I forget to rememer to say THANKS!

I Forgot to Remember to say---THANKS!

 

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"— Psalm 107:8

In the Old Testament, we find an interesting story of how King Jehoshaphat took an uncommon approach when his enemies waged war against him. Instead of sending in his army first, he sent the choir and musicians.

Imagine the scene: "All right, guys, here's the plan today. An army is out there, armed to the teeth. So we are sending in the choir and the musicians." If I had been a choir member or musician, I might have wondered whether the king liked our music.

But God had directed Jehoshaphat in this unusual battle tactic. We read that Jehoshaphat appointed people to sing to the Lord, praise the beauty of holiness, and go out in front of the army saying, "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever" (2 Chronicles 20:21).

So that is exactly what they did. The Bible tells us that when they began to sing and praise, God sent an ambush against the enemy, and they were destroyed. God's people were able to go into this situation giving thanks, because He was in control.

In approaching God to ask for new blessings, we should never forget to thank Him for the blessings He has already given.

Have you recently come to God for help and He came through for you? Did you come back to say "thank you"?

If we would stop and think how many of the prayers we have offered to God have been answered and how seldom we come back to God to thank Him, it just might amaze us. We should be just as deliberate in giving thanks to God as we are in asking for His help. How about it?!

THE BELIEVER'S SECRET, SECRET

 

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”

— Psalm 25:14

Have you ever been semi-listening in on someone's conversation? Not intentionally, of course, because you would never do that. Maybe you were in a restaurant and your table was right next to someone else's. Maybe you were talking to the person you were with---my wife is a master of hearing several conversations at tables around us. I can tell she’s doing it by the changing expressions on her face. Every now and then she’ll hear a magical word and shush me up.   Someone said, "I am going to tell you a secret right now. No matter what, I don't want you to tell anyone else this secret. . . . " We’ll ol’ “flappy ears” (as I call her) is all over that and then tells me the juicy tid-bit of a secret---with great delight!

What would you do? Would you put your hands over your ears? No, I doubt it. If you're like most people, you listened more carefully. We all love to hear secrets. We want to know the inside story---the scoop. Even if someone is a complete stranger, we are still interested in his or her secret.

Well,God has a secret that He wants to declare to you. The Bible says, "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him" (Psalm 25:14). In many ways, this isn't really a secret, because it is plainly declared in Scripture. Unfortunately, because so few people have opened up the Bible to see what it says, they have missed out.

This is the secret of making life more full and meaningful. It is a secret that can help you avoid untold misery and heartache. You might even say it is the secret of living. We find it in Ecclesiastes 12:13, where Solomon says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty and purpose of man."
That is what it all comes down to. That is what is going to keep you on track for God's plan for your life. Pssst! Hey pal want to hear a secret of REAL importance?

 

IS OUR COUNTRY “ON THIN ICE?”

IS OUR COUNTRY “ON THIN ICE?”

 

(READ | Romans 2:1-8)

Our country was founded on the premise that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are “unalienable rights,” endowed by the Creator. In the mid-1900s, the Pledge of Allegiance was amended to convey a similar idea—that we are “one nation under God.”

Soon, however, morality in our land took a downward turn, and over the past 50 years, the Founders’ vision has become clouded. One indicator is the media—if a citizen in 1950 could have seen some of our current TV programs, he no doubt would have been shocked by the language, dress, and content.

Can the attempt to remove God and /or Jesus from the public square have anything to do with our crumbling values? Perhaps. A country that removes God out of political party's beliefs platform--- prayer out of schools and government meetings can easily drift from godly ways. We have even debated removing “In God We Trust” from our currency and “one nation under God” from the Pledge. What’s more, our nation is sometimes so accepting of “all religions” that Christians are persecuted for believing Jesus is the only way (John 14:6).

God is holy, so surely He doesn’t approve of all the actions sanctioned by our laws. Yet He has been patient—and we’ve been blessed beyond measure. But the Father’s patience won’t last forever (Neh. 9:30). America must repent of its choice to disregard His precepts.

Have you sat back and allowed ungodly values to infiltrate this land? As citizens, Christians have a responsibility to influence government decisions in the direction of righteousness. Ask for God’s guidance as you determine how to stand up for Him

 

ABILITY VS. AVAILABILITY

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

— 2 Corinthians 4:7

When Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, it was a source of complete amazement that these untrained laymen could be so well-versed in the Scriptures—and more importantly, in their understanding. They were ordinary fishermen, salt-of-the-earth-type people. This doesn't mean they were illiterate. But they had not attended the rabbinical schools or spent their lives in the study of the Scripture.

Acts 4:13 tells us that when these religious leaders "saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus." These simple fishermen appeared to be better-equipped than the professionals were. How did this happen? The disciples had been with Jesus. They were boldly sharing their faith. They knew the Scriptures. They were men who prayed.

This should give hope and encouragement to those who think of themselves as ordinary people. Maybe God has not called you to be a pastor, a missionary, or some professional ministry position. But God can use you too. It is clear that He is looking for ordinary men and women to bring the gospel message to others.

God can use you where you are. The opportunities are there. There is a mission field where you work. There is a mission field where you go to school. There is a mission field in your neighborhood. You are God's representative, and He is calling you to go into this world and speak up for Him. God is not looking so much for ability as He is looking for availability. So make yourself available to Him.

       

POWERED BY THE SPIRIT

"Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you."— Ephesians 5:17-18

 When we think of being filled with the Spirit, we often relate it to an emotional experience or a feeling of euphoria.

But in reality, the word, "filled," could be translated, "controlled by." It is a word that speaks of what happens when the wind fills the sails of a boat and guides it along. So God is saying that we are to let His Spirit fill us and control our lives.

Another interesting thing about this word is that in the original language, it is in a tense that speaks of something that should be done continually. So you could translate this sentence, "Be constantly filled with the Spirit." This is not a one-time event. Instead, it is something that takes place over and over again, just as we repeatedly fill the gas tanks in our cars to keep them running.

God wants to refill us with His Spirit. It is a great thing to say each day, "Lord, fill me with your Spirit. Lord, fill me once again." You may have emotional experiences. You may not have emotional experiences. But that has very little to do with the reality of being filled with and controlled by the Spirit.

One other thing about this phrase from Ephesians 5:18 is that it's a command, not a suggestion. The Scripture is not saying, "If it works with your schedule, if you don't mind, would you please consider maybe letting the Holy Spirit fill and control you?" Rather, God is saying that He commands us, He orders us, to be filled with the Holy Spirit

On this rock I will build my restaurant !?

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. - (Romans 12:4–5)

Sometimes people treat churches like they treat restaurants. They take on a consumer mentality. I want to go to this restaurant. Oh, we went there two weeks ago. Let’s go to this other one. . . . But the church is not a restaurant. The church is a family, and you need to be a part of the family.

You also need to engage. Maybe one of the reasons some people feel as though they are not getting enough out of church is because they attend intermittently and don’t commit themselves. But if they would settle in and become a part of what God is doing, it would change for them.

If you have been attending a church for more than a couple of years, then you ought to be involved in a ministry of some kind. You may not be called to preach, but there are lots of other things to do. There is something for everyone. The Bible tells us, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them . . .” (Romans 12:5–6).

It is fine to come and be served in the church. But there has to come a point when you start growing up and decide to start serving. And then you will find that everything changes for you.

So let’s stop thinking of the church as them and start thinking of the church as us. Be a part of the family. Take the gifts that God has given you and develop them and use them for His glory. I suggest that church could completely change for us if we stop coming as spectators and instead join the team.

CALLING ALL FISHERMEN

Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

— Matthew 4:19

 While I am not in the ranks of great anglers and seasoned fishermen, or even “semi amateur”,

 I have fished a few times. I know that I need to use different kinds of bait for different kinds of situations, because different types of bait are required to catch different types of fish.

In the same way, as we share the gospel, we might bring up different aspects of it to speak to a person's situation---to someone who is filled with anguish, we might speak to them of the peace that God can bring. If we are talking with someone on his or her deathbed, we would address the subject of death and the certainty of heaven for those who put their faith in Christ. Another person might be plagued with personal guilt, so we might speak to them about God's offer of complete forgiveness.

These are various types of bait, so to speak, to bring us to a decision for Christ. And for our example, we can look to Jesus, the Master Communicator, who never dealt with any two people in exactly the same way.

There was the woman at the well who had spent a lifetime trying to fill a void in her life with relationships with men. To her, Jesus spoke to her of her deep spiritual thirst.

Then there was a man who was an expert in theology and a great intellectual. With him, Jesus spoke in almost childlike terms as He told him, "You must be born again."

Jesus adapted to their situation and appropriately applied the truth of God's Word.

Jesus had time for the multitudes, but He also took time for the individual. And we should take time as well.