Monday, March 18, 2024

KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT KNOWING

 

KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT KNOWING

Luke 11:52 "How terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don't enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering." NLT

I fear for many who "represent" God before man. So many hide themselves behind Biblical "knowledge" and have very little compassion for others. Many pride themselves in their knowledge or position in life. Many are driven to excel in how they are portrayed before others instead of before God. Many strive for academic knowledge at the expense of spiritual knowledge. Many seemingly know the Scriptures well; yet, they barely know He who is the author of the Scriptures. It is so easy to hide ourselves behind the Scriptures and lose sight of how to live them.

If that's not bad enough, these "leaders" in the church influence others and keep them away from God. Many hold the Scriptures in low esteem and offer people the wisdom of man instead of the wisdom of God. They confuse the minds of their people to the point where they don't know the truth and as a result, they don't know Jesus as Savior and Lord. They create religious people, but not a people with a relationship with God.

The Lord holds each of us accountable for how we handle the Word. We are to be learners of it, but more importantly, we are to be livers of it. What we know about God won't get us to heaven, knowing God will. Knowledge without the relationship is valueless and vanity. There is nothing more tragic than to get wrapped up in what we know and lose grip on Who we should know.

The Lord desires a relationship with us, not a people who are religious fools. Religion will not get you to heaven, a life-changing relationship with Christ will. Don't let your religious thoughts keep you from Christ. Get to know Him well and He will teach you all you need to know. He is the way, truth, and life. He alone can get you to heaven.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

GATEWAY TO YOUR SOUL

 

GATEWAY TO YOUR SOUL

Luke 11: 33-36 "No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lamp stand to give light to all who enter the room. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you." NLT

A couple of things jump out at me from this text. The eye is the gateway to the soul. What we choose to gaze upon determines the condition of our souls. It does matter what we gaze upon. It does affect us whether we think it does or not. Imagery is captured in the brain and often comes back to haunt us later on. It is important that we protect our eyes from what we watch and read.

We have to be careful about the quality of light we use to guide us. We determine how pure our light is. If we allow sin to hang around it will dim our light. Sin is sin and any sin will affect the quality of light within us. The less sin we harbor, the more radiant our light will be. The more we radiate the Light, the more light we will shed on our world. The more Light we have, the more we will enjoy dwelling in the Light.

A dim light may get us where we are going, but it won't keep us from falling into some of the pitfalls along the way. We can easily stumble and fall and even lose our way sometimes. Protect your soul and stay connected to the Light without any obstructions so that your light may shine brightly and be a floodlight on all around you.

One other thing, make sure the light you think you have is not really darkness. Sin is deceptive and often masquerades itself as light. Get into and stay into the Word of God so that you will be guided by truth and not lies. The Holy Spirit will never lead you astray if you keep your eyes focused on Christ who is our light, and stay in the Word which speaks to us of Christ and His way.

Let Christ shine in your heart and let Him have access to every part of it. Do not try to hide anything from Him. The more you let Him shine in you, the more you will radiant Him through your life.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

KEEP ON ASKING

 

KEEP ON ASKING

Luke 11:9-10 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.” NLT

Don’t give up asking. Our tendency is to give up on God way too easily. We pray for a while over people and things and when we don’t see the results we want to see, we give up. We think God’s lack of response to honor our requests is a no. We seldom have the determination to keep on praying over that which is not given to us right away.

Yet, Jesus tells us to keep on praying, to not give up. Persistence in prayer is a must. We don’t know how often we should pray for something, so we keep on praying. We don’t know what the Lord is doing in heaven in response to our praying, so we keep on praying. We don’t know the things that have to fall into place on earth in order for our prayers to be answered, so we keep on praying. We don’t know how our praying will affect us, so we keep on praying. We don’t know when the timing is right for our prayers to be answered, so we keep on praying.

One thing that does happen when we persevere in praying is that we draw closer to the Lord. The more time we spend with Him, the more precious He becomes to us and the more likely we are to pray submissively to His will.

Don’t give up praying for people or over the circumstances of life. God answers our praying at just the right time and in the right way. Our prayers never fall on deaf ears. Our Father knows just how to respond to our prayers, and He always does so out of the goodness of His heart. His answers may be immediate, delayed for a while, or a denial, but don’t give up praying. It is the best medicine for the soul you will ever find.

Friday, March 15, 2024

THE IMPORTANT THING

 

THE IMPORTANT THING

Luke 10:41-42 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it--and I won’t take it away from her.” NLT

Do details bother you? Are you one to be busy making sure everything gets done on time and in the right way? Some of us just cannot let things go. Paying attention to the details matter a great deal and determines how we respond. If this is you, listen carefully to what Jesus is saying to Martha.

It is easy to get caught up in activities and miss the important things in life. While there are many things that are essential to do, we cannot let them keep us from our relationship with God. Mary’s number one priority was to greet and worship Christ. She directed her focus on Jesus rather than the busyness of the moment. Lazarus had just died and company was coming. People would shortly be arriving to pay their respects. There was last minute cleaning to be down and food to prepare. It was unthinkable to Martha to just drop things and entertain Jesus. He was a dear friend and surely He would understand.

It’s interesting to note that Martha dealt with her grief by keeping busy while Mary spent her time with the Lord. Mary understood things better than Martha did. Jesus reminded her that the most important thing in her life was not the busyness, but her worship. He did not say her concerns weren’t important, but He did say that they weren’t the most important thing she should be concerned with. Our worship of the Lord is far more important than anything else we may have to do, no matter how important we pay perceive it to be.

If we miss out on our worship of Christ, all of our other labors are in vain. Our relationship with the Lord must take priority over everything else in our lives. What if we were to work hard and gain the whole world and lose out on our souls? Would it be worth it?

Thursday, March 14, 2024

DETAILS, DETAILS

 

DETAILS, DETAILS

Luke 10:41-42 But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it--and I won't take it away from her." NLT

Details, Details. Many of us are very concerned about the details of things. We get so wrapped up in them that we lose sight of the bigger picture and often fail to do well what we set out to do. Details are important, but when they become more important than the whole, we get into trouble.

What I believe Jesus is saying here to us is that we need to strive to be more a people of grace than perfection. When we insist that everything has to be done "just so", we are limiting what God wants to do in and through us. We must strive to do things right before God while still allowing for the fact that we are not perfect and never will be. We need to give ourselves, and others, permission to mess up.

Martha was so caught up in the doing that she missed the being. Mary was more concerned about Jesus and His presence. She understood that being with Jesus was all that mattered at the moment. Martha wanted to make sure that everything was done before she worshiped and all that mattered at the moment to Mary was Jesus.

Jesus made it very clear that Mary's way was the better way. We must learn to keep our eyes focused on the Lord. He is far more important than anything else we may think we have to do. The whole purpose of serving is to honor and glorify Christ. Don't get so caught up in the doing that you forget why you are doing it.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

 

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

Luke 10:29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?” NLT

An expert in religious law wanted to test Jesus so he asked Him what he had to do to receive eternal life. Jesus asked him what he understood the Law of Moses to say he had to do. The man's reply was to love God with all the heart, soul and strength he had and to love his neighbor as himself. The man knew that he was not measuring up so he tried to justify his actions under the guise of not knowing who his neighbor was.

And so it is. It is one thing to know what the Scriptures teach, it's quite another thing to live them. Because we know we fail to live up to God's standards, we often try to justify ourselves before God. We convince ourselves that because we are "good people" we are good enough for God.

The expert of the Law knew the does and don'ts of how to live for God. He was a devout follower of the Law and thought he had it made. He just knew that God was pleased with his efforts and would accept him into heaven. Imagine his surprise when Jesus knocked the props right out from underneath him. Jesus went way beyond where this man was in his understanding and living.

It isn't what we think we know that matters; it's how we are living out what we know that matters to God. If we are not applying to life the Word of God, we are no better off than this religious "expert." Saving faith is a life-changing faith and not just a mind-changing faith. Faith without works will certainly keep us out of heaven as well as works without faith. It's either God's way or no way.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

PRAY FOR THE HARVEST

 

PRAY FOR THE HARVEST

Luke 10:2 These were his instructions to them, "The harvest is so great, but the workers are few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his field." NLT

Are you praying for the lost? Do you know anyone who is not a Christian? Are you concerned about their soul? Do you care enough to take the time to pray?

We need to pray for those who need a Savior. If you are not able for any reason to share with them the Gospel message, pray that the Lord will send someone their way who can and will. Pray that the Lord will raise up workers and send them into the harvest field. The need for workers far exceeds those who are laboring in the field. Pray. Pray for those already working in the field that they won't get discouraged or too tired to carry on. Pray for them that they will remain faithful and not be swayed or overcome by sin. Pray that they will be encouraged and be bright lights where they are planted. Pray for those whom the Lord has given gifts for service that they will use their gifts and not be discouraged in doing so. Pray.

The harvest is so great, but the workers are few. If you can't join in the harvesting yourself, pray for those who can and pray that their numbers will increase. The souls that are saved may very well include those whom you are most concerned about.

The harvest is great, the workers are few, and I fear, so are those who pray for the harvest workers. Nothing of significance is going to change until we change and return to our knees before God. The day of salvation is now. Jesus is coming soon and then it will be too late. Pray and go into the harvest field now. Maybe the lost ones you have been praying for will be amongst those who will be saved.