by David Brenneman
"But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:11-12.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37.
"O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you." 1 Timothy 6:20-21.
"(What would you do what would you do if Jesus came to spend some time with you)
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If he came unexpectedly I wonder what you'd do
When you saw him comin' would you meet him at the door
With arms outstretched and welcome to your heavenly visitor
Or would you need to change some things before you let him in
Like burn some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been
Oh I know that you'd give your nicest room to such an honered guest
And all the food you would serve to him would be the very best
And you'd keep assuring him that you were glad to have him there
That serving him in your home was a joy beyond compare
But what about your family conversation would it keep up its normal pace
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace
Would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on
Or would you sigh of great relief when finally he had gone
You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you
(What would you do what would you do if Jesus came to spend some time with you)"
- "What Would You Do (If Jesus came to your house)?"
By Porter Wagoner
Written by Hugh Ashley
Album: In Gospel Country (1968)
We really ought to take seriously the promise that there WILL be a day of accountability before Jesus for each and every single person's thoughts, intentions, words and actions. There's nobody exempt!
While at times we've grown accustomed to deceiving ourselves and others, there is no deceiving Jesus.
While we convince ourselves that things aren't as they appear to be...we can and often do present good as evil and evil as good...just like the rest of the world.
What would you do if you saw Him? What would you do? What if Jesus was walking up to your house and knocked? You open the door, would you be glad to see Him or would a thousand things go through your mind that you wish you could hide or change before He sets foot inside?
That old song from 1968 still resonates with me. Would we turn into Martha's and rush around the house or sit with Jesus and just take it in that we're in His presence like Mary?
What if it were on a Sunday? Would you invite Him to Church with you? What if it was on a full day of football, championship games etc. Would your mind be split between the agony of not knowing what's going on and the conversation that He's having with you?
Would you be seeing everything you didn't do around the house before He came and are trying to figure out how to fix while He's talking seriously with you?
As Paul admonished Timothy...are you taking your life with Christ seriously enough now?
Your questions are so deep and so hard! Really? Why would you say that? If you were already walking with Jesus as you should be, why wouldn't this visit be like an old friend stopping by?
My Dear Reader...would you really react differently or would you really be at ease?
If your conscience is being pricked...then maybe you do have something to be concerned about.
Are there things you are valuing that aren't going to pass the fire test?
Are you wasting time on unholy things and brushing aside the holy times you could be having with Jesus?
We have to choose what's really important in light of eternity. Our day-to-day choices show where our priorities are really at.
You read that portion from Jesus in the opening passages of today's post. Will you watch a crown be formed to give back to Jesus or watch a lifetime go up in smoke?
One of the most prolific sets of lies of Satan are that you don't need to be so serious, that God will cut you some slack. That you're giving enough, that you've done enough. Let others do it now. You earned your time to be at ease. That you can...well...fill in the blank.
"guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you"
Are you among those sadly countless people who have gone astray? There's time yet to turn your eyes upon Jesus! Yes letting go of those things is going to hurt. But my Dear Friend...a little pain now is far better than a disappointing look on Jesus's face on that day you stand before Him.
If indeed you are saved...Jesus is already visiting. Question for you is does He approve of what He sees?
Walk through the house of your life and be brutally honest about what you see.
Walk through your home and be brutally honest with yourself.
There's but one life to live...give it your best as unto the Lord.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment