“Study”
God is very clear concerning His Word. In this gift we have called the Bible, He has given us everything that pertains to “life and godliness” (II Peter 1.3). Paul further alludes to this fact by saying that “All Scripture is inspired by God (God breathed) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (I Timothy 3.16). In II Timothy…
“Follow the Leader”
As a kid I can remember playing the game follow the leader. The object of the game was simple. You won by following the leader, and you lost by not following the leader. Who would have ever thought that such an elementary game would play such a significant role in our salvation? Paul says in I Corinthians 11.1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ Jesus”. The word “imitator” simply means “follower.” Paul just tells us…
“Use Your Talents”
Matthew was a tax collector. Can you imagine how poorly received he was to the people he was trying to convert? He may have cheated these people out of their money or he may have lied to them about what they owed. Now he wants to bring them to Christ! Paul was guilty of putting Christians in prison. He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen. After Paul was baptized, he came back to Jerusalem and could have…
“SEEK HIM”
Matthew 7.7 reads, “Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you.” We do not do a very good job of seeking God. We want God to find us. We sing “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” What does seek mean to us? When a child is lost in the mall, we as parents seek. We cover that mall till the child is found. When…
“Commitment”
In our kitchen, my wife has three words hanging, “Dream”, “Believe” and “Love”. To be successful in the world we need big “Dreams.” We have to push ourselves to become the men or women God intends us to be. We need to use all of our talents. Never let anyone shoot down your dreams. “Believe” is a word we struggle with at times. To become a solid Christian, we must believe. We are told in scripture that believing will…
“Look in the Mirror”
James encourages us to be “doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves” (James 1.22) He compares the “hearers only” as those who look at their face in the mirror and immediately forget who they are, to a “doer of the Word” who looks at the “perfect law, the law of Liberty”. Within the comparison James has us “looking”, but the two words for looking are different! The first looking in the mirror is defined…
“You’re Important”
Have you ever felt unimportant in God’s Kingdom? What about small and insignificant? Or maybe you just feel that there are so many people in your church that have more talent in their pinkie toe nail than you do in your entire body. In some cases that may be true. You may not be very talented. In fact, you may even be the one talent man that is described in Matthew 25. When you have so little in comparison…
“Blessings”
The famous basketball coach John Wooden once said “If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would be much happier.” I wonder if coach got that idea from David when he said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgive all you iniquity, who heals all you diseases, who redeems your life from the…
“Why do we Worship God?”
Many problems occur because man doesn’t choose to worship God the way God wants. Rather, a way that is also pleasing to self. Cain was the first record of one trying to worship God his own way. What does the book of Genesis tell us about how God felt about it? He respected Abel’s offering but not Cain’s because it wasn’t as God had said. Both brothers believed in God and both wanted to worship Him. Both…
“WHAT DOES THE SILENCE SAY?”
DISCUSSION : Can silence authorize ?—God spoke and said all we need to know-what He wants- therefore anything else would be presumption. Silence authorizes nothing . Does silence forbid? – The same logic that shows silence can’t authorize, forbids anything more. Example- when a Dr. writes a prescription, the detail and exact amounts are included to get the correct medication. The Dr. doesn’t tell the pharmacist what not to give the patient. He remains silent because it’s understood to…
”Keep yourself in the right channel-follow Gods word, not mans.”
A passenger was aboard a ferry crossing the waters between Michigan and Canada. During the trip he noticed that there were a lot of treacherous rocks and boulders along both sides (port and Starboard) of the ferry, causing him great concern. He went to the captain with his concern. Sir, do you know where all these boulders and rocks are on each side of the ferry? The captain said no, I do not, but I do know where the…
“Burdens give us wings”
Burdens Give Us Wings. An old legend says that long ago God had a great many burdens that He wished to have carried from one place to another on earth, so He asked the animals to lend a hand. All of them began to make excuses for not helping: the elephant was too digni fi ed; the lion too proud; and so on. Finally the birds came and said, “If you will tie them into small bundles, we’ll carry…