Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Are you a wise man or are you a fool? In this passage, Christ reveals to us who is wise and who is foolish. The wise man is one […]
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
When you add knowledge of the ways of God to your life, then you understand how God expects you to live. Not only do you read the commands of Christ on how to live, but you can also study the life […]
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
How do you respond to others around you? Do you show them mercy when they are going through hard times or do you judge them and cause them to feel worse than they do? When was the last time you heard about a famous Christian […]
Proverbs 14:12 There is way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Do you do what is right in the eyes of God or do you do what seems right to you at that time. Every day many people die because they did what seemed right to them […]
Acts 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Paul and Barnabas had been waiting for God to send them out into the mission field once again. Their opportunity came when they received word that there were men teaching the gentiles […]
Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus� 12 disciples agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was not entrapped into betraying Jesus by the deception of the chief priests but he willingly came to the chief priests and asked them what they would give him if he betrayed his Master. Judas had determined in his heart that money was more important to him than his relationship with Jesus.
Judas betrayed Jesus for a sack of silver yet Judas is not the only person who has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Since you have accepted Christ�s calling to follow HIM, how have betrayed your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed greed to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed bitterness to get in the way of your relationship with Christ? Have you allowed lust to get in the way of your relationship with Christ?
Hebrews 4:1-2 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
The nation of Israel had been promised by God that HE was going to deliver them from the Egyptians and give them the promise land. However, when the nation of Israel heard about the giants in the land, they did not have enough faith to trust God even though HE had delivered them from the Egyptians to go and fight the enemy and claim that which God had promised them. As a result, an entire generation died in the wilderness and it was their children who received the blessing God promised. Because of a lack of faith, an entire generation came short of God�s promises.
Saul was anointed the first king of Israel. Had Saul only remained humble and obeyed the direction of the Lord, his children would have reigned as king after him. However, Saul did not have the faith to simply wait and trust the Lord and while the Lord allowed him to reign for 40 years, he did not have a glorious death and his sons died with him. If only Saul had remained obedient to God, not only would his reign have been different, but also his line would have become the royal line in Israel. It was because of Saul�s sin that God had Samuel anoint David.
Judas was called by Jesus to be a fisher of men. However, Judas allowed greed and corruption to crowd out his relationship with Jesus to the point that he rejected the One whom he was called to serve. Judas had been sent out by Jesus along with the other disciples and was given the power to heal the sick. Nonetheless, because Judas desired material possessions, he forsook his calling and guilt later caused him to kill himself.
God has a special purpose for your life. However, the question that God has for you today is whether you will receive HIS promise. Will you have the faith to trust HIM to go where HE directs you? Will you obey HIM even though the circumstances around you just do not seem right? Will you remain faithful to HIM and not allow the things of this world to crowd out your relationship with HIM? You must hold fast to the promises of God and you must understand that while the storms of life surround you, God is able at anytime to stop the storm and fulfill HIS promises to you.
What sets you apart from the world is that when you heard the preaching of the gospel, you had the faith to believe God�s promises. So many have heard the gospel and have rejected its simple truth. The gospel has no benefit for those who reject it. In the same way that people reject the promises of God when they choose not to repent from their sinful ways, so too can you reject the deeper promises of God by being content to live not doing anything great for God. You must strive to be all that you can be for God.
God has a special promise for your life. It is up to you to grab a hold of God�s promises for your life and to weather out the storms of life so that you might obtain the fulfillment of God�s promises. You must have the faith to hear HIS promises and to obey HIS instruction for your life. You must not allow your sinful nature to stop you from receiving what God desires for you to obtain. You have heard the promises � obtain them.
II Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Who in this world knows you better then yourself? If you desire to not be a hypocrite, then you need to examine your life and you need to determine whether or not you are really in the faith. Others can think that you are in the faith. You can tell others that you have faith. Nonetheless, you are not who others think you are or who you tell others you are. Your actions dictate to God who you are as a Christian.
Cain and Able both made sacrifices. However, Cain had not examined his heart and God did not approve his sacrifice. Both Saul and David conducted sacrifices while they were king, yet Saul lost the kingdom and David was said to be a man after God�s own heart. Both Peter and Judas followed Jesus as one of the 12 disciples. They both were given power to heal and do great things for God. However, after the death of Jesus, they both examined their lives and one killed himself while the other learned to die to himself so as to live for Christ.
There is going to come a day when the real you will be broadcast to the world as it was for Cain, Saul, and Judas. You have the choice to continue to hide your hard heart while pretending to serve God or you can examine yourself now and repent from your wicked ways. God does not like hypocrites and HE will have no problem exposing you for who you really are. If God were to put your real life up on a big screen, would it be something that would cause thousands of people to see and be encouraged, or would you be humiliated because everyone found out just how shallow your faith really is.
An inventor will test the product before he goes and reveals his invention to the world. A cook will test the meal before she serves it to her guests. In a like manner, Paul commands you to prove your faith. Test your own life in private to prove your faithfulness before you go out into the world to do great things for God. You will face many trials and temptations that will reveal to the world the true depth of your faith. Before God reveals your shortcomings, it is probably best that you personally examine your faith and test it so that you know that it will be acceptable unto the Lord.
God is holy and just. Do not think that HE will let you get away with anything since you call yourself HIS child. The longer you attempt to live in your own hypocrisy, the more severe God will have to deal with you. Do not think that you can slide by God. Instead, since you know your shortcomings, it is time that you step forward and take care of it. You must go before God and confess your sins and you must seek to have a heart after God�s own heart. As you purge the poison from your own life, be prepared for God to start using you in ways you never imagined.
Others can tell you where they think you have fallen short of God�s glory, however, it is always best if you would examine your own life and see what the things are in your life that are hindering the development of your faith. You should constantly be growing closer to God and if you are not, then it is up to you to weed out the problem. It is your life and you cannot afford to live it as a hypocrite. Examine your faith.
Titus 1:4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Paul and Titus had something in common, their faith. By faith, they both believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. By faith, they were willing to do God�s will for their life. By faith, they were able to perform miracles so that others might be drawn to the power of God. Paul calls Titus his son because of the relationship that they had. It appears that Paul was the one who led Titus to the Lord. Paul discipled Titus and encouraged him to serve the Lord. It was this common faith that bound Paul and Titus.
Think about it, your faith is the same faith as the apostle Paul had. There is nothing different about your faith in that both Paul and you had to acknowledge that you were a sinner and bound for hell. Both Paul and you have a common faith, a faith that is shared by all who put their trust in HIM. From the apostles of Jesus Christ, to the great Christians that you have studied, they all have something in common with you, the same faith that God is the Creator, and that you have a sinful nature.
It does not matter if you are a missionary, a pastor, a schoolteacher, a doctor, a business owner, or any other profession, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then you share a common faith. When you were born, where you were born, what the financial stability of your family is has no relationship to the fact that if you believe, you share a common faith with other believers.
However, while you have a common faith, it does not mean that you utilize your faith to the maximum potential. Think of it this way, even if you had enough concrete, wire and steel, you probably could not build on your own another Golden Gate Bridge. The materials used to build the bridge are common supplies that anyone can pick up. Nonetheless, because several men knew how to use those materials, they were able to take common materials and turn them into something spectacular.
God has given you the common faith that you can use to do great things for HIM. However, if you do not use the common faith, your life is not very valuable. You can go to almost any junkyard and see concrete, wire and steel. Absolute junk because no one desires to use it anymore. The material is common, but because it is not used it was thrown away and considered of no value.
Men like Paul took the common faith and did great good for the kingdom of God. Judas on the other hand took the common faith and wasted it upon himself; as a result, he allowed his corrupt heart to destroy him. The choice is yours what you are going to do with the common faith that God has given you. You can use the faith to do great things for God, or you can use the faith to ultimately destroy yourself.
God has given you the ability to do great things for HIM. However, in order to do great things for HIM, you must be willing to hear HIS still small voice and be willing to follow HIS will for your life. God desires to take you and use you in a way that the world will see that you are HIS and that God is alive today. Are you willing to take the common faith and to do great things for God? Are you willing to be stretched by God today?
