Cling only to Jesus

Psalm 135:15-18 “ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”

Those who make idols and trust in them will become blinded just as the idols are blinded and will become deaf just as the idols themselves are deaf.

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There are a lot of big name pastors out there, and, naturally, people look up to them. It is soooo important, though, that in our minds we do not turn these pastors into an all-knowing, always-right being; putting our complete trust in them and accepting every word that comes out of their mouth without a second thought. These pastors are MEN, no matter how big of a church they have, no matter how good of a reputation they have, no matter how good they are with words…We CAN NOT put our trust in them. We put our trust in God, and in God alone. Even if a pastor seems to have the spiritual gift of teaching and prophesy, and seems to always preach the truth…he is still a man. And we do not put our trust in man. This is not to say that we shouldn’t listen to them; we should, and many times God works through men to bring us closer to him. However, we need to be holding up everything we hear to the word of God. Our priority should be the Bible, and that is where the majority of our time should be spent.

If, at any point, we begin to put men’s teaching above the teaching of the bible, then we are creating for ourselves an idol. And as Psalm 135 says, when make for ourselves idols and put our trust in them we become blinded. When we idolize pastors or leaders we become susceptible to any falsehood that may be creeping in. We become blind to any wrong teaching that may be going on because we have rooted ourselves in man’s word rather than God’s word. This is SO Dangerous, and that is why we NEED to be clinging to God’s Word as the only absolute truth. Because if we are not, it will be so easy for us to be deceived.

In contrast to this in John 8:31-32, Jesus says that, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” So when we make for ourselves idols, we become blinded to the truth, but when we put Jesus as our priority and follow his teachings, our eyes become opened to the truth. Let us cling only to Jesus and his word and let no man take His place in our lives so that our eyes and ears be open to the truth of the Gospel and to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. As 1 John 5:21 says, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Psalm 66:1-2

Let our mouths be overflowing with praise for our God! May our hearts never stop giving thanks to Jesus, the savior of our souls!

We are called to be joyful in ALL circumstances, not because we're never saddened by things around us or hardships that we experience, but because we know the LORD Jesus Christ. We know the one who gives our every breath and keeps our hearts beating. We know the one who gives life and takes away life; We know the almighty God! There is NOTHING in this world that compares to the unsurpassable joy of knowing Christ!

A close friend of my family just passed away this weekend and went home to be with Jesus. My mom was able to spend a lot of time with her in the days before she died and was able to witness what a beautiful saint of God this woman was. Even though she could hardly talk, the few words that she managed to get out were all praises to the LORD. She was the one in bad condition, yet she spent the last days of her life still focusing on others and encouraging her fellow believers in their walk with the LORD.

Some of the Last things said to my mom…

The LORD is so gracious and merciful...He is God almighty; Nothing is impossible. Nothing. Never Doubt. Never Doubt. Don’t ever give up on the LORD...God is watching out for you...The LORD will make a way.

This lady was so full of the Joy of the Lord. Even though she was in pain on her death bead, She could not stop proclaiming the goodness of Jesus to all who came and visited her!

I pray that I would never let the joy of my salvation grow old, but continue for all the days of my life, no matter what may come my way, praising, worshiping, and glorifying the Lord in everything I do.

A Call to Anguish - David Wilkerson

Being united as One in Christ

Earlier this week, when I was reading through some of the epistles, I started to notice how Paul would often exhort the church to continue in ONE Spirit or to stand firm in ONE Spirit. Here are a couple of the passages…

Ephesians 4:3-6 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Philippians 2:1-2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

There is only ONE body and ONE Spirit. There is not a catholic body and a Lutheran body and an apostolic body and a non-denominational body, there is only the body of Christ. And that body is not characterized by a certain denomination but rather by the presence of the Holy Spirit in each individual’s life. It doesn’t matter whether you’re catholic or protestant or what church you go to, the body of Christ is made up of the followers of Jesus. It is made up of those who have truly given their life over to God and live by the Spirit. It is this body that is called to be one in spirit and in purpose.

For all of those who are truly following Christ have the SAME spirit of Christ living in them. We are called to be doing the same thing; we have the same purpose; we have the same joy and the same salvation. Sometimes I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in defending our denomination or pointing out the problems in other churches and, in doing so, we forget our true purpose. We are not to be followers of our denomination or theological positions, but rather followers of Christ!

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 – “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?”

We are all on this journey together! We ALL have so much to learn about who God is and his truth, and thus we should always be in a constant search to understand Him more. Never should we rest on our laurels, thinking we get it. We should be constantly asking God to reveal himself to us in new ways and to show us where our thinking is wrong. Jesus calls all of his followers to live in obedience to his teaching, be led by his spirit, be putting to death all of the fleshly desires through the strength of His Spirit, and to be seeking him with ALL of our hearts. So let’s all do this, TOGETHER, AS ONE BODY!

I know I have gotten caught up before with theological differences that I’ve had with people and because of this, I don’t look upon them as I should. I almost forget that they have the very SAME spirit of Christ living inside of them that is living inside of me. I forget that we have the same calling, the same purpose. Instead of dwelling on our differences, we should be seeking to know God more so that those differences fade.

Many times this year I have been discouraged and in tears, asking God to slap me over my head with his truth. I want so bad to know and understand what is true and know the ways of God. But I keep asking God…Why, even when we are all seeking to know you more, are we not in complete agreement? If we all have the same spirit guiding us and teaching us…why do we have so many disagreements regarding theology? I haven’t really had that question completely answered yet, but one thing I know is that it is God’s will that each of us follow him wholeheartedly. I know that I just need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and serving him with everything I have, and trust that he will continue to teach me in His Truth. And if each of us are doing that, and growing in our knowledge of the truth, we will inevitably be growing closer together as well, in unity as the bride of Christ.

John 8:31-32 "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Jeremiah 26:12-15

"Then Jeremiah said to all of the officials and all the people: `The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has planned against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.'"

What amazes me so much about this passage is that even though Jeremiah knew that they would probably kill him after he gave his prophesy...1. He was not discouraged from proclaiming exactly what God had told him to say and 2. He never tried to justify himself before the people and argue why he did not deserve death. He simply stated the prophesy, warned them that it was from the LORD and that the LORD had sent him there to give it to them, and then left it up to them to decide what they were going to do with him without any fight. His focus never strayed from God and what God had given him to do; he didn't think about his own life, his own comfort, or his own reputation. This immediately reminded me of 1 Peter...

1 Peter 2:19

"For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is the conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

`He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.'

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

As followers of Christ, this is what we need to be doing. We can't be worried about our reputation or comfort and should not expect justice on earth. Instead our hearts need to be fully devoted to Christ and set on wholeheartedly serving Him; everyday taking up our cross and laying down our life for our LORD and Savior. We should never let our focus veer from Christ and to ourselves and justifying ourselves before men. We need to entrust ourselves to The One who judges justly for our hope is in the LORD; he is our strength and our fortress. No matter what is thrown us we can stand firm in the truth because God is the one we look to and seek to glorify. In him and only in him is our joy found!

Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty

Last night as I was sitting by the window watching some pretty intense storms roll through I randomly opened up my bible and landed on this Psalm...

Psalm 77:13-19

Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,

the skies resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in a whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

It was pretty powerful and humbling to be reading this psalm while being almost constantly surrounded by lightning and thunder. Our God is a Holy God and an All Powerful God! He controls even the fiercest of storms; he places each lightning bolt in the sky. I feel like if we truly understood how big, powerful, and holy God was we would have absolutely no problem completely trusting in him and serving him with absolutely everything we have. If God literally was standing before us, we would be on our faces, and we wouldn't be able to think of anything beside him. We wouldn't be struggling to make him the center of our thoughts; he would inevitably consume our entire minds. Looking out into the storm reminded me of this and I was compelled to just sit there in awe of God and to, in my heart, worship him, praise him, and exalt him as King over all the Universe.

Then I turned to Revelation 4:5-11...

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

And THAT is just a taste of what worship is like in heaven! My mind can't even begin comprehend what it is going to be like!

Romans 12:1

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

We often labor over why God isn’t making his will clear to us, but we have to ask ourselves…How much time are we spending with him? What are we filling our minds with? Do we expect to have a revelation from God regarding his will for our lives when we are spending most of our time watching movies or tv shows that are full of the very things that are absolutely detestable to God? Do we think that by filling our minds with the world’s perspective we will gain insight into God’s perspective?

Paul tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, to not conform to this world, and be transformed by the renewing of our minds…and THEN, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.

So instead of playing this mind game trying to figure out what God wants us to do, we need to start actually looking to God. Interesting concept, huh? We need to start serving God and living for him, and filling our minds with his word; transforming our minds so that we are seeing things more and more from an eternal perspective. Let us not look to the world for advice and direction, instead let’s look to the God of the universe and the creator of all things. Let’s allow His words consume our minds and dictate our thoughts. If, on a moment by moment basis, we are surrendering our lives to God, doing whatever he has placed on our hearts to do, and doing it with the strength that he provides and saying everything with the words that he gives us, then we can rest in peace knowing that God will direct our paths and lead us to where he wants us. We need to be taking simple steps of obedience, and as we do so, God will make himself clear in our lives.