When The Door Slams
If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son? No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on
no one dared to ask him any more questions.' Matthew 22:41-46
Is there really a personal God? Do you really have a personal relationship? If so, who is He? Was Jesus really God? Or was He just a very good man?
Jesus gave the Pharisees a puzzle. Jesus had claimed many times during His three-year ministry that He was God. When the Pharisees said that Jesus was just a descendant of David, Jesus replied that He was both David's son and David's Lord. In fact, Jesus quoted Psalm 110. In that passage, David spoke of Jesus and called Him Lord.
I have met a number of psychotic peoples who thought they were God. I have also met a number of self-centered sociopaths who acted as though they were God. But I have never, ever met a good, sane person who claimed to be God.
Think about this: If Jesus was not God, He could not possibly have been a good, sane man. He was either psychotic, or a sociopath, or else He was who He claimed He was: Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, God in the flesh, who existed from eternity with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. It's the only solution to a complex puzzle. We can deny the truth; or we can accept the only true power who can help us, have a personal Relationship with God.
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.
Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Do You Really Trust God
When The Door Slams
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29
If there is really a God, why do so many people suffer? Why is there a murder every minute? Why do good people die painful, prolonged deaths? Why do bad people seem to prosper? Why is sin so hard to resist? Why does God allow people to spend eternity in hell? How could a God of love allow me to have so much heartache?
We have heard these questions hundreds of times, and for most of them we have a very simple answer: we don't know. When we were young, cocky students in the world, we thought we knew almost everything there was to know. In fact, for perfectionists like us, saying "I don't know" to students, patients, or even our own children used to be quite humiliating. Perfectionists want to know everything, and uncertainty is anxiety-producing.
Think about this: Now that we are older, we are getting more comfortable with "I don't know." I trust God. He knows the answers to all those questions. We don't always need to know. If He wanted us to know, He would have plainly told us. He desires us to live a life of faith in Him.
Listen to this: Many secrets are known only by God. Accept that. Trust Him to work everything out fairly in the long run. Learn what He has told us in His Word. Live by it and teach it to your children.
Ask the Spirit to search your and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.
Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29
If there is really a God, why do so many people suffer? Why is there a murder every minute? Why do good people die painful, prolonged deaths? Why do bad people seem to prosper? Why is sin so hard to resist? Why does God allow people to spend eternity in hell? How could a God of love allow me to have so much heartache?
We have heard these questions hundreds of times, and for most of them we have a very simple answer: we don't know. When we were young, cocky students in the world, we thought we knew almost everything there was to know. In fact, for perfectionists like us, saying "I don't know" to students, patients, or even our own children used to be quite humiliating. Perfectionists want to know everything, and uncertainty is anxiety-producing.
Think about this: Now that we are older, we are getting more comfortable with "I don't know." I trust God. He knows the answers to all those questions. We don't always need to know. If He wanted us to know, He would have plainly told us. He desires us to live a life of faith in Him.
Listen to this: Many secrets are known only by God. Accept that. Trust Him to work everything out fairly in the long run. Learn what He has told us in His Word. Live by it and teach it to your children.
Ask the Spirit to search your and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.
Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
Saturday, July 11, 2020
The Reality Principle
When The Door Slams
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
In true Christian circles, we like to talk about "The Reality Principle": the ability to delay gratification to the appropriate time and place. Wise people have it. Immature people do not.
Sociopaths are extremely immature persons who are impulsive and selfish and experience little, if any, guilt. If they want to feel high, they take drugs. If they feel a sexual urge, they find someone, almost anyone, quickly. If they desire a material possession, they steal it or steal the money to by it. They complain and pit people against each other just to relieve boredom. They are phony.
God demonstrates that He loves sociopaths, while absolutely hating what they do to hurt their fellow human beings. God loves to show His great power and mercy by saving sociopaths and gradually sanctifying them toward Christlike behavior.
Think about this: There are some sociopathic tendencies within all of us. We must accept this "badness" in ourselves and cooperate with God in our own sanctification. Be encouraged not to live for earthly treasures, but by the Reality Principle. But if we live for sinful pleasures and try to live godly lives, we can look forward to the fantastic treasure and pleasures we will not have in heaven. The Wise men seek the truth and change their attitudes and behaviors to fit in with the truth
Ask the spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.
Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
In true Christian circles, we like to talk about "The Reality Principle": the ability to delay gratification to the appropriate time and place. Wise people have it. Immature people do not.
Sociopaths are extremely immature persons who are impulsive and selfish and experience little, if any, guilt. If they want to feel high, they take drugs. If they feel a sexual urge, they find someone, almost anyone, quickly. If they desire a material possession, they steal it or steal the money to by it. They complain and pit people against each other just to relieve boredom. They are phony.
God demonstrates that He loves sociopaths, while absolutely hating what they do to hurt their fellow human beings. God loves to show His great power and mercy by saving sociopaths and gradually sanctifying them toward Christlike behavior.
Think about this: There are some sociopathic tendencies within all of us. We must accept this "badness" in ourselves and cooperate with God in our own sanctification. Be encouraged not to live for earthly treasures, but by the Reality Principle. But if we live for sinful pleasures and try to live godly lives, we can look forward to the fantastic treasure and pleasures we will not have in heaven. The Wise men seek the truth and change their attitudes and behaviors to fit in with the truth
Ask the spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin.
Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Dysfunctional Homes
When The Door Slams
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 103:15-18
Those who have grown up in dysfunctional homes consistently report that one of the hardest things to cope with was the unpredictable in their home. Fun and laughter might greet them when they returned from school, or they might face an angry verbal or physical attack. Things might be OK, and then some word or action would set a parent off and result in physical abuse.
There is a dramatic contrast between human nature and the nature of God. People are changeable. They are like grass: growing and healthy one moment, but soon withered and gone. They are like a beautiful flower which quickly fades as the drying wind passes over it.
Think about this: In contrast, God is a forever God. He is unchanging. This God who lives forever and is unchanging is also merciful. He will always be fair, understanding, and forgiving in His treatment of us. He will be our eternal friend.
A child growing up in a dysfunctional home never knows if his or her parent will be merciful or mad. God is always merciful! Thank You, Lord, that there is one place I can go and be greeted consistently with love, understanding, and mercy.
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 103:15-18
Those who have grown up in dysfunctional homes consistently report that one of the hardest things to cope with was the unpredictable in their home. Fun and laughter might greet them when they returned from school, or they might face an angry verbal or physical attack. Things might be OK, and then some word or action would set a parent off and result in physical abuse.
There is a dramatic contrast between human nature and the nature of God. People are changeable. They are like grass: growing and healthy one moment, but soon withered and gone. They are like a beautiful flower which quickly fades as the drying wind passes over it.
Think about this: In contrast, God is a forever God. He is unchanging. This God who lives forever and is unchanging is also merciful. He will always be fair, understanding, and forgiving in His treatment of us. He will be our eternal friend.
A child growing up in a dysfunctional home never knows if his or her parent will be merciful or mad. God is always merciful! Thank You, Lord, that there is one place I can go and be greeted consistently with love, understanding, and mercy.
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
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