God Thoughts for Your Day

THE WORSHIP THAT DRAWS NEAR

Scripture Reading: Heb. 10:19-25

We will speak a little on the way to worship God. When we come before God, some people may come with a depressed feeling. Some may feel that they have not done well during the previous week, that they have disobeyed God’s word, or that they have backslidden. As a result of these feelings, a person can be frustrated from worshipping God and drawing near to Him in a spontaneous and sweet way. We will consider one matter. This matter is true not only in the Old Testament but in the New Testament as well. How can man come to God? Many people think that they can worship God when they have some merit, when they have performed good works, or when they deserve God’s praise. Others think that because they have not performed well and have done many things that displease God, they cannot come to God to worship Him. But whether or not our works are good has nothing to do with our coming to God. Hebrews 10:19 says, “Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.” This verse tells us that our coming to God is in nothing else other than the blood of the Lord Jesus. Good works, zeal, or spiritual experiences cannot qualify us to come before God or make us more worthy to draw near to Him. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus enables us to draw near to God. If you think that the blood of the Lord Jesus is not enough for you to draw near to Him, I will tell you honestly that you will never be able to come to Him or worship Him. Different persons have different conditions and situations. Some may have some shortcomings; others may have some sins. Some may have fallen seriously; others may be better. If coming to God is based on a person’s spiritual condition, how can we worship God together in oneness? None of our hands are clean; they are all mud-stained and defiled. But by the blood, we can come boldly to God to worship Him. Without the blood, no one can worship, and there is no worship. The Lord’s blood is effective not only on earth but in heaven as well. Not only was it effective on the cross, but it is effective on the throne as well, so that we can now come to the Holy of Holies to worship God. Some may say that God is too gracious in this way, but we must realize that it is through the blood that we are qualified to worship. It is true that God is full of grace, but it is not all grace. If God were to forgive our sins carelessly and allow us to come before Him to worship Him carelessly, that would indeed be great grace. But those who have considerable Bible knowledge and deep spiritual experience, and who are excellent in life and conduct, are no more qualified than we are in coming to worship God. Everyone who comes before God must have the blood; everyone needs the cleansing of the blood before he can come before God. We are the same as everyone else, and we must come to God by the blood. If there is a meeting where the blood is replaced with good works or spiritual experience and where there is trust in these things to come to God, this worship is not acceptable to God. If anyone bases their worship on the works they have performed during the previous week, they do not know what worship means. Let us learn to worship by the blood and come to God through the blood. Many people say that there are many similarities between Christians and Israelites. They say that with the Israelites, there were three kinds of worshippers: those who offered the sacrifices outside the tabernacle, those who served in the Holy Place, and those who served the Lord in the Holy of Holies. They say that, in a similar way, there are three kinds of Christian worshippers. Those who say this do not know what worship is. We have to know that the Israelites are different from us. Everyone of us can come to the Holy of Holies to worship, while the Israelites could not. The picture in the Old Testament is a picture of estrangement. The congregation could not do anything. They could not worship directly or even slaughter the goats and bulls themselves; they had to depend on the priests to do this for them. They were estranged from God and could not worship Him directly. The New Testament is different. Every believer can worship within the Holy of Holies, and no one can worship in place of another. Strictly speaking, even the Lord Jesus cannot replace us in our worshipping. It is true that the Old Testament divides the worshippers into the congregation, the priests, and the high priest. Only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood. No other person could enter into it. But everyone of us is like the high priest; we can all enter into the Holy of Holies. We say that the Lord Jesus is the High Priest; it is true that He is our High Priest before God in heaven and that we are all individual priests. But at the time of worship, it is a different story. Some say that we need the Lord Jesus to do everything for us and that He is our Mediator and go-between. But there is no such thing. Hebrews 10:19 and 20 tell us that the Lord died for us in order that we could come directly to God. Both in the Old Testament and New Testament, the blood on the altar is for the remission of sins. But at the same time, the blood shed on the cross is also for us to draw near to God. Some have thought that a person receives forgiveness through the blood but that he worships and draws near to God through his works. This is why some think that when they do well that week, read the Bible, and pray all the time, they can come boldly to worship God, sing, and pray. Others think that they have not done well and therefore are not worthy to worship; they cannot sing and have no faith to pray. By doing this, they have made the blood worthless. We worship God through the blood, just as we are forgiven through the blood. The book of Romans mentions the blood and the book of Hebrews also mentions the blood. But these two references are different. Romans speaks of the blood on the propitiation cover that is for redemption, whereas Hebrews speaks of the blood before the veil that is for drawing near to God and worshipping Him. The blood not only forgives and cleanses us from our sins but brings us near to God and leads us to worship. You may argue, in spite of this, that you have not done well this week and cannot come boldly to God. What should you do? Let me ask you, when will you ever do well? When will you ever be able to think that you are good and can worship Him with all boldness? When will you ever be able to cry out “Hallelujah”? If you have to wait until you are able to do these things, you will wait until you are raptured before you can worship Him. You cannot determine your eligibility for worshipping based on your good or bad conduct. Instead, your worship should be based on the blood. Suppose the Lord’s beloved disciples, Peter, John, or Paul, could meet with us today. The way they would come and worship before God is the same way we come and worship before God. They have to trust in the blood. Do not think that they are nearer to God, more acceptable to Him, and more capable of worshipping. There is no such thing. If anyone says this, I will be the first one to stand up to refute it. Peter, John, and Paul are the same as we are; everyone has to draw near to God through the blood alone. I heard that someone said that as long as he can crawl into heaven and stand inside the gate, he will be satisfied. But no, we do not crawl before the Lord and worship Him in such a fearful way. We come to God in boldness and without fear. We have the right to be God’s children; this is God’s promise to us. When I was young, whenever I went to visit someone, my heart would pound wildly. I was afraid that others would not be happy to see me. When I knocked at someone’s door, I dared not knock twice out of fear that I would make others unhappy, or that the person inside would open the door to rebuke me and immediately shut the door. I did not have the boldness to meet people. But this is not the way we come to God. We come with authority and a commission. We come to Him as if coming to our own house; we knock at the door boldly and enter naturally. We should all come to the Holy of Holies and meet God with such an attitude. If we know the worth of the blood, we will surely have boldness. The knowledge of the blood’s worth is the condition for worship. If we want to have power in our worship, we have to abide under the blood. Even the weakest and poorest believer has the same authority as the apostles did to worship God. His weakness can never lower the value and effectiveness of the blood. Every time we worship, we do so according to the blood. Our good works cannot add anything to the worth of the blood. Our breaking of the bread (the Body) is a sign that the veil (the Lord’s body) has been broken. The barrier has been removed, and we can now enter the Holy of Holies. The cup is a symbol that the Lord has died for us and that His blood has led us to come near to God. I have to emphasize again that our qualification for coming to God has nothing to do with our weakness; we come because of the blood. If we look up to the blood, we can come before God every day, and we will not lose our boldness. Consider how you came to God the first time with your burden of sin, drew near to Him, and called on Him. Similarly, when we come to Him to worship Him, we can come boldly without being hindered by our own work or feeling but with a single heart that looks up to the blood. May we realize this more and more. In this way, we will be able to worship and praise God in oneness and harmony. By the Lord’s blood, we can serve and worship our God boldly and with authority. 

"Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see" (2Ki_6:17).

This is the prayer we need to pray for ourselves and for one another, "Lord, open our eyes that we may see"; for the world all around us, as well as around the prophet, is full of God’s horses and chariots, waiting to carry us to places of glorious victory.

And when our eyes are thus opened, we shall see in all events of life, whether great or small, whether joyful or sad, a "chariot" for our souls. Everything that comes to us becomes a chariot the moment we treat it as such; and, on the other hand, even the smallest trial may be a Juggernaut car to crush us into misery or despair if we consider it. It lies with each of us to choose which they shall be. It all depends, not upon what these events are, but upon how we take them. If we lie down under them, and let them roll over us and crush us, they become Juggernaut cars, but if we climb up into them, as into a car of victory, and make them carry us triumphantly onward and upward, they become the chariots of God. -- Hannah Whitall Smith

The Lord cannot do much with a crushed soul, hence the adversary’s attempt to push the Lord’s people into despair and hopelessness over the condition of themselves, or of the church. It has often been said that a dispirited army goes forth to battle with the certainty of being beaten. We heard a missionary say recently that she had been invalided home purely because her spirit had fainted, with the consequence that her body sunk also.

We need to understand more of these attacks of the enemy upon our spirits and how to resist them. If the enemy can dislodge us from our position, then he seeks to "wear us out" (Dan_7:25) by a prolonged siege, so that at last we, out of sheer weakness, let go the cry of victory.

From Streams In The Desert

GOD VS THE WORLD

  How can God be against the world that he created?

  When He finished creating the world, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31 NIV)

  But something happened. Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree that He had told them not to eat of. Disobedience to God’s command turned the once “very good” world into a fallen one.

  It had gotten so bad by the time Noah had come onto the scene, that God decided to cleanse the world of everything. Noah, his family, food, and enough animals to begin filling the earth again, were the only things God spared. The rest was covered with water…the entire world, from the highest mountain top to the lowest valley.

“The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7 NIV)

The only humans that God allowed to live were Noah, his wife, and their three sons, along with their wives. Eight people in all. Can you imagine when the world only had eight people on it? So, the new world began. But sins influence, Satan, a fallen angel, was still around, and one by one he began to corrupt the world once more.

Then, sometime between 1896 B.C. and 2300 B.C., in the time of Abraham, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. God said to Abraham… 

“Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." (Genesis 18:20-21 NIV) 

  God told Abraham that he would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if He found 10 righteous (just and lawful) people there. But He could not. One estimate said that between 40,000 to 65,000 people probably died that day. I have heard elsewhere that the area was populated with about 200,000 people. No one knows for sure. So, taking the lowest number of 40,000, God could not find ten people who obeyed and revered Him. It begs the question, “How many people do you know that are righteous and revere God?”

  Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent two angels to save a man named Lot, and his family…

“The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.” (Genesis 19:12-14 NIV)

  Joking? Before dawn the angels had ushered Lot and his family out of the city.

“By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:23-26 NIV)

  A couple of notes to make before we move on. One, the two men who pledged to be married to Lot’s daughters, thought that Lot was “joking”. They stayed behind and were most likely destroyed by the burning sulfur. Two, even though Lot’s wife was told not to look back she did.

“As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" (Genesis 19:17 NIV)

  My questions are, why did Lot’s wife look back, and why was she turned into a pillar of salt for doing so? Now, we have to remember that our thoughts are not like God’s thoughts. So, we should then look at this passage, knowing that God has a reason for everything that He does.

Why did Lot’s wife look back? It could be one or more of several things. Sodom had been her home. She may have raised her family there. Her reason for looking back may have been sentimental. She may have even wanted to stop and run back thinking that what the angels had said would “not” happen. So why was she turned into a pillar of salt?

  First of all, I found an interesting commentary on Lot’s wife, that you might find interesting as well, and maybe even helpful…

“and she became a pillar of salt; was struck dead at once, either by the immediate hand of God, or by the shower of fire and brimstone; and her body was at once changed into a metallic substance, a kind of salt, hard and durable, such as Pliny (z) speaks of, cut out of rocks, with which houses were built, and hardened with the sun, and could scarcely be cut with an iron instrument; so that she did not fall to the ground, but stood up erect as a pillar, retaining very probably the human form, Josephus (a) says, this pillar continued to his times, and that he saw it; Irenaeus (b) and Tertullian (c) speak of it as in their times, a thing incredible; and Benjamin of Tudela says (d), it stood in his times two parsas from the sea of Sodom; and though the flocks were continually licking it, yet it grew again to its former size. Rauwolff (e) relates something of the same kind by information, but not on his own testimony; that the pilgrims who visit it used to beat off some small pieces, and yet was found whole again; nay, which is beyond all credit, that they once knocked off a whole hand and took it away, and when they returned found it whole again: and one (f) that travelled in those parts in the beginning of the sixteenth century affirms, that almost in the midway to Zoar is seen to this day the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was turned; he does not say indeed that he saw it, but leaves his reader to think so; and the Jerusalem Targum says, it will remain until the resurrection;” (From John Gill’s Commentary)

(Did you see the word “parsas” in the above commentary? Two parsas is just a fraction shy of five miles. Something to think about.)

  Salt is used to season or preserve food. Perhaps God chose to preserve her image as a reminder “not” to look back, or to “not” disobey God’s commandments. Because it is written about in God’s Word, it is meant to always be a reminder to us of what happened at Sodom and Gomorrah, and to those who might desire to return to their former ways.

  In the epistle of 1st John, the Apostle writes…

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 NIV)

  It does not say it in the Bible, but I can’t help but wonder if Lot’s wife loved her life in Sodom, perhaps more than God, unlike her husband who was vexed by the sin that he saw daily. If this is true, it’s a good example of two people being unequally yoked spiritually. It can make for a very difficult situation for one, or both spouses.

  There are billions of people in this world. I wonder how many are like Lot, and how many are like his wife? I wonder how many today are like Noah was in his time, and how many are like the ones that were swept away by the flooding.

  Do you love the world? That can be a hard question. How about, do you love the world more than God? The Apostle Peter wrote this about Lot…

“…Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) (2 Peter 2:7-8 NIV) 

  When the angels arrived in Sodom, they found Lot sitting at the gateway to the city. What was he doing there? Perhaps he was there to warn newcomers, as he did the two angels, who he “insisted” stay at his home that night instead of in the city square. He may have sat there day after day, looking outward from the city, wishing that he could leave Sodom and its lawlessness. But because he was a righteous man, he stayed to care for his family.

  Like Lot, many of us want to stay in this world mainly because of our families. But, if we had the choice to go and be with God in Heaven right this minute, or to stay a little while longer, until we’ve “lived” out our life of “pleasures”, which would you choose? What if God told you that you only have 60 seconds to make up your mind? I’m guessing a lot of people would ask God for a little more time here on Earth. But why? What if we could make sure that our family and friends would be there too, would we go right away, or want to stay and “live” a little more?

  I know that this is an easy question for those who are believers in what God has promised us. Or at least it should be. The New Heavens and the New Earth will make this current Earth seem like a cesspool.

  Let’s look at those verses from 1st John once more…

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 NIV)

  Lust and pride are our two of our biggest obstacles when seeking “His kingdom and his righteousness.” The question now becomes, “What do my eyes and flesh lust after, and where does pride fit in?” First, the pride of life. My first thought is a personal one. Is your pride in being a child of God, or a child of the world? That should be an easy one. But let’s see what some of the commentaries say about these “obstacles.” The first two come from John Gill’s Commentary…

“the lust of the flesh; by which is meant, not lust in general, or concupiscence, the corruption of nature, which is the fountain of all sin, or indwelling sin, the flesh, or that corrupt principle which lusts against the Spirit; nor the various lusts of the flesh, fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, and which are many, and are also called worldly lusts; but some particular one, "a lust of the body", as the Syriac version reads; either the lust of uncleanness, which includes all unchaste desires, thoughts, words, and actions, fornication, adultery, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts; and which make up a considerable part of the all that is in the world: or else intemperance in eating and drinking, gluttony and drunkenness, excess of wine, surfeitings, rioting, and revellings, and all the sensual pleasures of life, by which the carnal mind, and the lusts of it, are gratified; whereby the soul is destroyed, the body is dishonoured, and a wound, dishonour, and reproach brought on the character, not to be removed; for which reasons the world, and the things of it, are not to be loved.”

“the lust of the eyes: after unlawful objects, and may design unchaste and lascivious looks, eyes full of adultery, and whereby adultery is committed; see Mat_5:28; but then this falls in with the other, unless that be confined to intemperance; rather then this may intend a sinful curiosity of seeing vain sights, and shows, with which the eye of man is never satisfied, Ecc_1:8; and against which the psalmist prays, Psa_119:37, or rather the sin of covetousness is here designed, the objects of which are visible things, as gold, silver, houses, lands, and possessions, with which riches the eyes of men are never satisfied, and which sin is drawn forth and cherished by the eyes; and indeed a covetous man has little more satisfaction than the beholding his substance with his eyes, and in which he takes much sinful pleasure; see Ecc_4:8; and what a poor vain empty thing is this! therefore, love not the world.”

“the pride of life; by which seems to be meant, ambition of honour, of chief places and high titles, as in the Scribes and Pharisees, Mat_23:6, or of grand living, for the word signifies not so much life as living; living in a sumptuous, gay, luxurious, and pompous manner, in rich diet, costly apparel, having fine seats, palaces, and stately buildings, and numerous attendance; all which is but vanity and vexation of spirit; see Ecc_2:1.”

  John Gill lived from 1697 to 1771, just prior to the United States being born. Things have only gotten worse.

  We all battle these things. It’s part of our fallen nature. Remember when Adam and Eve first realized they were naked? They covered themselves, and they hid from God. The problem today is that shame is disappearing in many places. Some are even proud of their “nakedness” before God and man.

  When I first asked myself the question, “Do I love anything more than God?”, I had to think about it very soberly. I mean, I love my wife, my kids, my extended family, my friends, and my brothers and sisters in Christ.

  How could I not love them? Notice, first of all, that these are other people, not material things. In my own heart, my love for these people comes from God. When I was born again, one big thing happened inside of me. It was my love for others. It had grown tremendously, even for people that I hardly knew. In John 3:16 it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God was very pleased with the world that He had made, but He loved the people. He loved this thing we call “humans”.

  Have you ever wondered why God didn’t just wipe out mankind completely? I believe it’s because He saw a spark of himself in us, in Noah, for example. The Bible says that God is love, and a part of that love is in each of us. That love is God’s starting point with us. He “planted us”, and then he, like a gardener, tends to us, helping us to grow and mature, so that we may be like His Son Jesus. Pretty amazing how He does that. Like the gardener, He prunes us, cutting off the branches that hinder the rest of our growth. He is tender and loving with us, just like I am when I’m watering the plants in my office. They are beautiful creations of God, and I’m doing my best to help them grow and flourish.

  So, back to my question, “Do I love anything more than God?” My answer is no. But do I love the people that God has put into my life, yes. God’s plan, as well as mine, is to spend eternity with my family and friends. Like He loved the “world”, so do I. We’re even supposed to pray for our enemies. That can be hard to do, but I do it. I even pray for people who have done horrible things in this life. I pray that they will ask Jesus to be their Savior someday and gain forgiveness like the rest of us who have asked God to forgive us for the terrible things that we’ve done.

  So, what would you say are things in this world that would give God the impression that you love “it” more than you love Him?

  Let’s look back at what John Gill wrote. Under the heading of “the lust of the flesh”, he tells us…

"a lust of the body", as the Syriac version reads; either the lust of uncleanness, which includes all unchaste desires (lacking in chastity), thoughts, words, and actions, fornication, adultery, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts; and which make up a considerable part of the all that is in the world: or else intemperance in eating and drinking, gluttony and drunkenness, excess of wine, surfeitings, rioting, and revellings, and all the sensual pleasures of life, by which the carnal mind, and the lusts of it, are gratified; whereby the soul is destroyed, the body is dishonoured, and a wound, dishonour, and reproach brought on the character, not to be removed; for which reasons the world, and the things of it, are not to be loved.”

  Note that these are “lusts”, not the actual acting on these impulses. Do you know what Jesus said about “lusts”? He said…

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28 NIV)

  Paul warned us…

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:16-21 NIV)

“Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

  There are people who will commit such acts, and say that they are saved by grace. I have fallen into that trap myself. But that’s just what it is, a trap. People will use grace as a license to sin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it “cheap grace”. But here is another bit of Scripture that we had all better heed…

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin” (1 John 5:18 NIV)

  And…

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

  But…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 NIV)

  If we struggle with any of these things and wish them gone from us, including our thoughts, then we are acknowledging how God sees them also. They are considered sinful. Even though a thought may not be sin, it can surely lead to it as James tells us…

“When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15 NIV)

  “Gives birth to death.” (Something to think about)

  A thought can expose a desire within us that is not healthy. We need to capture those thoughts and stomp on them like a fire that has kindled at our feet. It must be stopped before it gets out of control.

  About “the lusts of the eyes” Gill tells us that lusting with the eyes is coveting things, like money and material things, among other things. When someone begins to covet something, it can turn into a “I have to have that!” kind of a mission. When that happens, when we covet something that isn’t ours, we can begin to think of ways to get it…by hook or crook, as they say. Lust of the eyes can become criminal, aka sinful.

  What about “the pride of life”? Gill mentioned, “ambition of honor”, wanting to be noticed and applauded by others for our endeavors, our titles. Another “pride of life” consideration is the way we live. Are we content with what we have, or do we want to live like the “rich and famous” of the world, with the best house, boat, car, spouse, job, clothing, etc. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time sought to have the best seats in the synagogue or in a house, the place of honor among the rest attending. And they wanted to be seen…as when they prayed on the street corners so that people could see how “religious” they were. This is something that we have to be careful of too.

  God vs. the World. Who’s winning in your life? Is God number one, or do you have him last on your to-do list?

  Is the way you live God honoring, or world honoring? Do you live for what God thinks, or what the world thinks? Do you try to obey His commands, or do you try to rationalize them with your own wisdom?

  We are to become more like Christ, not the other way around. Can you imagine telling Jesus to “lighten up”? Can you imagine tempting Jesus to try something “just once”? Should we take another look at Sodom and Gomorrah, or Noah’s time? Don’t tempt God or play games with Him.

  I’d like to share a couple more verses with you. Hopefully they will make you reconsider how you are living, and seriously sit down and ask yourself, “Am I living for God, or for the world”?

  Jesus’ disciples had just listened to his discussion about “things to come”, things about the end of the world. Some of them asked Him, “When will these things happen?” Jesus replied…

  "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

  "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

  "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

  The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:36-51 NIV)

  When Jesus comes back, will he find you living for the world, or for Him? I think most people acknowledge what the Bible says. But do they really believe that Jesus died on the cross for them? Do they know that Jesus said that He’s coming back soon? Do they realize that with God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day? Probably not. That’s why we have to tell people. Hopefully, some of them will listen and turn away from living for this world, and start looking towards the eternal one that truly makes this one look like a crumbling old building in disrepair.

  Jesus said something similar about Lot’s time…

  "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

  But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

  "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

  On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

  Remember Lot's wife!

  Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.

  I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

  Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." (Luke 17:28-35 NIV) 

  I believe much of these two passages that Jesus talked about, relate to the Rapture of the Church. And there are a couple of very important things that I want to point out before I finish.

“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.”

  People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying, selling, building, and planting seeds for crops that would never come. They had no clue. They either ignored Noah’s and Lot’s warnings, or like Lot’s ex-future son-in-law’s, they thought that they were joking. What ever warning they might have had…they ignored it. I hope people won’t ignore you and I when we try to warn them about what’s coming.

  Some people will be working when Jesus takes us Home, and some will be sleeping. But not all of us. One might look to his workmate and find that he has simply vanished into thin air. A husband may wake up in the middle of the night to find out that his wife has disappeared, along with his children.

  One of these days the warnings will be over. The world will panic. Many will realize they missed their chance, and now they must try to live through the next seven years of Hell on Earth with little chance of surviving. I wish I had a magic wand that I could wave over people to get them to believe, but all I have is a Bible. But it has everything that anyone needs to know. Seek Him while He may be found.

  The time to stop living for the world is right now! Ask God into your life. Ask Him to help you turn away from the worldly things that have distracted you from knowing Him for so long.

  Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to tell everyone that “you must be perfect”, or that you must start going to church. We will never be perfect until we’re with Christ, away from this world. What God wants from me and you is to come to Him like a child that might say something like, “I don’t understand all this Father, but I believe you. Please help me to understand. I trust you, and I love you.” And like I’ve said, over and over, concerning the times that we do stumble, God’s Word says…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 NIV)

  It truly is our get out of jail free card…if we will only believe.

  As long as we truly ask Jesus to be our Savior from all that is going to be coming upon the Earth, and sincerely “try” to live for Him, and not the things in this world, which will vanish one day and become like dust, God will rescue us.

  God has said that he will keep us from the hour of testing, the time of God’s Wrath. So, the trials and temptations that you’ll face right now as a Christian, are just momentary. Heaven is forever, and so is Hell.

  God truly does love you and me. Jesus paid the ultimate price to save us. But God won’t wait forever. Jesus has said he is coming back. Do you believe Him?

  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

  My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3 NIV)

GOD BLESS YOU! 

TRUE PEACE

   Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I looked for a sermon that I could listen to while falling asleep. The topic that I wanted to listen to was based on God’s peace that passes all understanding.

  In this world, peace is the one thing that most everyone wants. I think it’s been the one thing that I have told God that I looked forward to the most when it comes to when thinking about Heaven and the eternal life that lies just beyond the veil of this world.

  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV)

    The Apostle Paul tells us…

  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)

  This is the peace that I want, “not…as the world gives”, but the peace that comes from God, the peace “which transcends all understanding”, the peace that “will guard your hearts and your minds”.

  Two very different kinds of peace, one that lasts forever, and one that lasts until the next anxious thought comes. I used to have anxious thoughts all the time. I was always trying to figure out my next move on the chess board of life. And like in the game of chess your next move depends still upon every move thereafter.

  But with the peace of God, I’ve become much better at not giving in to anxious thoughts. No doubt they will come, but now I’m more prepared for them. As soon as they come, another thought comes to mind also…”I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NIV) Or sometimes it is the verse from above which tells me not to be anxious about “anything”.

  The peace of God comes because of my knowledge that the Lord has saved me…that I will live beyond this life and eternally in the next. That knowledge, along with prayer, and understanding how God works in my life, will help me to walk triumphantly through any situation. This doesn’t mean that I wont experience pain or suffering of some sort from time to time. What it does mean is that I can face life with an eternal peace, and not a temporary one like the world offers. There have been many who have died for Christ through persecution, who when the time came, began to sing their way into eternity. It seems I read somewhere that whoever had ordered one such execution, ordered it stopped because the person was singing and not crying out in agony from the flames.

  The type of peace that the world offers is much different. I looked for it everywhere. I looked for it in alcohol, drugs, including prescription ones. I looked for it in music, relationships, and many other ways. But it always ended eventually. And then I would start searching again until the pain that I was covering up was once again subdued.

  It got to the point, with me, where I was tired of searching endlessly for peace. That’s when I would stare at the bottle of beer in front of me thinking, “you’re my only true friend, the only one who understands”.

  But when I asked Jesus to be my Savior, like a couple others that I knew, I finally found the peace that lasts. It came with its trial-and-error period, but like I said earlier, today I stand ready for whatever happens, because I know that within the twinkling of an eye, I will be with God forever, living surrounded by His love and peace.

  I know that it’s hard for people to just walk away from their day-to-day life and start living for Jesus, but it’s only because they really have no clue how it works. They think, like I did, that you must stop doing everything right now…or it doesn’t count. Or that you must clean yourself up before you can start going to church. That is so WRONG. And people that lead you to believe that are also WRONG. God loves you just the way you are and will accept you just the way you are. He only asks that you commit your way to following Him and learning from Him. When the twelve apostles started following Jesus, He didn’t tell them to “stop doing this or that before you can follow me!” God knows that we are simple humans that live in a corrupted world that has taught us to live contrary to God’s ways.

  I was forty years old when I asked God into my life. So, I had forty years of habits to go through, to see which ones interfered with my walk with God. But not everyone is the same. For me it is personal. God saved me from such a horrible life, and a more horrible eternity in Hell, that I do my best to honor Him with my life. But I still stumble and fall occasionally. But I know where I’m going now, no worries, just peace.

  That kind of leads me to where I meant to go with this writing. (I get carried away when I talk about God.) When I went to bed last night, the reason that I looked for a sermon on peace, was because I’ve been thinking about eternity a lot, what it will be like, etc.

  The Bible tells us that there is a river in Heaven. And I believe it also gives us glimpses into what reminds me of the Garden of Eden before the fall of Adam and Eve. I think of the lion and lamb resting together, the child playing with wild animals, men and women living together in harmony, no strife, no sinfulness, no pain, no sorrow…and no death.

  Sounds peaceful, doesn’t it?

  But there is the alternative, Hell. It’s for anyone who chooses not to ask Jesus to be their Savior. And God wont force anyone. He wants us to come of our own free will. I think there are several reasons why people don’t ask Jesus to be their Savior. Pride is one. They think that if they become a Christian, the world will look down on them. And in a way, they are right. Most of them are people that aren’t going to go to Heaven anyway…they are going to go to Hell. They don’t think they are, but they refuse to listen to the simple plea from God that says…
 

  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

  God is not blind to what is happening in this world. He knows that it is tough, especially His Son Jesus. He suffered just like you and I do, even to the point of being hung on a cross to die. People often ask, “Where is God? Why doesn’t He come and stop the wars, the murder, the evil?” The Bible best answers that question…

  “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV)

  But God has set a time, that only He knows, when He will send His Son Jesus to gather His believers out of the world, before the final days of testing begin, the time when God will pour His wrath out upon the entire unbelieving world, who for so long have scoffed and mocked Him, and ignored His pleas for reconciliation with Him by ignoring what Jesus did for them on the cross, the atonement for all our sin.

  It's amazing when you think about it. Every sin ever committed by everyone in the world paid for by the blood of Jesus on the cross…wiped out…with only one stipulation…faith.

  That’s all you need, just a little faith. It’s hard to believe in something that we can’t see, but we have the testimony of men that did see Him…before the cross…at the cross…at the grave…and then taken into Heaven until the time when He comes to get us.

  I know of so many people that say they are saved, but by their actions, I have to wonder. Like I said, being saved doesn’t mean that you must be some kind of a holy roller. But it does mean that God is always on your mind, that He is your focus, that He is your hope for Eternal life. And living like this does show signs of your love for God, and not just a simple acknowledgment of Him…but your undying LOVE for Him. Remember that He loved us first.

  “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 NIV)

  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18 NIV)

  It will never be a perfect world while we’re still here. But there is a way to make it through without living in despair day to day. Put REAL hope in your life. Ask Jesus, the give of life to be your Savior, so that you can be like the rest of us that are watching and waiting for Him…

  “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2 NIV)