PROMISES FOR ALL

God never made a promise that was too good to be true. -D.L. Moody

Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

In each dispensation, God has made promises. Some promises are directly for the Jew and some promises are directly for the church. There is a distinct difference between the church and Israel. Because of this distinct difference, we the church of the living God, will be spared the Great Tribulation. Because of these differences, we will be raptured out of this world prior to that awful time beginning. Because of these differences, we will be coming back with Him at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ.

Friend, there are some promises in the Word of God for you! Have you heard about them? If not, get yourself to a good, Bible believing church that preaches on sin, judgment, forgiveness, and redemption this morning!  

REEL YOUR THOUGHTS IN

The biggest battle we fight each day begins between the ears on our own head!

2 Corinthians 10:4-5, (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Every temptation begins in our mind. We see something, smell something, hear something, taste something and then our will begins to fight with the Spirit. What we do next will either deliver us from sin or it will lead us deeper into it. The more we give place to it, the darker the sin will become.

A man doesn’t wake up one day and kill their neighbor that is loud and obnoxious. Over a progression of time, not dealing with sin, will lead to some dark times in our life! We must reel our thoughts in, saturate them with the Truth of God’s Word, and repent! God will give the victory

Will you win the battle of the flesh today? Or, will you succumb to the temptation to reject God’s authority in your life? The choice is up to you!  

WALK WORTHY

           A daily walk with the Lord produces a lifetime of grace.

Ephesians 4:1-3, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

            Grace is not only for salvation. Grace is needed in our lives daily as we are in this world. We need grace for trials and tribulations. We need grace for victories won. We need to display grace when our flesh is determined to fight tooth and nail against it.

            As we walk worthy of the calling God has given us, we will display His grace in each day we live. Then, at the end of our life, we will hear God say, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”

            Will you be the display of grace today that God desires? Or will you be so filled with the flesh that no one will see Jesus in you? Walk worthy!

WHO CARES WHAT THE WORLD THINKS?

           It is better to incur the world's hatred by testifying against its wickedness than gain its goodwill by going down the stream with it. -Henry

Matthew 5:10, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

            When you take a stand for the Lord; you will always have critics. They will come out from every rock you can imagine. The thing about it is, when you take your stand, they normally crawl right back under that rock. They do this because they can’t stand the Light of the Truth of the Gospel.

            Child of God, continue standing for the Lord. Let His Light shine! Who really cares what this old world thinks about us? As long as the Lord is pleased, nothing else should matter!

WHATCHA READING

Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and lend a hand.-Hale

1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Attempting to turn over a new leaf today? Start off by picking up a Bible and start reading. It will give you schooling in how to be delivered from sin. It will give you strength for daily living. It will give you salvation for your eternal destination!

100% SATISFIED

I suppose they say of me, 'He is a radical; he is a fanatic; he only has one idea.' Well, it is a glorious idea. - D.L. Moody

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25

            The Gospel is the answer to this lost, dying, and hurting world. It is the answer everyone seems to be over-looking. I mean they even put it on license tags, “When all else fails, pray, Read the Bible, Try Jesus.” When all else fails???? Forget that!!!! How about before all else fails!!! Before you try drugs, before you try sexual promiscuity, before you try alcohol, before you try empty relationships, before you try tatting your whole body, before you try the next fad to attempt to be satisfied—trust Christ as Saviour and you will not need to try anything else! He satisfies! He saves! He is the answer you are looking for! So, GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH, looking for the answer that 100% satisfaction!

REDEEMED HOW I LOVE TO PROCLAIM IT

Christ’s death paid my sin debt on the Cross. —Gary Spaeth

Romans 3:24, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

            Every once and a while, prior to this pandemic, we would go out to eat lunch together at work. We would walk in, survey the menu, and place an order. We would grub on whatever we ordered and when it was time to pay the bill, it would be paid for. Our boss pays every now and then to show an appreciation for the work we do. It sure is a good feeling to know you are appreciated and I don’t mind telling you how good the boss is.    

            Once, God sent His Son to redeem man’s sin sick soul. It wasn’t something He had to do but because He loved us He sent His Son to die once for all sin! He did it once and in His own Words He said, “It is Finished”. I don’t find it hard to share what He did for me that day. If you are thankful that He redeemed you, you won’t have a problem proclaiming it as well! Do you love to tell the old story of Jesus and His Love?  

PEACE, WONDERFUL PEACE

            A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done.  God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do-is to enter into it. - D.L. Moody

Matthew 11:28-30, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

            Do you remember the day you trusted Jesus as Saviour and entered His peace? Do you remember the joy you had that day? The joy filled your heart because with child-like faith you took a step toward Jesus and He lifted you up out of the muck and mire of sin and shame. Do you still have that joy? If not, what happened? Why did you stop walking in His peace?

            This morning, whatever is going on in your life, cast all your care upon Jesus! He cares for you! Jesus wants you to walk in peace, wonderful peace and that is only found in trusting Him day by day, moment by moment. Do you trust Him? Do you have peace?

TRUST HIM

            You may trust the Lord too little, but you can never trust Him too much. -Anonymous

Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

            Let me remind you it is better to have a plan in place before something happens so you can take action instead of making a total mess in a reaction. Yes, you can be prepared in EVERY situation, even in something you thought would never happen to you. How? You, trust in the Lord! Trust Him on the mountain tops and down in the valleys. Trust Him when you have a bonus in your check or when you don’t have a check at all. Trust Him when death knocks at your door and when new life is given. Trust Him in all thine ways!

LOVE YOUR SPOUSE

If you play with fire, sooner or later you’re going to get burnt! 

Proverbs 4:23, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Adultery doesn’t just happen one day when you’re bored. It begins in the mind. It begins by fantasying about how a different life would be. It begins by being flirtatious at work, at the supermarket, or sadly enough, at church. It begins by striking up a conversation with another man or woman that’s not your spouse about your marriage. It begins by allowing Satan to work in your life when he has no place in it! 

Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Love her when she isn’t what you see on tv or in some magazine. Wives, love your husbands likewise. Love him when he isn’t the man in a Hallmark movie or a Harlequin novel. 

Love your spouse unconditionally! Love them enough to forgive. Love them enough to forget. Love them enough to show the love of Jesus to others! 

BRING IT TO THE CROSS

Psalm 55:22, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 

I have to be in at 5am today but the Lord woke me up at 3 with some burdens on my heart; I am burdened for some families this morning that are on the brink of divorce. I am burdened for some young adults this morning that use to be active in a church but now, will not darken the door of it. I am burdened for some men this morning that have been made shipwreck because of sin, self, and Satan. I am burdened for some women today that have been fooled by Satan’s tactics. 

While it is in my nature to want to help and even fix these problems, the fact of the matter is, I can’t. What I can do is bring them to the cross, nail their names to it, and leave them there for the Lord to handle. I can bathe them in prayer! Would you join me this morning? 

ARE YOU CONTENT?

Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.

Hebrews 13:5-Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Isn’t it amazing, grown adults are still fighting over who has the biggest and best stuff! It would seem that by the time one graduates college, falls in love, and gets married that they would be over their petty little games. But no-- their toys are just more expensive now. Instead of a new-to-you truck, you got to have a brand new one. You ain’t settled with the cottage below, you have to have that mansion on the hilltop -- NOW!

Being content is a life lesson that I am sure all of us can improve on. Our culture in America promotes a discontentment from the time we are born until the time we die. Kids in the checkout line at Walmart-- “Have to have a piece of gum”. Women see a sale on shoes—“Have to have a new pair”. Men are not satisfied with the woman God gave them—“Have to have someone new”. So how do we overcome the temptations that this world offers? The same way Jesus did- with the Word! Three times Jesus said to the devil, “It is written...” I believe that’s the only way we will overcome temptations as well! 

LIVE FOR JESUS

It is the pagan heart that needs the redeeming message of Christ whether the person who has the heart lives in Shanghai or New York. –Decker

Mark 16:15, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Praise the Lord for opportunities to serve Him! To preach, to teach, to be an example, to share what Christ has done for us! What a privilege it is to be able to share the good news of the Gospel with others! But what a responsibility at the same time! Will there be someone that stands before the Lord, that you knew, at judgment day that says…..” But no one ever told me.”? Be the example you need to be so that someone sees Christ in you and open your lips to share that hope before it’s too late!

SLIP SLIDING AWAY

Jeremiah 15:6, Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

When I was 4 or 5, I went swimming across the road from where we lived. As I went to get out of the pond, I slipped back in but I didn’t stop where I was at, I kept going and going until it was over my head and I couldn’t touch the bottom. I thought I was going to die!!! Thankfully, my brother, was on the bank and he rescued me. 

Sometimes we get tired and decide to skip church thinking it won’t hurt anything. But before you know it, you’ve slid completely out, slipping back into some of the same sins God set you free from!

Child of God, guard your heart! Keep from slipping and sliding back into those old sinful ways! Some of the ways you can do this is by being active in church, praying, reading and studying the Word, sharing the Good News of the Gospel. But if you find yourself in over your head, drowning in sin, cry out to the Lord and He will rescue you! 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

RESTING IN JESUS

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Hebrews 4:9

I remember hearing a secular song, “Working for the Weekend”. Sometimes that is exactly the rut we found ourselves in; working only until the next party on Friday or Saturday night. Bursting our backs Monday through Friday just to make enough money to pay the bills and a six pack was and for some still is the way of life.

I'm glad that on July 12, 1992 there was given a rest to my life! Instead of focusing on the weekends I began to see the wastefulness of it all. Instead of glorying in the creation more than the creator I started to glorify God. Instead of centering life on self I became more concerned about the Saviour. When that transformation took place…….then and only then did I find rest for my weary soul.

Are you tired? Do you find yourself in the rat race of life? Read it again, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” There is a rest that passes all understanding. You can work your backside off for the Lord and be dead tired but, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” All around you might be falling apart but, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Your Son or Daughter might be going the way of the world but, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” You may have “lost” your Mom or Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, Son or Daughter or the most important person in your life but, ”There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Do you have that rest only found in Jesus?

CALL UNTO GOD

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.  My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for that day. --Abraham Lincoln 

Psalm 95:6, O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Isn't it refreshing to know that even great men, even presidents, are weak at times? I mean all we see is them at their best never seeing a tear, never seeing a sign of desperation. I think back to the video of former President George Bush when they told him of 9/11. I wonder what was going on in his mind when the man leaned over and whispered in his ear, "There has been a second plane...." I wonder if when he laid his head down that night if tears soaked his pillow. 

It may not be an event such as 9/11 that brings us to our knees. It may be a visit to the doctor, a telephone call in the middle of the night from a child, or a pink slip at the end of a work day. When those times come, who will you call out to? Who will be there for you to shed a tear with? Old Abe has it right! Psalm 56:3, What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

WRONG TURN?

Insomuch as any one pushes you nearer to God, he or she is your friend. –Anonymous

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Have you taken a wrong turn headed down a sinful road? Are you out of church? Have you quit reading your Bible? Has life closed your mouth that once sang praises unto the Lord? 

Are you wondering how you can recalculate and get on the right road to victory? Are you like the prodigal son, have you came to yourself and making your way back to the Heavenly Father? 

Making your way back may seem hard, but the Lord is right there with you and His people will be there for you. 

As a friend let me tell you the truth, Satan and this old world wants to bring you down and defeat you, don’t let Him! Start off by GETTING UP, GETTING READY and GOING TO CHURCH this morning!  Find Christian friends that will hold you accountable and push you closer to the Lord! Find the ones that are willing tell you the truth in love and compassion!

SECOND CHANCES

True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love. -- Taylor   

Ephesians 4:32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

The Lord is full of second chances in this life. We have so many examples from the Word of God it's hard to pick out one. One of the best has to be Jonah. In Jonah 1, the Lord came to Jonah giving him something to do. Jonah didn't want to do it so he ran. He end up on a ship headed the opposite way. Conviction and human judgment had been passed and Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale. In Chapter 2, Jonah has a prayer unto the Lord. He remembered the Lord's grace and mercy. He recognized his own sin of disobedience and repented. Then the Lord delivered Jonah. 

Chapter 3 starts off with, "And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying...,". There you go, the second chance of the Lord! He is so faithful to us even when we fail Him day in and day out. His compassions fail not, yet where is ours? Do you remember why Jonah didn't want to follow the Lord? He didn't want the Ninevites to hear the Word of God because he knew they would repent. Wow! But God didn't give up on Jonah and the Bible says that the whole town of Nineveh repented.

Jonah and the people of Nineveh had some repenting to do. We too have sin to repent of. In repenting, the Lord gives us a second chance at doing what He wants us to do. It may be to be saved. It may be to be the Godly Mother or Father He wants. It may be full time Christian service. It may be to tell someone you really don't like about the Lord Jesus. You know what the Lord has given for you to do, repent and do it! 

Be reminded though, "There is no repentance in the grave." -Watts

OPPORTUNITIES KNOCK

While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity. –Syrus

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

We have opportunities every single day to make a difference in someone else’s life. A cup of cold water, a simple “Hello, how are you?” or a “If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity?” can go a long way in someone’s life!

Consider with me a few other scriptures:

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matthew 25:35-36

SET FREE FROM TEMPTATIONS

No degree of temptation justifies any degree of sin. –Willis

1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

No matter what we face today we are provided with The Way that we do not have to sin. It’s not a sin to be tempted. James 1:14-15, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” It is when we fail to draw nigh to God, giving into our freshly desires that we chose sin. 

One day we will be totally delivered from sin, the temptations we face, and this old sinful flesh! What a day that will be! 

Do you have something you are being tempted with every day? Pray for strength, draw nigh to God, and make the choice not to give into that temptation and watch how the Lord works in and through your life!