Miranda Rights

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Your Spiritual Miranda Rights

Matthew 12:37

"For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Anyone who has watched a television show that involved someone being arrested has heard what is called the Miranda rights. When the police arrest someone because they are suspected of a crime, by law the police officer is to read the suspect their Miranda rights which say, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you." These rights warn the suspect that every word they say will be used against them to try and convict them of the crime they are suspected of committing. The power of the suspects words will either condemn them or set them free.

Before the Miranda rights ever existed, God established the fact that a person's words will be held against them. No, you may not be suspected of a crime, but every word you say will be held against you at some time in your life. Often you will hear something brought that a politician has said in the past. Their words condemn or validate their stance on a certain issue. Likewise, it is very important that you watch every word that you speak, for it is likely that one day your words will be used against you.

Every parent needs to be careful what they say. Parents, your children listen to what you say, and if you change your children will throw it in your face. Don't promise your children something that you are not sure that you can fulfill. Only make a promise to your children that you can absolutely fulfill. A parent's word to their child will either justify or condemn their character in the eyes of their child.

Every spouse needs to be careful what they say. Often a spouse will make a promise that they cannot fulfill. When you promise your spouse something, then do everything in your power to fulfill that promise. You can greatly damage your marriage by not keeping your word. Don't break your word, especially when it comes to your marriage vows. When you break the most sacred words that established your marriage, you could ruin the trust your spouse has in you and ultimately destroy your marriage.

Christian, be a person of your word. Follow through with what you say. Preachers need to be careful to follow through with their words. Sunday school teachers need to be careful to do what they say they will do. Spiritual leaders need to be sure that their words do not condemn them. Your character is at stake, and your words will either justify or condemn your stance on the Scriptures.

Simply put, realize that everything you say may be held against you. Because of this, be slow to speak. Don't be rash with your statements, but let everything you say be deliberate and thought out. Before you say you are going to do something, be sure you count the cost of your words. Guard your words all the time just like you would guard your words if you were under arrest. Don't let your words condemn you, but rather let them justify your life because you follow through on everything you say.

Greatness

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Greatness Defined

Matthew 5:19

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

When God defines greatness, you will notice that His definition does not include position. We often hear that a preacher is a great man because of the size of his church. However, the size of a man's church does not make him great. Likewise, the amount a person gives in the offering plate does not make a person great. Just because someone has sacrificed greatly in the Christian life does not make them great. Furthermore, just because a person has started a great Christian organization does not make them great. Though most of these accomplishments will be rewarded, these do not make a Christian great. We often define greatness by how much influence a person has. However, if influence or the size of a work is what make a person a great Christian, then there would be many who would never be able to attain that status in the eyes of God.

God makes it possible for all to attain the status of greatness. God always gives the wherewithal for His people to be able to do what He expects of them. Therefore, when God defined greatness, He simply said that a person who obeys and teaches His commandments is considered great in His kingdom. When God narrowed it down to this definition, then you can see that any person can be considered great, for greatness has nothing to do with status, it all has everything to do with action.

First, to be great you must obey God's commandments. God's Word is filled with His commandments. You will have a hard time attaining greatness if you don't read God's Word daily. When you daily read the Word of God, you will find out what God expects from you as a Christian. Afterwards, you can go from your time of study and obey what He taught you in the Word of God. For instance, God commands us to be faithful to church. That means that you will never be a great Christian without being faithful to church. Likewise, God commands us to be personal soul winners. You cannot be a great Christian unless you actively pursue leading people to Christ. If you don't fulfill the Great Commission, then you cannot be a great Christian. Simply put, the first step in becoming a great Christian is to obey God's commandments.

The second step in becoming a great Christian is to teach God's commandments. In other words, obeying them is not enough, God wants you to graduate into teaching them to others. I often hear people who are trying to impress me with their Christianity by telling me what they don't do. They want me to think they are great because they are obeying God's commandments. However, God says a person is not a great Christian until they start teaching His commandments also. It is not enough just to obey, but you must also teach others what they are supposed to do. This is the final step in becoming a great Christian.

You will notice that becoming a great Christian can be accomplished by simply obeying the Great Commission. If you will start living right, and then lead people to Christ and teach them how to do the same, then you will be considered a great Christian. This means you can be a great Christian. My question to you is this, would God consider you great? Are you actively obeying God's commandments and His will for your life? Then, are you teaching others to do the same? These two are the two requirements needed to become a great Christian. I challenge you to strive to be a great Christian. You may not be recognized as a great Christian on this Earth, but when you get to Heaven you will be recognized as a great Christian if you will do what you've been taught and then teach it to others.

Greatest Words

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The Greatest Words of God

Malachi 1:2

"I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,"

When we think of the greatest words that God has ever said, it seems that it would be hard to come up with the one statement that is the greatest. Face it, there are many wonderful things that God has said or promised. However, I believe that the greatest words that God has ever said are that He loves us.

Notice the verse above says, "I have loved you,..." This love is past tense. God reminds us that He has loved us in the past. When you look at your past you will see God's love was evident. He loved you enough to save you from your sins. He loved you enough to send His Holy Spirit to convict you so that you could get saved. He loved you in the past by allowing you to be created. He proved His love in the past by dying for your sins on the cross. Notice Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Thank God, we can look at our past and see God's love toward us.

However, not only did God love us in the past, but He also loves us in the present. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Christian, this is a present tense love. God loves us so much that the only way He could describe how much He loves us is by saying, "For God so loved the world,..." When you try to describe how great God's love is toward mankind, it is so great that the only word that can describe it is the word, "so." You may think that God could never love you, but I can promise you that He loves you.

Moreover, God will love you in the future. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Charity never faileth:..." This statement is a great statement because once love has been turned on it can never be turned off. Christian, this is wonderful news for you because this is a promise that God will always love you. Because God loved you in the past, and He loves you in the present, then that means that He will continue to love you in the future because love cannot be turned off. What a promise!

The greatest words that God ever said to mankind are that He loves us. You may think that God could not love you because of what you have done, but let me remind you that God does not love you for what you have done, but He loves you because He chose to love you. God does not love us because of who we are, but He loves us because of Who He is. God is love! It matters not how deep you have fallen into sin, God still loves you. It matters not what you have said to God, though you may have hurt Him, He still loves you. It matters not what your status in society is, God loves you. Whether you're rich or poor, God loves you. Whether you're mentally challenged or intelligent, God loves you. Whether you're good or bad, God loves you. Always remember that God's love for you will never stop.

Christian, don't frustrate God's love by continuing in your sin. Let God's love for you be the catalyst that challenges you to clean up the sin in your life. Moreover, don't take God's love for granted. Daily thank God for His love for you. Never let a day pass without thanking God for His love, and telling Him that you love Him.

Getting ready

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Getting Ready to Meet With God

Amos 4:12

"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel."

When you have a special guest coming to your house, I would imagine that you make special preparations for their visit. The house gets an extra touch of cleaning, for you want your house to be in great shape for the guest. You make sure the atmosphere is set so the guest will enjoy their time with you. You put on the best menu so they will not leave regretting coming over to your place. You may even plan conversations and activities so they won't be bored while they visit with you. All of this is done because you want your special guest to feel welcome while they are with you.

There is a special guest that you ought to meet with on a daily basis. This special guest is God. The verse above says, "...prepare to meet thy God,..." Though this verse is talking about God's judgment that was to come to Israel, I believe this statement can be applied to our daily personal time with God. Everyday when you meet with God in the Scriptures and prayer, you should want that time to be special, not just for you, but also for God. However, if you don't prepare yourself to meet with God, then you will find yourself quickly going through your time with Him as if you are paying penance. Let me give you some ways that you can prepare yourself to meet with God on a daily basis.

First, put all distractions away. You need to be sure that there is nothing that will distract you when you meet with Him. Our attention span is so short that the Devil will do everything he can to get our attention away from God. Many times this is not intentional on our behalf, but it happens. God also will not force Himself upon us. So be sure that you remove anything that could be a distraction during your time with Him.

Second, you must get rid of all sin. Your time with God will not be a special time if you have sin in your life. In fact, Psalm 66:18 teaches that if we have known sin in our life that God will not hear us. You can invite God over all you want, but He won't show up if you leave your heart filthy with sin. The first thing you should do before meeting with God is confess your sin to Him. Clean up your heart so that God will enjoy meeting with you.

Third, prepare your spirit to meet with God. There will be some days when it will be harder meeting with God because your spirit is not ready. Over the years I have learned some things that help me to prepare my spirit. One of the best ways to prepare your spirit is with music. Before meeting with God, you should play some good instrumental Christian music that helps put you in the proper mindset. Music plays a big role in preparing our spirit to meet with God. We play music at church to prepare the hearts of people to hear the preaching, so why not do the same to help prepare your spirit in your personal time with God.

Finally, while listening to the music, spend some time thinking about God's goodness to you. Write down the things that God did for you on the previous day. Once you have a small list compiled, then take that list and thank God for what He did. You can also use that list to spend some time praising God for His goodness. Thanking and praising God will not only prepare God to come to you, but more importantly it will prepare your heart to meet with Him.

When you have done these things, I believe you will find that your heart, mind and spirit will be prepared to meet with God. Yes, you will have some days when your heart is excited and ready to meet with God, but on the days when your heart is just not ready, do these things to prepare yourself for your meeting with God.

The value of one...

A man decided that he would change the world.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street.
But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself.
AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY CHANGED AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET AFFECTED THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AFFECTED THEIR COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY AFFECTED THE WORLD.

Smarter?

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When Did You Become Smarter?

Hosea 11:1

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."

A sad commentary is made about Israel in this chapter as God talks about their departing ways. He reminded Israel how in their infancy He was there for them. In fact, it was God Who was responsible for Israel's existence. Yet, they thought they were smarter than God, and left Him for what they thought were better ways. God loved them when no one loved them. God helped them when everyone was against them. God healed them when others were bent on destroying them. It's sad that Israel thought that they were smarter than God.

However, this story seems to repeat itself daily in the different areas of life. For instance, it is always refreshing to watch a young child with their parents. In the early stages of a child's life they seem to think that their parents know everything, and with unwavering trust they will follow what they tell them to do. However, when that young child grows into their teenage years, you will often see them question everything that their parents say and do. My question to this teenager is, when did you get smarter than your parents? Why is it that you think you know so much more than your parents?

Likewise, a young Christian comes to a church and soaks up the leadership and preaching of their pastor. How refreshing it is to see young Christians with their hunger for the LORD. Yet, as the years progress that young Christian begins to think they know more than their pastor. This is not to say that the Christian hasn't grown in certain areas, but why do they now think that they are smarter than their pastor?

Over and over again this example could be mentioned. Nations that once used to think their forefathers were brilliant will now disdain their principles. Preachers who once used to follow the teachings and principles of a great man of God, will now think they know more because they have pastored for a few years. Employees who once used to follow their boss' advice now seem to think that they know more than their boss. Why is it that anyone would think that they have become smarter than the one who trained or invested in them?

First, they have allowed the wrong influences to change their thinking. A teenager will allow the adverse influence of a peer to influence what they think about their parents. It's not to say that the teenager isn't becoming wiser, but it's the fact that their parents don't seem to do anything right. You must be careful about allowing wrong influences to dictate your thinking about those who have trained and influenced your life.

Second, the reason someone would think they are smarter is because they forgot what someone has done for them. Don't ever forget what your parents have done for you. Don't ever forget what the forefathers of your nation have instilled as the principles of that nation. Don't ever forget the principles of a preacher who helped formulate your spiritual mindset. Don't allow a suave personality who has done nothing for you change your thinking about someone.

Third, the biggest reason someone thinks that they are smarter than those who helped them become who they are is because that person or people have forgotten who they really are. Even when you have progressed in life, you should never forget what others have invested in you. Be careful about allowing a little success to cause you to think higher of yourself than you ought. Always work at keeping a right perspective of yourself.

Don't allow yourself to think you are smarter than God and those who have invested in you. Always remember what helped get you to where you are. Simply put, don't get too big for your britches!

 

Your Ultimate Goal

Daniel 9:3

"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"

Let me ask you a question, and before you read any further I want you to write your answer down on a piece of paper. What is your ultimate goal in life? When you look at the end of your life, what is it that you want to have accomplished?

The goals of people are as diverse as their personalities. It is no doubt that many have a goal of success. When you look at the amount of success books in today's society, you will understand that people want to succeed. What they want to succeed at is certainly different, but they want to succeed. There are pastors whose ultimate goal is to have a large church. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having a large church. There are many people whose goal it is to be wealthy. There are some whose goal is to move up the corporate ladder. There are others whose goal is to be famous in society. Then there are some whose goal is to have a happy family, or a successful marriage. Of course, these things I just mentioned are a few of the goals that many people have.

However, when you look at Daniel's life, he did not seek any of these things. The verse above says, "And I set my face unto the Lord God,..." Daniel's ultimate goal in life was to know God. He spent his life seeking the face of God. He did not seek money or position, he sought God. He did not seek fame or recognition, he sought God. He did not seek success or religious achievement, he sought God. The only thing that really mattered to Daniel was to get to know God. He was so determined to know God that he fasted and prayed just so he could know Him. Yet, you may wonder if this desire to seek God allowed him to "succeed" in life. Yes, it did! Though he did not seek position, he became the second in command in Babylon. He did not seek recognition, but certainly he was a household name around the world as Babylon was the world power in his day. He did not seek riches, yet I would imagine his position allowed him to be financially set for life. All of this happened because his ultimate goal in life was to know God.

I asked you at the beginning of this devotional to write down your ultimate goal in life. Now let me ask you this, was your goal to know God? If you have anything else written down on that piece of paper, then you have the wrong motive for your life. You must understand that knowing God will allow you to accomplish many of the things that people desire. However, seeking God should be your ultimate goal in life. When you get to know God, He will give you the wisdom to succeed in life. Though your purpose in knowing God should not be so that you can succeed in life, yet knowing God will make these things happen.

Christian, it is time to refocus your purpose and ultimate goal in life. Don't let the world's focus be your focus. Make your focus in life to know God. Set your face to seek God. Make your ultimate desire in life to know God as Daniel knew Him. You will find that when you get to know God, that He will give you wisdom to do what is right in every area of life. You cannot know God without Him influencing every area of your life. When God influences every area of your life, then you will find that His influence will cause every area to get better. Start your quest today to know God. Make that your ultimate goal.