Grace for your spirit April 14, 2014

Grace for your spirit

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?  He said, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have follow the Baals.  I Kings 17:17-18

Who was the real troubler of Israel?  The evil King Ahab, or the prophet Elijah bringing the people back to God?  The 3 1/2  year drought had brought Israel to their knees, and they were ready to listen.  Who do we see as the "troublers" of the kingdom today?  It is those who stand for the truth or the ones who lead others in rebellion against God?  Like Elijah, many who stand for the truth today are seen as troublers.  May we have the discernment to know which we should follow.

Grace for your spirit April 11, 2014

Grace for your spirit

Moreover, man does not know his time; like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them. Ecclesiastes 9:12

Why will people crawl into the same snare and trap over and over again until they perish? The bait in trap blinds them of the snares involved.  I have been trying to trap a raccoon for weeks.  For a while I have been thinking it was smarter than me.  I caught that raccoon in a live trap this week, and discovered something.  We are equally careless.  He put himself in harms way for a sweet treat.  People do the same thing over and over again.  What trap are we crawling into today?  We won't always be able to get away.  Let's resist before we are trapped too.  Is it our time?

Grace for your spirit April 10, 2014

Grace for your spirit

Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?   I Corinthians 6:18-19

Most people would agree that all sins are equal.  One will hurt and condemn us just as much as another.   The Scripture makes a distinction here however.  When a person commits immoral acts, they sin against their own body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.  We defile something that does not belong to us.  Additionally, as the bride of Christ, when we commit immoral acts, we are also breaking our commitment to Jesus our bridegroom.  We defile His temple, defile our relationship with our spiritual husband, and break our vows with our spouse.  That's a lot to give up for the sins of the flesh.  Answer? Flee, stay away, and make no provision for it.

Grace for your spirit April 9, 2014

Grace for your spirit

And do not give the devil an opportunity.  Ephesians 4:27

There is a kid's song called, "Roll the Gospel Chariot". As we roll along, if a sinner is in the road, we will stop and pick him up.  If the devil is in the road, we will run right over him.  The song speaks clearly to us, that we should never give the devil a ride.  Once we pick him up, he will take us where we don't want to go, cost us more than we wanted to pay, and it is difficult to get him out of our chariot.  The devil may disguise himself as someone who can really help us, but never forget he is always our adversary and enemy.  Let's roll the gospel chariot, and never give him an opportunity.

Grace for your spirit April 8, 2014

Grace for your spirit

The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.  Luke 11:33-34

When we walk in the light of Jesus with a clear eye, our bodies and spirits will be filled with light.  We need to keep that clear eye, and our bodies full so there is no room for darkness.   We should want to keep our light shining all the time.  It will glory to God and light the way for others to the true light.  If we let up for just a little while, our whole light can change.  Light can grow dim, and turn to darkness.  Let's keep our eyes on the true light always and enjoy the illumination.

Grace for your spirit April 7, 2014

Grace for your spirit

And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful to even speak of the things which are done by them in secret.  Ephesians 5:11-12

How do we get from viewing something as horribly sinful deeds of darkness to being part of the shame?  First we tolerate them in our lives, next we accept them as inevitable, and finally we are living in them.  We can no longer expose the errors without exposing ourselves. Let's walk in the light and be careful not to get used to the darkness. 

Grace for your spirit April 3, 2014

Grace for your spirit

And on the following day he entered Caesarea.  Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and he had called together his relatives and close friends.  Acts 10:34

Cornelius had a vision to call for the Apostle Peter to come and teach him.  Peter had a vision to go teach.  This day the gospel of Jesus would be opened to the Gentiles with a great revival.  They had a great preacher, a great message, as always. The only other thing they needed was a great crowd which Cornelius supplied with his personal contact.  We still have great preacher, and a great message, we are simply missing the crowds.  Why?  In a recent survey of 10.000 church members were asked why they were there.

1%- Just visited

3%- Had a special need, 3%just walked in,3% liked programs

5%- Like Bible Classes

6%- Liked the minister

79%-Invited by a friend or relative

Thanks for the Cornelius example.  Let's follow it