Purpose of Hard Times

Romans 5:3-5, And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the law of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  NASB

Why does God allow bad things to happen to His children? Paul gives us one of the reasons that God allows suffering in our lives, and how we are to respond to that tribulation.  We're told to exult in our tribulation! 

The reason we can exult is because there is something we can know for sure in the midst of that tribulation. Tribulations bring about perseverance in our lives. As we learn perseverance, then we will have a character that is proven. It's through that proven character that we can have a hope in that doesn't disappoint.

Why does this hope not disappoint us? The reason it doesn't disappoint is because it's grounded in something solid and unmovable, the Law of God which is poured out within the heart of His children through the Holy Spirit. As we endure difficult times as a child of God, we have something an unbeliever doesn't have, and that is the Spirit of God working within us. 

We can exult in our tribulations, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that allows us to see God’s ultimate goal and purpose for us in tribulations. He does not disappoint, but do you believe that?

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Christ in Us

Acts 9:4-5, And he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are Thou, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” NASB

Saul is on his way to Damascus with a letter in his hand giving him permission to bind those following Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem. Suddenly he is blinded by a light and is confronted with his thoughts, words, and actions that he is taking against Jesus’ people. 

It's clear that attacking Jesus’ followers is a frontal attack on Jesus Himself. Until Jesus confronted Saul that day, Saul was not fully aware that his attack on the followers of Jesus was a direct attack on Jesus. What can we learn from this confrontation regarding our own lives?

If we are receiving mocking, ridicule, and persecution due to our belief in Jesus Christ remember that even though the person may not be aware of it, it is Christ in us that they hate. When we live according to the direction of the Holy Spirit instead of the flesh, the unbeliever can see that and they hate it, because it reminds them of how short they fall of the mark.

We need to be sure that we walk in faithfulness to the Lord, because the Lord sees what is happening, and He can be trusted to take care of the situation in our lives. We need to stay faithful to the Lord so that our lives will continue to point back to Jesus. May we remember that Satan will use unbelievers to persecute Jesus in us if they are willing!

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Loving the Lord Daily

Mark 12:30, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. (NASB)

The first commandment that Jesus emphasizes as the greatest command is in regard to our relationship with the Lord. Jesus describes the scope of how we are to love the Lord. This commandment clearly covers the first four of the Ten Commandments given to the people from the Lord to Moses. 

Certainly we show love for the Lord when we honor His name, worship only Him, have no other God before Him, and keep His Sabbath holy. However, Jesus wants us to understand that love for the Lord is more than what we do outwardly, but comes first from within us. However, our actions display what is going on in our hearts.

Therefore, we display our love and commitment toward the Lord when we obey Him in the things that He instructs us to do or not to do. The world will tell us that we don’t need to be in church to be a Christian, and yet God’s Word makes it clear that He expects us to worship Him and serve Him in the context of the Body of Christ, the church. 

We as Christians have sometimes developed the attitude that we need to make sure that we do all we can to be sure that our needs are met, and yet Jesus showed us by example that we are to give up our rights for what is best for others. We will some times become so self-absorbed that we will not even see the needs of those around us. 

If we ignore the reading of God’s Word and don't spend time praying, how then can we claim love toward the Lord? We cannot pretend we love Him if we are not spending quality time with Him daily. 

Would we believe a person loves us if they never talked or listened to us? Let us evaluate our love for Jesus and strive to truly love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength each day!

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Evidence of His Work in Us

Matthew 3:7-8, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.” NASB

John the Baptist did not mix his words or his message as he confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees that came to him for baptism. John took seriously his call to baptize people. If there was no fruit of repentance, John was not going to baptize that person. 

John boldly called the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers, because they were a group of snakes seeking a life insurance policy. John realized that they were coming to be baptized, because they had heard about the wrath that was coming but the fruit of repentance was not present in their life.  John looked for the confession of sins before baptizing people.

What things display fruit of repentance in our lives? True confession involves making right with the Lord all the ways we have sinned against Him in thoughts, words, and action. It also involves doing everything you can to make right with the people we have sinned against also.

How much are we willing to work out the hurt and pain we have caused another by our words, actions, and thoughts? Does our life display fruits of repentance to all around us? With Christ in us, we can do all that He asks us to do to display our repentance to Him and others.

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Peace and Rest

Proverbs 4:8, In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety. NASB

The wise saying from this Proverb is that when one has peace from the Lord, it enables them to lie down and to sleep. This peace comes from knowing that in the Lord there is safety. When a person is upset about things, their mind is racing, and because of that sleep may seem impossible for him. 

It is through the Lord that we can obtain a peace that allows us to go to bed at night when things are going array in our lives and to rest in His safety and peace. It is with sleep that God will bring the needed strength our body, mind, and spirit need to get up and face the worries and cares that come the next day.

Many times we are unable to sleep because within our flesh we are trying to come up with solutions to our difficulties or our mind doesn’t seem to be able to shut down the burdens. The Lord made our body to need sleep, and He alone dwells with us wherever we are. 

Our safety is found in Him and when we can completely comprehend that, then He can give us His peace, which surpasses understanding and allow us to sleep. It is amazing how the mind, soul, and body can be renewed by a good sleep that can renew our perspective on life. 

May we surrender our cares, worries, and day to the Lord when we climb in bed at night and rest in the truth that He is dwelling with us, and He can give us peace.

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Love Them Like Jesus

1 Corinthians 13:4, Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant. NASB

With the first glance of these first five characteristics of love, it does not take long to realize how terribly short we fall of having this type of love for anyone. All desire to love another and to be loved, and it's this love that moved God to sacrifice His only Son for the salvation of us all. God is love, and when He expresses love to us, all of these characteristics are true about Him. And yet, the Lord desires that we love Him and others in the same way. How is this ever possible for us to do?

With Christ dwelling in us, we can love with patience towards those who irritate us because He enables us to look beyond today. We can love with kindness with the help of Christ, because Jesus dealt with kindness to us as we sought Him with an honest and sincere heart. Jealousy doesn't have to consume our love, because Jesus loves wholly and completely and nothing can take His love from us. 

There is nothing to brag about but the love of Christ, and so when we tell others He loves them as much as He loves us we are not bragging about something that only we possess. Finally, there is no room for arrogance in our love when we know that without Christ we are unable to accomplish anything. To love with patience, kindness, without envy, bragging and arrogance, we need Christ. To love like this take complete dependence on Christ and that is what we need to strive for each day.

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The Place of Safety

Psalm 91:4, He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. NASB

The Lord does not have literal wings and pinions, but the picture of protection that is painted here tells us much about our Heavenly Father. Not only are we told that He will protect us, but we are told that we should seek our protection from Him. We are also promised that His faithfulness will be the thing that will shield us and will provide the strength of our protection and support. We can depend upon Him completely no matter what our circumstances might be.

What does this mean in our every day living? No matter what is going on in our lives, we all may find ourselves in circumstances beyond our control and may cause us to fear what tomorrow may bring. 

It can be scary to get older and have your body no longer functions the way it did years earlier. It can be frightening to be lost in a city that you are unfamiliar with and wondering how you are going to get home. It can scare the best of drivers when they come upon a storm that takes away all clear vision of things up ahead and in front of them. 

How overwhelming the fear can be when your marriage is crumbling or someone you love dearly is dying with no hope of recovery. These are just a touch of the times this promise applies to our lives. Whatever takes away your security, it is then God wants us to realize it is Him we are to seek and He will faithfully watch over us. God desires that we come to Him so He can protect us in our trouble. May we rest under His wings each day!

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The Best of the Best

John 2:10, And said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now.” NASB

The headwaiter has just tasted the wine that Jesus had miraculously made from water. He didn't know that the wine had run out and what Jesus had done. The servants who had filled the thirty gallon barrels up with water and brought it to the headwaiter knew exactly what had happened. The statement of the headwaiter is that this was good wine and that usually the best wine is served first. The best had already been served and drank, but Jesus’ wine was better than the best!

What a marvelous Savior we have to place our trust and lives into! With His first miracle Jesus reveals important information to those around Him and us. We see that He has the power to make something from an item that does not produce what He made. 

No matter how long water is allowed to sit in thirty gallon barrels, it never would have become wine. Furthermore, what man considers the best, Jesus can make better than that. Jesus’ best is better than ours, and so certainly He can be trusted. 

For what reason do we demand our ways when Jesus can provide things better than we could ever think or imagine? Do we miss out on Jesus’ best by jumping too soon? Let us get out of the way, and let Jesus do His work. It is for our best interest and care.

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What Are We Sowing?

Galatians 6:7-8, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. (NASB)

Paul tells the believers at Galatia to honestly evaluate what they are sowing. Believers can know the kinds of seeds they have been sowing by the harvest that is being reaped in their lives. They can choose to deceive themselves into believing that it does not matter what they sow, and yet in many places in the scripture such as this verse, teach us contrary. 

God will not be mocked by what we sow. There is a guarantee in this verse that whatever a man chooses to sow in his life, he will bring in that particular kind of harvest also. Paul makes it clear that the one who chooses to sow to his own flesh will reap the corruption that comes from fleshly living. However, the other guarantee is that if a person chooses to sow to the Spirit, then the Spirit will cause the reaping of eternal life from what has been sown.

How do we sow according to the Spirit instead of our flesh? The first things we need to observe is Jesus’ dealing with others. Jesus’ first priority was to please His Father. Jesus was willing to feel the absolute agony of having His Father forsake Him, so that as a child of God we would never know the agony of the Father’s abandonment. 

Jesus displayed to us how to respond to people caught in sins, to people boasting of their righteousness while carrying out acts of deception, and to people who were looking for emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. Jesus considered where each person was at in their life and did what He could to challenge the person to a new and better life found in a relationship with His Father.

Seeds sown according to the Spirit produce a harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in relationships. What kind of harvest are we producing in our relationships?

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Number One Priority

Luke 10:40, But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” NASB

The details and words spoken here tell us many things. We know Jesus is in the home of Martha, and she is busy getting a meal ready. Her sister is not helping her, and because Martha is so distracted with the preparations, she comes accusingly to Jesus. 

Her question is in regard to how much Jesus cares about her and what she is doing for Him. She then presumes a response by Him and makes a demand upon Him to tell her sister to help her. What can we learn from Martha here?

Martha is doing a good thing by preparing a meal for Jesus, but she is doing it with the wrong attitude. In her preparations she is distracted by Mary’s lack of help and position near Jesus. Martha wants to know whether Jesus realizes that Mary is not helping her, and if He cares about the fact that she isn’t helping. 

Martha is pointing out that she is serving alone and then demands help from Jesus and Mary. Jesus graciously responds to her and says He will not take away from Mary what she has. He lets Martha know that she needs to realize what is necessary and to not be worried and bothered by many things that are not necessary. 

Do we realize how necessary it is to be with Jesus each day?  There is nothing that matters more than that.  Everything else will fall into place if we spent time with our Savior.

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See and Do

Luke 7:13, And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” (NASB)

The widow’s only son had died and was being carried out of the city of Nain. There's a huge crowd from the city with her as Jesus approached the gate of the city where she was. We are told that when Jesus noticed her.  He felt compassion for her and spoke to her. 

We learn that no matter where Jesus was going or what He was doing, He was able to observe the hurt and pain of another. After Jesus observed her condition, we are told that He felt compassion toward this woman because of what she was experiencing in her life. He then took His compassion to the next level, and spoke to her. He directed His words toward her tears.

What can we learn from Jesus’ example here? The first thing we need to realize is that Jesus wants us to be aware of the people He allows to come into our lives. He wants us to be able to observe where they are at and what they might need. Jesus wants us to determine if someone needs compassion. 

The next thing we need to realize is that when Jesus saw where she was at, He instantly felt for her what was needed in her life, compassion. How quick are we to respond with compassion to those hurting around us? 

Thirdly, we see that Jesus did not ignore her and her need. He did not avoid her, but He took the time to speak to her. Jesus wants us to do the same for those hurting around us. How willing are we to do be like Jesus to the hurting or is our own agenda too important?

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We Have What We Need to Survive

Luke 6:49, But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. (NASB)

The description of the man given is someone who is being taught something and yet he does not respond with action to what he has been taught. The teaching comes with a warning of an impeding danger that is up ahead for this person. He/she is described as meeting that crisis and because of their lack of proper preparation met it with disaster. His disaster is sure because of what he did not do. This storm is so severe that without a foundation, no one would be able to withstand it.

What is the foundation and storm referring to? The foundation is Jesus and the storms are the crisis and problems that life bring upon everyone. This man was told about Jesus and yet he didn't acted upon what he heard. 

Without Jesus, we all face the storms of life without anything firm. When the trials come, and they always do, they have the capability of completely destroying a person. With Jesus, we can have everything we believe challenged and though the torrent burst against us, we will not immediately collapse.  

We have what it takes to recover the blow. Jesus is the foundation each one of us needs to face the temptations, trials and tragedies of this life. Hear what Jesus says and act accordingly!

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Freedom's Direction

Galatians 5:13, For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (NASB)

Paul is concerned about the Christians at the church in Galatia because after being with them and teaching the gospel of salvation to them, some false teachers have come into their church and have been teaching a gospel contrary to the truth. Paul’s concern is that they are turning from the truth to the false gospel and are placing themselves into the bondage of the law again.

Paul reminds the Galatians that they were called to freedom and that they need to beware that they are not to turn their freedom into an opportunity to serve the flesh. Paul will later give them the complete description of walking according to the flesh and Spirit and what deeds are evident with each choice of living. Paul reminds the Galatians that they have been called to serve one another through love.

How do we abuse our freedom today? What kind of things are we doing that turn our freedom into opportunities for the flesh and are not serving one another through love? We can become so involved in activities that we don’t take the time needed to read God’s Word, spend time in prayer, or assemble with other believers. 

We may turn our freedom into opportunities for the flesh when we entertain ourselves with music, books, or movies that we would never think of participating in with Jesus sitting beside us. Sadly, our freedom is giving ways to the opportunities for the flesh when we neglect what is needed to maintain healthy marriages, healthy relationships with our children, or healthy relationships with those outside our homes. 

When the world looks at our lives, are we participating in the same addictions and sins they are doing? The best way to show freedom is to rely upon the Spirit, so that what we speak and displays Christ’s power to the unsaved. What does our freedom point to?

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Jesus Came for All....

Mark 7:28, But she answered and said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.’ NASB

The Gentile woman came to Jesus seeking the healing of her daughter from the demons that were within her. We were told that she was persistent in asking Jesus for His help for her daughter. Jesus tells her that He must make sure that the children are feed before He gives any food to the dogs. 

Who are the dogs and the children that Jesus is referring to? Obviously the woman understood clearly what Jesus was saying when she responded to Him about the dogs eating the crumbs under the table of the children. She knew that the Gentiles were the dogs and the children were the Jews and yet, she knew that the dogs were entitled to at least the crumbs that the children were dropping and not eating.

Jesus responds by telling her to go her way because the demon has been removed from her daughter. There is no hesitation in this woman’s departure. She returns home to find that Jesus did as He said. 

This woman is an example of a tremendous amount of faith in the person and power of Jesus. She knew where to turn for help, she was persistent in seeking Him, and she believed in what Jesus told her. She had the obstacle of her nationality, but she did not allow that to stop her. She knew that she was not a Jew, but she was still entitled to what Jesus offered to the Jews. Do we know what we are entitled to as a Christian?

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See the Needs Around You and Do...

Matthew 25:45, Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ NASB

Jesus reiterates what is taught throughout the entire Bible. Everything that we do, whether good or evil, is done for or against the Lord. Jesus clearly states that the lack of doing something for another is the lack of doing it for Him. Jesus reveals to us that if we don't feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, invite in strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick or ones in prison, then we have neglected to do all those things for Him. 

What is Jesus really asking for in these deeds? It cannot be only a concern about the lacking of good works, because our works do not make us righteous. Good works pour forth from a heart that has the character traits of the Spirit, and Jesus points out the deeds only to emphasize the true condition of the heart. 

However, Jesus is talking about more than physical needs here. With Jesus as our Savior, we would never allow another to be spiritually hungry, thirsty, alone, naked, sick or imprisoned in sin. Jesus wants us to meet the physical needs of others, but He also desires we give them what they need spiritually. 

If we claim to know God, are we sharing that salvation message with others around us? Denial of His message to others is a denial of Him completely.

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How Are We Paying Back Others?

Romans 12:17, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. (NASB)

Paul makes an imperative statement regarding our responses toward a person who has done evil toward us. The command is to “never” pay back evil with evil.  We are to regard what is right in the sight of all men in our responses toward all. 

The context in which this verse was written to the Romans is in regard to the fact that they are to be a living and holy sacrifice to the Lord. Paul instructs them to not be conformed to the world but to be transformed in such a way that their mind has been renewed. 

There is an understanding that as believers we are all part of the body of Christ with each of us having our own function in regard to that body. We are to live in such a way that our love is without hypocrisy, and we are to hate evil. We are never to seek our own revenge toward another or be overcome with evil.

How is the truth of this scripture lived out in our lives and among our church body? So often we think of evil so lightly that we justify ignoring someone in our church body because we don’t agree with what they said in a business meeting or the things they allow their children to do or not do. Are we not doing evil to another person when ignoring them at all because we are not happy about some choice they made that is different than our own? 

How are we doing right in the sight of all men when people in our community hear us speaking disrespectfully about someone in our church or community? Are we not paying back evil to another when we are not willing to work out our differences with the person we have had some kind of misunderstanding with? 

We are not called to only respect what the Lord regards right, but what is considered right in the sight of all men. Are we obeying the Lord with all our relationships in our life?

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Forgiveness is Always Available

Matthew 26:24, The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. NASB

Jesus understood what was about to happen to Him, due to the actions of someone He considered a friend. He knew that a man who had walked with Him, talked with Him, and saw His miracles was going to betray Him to the men who would then kill Him. 

Jesus also understood the effect that this betrayal was going to have on Judas, and His words express grace towards Judas. Jesus understood the cruelty of Judas’ heart to betray a friend, and that it would be better to have never been born than to do this to the Son of Man. Jesus expresses what many feel when they do something they regret deeply which is a wish to have never been born at all.

With his betrayal of Jesus, Judas would take his own life. The guilt and reality of what Judas did to Jesus overwhelmed Judas so much that he no longer desired to live. Jesus understood the deep grief and sorrow that was going to overtake Judas just before he would hang himself.

Jesus understands the hearts of each one of us too. He understands the effects our actions have on others as well as us. However, if we really understand Jesus, unlike Judas, we should know there is forgiveness to be found in what we do despite how cruel and awful it may be. Come to the forgiving arms of Jesus, no matter what you have done. He will always forgive!

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He is Coming!

2 Peter 3:3-4, Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” NASB

We don't need to look far to see those mocking the fact that Jesus has promised to return some day for His people and has not come yet. We see that many people are following after their own lusts. 

Since creation man has done this and will continue into the last days. Every day and every year the days of Christ’s return for His bride, the church, draws nearer. However, how do we stand firm in these days against the lust and mockers when so often their words and actions can touch our lives too?

The first thing we need to do is have confidence. Peter says that we should “know” that in the last days these mockers and those following their own lusts are around us. We shouldn't be surprised when we see it, because our forefathers and the prophets all saw this also. 

It's clear that confidence should not be placed in people, but must put it in the Lord, because He's a God of promise. It's difficult to wait for something that we have been promised, especially when we know that it's going to be the best thing we've ever received. 

Those that mock and those that follow after their own lust are not filled with joy or peace and that is why they mock those that have those character traits. Do not lose heart, the mockers are wrong. God will keep His promise!

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Only a Taste, but not the Real Thing

2 Peter 2:21, For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. NASB

What harsh words Peter seems to speak here! Who are these people that Peter is saying were better off without ever knowing the way of righteousness? These are people within the church of Christ that have arisen among these people. 

2 Peter 2 gives the character traits of these people, and identifies them as false prophets. These people “seemed” to have escaped the defilements of the world by what they knew about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but instead became so entangled in them that they were in worse condition than before they even came to the church.

Nevertheless, the final description given regarding these people is that they are like dogs returning to their vomit and like pigs wallowing in the mire after they have received a bath. These people never left the defilements of the world, but only made an outward profession and change for a while. However, as time slipped by they returned to what was really present within their hearts. 

These people are not only present in the church during Peter’s day, but they are present in our churches too! It is the presence of these false prophets that the Holy Spirit is either quenched or not even present in many churches in America. How sad for these people to have tasted God’s grace but to die without ever really knowing Him personally. May we pray for true salvation for all!

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Holding on Until the End

James 1:12, Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. NASB

James reminds us that the man who perseveres under trial is blessed and will receive the crown of life. The crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord. It's a promise of something with everlasting value, and is much more valuable than anything this life can ever offer. 

We have the assurance of receiving this crown if we love Him, because Jesus would never make a promise that He never intended on keeping. We are also told that perseverance under trial is what enables each person to really understand what it means to be blessed. The Lord desires the believer to persevere under trial and to know this blessing.

What does it mean to persevere under trial? A trial can be anything that may cause us to take our eyes off of the Lord and tests our desires and abilities to trust the Lord with the unknown. The one who perseveres is the one who is continually pushed beyond their abilities and yet continues to look to the Lord to continue on. 

No matter how hard they are pushed and no matter where they are pushed, they will not surrender. The one who perseveres understands that even though they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, they know it is there. May we each keep our focus on the Lord knowing He is there and something awesome is waiting for us in the end!

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Jesus' View on Hypocrisy

Luke 6:42, Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. NASB

‘The church is filled with hypocrites!’ people declare every day for their reasons for not attending church anymore or ever. However, how does Jesus’ define a hypocrite? Jesus did call some people hypocrites, but we need to observe the type of people Jesus referred to, so we can have a clear indication of the abuse of this term in our society today. 

In this verse Jesus refers to a hypocrite as one who takes a speck out of a brother’s eye before removing the log out of his own. It's not that Jesus does not want the speck removed, but He wants the log out of the person’s eye before attempting to remove another’s speck.

What is this log and speck that Jesus is referring to? The log and speck that Jesus is referring to is the sin two people are struggling with but how one brother is trying to tell another to stop sinning, but is unwilling to discontinue it himself. If the log is not even present, then Jesus wants you to remove the speck. If the log is there, take it out, and then come to your brother and help him remove his speck. 

Jesus wants us to help each other obey Him in our words, actions, and thoughts.  However, He wants us to understand that condemning others for the same things we practice is hypocrisy. What are we doing and saying about others that we might be practicing ourselves?  May we put it aside in order to truly love and help each other.

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Promise From the Lord

2 Corinthians 13:11, Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (NASB)

In the conclusion to his letter to the Corinthian church there were some instructions that Paul desired the people to be reminded of that came with a promise of God being with them. The first thing he wanted them to remember was to rejoice. 

As we look at all the good things in our lives, don’t we all have a reason to rejoice? We are to remember that in Christ we can be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, and finally live in peace. Paul lets us know that in Christ this can be accomplished, and that the God of love and peace shall be with us.

Throughout the entire second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul instructs them how they can rejoice among difficult times, how they can be made complete in Christ, and how Christ is the One who comforts all who are afflicted. From these things happening in their lives with Christ, Paul tells them they can be like-minded with other brothers and sisters and can live in peace.

When these things are happening in the Body of Christ, then God is right there among them all. When it seems as if God is absent, then we need to look at the characteristics permeating from our church? His Spirit is quenched by an absence of these things among His people. What is our church and life showing the lost world around us?

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God's Response to Pride

Isaiah 2:12, For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. (NASB)

The Lord declares through the prophet Isaiah that judgment will come to the proud and those thinking too highly of themselves. They will be brought down to the proper level of thinking. God shows us through His words and His actions that He is against the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

It's the proud that cannot see God for who He is and what He does, because they are full of what they believe they know. The proud make sure that they are in the places of dominance and the places where they will be recognized. The proud lift themselves to places where they make themselves unavailable to people, but also to the Lord.

Throughout the Scriptures we are reminded that pride is not what God desires for His children. God desires that we see the greatness and glory of Him and that we keep in proper perspective our positions in life. 

As we learn to look beyond ourselves, we are able to see the needs of others and receive direction from the Lord as to His desires for us to help others. As we see ourselves as God sees us, we cannot help but be filled with tremendous gratitude for all the Lord has done for us.

Rewards are promised to the humble as much as being abased is promised to the proud. What is our perspective on ourselves today?

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Pay With Kindness

Proverbs 25:21-22, If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will be heaping burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (NASB)

Go kill your enemy, but do it the way the Lord instructs you to do it, with kindness. The Lord reiterates many times that His desire for His children is not to pay back evil with evil, but to be kind even to those treating you in an evil way. 

The instructions are to give food or drink to our enemy if they have a need for it. In these actions we are told that we are heaping burning coals on their head. Better than that is the Lord promises a reward to those who obey Him in this.

For what reason would God desire us to return evil with kindness? The most important reason is that on our own strength, we cannot do this. Therefore, it will take the power of God in us to do this, and therefore, Christ is magnified and glorified through us. 

We display the power of Christ to the unbelievers, and God desires to reward us when we go beyond what we feel and respond in a Christ-like way. Anyone can feed or give a drink to a friend, but it takes the power of God to enable us to do the same thing to our enemies. 

What act of kindness is God calling us to do today toward one who has been nothing but cruel to us? We must ask Jesus to enable us to do what we can’t do on our own.  We will be rewarded for our obedience!  

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The Results of Festering

Genesis 37:20, Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.” Then let us see what will become of his dreams. (NASB)

Filled with a jealous rage, Joseph’s brothers see him from a distance and they begin to plot on how to take his life. They work up their plan to even what reason they will give to their father for their brother’s disappearance. Joseph’s brothers are furious that their father has shown such favoritism toward Joseph that he had made Joseph a coat of many colors. 

When Joseph relates to them the dream he has regarding the future and them bowing down to them they become angrier with him. At just the sight of him coming with his coat of many colors they plot their evil scheme against his life.

We learn from this episode with Joseph’s brothers how far sin can take us when we allow wrong attitudes toward others to build in our thoughts and hearts. The Lord desires us to face our sinful thoughts and to confess them before Him. If we allow sin to fester, it will lead to destruction. 

Sin begins with sinful thinking, and the wrong view on people and things, and when allowed to grow the heart entices us to act until we have said and done things that we never dreamed possible. The jealousy of the brothers grew so strong that it led them to plot Joseph’s death. It was the sensibility of one brother that spared Joseph’s life and sold him into slavery, and it was this act that would later bring salvation to all of them. 

Do we have a sin festering in our heart? If so, we need to confess it to the Lord before it brings havoc to our actions and soul.

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Come Closer to Jesus

Revelation 3:19, Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. NASB

Many times throughout the Scriptures we are told that reproof and discipline go together with love. When the first two are absent, then love as the Lord speaks of is questioned. 

Parents are told that the proof of the love for their children is in reproving and disciplining them, because parents are instructed by the Lord to bring their children up in the discipline and instructions of the Lord. Parents are told to train their children and to spare them of discipline is to spoil what God would have a child learn in their relationship to Him and us.

We are also reminded in this verse that because of His love for each one of us, the Lord will reprove and discipline us. The Lord desires that the result of that reproof and discipline be that each one of us would repent. 

The Lord knows that we may be heading in a direction in our lives that will bring much sorrow and pain. The Lord is always faithful to warn us in some way, but He will not force us to obey. His reproof and discipline may be for us to face the consequences to our poor choices. Yet, no matter what, the Lord desires most that we will repent and see His love for us. 

Don't balk at reproof and discipline, for it is just another proof of the Lord’s deep love and commitment to us and our welfare! Let's examine our life and see if we need to repent, and come close to God’s love today!

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His Power Working in Us

Romans 6:12, Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. NASB

We often will debate about the will of God, and yet the Lord clearly points out in His Word the things that we should or should not participate in. By the choice of each believer, we are told not to let sin reign in our mortal body. With the allowance of sin to reign will come the obedience to its lusts. 

When we allow sin to reign in our mortal body, we turn over complete authority of our words, actions, and thoughts to sin. Our words and actions our morals. God wants us to know that if our standards of right and wrong do not stand up to His standards then it is sin. To knowingly follow after anything contrary to Scripture is to deliberately choose obedience to sins lusts and therefore allowing sin to reign in our mortal body.

We mustn't let sin reign in our mortal body or to obey its lust. We need to choose obedience to the Lord’s Word.  His power within us allows us to reign over sin. What is our life displaying to those around us? Are we showing what God can do or are we following after our own desires?

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The Gift of Reconciliation

Romans 5:10, For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  NASB

We're told that at some point in time, we were enemies of God, and it was not until reconciliation took place that our standing with God was altered in any way. Since we all begin as enemies of God, the need of reconciliation to God through the death of Jesus belongs to everyone. 

We're told that the only chance of reconciliation to God is through the death of Jesus, and nothing else. Without the death of Jesus, the enmity between God and man can never be reconciled. However, God is a God of reconciliation. He desires reconciliation between man and Himself.

Moreover, since the death of God’s Son has brought the opportunity of reconciliation between God and man, we're told that there is something much more that is accomplished through that reconciliation. We're told that we're saved by Jesus’ life. What does that mean? 

It's through the resurrection power of Jesus that each one of us are saved from the wrath of God when we've been reconciled to God. Without Jesus’ death and reconciliation, we would all face the wrath of God for our sin. However, Jesus saves us from that wrath and enables us to have a relationship with God. We're no longer the enemy of God, but at peace, and therefore saved from any wrath due to us. What a glorious gift we've been given!

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Cords that Bound

2 Corinthians 6:14-15, Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? NASB

The command given to the believer is to not be bound with unbelievers. The choice of being bound to an unbeliever comes from a deliberate choice of the believer. The binding that Paul is referring to would be anything that would put you in partnership with an unbeliever. 

Paul sums the reason up with the fact that there is no harmony or common ground between the believer and the unbeliever. The subject of marriage is never mentioned here and yet many refer to this verse as to the reason a believer should not marry an unbeliever.

What is being taught? The “being bound” is speaking of an agreement that puts you in relationship with another that obligates each person to another. This can be done within businesses, friendships, as well as in marriages. The principle is that a believer must not pursue a binding agreement with an unbeliever. 

This does not tell a new believer to divorce their unsaved spouse, but warns a believer to not make such an agreement in the first place. The reason given is that in a binding commitment, there must be agreement, and there is nothing that can be more in disagreement then the unbeliever and the believer. We must not take lightly this command, because disobedience to it brings discord into our lives.

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The Need for Reconciliation

Genesis 3:8, And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (NASB)

The Lord comes to the garden for His usual visit with Adam and Eve. When they hear the Lord coming they make themselves hidden from the Lord. This is the first picture of a broken relationship. 

Man has sinned, and when he knows that the Lord is coming for their time of fellowship, man does not want to see God. Man didn't want to talk to the Lord and have to admit what he had done, and so he foolishly believed that he could find a place where the Lord did not know where he was. 

Since He believed that he could hide his physical being from the Lord, he probably believed that if the Lord could not find him then he could also keep the Lord from finding out what he had done also. With all the time that Adam and Eve had spent walking and talking with the Lord, they still did not understand the Lord that they were to be worshipping with their life.

The relationship between the Lord and mankind had been broken, and so began the cycle of the need for all mankind to be reconciled to the Lord. Reconciliation was only possible if man would admit before the Lord the sin he had committed.

Since the first sin took place, reconciliation to the Lord is man's most important need.  We aren't taught to sin, because it comes automatically to us. We are born with the natural tendency to sin which makes us selfish, self-centered, and prideful. We become so puffed up with pride that we many times deceive ourselves to believe that the way we live is good enough to get into heaven. 

How foolish of us to believe that we deserve heaven and have a right to demand it! We all begin like Adam and Eve believing we can find a place to hide where the Lord does not know where we are or know what we have done. However, we will never truly enjoy and receive the benefits of this life in any relationship if we are not reconciled to the Lord first. 

Broken relationships in our lives is the first evidence the Lord gives us to realize we have a broken fellowship with Him also. May each one of us take our relationship with the Lord so seriously that we will admit our sin and be reconciled to the Lord!

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