The Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

We all are walking through, the valley of the shadow of death, we simply choose not to think of it. The minute God gives us life, our death clock starts ticking. So even the smallest of newborn babies are starting their walk in the valley of death. And as we get old, if God wills us to be old, we are in the final valley of the shadow of death. 
Ps.23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
It is not by fate that you have many days or not so many days of life but by the divine hand of God!
Ps.139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
I had a cousin die a few days ago. I had lost touch with him and was sad to see he had died so young. My mind was flooded with many questions about him, well really about his eternity. As I began to sort out the questions, God's word began to resound in my head. If we deny the sovereignty of God, man is without excuse! It has been made plain to us by His creation. He will not be denied! His Word says or "the rocks will cry out!"
Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Luke 19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Ask someone about Christ today! He is working on their hearts already.
Lord, grant us souls today. Amen

Every Good Work

If we think we are the author of every good work, we had better think again! God alone, our teacher and creator is the driving force behind every good work! We are not wise and sufficient unto ourselves but dependent on God for every good and wise thing. The power of sin is broken by a merciful God through Jesus. It is not through anything we do, but by the power and the mercy of God, on wicked sinners.
Prov.16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
Prov.15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Prov.16:9 9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
Prov.16:20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
Walk with the Lord in everything. Keep your heart on His word!
Prov.16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Awesome Lord, we need You every day. Your word is precious and gives us life. Teach us! Amen

Choices

Prov.9:10-12 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
Here is a stern warning for the choices we make and the consequences we will endure because of them.
Prov.10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
The wisdom of our hope in Christ: 1 Cor.15:21-22 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
What we fight against: 1 Cor.15:34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
Eph.2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
God's response: Eph.2:4-10 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.How can you turn your back on Christ and deny Him? All the evidence needed is all around you in His creation in plain sight so that you are without excuse!Lord, forgive sinners for their lack of wisdom. Your Word is full of life while they except an eternity lost and separated from You. Help us to reach the lost, to speak the right words from Your Word, to open their hard hearts. For apart from you we can do nothing but with You all things are possible! In Jesus name I ask for souls. Amen 

Simple Ones and Fools

Prov.8:1-5 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: "To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
Prov.8:12-17 "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
1 Kings 3:5-15 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?" It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
You can see from these verses that wisdom is a good thing to seek. There is a lot of wisdom in God's Word! God will reveal His wisdom to us! I have read the bible quite a few times and the Lord is faithful if you seek Him, He will be found!
Lord, there is no denying we are simple and most often foolish in regards to listening to the wisdom contained in Your Word! We should have judgement but You are steadfast in love and full of great mercy! I stand in awe at the forgiveness You show! But, there will come a time when mercy is over and those who deny You as Lord will be forever lost! Help us Lord, show Your mighty power to the world!  Humble the heart of man so that he will fall before You and give You praise. Amen

The Value of Wisdom

Prov.1:23-33 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words know to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."Prov.2:6-15 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,  who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. Lord, I pray that we know the value of Your wisdom. We are foolish and try to deny that all knowledge comes from You and You alone. Help us keep Your Word close to our hearts for guidance so that we may have peace in our souls. Amen

Do We Really Understand?

This is a true story about a young girl who was attending a small group at church. She was having a conversation with her teacher and she said she wanted to be baptised. The teacher was so happy! Before the teacher could ask the young girl about her decision, the young girls' friend blurted out "well, are you saved"? Oh, for us to be so bold in the name of the Lord!! The friend did not wait for the perfect time she just spoke, in love, to the young girl. Friends, how often are we waiting for the right time while we gamble with another persons' eternity?
Lord, help us to be bold, for eternity is coming all too soon for us all. Speak through us when we are too shy. You have all the power, we are Your servants, give us the words to speak. Amen
The gospel in a nutshell, Christ came to save sinners. Salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. We are dead in sin and forever seperated from a holy God. Christ came to bring salvation to all who will humbly bow and ask for His mercy. You can't earn it through baptism, works, tithing, living a near perfect life or anything else man thinks he can do. Man had a debt he could not pay! It was paid by the blood of Christ.
Romans 9:14-16 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Acts 4:12 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."
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Hebrews 10:7-14 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Planning Ahead

We all plan ahead to some extent, but should we?
Ps.146:4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Seems as if God's Word is giving us caution about the way we plan!! 
James 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Prov.27:1  Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Luke 12:20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
Clarke's commentary on the bible states:
"Death is certain to all men, as the fruit of sin, by the appointment of God; and there is a certain time fixed for it, which cannot be exceeded; but of that day and hour no man knows; and therefore cannot boast of a moment of future time, or of a tomorrow, nor of what he shall enjoy on the morrow (w); for, what he has today he cannot be certain he shall have the next; he cannot assure himself of health and honour, of pleasures, riches, and friends; he may have health today, and sickness tomorrow; be in honour today, and in disgrace on the morrow: he may bid his soul eat, drink, and be merry, seeing he has much goods laid up for many years, and vainly say, tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant, when this night his soul may be required of him."
There is one thing that is certain, eternity will be spent somewhere. Christ followers have been preaching the gospel a long time and people have been ignoring it and embracing it just as long.
Father, we know time is getting short. We ask for Your saving power to be sent out over the whole Earth. How people can see Your power displayed and not be afraid of Your judgement is a hard thing for me to understand. Your Word says: Ps.147:11but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love Amen