Posts by Brandon Tipsword (Page 3)
IS YOUR HEART IN IT?
When I read this verse I am reminded to make sure my heart is in my service to the Lord. God does not want us to serve Him begrudgingly, but with genuine desire and reverence. Half-hearted service to the Lord is not pleasing to God; neither is service done to please men. It is a good practice to check our hearts from time to time.
WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR?
How many of us could honestly say this about ourselves. Can we say that the only purpose in my life is to live for Christ? Can we say that we truly believe that to die is gain? Do we have a greater desire for the things of the world or the things of Christ? What evidence is their in our lives to support our claim to love Jesus? In the case of the Apostle Paul there was plenty of evidence to support this verse to be true in his life.
LOOKING STEDFASTLY
Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. But, where is He now? Well my friend, look at what Stephen saw as he was being stoned to death because of his witness for Christ. Stephen got a glimpse of Jesus standing on the right hand of God. What comfort that must have been for Stephen! Notice this, before he saw Jesus he stedfastly looked into heaven. I do not know what you might be going through today, but I know this, if you want to see Jesus in the midst of trouble, if you want the comfort of Christ, you need to take your eyes off of the trouble and look to where He can be found. He is not hard to find. He is still in the same place that Stephen saw Him.
WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?
We call today Good Friday. What is so good about it? After all, it is a day that Jesus suffered the most brutal beating and death that an innocent man has ever endured. The disciples at the time certainly did not see the day as good. They saw it as a day they were losing someone they loved; their friend and leader. Yet we call it good. You see, the problem that all of has is that we see things from our perspective and not God’s. So things that he sees as good we do not always see as good. The answer to the question lies in a verse we often quote:
THE UNPROSPERITY GOSPEL
There is a “gospel” being taught that does not require you to deal with your sin. In fact, they rarely if ever mention the word sin. They say God wants to bless you as if God is their servant. This false gospel teaches a worldly prosperity that tells you to “believe God for things you want and you will get it.” However, the man that does not deal with his sin will never prosper in regards to the riches of heaven. It is the man that confesses and forsakes his sin that is truly blessed. Psalm 32:1-2 ……..Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
SORROW WITH HOPE
In these verses I see three reasons why we can trust that the bodies of every believer that has died will be resurrected at the rapture. First, Jesus rose from the dead proving once and for all that he is who He said He was. Second, God who cannot lie said so and it is recorded in His word. Third, God is not relying upon someone else to receive us, He is coming himself! Therefore, we have great hope and comfort knowing that one day all saints will be reunited in the air to be with the Lord forever.
WHEN LIFE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
Have you ever said, “How can this be?” Perhaps you have tried to do right and it seems like things are not working out. Maybe the more you try to live for God the more difficult things become. Well, you are not alone. However, we must remember to trust the LORD with all our hearts; meaning our minds are stayed on Christ, our emotions controlled by the Holy Spirit, and our wills committed to following the Father even when we do not understand. When we lean unto our own understanding our minds become troubled, our emotions can fly out of control, and temptations to follow our flesh increase. We must commit to trusting God in all of the issues of life.
RICH IN MERCY
of approximately $179B. You could say his bank account is overflowing. However, our God is overflowing with something much more needful to every man and woman, mercy. Without God’s mercy we would be without hope. God is not stingy with his mercy. The problem is that many people do not believe they need mercy. So we complain and groan in trials as if some injustice has happened to us. The truth is that each and everyone of us deserves the wrath of God because we have accumulated a debt of sin that we have no hope or ability to repay. But God who is rich in mercy paid the debt on our behalf by sending his son to die a merciless death on a cross. God deserves our gratitude for His generosity of mercy.
PRAYING IN THE MORNING
The psalmist here demonstrates a person that starts his day by turning his focus onto God. Prayer is an act of faith demonstrating our dependence upon the Lord. It is also an act of worship where we can praise God and thank Him for all that he does. What a great way to start the day!
SELF OPPOSITION
When man rejects truth it is to his own detriment. He is opposing himself. In other words, we are our own greatest enemy. The greatest opposition one can have against himself is to reject Jesus Christ as Lord and savior in unbelief. However, for the Christian we also oppose ourselves when we refuse to follow Christ in obedience to the truth. The first will realize how great his error is at the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). The latter will know at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12). That is why we should approach those rejecting truth with humility as we ourselves are not immune to temptation nor will we escape the judgment seat (Gal. 6:1).