"Looking In All The Wrong Places"

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".  Matthew 6:19-21

There was a secular song that was written years ago that talked about looking for love in all the wrong places.  Humans tend to do that with all matters of the heart.  We look for love, for peace, for joy, for contentment, for security, for acceptance, and so on in all the wrong places. 

We look for love and acceptance in other people.  We look for security in jobs, organizations and the government.  We look for joy through perfect situations.  We look for peace in our finances and the things we possess.  But those are the wrong places to look and have true and lasting confidence in.  Why?  Because they are temporary.  Relationships can come and go.  People can fall "out" of love as easily as we can fall "in" love.  Our financial status can change overnight-- we could lose our job, the company can go under, the economy can collapse.  The material possessions we have acquired can be gone with one natural disaster, a house fire or even a decline in health.

You can't put your hope in temporary things because they are temporary.  They are affected by present conditions, and they only last a short while.  They are here today and gone tomorrow.  They are easily subject to change.  Therefore, if you want true and lasting love, peace, joy, contentment, and so forth, you need to seek out an eternal source.  That source would be Jesus.  He gives us the true riches our hearts long for.  He is eternal and He gives us eternal riches.  Riches that moths and rust can't destroy and thieves can't steal.  They are not subject to change, to the economy, to time, or to any other condition that would cause them to cease or lose their value.  They are eternal.

Have a great day.  Are you looking to temporary things to give you the satisfaction that only the eternal will give?     

"Weapons To Defeat"

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord".  Isaiah 54:17

I woke up with this verse on my mind.  It says that no weapon formed against us will prosper.  In order for there to be weapons that won't prosper, there have to be weapons formed.  Why do we think that there won't be any weapons formed against us or that we are exempt from facing those weapons?

There are weapons, and they are mainly formed against those of us who profess to be followers of Christ and are following Him wholeheartedly.  There will always be weapons formed against us because we have an adversary who is out to destroy us.  Why is he out to destroy us?  Because we love God and he hates God.  Therefore, he is attacking that which is most precious to God in order to "get at" God. 

Also, it is because Jesus has given us power and authority over the adversary.  We are supposed to be defeating him, his plan, his schemes and his devises.  It is sad that our enemy knows just how powerful we are through Jesus Christ and what a threat we are to him and his work and we don't.  That is why he forms and "shoots" his weapons at us-- to stop us from messing up his plans to steal, kill and destroy.

The Bible say that the kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force.  The weapons he forms against us are meant to stop us from going forward in the Lord and defeating him.  Are we letting him defeat us?  Are we giving in?  Are we drawing back under the attacks?  Or are we standing strong and firm and defeating him through the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority that Jesus has given us to defeat him?  Are we walking in the victory we already have over him through Jesus?

Have a great day.  Are you giving into defeat by the enemy's weapons?  Or are you defeating him through the power you have been given by Jesus?

"But To Unbelief"

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever".  Hebrews 13:8

Yesterday we talked about how Jesus is the same as He has always been.  We said He was still the healer, deliverer, Savior, etc.  I didn't give a commentary to explain some things because what we needed to focus on, meditate on and renew our minds with was who He is-- His character and attributes.  This morning I want to add that I didn't give a commentary because it is so easy for us to "but" our way into unbelief and question His character. 

For example, we tend to focus more on this-- but why didn't He heal me if He is the healer; but why isn't everyone saved if He is Savior; but why aren't all people delivered if He is the deliverer?

There are some "whys?" that we will never have the answer for-- some we will.  Our focus should not be on what comes after the "but"-- but why wasn't he healed, why did she die, why wasn't my prayer answered, why doesn't He care?  Our focus should be on Who He is, not what He hasn't done.

When we focus on what wasn't done, and we continue to focus on it, it opens up a door to anger, frustration, bitterness, distrust and even depression.  Our adversary the devil will use this as a weapon against us and take us into a deep dark pit of unbelief and even get us to turn our backs on God.  This is why it is so important that we stay focused and renew our minds with who God is and even if you feel He let you down, He didn't do what you wanted Him to do, He didn't do what He can do, you can say along with Job, "Though He slay me, yet I trust Him".  What He does or doesn't do is not as important as who He is.  Trials will come and go in our lives as long as we live.  They won't always turn out the way we want them to.  But in each one we have to have an anchor for our soul.  We have to have a firm foundation to stand upon on.  We have to maintain our faith and trust in Him.  That is why you can't throw away your confidence just because He didn't "do it" this time.

Have a great day.  Don't focus on the "but why", focus on the unchanging character of the Lord. 
 

"He Still Is"

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever".  Hebrews 13:8

The Lord is the same today as He has always been.  He has not changed.  We change.  We try to change Him to suit us.  We try to make Him what He isn't.  But He is the same.  He hasn't changed with society, with culture, with fads, with religious beliefs-- He is the same now as He was in the beginning.

He still heals the sick.  He still delivers the captive.  He still judges sin.  He still loves with an everlasting love.  He still forgives sin when He sees repentance.  He still saves by His blood.  He opens prison doors to those who are bound.  He gives strength to the weak.  He gives wisdom when we ask.  He answers prayer.  He gives good gifts to His children.  He still shows mercy.  He will not always strive with a person, or mankind.  He is the lifter of our head.  He still meets and supplies needs.  He is the Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.  He holds the universe in the palm of His hand.  He sits high but looks low.  His is coming again-- the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords.  He has always been, still is and will always be-- whether man agrees with who He is or not. 

I am not going to write any commentary on what I have said about Him.  Who He is speaks for itself.  What you need to do is renew your mind with what has been said and remind yourself of who He has been, what He has done, and take comfort in the fact that He has not changed.

Have a great day.  The Lord is the same-- He still is.   

"Get Up"

"And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons".  1 Samuel 16:1

It is time to "get up" and "move on".  That was the word I heard the Lord say this morning.  Samuel mourned over Saul's rebellion against God and the consequences of being rejected as king.  During his time of mourning the Lord came to him and told him it was time to stop and get up. 

We go through situations in life that cause us to have regret and remorse, grief and anger, bitterness and frustration, unforgiveness and distress.  Some of those places are natural processes for us.  Others are traps of the enemy to keep us held back, held down and in bondage.  The ones that are part of the natural process have to be walked through.  The ones that aren't have to be resisted and turned from.  The ones that are natural and have to be walked through, only have to be walked through, not lived in. 

Have you "camped out" in some of the attitudes we have named?  Are you living in them?  Are you staying there longer than you should?  If so, it is time to let it go.  It is time to get up and move on.  It is time to go forward.  It is time to leave it behind.  You may say that it is impossible for you to do that.  You might argue that you can't.  Yes, you can.  It is possible.  God got Samuel up and sent him to anoint a new king.  He can get you up too and help you get on with life and with the plan and purpose that He has for you.  Listen to Him and obey what He tells you to do.

Have a great day.  It is time to get up and move on.