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Hebrews 5

11/30/2010

Hebrews 5:11-14 “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

That is a long section but to me it is an eye opener. Am I willing to open God’s word and mature, or do I just do enough to get by? Do I sit in church listening to the pastor but get offended when he shares biblical truth. We need to be growing and doing, what is keeping us from maturing in our faith? Are we joyfully giving to God what is already His, or are we drinking milk on that subject? Are we serving Him with joy, or are we too busy for Him? Are we using our talents to spread the Good News with joy, or are we still drinking milk? We are called to move not stand still. We are called to be different and be a light, and that takes us maturing and asking God to show us more and more. It is not the pastor’s job to move us, we need to open up and let God show us what is right and wrong. We need to be willing to change to be fully devoted to Jesus Christ, not because someone has told us to, but because we desire to. Lets all work on growing and moving from milk to solid food Amen

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Hebrews 2

11/29/2010

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Hebrews 2:1-3 “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus Himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?”

We need to open God’s word and learn it so we can live His truth out and be examples that glorify God. The way we live is so important for our understanding of who we are in Christ. We will always be deceived to believe it’s about us and what we can do, but we are to surrender to God and understand our life is not our own. Jesus didn’t teach us to live for whatever is comfortable to us or pleasing to us, He taught us to die to self.

In Hebrews 3:6 it says, “But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”

It says “if we”, do we really believe we can do anything we want and not grow to have a true relationship with the Lord. When we accept Jesus as our savior we are saying we want Him to show us the way to live. But then we don’t want to learn form Him or open God’s word and change our life. This is not remaining confident in our hope in Christ. This is saying its sounds good, but I need my stuff first and if I have enough I’ll learn a little to get by. Our walk is real and we must constantly be filling ourselves with wisdom from the Lord. We need to fully trust in the lord and give our time, treasure and talents before we do anything else. This shows that we are confident in what Jesus did for us and we are living a life that is not just for us.

I want to end with us thinking about Galatians 4:8-9 which says, “Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should, I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak ands useless spiritual principles of the world?”

Open your heart and surrender your will. Amen

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Titus 3

11/23/2010

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Titus 3:4-5 “But – When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sin, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

Think about this, He takes us where we are at. He didn’t send Jesus for all the people that were perfect. He sent Him so we can learn from Him and be what we are supposed to be, servants for the Lord. He washed away our old lives and gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us choose what is right. We need to understand that Jesus already came and has ascended, that can’t be changed, but we can be by the Holy Spirit that lives in us. Are we feeding the Spirit by getting our knowledge and wisdom from the Lord or are we feeding our human nature by filling it with the things of the world? We are what we feed. I truly believe that the more we feed ourselves with God, reading His word and praying He strengthens our ability to choose what is right.

In the book “Christian Atheist” by Craig Groechel he said something that I really liked. “When we live thirsty for God, God will satisfy that longing. And as we continue to seek God, we’ll grow to know Him more and more intimately. When we hear God’s voice we’ll recognize it instantly. We’ll talk to God all the time and miss Him when circumstances distract us from His presence. We’ll build a history together, storing up story after story of shared experience. We’ll love God. We’ll trust God. We’ll know God.” We should all long for this relationship with the Lord because this is where true peace in this world comes from. Amen

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2 Timothy 4

11/16/2010

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2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”

This is so important as we grow and seek the Lord. I truly feel that our walk with the Lord needs to be one that is constantly asking for understanding. We are to live as Jesus did, He was our example to follow, and He lived fully in God’s will. He didn’t say, your will be done, but I feel this would be better for me. He never said your will be done but I was born this way so I can’t change. No Jesus surrendered to God and lived a way that was glorifying to the Father. Our walk with the Lord is not about our physical feelings or our comfort; it is about modeling Christ by using the gifts He has given us and sharing our faith with love.

Verse 5 says, “But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.”

We are to equip ourselves and go into the world and be the hands and feet of Christ. We also need to have a relationship with the Lord and seek His wisdom everyday. It is good to find a church that teaches the truth and is challenging so we can move towards Him.

In verse 2 Paul tells Timothy, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”

If you are looking for something that feels good, you will find it, but it is probably of this world and not of God. Follow the ways of Christ and live obeying what God has given us even when it is hard. Amen

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1 Timothy 4

11/15/2010

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1 Timothy 4:16 “Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.”

This is a message Paul is giving to Timothy who is a young believer that Paul is pouring into to teach and lead people to Christ. What I like about this is you see Paul tell Timothy to “stay true to what is right…” That is the Good News about Jesus; we can’t stretch it or make it what we want it to be. We must be true to what it is saying and make sure we are turning to God for all understanding. When it gets tough and it is easier to live for the world we need to dive in to His word and prayer even more. Paul finishes verse 16 with, “…for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.” Timothy is already a believer why would he have to worry about what he is doing or how he is living? This is why it is so important to surrender to the Lord and live a way that resembles Christ. We can never be satisfied with just believing or that we said a prayer. Our walk must be one of devotion and constant learning, seeking God for all our wisdom. When we take our eyes off of Him we don’t move and we struggle.

In verse 8 Paul says, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

We must train ourselves everyday so we are firm in our walk and always moving forward toward Him. Amen

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Jeremiah 7

11/12/2010

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Jeremiah 7:8-10 “Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in your Temple and chant, “we are safe!” – only to go right back to all those evils again?”

When I was reading this I just kept seeing what we do as Christians. We come to church with all our baggage and we don’t really want to change we just want God’s mercy. God is love and it is amazing how He is patient and waiting for us to choose Him. But even in His patience He wants us to change our hearts and truly seek Him. He knows we won’t be perfect but He wants us to move towards Him not stay in the same place or move back.

Verve 9 says, “Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal…”

I see it as; do you really think we can watch that porn, commit adultery, have pre-marital sex, spend our money foolishly, put our families and stuff before God and then go to church and say sorry only to leave and do it all again? We need to really work on having faith that will move us toward Him and be thankful that He sent His Son for our sins so there would be no more blood shed and offerings.

In verse 21 it says, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel says: “Take your burnt offering and your other sacrifices eat them yourselves!”

He doesn’t want our talk or our show at church, He wants us to ask, seek, and knock and turn to Him for our wisdom. Are we in the same spot as when we started our walk? If so why?

In Jeremiah 7:24 it says, “But my people would not listen to Me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backwards instead of forward.”

Decide today to move forward and ask Christ in and let Him to lead you with His strength. Amen

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2 Thessalonians 1

11/5/2010

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2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 “And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and those who refuse to obey the Good News of the Lord Jesus.”

This really struck me today and made me think of what being devoted to Jesus means. It means (my opinion) that your hope and joy is in the fact that we will have eternal life with Christ and our rest will come when He returns. And the only way to have true peace and joy in this world is to let go and let God. How do we handle ourselves when times are tuff? Do we blame God or shrink back from learning and praying? That is the time we need to praise Him and be that light for people to see. All the fully devoted people in the bible were joyful in the Lord and they suffered and stayed true to what they loved. They would give up anything for Christ and they were not concerned about their stuff or their lives.

Verse 5 says, “And God will use this persecution to show His justice and to make you worthy of His Kingdom, for which you are suffering.”

When we surrender our will we become unselfish and we start acting in a way that is like Christ. We give, we serve, we help people in our line of sight and people we don’t know even if it cost us something. We focus on how Jesus lived and we have the peace to know we are going to be alright no matter what.

At the end of verse 8 it says, “…and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.” Verse 9continues and says, “They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and His glorious power.”

Open God’s word and pray and be full of the Spirit so no matter what happens we have the peace and joy that God promises as we live our short life on earth. Amen

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1 Thessalonians 5

11/4/2010

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1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.”

It is so important for us to surrender and live this life totally for God. When we do this we can get through anything that happens because we are living like Christ who is our perfect example.

It says “always be joyful” then continues to say “in all circumstances,” it does not say just when things are going good. We need to continually fill ourselves with the wisdom from God and let the Holy Spirit be a loud presence in us.

Verse 19 says, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” To me that means I can’t clutter my heart with the stuff of this world that makes me second guess what the Spirit is showing me. When we are focused and filling ourselves with God’s wisdom the Holy Spirit is what we hear and feel first. When we are praying and thankful to God for all He has done we start to have that desire to learn and seek His truths, and we don’t just take peoples words to be right without checking them to God’s. This makes us grow and mature in our walk with the Lord and we can understand when we learning truth or not. Amen

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Isaiah 50

11/2/2010

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Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from Me: You will soon fall down in great torment.”

Do we try and live our lives on our own, thinking I can do this or that? It is so easy for us to use our own strength when we are struggling, we work hard trying to help ourselves but it always seems worthless. We have accepted the Lord and He has covered us, we just need to surrender and truly live without thinking, what I can do.

In Isaiah 59 verses 1-2 it says, “Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear your call. It’s your sins that have cut you off form God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.”

We need to realize it is not God that separates it is us. Do we believe that this is not our home and we will have our true home in heaven? If we do we need to understand that God’s word is real and living out what is says is what we need to do. Faith in all that God has done is easy to say but difficult to live out.

I love what it says in Colossians chapter 3 verses 15-17, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all richness, fill your lives. Teach and council each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Surrender and do not try and live on your own, God is amazing and Christ is the only example to follow. Amen

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Hebrews 5

Hebrews 2

Titus 3

2 Timothy 4

1 Timothy 4

Jeremiah 7

2 Thessalonians 1

1 Thessalonians 5

Isaiah 50

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