. No matter what the circumstance is that humbles us, we still are filled with the power of God.