LOL, this might get you arrested today!

Song of Songs 7:9-12(NKJV)

9    And the roof of your mouth like the best wine. The Shulamite      The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,     Moving gently the £lips of sleepers.

10    I am my beloved’s,     And his desire is toward me.

11    Come, my beloved,      Let us go forth to the field;     Let us lodge in the villages.

12    Let us get up early to the vineyards;     Let us see if the vine has budded,     Whether the grape blossoms are open,     And the pomegranates are in bloom.     There I will give you my love.

Who ever said the Bible was boring?  Sex in the garden?  That might get you arrested today!  :)  Hope everyone has a great and blessed weekend!

Does Jesus Pray For Everybody, Even Those Who Reject Him?

I can think of a lot of things in the Bible that would lead one to conclude that Jesus does pray for everyone.  Things like where it says that Jesus desires that all come to believe or something close to that. 
 

But if you look closer it doesn't really address Jesus praying.  The reason I bring this up is that I read the following verse today.

John 17:9(NKJV)

9“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 

What caught my eye is that Jesus very specifically says that there are some He does not pray for.  He does not pray for the world.  I think that would surprise a lot of people.  To realize that Jesus Himself said that there are some who He doesn't pray for.

Who does He pray for?  Those whom God has given Him.  Who are those people?  Those who believe in Jesus.  Those who are saved.  Those who have chosen to become Children of God. 

Jesus goes on to say there is an additional group He prays for.

John 17:20-23(NKJV)

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who £will believe in Me through their word; 

21that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 

22And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 

23I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Those who will believe in the future.  The common denominator though is a belief in Jesus as the Son of God.  

Now why would Jesus be so mean as to exclude someone?  The answer is He isn't excluding anyone.  He has said that He is willing to pray for those who believe in Him.  Anyone is free to believe in Him or not believe in Him, that is their choice, Jesus isn't restricting them in any way.

Now here is what I find funny about those who are offended by this.  If you don't believe in Jesus to begin with, why would you care if He does or doesn't pray for you?  Hmm?  

 

Sometimes God's Plan Seems Counter Intuitive

Check this out.

John 16:5-7(NKJV)

5“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 

6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 

7Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 

Now this is Jesus speaking in the book of John.  Think about what He is saying.  It is to our advantage that Jesus go.  Seems counter intuitive to me.  But why does Jesus say it is to our advantage?  Because if Jesus doesn't go, then He can't send the Holy Spirit to us.

Huh?  Who would you rather have right there by your side?  Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  Being the Son of God and all, I don't know about you but my inclination would be to pick Jesus.  That just seems like common sense to me.  How about you?

But Jesus says, nope, you are looking at this all wrong.  This other guy over here, the Holy Spirit, is going to be way more valuable to you in your daily lives.  Wow, that's quite a statement on Jesus' part. 

Jesus even goes on to explain why.

John 16:7-11(NKJV)

7Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 

8And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 

9of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 

10of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 

11of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I've got to admit I don't much out of this part but look at the next section.
 

John 16:12-13(NKJV)

12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 

13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 

There we go.  He, the Holy Spirit, will guide us to truth.  He will also tell us of things to come which helps explain this verse that I found in Proverbs a while back.
 

Proverbs 27:12(NKJV)

12    A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;      The simple pass on and are punished.

But there is one other very valuable thing that we learn here.  Sometimes people ask, how do I really know if it is the Holy Spirit guiding me vs. Satan trying to deceive me?

That's a great question.  Fortunately Jesus gave us the litmus test.  Here it is.

John 16:14(NKJV)

14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 

If there is ever any doubt just ask yourself, is Jesus being glorified by the Spirit giving me direction?  If Jesus is being glorified I'd say you are good to go.  If not then I think that gives us an answer as well.

What is the purchase price of wisdom?

Proverbs 17:16(NKJV)

16    Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,      Since he has no heart for it?

Kind of a cool saying isn't it?  What do you think the second part, the part I highlighted means?

As someone famous once said "the reason why so many people miss opportunity is that it looks an awful lot like hard work." 

I think that may be what the Scripture above is referring to.  In God's plan, God made sure that salvation is available to anyone and everyone.  All they have to do is believe in Jesus. 

Does that mean that all believe?  Not at all.  There are many that reject that free gift for whatever reason. 

I think in the same fashion God made known the secrets of successful living to any and all who want to take advantage of them.  One of those secrets is that we need to seek wisdom and understanding.  Notice the verb. 

SEEK. 

Not sit back and wait for it to magically appear but SEEK.

And right there I think is the stumbling block for the "fool" as Proverbs terms it.  He doesn't have the heart for it which means he isn't willing to expend the energy and work required for something that he doesn't value. 

Anyway, just a thought.

This is odd!

Put this verse in the "I never noticed that before" category.  It just strikes me as odd.  It almost seems to condone letting the forlorn drink themselves to death.  Kinda weird.

Proverbs 31:4-7(NKJV)

4    It is not for kings, O Lemuel,      It is not for kings to drink wine,     Nor for princes intoxicating drink;

5    Lest they drink and forget the law,     And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.

6    Give strong drink to him who is perishing,     And wine to those who are bitter of heart.

7    Let him drink and forget his poverty,     And remember his misery no more.

This is a bit puzzling considering...

That Jesus drove out the money changers. 

Luke 2:22-24(NKJV)

22Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 

23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),£ 

24and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” £

Seems to me that His parents wouldn't have had the turtledoves or young pigeons to sacrifice when Jesus was born if it weren't for the money changers.

Maybe I don't have an accurate understanding of what the money changers were.  Just a thought. 

Excellence!

What great advice!

Proverbs 22:29(NKJV)

29    Do you see a man who excels in his work?      He will stand before kings;     He will not stand before unknown men.

Be extremely good at what you do.  Be excellent!  Why?  Because you will be recognized and will stand before Kings. 

Mediocrity just gets you hanging out with unknown or average people. 

You are who you associate with!

Hearing His Voice!

Why is it that some people believe in Jesus and some don't?  Could this be the reason?  They simply don't hear His voice? 

John 10:27-30(NKJV)

27My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

28And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 

30I and My Father are one.”

Or is it that they ignore His voice?  How many of us remember before we were saved, sitting in the pews, listening to an alter call.  How  many have felt that small urging deep inside telling y us to go forward or raise our hand?  How many of us have felt that urging on more than one occasion and managed to suppress it until finally one day we gave in and accepted Jesus.  Sound familiar?  

Now was it that we weren't hearing His voice or that we were ignoring it.  For me it was ignoring it. 

What about those who have accepted Jesus yet?  Are you hearing Jesus now?  Do you feel an urging to finally accept Jesus?  Why not do it right now?  Just ask Jesus to come into your life and lead you.  "Dear Jesus…."

Is God's Investment In You Profitable To Him?

Interesting question isn't it?  Does God care about profit? 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14(NKJV)

13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:      Fear God and keep His commandments,     For this is man’s all.

14    For God will bring every work into judgment,     Including every secret thing,      Whether good or evil.

This has nothing to do with our salvation.  If you have accepted Jesus as your savior then your salvation is guaranteed.  Have you done that yet?  If not why not right now?  Just ask Jesus to come into your life and guide you.  "Dear Jesus…."

Our works are a different issue from our salvation.  Our works are  the whole Parable of the Talents in real life.  God has given us all talents and abilities.  And just like in the Parable of the Talents, God expects a return on his investment.   

Scripture tells us that while all who accept Jesus get to Heaven, we all get different rewards in Heaven based on our service to God.  In the Parable of the Talents, those who did the most with their talents received the biggest rewards.  Why would we expect it to be any different when we get to Heaven?
 

So the question becomes, do we want to be that slug who buried their talents and did nothing with them?  What happened to the guy who just buried his talents and didn't provide a return?  He was in the dog house wasn't he?

Think about it.  How would it be to have to spend eternity in the dog house in Heaven.  At least your in Heaven, but man it could be so much better!

So what do we need to do to make it better?  Serve God!  How do we serve God?  I would simply suggest letting God lead you in what He wants you to do.  He'll tell you if you are willing to ask and then listen to the answer.

And here is a clue.  The more uncomfortable His answer makes you the more important it is that you follow through because God has identified some blessing He'd like to lay on you if you'll let Him.  You just have to pay the price to get it.  That price is being obedient enough to God to do things that make you uncomfortable; through which God can bless you with new skills and talents. 

In other words God will show you that you are capable of so much more than you ever imagined if you will just let Him.

So dig in, enjoy the journey, and let God lead you.  It is a great, fun, exciting life!

"Do not be overly wicked, …."

 

Sorry but this one gave me a chuckle. 

Ecclesiastes 7:17(NKJV)

17    Do not be overly wicked,     Nor be foolish:     Why should you die before your time?

Do not be overly wicked?  You mean it is OK to be a bit wicked, just not overly wicked?  :)

I Love Simple Wisdom

 

Ecclesiastes 10:9-10(NKJV)

9    He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,     And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.

10    If the ax is dull,     And one does not sharpen the edge,     Then he must use more strength;     But wisdom brings success.

Isn't this a great way of saying work smarter, not harder?

I think working harder and smarter is an even better combinations!  :)

Why Didn't Jesus Heal Them All?

If God wants all of the blessing of being a Child of God to go to everyone whether they believe or not, then why didn't Jesus heal everyone at the Bethesda Pool? 

John 5:1-10(NKJV)

1After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

2Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, £Bethesda, having five porches. 

3In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, £waiting for the moving of the water. 

4For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 

5Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 

6When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

7The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

8Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 

9And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. 

10The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

One of the themes I have been writing about is what I call the Saintly Poor.  The Bible clearly tells us to care for the poor but it seems that many Christians seem to think this means giving the poor all the benefits and blessings of being a Christian without actually having to be a Christian. 

I believe this is one Scripture that show the fallacy of that thinking.

There was a multitude of sick, blind, lame, etc. waiting and more importantly needing to be healed.  Why didn't Jesus heal them all?  He certainly had the ability to do so if He had wanted to.  According to the Saintly Poor view that is exactly what Jesus should have done, but He didn't.

 Why not?  Have fun puzzling over that one for a while and see what you come up with.

Common False Beliefs

Here's one.  God wants everyone to be saved. 

That is one of those common beliefs that we hear that doesn't seem to be supported by Scripture.  At least not by Jesus' words anyway.  It sounds good, especially for those of the Kumbaya persuasion but there is plenty of Scripture that says otherwise.  Take a look.

John 6:40(NKJV)

40And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Hear Jesus says quite clearly that God, who sent Jesus, only wants everlasting life extended to those who believe in Jesus.  That clearly means that God doesn't want those who reject Jesus saved.  Nothing ambiguous about this.

Well maybe they meant that God wants everyone to have a chance to be saved.  Let's see if that works.

John 6:43-44(NKJV)

43Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 

44No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Think that one through.  Does that mean that there are some who God specifically chooses not to draw to Him?  It seems like a logical extension of that verse to me.

And how about this. 

John 6:65(NKJV)

65And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

Again it seems to say that there are some that are excluded.  I can think of one example right off the top of my head.

Mark 3:28-30(NKJV)

28“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 

29but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—

30because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

I think Scripture is extremely clear that God does not want anyone who has blasphemed the Holy Spirit saved, even if they repent. 

So where did this idea that God wants everyone saved come from?  My guess is probably right here.

2 Peter 3:9(NKJV)

9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward £us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

First off this was written by Peter.  If I have a difference in Scripture between Jesus' words and Peter's words; I'm going with Jesus words.  I think this is an example of how these false beliefs get started. 

I'm sure Peter was well intentioned.  He had been taught by Jesus, but he added his own little twist.  Again nothing malicious about it.  I'm sure Peter thought he was helping clarify things to make it easier for people to understand.

However as you can see above, it isn't what Jesus said. 

But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

Wow, now that is some good Scripture right there!

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12(NKJV)

11    Wisdom is good with an inheritance,      And profitable to those who see the sun.

12    For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense,     But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

One of the main themes of the book of Proverbs is about the need to pursue wisdom and the benefits of doing so.

Now I may be reading a little bit into this but here is my take on it.

The joy and satisfaction and prosperity that we experience in life will be somewhat in proportion to the pursuit and acquisition of wisdom and knowledge. 

Make sense? 

More importantly, seem fair?

Why would I ask if it seems fair?  Because it relates to the whole social fairness and justice issue. 

I think many would agree that it does seem fair.  The more effort someone puts into acquiring wisdom through education etc, the better the chances are that they will have pretty good life. 

So why is it that people who haven't pursued wisdom who end up poor are said to be being treated unfairly or unjustly?  To me there is nothing unfair or unjust about that at all.

Unfortunate?  Certainly!  When you have the opportunity to pursue wisdom and choose not to, I think that is a terrible tragedy.  So much so that I am reminded of what Jesus said about the person who failed to apply himself at the end of the parable of the talents.  Remember?  

Luke 19:22-27(NKJV)

22And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 

23Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

24“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 

25(But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 

26‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

27But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”

Jesus doesn't seem to think it is unfair or unjust does He?  Hmm.  Food for thought isn't it?

Be Open To God's Lead….

….because you never know who He is trying to bless through you.  I'm not talking anything big and monumental.  I'm talking about the little things.  When God whispers in your ear, when "intuition" speaks, listen and obey.

When God tells you to do something that you wouldn't normally do, go ahead and do it.  Even if it is out of character.  Even if it is uncomfortable or embarrassing.  Even if it seems just totally silly.

You'll bless others and through that you'll receive a blessing as well.  :)

Can Something Be a Gift From God and Evil At the Same Time?

There seems to be this dual message in the Bible regarding wealth and the enjoyment of wealth.  We are all familiar with the camel through the eye of a needle analogy.  There are several other Scriptures that can be quoted that make it seem that being wealthy is evil.

But on the other hand there are Scriptures like this.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-19(NKJV)

18Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 

19As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 

So here we have King Solomon saying that for every man to whom God has given wealth and the ability to enjoy it, that is a gift from God. 

So my question is, does God give evil gifts?  Does that sound like something a loving and just God would do?  Or is it possible that we have misunderstood what some of those other verses regarding the wealthy mean?