Change

For sure we are not talking about chunk change. We are talking about the changing of one's life, especially looking more closely at the willingness to change. If so, how is that possible. Someone once said, “Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing Himself.”

Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. [Isaac Newton] Could God possibly be the force behind your change? That is if you have changed or are willing to change today or in the very near future. Without being compelled by some outside force, you and I are likely to stay just the same. Of course when we talk about change we are praying that this change will be in the positive, not negative direction for our lives.

Do you see a need for improvement in your life? Hopefully you do and you have already begun a work in that area of your existence. It is so easy to sit back and see how others need to make changes while we remain complacent and maybe even judgmental at times.

Did you realize there are principles for change? First, people must have reason for change. They must see how it is going to bring value to them. They must understand the change that is to take place and they must be in the process. Secondly, people must be ready for change. It can't just be dropped on them expecting them to take hold of it and do it. If people are involved with the planning stage, they will more likely be part of the implementation stage as well. Thirdly, people must be exposed to models of change. Tapes and books will be very helpful in this area of change. [Men listen to tapes. Women read] Educational conferences and seminars are very helpful, as well as being exposed to infectious people who are already exhibiting positive change in their lives.

The writer of Hebrews reflects on the change in the priesthood, therefore there was a necessity for change in the law (Heb. 7:12). Could this be an excellent example of one thing needing change so everything could get better? We know that Christ was made High Priest making the priesthood of Aaron obsolete. This had to occur in order for things to get better and for us to be priests ourselves (Rev. 1:6; 20:6).

Is there room for change in your life today? If so, what changes need to be made and how will that be possible? It is guaranteed that it will not happen without the presence of God in your life. Are you willing to make the change for the better by allowing God to take complete control of your life? It can and will happen today if this is what you want. We already know this is God's desire!

Be still & listen to God!
Eddie

Broken Vows

In today's world we see people making all kinds of promises they never intend on keeping. An election year has come and gone and we heard candidate after candidate make promises as to what he or she can do for the people and will do it they are elected to public office. We surely are not so gullible to believe all those false promises.

A minister found himself in a similar situation when he visited a wealthy member in the hospital who was literally on his deathbed and made this promise or vow to God. He said, “If God will heal me of my affliction, I will give the church one million dollars.” Miraculously the man was revived and within a few short weeks he was out of the hospital. One day, several months later, the man and his minister were seated outside of a hardware store chatting when the minister said, “You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you made a promise go give the church one million dollars if God healed you and we haven't got it yet.” The wealthy tycoon responded by saying, “Did I say that? That goes to show how sick I really was!”

Does that sound far fetched to you? It could be that we have made vows to God when we were in troublesome times and have yet to fulfill our promises. Therefore we cannot and should not poke fun at the wealthy tycoon who did not honor his promise. A vow is a solemn promise or pledge to fulfill some engagement hereafter, especially one made to God [Webster's New School & Office Dictionary].

According to God's word there are some features concerning vows. A vow must be voluntary (Deut. 23:21, 22); must be uttered (Deut. 23:23); once made, it is binding (Eccl. 5:4, 5); if honored, there are sometimes benefits (Gen. 28:20-22); if abused, it is condemned (Matt. 15:4-6).

Do you have any outstanding vows that you have made to God that still need to be honored? Remember that God stands firm on His promises and expects us to do the same. We know that God hates lying!

Be a vow keeper!
Eddie

Being A Motivator

Is being a motivator a good thing? Most people would say “Yes.” This is a term that has a good connotation which leaves a good taste in one's mouth. So many times we see motivational speakers on television and what are they up to? Of course they are trying to sell us something, right? If the speaker motivates us enough, we will find ourselves with phone in hand making a call to get the product. In this case the speaker has done his/her job and earned their reward.

Do we need motivators in the Lord's church today? Absolutely! So many have become complacent when it comes to their dedication to the Lord's service. If this trend continues and no one is motivated to stop it, we will find ourselves being a part of a body that has gone into hiding. In other words we will become invisible to society. If you will pay attention to the tv evangelist, you will see that they are motivating their members to act upon what they are projecting to be the truth. Guess what! It's working and they have individuals coming back time after time and even bringing others with them.

We in the Lord's church know the truth that can set one free from the burdens of sin, yet we are silent in revealing this truth to others, therefore becoming silent disciples in the Lord's service. Is this what God intended for us to do? NO! Quite the contrary. He expects us to shout this good news from the roof tops if necessary. People are dying daily and will spend eternity in hell. What is it going to take to motivate us into action? Is it going to take a full fledged depression? Is is going to take natural disasters or maybe an outbreak of some incurable disease? Let's pray that this is not what God has in store for us. The solution to America's problem is so simple, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

Could the answer be more simplistic? Never! So why do we not have motivational leaders in government that are willing to stand up and motivate us in the direction which will turn us back to God? If we are waiting for that to happen, we are kidding ourselves. We would be better off being the motivators for our government, but will that ever happen? This would take joint effort and in our world today, everyone is thinking about self and not humankind. We will pay the price for self indulgence and it is not going to be pretty.

Let's band together and be motivators in the Lord's service, beginning TODAY!

God's Blessings!

Eddie

Feeding On God's Word

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God...rightly dividing the word of truth ”

Feeding upon the word of God can be hazardous to one's life and health if taken literally. On the other hand, it can produce life changing experiences that will save one's life too.

The story is told of a man by the name of Menekil II who was one of the greatest rulers in African history. He is responsible for what is known as modern Ethiopia today. Born in 1844, he was captured during an enemy raid and held prisoner for 10 years. Escaping, he declared himself head of the province of Shewa. He began conquering neighboring kingdoms and developed them into modern Ethiopia with himself as emperor. His efforts to modernize Ethiopia (schools, phones, railroads), make Menekil world-famous. The emperor had one little known eccentricity. Whenever he was feeling ill he would eat a few pages of the Bible insisting that this always restored his health. One day in December, 1913, recovering from a stroke and feeling extremely ill, he had the entire book of Kings torn from an Egyptian edition of the Bible, ate every page of it and died. Is there any surprise? The word of God was never intended to be taken orally to cure life's illnesses. Of course he found out the hard and eternal way.

There is yet another story I would like you to read that has completely the opposite effect on one's life and he too digested God's word, but in the right intended way. Here's the story!

One of the most dramatic examples of the Bible’s divine ability to transform men and women involved the famous mutiny on the “Bounty.” Following their rebellion against the notorious Captain Bligh, nine mutineers, along with the Tahatian men and women who accompanied them, found their way to Pitcairn Island, a tiny dot in the South Pacific only two miles long and a mile wide. Ten years later, drink and fighting had left only one man alive—John Adams. Eleven women and 23 children made up the rest of the Island’s population.

So far this is the familiar story made famous in the book and motion picture. But the rest of the story is even more remarkable. About this time, Adams came across the “Bounty’s” Bible in the bottom of an old chest. He began to read it, and the divine power of God’s Word reached into the heart of that hardened murderer on a tiny volcanic speck in the vast Pacific Ocean—and changed his life forever. The peace and love that Adams found in the Bible entirely replaced the old life of quarreling, brawling, and liquor. He began to teach the children from the Bible until every person on the island had experienced the same amazing change that he had found. Today, with a population of slightly less than 100, nearly every person on Pitcairn Island is a Christian. [From Signs of the Times, August, 1988, p. 5.]

How are your feeding habits? Are they healthy or hazardous to your well-being? The Word of God is living and powerful...(Heb. 4:12). It is the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). How are you using it?

God's Blessings!
Eddie

Are You Cheating God?

First we need to determine what is meant by the term cheating. There are many examples of cheating but we don't want to go there for this post. We just want to know what cheating is, if or when we get caught up in it. Cheating is nothing more than a deceptive or fraudulent act imposed on someone or others. In this case, it would involve our deception with God. Surely none of us want to be caught up in this foolishness!

All of us are aware that God is all knowing. This means He knows any and everything about you and your life; every aspect of it. One thing for sure, we cannot hide anything from Him. This brings us to the main point of this post. God knows exactly how much income you bring into your household. He also knows how generous or stingy you are with it. He expects us to give back to Him what He already owns but so many times we want to hold on to it and use it for our own gain. Is God happy with those kinds of intentions? Absolutely not! We can justify our actions any way we want but the bottom line is, are you cheating God?

In Malachi 3 the prophet talks about the people robbing God. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.'” (vs. 8 & 9) Do you see yourself resembling these individuals when it comes to giving back to God what rightfully belongs to him? If so, you are in BIG trouble! The good news is that you don't have to stay in trouble. There is a way out and you can find that exit today.

We find in God's word those that were willing to give what they had to the Lord. One instance is found in 1 Chronicles 29:3-9. Here King David makes provision for the building of the temple by his son Solomon. He gives gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood onyx stones, glistening stones, all kinds of precious stones and marble slabs in abundance. Verse 3 has the real impact because David expresses his affection on the house of his God by giving from his own abundance in addition to all the other provisions noted above. Does God need what we have? No. He already owns it. He owns the whole universe and our share is but a speck compared to the vastness of everything. He wants us to give back for our own good and for our own necessity.

Are you willing to do your part, starting now, in keeping the house of God open so that those who are on the outside will have the opportunity to enter in and worship. Without our freewill offering this will not be possible. Give till it hurts!

God's Blessings!

Eddie

Being A Miser Will Make You Miserable!

Jesus taught that we are not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (Matt. 6:19). Then Paul wrote to young Timothy, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10).

Hopefully we will never find ourselves in either of these conditions, but just in case, here is an example of a miser that I pray will deter us if we are headed in that direction.

A notorious miser was called on by the chairman of the community charity. “Sir,” said the fund-raiser, “our records show that despite your wealth, you’ve never once given to our drive.” “Do your records show that I have an elderly mother who was left penniless when my father died? fumed the tightwad. “Do your records show that I have a disabled brother who is unable to work? Do your records show I have a widowed sister with small children who can barely make ends meet?” “No, sir,” replied the embarrassed volunteer. “Our records don’t show those things.” “Well, I don’t give to any of them, so why should I give anything to you?”

Landon Parvin in Leaders, quoted in Readers Digest, May 1996, pp. 67-68.

We should all pray that we would never have this kind of attitude when it comes to helping others in need. Are there people like this in the world? Sure enough! It is apparent that they have no idea what the word of God says about being a miser or about being greedy.

If you are a generous person, then you will be unlike the greedy person who will be miserable for all eternity. We, as Christians, know what we must do in order to inherit everlasting life and being greedy is a characteristic that will keep us far from this goal.

We are a part of a church family at Lee County that is very generous with God's blessings in our lives. The family has never come up short when there was a need both inside or outside the flock. God is pleased with this kind of Christ-like behavior. Read Matthew 25:35-40.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Here we are again at that time of the year when just about everyone is giving thanks for all their blessings. Don't we have so much to be thankful for, especially when we don't deserve many of these blessings? We could take the time to thank ourselves, our parents, our friends, our family members, our business associates or maybe even strangers for all these blessings, but when it's all over and done with, we need to give thanks to Almighty God.

The good book reminds us, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. (Psa. 100:4) Are we truly practicing this is our lives this very day? Sure it's hard to give thanks when we just lost our job, or one of our loved ones have died, or our own health is failing us but Jesus Himself proclaimed, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5b) Is this not one of the most comforting passages you could ever read in your life? We can take this one to the bank, so to speak, because of the person who made the promise.

Looking back over this past year we can see where we have grow, both physically and spiritually. We can also look back and see all the opportunities we let slip out of our lives because we hesitated or just plainly refused to accept them. At the same time we were given opportunities that we grasped with thankfulness and ended up making a wonderful difference in someone's life. This is truly what our pilgrimage on this earth is all about. We need to be busy making other people's lives more enjoyable, more meaningful and more spiritual.

We cannot do anything about the past, but we can begin making wonderful plans for this upcoming new year. What are your plans? Have you set any goals? Do you even see the need for improvement in your life? If we have made plans or set goals, are they obtainable? Let's seek to encourage one another to stick with our plans and to set the kingdom of God on fire by our ongoing participation and willingness to serve one another and all mankind. Go in Peace & Prosper and in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thes. 5:18)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

Adding to or Subtracting from the Word of God! Why or Why Not?

Everyone likes a good book. For those of you who are avid readers, what would happen if one day you pick up your favorite book to read it again and the chapters were different. The book had been shortened or lengthened and the author's name had been changed. Would this matter to you? Would it change the content of the book to maybe make it read completely different? Any change to the book would alter its meaning and could change the whole outcome of any story.

God has written a book called the Bible. Over the years man has re-written it and called it a paraphrase. Is a paraphrase the same thing as the original text? Webster defines a paraphrase as a free translation or explanation. What about a translation? To translate means to render from one language into another: interpret. Don't you like this terminology a lot better than paraphrase? This means that the many scholars that translated the Old and New Testaments took it from the Hebrew and Greek and put It into English so we could read it ourselves. Does this mean that some of the original meaning could be lost? There is a chance that this could happen but if God knew this translating was being accomplished so that more of the world could hear the gospel don't you think He would have put a stop to it if it was being translated incorrectly? Just a thought!

Over the years, man has put some very unusual twists on different portions of God's word. For example, some say that all a person has to do to be saved is believe or have faith or just confess Jesus. We know that all these are true but none of them alone has saving power. Would you say that man has added to or taken away from the word simply by misinterpreting It? Could be!

We need to know what God's word plainly states about adding to or taking away from His inspired word (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Jer. 26:2; Rev. 22:18, 19 and Gal. 1:8, 9). If you have ever wondered about these scriptures, hopefully by rereading them you will have answers to your questions. Have a blessed day & always remember that God is in control.

His humble servant!

Action Packed Heroes

In our world today we are filled with action packed heroes. Names like GI Joe, Spider Man, Superman, Iron Man, Transformers and the lists go on and on. The problem with all these actions figures is that they are not real. Our children and grandchildren are growing up believing they can become one of these figures when they get older. Is there anything wrong with wanting a hero you can turn to anytime for anything? Absolutely not! What we need to be teaching our young folks is that Jesus is an action packed figure and He can be their hero too.

A hero is a man of distinguished courage. I don't know of anyone that can fill those shoes better than Jesus Christ. He showed his compassion for the leper by cleansing him of his leprosy (Mk. 1:40-45) and He was willing to use His power to heal the man with the withered hand (Mk. 3:1-5). Is that action packed enough? Can any of the above mentioned heroes do that? Of course not! And they never will either.

How about when Jesus was asleep in a boat and a tempest arose which put a real scare in His disciples. What did He do upon their request? He spoke and the winds ceased to blow and the seas became like glass (Matt. 8:23-27). Now if that is not action packed enough, we will never know what action packed truly means. Isn't Jesus the type of hero we want our children growing up believing in? He is a hero who will never let them down but will always be with them through life's entire journey.

Of course we know they cannot see Jesus but they can't see those other action packed heroes either. If we don't begin teaching them the truth about the true hero we will have fallen very short of the goal God has intended for all of us.

Action packed living with Christ!

A Battle for the Mind

“Let the mind of the Master be the master of your mind”

The source of the above quote is unknown but the quote itself makes absolutely good sense. The mind is very fragile in and of itself and needs to be looked after with great care. It is of the utmost importance that we feed it with the correct nutrition so that it will remain physically, mentally and spiritually in tact. Most of us have been around individuals who no longer obtain these capabilities. It is a very sad sight to behold but it could possibly happen to each of us sometime in the future. When we see these people we must learn to be very tolerate and understanding of their behavior. At this point in life it could be said that these people are no longer able to make intelligent decisions for themselves or anyone else. Also at this point the mental capacity of their minds are unable to reason with reason. The saddest part of this loss is that most of these individuals are unaware that anything is wrong.

Whether or not any of us want to admit it, there has been and always will be a battle for our minds. It began when God created man and it will end when He sends His Son back to this earth for their souls. Some will joyfully be added to His heavenly kingdom while others will depart into everlasting darkness. This is why is it imperative that we all seek the Master now to be the master of our minds. It could be that later on we will not be afforded this luxury.

One of the faculties of the mind is perception; being able to perceive things. In Luke 9:47 Jesus used this when a dispute rose up among the disciples as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom. We have the ability to perceive things and sometimes we do it correctly and at others times we don't. Another faculty of the mind is that of remembrance. Paul instructs Titus to use this as Titus is to remind the Christians on Crete to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. Sometimes we need to be reminded of such things too. As Paul is writing to the church in Rome is uses his mind in order to reason between giving in to the works of the flesh or submitting himself with his mind to God. Of course we know that he committed to the latter only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we are caught between the two desires, we must do as Paul and use our mind to reason with and make the right choice. In Nehemiah 4:6 we see where the Jews were rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem with much opposition and ridicule, but they completed the task because they had a mind to work. In other words, they had desire. We too can accomplish much in our service to the Lord if we have the desire to work in His earthly kingdom.

A Work in Progress

Surely you have heard of the song, “He's Still Working on Me.” It is usually sung with the younger children in the church family, but it applies to every Christian, or it should.

CHORUS:
He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me.
1. There really ought to be a sign upon the heart,
Don't judge her yet, there's an unfinished part.
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands.
CHORUS:
2. In the mirror of His Word reflections that I see
Make me wonder why He never gave up on me.
He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the Potter, I'm the clay.
CHORUS:

As God's children we want to acquire a greater knowledge of Him and His word. This is accomplished by reading and studying His inspired word on a regularly basis. We need to realize that God is willing to work with us as long as we allow Him to do so. He will not force anything on us that we do not want but He will always strive to give us what we need as we search the scriptures daily with a ready mind (Acts 17:11). How awesome is that?

We shouldn't beat ourselves up because we are not growing spiritually at our pace. It could be that God is not ready to reveal to us some truths or aspects of His word due to the simple fact that we might not be able to digest it yet. We must be patient and wait on the Lord! We must also be careful not to bind on others what we think should be bound, because it might be contrary to the word of God and we are doing it out of ignorance. Of course our motives are pure but so was Paul's in the persecution of Christians.

God wants everyone of us to come to a saving knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ. For many this is still very much a work in progress because they have not yet seen the need for a savior. For those of us who have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb, we acknowledge that our walk with God is a daily progression.

You might not see yourself as a diamond in the rough, but God sees you that way and He wants to shape you into a spiritual jewel that is worth much more than any material treasure. Are you willing to surrender to the Master's Touch and become a work in progress? I pray so!