Thursday, February 28, 2013

Red and Yellow, Black and White

Yes its true....
Jesus loves the little children all the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white their all precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Only one problem that must be overcome (no matter our age):

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And overcome it He did!

Romans 3:24
and are justified(made just as if we had never sinned) by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

And our good works have nothing to do with it! 

Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Monday, February 25, 2013

Universal Guilt

No one likes to talk about guilt, it makes us feel bad.  There are two great profound aspects of universal guilt: 

1. That's puts us all in the same boat, so no one of us is any better than the other.  
Romans 3:10-11 ESV
as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.

2.  That makes us candidates for Gods plan for redemption. 

Romans 5:8 ESV
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Glad I am guilty and free!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Peculiar

I have been called that more than once.  In the right context that is a huge compliment.  Are you acting peculiar today?

1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Deuteronomy 14:2
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Pick One

Chocolate or vanilla; Bologna or Ham; rain or sunshine; beach or the mountains; new or used; dog or cat; McDonald's or KFC; Chevy or Ford; fly or drive; apple pie or cherry pie?  Hmmmmmm.  There is a much more profound choice than that, read and decide:

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 ESV

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Cast Your Vote...Is He Or Not?

Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God...

Just as C. S. Lewis said of Jesus..."He is either a liar, a lunatic or Lord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlA5IDnpGhc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Monday, February 18, 2013

Gods Requirement

God has very simple requirements for us.  How are we doing?  What is your desire?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ESV

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZGzu6oI9b4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Friday, February 15, 2013

Our Righteousness and Gods Action

Our righteousness is like filthy rags or polluted garments.  I remember years ago visiting a man who was riding a motorcycle down 501 in Myrtle Beach and was hit in front of our church.  I walked into the hospital room and ask if I could do anything and he ask me to retrieve some information from his pants pocket.  The pants he had worn and they had cut off him were hanging in the cabinet.  I opened the door and soon realized that upon impact of the accident he had lost bowel control.  The odor was unmistakable...and what a reminder of the best I have to offer God...filthy polluted rags.

Isaiah 64:6a ESV
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

God never acts because of our righteousness (Duet. 9:4-5)  He acts because He is God and He determined to allow the righteousness of Christ to be applied to us, otherwise we would still be smelly old bowel infested pants hanging in the closet.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

Dont take the credit it doesnt matter how smart we are or how much ingenuity we have.  How quick we forget what God has done and in essence begin to take credit ourselves.  Lets give credit where credit is due.  When all is going well we tend to forget..check out what God said:

Deuteronomy 8:11-17 ESV

"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth."

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

When God Puts You In The Wilderness

Even when we fail and God has us in the wilderness wandering round and round until we get our spiritual head and heart in the right place...He is still generous and merciful. 

Deuteronomy 8:4 ESV
Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.

Deuteronomy 29:5 ESV
I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Day Every Parent Dreams About

Deuteronomy 6:20 ESV

"When your son asks you in time to come, "What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?"

The only way that question will ever be asked is if we have diligently communicated and lived out the following...

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Monday, February 11, 2013

A Nike and Burger King Life!

What do many days, life, and good living have in common?  A general promise from God to those who keep His Word and walk in His ways.

Deuteronomy 5:33 ESV
You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Therefore we can logically draw a conclusion....if you want to live a shortened miserable life follow the slogan of Nike and Burger King.
Just do it...Your way!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Jealous? God is!

Do you remember when she caught your boyfriends eye or when he caught your girlfriends eye?  Maybe someone had the "newest thing" and you didn't have one.  For us the emotion of jealousy is always in a negative context, that Green eyed monster.  Not so with God...how often have you provoked God to jealousy because something else caught your eye and you went running after it leaving the one who gave His life for you on the sideline. God is absolutely holy in His righteous jealousy.  He desires nothing more than our complete attention.

Deuteronomy 4:24 ESV

For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

What's Wrong With This Generation?

Simple answer.....Us!  And our failure to teach and model diligently Godly principles!  So lets quit playing the proverbial blame game and point the finger where it belongs.  Read the instruction manual:

Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV
"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Why Are People Amazed About Us?

Individually is it our voice, our beauty, some athletic ability, great wealth, intelligence, maybe the family name?  As a nation, why do peoples around the world look at us with great desire? 
The reason should be that everyone sees in us a great and mighty God who is close to us, not some personal flamboyancy, flare or ability.  They should see How Great Is Our God!  Get out of the way and let Him shine!

Deuteronomy 4:4-8 ESV
But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CITjo9QsHaM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Cling On! It's Life Giving!

For you Trekkies don't confuse this with the Klingons from the M-class planet Qo-nos (Kronos-for you non Trekkies).  We are to cling on to the Lord our God.  When we cling on to the right source there is life:

Deuteronomy 4:4 ESV
But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.

Its when we hold on too or cling to the wrong source that we find ourselves dying. 

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Key to Possessing the Land

What territory in your life, your family, your community or in your sphere of influence needs to be possessed?  The key is the Word of God.  Unlock the treasure that will empower you to take back the territory that has been seized by evil forces....open the Bible, it was written for you.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 ESV

"And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord , the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.