Jeremiah 29:11-13  “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope”.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

Do you know God’s plan for you?  Here we see His plan for the nation of Judah in the midst of their defeat and exile to the Babylonians.  Jeremiah 29:4 tells how it was God who caused them to be carried away.  Any reading of the Old Testament prophets will reveal why He caused their captivity - disobedience.  The prophets preached time and time again turn from your idols back to the one true God.  So even though He caused it, He still had plans for a great future.

So what is God’s plan for us as believers?  Plans for peace and not evil, plans for future and a hope.  His plans are that we will call upon Him and pray to Him.  The plan is that we would seek and find Him.  This is...

Joshua 1:7  Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

 

Are you bold and daring?  Are you brave and fearless?  We should be.  We serve an awesome God.  Looking back to creation and then all the miracles through Exodus and then standing at the door to the promise land you would think it would be easy to be courageous.  But is it?

Here we see God’s recipe for courage.  First, there is a warning - be careful, watch what you are doing.  Be sure to do all that Moses commanded, which was the law, the Word, the Bible.  Whatever name we use, our first lesson in how to be strong and courageous is to know God’s Word.  The next lesson is to live it.  Do not turn from it either to the left or to the right.  This phrase “turn to the left or to the right” means to be distracted and turn to our own ways.  It can be from the flesh or from Satan.  Knowing the Word is only part of the plan.  You have to exercise it daily.

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1 Corinthians 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

 

This is not about tithing.  It is not about giving to United Way or any other secular charitable organization.  This is about giving to other Christians and Christian organizations that either need it or you know will use it wisely.  The church in Jerusalem needed it badly.

Paul took up a collection for that church everywhere he went.  They were very poor.  Its members were under serious persecution from their own people, the Jews.  When most Jews accepted Christ, their own families would have nothing to do with them.  Others would not conduct business with them and many of their businesses were burned.  These new Jewish Christians lost family, friends, homes and businesses all because they believed in the Messiah their own Scriptures promised.  There was a desperate need for funds to support the church.

The money Paul was collecting was over and above what the Christians were giving to support their own local church.  This type of giving is called an offering.  The giving of alms is for the poor (Leviticus 19:9, 10).  The second type of offering is the offering of First Fruits (Exodus 23:19) which today would be giving a share of any increase.  Then there is the tithe which is ten percent (10%).  Then there is the offering or seed giving.  This is the least done today but the most rewarded.  The more seeds you sow you more you will reap (2 Corinthians 9:6).  An added benefit of giving is that it is the cure for greed.  Greed holds on, giving shares.

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John 14:5-6  Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”.

 

Up or down?  Which way are you going?  In these verses we see that Jesus did not come to show us the way, but rather He is the way.  In the previous chapter, Jesus tells the disciples, in veiled statements, about his future betrayal, death, and resurrection.  He doesn’t talk about being crucified, he talks of being glorified.  He also tells them that He is going away to prepare a place for them.  They, still looking for the earthly kingdom, think Jesus is going to a physical place to begin that kingdom.  Thomas, in essence is saying, “Look, we do not know where you are going so how can we get there”?

Now, on this side of the cross, we know what Jesus was talking about.  The Way is the belief in Him.  Eternal life is the belief in Him.  Truth is the belief in Him.  Access to the Father...

I am perplexed, and have been for a while, over the fact that some Christians vote for Democrats. I have studied the Scriptures and looked over what the Democratic Party stands for and cannot see what my liberal brothers see. Surely they are voting their faith. I am not trying to disparage anyone, I am thoroughly baffled at this phenomena. I know where the Scripture stands on homosexuality, that God loves them, but He does not want that lifestyle lifted up and called normal. Remember Jesus after He forgave the adulteress woman told her to go and sin no more. Also, Paul clearly calls homosexuality a sin in 1 Corinthians. I thought maybe they voted Democrat to possibly help the downtrodden, but again Jesus told us, the church, to do that. Never do I see Jesus tell a government to forcibly take money from citizens to give to the needy. Paul says if you don’t work neither should you eat. This class warfare that they are pushing now is nothing but envy and we know where the Scripture stands on that. One thing I know...

1 Timothy 1:5  But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

 

Do you have access to a good Bible teacher?  Someone who not only knows the Word but lives it.  In 1 Timothy, Paul is instructing Timothy on how to handle false teachers who were mingling myths, genealogies, and keeping the law, with the Gospel.  Paul stresses that the goal of teaching is love because that is what Christ is.  God loving us first and sending Jesus to die so we might know real love.

Beware of teachers with an agenda or certain doctrines that they teach above all else.  Watch to see if their teaching is to divide or unite.  Is their teaching just to show off their knowledge or to help others put the Word into daily practice?  Watch their walk, their talk, and most of all, their heart.

There also are teachers who have big hearts and push aside certain truths so as to be inclusive.  They will not mention some verses or doctrines that may be damning to some...

John 15:11  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

 

How is your joy?  Not how happy are you.  Not how excited are you.  How is your joy?  The dictionary defines joy as: the state of being very glad, pleased, great delight, gladness of heart.  Joy is internal and based on Christ.  Happiness is external and based on circumstances.  Joy is something no one can take from you.  No situation can remove it either.  It is the peace that surpasses all understanding and Jesus wants your joy to be made full!

How do we get this joy?  We start by the words spoken in verses 1-10.  Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.  We must stay connected to Him in order for the Vinedresser (The Father) to prune us.  This pruning is done through difficult circumstances.  That is why James tells us to count it all joy (James 1:2).  If in a difficult circumstance, we pull away from Jesus, the Father can’t work in us and we lose our joy.  Anytime we move...

Ephesians 5:1 reads, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”. When studying the Bible always see what the “therefore” is there for. In this particular case you have to go back to the end of chapter 4 verse 32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” That is how we are to be imitators of God. We are to be kind to others and tender-hearted. The best possible way to be an imitator of God is to be forgiving. Here we see the stark difference of before the cross and after. Before the cross Jesus says if you don’t forgive others God won’t forgive you. Here we see that we are to forgive others because we have been forgiven. God, through Christ, makes it possible for us to forgive others. When we are confronted with our huge list of offenses against God in which He freely forgave us how dare we not forgive others whose miniscule offenses we can’t seem to get over.    

 

 

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Proverbs 21:23 (Amplified)  He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.

 

There is an old saying “better to keep your mouth shut and let others think you are a fool then to open it and remove all doubt”!  That is sort of what this proverb means.  How many times have you thought “I wish I wouldn’t have said that”?  I have seen couples hurt each other more deeply with words than fists.  The scars from words last far longer than physical ones.  Most physical altercations start with words.  It is true; he who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.

James says no man can tame the tongue.  So how do we guard our mouths?  One way is to pray for our enemies.  It is hard to say something negative about someone when you are praying for them.  If you want what is best for those around you, how can you speak evil of them or to them?  Maintain a positive attitude through the words you speak.

Another way is to think before you speak.  This takes practice. ...

Romans 5:17 reads, “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” When we talk of God being a just God we now see from this verse why Christ had to come. Because of Adam’s transgression death reigned. In other words, we have no choice but to sin. We were born in sin and because God is just He gives us a choice. We can choose death by remaining in control of our own life, or we can choose life by dying to self and accepting Christ’s work on the cross. It is more than God’s love that saves us, it is His justice also. His justice demands a payment and then His love provided that payment in Christ.

 

 

 

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