Sunday Says: Week 23

Family Friday: Praise Him in the Hallway

Until God opens a door, praise Him in the hallway.

Do you ever feel like you are not sure what God wants you to do?

Do you feel like you are wandering in the wilderness with no purpose or plan?

It is like walking down a hallway looking for a door to our next phase in life or our next adventure.  The hallway with the window demonstrates how we may be able to see opportunities, but also the barriers of life such as our job, income, knowledge, and life situation.

One thing is for sure, God provides consistent and clear guidance for our journey in His word.

"I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." John 10:9.

 In this passage from the Bible, we find that Jesus is not only the door for the unbeliever to being saved from eternal life in the lake of fire to eternal life in heaven, but also the door for the born again believer to find pasture - all aspects of life sustenance (physical and mental wellbeing).  God knows and desires to provide the abundant life to us.

So, until God opens the next door in my journey, I will praise Him!  Why?

Why praise?

Because praise helps others to see His glory and salvation:

"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God."  Psalm 50:23

Why praise?

Because God’s mercy (not giving me what I deserve) endureth forever, and praise reveals Gods mercy.

"For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.  For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." Psalms 86:10 - 12 

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Psalms 106:1

Why praise?

Because of Gods goodness and wonderful works.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  Psalms 107:8, 15, 21, 31

Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.Psalms 119:16

Because God hears me and saved me from the eternal lake of fire:

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. Psalms 118:21

Because praise is pleasant to God and others:

Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely (beautiful).  Psalms 147:1

Because praise demonstrates God created my life:

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:  Psalms 139:14

Because God has done wonderful things and his counsel is true:

I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.  Isaiah 25:1

What will you do while waiting for God to open the door He has for you?

Thoughtful Thursday: Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

These are the things that should be evident in us when we are yielded and filled with the Holy Spirit.  Can you imagine having all of these attributes at one time?  Seem impossible?  It is impossible on our own; that is why it is only evident when the Holy Spirit is involved. 

Love – benevolence; good will

Joy – happiness; felicity

Peace – harmony; concord

Longsuffering – patient; not easily provoked

Gentleness – kindness; tenderness

Goodness – charity; mercy

Faith – to believe; to obey

Meekness – softness of temper; mildness

Temperance – patience; calmness

In Luke 6:44a, Jesus says “For every tree is known by his own fruit.” 

The same is true of us as Christians.  We will be known by our fruit.  If we possess the fruit of the spirit, we will have a great testimony for the Lord and it will be evident Who lives inside of us. 

We Pray Wednesday: God's Timing for Salvation

As most people do, I pray for my unsaved family members. For many years, I

have prayed for a number of them to ask for salvation and it can be frustrating and

discouraging to not see that happen immediately. My mom, sisters and I prayed for many

years for my sister-in-law, Joy, to see her need of salvation. Specifically, I remember

the girls in my family having a pow-wow with the discussion turning to Joy’s salvation.

In our minds, our brother was going to be the only person who was going to be able to

reach Joy. Of course, the Lord already knew the circumstances which would lead Joy to

Him. Her own boys, almost grown, had a great desire to see their mom get saved and

were persistent enough to continue to ask her to church. Following several of the church

services, she had some questions while driving home but was still apprehensive about

asking the Lord to save her. Several weeks later, after a family gathering, Joy asked if we

still had time to go over the plan of salvation.  Around 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, with

one of her boys sitting next to her, I was able to go over the plan of salvation with her and

lead her to the Lord!  I am sure Joy had no idea I was texting my sisters as soon as she left

my house that night. It has been so wonderful to see how the Lord works and to see her

excited when Biblical things are taught.

Teen Tuesday: Week 22

Monday's Message: How far can we go?

How far can we go?

Beginning in the first verse of chapter seven, Paul responds to a whole series of questions that were addressed to him in a letter from some folks of the church in Corinth. They were questions about practical issues such as: marriage, divorce, food offered to idols, spiritual gifts, public worship, what happens to our bodies when we die, and finally, a concern about an offering to be taken for some believers in Jerusalem who were in poverty. Paul devoted the rest of this Epistle to answering these questions.

“How far can we ‘go’ before we are married?” Most dating couples who have a desire to uphold righteous standards will ask a question like this at some point in the development of their relationship. In our text we find this statement, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.”  Let us define Scripture with Scripture.  James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."  I have heard this rule defined like this, “Before marriage, you should be involved physically with the person you are dating just as much as you would want your spouse to be involved physically with another person once you are married.”

God wants us to be pure in our minds and in our bodies throughout our entire lives.  Our relationship with Him is the most important relationship in our whole lives.  It is absolutely vital that we please Him above all others, including ourselves.  If you want to remain pure, or stay pure from this day forward, you will need to put some safe guards in place.  The best way to avoid giving in to your carnal desire around the person you are dating is to never put yourself in a situation where you have the option to sin.  If you have nothing to hide, there is no reason that you cannot be where other folks can see you.  Single dating is not wise.  You are creating an opportunity for your flesh to win in this area! Believer, please consider God’s Word on this matter.  I realize that it is not popular, but it could save your life!

 I Corinthians 7:1-2:

1.Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2.Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.