A World of Changes

A World of Changes

I love you, LORD; you are my strength.  The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

 Psalm 18:1-3 (NLT) 

The last 50 or 60 years have brought so many changes there is no way to count them all; this is called progress.  We have integrated thousands of these changes into our lives without even thinking about it.  Many of them are really good changes that help us in many ways.  The progress in communication is probably the greatest accomplishment of all.  If it wasn’t for the internet, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. 

            Just because the world has come to accept things like men and women living together rather than getting married, doesn’t mean we should accept or condone that life style.  The Word of God tells us this is called ‘fornication’. To clarify this word, Webster’s dictionary defines fornication as (voluntary sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman, or between two unmarried persons). Let me give you a couple of scriptures showing why this is sin: 

Flee (run from) fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication, sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18) - Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:2) 

            This is only one thing a believer must not accept; there are so many others.  We all enjoy television and some of the things it offers, but so much of it is not what our eyes should see or our ears hear.  Television, in its earlier stages, only presented programs that the entire family could watch.  There was no swearing; no sexual activity and no horrendous violence.  Gradually, swearing, sex and violence began to creep in and soon we were all watching it.  Today, filth of the world dominates television; cursing and swearing are the norm, nudity and sexual activity are the norm along with violent acts beyond our understanding.

We wonder what is yet to come. Will we recognize it for what it is, or just go with the flow?  The Bible tells us that as we approach the last days, many will fall away from the faith.  “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first...” 2 Thessalonians 2:3.  Fellow believers, stand firm and stand strong.  I could list a great amount of negative things that we may have to face in the years to come, but I believe we should concentrate on the blessings of God Almighty.

ü  We can look for the ‘Blessed Hope’, which is the return of Jesus Christ.

ü  We can be assured that no matter the trials or troubles that come our way, He (Jesus) will never leave    us or forsake us.

ü  He (Jesus) is an ever present help in times of trouble.

ü  No weapon formed against you will prosper.

ü  When you feel you have no strength – He will be your strength and your shield.

ü  God promises his children and their children will not go hungry or beg for bread.

ü  He promises he will provide our needs which are; food, clothing and shelter.

ü  He will guide our pathways and lead us in paths of righteousness.

There is not enough room to write down all of God’s blessings and the above are just a few, but if we stand strong in the Lord and believe his Word, we will be in his care.  Therefore we can look toward with hope and peace.  Just like clothes, styles change, but we don’t have to go along with change, and we don’t have to accept these changes if it goes against our beliefs.  The world is not my guide and it should not be yours. 

Summertime and the Living is Easy

Summertime, and the Living is Easy

 “Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” Luke 21:30-31

I love this song; it makes me feel rested and enjoying the warmth of summer and a more laid back time after the cold of winter fades away.  The first verse has this line, “Fish are jumping and the cotton is high.”  Can’t you envision laying on your back by the river with a cane pole and seeing fields of cotton in the distance?   For some reason you know it’s going to get better.  Listen to this verse “One of these mornings, you’re gonna’ rise up singing.  You spread your wings and take to the sky”!  Is this exciting or not? Jesus is coming back for you and me and I’m going to be ready.

I remember the days that were easy when I lay in the sun at the beach and my children played in sand beside me.  We had a thermos full of lemonade and a bag of chips and maybe a few peanut butter sandwiches.  Those were the lazy days of summer.  It reminds me of some of my favorite things like strawberry shortcake, ice cream cones and hot dogs off the grill.  I probably didn’t think of anything else at the time, except my pleasures of the moment.  It is also easy to fall into a pattern of laziness in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Summer is the time that we go on vacations and picnics and forget about church on Sundays.  It’s when we also take a vacation from God. Not only do we stay away from church, but we don’t think about paying our tithes.  We still have to pay our bills even if it is summer, but we think we can opt out of tithes.  What do you think God thinks about that? 

Tithes are not given to make a payment to God, but tithes are a way to honor God and be blessed.  “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed you?' In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8.  Now, did you realize you are a thief? These are pretty strong words, but I didn’t write them; these words come from God, himself.

You give, you get.  Maybe you don’t understand this, so let’s read on as it is explains.  “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10.  Not only will God bless you financially, but in all ways.   I always like to add this verse with Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

To put it more simply, in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”  The truth is that God wants to bless us, but we also need to bless God. I learned as a child that if you have a dollar, you must give 10% to God.  That’s only 10 cents of a dollar.  I would never dream of not tithing. And if I couldn’t be at church some Sunday, I will make it up the following Sunday.

I’m not telling you something I haven’t tried myself.  God has blessed me in so many ways, I can’t count them. I can tell you story after story how God has blessed my giving and he wants to bless you the same way.  Maybe you should try it. 

“Summertime and the Living is Easy” if you share it with God. Don’t rob God so you can spend more on your own pleasure. God really wants to bless you!