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.