Sunday, 11/1/15 1 Pet
2:1-2, Wherefore laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrises, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. A
practical tip: cleanse your mind before reading His word. Ezra prepared his
heart beforehand and God’s hand was on him. Hos 4:1, Hear
the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a
controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth,
nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Never fall into the trap of only
looking for “sweet blessings” from the Bible (at home or at church.) God may
need and want to scold you and correct you.
My Bible thoughts:
Sunday, 10/25/15 Gen
5:22, And Enoch walked with God after he
begat Methusalah 300 years... Did fatherhood bring about a revival in
Enoch’s heart? Dad, Mom, are you more or less spiritual since you’ve been
entrusted with an eternal soul? Kids, do you pray for and encourage your
parents spiritually? Ps
143:10, Teach me to do thy will; for thou
art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 1He
is God and has a plan, whereas we are flesh and are clueless. 2He’s
a good God so His ways are good, albeit sometimes hard. 3He
is God, so His plan/will should
overrule ours. 4We must learn to obey: it’s not a natural activity.
Sunday, 10/18/15 Acts
26:20, But shewed...to the Gentiles, that
they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet (appropriate) for repentance. What works that are
appropriate for repentance have you done this week? Is anyone living closer to
God because you lived another 7 days? John
1:9, That was the true Light, which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Every human has this light
from Christ, PLUS the witness of the heavens, PLUS the Bible in their hearts,
PLUS their conscience, PLUS the written word of God, and more, so those who go
to Hell will be “without excuse.” Go
to Hell if you want to, but it’ll be your own fault...ONLY your fault. If you
don’t know for sure that you’re on your way to Heaven, message me.
Sunday, 10/11/15 Hos 13:1, When
Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in
Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more... Zombie
Christians...walking around while they’re dead and doing wrongly. Stay humble
my friend. Re-read the verse. Hos
13:9, O Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself; but in me is thine help. Ultimately, YOU got yourself into the
mess that so troubles you; it’s no one else’s fault, so quit trying to pass out
blame like Halloween candy. YOU made the choices, and it’s YOUR mess to clean
up. Ps 119:95, The wicked have waited for
ME to destroy ME. I’m not trying to be callous, but YOU have destroyed
YOURSELF. So now the focus needs to be on rectifying what you’ve messed up.
Now, God is the One Who believes in you; He is the One Who can forgive you; He
is the One Who can restore you: run TO,
not AWAY from Him. Get back into Sunday School and church; rekindle old
relationships with spiritual people. Apologize for your foolish selfishness.
Dust off the Bible and ask God to speak to you again. Get on your knees and
come clean with God: admit your guilt and pride and rebellion... O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but
in me is thine help.
Sunday, 10/4/15 “I just CAN’T seem to catch a break!!” Eph 6:8,Knowing that whatsoever good thing any many doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. To get more breaks, give more breaks to others. Ps 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness AT ALL TIMES. Just a reminder that there is not time, place, or circumstance in which we are not expected to be a stellar Christian (including at work, the gym, behind the wheel, during a party, etc.
Sunday, 9/27/15 Ps 21:1, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! We (I) have HUGE reasons
to joy and rejoice. Why do we (I) dwell on sad and bothersome topics. Put a
smile on your face: we’re on the winning side!!! At worst, you’ll go to Heaven
today. Ps 23:4a, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Whether the psalmist followed through
on not fearing or ran away in fear, we don’t know, but he was more likely to
remain brave after making and vocalizing his positive decision. “You miss 100%
of the shots you don’t take.” So, attempt great things for God and expect great
things from God. Nothing ventured; nothing earned.
Sunday, 9/20/15 John 7:47-48, Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the
rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? It’s stated in Corinthians that
“knowledge puffeth up.” Be careful if
you’re smart and/or educated: you’ll tend to think that your brains make you
better than another. Rom
10:1, Brethren, my heart’s desire and
prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. What is your heart’s
desire and object of prayer? Is it health? Wealth? Lack of problems? For you or
for your kids? The success of your fantasy football picks? What about praying for the salvation of the
Arabs? ISIS? The abortionists? Mr. Obama? Mr. Obama? Mrs. Clinton? Mr. Trump?
Your neighbor?
Sunday, 9/6/15 Luke 11:2, ...Thy will be done... A reminder that God’s will is to be DONE,
not just known, believed, or preached. Could you list what you DID in the last
24 hours that He specifically wanted? Jer
31:19, Surely after that I was turned, I repented:
and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea,
even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. After you’re
confronted with your sin and you agree with God and you feel the shame...NOW is
the crucial time. Don’t wallow in the shame. Fix what you can and move on. The
Devil tries to keep us unconfessed; if that fails, he’ll try to keep us
crippled in shame.
Sunday, 8/23/15 Pro 17:10, A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a
fool. How hard is it for your parents/spouse/coach/teacher/boss/peer to get
your undivided attention concerning correcting something? How do you generally
respond to their comments about your errors? Mark
10:24b, Children, how hard is it for them
that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! Why did the Lord say
that it was "hard," and not “impossible”? Trusting in riches (even for middle/lower
economic class people) becomes habitual and becomes our “default” setting. It’s
hard to overcome that, but it’s not impossible.
Sunday, 8/16/15 Mark 3:14, And he ordained 12, that they should be with him, and that he might
send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast
out devils. Let us always keep in mind that our full-time Christian
servants/preacher boys are FIRST to walk with God, and then to serve people. Mark 1:34, And he healed many that were sick of divers
diseases... We often think that Jesus healed every sick person He
encountered. Not so. Here, it says “many” not “all.” Remember the Pool of
Bethesda? One out of a multitude was healed. He very well may let you stay sick
and show His grace through the sickness. Remember Paul in 2 Cor 12.