Daily Meditations (Page 7)
BE GENUINE
At the height of the Vietnam War a song came out in 1968 called “The Games People Play”. It’s a protest song, one of many during that era whose lyrics speak against, among other things, hypocrisy and irresponsibility: “Oh the games people play now Every night and every day now Never meaning what they say now Never saying what they mean.” The Lord spoke through Isaiah to address the same problem back then that this song addresses…..Hypocrisy and irresponsibility. Talking the talk but not having the heart. Indeed, Jesus quoted this passage when he rebuked the religious leaders of His day for their hypocrisy. Today, people are still playing games! Pretending to be something or someone they’re not. Praising God at church and cursing their fellow man at work, bringing their Bibles to church but leaving them untouched from Monday till the next Lord’s Day! STOP playing games! Peter warns us to be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as roaring lion,walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; (1 Peter 5:8)
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.
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
Hang on brothers and sisters in Christ! We may be in for a rough ride the next few years if the Lord tarries. Are you ready? We have always been considered as soldiers but thus far we’ve had it pretty easy. Jude tells his audience that they should earnestly contend for the faith and that applies to us today as well. Contend…..to contend about a thing, as a combatant. ‘Earnestly” is added to convey the intensive force of the preposition. I want to encourage each believer reading this…..don’t cede one inch of ground to the devil, not one single inch! Fight for the faith as a good soldier.
ONE NAME, ONE WAY
You can search the whole world over for one name that may gain you entrance into heaven. No need to waste your time! Jesus is the ONLY name that can save us from our sins. Have you called upon the name of Jesus to save you? what’s holding you back? Call on Him while there’s still time.
WHAT IS SIN?
I recently had a friend ask me what “sin” was. Good question! What is sin? This particular word pictures an archer aiming for the bulls eye of a target As he draws the string back and lets go, the arrow flies but falls desperately short of the target. God has a “target” so to speak, a standard if you will, that we are to hit. That standard is absolute perfection. I’m sure we all will agree that no one is perfect and we do fall short of that standard, however, without attaining to that standard we will never be able to enter heaven apart from God lowering the standard or providing a mean’s by which we attain it vicariously through someone who can hit the mark. That someone is Jesus Christ.
CORRUPT COMMUNICATION
We all know what it’s like to be around someone who’s vocabulary is equivalent to the proverbial sailor’s. We’ve come to half-way expect it, especially in our current environment of caustic division and strife. However, to hear “corrupt” communication from one who claims to be a Christian not only is extremely offensive but also brings reproach to the name of Christ. The Greek word employed for corrupt means “rotten, putrid, obscene vulgarity”. Certainly nothing rotten or putrid should come out of the mouth of those who are to reflect Christ in our speech but should be seasoned with grace, edifying or building up those who are listening.
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.
DOERS OF THE WORD
There is coming a day when this sin cursed world will be restored. We long for that day when there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears!
INSINCERELY DESIRING GOD’S WORD
Ezekiel lays open before our eyes the blatant hypocrisy of God’s people as they whisper to one another in their houses expressing a desire to hear the Word of God.