Spiritual

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS…..


Spiritual Blog - Day After

Hebrews 13:15-16 – “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”  NASU

Each year on Christmas Day it has been my heart’s desire and practice to set aside some time to reflect on God’s Gift to mankind and His goodness to me and my family during the course of the year.  I’ve had numerous ask me to participate in a specific time to pause all festivities and engage in a time of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Lord on this special day.  All that is good and worthy of involvement and consideration yet I have one more thing to suggest.

On this day, the Day after Christmas called ‘Boxing Day’ in many parts of the world and celebrated in various forms many include giving to the poor and needy.  I would suggest that after you have opened all your presents, enjoyed the festivities with family and/or friends that you take a moment to evaluate your own blessings and determine to share something with those less fortunate.  I hope that you have already done this prior to Christmas Day but if you have not then I would encourage you to give consideration to an endeavor that the Bible makes clear is pleasing to God and something that He routinely blesses – – Giving to the Needy. 

Maybe you received something that you simply do not need and rather than return or exchange it for something for yourself consider taking it or the refund for it and doing something for those who did not have the wherewithal to celebrate this day with gifts for their children or family.  Maybe they need food, clothing, or shelter and your contribution regardless of how small would make a meaningful difference in their lives today.  Maybe you simply do not know of anyone in that condition or situation but I would suggest that your church does some of the local charities that are worthy and honorable do or maybe friends, family, or neighbors do.  Ask and you just might be surprised how near to your physical local the needy are.

I am not trying to shame you into doing something but simply suggest that you count your blessings and then consider the possibility of giving a blessing to someone who is not as fortunate or blessed as you today.  I believe that it will prove to be an excellent catalyst into the coming year and propel you to even greater heights in your spiritual journey and may even be a significant factor in your financial development in the coming year.

Jesus said that we would have the poor with us always so we are not going to stamp out poverty and need but we can be aware of it and minister to it when it is revealed to us and within our ability to do so.

            May God bless you and provide you with a joyous and happy New Year!

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THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS…..


Spiritual Blog - Day After

Hebrews 13:15-16 – “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”  NASU

             Each year on Christmas Day it has been my heart’s desire and practice to set aside some time to reflect on God’s Gift to mankind and His goodness to me and my family during the course of the year.  I’ve had numerous ask me to participate in a specific time to pause all festivities and engage in a time of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Lord on this special day.  All that is good and worthy of involvement and consideration yet I have one more thing to suggest.

On this day, the Day after Christmas called ‘Boxing Day’ in many parts of the world and celebrated in various forms, many include giving to the poor and needy.  I would suggest that after you have opened all your presents, enjoyed the festivities with family and/or friends that you take a moment to evaluate your own blessings and determine to share something with those less fortunate.  I hope that you have already done this prior to Christmas Day but if you have not then I would encourage you to give consideration to an endeavor that the Bible makes clear is pleasing to God and something that He routinely blesses – – Giving to the Needy. 

Maybe you received something that you simply do not need and rather than return or exchange it for something for yourself consider taking it or the refund for it and doing something for those who did not have the wherewithal to celebrate this day with gifts for their children or family.  Maybe they need food, clothing, or shelter and your contribution regardless of how small would make a meaningful difference in their lives today.  Maybe you simply do not know of anyone in that condition or situation but I would suggest that your church does and some of the local charities that are worthy and honorable do or maybe friends, family, or neighbors do.  Ask and you just might be surprised how near to your physical local the needy are.

I am not trying to shame you into doing something but simply suggesting that you count your blessings and then consider the possibility of giving a blessing to someone who is not as fortunate or blessed as you today.  I believe that it will prove to be an excellent catalyst into the coming year and propel you to even greater heights in your spiritual journey and may even be a significant factor in your financial development in the coming year.

Jesus said that we would have the poor with us always so we are not going to stamp out poverty and need but we can be aware of it and minister to it when it is revealed to us and within our ability to do so.

            May God bless you and provide you with a joyous and happy New Year!

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Twilight and Midnight Christmas


Spiritual Blog - Poem

When we are young and life is like a flowering tree

We think only of the moment, what’s in it for me.

Christmas is a time of anticipation,

Youthful joy and expectation.

What will we get?  What can we do?

It’s all about me and little about you.

Then in our teens, those rebellious years

We bring to our parents both joy and tears.

Christmas is a time of anticipation

Youthful joy and expectation.

Why can’t I go off with my friends and see

What this world can offer me?

Then as young adults with children of our own

We now are parents and the worries to us belong.

Christmas is a time of our children’s anticipation

Waiting to see if we fulfilled their expectation.

If you fail, this will you hear, “But I wanted the latest and hottest fad

I didn’t get it now I am mad.”

Then come the twilight tears

You are alone to face all your fears.

Children and grandchildren now grown, with families of their own

It’s Christmas and you are alone.

Forgotten it seems with no one to share

Life’s little joys for no one to care.

Remember this in your Christmas of Twilight

As you turn inward and are filled with the darkness of night.

It’s not the specific day that makes is so dear

It’s not even the time of the year.

It’s that your family has set one day aside

To join you and celebrate there by your side.

 

©  Roy Beaird 1999

 

 

As you celebrate Christmas Day I urge you to remember the reason for the season and rejoice in the Gift of God to mankind in the Birth of Jesus Christ.  I urge you to remember His life and His sacrificial death on the Cross for you and me.  I urge you to remember His resurrection, ascension to the Throne of God, and His promise to return.   Remember Jesus…. Remember Christ this Christmas and allow the Joy of the Lord to flood your heart much as the Shepherds on the night of the Angelic Proclamation while they were tending flocks in the field.

God bless you and may you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a splendidly HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS in the Year of our Lord 2017…


SPIRITUAL BLOG - Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  In today’s politically correct world of supposed tolerance, it has been deemed inappropriate by many to say, “Merry Christmas”.  That greeting has been replaced with “Happy Holidays” but I resist that demand, although I am perfectly comfortable with wishing you a Happy Holiday I am not focused on man but God in my greeting.  When I refer to Christmas I am not viewing it through the natural eye but in a spiritual connotation.

What is Christmas?  It is not simply a date on the calendar.  It is not simply a time of giving and receiving gifts.  It is not simply a time of festivities, parties, and celebrations.  It is more, much more!  Some, even myself, have suggested that Christmas is an expression of the Greatest Gift ever given, but I have amended my view on that a bit to become more inclusive of all that God has done!  The birth of Jesus the Lamb of God, the Sacrifice for Sin, the Savior of man was the beginning of a process and series of events that would lead to the Door of Salvation being opened for whosoever will.  Not one of the steps in the process can be eliminated and the Full Salvation for mankind culminated in the Ascension of Jesus to the Right Hand of the Throne of God and will be completed when He returns for His bride.  He was born, lived a sinless life, died a ransom for many, rose from the dead, and is now ascended to heaven.  His birth, life, and death were parts for the Gift and each a reason for celebration, thanksgiving, and praise.

I’ve had people tell me “Christmas is for kids” and that is a wonderful thought as far as it goes, but is Christmas really for kids?  If we make it so, we transform the event and reason for celebration from focusing on the Christ Child, the Savior of the World, born in Bethlehem that eventful night and make it about personal gratification and satisfaction.  I love watching children open presents and see the smiles on their faces, and their eyes dance with glee.  It is heartwarming but is that what we should be teaching the children about the meaning of this day?  No, I am not trying to be a Grinch and ban Christmas or the exchange of presents and gifts.  No, I am not trying to place a damper on the excitement and joy of anyone regarding this day.  I only ask, Is, that what Christmas is all about?  Is that truly the focus we should have on this day?

The Gift of Life that the Holy Spirit birthed in my heart when I repented of my sins and received Jesus as my savior still causes my heart to overflow with Joy!  I know what it is like to spend Christmas away from family and loved ones and be in a war-torn country thousands of miles from my home.  I know what it is to be among other men, comrades in arms, and watch their faces as they think of home and family.  I know what it is to feel alone in the midst of a crowd of people in a far-away land.  I was not a Christian while serving in Vietnam.  I believed in God, but I had never received Jesus as my Savior and therefore my aloneness was magnified because of that emptiness in my heart.  When I received Jesus, after coming home, Christmas took on a completely new meaning to me and I see it as not being about me, my children, grandchildren, Christmas pageants, cantatas, or anything of the sort.  IT IS ABOUT CHRIST and GOD’S PLAN FOR SALVATION!

In our present politically correct world where there is a concerted effort to force us to accept beliefs foreign to our convictions and adopt practices that violate our core beliefs, Christmas can be a difficult time.  I have experienced and watched many different reactions to “Merry Christmas” greetings.  Some warm the heart and others bring a cloud of darkness.  Jesus spoke, in Matthew 25 of the Day of Judgment when the small and great would stand before God.  He spoke of those who would be sent away into outer darkness and, yet they would protest, “Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not take care of you?”  God’s response will be, “Truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”  Among the greatest moments of my life have been the times that I or with others provided food, clothing, comfort, or gifts to those needy and destitute.  That sense of joy was amplified when done during the Christmas season.

Sadly, I’ve watched some become benevolent at Christmas not out of genuine love but because it was an ointment on their conscience.  In their minds, this act of benevolence excused their lack of caring and concern the rest of the time.  That is not Christmas!  Christmas is Giving and Receiving but not in the traditional sense of exchanging material things.  It is about RECEIVING God’s Son as our Personal Savior and as Peter and John at the Gate Beautiful with the lame man, “What I have I give.”  You have freely received Jesus, therefore freely share Him with others.  Everything you have comes from God’s hand, therefore, what you have is not yours so look at others through the eyes of our Savior.

Christmas is about JESUS!  What Love, that the Father would allow His Son to come to earth, dwell among a people (humanity) that would reject him and were at enmity toward him.  What Love, that the Lord, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Son of God, would be willing to be born into such a lowly position and endure such hardship then suffer and die for those that openly vowed to be His enemies.  Christmas is LOVE!  Christmas is HOPE!  Christmas is LIFE!

Today, as you celebrate Christmas, I pray that you enjoy your festivities and treasure the wonderful memories from the moment but PLEASE take a little time and reflect in your heart and with your loved ones THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS!  It is a birthday celebration and what birthday party do you go to where everyone there exchanges gifts but no gift is given to the one celebrating a birthday?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE and I pray that God will grant you a joyous and prosperous New Year!

 

 

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THE ANTICIPATION…..


Spiritual Blog -

Luke 2:8-14 – “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, ” Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 ” This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  14 ” Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”  NASU

 

I’m sure that many if not most of us can recall some point in our childhood when we went to sleep on Christmas Eve with eager anticipation as to what the next morning would bring.  Most of us did so with little thought as to what Christmas was all about, what it symbolized and represented only the anticipation of what we would receive the next morning under the tree.  As I became a Christian my view of Christmas changed and as I had children my appreciation for youthful anticipation also grew.

Frequently my thoughts go to those shepherds in the fields on that eventful evening when the supernatural appearance of Angels came to them and made the incredible declaration of what was transpiring in their very region.  I have no doubt that the comforting words of the Angel, “Do not be afraid…” were much needed and that most, if not all, of us, would have been quaking in our boots as well.  The sight must have been so awesome and the declaration so powerful that within their hearts rose an eager anticipation that could be compared with nothing they had ever experienced.

I don’t know how much they were aware of the teachings of the revealed Word of God and the teachings of the Rabbi’s but I have no doubt that they were stirred so deeply within that they were moved to action.  In the next verses, we find that after the Angels were gone they began to say to each other, “We have to go to Bethlehem and see this!”  I’m sure as they made their way to a place unknown and a sight unseen they did so with hearts pounding and each step they took their EAGER ANTICIPATION and EXCITEMENT grew like the crescendo of a musical arrangement.  I suspect they were about to explode emotionally as they neared the stable where the Christ was lying in a manger wrapped in unpretentious garments.

They were about to see with their eyes the CHRIST the SAVIOR of the World.  How exhilarating that must have been.  Yet, when we come to Christmas Eve do we come to it with eager anticipation of what the night brought and the next day would afford?  I really do not care what day Jesus was actually born but the day that is set aside as the day we celebrate that birth is important to me only because of HIS BIRTH.  As I come to this night I come to it with Eager Anticipation of what the Birth of Christ means to me personally and to the World collectively.  So, whatever family traditions you have and enjoy I would ask that you add one more and that being to pause a moment and reflect on what THIS BIRTH means to you, your family, and mankind as a whole!

            Jesus is truly the reason for the season!  May God be with you as you celebrate Christmas!  Blessings!

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WHEN THE FINITE MEETS THE INFINITE….


sPIRITUAL bLOG - Infinite

Job 38:1-2 – “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” NASU

             It has always been amusing for me to listen to and watch the ‘pseudo-intellectuals’ attempt to explain GOD and the INFINITE.  I say ‘pseudo’ because in comparison to the Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge of God that is all it amounts to.  God demonstrated His impatience with the one-upmanship of Job and his friends in trying to prove their rightness and righteousness while appearing more knowing than their fellows.  God also demonstrated His beautiful sense of humor in His questions to Job in this Chapter.

Consider the questions:

  • Where were you when I (God) laid the foundation of the earth?
  • Who set its measurements?
  • Who stretched the line on it?
  • On what were its bases sunk?
  • Who laid its cornerstone?
  • Who enclosed the seas with doors?
  • Have you ever commanded the morning?
  • What is the way to the abode of light?
  • Where does darkness reside?
  • Have you ever entered the storehouses of the snow or hail?
  • How about the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed or the place where it is scattered over the earth.
  • Have you ever cut a channel for the torrents of rain or created a path for a thunderstorm?
  • Does the rain have a father and who fathers the dew?
  • From whose womb does ice come and who gives birth to the frost?
  • Can you cause the constellations to appear in their seasons?
  • Does nature report to you?

            These are just a few of the questions God asked Job in Chapters 38-39 and then in Chapter 40, He asked – “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?  Let him who accuses God answer him!”

Job knew he was in trouble immediately.  Job understood that he was finite and God was infinite.  He knew that his knowledge was limited and God’s was unlimited. He knew he was a creation and God was the creator.  Job knew that although what befell him was not of his own making he was in need of the mercy of God and as a flawed human being he needed forgiveness and mercy.  Sadly, some never seem to understand and continue to live lives of ‘self-justification’ rather than appealing to the mercy of God.

When I become so keenly aware of the presence of God that I can almost hold it in my hands I have a deep sense of awe and know that I am in the presence of the one who is INFINITE, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.  HE KNOWS!  HE SEES!  HE HEARS!  Nothing is hidden from Him so when I come into His presence I seek to ensure there is no pretense only honesty.  That being said, I desire in my heart to live each day that way free of pretense and totally dependent upon God.

            May God bless you and be with you as you go through your day!

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WHEN THE MORTAL PUTS ON IMMORTALITY….


Spiritual Blog - Death Defeated

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 – “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 ” O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O  DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” NASU

 

There is so much that I would like to say and realize that there is not the time or space to do so.  Therefore, I will focus my attention on the title thought of ‘mortal putting on immortality.’  The Bible declares in Hebrews 9:27 that every person who lives upon this earth has an appointment that is inescapable with death. Yet, here in Corinthians Paul reveals something he calls a ‘mystery’ that some will escape this inevitability and leave this world without the natural process we call death and the Bible calls sleep.

Paul speaks of an event or time when those who are followers of Christ alive on planet earth at this juncture in time will be ‘changed instantaneously’ when God’s trumpet sounds and the dead are raised.  I won’t get into a debate as to the timing of this rather I focus on the fact of it.  It is this event that the apostle Paul tells his hearers is to solidify their hope and confidence in the Promises of God and Eternity.  He identifies this as a complete obliteration of the pain and sting death.  It is identified as a source of inspiration and hope in that our labor has not been in vain and to encourage us to continue laboring until He returns.

Paul tells us that ‘flesh and blood’ or the natural man in his natural state cannot inherit the Kingdom of God because these temples of clay are perishable but there will come a day when the imperishable (souls) of men and women will put on the imperishable and transition from the temporal to the eternal.  I believe that as a literal fact in Scripture and rest my hope on the sure promise of resurrection or this translation whichever my state is at that time.

Most of us have loved ones who have preceded us into eternity and have experienced the ‘sting of death’ in the sense of the loneliness that accompanies losing a loved one.  We have experienced the seeming ‘victory of death’ in that it took from us someone we treasured.  Even when we know in our hearts that they are in the presence of the Lord the loss is still painful.  But, one day, one glorious day WE WILL BE CHANGED!  One day our MORTAL will put on IMMORTALITY!   That will be a glorious day!

God bless you as you go through your day!

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WHO IS IN CHARGE – God or Man???


spiritual blog - God In Charge

Genesis 8:22 – “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” NIV

             I do not mean to be political in my devotional but I laugh at those who are clamoring and decrying the evils of mankind, insisting that man is causing global warming and climate change.  When did God turn that job over to man?  In the natural course of events of this earth there are volcanic eruptions that send huge amounts of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.  Science tells us that Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enables the earth to absorb the infrared radiations and helps keep the earth warm.  It tells us that plants utilize carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.  It informs us that the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to form carbonate rocks and that the utilization of CO2 by the plants produces Oxygen for us to breathe and helps maintain our breathable air on planet earth.  Who did this?  GOD DID!   God established the method of how what we call ‘nature’ works and He is keeping His hand on it even today.

God is not an ‘absentee landlord’ as some have declared and while we do things that are not prudent or wise we are not going to destroy our atmosphere by our use of fossil fuels or anything else short of total nuclear chaos which may well be what some of the Bible prophecies describes in the last days.  But in Genesis, the seed book of the Bible, God said in the above passage that we would ALWAYS or as long as there is an earth the natural process of life which includes climate being controlled by Him!

My purpose is not to get into a political debate over what someone may or may not believe regarding ‘man-made climate change’ but to point to the truth that GOD IS OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT, and OMNIPRESENT.  He is God, always has been, and always will be!  I trust Him with my life and my planet.  Does that mean I should be negligent in my attention to my natural surroundings?  NO!  I am appalled when I see liter and trash dumped everywhere.  As an avid outdoorsman and one who loves to hunt and fish I am wounded deeply when I see trash and garbage on our lakes, in our forests, and on our highways.  It only takes a few seconds to properly dispose of those things and as a Christian, I cannot understand just littering for convenience or laziness sake.

Over my years which have spanned a few decades now I’ve seen incredibly cold winters and incredibly hot summers in given years and the reverse on others.  I’ve seen winters so mild that you could wear shorts around Christmas and so cold that you could barely endure being outdoors for more than a few minutes at a time.  I’ve watched as the rains in the Spring and Fall are so plenteous that the ground stays saturated into the Summer and Winter and seen it so dry that if you did not water your lawn you would have no lawn or foundational stability for your house to sit on.  It has been cyclical but all the while I have believed and do believe that God is in control and I rest on His promise here in Genesis that as long as the earth is the earth and we occupy it there will be ‘seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer, and winter, day and night.’  I do not expect to wake up tomorrow and find that the hand of man has destroyed the planet that the ALMIGHTY GOD created and cares for.

My simple message is ‘Stop Fretting’ over things that are God’s to handle.  Relax and enjoy God’s gift to us and be wise in your use of it but enjoy it and enjoy Him along the pathway from the cradle to the grave!

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

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WHY I REFUSE TO WORRY ABOUT LIFE…..


Spiritual Blog - Worry

Luke 12:22-32 – “And He said to His disciples, ” For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.  23 “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  24 “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!  25 “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?  26 “If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?  27 “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  28 “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!  29 “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.  30 “For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.  31 “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.  32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”  NASU

 

Recently I had a conversation with a person that I care about deeply and they were struggling with the condition of things in government, the state of the economy, and the future.  They were wringing their hands and lamenting that the future was so dim and dismal that they were despairing of life.  This person is a Christian albeit at that moment their faith was in another dimension not on the promises of our Lord.

I shared with them this passage, which they were very familiar with and said, “This is why I refuse to worry about life.”   You see here in simple language, our Lord Jesus said, “DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE….”  Don’t fret over what you are going to eat, drink, wear, and in the context of that truth where you will live.  He illustrated the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and the fact that God cares for them the way He does.  He also cautioned against worry saying that we cannot add even one hour to our lifespan through it and we now know through medical science that we can shorten our lifespan by it.  Jesus told us in the familiar verse 33 what we are ‘not to seek’ and what we ‘are to seek’.  He then concluded the statement by saying, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”  In that Kingdom, there is the King and with the King are all the resources that we could ever need.

If I worry about life I am not placing my faith and confidence in God.  I am not suggesting that we make no preparation for our latter years or that we nonchalantly go through our days with no labor or effort to earn a living.  NO THAT WOULD BE PRESUMPTUOUS.  I am saying that once we have done all we know to do then we TRUST and REST in the Promises of God and take Him at His word.  He said DON’T WORRY and I believe He meant what He said so I CHOOSE not to worry!  I believe as David declared, “I was young, now I am old and I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread.”  God has promised to take care of us and He will.

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

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WHAT IS YOUR SOUL WORTH?


Spiritual Blog -Value of the Soul

Mark 8:34-38 – “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” NASU

 

I have read and preached from this passage on many occasions and recently a conversation with a person who was a ‘self-described liberal theologian’ it came to the forefront of my mind again.  As we were discussing the existence of God and the Cross I referenced this passage as he argued that ‘everyone would go to heaven’ that a loving God could not send anyone to hell that would be out of character for God.’  I’ve met this same argument before in many different forms and each time I think that with the provision that God has made for us to have salvation our rejection of it is almost incomprehensible.

There are many other potential passages to consider but the question I asked this man who acknowledged that humans have an eternal soul, “What is your soul worth?  What value would you place on it?”  He paused and said, “I don’t know, a lot I would think.”  It was at that point that I inserted this passage into our conversation drawing attention to God’s valuation of the human soul.  God said it was worth ‘more than the entire world’ but even then that is not fully descriptive of the value God places on it for if you consider the Cross you realize that the Father valued the human soul ‘worth the blood of Jesus.’  That, to me, is almost beyond comprehension or imagination that God would place such a value on mankind.  We are His creation but that is an incredible value to place on man, who turned his back on God and in the Garden voted with the devil to remove God from being the center of His universe and enthrone man on that throne.

Therefore, if you think you have ‘done too much to be forgiven’ as I did when the Holy Spirit brought my heart into conviction regarding my sin and my condition, think about the valuation God placed on your soul.  If you feel that you have ‘no significance’ and ‘no value’ think about the Cross and the valuation that God has placed on your soul.  If you think that because of your condition, plight, your social, or economic status that God, does not care about you think I challenge you to consider the valuation He has placed on your soul.  Your value according to God is THE BLOOD OF JESUS and more than the ENTIRE WORLD.

So, instead of allowing yourself to focus on what you do not have, focus on what He has offered!  Instead of allowing the devil to turn all your thoughts inward and revel in self-pity or allow a woe-is-me attitude to prevail, consider what God has provided via the Cross.  You, according to the Bible, are worth the blood of Jesus!  If God loves you that much how can you not turn to Him?

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

 

 

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