Tuesday, September 28, 2010

OPEN THE BOOK

Noelle could tell that Jackie seemed uncomfortable when she first invited her to Bible study.  Jackie quickly changed the subject and Noelle could tell that she was hoping that she would not push it.

Her reaction made Noelle very sad.  She loves the Lord so much and wanted her sweet friend to share in the joy of her relationship with Him.  Yet she also knew that Jackie did not attend church nor had she ever heard her mention the Lord.  But it was not as if she were an atheist either.  On the contrary, Noelle knew that Jackie had grown up going to church, her family still attended church, and she had certainly never heard her say anything negative about church or God.

Noelle couldn't help but wonder if her friend ever read the Bible.  Did she own one?   It was not a question she had ever asked before. 

As the two friends continued chatting over lunch, Noelle found herself wondering how Jackie had gone all these years without a relationship with the Lord.  He was such a huge part of her own life, she could not imagine how anyone could truly have a life without Him.  Yet obviously her friend did.  How could she make her see what she was missing, Noelle silently wondered. 

Are their any "Jackie's" in your life?  Or maybe you are a Jackie. 

God is not really on your priority list and you feel like life is OK without Him.   It's not that you do not believe in God. You do.  You also believe in the Bible.  You believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross.  You have nothing against those who go to church on a regular basis.  Somehow you just never have gotten around to that or when you tried to find a church, you just never felt comfortable there.  You think it's great that people like Noelle love to study the Bible, but it's not something you are really interested in.  You aren't really sure WHY people choose to study it to be quite honest.  Maybe it seems like a stuffy book to you or one that is too hard to comprehend.  Maybe you feel like it's a book about people who lived thousands of years ago and has nothing to say to you in 2010. 

May I share with you that the Bible is way, way more than that!!  It is by far the most interesting, compelling book to ever be written.  It has stood the test of time and has remained on the best seller list for hundreds of years despite those who would have destroyed it if they could.  They cannot because it is God's Word...literally.  It is the holy, inspired Word of God.  God breathed.  God ordained.  God designed. 

John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God!"  God IS the Living Word.  It is the only book in the world like it.  When you choose to read and study the Word, God blesses you.  You are "ingesting" Him and His words become a part of you. 

The Bible reveals the character of God.  You cannot have a relationship with Him until you recognize WHO He is.  His word reveals that.  Just in the book of Psalms alone there are hundreds of definitions for WHO HE IS.

Strong high tower

Refuge

Rock

Redeemer

Lifter up of our head

Mighty

Holy

Righteous

Buckler

Defender

Just to name a few.  From Genesis to Revelation He is revealed.  You begin in Genesis at his feet and wind up in Revelation looking Him in the eye. 

There is no other book that will so change your life as the Word of God. 

It doesn't matter if you have never read it before, or studied it or even know the books of the Bible.  You just have to start somewhere.  There are numerous translations to choose from, too, so that you can find one that makes it easier to understand.  I personally like the old King James version because that is what I've grown up on, but next to that I also like the Holman translation, the NIV (New International Version), and the New King James.  

Bible studies are not for "intellectual types", as obviously Jackie seemed to think.  Quite the contrary.  They are a place where anyone can go and begin to learn.  They usually focus on a book of the Bible or a topic and are a great way to get introduced to the Word if you have never had much exposure in the past. 

The important thing is to start.   So if you have not opened a Bible in a while, I encourage you to pick up one today.  You have nothing to lose and whole lot to gain.  If you need a recommendation for a Bible study, I'd be happy to give you a list. 

"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and that seek Him with their whole heart." Psalm 119: 2

"Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119: 11

"Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy word." Psalm 119: 18

Sunday, September 26, 2010

WORSHIP WITH ME

Today is Sunday, the day we traditionally attend church to worship God. 

In the past 20 years, worship styles have caused more division in church than probably any other single issue in the history of the church.   Many feel that you must wear a coat and tie, sing only Hymns, have a robed choir accompanied by only a piano and/or organ.  Others feel more comfortable coming to worship in tee shirts, jeans and flip flops, singing praises to the Lord as they are led in worship by a band then followed by a sermon by a preacher dressed in jeans and an untucked shirt.   So what does it REALLY mean to worship?

Webster defines worship as "reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem".

When King David finally brought the Ark of the Lord into Jerusalem he "danced before the Lord with all his might....and as the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window and saw King David leaping  and dancing before the Lord" II Sam. 6: 14, 15  Was he worshipping?

"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in  my mouth."  Psalm 34: 1.   Is this worship?

"Praise the Lord with harp; sing unto him with psaltery and an instrument of 10 strings, sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise" Psalm 33: 1-3.  Is this worship?

"And I behld and I heard the voice of many angels round  about  the throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice


       Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and blessing


Is that worship? 

"O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together."  Psalm 34:2

If there is any verse in the Bible which defines worship, I think that is it.  My reason?  Simple.  To magnify is "to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect" or "to enlarge in fact or appearance" - Merriam Webster.  I shall choose the latter.

You see I read a statement this week that has totally re-defined my definition of worship.  Although all of the above examples are certainly applicable, this statement to me is truly what worship is to be all about. 

In his book FASTING, Jentezen Franklin wrote "When you worship you magnify God.  Your enemies or circumstances may seem to be so large and so powerful that they are all you can see.  But...when you worship, you not only magnify God but you also reduce the size and power of everything else around you." 

When we worship we are to MAGNIFY God.  As many times as I've read the Psalm 34 verse, I never saw magnify in the context of 'make larger'...like a magnifying glass.  But as I read this statement by Franklin this week, it hit me.  We are to MAGNIFY God....we are to exalt Him above all others, above EVERYTHING else in our lives.  We are to recognize Him as

 King of Kings and Lord of Lords,

the Alpha and Omega,

the Beginning and the End,

 our Savior,

 our strong high tower,

 our deliverer,

 our refuge,

our rock,

our fortress,

the Lover of our Souls,

the Lifter up of our heads.......

The list is endless.  Just go to the book of Psalms and begin to underline every word that describes Him and you will have all you need to MAGNIFY Him.

Today, won't you worship with me.  Won't you fall on your knees and MAGNIFY the Lord with me?  When you do, all of your problems and worries and concerns will diminish in the light of His glory and His power and His mighty love for you. 

Sunday, September 12, 2010

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?

I've noticed quite a few people posting things on FACEBOOK lately regarding Jesus Christ or God.  If you believe 'this', post LIKE.  Things like "If you believe Jesus died on the cross" or "With God all things are possible" .  I dare say any of my FACEBOOK friends would not agree with those statements.  Yet the question that comes to my mind is, how many are truly believers?

If I were to ask "Are you are Christian?" I would imagine the majority of people would answer "YES".  But if you were to answer YES to that question, my next question I would ask is "What is your definition of a Christian?"

You see today many churches across this land will be filled with people who THINK they are Christians or who call themselves Christians.  Many more will NOT be in church and have not been to church in a very long time, yet they still refer to themselves as Christians. 

So I am asking the question for each of you who reads this to ponder and answer.  Are YOU a Christian and if so, what are you basing that response on?

Is it because you are the member of a church?  Being a member of a church is definitely important for God says that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.  But....having your name on a church roll is not enough unless it is ALSO written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books were opened....and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."  Rev. 20: 12, 15

Is it because you have lived a good life...you are a good person?  No matter how good you are by man's standards, it's God's standards that count in the end.   He says "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23.  It doesn' t matter how many good deeds you do, you will still fall short.  You still have a sin debt and according to God "the wages [or price] of sin is death" Romans 6:23

Is it because you believe in God?  So do the devils!  "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble."  James 2: 19

You see, my Friend, there is only one way that you can be a genuine Christian and that is by placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  That doesn't mean having a HEAD knowlege or acknowledging that there IS a God.  It means recognizing that you are a sinner who has fallen short of God's standards and that you are in need of a Savior. 

Maybe you know all this but you've thought "I'm not ready yet to make this decision.  I want to live like I want to for a little while longer".   Maybe you've thought "When I get a little older and I'm ready to settle down".  If that has been your thinking, let me tell you about 2 of my neighbors.  One was a beautiful young woman, 38, with 2 small children who would appear to have her whole life ahead of her.   But in the blink of an eye it was all over when a tractor trailer collided with the car in which she was riding.  Our other neighbor, an older gentleman, was out cutting his grass in his front yard one day and a couple of days later was gone...dying of a massive heart attack.  You see none of us know the number of our days.  We know one thing for sure and that is ALL of us have an appointment with DEATH.  Your appointment COULD be today.

Maybe the reason you've never made this decision was that you've done some things in your life that you are ashamed of.  Maybe you feel like that God couldn't possibly want you.  Oh my friend, you are SO wrong!  God loves you.  "But God commended His love to us,  in that while we were YET sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 Did you catch that?  Christ died for you while you were YET a sinner!  He does not say 'get cleaned up first'.  You can't get clean enough to come to Christ.  If that were the case, none of us would ever come.  He says come as you are with all your faults, all your failures, all your scars.  He loves you just the way you are.  His love is unconditional.  There is nothing you can do to cause Him to love you more.  And, there is nothing you can do to cause Him to love you less. 

I hope that if you have continued reading to this point and you realize that you've carried the label "CHRISTIAN" for many years but without foundation, you will read just a few more lines....

Or if you KNOW that you are not and have thought "one day" or maybe you've even said "never", I pray you will continue to read one just a little more......

TODAY, my Friend, you can come to Christ.  You can become a CHRISTIAN.  John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that WHOSOEVER [that's YOU] believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Right now, wherever you are reading this...you can bow your head and talk to the Lord.  Acknowledge you are a sinner.  Repent and turn from your sin, turn TO Christ, believing that He died for YOUR sin on the cross and rose from the grave.  "If you shall confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart man believes unto righteouness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation...for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10: 9-10, 13.  Ask Him to forgive you of your sins.  Ask Him to come into your heart and be your Savior.  Then thank Him for His salvation. 

Your prayer might sound something like this :

Lord Jesus....I know that I am a sinner and I cannot save myself.  I need your forgiveness.  I believe that you died on the cross to pay for my sins.  You paid a debt I could not pay even though it was a debt you did not owe.  I want to turn from my sin and turn to follow you instead.  I ask you to forgive me and to come into my heart and life.  I ask you to be my Savior.  Thank you Lord for saving me.  In Jesus' name...Amen

You see salvation is a FREE gift.  You cannot earn it by good works; you cannot buy it; you cannot get it by osmosis (just because your parents were Christians you do not automatically become one).  The only way to receive God's salvation is to receive it from the One who purchased it for you....JESUS CHRIST.  He's holding out His hand to you today..........won't you receive His gift?

If you do, the next thing you need to do is to tell someone....your pastor, your Christian friend, your parents or ME!!:)  Then find a church if you are not currently attending one.  Be sure it is a Bible believing church.  Then get a Bible if you do not have one and begin reading it.  Maybe you could start by finding the passages I've given you here.  Read them and underline them.  Begin reading the book of John.  That is a good place to start.  And finally pray.  Just talk to God like you would talk to your best friend.  He IS your best friend, you just didn't know it til now.

I can promise you the decision to follow Christ will be the greatest decision you ever make.  He promises to never leave you or forsake you.  He will walk with you every moment of every day and one day He will take you to Heaven to live with  Him forever. 

If you prayed that prayer or if you have questions, I hope that you will contact me through the comment section below or via email on FACEBOOK.  I would love to know that every one of my FACEBOOK friends is genuinely a CHRISTIAN, knowing the Lord Jesus personally!!  I will be praying to that end today............