"Never, Never Alone"

"... I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."  Hebrews 13:5b

Of all the Bible truths, this is one that you need to be fully persuaded of.  You need to have it written on the table of your heart, have it engraved in your spirit and daily renew your mind with it.  It is one of the greatest, most comforting promises in the Bible.  "I will never leave you."

The Lord will never leave you... no matter where you are or what you may go through.  The Lord gives you His own promise to be there with you... even if you don't feel like He is, even if you don't see any evidence of His presence. He is there.

He was there when Paul was in the boat during a storm.  He was with Joshua as he faced the walled city of Jericho.  He was with Daniel in the lion's den.  He was with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace.  He was with Joseph when he was in the pit, in Potiphar's house, in the prison and in the palace.  He was with the baby Moses in the basket on the Nile River.  He was with Peter when he started to sink in the sea.  He was still with Adam and Eve when they sinned and made clothes to cover their nakedness.  He was with David when he faced the giant.  He was with Noah in the ark.

When you look at the condition of the world, when you see and hear of distressing things that are coming upon the land and the world, this one truth you must learn and hold on to more than anything else.  "The Lord will never leave you."  You may face difficulties.  You may face enemies.  You may face hardships.  You may face persecution.  You may face threats.  You may face financial ruin.  You may face temptation.  You may face abandonment.  You may be forsaken by all.  But the Lord will never leave you.  He will be right there with you through it all.  Don't forget it!

Have a great day.  Hold tightly to God's promise to never leave you and believe it!       

For further reading:
Acts 27:23
Joshua 5:13,14
Psalm 23:4

"In School"

"Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes."  Psalm 119:12

"Teach me Your laws, commands, boundaries, decrees, O Lord."  We tend to think that the Christian life is all about receiving-- receiving blessings, promises, good things.  That is only part of it.  The Christian life is more than about just being blessed and receiving from God.  It is also about learning.

The Christian life is a "school".  It is a training ground, as well.   We are being trained and prepared for living.  We are being trained to live as Jesus lived.  We are being trained to do the work that God has commissioned us to do. 

All that the Bible personalities went through was training them, it was refining them, it was making and remaking them, into the person the Lord had ordained them to be and do the work He had predestined them to do.  They went through much training, much molding, much shaping, much dying to self, much transformation.  Look at the life of Joseph.  The pit, Potiphar's house, and the prison was all training ground for the palace.

You may be going through some awkward, hard, confusing place at the moment.  You may feel like you are in a pit.  "Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him." (Psalm 105:19) But you may be exactly where Joseph was.  You may be in a time of trying (refining, testing, purging) until the fulfillment of the word that the Lord has spoken to you comes into fruition.   

Stay in "school".  Don't "drop out".  Let the Lord continue to train you for the purpose He has for you here and now, and in eternity.

Have a great day.  Part of the Christian life is a life of schooling and training for the purpose God has for your life. 

"Don't Go Into Hiding"

" And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."  Genesis 3:10

When you sin, what do you do?  Do you allow the shame, guilt and condemnation of it to cause you to "hide" from the Lord?  In other words, do you either run from Him or withdraw from going to Him? 

There are times when we are weak in our flesh and give into the temptation that is before us.  We made the choice to sin, but afterwards we have to make the choice to either go to God and confess our sin and allow Him to cleanse us from our sin or withdraw from Him and hide like Adam and Eve did.

The choice the Lord wants you to make is to come to Him and confess it.  He didn't allow Adam and Eve to stay in hiding.  He looked for them and called them out from where they were hiding.  Was God pleased with their sin?  No.  But did He love them?  Yes.  He called them out, confronted them and then made clothes for them to cover up their nakedness-- their sin. 

He does not condone our sin, but He loves us and wants to forgive us.  He doesn't want us to hide from Him or run from Him or withdraw from our fellowship with Him because of it.  He wants us to come and be forgiven and restored to fellowship and communion.  He wants to take away the shame, the guilt and the condemnation.  He wants to restore our peace and joy.  He wants to cover us with His love which covers a multitude of sin.

If you are the person who has sinned, and you are letting that sin draw you further away from the Lord because you are ashamed and feeling unworthy and condemned, don't go from Him, run to Him.  He is waiting with open arms, like the father of the prodigal son, ready to receive you and restore you into fellowship with Himself.

Have a great day.  Don't let the guilt of your sin cause you to go into hiding from God and draw you away from HIs presence.  Go to Him in repentance and He will restore you in your relationship with Him.

For further reading:
1 John 1:9
Proverbs 10:12
1 Peter 4:8
Luke 15:20

"Changed Or Transformed?"

"And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness." Luke 11:39

I have been concerned about the number of people who say they are "Christians".  It seems that everyone I talk to says, or believes, they are.  You have to wonder because Jesus said there would be few that would walk on the narrow and straight way, but ninety to one hundred percent of the people I talk to say they are.  Is there a litmus test to discover who is real and who isn't?  Is there some guideline that we can go by to determine who is a Christian and who isn't?  Can we know if we are being deceived into believing we are a Christian when we are not?

Yes, there is.  (By the way, before you throw the "judge not" card on me, the Bible tells us to judge righteous judgment and there is a difference in discovering the truth and making a judgment call about something.  Correct judgment is based on truth and fact.) 

The test is called transformation.  The true Christian life is a life of transformation, not just a life of change.  Some people change a few habits and consider that Christianity.  But there is a difference between change and transformation.  Here is the best definition that I have found:  Change uses external influences to modify actions, but transformation modifies beliefs, so actions become natural.

When Jesus comes into our lives (which is the only way and entrance into Christianity-- you must be born again), He doesn't just change us, He transforms us.  "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) He changes us from the inside out.  The change is internal and begins to show up externally.  He calls us into a life of transformation, which is not a "one time" thing, but a continual process throughout the rest of our lives. There is also a goal behind this transformation-- transformed to look like Him.  

Transformation doesn't just change our actions; it changes our beliefs.  Once our beliefs are changed, our actions will demonstrate that belief.  Transformation changes us into something we were not before.  Before I was a Christian, I was selfish and self-centered, now I am others and Christ focused.  Before it was all about what I wanted, now it is all about the will of God.  Before I was hateful, spiteful, bitter, mean, ill tempered, lustful, unkind, etc.  Now I have love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, etc. in my life.  That is who I am now-- not just what I do.  I have been transformed. 

There is another litmus test.  It is called love.  "By this all men will know that you are My disciples. If you have love for one another." (John 13:35) True love, Christ's love, transforming love is not selfish or boastful, puts others first, bears with others, believes for good, hopes and endures.  It does not keep a record of wrong.  It keeps on going and does not stop.

Just because a person says they are a Christian does not make them one.  Jesus Christ comes into our lives and along with Him comes transformation.  If you still act like, behave like, think like, you always did before you became a "Christian", then you may be a Christian in word only.  You better check and find out for sure, this is too important to not know the truth.

Have a great day.  The test of whether you are really a Christian is not in the fact that there has been some change, but in the fact that you are being transformed.

For further reading:
1 Corinthians 13
Matthew 7:14
John 7:24

"Your First Fruits"

"The first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God."  Exodus 34:26a

God commanded ancient Israel to offer the first fruits of their harvest to him in gratitude of the blessings they received.  They were to bring Him the first fruit that was harvested from their crops.  They were to bring Him the first, not the last, not the over ripe, not the leftovers.

Are you bringing the Lord the "first fruits" of your day?  Are you giving Him the first part, the first few hours as the day begins?  Are they set aside for Him only?  Are you giving it to Him as an offering of gratitude for allowing you to wake up and see another day?  Are you giving Him that time in appreciation for His keeping power that watched over you through the night?

Does the Lord get the first fruits or leftovers in your life?  Does He get your fellowship and communion-- time with Him in prayer-- after the day is done, when you are feeling tired and weary, after you have been spent it on everything else, when you are too sleepy to hold your eyes open?

Everything about the Lord requires "first".  Seek Him first.  Love Him first above everyone and everything else.  The first part of your offerings.  The first born.  First place.  Is He first?  Does He get the first?  Or is the last of your life and what you have reserved for Him? 

Have a great day.  Bring God the first fruits of your day... and everything else.

For further reading:
Matthew 6:33
Revelation 1:11; 2:4