The Lord Wants Us To Live!

Live: To have a life rich in experience; to exhibit vigor, gusto, or enthusiasm in

Jesus said in His word, "I am come that they (we) might have life, and that they (we) might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).  The Lord doesn’t want us to simply exist - He wants us to LIVE!  There are so many people out there that are simply existing - they're murmuring and complaining and blaming others for their misfortunes. What those folks don't realize is that, in all actuality God is the head. He wants us to come into agreement with Him and confess that where we are is His master plan; we are exactly where He put us and He’s the one that can deliver us because He’s the one that has it all in control.

Jeremiah 29:4 tells us, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon." As the scripture continues, verses 5 and 6 reminds us that God is telling us to live - regardless of what our situation may be, we must live; "build houses... plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.... take wives, have children, give your daughters to husbands, and your sons to wives that they might have children that we may increased and not diminished." Whatever your case (or situation) may be, don't forget that the Lord has allowed it. He allows things to bring us down just so He can take us higher -- but we must be mindful to praise Him and be thankful in all those situations.... after all, there is always something to be thankful for even when it doesn’t appear to be!

Verse 7 of Jeremiah 29 says, "and seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." Your city could be your job or things going on in your home or with your kids or co-workers; but when those things come up to interrupt your day, you should immediately start praying that the Lord would give them peace, because in that peace you will have peace.

Jeremiah 29:10 and 11 reminds us, "....I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you... for I know the thoughts (plans) that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil to give you an expected end (future). The Lord will come and visit us a whole lot quicker if we allow that joy on the inside of us to work on the outside. 

My friends, remember that God is the head over all things and all situations. You and I might not be planting gardens or getting married; but we are here doing something and whatever it is, God wants us to LIVE right here where we are!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!

Our Long-Suffering Lord

Long-Suffering: Patient; slow; to be slow to anger; tarry long

The Lord does not hasten to punish us, instead He patiently presents us with many opportunities to retrace our evil steps. Our long-suffering Lord is the one who has unlimited patience with His creation (that's us, just in case you were wondering). He’s the one who puts up with us and gives us ample time to use the energy, movements, and powers that He has given us to be used according to His master plan and will. Therefore, He grants us patience and time, again and again.

Our long-suffering Lord wants us to take on His long-suffering nature and to "...walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3). 

Let's use the children of Israel as an example of how the Lord is slow to anger: He wanted the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation (Exodus 19:6), but what He got was a murmuring and complaining group of people - even after they had seen His miracles and wonders.  Despite all they had seen, they got off track. Regardless, every time they cried out to Him, our long-suffering Lord delivered them.

The Lord suffers long with us because he does not want any of His creations to be lost. In Ezekiel 33:11, the Word tells us that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Our Lord is not some mean God that sits on the throne just waiting to beat us over the head when we do some thing wrong. Instead, our longsuffering Lord takes exquisite pleasure in waiting for us to gain the victory in the fight and to struggle against the temptations that come into our lives (using all of those tools He's already provided us with, of course). What an awesome long-suffering Lord!

Our long-suffering Lord is forever giving patient consideration to our weakness and underdevelopment, because He knows our weaknesses can be brought to greatness if we would simply surrender and willingly be obedient to the merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering Lord. If we would just do that, we can also achieve mature moral development, because the Lord is long-suffering and patiently waiting on us.

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!

Our Seven Responsibilities as Christians (Part Two)

Last week we talked about being a witness. The Lord wants to bless us so that others can see - so that we can be a witness to the greatness of the Lord. There are things others can't see - that’s when He wants us to share the good word about His goodness and His mercy. People can be and are overcome by the words of our testimony; so be a witness each and every time you can!

We also talked about being salt and about how salt preserves things. As a young girl, I remember that when my granddaddy would kill a hog, he would put salt on the ham and then hang it up in the smoke house. The salt he put on that ham would preserve it for the longest time. That’s what the Lord want us to do with the Word - keep (preserve) it in our heart and then do it... AND share it with others.

The last thing we mentioned last week was about the light. Oh how we need to keep the light burning in our lives! In the natural, when you walk into a room at night and the light is off, you can’t see your way. BUT once you flip that switch, the darkness flees. It works the same in the spiritual - when we keep the light of the Word burning, it will chase away those dark attitudes that will try to come in.

Now, let's move on to the rest of our seven responsibilities...

4.   BRANCHES: We have a responsibility to be fruitful branches for Jesus (John15:5). This is the Lord’s desire for each branch abiding in Him. We cannot bear the fruit of His nature by ourselves, and we must abide in Him. We must spend time in the Word and in prayer, and let the Holy Ghost show us those things in us that are unlike Him. We must then allow Him to cut off those branches in us that are unlike His nature. 

5.   EPISTLES: We have a responsibility to be a living epistle - or a living letter - that everyone can clearly read. A living epistle written with God’s pen of love, that's engraved upon our heart (II Corinthians 3:2-3). All of us, regardless of how young we may be, influence others for or against God. You and I are the only Bible many people will ever read - as a result, God has laid upon us the responsibility to be clean and pure in our living, so that we won't be a stumbling block for others going to Him. 

6.   AMBASSADORS: We have a responsibility to be a good ambassador for Christ. An ambassador is an official representative of his own nation in another country. We are invited in to be ambassadors for Christ (II Corinthians 5:20). We are strangers and foreigners in this natural world. Our nation is a heavenly one and our business in this country (world) is to represent our Lord and King in such a manner that other people will want to follow and serve Him also. 

7.   STEWARD: We have a responsibility to be faithful workers (or stewards) in His service (I Peter 4: 10). There must be someone maintaining the affairs of the church. Israel had three groups - warriors, workers, and worshippers. The warriors were ready to defend the people of God and the church; to war against the enemies of our soul. Likewise, there must be workers to help in God's house; it would be hard to carry on properly without workers, right? However, the greatest privilege of all is to be a worshipper. As worshippers we have the right through the blood of Jesus to approach the throne of mercy and grace to offers up praises and thanksgiving unto him that sitteth on the throne.

As Christians, we have great responsibilities - but Jesus has already done the hard part for us! So let's do our part with the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ; to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever.

With all that said, let the church say amen… and AMEN!

Our Seven Responsibilities as Christians (Part One)

Responsibility: Obligation, Commitment, Duty
Christian: To be Christ like

As Christians we have commands and responsibilities. The Lord wants to show forth His love, goodness, and His mercy through us.  We must conduct ourselves as ambassadors, representing our Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Today, I want to share with you three of seven responsibilities that God has given us.  If we want to be pleasing to Him, we must obey or fulfill these requirements:

1. WITNESS:  We have a responsibility to be a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving power.  A witness tells what he has seen or heard. Some times we don’t have to say anything - the way we live our life will speak for us.  However, in order to be a true witness, our life and our words must be the same.  We cannot be a witness with power when we are not living according to the word. Isaiah 43:10 says, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there was no God formed, neither shall be after me."
2. SALT:  We have a responsibility to be salt that has not lost its savor. Salt has preserving power in the natural.  Jesus wants us to have the preserving power of His Spirit and word working in our lives which will preserve us from sin. Then we can truly share the truth of the Lord with others, and it will preserve them, causing them to be thirsty for the living water of the word. Matthew 5:13 tells us, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men."
3. LIGHT:  We have a responsibility to keep the light burning in our vessel, our souls, so that we can share with those who are in darkness. We have a responsibility to keep our ugly attitudes cleaned out of our vessel by pleading the blood of Jesus over them, because they can hinder our light from burning brightly. The light in our heart cannot shine if we are always murmuring and complaining. We must do as Matthew 5:16 instructs, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Come back next week for the remaining four responsibilities. Until then, be of good cheer knowing that God has overcome the world!

With all that said, let the church say amen… and AMEN!