Prepare for the thief in the night!

What precautions do you take before bedding down at night? Do you lock your car, check all the windows in the house or lock and latch the doors? If you knew a thief was coming to invade you home, wouldn't you prepare? If you we're told that something great or either something terrible was going to take place for sure… would you not take the time to make arrangements and be ready? If you answered yes to any of these questions are you prepared for Christ's return? Luke 12:39-40 says, "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect." If you are a believer, you may not know the exact hour when the Son of man will return but you do know for sure that He is coming. Therefore it behooves us to prepare and help others prepare as well. I’m sure you would not allow your loved ones to be invaded if you knew they were in danger. Then why not be a witness and a light, a warning so to speak, to them and let them know that now is the time to prepare for the thief in the night. I Thessalonians 5:2-6 says; “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. So though we do not know the day or hour that Christ will return, let us “get our houses in order!” Make sure you are sober or attentive to the times around you. Make sure that you are vigilant or watchful over your soul. Keep the doors of you heart locked and secured with the love and obedience of Christ, so that when He does return you will be ready! Think about it!

Mountain moving fig tree faith

Have you ever been so hungry that you felt like you would eat the first thing in sight? In the book of Mark chapter 11:12-14 Jesus was in that predicament. After much travel the scripture tells that Jesus was indeed hungry and He saw a fig tree bearing leaves afar off. Now, have you ever been really hungry and started to crave something or smell a dish and begin to desire it; only to be let down because it wasn’t as good as you hoped or because “your eyes were bigger than your stomach?” This also happened to our Lord who, decided He wanted some nice juicy figs fulfill His hunger; only to arrive at the tree and find there were no figs. Bring this scenario in to our every day lives. There are and will be times that we will desire things, dare to dream and pursue with the intent to accomplish greatness; only to be let down by people, ourselves or circumstances. IT is at those times that we must exercise “mountain moving fig tree faith,” as Jesus did. Jesus must have been extremely hungry not realize that the fig tree was not at fault, verse 13 explains that it was “not the season for figs.” But that didn’t stop Jesus from retaliating against the tree. Verse 14 says, “In response (to the barren tree) Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.” Brief pause here….I wonder what the disciples were thinking when they heard their leader talking to a tree… Okay back to the point of this article. A day later Jesus and the disciples passed back by this same tree and discovered it was now, not only barren, but dried up from the root. Jesus’ curse upon the tree had taken place. In verse 21 Peter says to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.” Peter seemed to be impressed and even surprised. But what Jesus says next is what we must all obtain. He said in verses 22-24, “Have faith in God.” For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. See when Jesus wanted a thing; and it didn’t manifest to quench His desire, He did not whine about it. He spoke, believed and moved forward. He did not go back to SEE if the tree had withered, because He had mountain moving fig tree faith, he didn’t feel the need to double check! So the next time you are hungering for something in your life whether natural or spiritual, exercise your “mountain moving fig tree faith,” and let that settle it! Believe and you shall receive. THINK ABOUT IT!

Showing and Living your...THANK YOU!

Have you ever watched an award show and heard the artists, musicians, actors or other award winners say, "I want to thank God for blessing me." Have you ever met or do you know anyone who has escaped a tragedy, come close to death or lost it all, only to regain more and heard them declare thanks to the Lord above? Finally have you ever met or do you know anyone who is very wealthy and often gives God the credit by verbally thanking Him? If you said yes to any of these questions, please allow me to ask one more, do any of those described above not only speak but "show" their thanks? In an early morning study I read Deuteronomy chapter 8. In the passage the children of Israel are reminded of their journey through the wilderness. The chapter starts out by telling them to be careful to observe God's commands in order to continue receiving what God has for them. It goes on to have them recall that they were never hungry, thirsty or unclothed in the wilderness because of God's grace and mercy. The passage urges the children of Israel of some very important principals. Number 1: vs.18 says in part, "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth." Now most wealthy, un-wealthy, or blue collar people have this part down packed. They remember the Lord in thanks by saying grace over their food, or by thanking Him every now and again for their belongings, success and or loved ones. Some people even go so far as to give thanks publicly and I believe all of this is good. However, here is the main point I want to make, vs. 3 says in part, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." This is where I feel many people forget to focus. They quote scriptures all day, but upon further observation of their lives, they do not live those scriptures. Many proclaim salvation but only from the things they "want" to be saved or delivered from. Deut. 8:5-6 says, "You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." These scriptures prove that it is not enough to just verbally thank God. We must observe or pay attention to intentionally "show" Him our thanks. How do we do that? By living out the commandments or instructions/ordinances of the Lord, on purpose every single day, even and especially the commands we may not "want" to follow. Search within yourself, evaluate whether you are just saying, or if you are indeed showing AND living your "Thank You." Think about it!

The Little LUMP

Have you ever stumped your baby toe really hard and limped for days? Have you ever gotten a deep paper cut on your pinky and thought you would keel over? I know many women who have suffered from Cancer that almost took their lives but it all started as a little lump. Recently I cut my thumb pretty deep with a razor while shaving and for days it practically drove me mad! It was kind of like having a toothache and the pain affecting your entire body. That little razor cut affected my ability to get dressed, to write, to text and sometimes to think! Because the cut on my thumb was in such an awkward place it was making me have to figure out other ways to get things done. If you can not relate to any of this, though I’m pretty sure just about everyone can, think about how small things can bring large affects. What I mean is; sometimes little things can blow up and bring big blessing as well as big problems. If you don’t believe little things matter, try to log on to a website and omit one letter or even one symbol and see if that site opens for you. Try to cook your favorite meal, expecting it to taste the same and leave out one ingredient. Galatians 5:9 NKJV says, A little leaven leavens the whole lump, meaning it only takes a little bit to get the job done as well as to reek havoc. Now back to my thumb; for days I bandaged it and applied ointment to get it back to its original state; so that I could once again use my entire hand the way it was intended. What’s my point? Well just like my thumb and the incident with the razor…things happen, “little lumps” come up. We can not allow little arguments, heart break, hurts or even failures to handicap and cripple us from walking with Christ as we are intended to. We have to press on! Though my thumb was bandaged, I couldn’t call in sick to work I had to press on. I took the necessary steps towards my healing. That is what we all must do, when we make mistakes, when little lumps arise, don’t ignore them. And certainly don’t allow them to grow. Had I not taken care of my thumb, no doubt, it would have gotten worse. Dirt could have gotten inside and caused it to become infected. This can happen spiritually, if we allow the cares of this life to consume us, or if we allow what we are going through to take us over. With the great God we serve, if we strive to live for Him as His word commands, we can do all things through His strength. Do you need a band-aid or some ointment for you spiritual ailment…look to the word of God? (Philippians 4:13) Think about it!