Be Strong and of Good Courage

What can we expect from life as a Christian?  Will it be a walk in the park everyday or will we still have struggles?  I think we all know the answer to that.  Why do you think that is?  I would suggest that it is because we get the most growth in our lives when we have to struggle a bit. 

So does the bible give us any guidance on how to handle life?  I believe it does.  Check this out.

Joshua 1:1-3(NKJV)

1After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 

2“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 

3Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 

OK so Moses has just died, Joshua has taken over and now God is telling them to cross the Jordan and God will give them the land of milk and honey.  God goes on to tell them that everywhere they travel together He will give them. 

The first thing I would point out is that in order for God to give them this new life that He has planned for them, they have to go on a journey together.  That's the way it is in our walk with Jesus as well.  We start by accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  Just a simple prayer.  "Dear Jesus……"
 

But accepting Jesus is just the beginning of a wonderful journey as we begin to study God's word and as we begin to live our lives for God.

But here is what I had never noticed before.

Joshua 1:6-7(NKJV)

6Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 

7Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 

I found that interesting.  I had just assumed that once God gave them the land of milk and honey things would be easy.  But apparently not because look at the instructions.  Why would they have to be strong and very courageous if God is giving them the land of milk and honey? 

The only conclusion that I can come to is that God was letting them know that in order to receive the gift from Him, they were going to have to go through some nasty stuff.  In other words they had to be willing to struggle and fight for the good life that God had planned for them. 

And what was the key?

Joshua 1:8(NKJV)

8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 

Keeping God first.  Meditating on His Word day and night.  Staying focused on God.  And being strong and of good courage!

Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak

 

James 1:19-20(NKJV)

19£So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 

20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

What great advice.  Simple and to the point.

Swift to hear.  As the saying goes, "God gave us two ears and one mouth.  He was trying to tell us something.  We should listen twice as much as we talk".  We should practice aggressive listening.  What I mean by that is to really put an effort into listening, really listening to what people are saying.

We also want to practice aggressive listening with God.  We listen for God when we are praying but I think we need to be aware that God communicates with us when He wants to, not just when we are praying so let's try to always be listening for His voice.

Slow to speak, slow to wrath.  Great advice there eh?  Don't get mad so easily.  Learn to hold our tongues.  As the Bible tells us, "we are hung by the tongue, snared by the words of our mouth".  Let's slow down and take the time to choose our words carefully.  And in doing so I think we will slow our burn rate and not get angry so easily.

Give it a try today!

Just As Your Soul Prospers

3 John 1:2(NKJV)

2Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 

This simple Scripture has always been one of my favorites.  God is teaching us a life lesson here. 

God wants us to prosper.  Did you know that?  God says point blank here "I pray that you may prosper in all things".  How cool is that.  Not just prosper in this and that but in all things.

He also wants us to be in good health.  Now does that mean that we are just going to magically get good health or that we are going to magically get prosperity?  Not in my opinion.  Let's look at the last part.

"Just as your soul prospers".  What does it take for our souls to prosper?  It takes discipline, it takes being in the Word daily, it takes building a closer relationship with God through prayer, and most of all it takes accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

The last part is easy.  Have you accepted Jesus yet?  It's easy to do.  Just close your eyes and pray something like this, "Dear Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God and that you died for my sins.  Please take over my life and lead and guide me.  Thank you.  Amen!".

See, that was easy wasn't it?  Now what about the rest of it?  That's a different story.  Being in the Word daily and building that relationship with God takes WORK!  That's right, WORK! 

But you know what?  It takes work to prosper and be healthy as well.  So are you beginning to see the beauty of God's plan here.  The connection between your soul prospering and doing well in the rest of your life?

Developing the skills that allow your soul to prosper simultaneously develop the skills that will lead to improvement in all other areas of your life.  Isn't God awesome?

As Raindrops On the Tender Herb

Deuteronomy 32:1-3(NKJV)

1    “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;      And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2    Let my teaching drop as the rain,     My speech distill as the dew,     As raindrops on the tender herb,     And as showers on the grass.

3    For I proclaim the name of the Lord:     Ascribe greatness to our God.

I really like the word picture that these verses create. 

Let me ask a question.  Is your daily time with God a burden or is it a pleasure?  If it is a burden I would encourage you to change your thinking.  Pray for help in that area because God intends it to be a great experience.

"Let my teaching drop as the rain".  I don't know about you but I love the gentle rains of springtime.  There is nothing better than sitting on the porch in the springtime, reading a good book and listing to a gentle rain fall.  Such a soothing, wonderful experience.

Well God is telling us that our time with Him should be just as soothing and comforting as that rain on a spring day.  Please remember that as you go to God today and all your days in the future.

Do You Have the Son?

1 John 5:11-12(NKJV)

11And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 

12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 

These two verses really distill it down don't they?  God says eternal life comes from his Son.  If we accept Jesus, we have eternal life.  If we reject Jesus, we don't. 

But how do we know that is true?

Well first off, notice the word used in verse 11.  Testimony.  Let's look at the definition.

tes·ti·mo·ny

1. Law . the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.
2. evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.

3. open declaration or profession, as of faith.
4. Usually, testimonies. the precepts of God.

5. the Decalogue as inscribed on the two tables of the law, or the ark in which the tables were kept. Ex. 16:34; 25:16.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/testimony?s=t>

You see God didn't just tell us, he testified to the fact.  There is a difference.  So what each and every one of us has to do is determine whether we believe God's testimony or not.  If we don't believe God's testimony then we are essentially saying that God is a liar. 

So where do you stand?  Is God a liar or is His testimony true?  Is Jesus in your life?  If not, why not ask Him in right now?  Dear Jesus….

How Can You Tell?

 

1 John 4:1(NKJV)

1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

So how do we tell?  Simple.  Love it when God makes it simple. 

1 John 4:2-3(NKJV)

2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 

3and every spirit that does not confess £that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Makes it easy doesn't it?  Test the spirit.  Simply ask.  If it tries to give you a weasley answer instead of immediately confessing Jesus then you have your answer!

Sometimes I Wonder

There are times when I read Scripture and just shake my head.  I just don't get it.  I have found one of those sections today so I am going to share with you my question and then I'm also going to share what I feel the Holy Spirit is telling me regarding my questions.  It'll be up to you the reader to discern whether I am on track or not.

1 John 3:4-9(NKJV)

4Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 

5And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 

6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 

8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

9Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

But yet we have Jesus telling us this.

Matthew 26:41(NKJV)

41Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We know that Jesus is the only perfect man that ever walked the earth so I think it is pretty obvious that even as Christians we will continue sinning throughout our lives. 

So does that mean as it says in 1 John 3:6 that we have "neither seen Him or known Him" or 1 John 3:8 "He who sins is of the devil,…",  that in effect if we continue sinning we have never really been saved? That our salvation is just an illusion?  I don't think so.  Here is my take on it.

First I believe that I serve a fair and just God.  So the question I have to ask is would a fair and just God play a trick like that on mankind.  I don't believe He would so there has to be another answer. 

I think it is a heart issue.  Before we accept Christ we sin and we don't know/don't care that we sin.  Once we accept Christ we are now aware of sin.  We recognize when we sin and if we are truly sorry that we have sinned and we ask forgiveness, we are still good with God.  That's what He is looking for.  A heartfelt desire and effort to be obedient to Him.

On the other hand, you have some out there that takes the attitude, "I don't care what you think God, I'm gonna do it anyway".  In that case I think you have a different story.  Here you have a willful disobedience of God.  I just don't think God is going to let that slide.

Does that make sense?

Blessed or Cursed, Any Questions

As I've written before, if you chose to reject God, it isn't just a let bygones be bygones decision.  It's not a kumbaya, live and let live kind of thing.

Check this out.

Deuteronomy 28:1-8(NKJV)

1“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 

2And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Wow, that sounds pretty good doesn't it?  And how do we get that?  Accept Jesus and live to please God.  Pretty simple, right?

But what is the flip side? 

Deuteronomy 28:15-19(NKJV)

15“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

17“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18“Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

19“Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

And the cool thing is that you get to choose.  Which would you rather have, blessings or curses?  But look at this final part.  I had never noticed this before.

Deuteronomy 28:63(NKJV)

63And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

Either way the Lord will rejoice.  Scripture tells us that it is God's desire that all shall be saved but He won't force it on us.  He gave us free will and He continues to honor that free will by allowing us to make the choice. 

I have written in the past about how we need to serve joyfully and give joyfully.  Well here again God sets the example.  He will cheerfully honor the choice that you make.  He will cheerfully bless you or He will cheerfully curse you.  The choice is yours.  What's it going to be, blessings or curses?

Have You Set Up Your Stone Yet?

 

Deuteronomy 27:1-4(NKJV)

1Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 

2And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 

3You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’£ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 

4Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 

The other day I wrote a post called God's Favor Can Strike Like Lightening.  In a way today's post is a continuation of that post.  God's favor can bring incredible changes in our lives.  God's favor can lead us to the "land flowing with milk and honey".  But then what?

Deuteronomy gives us that answer.  "when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime."

What the heck does that mean? 

Here is my interpretation.  Shout it from the roof tops.  When God shines His miraculous favor on your life and leads you to the "land of milk and honey" you need to let others know.  It is one of the easiest ways on earth there is to witness.  Not preaching at others but simply sharing what God has actually done in our lives.  Sharing the practical, real life, right now, benefits of living a life for God.

So get busy folks.  When God blesses you, make sure you let others know!

Will It Ever Be Too Late to Be Saved?

That's an interesting question isn't it?  I've got a couple of thoughts rattling around in my mind and we'll see if they make it from mind to screen while still making sense.

Let's start with faith.  Faith is central to our salvation.  It is the key in my opinion.  One of the first examples of great faith was Noah.  The next one that comes to mind was Abraham.  There were a couple others of really great faith and that is what gave us the example to follow in having faith in the truth of God's Word when he tells us that Jesus is His son. 

Our salvation rests on our faith that what God said is true.  That Jesus is God's son.  That Jesus was crucified to pay the price for all of our sins.  That He was raised from the dead.  And that to this day He sits right there with God, interceding on behalf of all who believe in Him.    

But what is faith?  Well let's got to one of the best known verses in the Bible for that answer.

Hebrews 11:1-2(NKJV)

1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

2For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

So our salvation is based on our faith and faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  That leads me to the question, will it ever be too late to be saved?

2 Peter 3:10-13(NKJV)

10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be £burned up. 

11Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 

12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 

13Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Here is where I am going with this.  If indeed as it says in God's Word, there will be great commotion and destruction unlike anything ever seen in history and people are scared out of their wits as they see all of this happening right before their eyes and they believe, is it really faith at that point? 

Again faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Well if you see evidence of prophesy coming true, it is no longer unseen.  If you come to Christ at that moment, will God honor that as faith?  I don't know.

But why take the chance.  God, just like any great father has a vision for each of His children's lives.  He would much rather bless each of his children beyond measure just like we would like to do for our own children.  And those blessings start with the simple act of accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  If not, why not do it right now.  Just ask Jesus to take over in your life.  Something like this.  "Dear Jesus…."

God's Favor Can Strike Like Lightening!

God is so cool!  How many times have you seen me write that? 

I started writing this blog a little over a year ago.  Here is my first post entitled Why Am I Blogging For Christ?.  In that blog I explained why I was starting the blog.  In a nutshell it was because God told me to.  To what purpose?  Wasn't sure.  All I know was that God told me to do it, to be obedient.

Well I'd like to share a bit of what has happened in the last year.  As I started blogging, God gave me a vision of what my life was going to develop into.  What a great vision.  I was excited.  I blogged.  I took steps to develop that vision.

But over time, the vision just wasn't developing and falling into place like things always had in the past.  It was frustrating at times but fortunately God has blessed me with a deep faith.  I have never been the kind that questions God about why isn't it happening?  What am I doing wrong?  Am I on the wrong track?  God have you abandoned me?  None of that.  It's just not in my nature.  (Not bragging, just telling the story)

Now that doesn't mean that I was happy that things weren't progressing as fast as I'd like.  I was troubled by the same human doubts that most people have.  The only difference again was that I never questioned God.

Although as you've seen from my writings I can get into some deep stuff, I keep my own faith pretty simple.  I trust God to be who He says He is and to do what He says He will do.  I trust that He will guide my life.  I trust the He will work it all out in His time frame, and yes that is the hardest one to deal with because I almost always want it to happen way faster than God has planned.

Well here is the lesson I'd like to share today.  Just be patient.  Just trust God's timing. And get ready to hang on!  Why?

Because if you are being obedient to God, cheerfully doing what He called you to do, even when you don't see things happening as fast as you'd like, just remember:  God is watching your progress.  And here is the cool thing.  When God decides that you have learned the lessons that He has wanted you to learn, His favor will strike like lightening! 

Once God decides that it is time, it's time baby and God doesn't fool around.  Bam, Bam, Bam!  He lines up the things that need to be lined up.  He puts in place the things that have to be put in place.  God makes the impossible happen like only God can!

So how do we find favor with God?  Well first and foremost we have to accept God's son Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.   Have you done that yet?  Why not?  It's simple.  Just pray something like this, "Dear Jesus,  I don't get all of the details yet but I can feel a yearning deep inside that is telling me you are the way.  Please take over and be the Lord of my life.  Help me learn more about you and God and help me to live in God's favor.  Thank you so much. Amen"

Is that when the lightening strikes?  Probably not.  Once we accept Christ we need to get into God's Word and draw closer to Him.  But over time as we do  that you will start to see what happens. 

Bam!  Good things start to happen.  You apply for a job and you don't get the one that you applied for but they like you so much that they instead give you a job that pays $2.00 an hour more than the job you applied for. 

Bam!  You unexpectedly get transferred to a different work location where you are suddenly appreciated and the worst job in the world has miraculously turned into the best job in the world.

Bam!  What would you like to see happen in your life?  Whatever it is, trust God; and you will eventually see His favor strike like lightening in your life as well!

The Sabbath Day

 

Deuteronomy 5:12-14(NKJV)

12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 

13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 

14but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 

Does it have to be Sunday?  Or is there a larger principal here? 

First let me say that what I am going to say is probably more opinion than Scriptural.  I think it is the concept that is important and that God probably doesn't really give a rip what day we rest on. 

Too me the principal that we need to recharge by resting from our work is what is important here.  I don't think it necessarily means rest in the sense of doing nothing.

Let me give you an example.  I'm a financial planner by profession.  Lot's of research.  Lot's of analysis.  Lot's of talking with people.  Lot's of desk work.  No physical labor. 

One of the things I do occasionally is participate in the Action Team at church.  We do house repairs and things like that for people.  It's fun to take a Friday off and spend the day doing really manual labor repairing houses.  Not very restful in the traditional sense but immensely beneficial in the sense that it gives me a break from my normal routine.   

So my suggestion is don't get hung up on the day but do remember to rest in whatever way is most refreshing and beneficial to you.

Do We Have a Duty to Resist Evil?

Deuteronomy 22:23-27(NKJV)

23“If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 

24then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.  

25“But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 

26But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 

27For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

I'm a big believer in the 2nd Amendment to the constitution.  Therefor I carry a gun everyday.  Years ago I did a presentation at the church we used to attend about self defense and firearms.  One of the gentleman in the discussion asked my opinion of this scenario.  If he and the bad guy were both armed, did he have a duty to shoot the bad guy and stop him or could he "display the love of Christ" and simply let the bad guy shoot him without defending himself.  If the bad guy then went next door and shot this guys neighbor, did the first guy bear some responsibility for the death of the second guy?

My answer was yes although I couldn't really come up with any Scripture to back that up.   Well let's look at what this Scripture says.  In the first case the woman is stoned to death just like the guy because she didn't cry out, she didn't resist evil.  Living in the city, if she had only cried out there were others around that could have come to her rescue.

In the second example the woman lives out in the country and if she is raped whether she cries out or not doesn't matter because there is no one around to help save her.  As the verse puts it "there is in the young woman no sin deserving death".

And now I think I have a Scriptural answer to the question the man asked.  The way I see it, this verse is saying that when she was in the city and had the ability to resist evil and didn't do it, it was a sin! 

Just another great example of how cool studying God's Word is.  The presentation at church that I referenced happened around 15 years ago.  Through the diligent study of God's Word, He provided that insight to me today.  God will reveal to us what we need to know when we need to know it.

The main thing that God has revealed to us is His son Jesus Christ.  Have you accepted Jesus yet?  Why not do it today?  Just say "Dear Jesus…." !

Wow, Never Thought of it That Way

 

1 Peter 3:17(NKJV)

17For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

I never thought of it that way before.  Sometimes, even though we are saved, we have to go through some crap.  Some people have a hard time with that.  But as this Scripture seems to say.  "So what if you are suffering a bit now.  As an unsaved person you were going to suffer way more than this anyway."

Good point!

The Word of Our God Stands Forever

Isaiah 40:8(NKJV)

8    The grass withers, the flower fades,     But the word of our God stands forever.”

I like that.  Nice simple verse. 

Forever.  That's a long time.  That means we can spend our whole lifetimes studying God's Word and it is the one thing in life that is guaranteed to be constant.  Here is another guarantee in life.  Everything else will be constantly changing.  That's the nature of life!

Isn't it great to know that through our faith in Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit, we get to tap into the Power of God's unchanging Word as we take this wild ride called life?

A Blessing and a Curse

Wow, did you ever think of your salvation as a blessing and a curse?  Me neither, at least not until I noticed these verses.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28(NKJV)

26“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 

27the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 

28and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 

If you listen to God and follow all of His laws, rules, and regulations, all would be well.  If not, well not so much.  But that was the Old Testament, isn't it different now?

Not really.  While things have changed from the standpoint of what it takes to please God today, the choice is still the same, blessing or curse.  If we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, then we have chosen blessing.  If we reject Jesus, then we have chosen the curse. 

And if I had to put the blessing and curse in a nutshell I believe that the blessing is a daily, lifelong, communion and fellowship with God.  The curse I believe is eternal separation from God.  

So if you want God in your life, if you want the blessings of that relationship with God, There is only one thing stopping you.  Accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  Why not do it right now.  Just simply pray, "Dear Jesus……."

Is It Godly To Be Ambitious?

The Bible speaks a lot about contentment.  Being content with where we are in life and being content with what we have.  A lot of people misinterpret that in my opinion to mean that we shouldn't be ambitious and we shouldn't strive for more in our lives.  As I've written many times, the Bible is a book of balance. 

Hebrews 13:5(NKJV)

5Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” £ 

Philippians 4:11(NKJV)

11Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 

1 Timothy 6:6-8(NKJV)

6Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 

7For we brought nothing into this world, £and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 

8And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 

How do we square these verses with the following verses?

1 Corinthians 9:24(NKJV)

24Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 

Hebrews 11:14-16(NKJV)

14For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 

15And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 

16But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

I especially like the way Hebrews puts it.  Our God is a God of excellence.  There is nothing wrong with striving for more, as long as the more that you are reaching for is in line with God's will for your life.  In other words, as long as there is a Godly guidance and purpose.  I believe that as long as we approach it from this perspective God is not ashamed of our ambition.  Does that make sense?

Draw Near To God

 

James 4:8(NKJV)

8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

We have a simple Word for the day.  If you want to be closer to God, notice that there is a particular order to make that happen.  Draw nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you.  Notice who goes first?  Notice who has to make the first effort? 

We have to diligently seek God to find Him.  We have to make the effort.  When God sees using making that effort He then reveals more of Himself to us. 

Are you drawing nearer to God?