Haste makes Waste

Haste makes Waste

by David Brenneman 

A while ago now there was a sermon series that had an element in it concerning how we spend our time.  

Some don't have an understanding that it is as precious as whatever we get in our paycheck or other income. 

We can easily run out of time, of money, often at the same time. 

Our days are numbered. Really they are. God only grants us so many times around the sun. So many opportunities to live life. 

Some rush through it thinking all sorts of things. Thinking that it's passing them by. Some think that they don't have enough of it. Some think they have too much of it.  

What value do you put on your time?

Jesus should have a very significant say in how you spend your today for you. 

If indeed He is your Lord and Savior then does He get the honor due Him? Or don't you go that far in your thoughts concerning Him?

Have you made, relegated, Jesus to just someone else in your life?

Jesus should have first place in the lives of Believers. 

The Bible says that we are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and spirit. An then to love your neighbor as yourself.  

Do you take this seriously or are you being so hasty with your life, the time you've been given, that you're wasting it?

In the book of Acts, at the beginning of the Church, there were people with a significantly different view on life in Christ than the Church shows today. They took it to heart to love their neighbor as themselves. Not caring about themselves more than the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ. Selling off things to help others. Offering their time for others.  

Are there things in your life that you are truly wasting time and money on? Subscriptions are oh so commonplace today and are leaching the finances of people the world over. Convincing people that they HAVE to have these $5-$10 drinks to truly live life to the full.  

Years ago a song was out that had a lyric describing our world then and now. 

"I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's non fun. All I really got to do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why. Can't be late.".

Haste does make waste.  

Being in a hurry for even the plans for today that we have can come back to bite us.  

We can set our minds on living in a certain place, a certain city. Ideas are great, but before you invest in time, energy and effort, did you ask Jesus first? Are you going to be obeying Christ by pursuing this or will He allow you to have a purse full of holes inside? A purse full of holes...modern day description of a money pit. Time and time again rebuilding what God says He's not blessing.  

Are you pursuing things that do not have the blessing of God on them?

Haste makes waste. So does being stubborn about pursuing things that God refuses to bless.  

The people whom the Bible says are fools in saying there is no God...waste every single day of their lives pursuing things and status that are doomed to failure. 

What are you doing to do your best to live your life? Are you looking for self-approval or to hear Jesus say "Well done!"? 

Getting in a hurry in life, with no regard for what Jesus wants you to be doing in it, is going to end in waste. 

You who have been blessed with the means...do you pray about how you can help others or are you afraid of letting go of your blessings from God? Look again at the early Church's behavior. Look at what they did for each other. They shared the blessings of God to bring freedom to their brothers and sisters in Christ...so that they too could be in a position to do the same for someone else. 

Hoarding your blessings will invite that purse to have holes in it. 

Hoarding your time, spending it only on yourself, will in the end not be fulfilling.  

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit. 

Love your neighbor as yourself. 

Understand what the will of God for you is. Your satisfaction isn't really it. Your personal happiness isn't really it. Your sanctification is it.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Make sure that Jesus is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life....then live it out loud. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

Faith...Without Excuse

Faith...Without Excuse 

by David Brenneman 

"However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”" Romans 10:16-18.

"And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”" Romans 10:20-21

"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 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. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." Romans 1:18-23.

"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." Romans 12:3.

There are oh so many people in this world who scoff at the name of Jesus. They ridicule the faith that those who are saved in Christ Jesus have found to be true. 

"May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”" Romans 3:4.

A very Godly man that I knew and sat under for teaching often quoted that verse.  

There's many people in my world who mock at the very idea of having faith in Christ Jesus. They scoff at those who profess their faith. 

What's really true is their denial of the evidences that even nature itself shows in testifying to the Lord Jesus Christ's creation.

The very person of Jesus Christ fulfilled more than adequate proofs of the validity of the faith the saints of old held without seeing Him arrive on the scene. 

It's incredible beyond measure the hundreds of prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  

Nature points to the very Creator we read in the book of Genesis. 

In my infinitesimal life in the scheme of human history...there's too much evidence that my Savior and Lord has kept every promise He made even to the likes of me.  

I don't believe in coincidence.

I do believe in Godincidences. 

Jesus is always ahead of me in knowing all that is going on in my life. 

He proves to me daily that He's never surprised by anything.

Then there's the point of don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself.   

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.

And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." Hebrews 11:1-2, 39-40.

Read all of Hebrews 11 for yourself.  

An denying it, rejecting it, casting it aside as foolishness, gains a person only a surefire ticket to Hell.  

I have mentioned this truth to a lot of people...as long as a person breathes...there's hope. 

I can't change a single person. 

However I do know that the Spirit of God can and will go places that I can't.   

I have never saved a single person. 

Only the work of the Spirit of God draws people to Jesus for salvation. 

We aren't soul winners, we are testifiers to the truth of God in our lives. We point people to Jesus and He does the rest. The Great Commission says to go and make disciples of all the nations. Teaching them all that He commanded us. Peter's testimony that lead to over 3,000 people receiving Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior...Peter didn't do anything...the Spirit did. 

We choose to accept or reject that measure of faith we are given...with eternal consequences. 

Those who reject have no excuse because the Spirit says they will have none. There will be no valid reasons for refusing the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. None. No pointing to others as a reason that someone said no. No circumstances that would be acceptable as a reason to say no. Nothing.  

Hell gets more people every single second because of people rejecting that faith they were given. 

That passage that I referred to in the book of Acts where Peter stood to testify...the people were pierced to the heart. Scripture says that people will look upon Jesus whom they pierced. At His hands and feet. The Spirit will bypass every single defense anyone has to get to the truth of the matter. 

Jesus said that we must come as a child. Child-like faith. Adults screw everything up by over thinking about how to be saved. How this, why that. How come this happens or that happens. How could God allow this for those people and not for me. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." 

Within that passage is faith. 

Remove your need for understanding. Come with the expectation that Jesus is, was, is again and now will keep His word and save you. That He came, lived a sinless life. That He died for your sins. That He arose again 3 days later. That now He is both Lord and Christ. More than able to take our place. To save us if we but receive His free gift of salvation through faith.  

All religions lead to Hell. 

All who trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and have believed in Him have eternal life...only these will see Heaven. 

You, my Dear Reader, possibly have a choice to make. You possibly are arguing with God about faith. That you want more proof.  

Jesus is up to that challenge. Are you?

Take it to Jesus and you won't be disappointed.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

Plans for Believers, Results of Fools

Plans for Believers, Results of Fools

by David Brenneman 

"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." Jeremiah 29:11-13

"The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good." Psalms 14:1.

"The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good." Psalms 53:1.

"For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty." Isaiah 32:6.

Just as it will be on the day of judgment...so in reality it is this day. 

There are only two kinds of people. There are those who believe and trust in what Christ did on the cross to make a way to save them. Then there are those who reject Jesus Christ either in full denial or through various levels of unbelief.

Various levels exist because of both the mind of man and the schemes of the devil, also known as Satan. 

Which are you?  

There is no fooling Jesus on the day of judgment. Consider it well that He asks nobody where they are with regards to guilt or innocence. 

His work on the cross bridged the gap between God and man. God the Father said such a connection would have to be a perfect sacrifice. One who would have to fulfill every single prophecy concerning the Messiah. The man Jesus is that One.

There was the Disciples after His resurrection who saw Jesus alive. There were the women who saw Him as well. There were the 500 plus people who also testified to His resurrection. Historically there are other people groups in this world who tell stories of meeting one who can only be described as the one and only Son of God that time-line wise completely fits the post crucifixion time-frame.

Countless examples exist of the work of God in Christ Jesus in our world today.  

Indeed millions and millions of people have lived and will live the truths of that first passage in Jeremiah. 

What probably scares all who enter into Hell every single second of every single day is the clarity of thought that they now have regarding the truth they fought so hard to deny concerning Jesus Christ. 

The parable of the Rich man and Lazarus. The Rich man completely understood why he was there. He denied God while he yet lived. He rejected righteousness in God. He rejected the plan of God for him. 

"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." Romans 12:3.

My Dear Reader...within you right now is enough faith for you to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

You can and will either embrace it or you will cast it aside due to your human pride. 

Your potential fears of what God might want for you aren't excuse enough to not embrace your path set before you. 

Just as eternal torment is the future of that rich man, so shall yours be should you continue in your unbelief.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14.

Quite literally, very frankly, it IS God’s way to Heaven or the highway that leads to Hell. It's His way or the highway.   

Nobody can ever be good enough, no amount of denial is acceptable.

Jesus said that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Zero exceptions. Hitler will confess. Stalin will confess. Herod will confess. Pilate will confess. Jezebel will confess. All politicians will confess. All who are mass murders throughout history will confess. All who breathe the breath of life in all human history will confess. Either willingly or unwillingly its going to happen. 

Even you.

Jesus isn't going to share the plans that He has for you until you come to Christ for salvation. Until He is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life you aren't going to know.  

A life in Christ cannot be experienced or explained to someone who is dead in their trespasses and sins. Literally a dead man or woman is totally unresponsive to life. That measure of faith that is granted is there to give you the breathe of life in Christ. 

"For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”" Ephesians 5:14.

Right now your sin nature, be it in the life of a Believer or not a believer, is scared, tainted, and lied to by our sin nature. 

Our judgment is clouded by sins and sinful desires. Pride is saturating our lives. Fears are driving people to continually stressful lives.

So...where do you stand? You're either before Jesus with arms wide open crying out for Him to embrace you or you've put up a hand telling Him you want something more and He's not enough. 

On that coming judgment day...all who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will forever be living in torment constantly reliving their regrets in their minds. With absolute clarity they will know of every lost opportunity they had to say yes to the salvation they dismissed. Spending eternity forever separated from Jesus Christ. 

All who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior will not be without tears. Jesus said that He Himself will wipe away every tear. We will probably cry because of the opportunities we missed, the lessons we regret having had to repeat several times in our lives we lived. We will cry because of those we will never see again who rejected Jesus Christ. We will cry because we will really see Jesus as He truly is and not how we thought He was. 

Moses strongly desired to see the glory of the Lord. Any sinful man or woman would die if they saw the full glory of God in Christ Jesus. 

You, my Dear Reader, must choose yourself to accomplish much in a life in Christ, your next heartbeat after dying to step into Heaven or struggle through this world on your own only to end up in Hell. 

The choices are but two. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

The Kingdom

The Kingdom 

by David Brenneman 

"Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:9-15.

"Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21.

The Kingdom of God. The Disciples, soon to be Apostles, spoke at length about it with Jesus for 40 days after His resurrection. 

The obvious statement Jesus made that we read in Luke must have been missed at the time that they spoke to Him now.

The Kingdom came and there was nothing that Satan could do to stop it. The beginnings we read here are of the foundation being laid. The Spirit comes and does indeed teach them all things. 

We soon read of the teachings of the Apostles. Their testimony turns the hearts of thousands in a matter of days to true life in the Living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

They became the hands and feet of Jesus and there was no stopping it.

The Lord's Prayer, after acknowledging the Father, is a prayer for the kingdom of God to come. On Earth as it is in Heaven.

No doubt this was part of what they talked about. But weren't yet understanding. 

We are doing kingdom work when we're being the body of Christ, which is the Church of God. 

Jesus is a runner, did you know that? He will run as far as it takes, do wherever He needs to, in order to catch every a single person to save them whom it has been appointed unto salvation. 

There sadly are some who will continue to reject the offer of salvation unto their dying breath.

The power that came then is more than alive and well today. It's alive and will remain in place until Jesus Jesus returns. Then the role of the Spirit of God will change. 

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to someone about kingdom things. Pointing them to Jesus, whom the Bible says is, the Author and the Perfector of our faith. 

We talked about many things to do with Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles.   

Our intimacy with God--His highest priority for our lives--determines the impact of our lives. 

Obey God and leave the consequences to Him. 

God does not require us to understand His Will, just to obey it, even if it seems unreasonable. 

Whatever you aquire outside of God's will eventually turns to ashes. 

Anyway you hold too tightly you will lose. 

The Kingdom certainly didn't come with physical signs to be observed. 

Just like last night's conversation, the kingdom was in the midst of the conversation.

Point people to Jesus get out of the way of Jesus.  

We talked about how much of the life of the Believer is indeed training in righteousness. A soldiers training. That we are often injured spiritually and require special triage to deal with it.  

These are kingdom things. These are God working in the lives of people.  

The next part is very important. 

His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

That's what became of the conversation in Acts. Now was the time for it to begin to be on Earth as it is in Heaven.  

You and I, if we are indeed saved, aren't to sit on our laurels waiting either to die or waiting for Jesus to come back. We, as part of the body of Christ, have a job to do. As parts of the body of Christ leave this world others are brought in to take their place.

No one who is saved should sell themselves short on their Kingdom impact. Great or small, any work for Jesus has an impact.  

If indeed Jesus is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life...you have an assignment. You have a part to be completed in reaching others for Christ. 

Take this however you will...but I know that God DOES cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Why say that right now? My Dear Reader, it took a hurricane to bring someone to my home whom I would never have been introduced to otherwise, to have a particular kingdom inspired conversation. They were over 1,100 miles away several days ago with no other hope of being with me in my fireplace room apart from the work of God in Christ Jesus. 

In the Kingdom, it really is God’s way or the highway. Jesus said that the path to Hell is wide that leads to destruction. A highway to Hell. Narrow is the way that leads to life eternal in Christ Jesus. 

In Christ we are alive in ways those not yet saved cannot even begin to understand. We can see the hand of God in lives around us.

We can help those He brings into our lives to a better understanding of the love of God in Christ. 

The Apostles journey began with testifying to the wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus. Thousands who were dead in Christ were now alive in Christ. Old things are passed away, behold new things have come. 

Don't know what your part in the Kingdom is? Just be who you are to the best of your ability as unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:23-24. Whatever you do, do as unto the Lord Jesus. Still another passage, He who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, sins.

Pray about your day before you step into it. You my Dear Reader, if you are saved, you are an Ambassador of God in Christ. Your Bible, by studying it, reading it, is making you adequate, equipped for every good work in Christ. 

Last night I didn't have to worry about how to have that conversation with this visitor to my home. The Spirit did the talking.  

Seeds were planted or seeds were nurtured. The Spirit causes the growth as the Bible says. 

All Believer's have a role in the Kingdom of God. Keep your priorities straight and He will make your paths straight. Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.

Reality vs Perception

Reality vs Perception 

by David Brenneman 

"The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the motives. Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:1-3.

It's oh so easy, in the heat of the moment, to say this or that. To promise this or that. To decide this or that.

Our either being humble in the moment or prideful in the moment isn't hidden from God. 

Possessions, places to stay, to see, things to do...great care must be taken to place any above our relationship with Jesus. 

As a runner, my Group Leader has often said, keep pace with Jesus. Don't get ahead of Him. Pay attention to what He's doing. Pay attention to where He's going. It's way more important than person's places or things. 

As some in my life have come to realize, even family should not come before Jesus.  

First place in our hearts is where He should be for all of us.

For many you'll know who's first place in their life by what they wear.

For them and others, you'll know who's first place by what proceeds out of their mouths.  

This passage in Proverbs matches perfectly with Colossians 3:23-25 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality."

What is more important to you? Is Jesus first place in your heart or have you had Jesus sit down while other people or things have taken His rightfull place in you?

Some try to jump into the path of things that the Spirit is working on in order to look like the hero of the story. My Dear Reader...do not do that.

Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principle 16..."Whatever you aquire outside of God's will eventually turns to ashes".

Number 19 "Anything you hold too tightly, you will lose".

Then we go to #24 "To live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us".

Also do not forget number 28 "No Christian has ever been called to 'go it alone" in his or her walk of faith".

Please, my Dear Reader, don't fool yourself in what you include in your life. Jesus is jealous for the Spirit that resides within the heart of all Believers.

Jesus knows your thoughts from afar. Jesus knows your true motivations. Jesus knows your real reasons why regardless of what you say out loud.  

Reality is that we WILL give an account of our lives before Jesus for what we did in our bodies for Jesus. It will not have anything to do with personal accomplishments apart from Jesus or how much of this world we got to see. 

The world would have everyone believe it doesn't matter. 

The Spirit is at work 24/7 365...do you see that it really does matter?

Take stock of your life.  

It's time for a reality check. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.  

Wisdom is There if You Look

Wisdom is There if You Look

by David Brenneman 

"Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice? On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand; Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out: “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom. Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things. For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord. But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.” Proverbs 8:1-36.

"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Proverbs 3:7.

"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." Proverbs 26:12.

My Dear Reader...how often do you really seek wisdom from God?

How often is what truly matters to Jesus matter to you?

How often are you letting doubts and fears run your life?

Look at what Jesus said. 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd." John 10:10-16.

In your world you indeed will come across those under the influence of the god of this world, who's intent is only in himself, caring not for you or others, bent on getting you off the work of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Paul preached about taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus.  

This includes what the Scriptures say about not being wise in your own estimation.

Seek the Lord all your days. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.  

Life is to be lived, yes, but to the glory of God in Christ Jesus first. 

Wisdom is of extremely short supply in the world today. 

People raised to get participation trophies. People demeaned for pursuing personal growth in Christ. People masquerading in public not being who God made them to be.

Wisdom is described right there in that chapter we started with. 

Is that important to you? Or is the pursuit of higher status among people? Is it more important for you to be known as a somebody than to be right in the sight of God?

Is the pursuit of entertainment a higher priority to you than your walk with Jesus? 

Be careful about how you respond to those questions. You can lie to me and others but you cannot lie to Jesus.

Whether in word or deed I prefer people who see me turn their thoughts to Jesus. If any wisdom resides in me my hope and prayer is that it comes from God.  

While I do have a hobby or two, my desire is to use it to glorify God. While I have a job, my thoughts are that it be done as Colossians 3:23-24 say. Do what you do as if you are doing it for Jesus. 

It's a very dangerous place to be when you are trying to be wise in your own eyes.  

I find myself grieving for those going through life without Jesus. Without that relationship. Doubts are a continual part of their life. The pressure, the stress and strain!

All because they refuse to accept what Jesus is offering.  

Jesus said to come to Me you who are weary and heavy laiden and He will give you rest. This isn't simply a physical rest this is the mental and spiritual rest.

Only in Christ do we have the wisdom of God to lean on and learn from. 

My prayer for you is that you do indeed seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. 

Seek His wisdom. Don't rely on yours. Take up what He says, let go of what He says. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

Start off on the right foot starting right now. All you need in this life is in the hands of your Savior and Lord.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation. 

More than by Sight

More than by Sight 

by David Brenneman 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." Hebrews 11:1-3.

Dr. David Jeremiah wrote in the devotional that I am reading of Trusting God. He quoted Hebrews 11:1, but upon reading the passage included the next 2 verses. 

He quoted also the "American Heritage Dictionary" definition of faith. That being "a belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence".

As written in the Bible, many convincing proofs came after the resurrection.  

In ways that only God could do there would be no way to stop the knowledge that Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, IS risen indeed!  

Dr. Jeremiah goes on to talk about how we ourselves display our faith in the things we have not seen ourselves in the way we live life. 

Being actively in the Word of God daily is indeed for your spiritual heart health.  

So many so-called experts can drone on endlessly about your physical health, your heart health being higher on that list. 

But feeding your physical body doesn't necessarily feed your spiritual body. Neglecting one for the other tends to weaken the spiritual warriors we are meant to be in Christ. 

What good is it to put on the whole armor of God if you don't even know how to, or how to use it? You need the owners manual.  

You cheat yourself when you are not doing your due diligence in becoming acquainted with the manual that the Spirit of God has kept secure for thousands of years. 

Do you realize that one of the roles of the Spirit of God is just that? To protect the Word of God so that you and I have the truth of God to know and grow by?

Churches falter and slowly die when the congregation devalues the importance of being in the Word of God. When it's treated as optional rather than a spiritual necessity. People don't see until it's too late that those false prophets and false teachers were among them. You cannot identify what you've never learned to see.

You and I need to keep it on the forefront of our minds that we are not still here on Earth for our good pleasure.  

We come to Christ for salvation and then the work of God in Christ Jesus begins.  

It's never about possessions. 

It's never about seeing the sights. 

The Bible says it's about our sanctification. About our growth in Christ Jesus. 

Many Preachers, men of God, have taken to teaching on the promises of God. As Dr. Jeremiah said in this devotional, that is what we begin to dwell on that helps to grow us spiritually.  

I am still dwelling on the super heavy losses in the Carolinas on down to Florida. A coworker told me of what his Grandmother used to say in the face of extreme adversity. Forget everything else, just grab your Bible and go. If you can't do that, just go. God will get you another Bible. Things can be replaced.  

Don't starve your soul after you come to Christ for salvation. 

Those in basic training eat a lot in order to build strength to handle the training. But too they eat a lot of what is beneficial to that training.

We come to Christ for salvation, we begin training as a Disciple. We learn by our walk with Jesus, learning from His Word to live by faith and not by sight. 

We learn to be more like Christ by doing life in Christ not by osmosis of being only in proximity to other Believers. 

Physical attributes barely have anything to do with your Spiritual attributes. 

Your body does little to show a world who Jesus is like.  

Your walk with Jesus often speaks volumes that you've never said. 

Read that again.

Your walk with Jesus often speaks volumes that you've never said.

Others have taken to saying that to let your life be a witness and if you must, use words. 

But it begins with being intentional. 

You have to choose if reading your Bible is more important than a television show. 

You have to decide if spending time with Jesus is more important than a football game. 

You have decisions to make. 

A person in basic training has to deprive themselves of much in order to pass their training. 

The things they set aside might indeed be set aside permanently. 

As Jesus also said, what does it profit a man to gain the world and yet forfeit his soul? What will he give in exchange for his soul?

God is a God of second chances. 

People can be unnecessarily harsh in their ideas of second chances.  

The grace and mercy of God is for us for our lifetime. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to set limits on how many times we should forgive someone. In fact the opposite is true. As many times as it takes. 

It should be the same with regards to helping others. The hands and feet of Jesus are us in this world for those who believe. 

My Dear Reader, open up your spiritual eyes. Get into the Word of God every day. Talk personally to Jesus every day. Talking to and talking personally to someone are different things. Pour out your heart to Jesus and expect to be heard. Walk by your faith and not by your sight.

Start your day in a very personal way with Jesus. Go through your day in that same personal way. 

Take your training in righteousness seriously...it's so that you will be adequate, equipped for every good work in Christ Jesus. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.