When The Door Slams
But their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well do not need a physician, But those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
Luke 5:30-32
Luke was a medical doctor, and he was a wise and godly man. Jesus was called the Great Physician, but unlike Luke, He never attended medical school. He didn't need to. He created all the scientific, medical and physiological rules of the universe we are still discovering today.
Luke was probably delighted when the Holy Spirit inspired him to record Jesus' words in this passage. Jesus message, simply put, was this: those who are physically sick need a physician, and those who are spiritually sick need to repent, change the direction of their lives, and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Think about this: If you have a brain tumor, request prayer, but go see the most qualified neurosurgeon you can find. If you have an emotional disorder, request prayer, but find the best Christian psychiatrist you can. If you have a spiritual problem, request prayer, then seek wise counsel from your pastor, a godly friend, a Christian therapist, or whoever can assist you in applying the truth of God's Word to your life.
There are extremists who say we don't need medical doctors or psychiatrists, and there are those at the other end of extreme saying there is no such thing as spiritual problem-The Bible has a balanced answer.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shum evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Prov. 3:5-8.
Ask the Spirit to search your and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and think Him for His forgiveness.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
When The Bottom Falls Out
When The Door Slams
Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Oh, bring me out of my distressed! Look on my suffering and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
Psalm 25:16-18
What do you do when the bottom falls out of your world? Some people get busier, Some get depressed and sleep to escape. Others try to gain relief from the pain by using drugs or alcohol. Still some just pray. You will often hear people making fun of someone who prays saying he or she must be weak to pray.
Think about this: In the Book of Psalm, David did not fit into this category. He had confidence and charisma. He was a leader. He had served as King of the nation Israel, and he was well liked and appreciated. On the other hand, David did experience psychological difficulty. He felt he was alone and desolate. He was aware of his failures and sins, and felt distant from God. He pleaded with God.
David was in psychological, physical and spiritual pain. His negative thoughts grew out of proportion. In all of his pain and self-pity, David cried out to God. It is no disgrace to be hurting and to call on God for help. If King David could ask God to grant him relief from pain, so can we.
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal and areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Lord, grant me the courage to face whatever life holds, and grant me the wisdom and humility to call on You for help.
Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Oh, bring me out of my distressed! Look on my suffering and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
Psalm 25:16-18
What do you do when the bottom falls out of your world? Some people get busier, Some get depressed and sleep to escape. Others try to gain relief from the pain by using drugs or alcohol. Still some just pray. You will often hear people making fun of someone who prays saying he or she must be weak to pray.
Think about this: In the Book of Psalm, David did not fit into this category. He had confidence and charisma. He was a leader. He had served as King of the nation Israel, and he was well liked and appreciated. On the other hand, David did experience psychological difficulty. He felt he was alone and desolate. He was aware of his failures and sins, and felt distant from God. He pleaded with God.
David was in psychological, physical and spiritual pain. His negative thoughts grew out of proportion. In all of his pain and self-pity, David cried out to God. It is no disgrace to be hurting and to call on God for help. If King David could ask God to grant him relief from pain, so can we.
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal and areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Lord, grant me the courage to face whatever life holds, and grant me the wisdom and humility to call on You for help.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Hell
When the Door Slams
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world, according to the prince of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
Ephesians 2:1-5
The Lord does not say that hell-fire was prepared for human beings. Although we all are sinners and guilty of eternal death, nevertheless God wanted to prevent this misery by giving His Son into death for us. and thereafter He revealed His good Word to us, so that we know what we are to do if we want to serve God and live to please Him.
Think about this: Our heavenly Father would very much like for us to be saved and, therefore, has ordained for us, not eternal fire but heaven and eternal life. But some of us despise the forgiveness of sins through Christ as a insignificant treasure.... We also take no delight in doing what God tells us to do in order to serve Him. Since, then, we degenerate to the very level of the devil and observe his will more than the Word of our Lord God, it must follow that we are obliged to share this judgment. We prepare this doom for ourselves.
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.
Related Bible Texts; Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 9:42-50; Luke 16:19-30; Revelation 1:8-18
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world, according to the prince of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
Ephesians 2:1-5
The Lord does not say that hell-fire was prepared for human beings. Although we all are sinners and guilty of eternal death, nevertheless God wanted to prevent this misery by giving His Son into death for us. and thereafter He revealed His good Word to us, so that we know what we are to do if we want to serve God and live to please Him.
Think about this: Our heavenly Father would very much like for us to be saved and, therefore, has ordained for us, not eternal fire but heaven and eternal life. But some of us despise the forgiveness of sins through Christ as a insignificant treasure.... We also take no delight in doing what God tells us to do in order to serve Him. Since, then, we degenerate to the very level of the devil and observe his will more than the Word of our Lord God, it must follow that we are obliged to share this judgment. We prepare this doom for ourselves.
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.
Related Bible Texts; Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 9:42-50; Luke 16:19-30; Revelation 1:8-18
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Abuse
When The Door Slams
"Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:26-28
Many victims [of sexual abuse have] tremendous anger toward God, their parents and other Christians who did not understand the deep pain the abuse victim has endured. Many pastors and other Christians are personally uncomfortable or unfamiliar with such intense pain. Wanting to "rescue" the victim as well as to avoid experiencing their own pain through personal involvement, they may tend to give "formulas" or "pat answer" as a solutions: Just trust in Jesus and everything will be okay.
Initially, however, such superficial advice only increases the pain and confusion victims experience. It implies they don't have enough faith, that they should be " OK" by now, or that they are not pleasing God in some way because they aren't yet healed.... I know that Christ is the Healer; He wants to heal the damage that has been done, but restoration often involves a process that takes years. There is no "quick fix" to the pain of any abuse.
Think about this: Without first repairing the interpersonal relationship with God...., the abuse victim has no "source" with which to establish any lasting victory over the results of damage in his or her life, nor sustenance for the journey to wholeness.
Many times the relationship with God must be entirely role-modeled again within a trusting and caring counseling relationship with another person as a pattern for developing a healthy relationship as the victim learns how to have a healthy relationship with the of Christ.
Related Bible Texts: Job 7:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:4-10; 1 John 3:1-2
"Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:26-28
Many victims [of sexual abuse have] tremendous anger toward God, their parents and other Christians who did not understand the deep pain the abuse victim has endured. Many pastors and other Christians are personally uncomfortable or unfamiliar with such intense pain. Wanting to "rescue" the victim as well as to avoid experiencing their own pain through personal involvement, they may tend to give "formulas" or "pat answer" as a solutions: Just trust in Jesus and everything will be okay.
Initially, however, such superficial advice only increases the pain and confusion victims experience. It implies they don't have enough faith, that they should be " OK" by now, or that they are not pleasing God in some way because they aren't yet healed.... I know that Christ is the Healer; He wants to heal the damage that has been done, but restoration often involves a process that takes years. There is no "quick fix" to the pain of any abuse.
Think about this: Without first repairing the interpersonal relationship with God...., the abuse victim has no "source" with which to establish any lasting victory over the results of damage in his or her life, nor sustenance for the journey to wholeness.
Many times the relationship with God must be entirely role-modeled again within a trusting and caring counseling relationship with another person as a pattern for developing a healthy relationship as the victim learns how to have a healthy relationship with the of Christ.
Related Bible Texts: Job 7:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:4-10; 1 John 3:1-2
Sunday, February 16, 2020
A True Friend Cares
When The Door Slam
"Consider your ways!
You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."
Haggai 1:3-6
A true friend says what is good for us, not just what sound good. A good friend sometimes says the hard things because we need to hear them and make changes. A true friend cares enough to confront.
The prophet Haggai passed on God's loving confrontive words to the people of Israel. God had earned the right to confront. Think about this: He was the Father of Israel and they were His children. He had supported them, provided for them, guided them, encouraged them. Now, however, in love He felt the need to confront them because of their choices.
It seems the Israelites had taken up poor spending habits. They were living beyond their means. They were not planning or saving. Whatever they made in wages was immediately spent. Even though they were spending, eating, and drinking, it was never enough. They always wanted more, but gave nothing to God.
Our God is a caring God. He cares enough to confront. He will, through His Word, show us areas of our lives that need to change, just as He did with the children of Israel. Let The Lord God speak to you today through His Word and lovingly show you what you need to change. He loves you enough to confront
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.
"Consider your ways!
You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."
Haggai 1:3-6
A true friend says what is good for us, not just what sound good. A good friend sometimes says the hard things because we need to hear them and make changes. A true friend cares enough to confront.
The prophet Haggai passed on God's loving confrontive words to the people of Israel. God had earned the right to confront. Think about this: He was the Father of Israel and they were His children. He had supported them, provided for them, guided them, encouraged them. Now, however, in love He felt the need to confront them because of their choices.
It seems the Israelites had taken up poor spending habits. They were living beyond their means. They were not planning or saving. Whatever they made in wages was immediately spent. Even though they were spending, eating, and drinking, it was never enough. They always wanted more, but gave nothing to God.
Our God is a caring God. He cares enough to confront. He will, through His Word, show us areas of our lives that need to change, just as He did with the children of Israel. Let The Lord God speak to you today through His Word and lovingly show you what you need to change. He loves you enough to confront
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.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Ways Of The World
When The Door Slams
For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh. the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world
1 John 2:16
Learning facts does not necessarily give one wisdom: This passage addresses the absolute futility of the human "rat race." We all struggle with it. We easily fall back into the rat race if we don't fight it with godly wisdom.
Everybody feels like a nobody sometime. Many of us devote time, energy, and money to prove to others that we are somebody. People ignore their children, cheat on their spouse, cheat in business, and generally ruin their lives to prove it, but they never find significance.
The ways we vainly try to prove our significance are known as the "ways of the world." Lust of the flesh implies illicit bodily appetites, including sexual, food, and chemical addictions. Lust of the eyes is the temptation of materialism. the Greek phrase for the pride of life literally means "the pretension of human life," pride, arrogance, ostentatious behavior, trying to control others.
Even if the ways of the world worked, they would be immoral and wrong. God says they can never fill the void in our souls. Only faith in Christ, and pursing intimacy with Him and loving believers, can fill those vacuums and bring meaning to our lives. Only looking at ourselves the way God looks at us-as children who are in process of being perfected in Christ-can bring true feelings of significance. Jesus is the answer.
May my God grant us the wisdom to devote our energy to real understanding of God and loving people-rather than the ways of the world.
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.
For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh. the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world
1 John 2:16
Learning facts does not necessarily give one wisdom: This passage addresses the absolute futility of the human "rat race." We all struggle with it. We easily fall back into the rat race if we don't fight it with godly wisdom.
Everybody feels like a nobody sometime. Many of us devote time, energy, and money to prove to others that we are somebody. People ignore their children, cheat on their spouse, cheat in business, and generally ruin their lives to prove it, but they never find significance.
The ways we vainly try to prove our significance are known as the "ways of the world." Lust of the flesh implies illicit bodily appetites, including sexual, food, and chemical addictions. Lust of the eyes is the temptation of materialism. the Greek phrase for the pride of life literally means "the pretension of human life," pride, arrogance, ostentatious behavior, trying to control others.
Even if the ways of the world worked, they would be immoral and wrong. God says they can never fill the void in our souls. Only faith in Christ, and pursing intimacy with Him and loving believers, can fill those vacuums and bring meaning to our lives. Only looking at ourselves the way God looks at us-as children who are in process of being perfected in Christ-can bring true feelings of significance. Jesus is the answer.
May my God grant us the wisdom to devote our energy to real understanding of God and loving people-rather than the ways of the world.
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.
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