"God Will Take Care of You"

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Matthew 6:26

I woke up this morning with this chorus repeating over and over in my thoughts- "God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you." I knew the Lord wanted me to share it with you this morning as a reminder. A reminder that He will take care of you no matter what you are going through. He always has taken care of you and He always will. He is the same faithful Father today as He was yesterday. He hasn't changed. The situation may look overwhelming, but it isn't to God. It may look impossible, but not for the Lord. It may seem devastating, but it does not upset Him.

Remember too this morning that He feeds the birds daily and watches over them, meeting their every need. But He says you are of much more value to Him than they are. So if He is faithful to the fowls of the air, He will be much more faithful to you. You are His child. He doesn't abandon and leave His own. Take comfort today in the faithfulness of your loving Heavenly Father and His care for you.

Have a great day. God will take care of you.

For Further reading:
Matthew 10:29-31

"God Will Take Care Of You"

1. Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you; beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you. Refrain: God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way; he will take care of you, God will take care of you.

2. Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; when dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

3. All you may need he will provide, God will take care of you; nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.

4. No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; lean, weary one, upon his breast, God will take care of you.

"My House"

"And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves." Mark 11:15

When Jesus comes into our lives (our temples- 1 Corinthians 3:16), don't expect Him to do any less than He did in the verse above. He "cleans house". He doesn't leave us the way He finds us.

Many Christians are of the opinion that Christianity is just mere religious duty- church attendance, singing in the choir, giving offerings, reading their Bible, and so on. How wrong they are. When Jesus cleaned out the temple, He also set things back in order, restored it to its original purpose and reestablished its priority- "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer." (verse 17)

When Christ comes into our lives, He puts them back in order, restores us to our original purpose for which He created us and helps us to reestablish His priorities in our lives as well- "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Matthew 22:37) Up to that point, before He does, it is not about Him but about us. We were living for self and doing what was right and pleasing in our own eyes.

When Jesus got finished cleaning the temple that day, I can promise you it did not look the same. There was a definite "transformation" that took place. The moneychangers were gone, the merchant tables were no longer set up, the place was quieter, worship was heard again, prayer and holiness was restored.

As I said earlier, "He doesn't leave us the way He finds us." He brings the gift of salvation and eternal life to us and from that moment on He desires to bring about a "transformation" process in our lives. He doesn't leave us the same way and He doesn't leave us looking the same way. Instead the goal is that we look like His original intention for us. "Let us make man in our image." (Genesis 1:26) "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." (1 Cor. 15:49) The goal is that we look like Him-- "MY house".

Have a great day. Jesus doesn't come into our lives and leave us the same way-- He brings transformation.

For further reading:
2 Corinthians 3:18
Matthew 21:13
Romans 8:29; 12:2

"Guard Your Heart"

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

In this verse we find both a command and a warning. We are commanded to guard our hearts- in other words, protect them. And we are warned that there are consequences if we don't.

Let's start with the warning first. I won't spend much time on this because we all know that whatever we open our hearts up to will come in and take over them. This is why the Lord says to love Him with all our hearts- don't give place, or room, for anything else in our hearts because whatever is in there will be the governing factor of your life. So, if we don't guard/protect them, then we leave them open for the enemy's attack. We make them susceptible to his destructive devices. He will try to fill our hearts with bitterness, resentfulness, evil desires, lusts, immorality, selfishness, and so on- which will destroy us.

I want to talk a little more about the command to guard our hearts because this is the solution that will shut the door, and keep it shut, to the evil influences that would try to take over it. How do we guard our hearts? What can we do that will keep the door of our hearts closed and not give anything but the Lord access?

1) Be careful about what you set before your eyes. ("I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. - Psalm 101:3) What you see really does influence you and that "image" will find its way into your heart. If not dealt with, it will breed lust and when lust is conceived it brings forth sin. ("Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.- James 1:15)

2) Don't allow the standards and ideology of this world to mold your heart. You do this by renewing your mind with the word of God. ("And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:2)

3) Follow the word of God. It is one thing to read it, or know it, but it is in the doing of it that we guard our hearts. ("But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. - James 1:22)

4) Keep yourself in the love of God. ("Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."- Jude 1:21) You do this by staying close to the Lord through communing with Him in prayer and worship, through His word, through repentance when you sin, by constantly drawing near to Him and through self denial.

If we will heed the warning and follow the command, then we are being the "guard at the door" of our hearts and governing what comes in and what doesn't.

Have a great day. Guard your heart- that is a command and a warning.

"Fearful Things"

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." Psalm 125:1

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Luke 21:25,26)  We are living in "distressful" times. It is so seldom that you hear any good news. There are wars and rumors of wars, talk of economic collapse on a global scale, violence is plaguing the land, diseases, natural disasters seem to never end but instead seem to be getting worse.

If you listen to all the ominous reports it would be easy to allow yourself to become fearful. But this morning, may I remind you, if you are a Child of God/ follower of Jesus/ His disciple (whatever you chose to call it) you have nothing to fear. Our trust is not in the things of this world. It is not in material resources. It is not in the wisdom of this world. It is not in man's knowledge or abilities. Our hope is in the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Our hope is in the One who created this world to begin with. He is our Savior, Deliverer, Fortress, Strong Tower of Refuge and our Source.

He was "Goshen" for the Israelites while the plagues were coming upon Egypt. He was the "Ark" that protected Noah and his family during the flood. He was the fourth man in the fire with the three Hebrews. He was the Angel who shut the lions' mouths for Daniel while in the lion's den. He was the "Smooth Stone" in the sling shot of David which brought down the giant.

Biblical history has recorded from Genesis to Revelation that the Lord has always been with His people- watching over, protecting and providing for them. He has always been there, He will not change now and leave us when we need Him. He is a Faithful Father to all His children throughout all generations. Therefore, we have no reason to fear- though the earth be removed and the powers of heaven be shaken. Our hope is in the Lord and we will look to Him.

Have a great day. Fearful things are happening, but we will be like Mount Zion which cannot be moved because our faith and trust is in the right place- it is in the Lord.

For further reading:
Psalm 91; 46
Isaiah 43:1,2

"The Price of Discipleship"

"They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Mark 10:37,38

Most Christians tend to think that being a disciple of Jesus is about what we can "get" from God. We think it is about all the blessings He gives. We are always after the "good" things and good gifts that He will send our way. There is more to it though than just receiving blessings. There is a price to pay.

When we think about "the price" in Christianity, we tend to confine it to the price Jesus paid for our salvation. We forget that there is a price to discipleship as well. If you are going to follow Jesus, if you are going to be a partaker of His inheritance, if you are going to enjoy the blessings, then you are also going to have to pay a price.

Let me clarify that I am not talking about us paying a price for our salvation through works and by doing good deeds. I am talking about the price that comes from following Jesus. He told us in His word that there was a price and what the price was. "And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" (Luke 14:25-28)

The price is:
1) Love Him with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. (and hate not... cannot be my disciple)
2) Don't allow anything or anyone besides Him to have first place in your life. (not father, mother, wife, children, brothers or sisters) He is your family now.
3) Surrender your own will to Him. (hate his own life also)
4) Die to self- (bear his cross)

Jesus wasn't telling us to hate others or self. The true evidence that we are Christians is our love for others. Besides if He told us to "hate" our families in the sense that we define hate, He would be telling us to break the greatest commandment. He was telling us that we cannot let our love for people (including family), ourselves, or material things come ahead of our love for Him. Our love for Him must be willing to sacrifice all other relationships for the relationship we have with Him. The cross is the place of death and sacrifice. This is the price that we are called to pay as disciples- the sacrifice of all for a relationship with Him. (Isn't that exactly what He did- sacrifice all in order to have a relationship with us?) This was the price that He told James and John when they were arguing about "position" in our verses above- "can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?"

Have a great day. We want the blessings, benefits and glory that come along with being His disciple, but we don't hear much about the price that comes along with it too. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)

For further reading:
1 Peter 4:12-14
Matthew 22:36-40