"Forsake It To Follow"

"And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him".  Luke 5:11

Following Jesus and surrendering to His will was more important to Peter than a boat load of fish.  It was more important to Mary than her reputation in the town.  It was more important to Levi/Matthew than his wealth and clout with the Roman government.  It was more important to James and John than their inheritance. 

These men and women, and many more, were sold out and surrendered to the Lord and His will for their lives.  He was what was most important to them.  As a result, they gave up everything.  Unlike the Pharisees who looked like they were serving and following the Lord; who looked like He was more important to them than anything else, but the fact is He wasn't.  They weren't willing to give up their self-righteousness for Him.  They weren't willing to give up their authority and power among the people for Him.  They weren't willing to give up their "church position" for Him.  They weren't willing to give up the accolades of the people for Him.  They weren't willing and they even "fought" against Him to keep it. 

How important is He/Jesus/The Lord to you?  What are you willing to give up or leave in order to follow Him?  I am not suggesting at all that you quit your job, leave your family, don't care about anything or anybody.  What I am asking is are you willing to forsake it all for Him?  Are you willing, and would you, give up whatever He calls you to lay aside in order to follow Him?  In the end, what you gain is so much more than what you lose. 

Have a great day.  What is more important to you than the Lord?  If you aren't willing to forsake it, He is not what is most important.    

"Needless Suffering"

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly".  Psalm 84:11

Suffering is part of the Christian life.  There are some places of suffering that cannot be avoided-- we have to walk through them.  But sometimes we are suffering needlessly.  Some suffering can be relieved a lot sooner than it is.

The Bible says that there is no good thing that the Lord will withhold from them that walk uprightly.  When we are suffering with turmoil, confusion, depression and anxiety-- peace is a good thing.  When we are suffering with weakness, (weakness of mind, of body, in our emotions, spiritually)-- strength is a good thing.  When we are sick in body-- healing is a good thing.  When we are downcast, distraught, sad or grieved-- joy is a good thing.  When we don't know what to do about our situation-- wisdom is a good thing.  When we don't know which way to go-- guidance is a good thing.  When we are in need-- help is a good thing.

God wants to bless His people with good things.  He wants to supply our need.  He wants to give us what we lack.  Yet, often we suffer needlessly because we won't receive the good thing that He wants to give us.  The main reason is because we try to rationalize it all.  We rationalize that the reason we are suffering is because God is mad at us.  Or because this is God's way of keeping me humble.  Or because this is my cross to bear.  Or because this is my punishment for my sins.  Or I'm not good enough for God to do this for me.  Or because I deserve what I am going through.  Whatever reason we use to try to rationalize our suffering and stay in it doesn't always make it a true reason. 

What good thing do you need today?  Don't walk in false reasoning about it.  Instead just simply believe God's word about it.

Have a great day.  Don't suffer needlessly because of false reasoning when God has a good thing He wants to give you. 
 

"Counterfeit Christians - part 2"

"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

The purpose of a counterfeit is to deceive someone into believing that it is genuine and real.  We are living in a time where there is a counterfeit/spirit of deception the church.  It poses as real Christianity in order to deceive people into following its way instead of Christ's way-- which is the real way. 

Counterfeit Christianity says that you can live anyway you want to live as long as you believe in Jesus.  It also bases its belief on the premise of "goodness".  Yet, it interprets what good is instead of interpreting it by the Word of God. 

Jesus said that you would know a tree by the fruit it bares.  A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, neither can an evil tree produce good fruit.  A counterfeit Christian has been deceived into believing that you can have both good and evil in your life and you are still the "real" thing. 

The scriptures tell us that if any man is in Christ-- if he is born again-- he is a new creation.  He has been turned into something that he was not before.  It is a word picture of the caterpillar who is transformed into a butterfly.  When you are born again you are transformed from a "caterpillar" (sinner) into a "butterfly" (saved).  A caterpillar represents the old nature-- that of a sinner-- and the butterfly represents the new nature-- the new person we become in Christ.

Many people are trying to pass themselves off as a "butterfly" when they are in fact still a "caterpillar".  A butterfly doesn't crawl any longer, it flies.  It isn't an ugly creeping thing, it is a thing of beauty.  If you are still living like a caterpillar, you are not a "real" Christian, you are a "counterfeit". 

This is where the spirit of deception has come into the church.  It makes people think they are "butterflies" when in reality they are "caterpillars".  They have not been made new by the born-again experience.  They still "crawl" around in adultery and fornication.  They use profanity.  They have immoral lifestyles.  They cheat, lie and steal.  They are full of bitterness and hate.  They cheat on spouses. They are selfish and self-centered thinking about what is best only for themselves.  They are deceived because they "believe in Jesus" but are not following Him.  They are deceived because they think that they are "good" enough, but without the righteousness of Christ applied to their lives they will never be good enough.

Are you professing to be a "butterfly" (a true Christian) but you are still living like a "caterpillar" (a counterfeit)?  Then you have fallen for the deception.  There is only one thing that will change a caterpillar into a butterfly-- the cocoon.  There is only one thing that will change a counterfeit Christian/a sinner into a real Christian-- a born-again experience in Christ.

Have a great day.  Are you a butterfly or a caterpillar? 

"Counterfeit Christians"

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God".  John 3:3

The word counterfeit means:  a fraudulent imitation of something else; a forgery, fake; copy.  Our churches are full of "counterfeit Christians".  They sit in the pews, sing in the choir, serve on the board, are part of the leadership and stand in the pulpits.  They appear to be the real thing when you see them in this setting but put them out into "society" and the truth of who they are comes out.  

One main difference between what is counterfeit and what is real is their "origin".  These counterfeit Christians are trying to make themselves into the "real thing" through their good deeds, good works, giving, moral standards, belief system, and appearance.  They think that if they "look the part"-- go to church, are friends with the pastor, bring their Bible to church, sing in the choir, teach a Sunday School class, and so on-- that makes them the real thing.  But they are still a fake/counterfeit.  A fake is never the real thing.

In order to be a "real Christian" your "origin" has to be real.  What do I mean by that?  Just because you do religious things, just because you were brought up in church, just because you believe that God is real and Jesus is God, are all exterior works that we perform in order to make us something that we aren't.  The only thing that can make us the "real deal" is to be born again.  You have to be "made" into a Christian by Jesus-- not by your works, deeds, wishes or knowledge.  You have to be born again of the Spirit.  You have to have a transformation that changes you from the inside out.  You have to be changed from a sinner into a saved person, and only Jesus can do that.  Only He can make you into a "True Christian"-- you can't do it yourself.

Have a great day.  The difference between a "counterfeit Christian" and a "true Christian" is that a counterfeit tries to make himself into the real thing through his own efforts.  A "real Christian" becomes one through a born-again experience in Christ Jesus.  

"Where To Find Him?"

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth".  Psalm 121:1,2

The Psalmist said he would look to the hills to find the Lord when he needed His help.  The disciples saw Him in all His splendor and glory on the mountain.  We can do the same-- look to the hills and the mountain top to find Him.  But while we are trying to find Him in the grand and glorious times on the mountain, and in high places far above all our problems and troubles, more often than not, we won't find Him there. 

The places we find God most often are in the places of difficulty and trial.  The disciples found Him in the boat with them during the storm.  Daniel found Him in the lion's den that he was thrown into.  The three Hebrews found Him in the furnace.  The Apostle Paul found Him in a ship during a storm.  We can find Him in the valley.

Whatever place of difficulty you are in, whatever storm, whatever trial, if you will look you will find Him there.  He stays in the places of our adversity, our pain, our struggles, our suffering and our heartache so that we can find Him anytime we need Him.

Have a great day.  You may be looking for the Lord in all the glorious and easy places-- and you will find Him there.  But you will find Him mostly in the hard and difficult places of life.