Not the Will Of Your Father

On Tuesday I wrote Let Them Alone.  The essence was that there are some that won't be saved.  We need to give it our best shot but if they decide not to believe  we need to move on.  Well I ran across this Scripture today, also from Matthew, that seems a bit contradictory.  But is it?

Matthew 18:14(NKJV)

14Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

In this case they are talking about the little children but I think since little ones grow up, by extension we can assume God is referring to all human beings.  Quite simply it is God's wish that each and every person be saved.  The reason it isn't contradictory is that God allows each and every one of us the free will to over ride His wish and do our own thing. 

So in each and every case where someone isn't saved, the unsaved person made the decision to over ride God's wishes for their life.  I don't see any contradiction in that at all.  Right up until the day they die they are free to change their mind, accept Jesus, and God will accept them with open arms. 

So have you accepted Jesus yet?  Why not do it right now?  Jesus knows what you need.  Open your heart and have a conversation with Him.  "Dear Jesus….".

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At the Time!

1 Chronicles 17:1-6(NKJV)

1Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”

2Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

3But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 

4“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 

5For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 

6Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ 

Interesting story.  David is incredibly grateful for all that he has.  He sees that he lives in better accommodations than God's Ark of the Covenant.  He thinks to himself "I'm going to build a house for the Ark."

David is acting out of all the right reasons and yet look what God says.  "Don't do it.  That's not my plan". 

A great warning to all of us that even though we may be doing something for all the correct reasons, if we don't check with God before we act instead of after, we could be acting against God's plan, and we know that's not a good thing!

Talk of all His wondrous works!

 

1 Chronicles 16:7-11(NKJV)

7On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

8    Oh, give thanks to the Lord!      Call upon His name;     Make known His deeds among the peoples!

9    Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;     Talk of all His wondrous works!

10    Glory in His holy name;     Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

11    Seek the Lord and His strength;     Seek His face evermore!

What a beautiful passage.  This passage really describes much of my prayer time.  I have a hard time spending much time asking for things.  I figure I asked God to guide my life, He knows way in advance what I need, even before I do, so I find myself just being extremely grateful in my prayer time. 

Just spending time thanking Him for being on the job and marveling at how He does it.  How over time I can look back and see how seemingly unconnected events fit into God's plan. 

The other thing I liked about this passage is that I think it has one of the keys to witnessing hidden within it. 

Make known His deeds and talk if His wondrous work ; as it relates to your life.  In other words share what God has done for you in real terms.  Not some vague "you get to go to heaven someday" but how being a follower of Jesus Christ has impacted your life in a real, tangible way here and now!

Let Them Alone!

As so often happens when you have been studying the Bible as long as I have, I ran across a verse that said something that I had never noticed before.  

Matthew 15:13-14(NKJV)

13But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 

14Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

We've often heard that Jesus would like nothing better than to see everyone saved and I'm sure that's true.  And it seemed to me that there was a sense that we had to do "absolutely everything we could possibly do" to see that all were saved.

This Scripture seems to me to be saying something a bit different.  It's saying make a reasonable case to those that you are trying to save and then if they reject Jesus, move one.  Leave them alone.  Don't badger them.  Continue to pray for them if you want but leave them alone and move on.  God has already told us that not all will be saved.  To expect that all will seems to me to go against God's plan to me.

Walking Life's Tighrope.....

Do you have faith like this?  Wow!!!

Click here to see video!

"If the Household is worthy" - Doesn't That Require a Judgment?

Here is another Scripture that directly challenges one of the most often quoted Scriptures. 

Matthew 7:1(NKJV)

1“Judge not, that you be not judged." 

You see this verse quoted a lot especially by non-Christians, to deflect any sort of analysis of someone's behavior or beliefs.  Many people seem to think that this Scripture is a flat out prohibition on judgment of others.   If that is so then how do you explain this next Scripture, also taken from Matthew. 

This Scripture is Jesus talking directly to the disciples and giving them orders.

Matthew 10:11-15(NKJV)

11“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 

12And when you go into a household, greet it. 

13If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 

14And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 

15Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Jesus tells them to determine if a person or a household is "worthy".  How are you supposed to do that exactly without making a judgment? 
 

As I've written many times, the Bible is a book of balance.  Let the Holy Spirit be your guide as you seek wisdom from God's book!

Bearing Fruit Is The Standard We'll Be Judged By (After We Accept Christ That Is)

I recently wrote about the fact that we will all get different rewards in Heaven.    That kind of goes against what most seem to think Heaven will be like.  While we are all saved by grace so we can all get into Heaven, Scripture clearly tells us that we will receive different rewards, we won't all be equal in Heaven. 

Here is another Scripture that I found today that illustrates that. 

Matthew 10:40-41(NKJV)

40“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 

41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 

Notice that there is a differentiation between the reward for a prophet and the reward for a righteous man.  I believe that it is the same here and in Heaven.

Now the question becomes, what standard is used to determine our reward in Heaven?  Obviously the first step is accepting Jesus as your Savior.  Have you done that yet?  If not why not do it right now?  Have a conversation with Jesus.  Simply ask Him to come into your life and take over.  "Dear Jesus….".

I'm sure that there are many things that are used to determine our rewards in Heaven.  One of the cool things is that it won't be our sins.  Scripture tells us that we all must face the Judgment Seat for our sins.  But that is where Jesus steps in for those of us who have accepted Him.  Jesus intercedes and tells God He has taken the punishment for this person or that person.  The slate is wiped clean! 

 Our sins won't be held against us.  That was the whole point of Jesus wasn't it?  He took the punishment for our sins.  So what standard is used?

Matthew 13:21-23(NKJV)

21yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 

22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 

23But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

I believe that this will be one of the key metrics used to determine each of our places in Heaven.  Did we bear fruit?  So as we go about our daily lives let's make a point of taking every opportunity that we can find to bear fruit for God!

The Dichotomy of the Meek and Strong

1 Chronicles 12:1-2(NKJV)

1Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 

2armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.

1 Chronicles 12:8(NKJV)

8Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains: 

Psalms 37:11(NKJV)

11    But the meek shall inherit the earth,     And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

There is a dichotomy in the Bible that I think a lot of people get wrong.  It is the dichotomy between meek and strong.  As I've written many times, the Bible is a book of balance and I think this subject is a good example of where something is out of balance.

Now obviously this is just my interpretation.  But isn't that the wonderful thing about our faith journey?  We have God's Word to study and once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we get the Holy Spirit to guide us  in our journey and help us understand God's Word.  This is the interpretation as I understand it.

It seems to me that most people today tend to focus on the meek inheriting the earth part.  Another word to substitute there is poor.  It is almost as if "meek and poor" has reached sainthood and it is what we should aspire to. 

I find this odd when you consider that the Bible is full of Scripture, both OT and NT, that tell us that God wants His people to prosper. 

Now look at the first two passages from 1 Chronicles 12.  This is the telling of how God came to David's rescue.  Notice that God sent "mighty men of valor"?  God didn't send the meek to do battle for David.  God sent strongmen, mighty men, men of accomplishment. 

So what gives?  Here is my take.  God wants and needs strong mighty men and women as Christians.  We need to know how to be go getters.  We need to know how to be successful.  We need to know how to set goals and achieve them.  We need to be able to teach and mentor others to achieve success as well. 

But we also need to be meek in our strength.   We need to guard against letting our success go to our heads.  We need to always give thanks and credit to God for our strength and success, always acknowledging that He is the ultimate source of that strength and success.

Part of that meekness is submitting the strength and success that God has given us in the service of God's plan.  Not just by writing a check which the more financially successful you are the easier it is to do.  No I'm talking about a more personal investment in God's plan.  An investment of your time and your brain power in reaching others for Christ as Good directs you to do. 

I guess to sum it up I see it as the difference between a weak meekness and meekness from a position of strength and confidence.  Does that makes sense? 

If It Walks Like a Duck...

Love the simplicity of this exchange.

Matthew 11:2-6(NKJV)

2And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he £sent two of his disciples 

3and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 

5The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 

6And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

John wanted to know if Jesus was the one he was looking for.  What did Jesus basically say?  "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck; it's a duck." 

Scripture tells us that we will know them by their fruit.  Isn't that what Jesus was saying?  Observe the fruit.

So the real question is what kind of fruit are you producing?  Can they tell you are a duck?

When You Let God Lead...

Life can be so cool.  I had a great experience yesterday that just reminded me of God's power to lead if we will just listen.

I had been in a funk for a couple of days.  No big deal.  Just one of those patches where I felt like I was just spinning my wheels but not getting anything done.  You know what I mean?  For a type A personality like me, not being productive is annoying.

Well what was my response?  In typical type A fashion I was just going to buckle down and use my human will to power through it.  And how did that turn out you ask?  I think you can probably guess can't you?

Well late yesterday morning even though I had tons to do I felt God telling me "Dude, chill!  Go take a bike ride.".   Now that was the last thing I had time for.  I hadn't earned it yet.  (I like to set goals and then reward myself with little things like that.)

Luckily I learned a long time ago that when God steps in and tells you to do something other than what you had planned, it is a good idea to listen.  And that is what I did in this case. 

I had a half hour bike ride with my favorite music in my head.  It was awesome!  Have you ever noticed how music can reach in and touch your soul.     The combination of the wind in my face and the music in my head had a big smile on my face in no time. 

I came back and was more productive the rest of the day than I think I would have been if I had ignored God and just kept working.

Just another example that if you let God lead life can be awesome!

Guarding Against Unfaithfulness

Studying the Word of God can be so cool sometimes.  I am back to reading one chapter a day in the Old Testament and one chapter a day in the New Testament.  And coincidently I am on chapter 9 in both places, 1st Chronicles and Matthew.

Well today in 1st Chronicles this verse jumped out at me. 

1 Chronicles 9:1(NKJV)

1So all Israel was recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. 

You know I like things simple.  Here we don't have to wonder why God allowed his people to be taken away to Babylon.  We know.  God tells us point blank why He did it.  The people were unfaithful. 

After all God had planned for them and after all He had done for them, they were unfaithful.  They didn't follow Him.  They started doing their own thing as it were.  At a certain point God's patience had run out and He said "Away with you!".

But why did he use the word "unfaithfulness"?  Why didn't He say for example "I did it because they were worshipping other gods.".  Why unfaithfulness?

Well then I go to Matthew 9 and I read these three verses.

Matthew 9:2(NKJV)

2Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Matthew 9:22(NKJV)

22But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

Matthew 9:29-30(NKJV)

29Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 

30And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 

Here is my conclusion.  I believe the reason God used that specific word, unfaithfulness, was to make the point that faith is extremely important to God's plan.  In fact God's plan fails without faith.  How can I say that?

Simple.  We are saved by one thing and one thing alone.  What is it?  Faith!  Faith that Jesus Christ is exactly who He says He is.  He is the Son of God.  He died for our sins and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. 

Do you believe that?  Have you ever let Jesus know that you believe that by asking Him to be your personal Lord and Savior?  Why not do it right now?  "Dear Jesus……."

But that is just the beginning of the faith walk.  As we can see from the verses above, going forward our answers to prayer and our reward both here and in heaven will in part depend on our faith.  Jesus has said repeatedly your faith has motivated me to act on your behalf. 

See how important faith is? 

So how do we guard against unfaithfulness?  One of the ways is by being in the Word so that God can connect the dots like He did for me today.  Enjoy the journey!

Confidence and Decisiveness

 

Matthew 8:7(NKJV)

7And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Don't you just love that simple statement?  Not "I will come and check things out".  Not "I will come and see what I can do". 

"I will come and heal him".

Jesus was confident and decisive.  That is something we can be as well.  When we walk in the council of God, seeking His guidance, we can be confident that it will be provided.  We too can live with the confidence and decisiveness of Jesus!

What Is The Common Denominator?

Here is a verse that is known by many.  As I read it today something jumped out at me that I'm not sure I've noticed before.  Check it out.

Matthew 7:7-8(NKJV)

7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 

There are few guarantees in life but here is one.  Everything begins with an action on our part.  We look to God for our blessings and guidance but it still starts with us in some way initiating the sequence.  We have the ability at any time to Ask, Seek, and Knock.

Now here is the cool part about the guarantee.  It tells us that EVERYONE who asks receives.  Not just some.  Not a few.  Not just the ones that pray the loudest.  Not just those who God chose to favor that day depending on His mood.  EVERYONE.  And the same is true for seeking and knocking.  Every time we take the initiative to ask, seek, or knock we are guaranteed an answer.  We don't have to wonder if God is listening or if God will answer.  We already know.

Now the downside?  You may not like the answer, but at least you are assured of an answer.  And think about it.  If we really want God to guide our lives then we have to expect that the answer may be no sometimes.  Does that make sense? 

Did You Know Jesus Said "Get To The Point"?

We've all experienced people that can go on so long with their prayers that you fall asleep right?  Some people like to list everything they need.  Some like to go over and over and over the list with God.  Some pray for the same thing every day as if God forgot what they prayed for yesterday.  And one of my personal favorites are those that ask for things then go to Scripture in their prayer to remind God what He had promised them, as if God forgot.

Did Jesus give us any guidance in this area?

Matthew 6:7(NKJV)

7And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

My interpretation?  Jesus is saying "Get to the point!".  Brevity is good.  God already knows what you need anyway so you don't need to go on and on.  In fact I have a suggestion.  All of that time saved from long winded prayers could probably be better used to just sit and listen for what God would like to say to you.  Give it a try!

Some thoughts on the Rich and Poor

Some thoughts on the rich and the poor.  There are many who have a goal of eliminating poverty.  There are others who think it is unfair that some are rich and some are poor.  There are many that seem to think that the New Testament has elevated the poor to almost saintly status and that the rich are evil.  I think these views are unScriptural.  I'd like to put together some thoughts to support my view. 

Let's start with Heaven.  How do we qualify to get into Heaven?  By believing in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.  We are saved by faith.

Romans 3:28-31(NKJV)

28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 

29Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 

30since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 

31Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Galatians 2:16(NKJV)

16knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

OK, so all who believe get in.  We are told that there will be rewards in Heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21(NKJV)

19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 

20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So here is the key question.  We can all get into Heaven.  Do we all get equal rewards in Heaven? 
 

I don't believe that we do.  There will be a poor side of Heaven, a middle class side of Heaven, and a wealthy section of Heaven.  There will be places of honor in Heaven which is just another way of saying that not all will be equal in Heaven.  What determines the difference in our reward in Heaven?

2 Corinthians 5:10(NKJV)

10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 

1 Corinthians 3:5-8(NKJV)

5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 

6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 

7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 

8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

I think this verse makes an important point.  It's not just works but works in service of God's plan.  Here in another supporting verse.

Revelation 22:12-13(NKJV)

12“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 

13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the £Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Jesus himself point blank tells us in Revelation that our reward is based on our works.

So what does this have to do with the rich and poor of today?  First off I think the goal of eliminating poverty while admirable is Scripturally wrong.  Jesus told us the poor would always be with us.  Is Jesus a liar?  I don't believe He is.    And if Jesus isn't a liar then why would you have a goal to make something happen that Jesus has already told you will never happen?  I'm not saying we shouldn’t help the poor, I'm just saying that the goal should be different.

The second issue is the equality and fairness issue.  As I pointed out above, many people think that it is unfair that there are rich and poor.  My question is this.  One of the descriptions of God is that He is a just God, correct? 

Now if a just God has determined that it is just that His people receive different rewards in Heaven based on their decisions and efforts on His behalf while here on earth, why would it be any less fair or just that the same standard apply to our rewards here on earth?   

I believe that the Bible teaches us that most people get out of life exactly what they deserve based on what they put into it.  We have all made or neglected to make decisions throughout our life that have put each and every one of us where we are today.  We have all expended effort or declined to expend the effort to achieve our goals again putting us exactly where we are today.  Very little of where we are today was beyond our control. 

In fact I would bet that if each and every one of us went back and compared our decisions to what the Bible would have suggested we do in each of those cases we'd find that decisions that were in alignment with Scripture generally turned out better than those decisions that weren't in alignment with Scripture.

So what about the poor?  Great question.  I think we should do what we can to help the poor.  But I don't think that means giving them a middle class lifestyle without them earning it, which is what I think too often happens today. 

Go back to the Old Testament.  The owners of the fields were instructed in the Bible to go over the fields and pick there crops and then let the poor go back through a second time and pick up the scraps that were left.  They owners didn't have to let the poor go first.

What needs to change?  The way in which we try to help the poor. 

"Give a man a fish and your feed him for a day.  Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

That is it in a nutshell in my opinion.  Teach the poor the changes that they need to make to be successful in life, and help them make them.  The ones that want to learn and improve their lives, help them.  The ones that don't want to do the work, oh well.  Let them continue to live a subsistence lifestyle.  They are getting what they deserve.  Not in a mean sort of way but in a Scriptural way. 

Wow, that doesn't sound very Christian.  Really?  Well I'll bet you won't think this is very Christian either but it is in the Bible. 

Jude 1:20-23(NKJV)

20But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 

21keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

22And on some have compassion, £making a distinction; 

23but others save with fear, pulling them out of the £fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Scripture tells us "on some have compassion" and "making a distinction".  So apparently not all deserve compassion (charity).  How do we decide?  I can't think of a better way than letting Scripture be the guide.  Those that want to take the help offered, work hard, and change their lives, they deserve the help.  Those that don't want to put in that effort as I said above, oh well, it's their choice.