The World and Money $$$

1st John 1:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

It's easy to get caught up in things. This thing, that thing, and the other thing. I've said before, it's OK to have money, as long as money doesn't have you. Jesus clearly said a man could not serve two masters, God and money. Money is a necessary thing, we need it to survive....for food, to pay bills, for housing, light, and transportation. So again, things are OK to have, as long as they don't have you. Don't love them. God is still a jealous God. He wants to be number one in our lives. Not 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 100th... He deserves to be number one in our lives. After all, He put us first. 

Also, don't love this world. Guess what? This is NOT our home. It's just like when you go to stay at a hotel, even for an extended period. You might even refer to it as home out of habit. You might say something like, "OK, let's go home." meaning the hotel. But you and your family know it's NOT home. When you finally arrive at your home, there's no convincing anyone you're home...they just know it. Well this world is not our home, it's only a temporary thing, just like the hotel. Although our home doesn't need renovations in order for us to move in, WE are the ones in need of renovation...hehehehe. For years now I've wanted to design a shirt that has a construction sign on it, or with some visible construction on it, and a caption that says, "God's still working on me." 

So what is in this world that we should avoid like the plague? Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life. I think those are pretty self-explanatory. And besides, all that stuff is on its way out...soon it will be no more. We need to purpose in our hearts to avoid those things. Two out of the three are as easy as a mouse click... Not too long ago folks had to go to a shady part of town, or out in the middle of nowhere and disguise themselves to go buy their porn. Now it's just a mouse click away. No one sees, no one knows...but that's not true, now is it? 

Let's purpose in our hearts to follow Christ's example of how to live, love, and behave. If you have problems in certain areas, ask for His help. He will, if you'll just ask. Call upon Him and trust in Him...and you'll see things change...in your life, and in others. My being here isn't an accident. Many prayed for a very long time, and God heard and answered their prayers. So keep praying, and keep believing... 

:-)James

Give Thanks

 1 Chronicles 16:34

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 35:18

I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 79:13

So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

Psalm 97:12

Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Now I suppose you might be thinking...."Golly, why all the scriptures this morning?" Well, I just wanted to show you a small percentage of the times "thanks" is mentioned in the bible. It shows up 108 times, some of which are not directly related to giving thanks to the Lord, but 90% of them are. This Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving...really the only holiday we celebrate that hasn't been taken over by gimmicks and greed. Granted I'm sure the turkey farmers are happy, but other than that, there's not a whole lot of money to be made on Thanksgiving. 

One thing is very important, we need to be humble and thankful to God. Let's face it, sometimes things are going on in our lives and it's very difficult to be thankful. The bible even speaks of a sacrifice of praise. I've heard it called an attitude of gratitude. If you walk around being thankful, your whole perspective changes. And you begin to expect good things to happen in your life. You begin to believe that the holy favor of God really does rest upon you. You're not worried about who's trying to cheat you or take advantage, because you know the Lord is your defender. 

When you bring that sacrifice of praise, when you purpose in your heart to be thankful in all things, it's easier to make it through each day. And when things hit you like a sack of potatoes in the midsection, you're able to withstand them better. You don't lose your mind. You don't start blaming and questioning God, you start thanking Him because you know that you know that He has the answer. Because the doctors, they don't get the last word. The Creator of the heavens and the earth is my Daddy. And He always gets the last word! Nothing surprises Him, He knows everything before it even happens. So when you walk around knowing all of that, believing all of that, standing on all of that, it's easy to be thankful. How could I not be? 

Sometimes the problem is, I want to get back on the throne over my heart. I don't belong there. I'm not the boss, God is. There used to be a bumper sticker years ago that my pastor used to talk about. And I've mentioned it a few times here myself. But it bears repeating. Anyway, the bumper sticker said "God is my copilot". Really now? If God is your copilot, you're in the wrong seat. He's the pilot. When I said, I make You Lord of my life, I meant it. I've seen the Boss's job, and I don't want it. 

TTFN and God bless. 🙂 James

PS: Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving. Make time to mend fences, be a peacemaker, heal old wounds. Forgive, even if you did nothing wrong, and ask forgiveness. Start anew. Be blessed. 

Come back!

 Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3 

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

I know we've gone through this chapter before, verse by verse, days on end, so I won't do that again. Not today. 

Often times this is read at funerals. And it is an encouragement for those who are grieving. But it's also a good encouragement daily. To remember, to not only know that we have a Shepherd, but to listen to Him. To take His guidance. To be willing to say, and really mean it...Lord, Your will be done, not mine. The Lord is our provider, our protector, our comforter, our restorer, our discipliner, our Savior, and our Lord. The King of kings and Lord of lords. 

I'm not a parent, and I don't play one on TV. But I do know that children rely on their parents. If something scares them, they go running to mommy and daddy. They may stand behind them, cowering in fear. And you know what?We can do that with our Daddy. Because sometimes things are scary. And I don't care how much faith you have, you can get overwhelmed. Sickness and disease, grieving the death of a loved one, all sorts of things make us wanna run and get behind Daddy, and just let Him deal with it. And the thing about it is, He will. 

He's waiting to hear from you. He knows you're overwhelmed. He knows it's too much. He doesn't want or expect you to do it all on your own. He's there waiting. In fact, bending down, listening for your cry. But one thing the Lord will never do. He will never force you into anything.  If you're being pressured and forced. Your arm being twisted, and you're being left with really no choice at all, that's not God. That's how the enemy works. Terrorizing you, manipulation, sleight-of-hand. The Lord presents us with the right way to go, and it is up to us to choose to walk in it, or not. No tricks, no force, just love.

One of my favorite parts about this Psalm is "He restores my soul". We all need restoration from time to time. Having strayed from the family like the prodigal son did, Father God is waiting, just like the father in that story. The Lord gave me a song many years ago entitled "Come Back to Me". And it's God speaking. And He's telling His child to come back. Come back to Me. 

The chorus goes like this:

Come back to Me, I love, I need you can't you see

Come back to Me, come be part of the family

I'll keep saying my child, come back to Me

So if you've taken a detour that's lead you to places you didn't wanna go, in the company of folks who did you wrong, come back. Stop making excuses as to why the Lord won't receive you back. And just surrender. Just like the prodigal son did. Come back. Turn around. You'll be so glad you did. If you've picked up addictions along the way, the Lord will set you free from those. He's not calling you to be perfect, He's just saying...come back. Deal with all of that other stuff later. His arms are open wide. Open with love, not with judgment. Come back. As I write this I feel that yearning in the Spirit, and it brings me to tears. Because I know so many out there are hurting. And Jesus is the answer. Let Him be your shepherd. Don't be afraid or ashamed, just come back. James