What really defiles a person?

Matthew 15:18
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

Manmade Traditions

We have such a way of making our traditions more important than what is the right thing to do. In other words, even in our church, we can make religion about rituals and routines and not about having a relationship with Christ, which is what is most important. The Pharisees and scribes had the forms or rituals down so much that they associated rituals with religion, and they were missing the point. When this happens, it’s very easy to judge others who aren’t doing things they way we are doing them, and then we judge them as inferior. I know I’ve done this mentally without doing it verbally, and I repented of it. The Pharisees and the scribes judged Jesus’ disciples as not following the ritual or tradition of washing their hands like they did (Matt. 15:1-2). They deemed them as unclean or unworthy because they weren’t doing things just like they did, and that is elevating the traditions of men over what God requires. They required of others that which even God didn’t require, making them self-righteous and judgmental and setting themselves up as superior.

Honoring God with the Lips

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders, saying that they honored God with their words, but they were substituting their own traditions for God’s law and making them preeminent or more important and making God’s law void (Matt. 15:3-6). That’s a very serious issue as far as God is concerned. Jesus quoted Isaiah 29:13, saying that they were honoring God with their lips, but their heart was far from God, and they were teaching their own doctrines of men and worshiping God in vain (Matt 15:8-9). The scribes were experts in the Scriptures. They must have known these verses and had to be angered over Jesus’ reference to them and applying them to themselves. This religious crowd had confused external cleanliness with internal purity, and these two are far from the same, as Jesus will explain.

What Defiles a Person?

Jesus clearly wanted His disciples and the religious leaders to know that it wasn’t what was on the outside that defiled a person, but what came out of their mouth (Matt. 15:10-11). In other words, a Jew would never eat pork, but they would judge others for not following their traditions and then deem them unworthy of God. However, what they didn’t understand was that what defiles the person is what comes out of the mouth and not what goes into the mouth, for what comes out of the mouth shows what’s in the heart (Matt. 15:18). The hands and arms might be clean, but inwardly there is the filthiness of wickedness residing in the human heart, and from the evil heart comes “evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander “ (Matt. 15:19). Which sounds worse? To eat with dirty hands or having murderous thoughts, adultery of the heart, lying, and so forth? The answer is obvious.

A Closing Prayer

Righteous Father, before I judge the religious leaders, please show me my own heart. I need to examine my own routines and rituals and make sure I’m not elevating them over what You require. Where I do this and fall short, please forgive me, and I pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen

If I am Lord to you, why would you follow your ways and not Mine?

Luke 6:46

Why do you call me, Lord, and do not do what I say?

Is He Lord or Not?

When Jesus was speaking in Luke 6, He was saying that many called Him Lord, but the litmus test was whether they would actually do what He told them to do. Many will say “Lord, Lord” someday, but Jesus will say to them, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matt 7:21-23). They will claim to have done works for Christ (Matt 7), but they were actually not doing what Jesus said. It’s one thing to say “I know the Lord,” but the most important question on the day of His return will be does He know you. That is vital. I know many who say they know Jesus, but so do the demons; however, that doesn’t mean they’re saved!

What’s Your Foundation Built Upon?

What is your house built upon? Is it built upon the Rock of Christ, or is it built on sinking sand? The one who hears Jesus’ words but does not do them will suddenly see his house swept away by the floods of God’s judgment (Luke 6:49), just like the flood of Noah’s day (Gen 7). A person who hears God’s words and then does not do what they say is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and then, after he walks away, forgets what he just saw (James 1:22-24). Everyone may hear, but the question is do they listen. Everyone talks, but do they really say anything. Hearing is of absolutely no help without really listening and obeying. Like the captain of the Titanic hearing about the warnings of icebergs but doing nothing about it, so are those who hear Jesus’ words but don’t obey them likewise headed for sure disaster. It’s only a matter of time.

Why Call Him Lord?

If we call Jesus Christ our Lord and then do our own thing, is He really our Lord at all? It makes no sense to call the general the leader of the army, only to have the army do what they want. He isn’t really their general if they are independent of him and do their own thing. That’s call insubordination, and such a person is subject to court martial. How much more strict of a punishment will it be for the man or woman who calls Jesus Lord yet does not do what He asks them to do (Rev 20:12-15)?

A Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, I have been a rebel so many times. Please forgive me when I have called You Lord and still done my own thing. I am so sorry for my disobedience to Your written Word. Help me to do what You say and be more accountable to You rather than doing what I want and having it all come crashing down on me someday. In Jesus precious name I pray.

Amen

God has commanded us to love our neighbor? Who is your neighbor?

Luke 10:29

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

Who Is Our Neighbor?

Jesus was asked by a lawyer how he might inherit eternal life. Jesus answered him by asking him a question: What is written in the Law (Luke 10:26)? The lawyer correctly stated that we are to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, to which Jesus said he was correct (Luke 10:27-28); but the lawyer wanted to justify himself by asking the question “who is my neighbor.” The lawyer should have left well enough alone. Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan, showing that two of the Jews who were supposed to be religious and assumed to be the most likely to help the man both refused to help a man who was beaten and robbed. It was only the Samaritan, who was despised by the Jews, who helped the man (Luke 10:29-37). Jesus was showing that anyone we meet is our neighbor, not just those we like, even those who many would despise.

Who Is the Real Neighbor?

Jesus showed that our neighbor is anyone who needs our help. It is a matter of grace and not of race. It shouldn’t matter what a person’s background or nationality is. What matters is that we are to help those in need, so our real neighbor is the one who needs our help. We might be that neighbor someday who needs someone else’s help, and we wouldn’t want others to discriminate against us when we needed it. The truth is that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), so neither should we be.

Go and Do Likewise

Jesus’ main lesson in this parable is to help anyone who has a need, regardless of who they are. It’s not who they are but Whom we serve. Jesus told the lawyer that the true neighbor is the one who shows mercy (Luke 10:37), so we should do as the Samaritan did and help those who need our help. The ones who were expected to be helping their neighbor, like the priest and the Levite, both refused to help the man and even went out of their way to avoid him (Luke 10:31-32); but only the Samaritan went out of his way, spent his own money, and made an effort to help the stranger, proving that he was a neighbor to this man. Who is our neighbor? It is anyone who needs our help. Will we go out of our way? Jesus would ask us, “Who is our neighbor?”

A Closing Prayer

Father God, You have gone exceedingly out of Your way to redeem me and have given the greatest sacrifice to heal me of my sins. I too was not worthy; but you went out of Your own way, dying so that I might live due to the supreme sacrifice given by Jesus Christ, for which I am eternally grateful and thank You. In the Savior’s name I pray.

Amen

What did you do for Me today?

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

The Church in Jesus’ Skin

When you live your life for Christ, it means that you do to others what Christ would do for others if He were still here on earth. Is this why the church is called the Body of Christ? Is the church called this because we are supposed to do what Jesus would do if He were still here on earth? Who are “the least of these” anyway? Matthew 25 gives us an idea, I believe, because it talks about making strangers feel welcome, giving food to the hungry, offering a drink to the thirsty (v 35), giving clothing to those who need them, visiting those who are sick and in the hospitals, and even visiting those who are in prison (v 36). It doesn’t say anything about why they’re in prison, why they’re hungry, why their naked, why they’re a stranger, why they’re thirsty, or why they’re sick. Jesus doesn’t qualify this as being for only the church, but could well mean that this is for all those who are afflicted in this world.

When Did We See You, Jesus?

There is humility in those who do such things when they basically say, “Jesus, we didn’t see you in any of these situations.” But listen to Jesus’ response: When you did it to the least of these, it was the same thing as doing it for Me (Matt 25:40). Why didn’t they know that they were doing it for Jesus? Because they were doing it with the sincere, genuine intention of helping others and not to impress God. They didn’t actually realize at the time that when they were doing these things for others, they were in reality doing these things for Jesus.

Not Doing It for Others Is Not Doing It for Jesus

The opposite of not doing anything for others is that we are not doing it for Jesus. What do you call doing nothing for anyone (Matt 25:42-45)? It’s a sin of omission, which is just as much of a sin as one of commission would be (James 2:16). The consequences for doing nothing (sin of omission) seem to be just as gravely serious as they would be for sins of commission (Matt 25:45-46). When we do anything for anyone with the right motive or intent, God sees it as doing it for Jesus. If Jesus could actually ask you “what did you do for Me today,” what would be your answer?

A Closing Prayer

Father God, thank You for doing so much for me in the sense that the Son of God died for me. I can never repay what You have done for me, so I pray that I can do things in love for those who the world considers the least of these so that I can actually be seen as doing them for You, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Who are the people you see that most people don’t bother to talk to? How can you help?

Matthew 25:41

And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

The Hungry and Thirsty

When the King, in Jesus Christ, returns someday He will say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:23), and will say that when you did things for the least of these, His brothers and sisters, it was just like you did them for Him. But who are these least of my brothers and sisters Jesus is talking about? There are actually six groups Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 25. Two of these are those who are hungering and thirsting. It could be literal hunger and thirst He is talking about (Matt 25:35), but it could also mean that they have a hunger for God’s Word and are thirsting for His righteousness, which Jesus spoke about in the Beatitudes where He says those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will someday be satisfied (Matt 5:6).

The Strangers and the Naked

Two other groups that Jesus includes in the “least of these” are those who are strangers and those who are naked or in need of clothing. These two appear to be the poor, as they are strangers to their neighbors and in need of something to wear (Matt 25:35-36). Jesus mentions the strangers as being made welcome and the naked (or underdressed) being clothed. When we make strangers feel welcome and help those who have little in resources, we are doing it for Jesus. The same goes for those who are hungry and thirsty. When we satisfy or take care of the least of those in the world, we are essentially doing it to Jesus.

The Sick and Imprisoned

Our church elder said something very insightful. Our church supports a prison ministry, but we also visit and write to prisoners on our own. Our elder said that those in nursing homes and hospitals are often prisoners, too–prisoners of their age or disability. Those in our nearby nursing home can’t come to church, so we take church to them. Those in prison can’t come to our church, so our church goes to them. These are also two of the least of these that Jesus spoke about. When we visit the sick, elderly, and prisoners, Jesus sees it as doing it to Him. Besides, James wrote that pure religion includes visiting the orphans and widows (James 1:27). How many in our local nursing homes do you think are orphans and widows? Almost every one of them!

A Closing Prayer

Precious Lord God, my Father, please give me a tender heart for those in this world who are, to the world anyway, the least of those. Please show me where I can be your hands and feet, reach out to those who are in desperate need of Your mercy and grace, and fill needs where I am able to.  In Jesus’ strong name I pray.

Amen

WHO WILL YOU ENCOURAGE TODAY?

First Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Encourage Means

Did you know that the word encourage means to come alongside, to admonish, or to call to one’s side? That means when you are encouraging someone, you are to come alongside that person. When we are encouraging someone, we are coming alongside them to build them up and not what the world tends to do: tear them down. It’s a brutal enough world out there already without having someone come alongside you to tear you down even further. I see a cause and effect in this sentence where Paul says we are to encourage one another, and in doing so we can build them up! Will you encourage someone today? If so, to whom and how? Words have a lot of power to either build up or tear down, so use words in a way that encourages others.

Building Others Up Fortifies the Church

The church is said to be one body but many members (Rom 12:4; 1 Cor 12:12), so when you build even one person up, you are strengthening the church’s foundation, one brick at a time. You probably can’t imagine how far one little word of encouragement can go in a person’s day or life. If the church were truly encouraging one another, which would result in a building up of the Body of Christ, then the church could be stronger and do more for Christ since the church is to be the Body of Christ, being His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ears, and His heart.

Encouragement in Action

Paul goes on to show in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5 what encouraging and building up might look like. It’s esteeming others highly in love (v 13), admonishing the fainthearted, helping the weak (v 14), being patient with everyone (v 15), outdoing others in love, always rejoicing (v 16), giving thanks for every circumstance, and praying continuously (v 17). If you were surrounded by people like that, wouldn’t you be encouraged? Wouldn’t you be built up? Wouldn’t you be inspired to encourage others, building them up in the faith? I would think so. Imagine Jesus were still here on earth and He asked you this rhetorical question: “Who will you encourage today and give a good word from Me?” What would you do? What would you say?

A Closing Prayer

Oh Creator God, Who reigns supreme from Your throne in heaven, look down on me and help me to be a strong building block that fortifies, encourages, and builds up the body of Christ, which is Jesus Christ’s church, and to do it in both action and words. I pray for Your help in this in the Name above all names, Jesus Christ.

Amen

The Bloodstained Road

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matt. 5:10).

 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is pure and honest. It speaks of persecution, insult and of carrying the cross and suffering. Christ never misleads His followers. He didn’t come to make life comfortable for us, but to save us and give us eternal life.

 

For a moment, think about the people Christ is talking to here. They belonged to the then familiar world, and the gospel crashed like a wave over the entire world at a time when Christians were severely persecuted. In their own homes they experienced being cut off from their families if they became Christians. Physically they would suffer torture, torment and death in the cruelest ways.

 

This is how Jesus calls on His followers to take up their cross and follow Him. Will we be willing to stay faithful to Him until death? Will we be able to walk the bloodstained road of the martyrs if it is expected of us? If we are willing, we will be a tremendous encouragement to fellow believers.

 

Nobody ever suffers in vain for Christ. He is always with us, supporting us as He promises in Hebrews 13:5. Inspired and supported by the Holy Spirit, we can endure any suffering for Christ’s sake; He gives us gladness on earth and rewards in heaven.

Country Preacher

A country preacher decided to skip services one Sunday to spend the day hiking in the wilderness. Rounding a sharp bend in the trail, he collided with a bear and was sent tumbling down a steep grade. He landed on a rock and broke both legs.
      With the ferocious bear charging at him from a distance, the preacher prayed, "O Lord, I'm so sorry for skipping services today. Please forgive me and grant me just one wish—make a Christian out of that bear that's coming at me!"
      At that very instant, the bear skidded to a halt, fell to his knees, clasped his paws together, and began to pray aloud at the preacher's feet: "Dear God, please bless this food I am about to receive."

Bragging Rights

  Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him $25."
      The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him $200."
      The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight men to collect all the money!"

Sunday School Humor

The Sunday School teacher was describing that when Lot's wife looked back at Sodom she turned into a pillar of salt, when Bobby interrupted. "My mommy looked back once while she was driving," he announced, "and she turned into a telephone pole."

Another Sunday School teacher said to her children, "We have been learning about how powerful the kings and queens were in Biblical times. But there is a higher power. Who can tell me what it is?" Tommy blurted out, "I know, Aces."

After explaining the commandment to honor your father and mother, a Sunday School teacher asked her class if there was a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters.
      One boy, the oldest in his family, immediately answered, "Thou shalt not kill."

Lot again... A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt."
      His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

Palm Sunday

  It was Palm Sunday but because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Johnny stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Johnny asked them what they were for.
      "People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by," his father told him.
      "Wouldn't you know it," Johnny fumed, "the one Sunday I don't go and he shows up."

A Little Humor

  At Sunday School they were learning how God created everything, including human beings. Johnny was especially intent when the teacher told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs.

      Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, "Johnny, what is the matter?"

      Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

Mercy

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

 

In Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, we have three people with contrasting views of life. The robbers say, “Everything that is yours, is mine - I take it.” The priest argues, “Everything that is mine is mine - I keep it.” The Samaritan’s outlook on life is, “Everything that is mine, is yours - I share it.”

 

Mercy or compassion comes from God and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. He takes a sinful, self-centered person and gives him a new heart - a heart like God’s that truly cares, feels and loves. God would like to see that we are merciful, like Him. According to Antonie Ruler, mercy is generosity, compassion and a forgiving nature. It means that God’s children feel for others because they love a God who does the same.

 

This beatitude (see Matt. 5:7), one of eight statements made by Christ about people who are blessed, teaches us that in the kingdom of God it is all about people. Christ laid sown His life because He cared for people and He also expects it from His followers. He even expects that we should love our enemies, because, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much” (Matt. 5:46). It is a demand unique to Christianity that we must love our enemies.

 

Mercy or compassion is to look through other people’s eyes, think with their minds, and feel with their feelings. It is identifying with them and having compassion for them.

The Folly of an Unforgiving Heart

"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

There are some people who stubbornly and willfully refuse to forgive if they have been wronged. Yet, forgiveness is one of the essential qualities of a true Christian. When Peter asked Jesus how many times a person should forgive, Jesus answered, "Seventy times seven!" (Matthew 18:22). He wanted to point out to Peter how extensive this virtue is. Forgiveness should be a perfectly normal attitude for the Christian disciple.

The tragedy of people who are unforgiving is that they cause themselves more harm than anyone else. Withholding forgiveness from someone is breaking down the bridge you have to cross yourself. You rob yourself of God's forgiveness. If you are serious about demonstrating Jesus Christ's attitude, you dare not have any unforgiving thoughts in your heart.

You can't love Christ, and nurse bitterness toward someone at the same time. Then strife and frustration are etched on your being instead of the pureness of Jesus.

Refusing to let go of an unforgiving spirit proves that your pride and hurt feelings are more important than a happy and healthy relationship with the Lord. Then it is impossible to confess, "I believe in the forgiveness of sin." Forgiveness is the death knell of vengeance and bitterness.

Firm Gentleness

"God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth" (Matt. 5:5).

Gentleness means kindness and friendliness in your interaction with others. It is the exact opposite of self-assertion where you and your own interests comes first. Self-assertion is in fact a denial of God and His omnipotence to intervene or take action. Gentleness is acknowledging your total dependence and genuine selflessness.

Gentle people are contented, in contrast to those who are greedy. The latter are the "grabbers" in life and they desperately cling to everything they can get hold of. Gentle people are the "givers" who want to make others happy. God smiles through their eyes.

Jesus is the epitome of gentleness: "See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey" (Matt. 21:5 NIV). His gentleness was not soft or weak, but decisive and powerful. He taught us to forgive those who wrong us and to return evil with good.

The world doesn't belong to the brutal, but to the gentle - and so does God's new world. Behind every gentle person stands an Almighty God who takes care of them. Only the Holy Spirit can lead you to this Christian virtue (see Gal. 5:22-23). And this virtue leads you into God's kingdom.

Yearning for God

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God (Ps. 42:1).

 

Unconditional surrender to God’s will brings incredible happiness and blessing. Christ Himself said, “God blesses those who realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matt. 5:3). This indescribable blessing begins when we realize our total inability, and place our full trust in God, obeying His will to such an extent that, we become citizens of His Kingdom.

 

The world says, “Grab everything you can, and hold on to what you have.” The Christian says, “He must become more and I must become less.”

 

Most people find it difficult to be dependent. Our independence and self-reliance mean so much to us. But this independence is an illusion - the big lie that Satan plants in our hearts. The rich fool’s sin was not that he was rich, but that he left God out of the equation.

 

Can you be happy if you hand over control of your life? Yes, if you hand it over to Jesus Christ. Then you will know a quiet happiness that no one can take from you. Real happiness in life can only be found when you have become completely dependent on God.

 

The essence of sin is selfishness and self-interest. The essence of salvation is surrender and dedication. Then your thirst is quenched and your hunger satisfied, because the Good Shepherd has brought you to green pastures and quiet waters where there is peace.

Why would you call Me Lord but not do what I ask?

Luke 6:46

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Peter Says “No Lord”

When Jesus was washing the disciples feet to leave them an example for how they are to serve one another, He came to Peter, and Peter said, “No, Lord, You shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8). Peter was acknowledging Him as Lord but not doing what He asked. Then after Jesus told Him that He must do this, Peter again basically said, “No, Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and head as well” (John 13:9). So twice in one conversation Peter tells Jesus, who he claims to be “Lord,” no! How can this be? If He is Peter’s Lord and Peter tells Him no, then is he really Peter’s Lord? I am not saying that Peter was not saved, but to tell Jesus no is to not be making Him the Lord of your life.

Again, No, Lord!

Just before Jesus went to Calvary to die for the sins of the world, Peter again told Jesus no. Jesus had just told the disciples that He was going to be delivered into the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and teachers of the law and that He must be killed, only to be raised to life again (Matt. 16:21), but then Peter took Jesus aside and told his Lord, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matt. 16:22)! Read that again. Peter just said no to He whom he calls Lord. Can we say no to the Lord and still rightly call Him Lord? To acknowledge Jesus as Lord is to do what He says and never say “no” to Him. If we say no to the Lord, is He really the Lord of our lives? Jesus rebuked Peter for being Satan’s agent when Peter told Jesus no because he was thinking only in humanly terms and not on the things of God (Matt. 16:23).

Lord of All or Not Lord at All

I have heard this phrase before: If He is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all. There is truth to that because Jesus says that the person who hears their Lord’s words but doesn’t obey them is like someone who is building their house with no foundation, and when the overflowing streams of life come, it is simply swept away (Luke 6:49). But the one who hears and does what his master says builds his or her house on a rock-solid foundation, and when the floods come, it remains (Luke 6:47-48). Floods are symbolic of God’s judgment, so whoever hears and does what God says will not be swept away in judgment when it comes (Rev. 20:12-15), and it is coming. I have a friend who says he was baptized many years ago, but his lifestyle is nothing like a subject of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He uses God’s name in profanity, he gets drunk, he watches R- and X-rated movies, and his lifestyle is not bearing godly fruit, but fruit of the Devil (John 15). I have tried warning him many times that he can say “Lord, Lord” all he wants. But if he isn’t obeying what the Lord says, is he really his Lord? I asked him to read Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus warns that not everyone that says to Him “Lord, Lord” is going to be saved.

A Closing Prayer

Oh Righteous Father, please help me to be more obedient and to never say no to my Lord when He commands me to do or say something. I do not want to be lord of my own life but want to have Jesus as my Lord and do what He tells me to prove that, indeed, He is my Lord, and in His name I pray.

Amen

What type of role model are you for children in your life?

Deuteronomy 4:9

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.

More is Caught than Taught

I believe it is true that more is caught than taught, and the fact is that children may not hear what you are saying because your actions may be drowning out your words. It’s hard to deceive children, isn’t it? We can teach them one thing, but if we do something different, they can clearly see through our hypocrisy. If we teach our children one thing, yet do just the opposite, we’re really teaching them to do what we do rather than what we say. If they see you regularly reading your Bible, they’ll see that you value the Word of God. The more you read the Bible to your children, and grandchildren for that matter, the more the Word of God will get into their minds and hearts, and teaching our children is the best way to ensure that they might live a longer life (Deut. 4:10).

Provoked to Anger

It is so easy for parents to provoke their children to anger and then have them grow discouraged (Col. 3:21), but parents should bring up their children using discipline and instructing them in the ways of God, but doing so out of love (Eph. 6:4). If you are a grandparent, you are also told to teach them what you have learned from God as well (Deut. 4:9). God the Father disciplines us since He corrects every one of His children (Heb. 12:6), but He does it in love. We must model discipline in our own lives and in our children’s lives for their own best interests, even when it goes against the grain of society. Just like a parent disciplines the children he or she loves, so, too, does God discipline us, His own children (Deut. 8:5), and those who the Lord disciplines are actually blessed (Psalm 94:12). If we avoid disciplining children, then it shows we really don’t love them (Prov. 13:24), so the way God looks at it is that love equals discipline and discipline equals love. I’ve talked to many prisoners who wished that their parents would have disciplined them more.

Love Them Like Jesus Does

Jesus loves children and actually loves them more than we do so He never wants us to hinder the children when they need to come to us since Jesus always received children and bid them to always come to Him (Luke 18:15-17). Parents can learn from children because they are humble, they are teachable and little ones with this type of nature will be the ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:14). When my youngest daughter asked me once to have a “tea party” with her, I found time; when she asked me to tickle her, I did and once she even asked me to wear a tutu (although I’d deny it in public) but I did, so I found time for her when she wanted her daddy. I wanted to receive her when she came to me just as Jesus received the children and bid them to come to Him.

A Closing Prayer

Great God, You have given me my precious children and grandchildren as gifts, but they are only mine for a time. They are really Yours, and I pray You keep them, protect them, and bring them into a personal relationship with You and Your Great Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.

Amen

BE TRANSFORMED

And do not be confused to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

 

Many individuals in the Body of Christ are persevering without progressing. They wrestle with areas that have been conformed to the world instead of transformed. This is particularly true of us Pentecostals who often emphasize the gifts of the Spirit and exciting services. It is imperative that, while we keep our mode of expression, we understand that transformation doesn’t come from inspiration. Many times preachers sit down after ministering a very inspiring sermon feeling that they accomplished more than they actually did. Transformation takes place in the mind. 

 

The Bible teaches that we are to be renewed by the transforming of our minds (see Eph. 4:23). Only the Holy Spirit knows how to renew the mind. The struggle we have inside us is with our self-perception. Generally our perception of ourselves is affected by those around us. Our early opinion of ourselves is deeply affected by the opinions of the authoritative figures in our formative years. If our parents tended to neglect or ignore us, it tears at our self-worth. Eventually, though, we mature to the degree where we can walk in the light of our own self-image, without it being diluted by the contributions of others.

 

The Lord wants to help you realize who you are and what you are graced to do. When you understand that He is the only One who really knows you, then you pursue Him with fierceness and determination. Pursue Him!

Good Morning

WHAT IS YOUR SOUL WORTH?

Matthew 16:26

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Denying the Self but Not Christ

For much of my Christian walk, I did just the opposite. Instead of denying myself but not Christ, I denied Christ and didn’t deny myself much of anything. This, of course, is not walking with Christ as a disciple. Instead of dying to self, I put Christ to death in my life. I have tried to do better and not deny Christ in public before others, but deny myself before others and not Christ. Jesus said one little powerful word, and it was “if.” If we want to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves (Matt 16:24). If we want to save our life, ironically, we’ll lose it. If we desire to lose our life, we will find it (Matt 16:25). Once more, I tend to do just the opposite.

What Does It Profit?

If we can gain all that we can for a temporary life that is like a vapor (James 4:14), we have gained nothing because life is short, but eternity is a very, very long time. Can you put a value on a soul that is lost for all eternity? A man and a woman’s soul is priceless, and nothing can compare to its worth, but how worthless will it be if that life is forever banished from the presence of God with no hope of ever being reconciled (Rev 20:12-15)? The soul’s value cannot be estimated. Jesus’ point is that we can gain all that there is, but lose or forfeit our very soul for this life. If we do that, then we’ve lost everything because you can’t take anything in this life into the next, unless it is done for Christ. Those rewards that are done in His name are going with us to heaven. You can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead and have it waiting there for you. In other words, the good we do for Jesus and for God’s glory will remain. Nothing else really matters.

Take Up Your Cross

If we are to take up our cross as Jesus said, what does that mean? Today’s equivalent would be to take up the electric chair or take up the lethal injection and die to ourselves. We must crucify the flesh in order to please God, Who is Spirit (Gal 5:24). That basically means nailing our desires and passions–that sinful nature of ours–to the cross, slaying our own desires for the desire to serve Christ and others, and doing it with the express purpose of glorifying God (Gal 2:20). If we are walking by the Holy Spirit’s leading, we’ll be putting to death earthly desires and passions (Gal 5:16). It is only those being led by God’s Spirit who are the children of God (Rom 8:14), and to live by the flesh will be dying in the flesh, but the Spirit will put the deeds of the flesh to death (Rom 8:12-13). In this way, your own soul will have infinite value, but if you’re living only in the flesh, you forfeit everything.

A Closing Prayer

Great God in heaven, I am so far short of Your glory (Rom 3:23), and there is nothing good in me (Rom 3:10) except your Spirit. Please help me yield to Your Spirit and to slay the flesh so that I might strive to not gain the whole world and lose my soul, but rather help me deny myself, take up my cross, die to self, and live for you. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen