Luke 22:40
“And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.”
Have you ever heard someone say about another person, “They lost
their way?” This is said about someone who allowed something in their
life to change who they are. It is the goal of every Christian to serve
the LORD to the day they die, but the fact is that many Christians have
come and gone through the doors of a church who seemed to lose their way
and are no longer serving the LORD. There are two instances where Jesus
talks about people losing their way.
Zechariah 1:12
“Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts,
how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of
Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten
years?”
When you are doing right and see others do wrong, it can become
frustrating to see those who do wrong seemingly get away with their sin.
As hard as it is to do right in an atmosphere of sin, it can become
harder when you see others doing wrong with seemingly no consequences.
In these times of apparent injustice the question is often asked, “How
long?”
Mark 4:1
“And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was
gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and
sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.”
President Ronald Reagan is commonly called the master communicator.
There is not a president in this generation who seems to communicate
with the American people better than President Reagan. Someone once
asked him where he learned to speak so well. President Reagan answered
that he learned to speak in Sunday
school. He said that if Jesus communicated so well by speaking in
parables, then he should attempt to communicate the same way. President
Reagan understood that Jesus is the Master Teacher.
Hosea 2:7
“And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not
overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then
shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it
better with me than now.”
A sad but tragic reminder is found in the verse above. A woman who
married a man and had children with him one day thought she was not
happy with him, so she left him for other men whom she thought would
make her happy. These other men showered her with money and possessions
just to get from her what they wanted. As long as she was being showered
with these material and worldly possessions she was happy.
Ezekiel 28:2
“Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I
sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man,
and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:”
Tyre had a great history with Israel. Tyre was a city that always
seemed to be a help in the building of Israel. Tyre was blessed by God
because of this. Tyre was an island city located about one-half mile
from the mainland with walls whose height were no less that 150 feet.
Its main source of income came from the cedars and precious metals it
sold. Anytime they sold these, they also offered to send their citizens
who were experts in woodwork and working of precious metals.
Matthew 14:31
“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught
him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt?”
The greatest need in Christianity today is the need of little
faith. Notice, I did not say great faith! Throughout the Book of
Matthew, Jesus rebuked His disciples for not having little faith. It is
amazing what little faith can accomplish. There is no doubt in my mind
that this world could be changed if Christians just had little faith.
Matthew 4:3
“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
One of the keys to winning any war is to know the movements of your
enemy. If you know the movements of the enemy and their tactics, then
you have a better chance of defeating them. The enemy of the Christian
is Satan. Our enemy is not the authority or the person who attacks us.
Our enemy is not the person who commits the sin. Our enemy is the Devil
himself. There are four key tactics that the Devil commonly uses to
destroy the Christian.
Jeremiah 17:7
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”
Several years ago, I lived in the mountainous region of Colorado
for a few months. In that area was a river that was very refreshing to
go to. Beside that river were trees that were green and obviously very
healthy because of their close proximity water. That water allowed the
roots to dig deep into the ground which kept the trees healthy.
Proverbs 5:3-4
“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her
mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a
twoedged sword”
In most vehicles there are warning lights in the dashboard to tell
you that something is wrong. It may be a check engine light to tell you
that something is wrong with a sensor or the engine. It could be a light
to warn you that the air pressure is low in a tire. It could also be a
light to warn you that the oil in your engine is low. Ignoring these
lights can have costly consequences. As much as you hate those lights
when they come on, continuing to drive without addressing the problem
will end up costing you more money than if you had addressed the problem
when it first came on.
1 Peter 3:7
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge,
giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
There is a saying that I really don't like that says, “You can't
live with them, and you can't live without them.” This is of course a
saying that men oftentimes say about their wives. If the truth be known,
the reason it is so difficult for a man to live with his wife it is
because he hasn't taken the proper actions to be a good husband. A wife
might be easier to live with if men would make the effort to be a good
husband.