God is Watching

Ps.33:13-15 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
Do you ever stop to think that God is watching you? It is a very humbling thing to know that the Creator keeps tabs on us! We tend to think of Him as being way up in heaven and therefore not interested in what we are doing. Well my friends, He is interested. His only Son came to die, in obedience to His Father, because He knows our names and cares. Numerous times in the bible, he called people by their names. In Luke 19 when Jesus passes through Jericho, He called Zacchaeus, by name, down from the tree. He called Samuel by name and Samuel thought it was the priest Eli. He called Paul/Saul by his name and wanted to know why he was persecuting the Jews. And one of the most talked about stories of the bible, He called Moses by name from a burning bush! Let us always ask for forgiveness and mercy from our holy God.

The Angels in Wal-Mart

A lot of people will tell me I’m nuts but I do not care. I am sharing this story only because I want others not to make the mistake I did in not showing the love of Christ to people. It was like any other of the hundreds of times I had been in Wal-mart. I was pre-occupied and in a hurry. As I rounded a corner, I saw this old black man pushing his cart. He was soon followed by another really old black man pushing his cart. People were giving them looks, as if to say, what are they doing in our store? Why, they look homeless! As I looked deep in the eyes of the first old guy, I smiled as if to say, hi and welcome. He smiled a little too, but looked uneasy. I finished my shopping and went to pay. As I was leaving, I saw them go out of the store. I went out right behind them but he and his companion were no where in the parking lot. I know I saw something other than two old black homeless guys that day, for a feeling of joy came to my heart as I looked deep into his eyes. If only I had spoke to them and told them God loved them and so did I. From a small child, I had witnessed my Mother giving bums food at our front door. She always said be careful but to feed and clothe the homeless because we could be entertaining angels and not be aware of it. Heb.13:1-2 Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Fear-The Devil's Tool

Ps.56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Fear grips us all. It does so in many different ways. To one it may be the fear of death, to another, of losing your money, your self control, your family, your dignity, your health etc. But the worst fear of all should be an uncertain eternity! We may use all kind of excuses. I think all that God stuff is a bunch of hypocrites judging everybody! Or, I can’t believe in something I have no proof of. Or, the one that gets me the most, there are so many paths to get to God. First of all, let me say a Christian has no right to judge anyone. We are all sinners! The Most High God is the one and only Judge. We are all judged by His Word, the Bible. James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you---Who are you to judge your neighbor? As far as believing what you can’t see, That is where faith comes in. I have never physically seen God or Jesus! I have read and studied their word and have developed a relationship with them through their living word. It will pierce through your cold heart and change you forever. Romans 10:17 So then, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And the many paths bold face lie, well the truth to it is in the word too! Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. I Tim.2:3-6 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. Look at creation and see God’s magnificent power. I have not seen one man who could create what God has given us to enjoy. He hung the moon and stars and they hang by nothing visible!!!

Forfeit Your Soul

Well, it can be said a hundred different ways. I guess two of my favorites are; keeping up with the Jones or go where the pot boils big! No matter how you say it, God says in Mark 8:36 for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? The old matter at the deepest part of our sinner’s heart is the love of the world and self, what a shame. From the moment we are born, we want it now! We either want a bottle, a diaper change or to be held, pronto! As we grow, we want certain clothes, or certain toys, etc. Until we reach adulthood, then we want money and to satisfy self. In my bible study, nothing has been made clearer to me than this is not what God wants from us. He wants us to deny self and take up the cross. Our accurate calling is to seek him first, to be fishers of men and to love people in his name. There is nothing wrong in enjoying the things God has given us here on Earth. But we are to seek him and his will first! The things of this world will pass away but the things remembered above will be eternal. The acts of love and kindness shone to the least of these will be what we take with us when we go. Our non judging hearts loving all the nations in Christ name will be our fruits.

God's Earthly Reward to us is our Children

Oh, where to begin! God gave us many bible verses about children. This verse is one I really like because it leaves no room for us to believe anything except God thinks children are a gift. Ps. 127:3 Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him! Even one of the Ten Commandments was about parents and their children, Ex.20:12 Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. This seems to be a stern warning about respect! Children have to be taught respect from an early age; they watch their parents being respectful and we give them guidance about what respect is. Children are like little sponges, they soak up everything around them, whether good or bad. Prov.29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself, brings shame to his mother. It seems as if there is a lot of controversy about spanking a child. Well, this previous verse leaves no doubt about spanking. When I see an unruly child, I immediately think the parent is at fault not the child. It is your duty as a parent to set boundaries for your children and to enforce them in a consistent manner. You will be held accountable, before a Holy God. Jesus loved children. Matt.19:14-15 then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples, rebuked the people, but Jesus said, "Let the little children, come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." And he laid his hands on them and went away. The end result of good parenting is in, Prov.22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. God is good, he even laid out parenting guidelines for us!!!

You really only have Christ

In the wake of the storms of life, nothing is certain. Horrors abound all around us. Everyday we see the devastation of earthquakes, tornadoes, wars and crime. The only hope we have is Christ Jesus! Imagine an eternity without the blessing of being with him. I would like very much for us all to search God's word and keep it in our minds and hearts to be able to pass it along to others. In an instance, you can loose your life. His invitation is only open now, for we are not promised tomorrow. Our indecision could cost us dearly. Ps.73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Heb.9: 27 Just as man is destined to die once and then after that face judgment. Lord, I pray for your mercy for us. Help us to show your love to all the hurting of this world. Help us to know that we need your gift of salvation. Amen