"Your Reputation"

"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold".  Proverbs 22:1

One of my mother-in-law's favorite scriptures (have heard her say it numerous times) is that "a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches".  I was pondering that this morning.  When I die, I wonder what type of reputation I will  leave behind.  What will people remember about me?  Will it be a good memory or a bad one?  Will it honor God or bring reproach upon HIs name?  Will I be remembered for being loving and kind, or the opposite? 

The life that you live now is making a reputation for yourself-- not only when you die and leave this earth and are remembered later.  But also while you are here.  When your name is mentioned to someone will their thoughts of you be good ones or bad ones?  What will be the first thing that comes to their mind? 

You are making a reputation for yourself through every deed you do, word you say, reaction, response and attitude you have.  The verse says that you and I should choose to have a good name-- a good reputation-- even more than we desire to have riches.  Why?  Because your reputation will outlast your riches.  When the riches are gone, when you are gone, when your properties are divided among your remaining heirs and are gone, all that will be left is your reputation. 

Have a great day.  What kind of reputation are you making for yourself?  What will people remember about you when you are gone?  What do they think about you now? 

"A Time To Die"

" A time to be born, and a time to die..."  Ecclesiastes 3:2

In his list of the things that make up life the writer starts with the very basic truth and events of every life-- there is a time to be born and a time to die.  We each have an appointed time within history in which God determines our birth.  Once we are born, death becomes inevitable.  We are born to die.  From the moment we take our first breath, death begins to lay claim to us.  Death will come to all of us.  It is a given.  None of us escape it.  There is a time when we will die.

Are you ready when the time to die comes to you?  Have you made peace with the Lord?  Have you made sure it is well with your soul?  Do you know that when you draw your last breath that you will be present with the Lord?  Or are you unsure?  Do you think you can wait and put it off because you have plenty of time?  You cannot put it off.  You can't wait.  You must be sure and make sure that your soul is safe and secure.  You have to do it today.  Because tomorrow may be too late.

Have a great day.  There is a time to die.  Are you ready when your time comes?  Will it be well with your soul?  

 

"A Way"

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life...".  John 14:6a

In a dream that I had last night-- which I won't elaborate on-- I was looking for a way to get from "point A" to "point B".  As I pondered the dream after I woke up, I realized that we spend most of our lives looking for "a way".  We are always looking for a way around certain situations; a way to make ends meet; a way to solve our problems; a way to get out of debt; a way to fulfill our dreams; a way to achieve our goals; a way to better ourselves; a way to get more money; a way to be delivered from some bondage; a way to save ourselves and so on. 

We spend so much time and energy looking for "a way", but often to no avail.  As long as we are trying to find "a way" on our own, we will keep going around in circles and never find it.  There is only "one way" to find "a way" and "that way" is found in "The Way"-- Jesus. 

He has a way for you to be saved.  He has a way for you to be strengthened when you are weak; healed when you are sick; delivered when you are bound; encouraged when you are down.  He has a way of life that will give you hope and a future; a way that will give you abundant life; a way that will give you eternal life; a way that will give you victory, joy. peace, wisdom, grace and prosperity, 

He makes a way where there seems to be no way.  He has a way mapped out for you.  He has a way for you to fulfill your purpose for living.  And He has a perfect way.  How do we find this way?  We find it first by surrendering our lives to Him.  We receive Him as Savior (when we do that, we find the right way) and follow Him as Lord (when we do that, we will stay on the right way).  In doing so we won't have to look for our own way.  He will be leading the way.

Have a great day.  Are you spending your life looking for "a way"?  Follow Jesus, who is The Way, and you will not have to look any further. 

"A Know It All"

"A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent".  Proverbs 15:5

Have you ever been around people who "knew it all"?  You couldn't tell them anything because they already knew it.  It didn't matter what subject you were talking about, they already knew the answers, and they had already "done it".  The Bible talks a lot about these people-- it calls them fools. 

No one person knows everything about everything.  There is only One who truly knows everything-- God.  We each know in part.  There is something that I may know that you don't know.  And vice versa, there may be something you know that I don't.  I don't know how to play the piano.  Therefore, it would be foolish of me to say I can teach someone else how to play it.  But there are many people who can play it and they then are able to teach it. 

Because we don't know everything, God has placed people in our lives to help us in the areas we lack knowledge.  He has placed teachers in our lives to educate us.  He has given us pastors to instruct us in the Word of God.  He has given us financial counselors to help us in financial matters and use our monies wisely.  He has given us parents to help instruct us in matters of life.  He has given us friends to impart some understanding to us-- provided they are not ungodly friends. 

The point is that we can't and don't know everything-- even if we think we do.  Therefore, we need to be teachable and open to instruction and insight from others.  We especially need to be able to receive instruction and guidance from the Lord and His Word.  God's Word will make the simple-- those who lack knowledge and understanding-- wise.  The disciples were taught by Jesus and the Holy Spirit and when they preached the Word, people were astonished because they knew these men were uneducated fishermen.  The Word of God will make even those who have no understanding wise. 

Seek out wisdom and understanding from God's Word.  Listen to the counsel of those who have knowledge in areas that you don't.  Heed the instructions of those who are wiser in matters that you aren't wise in.  And always be teachable.  Don't be a "know it all".  That is pride and pride will bring you down and expose your ignorance.

Have a great day.  You don't know it all.  Therefore, listen to the Lord who does and the people He has placed in your life to give you counsel. 

Scriptural reference: Psalm 19:7; Acts 4:13

"At The Right Time"

"And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables."  John 2:14,15

Jesus grew up going to the temple.  His parents presented Him at the temple when He was an infant.  When He was twelve years old, His parents found Him in the temple with the doctors asking questions.  Later, after His ministry started, He went into the temple and was given the Book of Isaiah to read.  The Bible tells us it was His custom to go to the temple at the appointed time. 

At a time before His crucifixion, He went into the temple and drove out with a whip those who were turning His house into a den of thieves by their selling of the sacrifices.  We have already established that He went to the temple often, so why didn't He "drive" them out sooner?  Why did He wait until now at the end of His ministry?  Why not take care of them at the beginning of His ministry?  Evidently, they were there before.  Maybe they only showed up at Passover-- but this wasn't His first Passover to go to the temple.  He had seen them there before.  He watched them on more than one occasion.  He walked past them more than once.  The only answer is that God has a planned and perfect time for doing everything He does.

This brings me to my point this morning.  Why doesn't He deal with the "moneychangers"-- those things that are wrong, out of place and out of order-- in our lives sooner?  Why does He allow trials, pain, illness, problems, etc. to continue?  He sees they are there in our lives.  If His eyes are on me, then He knows what I am going through.  So why doesn't He do something about it up front instead of allowing it to continue?  Again, the only answer I have is-- His ways are not our ways; they are perfect; He has a plan and that plan has a perfect timing to it.  We just have to trust that He sees it, knows about it, He is not ignoring it but at the appointed time He will "drive it out". 

Have a great day.  Just because the Lord doesn't do something about the issue/problem doesn't mean that He isn't aware of it.  He has a perfect time for everything. 

Scripture reference:  Luke 2:21-49; Luke 4:16-21