"And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go." (Jer. 5:25)
The Bible teaches that the closer we get to the end of time, the more difficult it will become to live the Christian life. There is no promise of safety and deliverance from trouble given with the call to follow Christ. So what is the promise that is given to Jeremiah when God says, "I will give you your life as a prize of war...?" It means, I believe, that God will deliver us from the destroyer. Nothing can happen in our lives that is not a part of the will of God. Sometimes God's will leads us into a lion's den. Sometimes it leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes it leads us into a fiery furnace. Because of who are enemy is (the false god of this world, satan), we will always find ourselves in the presence of the enemy and of conflict in spiritual warfare.
When you study the heroes of the faith through the Bible, you discover that they dwellt in the presence of the enemy because they dwellt in the presence of God. As long as we seek to follow Christ, we will be going in the opposite direction from the enemy, which means we are going to run headlong into him. That is why the scripture says we should not be surprised at the fiery trial. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer, we are assured by God's Word. So do not seek great things for yourself. Seek God's Kingdom first and foremost in your life.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
"ZERO" Tolerance
"Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls." (Luke 11:17)
I suppose a significant portion of Americans would credit Abraham Lincoln with those words from his famous speech, but it is actually Jesus who said that. It was in response to the thought of some among the crowd who had seen Him cast out demons who suggested it was by the power of Beelzebub that He did those things. Jesus says, Even satan is smart enough to know better than to be divided against himself.
As nearly as I can tell, the church is the only group of people that will schedule a monthly meeting to fight with one another. Worse than those brawls are the critical, divisive, and unfruitful words spoken in the halls, in the parking lots, over the telephones, and along chat lines of Christian people and church congregations.
As Paul wrote to the Ephesians he said, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (4:29). In fact, the failure to obey that opens the door to two problems for the church according to Paul. It grieves the Holy Spirit, so the church loses its source of power, and It gives the devil an
opportunity to work. It is time we recognize and PRACTICE a Zero tolerance of divisiveness among the people of God.
I suppose a significant portion of Americans would credit Abraham Lincoln with those words from his famous speech, but it is actually Jesus who said that. It was in response to the thought of some among the crowd who had seen Him cast out demons who suggested it was by the power of Beelzebub that He did those things. Jesus says, Even satan is smart enough to know better than to be divided against himself.
As nearly as I can tell, the church is the only group of people that will schedule a monthly meeting to fight with one another. Worse than those brawls are the critical, divisive, and unfruitful words spoken in the halls, in the parking lots, over the telephones, and along chat lines of Christian people and church congregations.
As Paul wrote to the Ephesians he said, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (4:29). In fact, the failure to obey that opens the door to two problems for the church according to Paul. It grieves the Holy Spirit, so the church loses its source of power, and It gives the devil an
opportunity to work. It is time we recognize and PRACTICE a Zero tolerance of divisiveness among the people of God.
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