More Thoughts
As with my other blogs, I will (as often as I write) add more to the bottom of this one until it grows to a suitable length.June 7, 9:42 a.m.
I saw a bumper-sticker yesterday that gave me the thoughts for today's blog. This will have to do with what type of people you choose as your friends.
The bumper-sticker had a multi-colored Obama pictured on it with the word "change." First of all, it turns out to be more tragic than funny that people wanted "change"... (whatever that means) over any type of real substance. Now, of course, because of the folly of those voters... we and our children and grandchildren will pay for that bad choice.
I sped my car up so that I could see what type of people had voted for this man. Of course they were both young and the driver looked somewhat "normal." The passenger in the car was a female and she had a large hooped earring... through her nose! I thought how typical... we must now live our lives based on decisions made by the (mostly) unsaved, young, and dumb.
As I pondered the decisions of people like these, I wondered if we ever met would we have anything at all in common? This in turn caused me to consider the admonition from God: II Corinthians 6:14 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
More commonly this verse is applied as a warning against a believer marrying an unbeliever. However, it would also apply to a saved and unsaved person going into business together as well as developing a very close friendship between believing and unbelieving peoples. In fact, any yoke of any type that causes the saved and the unsaved to bond together in a close relationship would be wrong.
If you are saved, let me ask you a question. Do you feel best about yourself and your walk with God when you are around other saved people and each of you have common interests and common goals, or are you just as "happy" when you are around lost and worldly people?
Many "saved" people try to justify having close relationships to lost and sinning people by saying that Christ was a "friend to publicans and sinners." First of all: you're not Christ... and those lost and sinning people will, by their lifestyle, always try to bring you down to their level. Second of all: all... every single publican and sinner that Christ was around... forsook their sinning ways!!! Else, as with the rich young ruler, once they were made aware of their lost condition if they chose to remain in their sin... they were sent away from Christ.
The Lord did not befriend these people and they still remained in their sin. If, after meeting Him they chose to remain a sinner, they were sent away. So, are you doing the same thing? You befriend a lost and sinful person, but after witnessing to them... repeatedly... and they are not interested... do you separate from them? You should! It is fine to continue to lift them up in prayer and ask God for mercy to see them saved, but it is not okay to continue being a close friend to the lost of this world, that is if you are truly born-again. The word "church" means a called-out and separated group of people.
Let me ask you something else. What could you, a follower of Christ have in common with a person who is lost and in love with the world? Your tastes in music, clothes, entertainment, child-rearing, etc. etc. etc. would be the polar opposite of the lost world. And if it isn't... run... don't walk... to the nearest altar and ask God to save your soul.
If, after asking God to save you, there is not a sea-change in what you now believe, to what you formerly believed, then the Holy Spirit of God does not indwell you.
Now, I do not believe that a new convert will suddenly appear like an angel from God and will start doing all things right. I am saying though, that as a saved person reads their Bible and hears good and sound preaching, that remarkable changes will begin to take place. And those things (sinful habits) that used to bring pleasure, will now bring condemnation into the believers heart and they will want to run away from sinful things, and not toward them.
Let me ask you as a believer in Christ another question. Can you really call someone your friend, who openly mocks Christ, the One who died for your sins? Let me also ask you. Whose friendship do you value the most: your lost friend or the friendship of the Holy Ghost? Because trust me... you cannot have both. James 4:4 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."
I will conclude this today with an admonition and a question from the Old Testament book of Amos. This will be something that you ought to ponder in your heart throughout the day. The proper answer to this question will cause you to forsake those lost people around you that you formerly referred to as "friends." Other then of course to be nice to them when you see them, and to be persistent in your witness to them and in prayer for their soul. Other than that, the lost are not to be your friends... under any circumstances. Amos 3:3 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
June 8, 4:39 p.m.
Today I will just be writing to vent a little. In my seemingly never ending series of seeing doctors the last in this group was ten days ago, another specialist. The blood-work done in her office was 12 days ago and the thoraoscopy performed at Jewish Hospital was ten days ago.
She assured me that she would have all of the results back within the week. However, I contacted them last Friday... no results back yet. I contacted them again today... still no results. This is not (yet) a third-world country and it's ridiculous that nearly two weeks has passed and I don't yet have the results back from the blood-work. And, Jewish is considered a major hospital and they don't yet have their results back either, and tomorrow will be 11 days and counting. Absolutely ridiculous!!!
In addition, I should not have to be the one contacting the doctor's office when they are late. I should have been getting calls from them explaining why it is taking so long. Don't you agree?
June 9, 5:40 p.m.
Today will be a mishmash of information. If this were a message being given at church it would be of the "shotgun" variety. First, in taking care of business... my doctor is apparently A.W.O.L. and not taking care of business. 13 days and counting!!!
If my dad were still alive he would be 89 years old today. It seems impossible to imagine that he has been gone 30 years. In just five more days my mother will have been gone for 23 years. Either number seems impossible to comprehend that (that) much time has passed.
I do not condone George Tiller being gunned down: having said that I also hated the fact that he butchered innocent and helpless babies by the tens of thousands. But, I saw on the news tonight that a very great thing has happened since Tiller's death. The murdering clinic that he owned has shut its doors... permanently!!! Thank God!
There will come a day of reckoning in America, and when that day comes the sanity of normal citizens will return. When that happens they will recognize what a bunch of hard-hearted and cruel people (certain) politicians, some doctors, and many feminists were. Then... at that time America, China, and other nations that murder their un-birthed offspring by the millions will be viewed as we see the Germans who tried to exterminate the Jewish population during WWII.
You tell me how it is any different to take an innocent Jewish child and throw them into a gas-chamber or take an innocent baby ready to be birthed and shove a razor sharp spike into the base of their skull and vacuum their brains out through this hollow tube: for that is exactly what is done during "late term abortions." Obama, his wife, Hillary Clinton, and many others in Washington are monsters with cruel and uncaring hearts. For every single one of them wants this type of America.
They want to pass out condoms in the government run school system, rather than teach abstinence and if the condom fails, they want your tax money to be used to kill the helpless and innocent child.
For my devotions now I am reading the book of Ezekiel. God, through His prophet tells the children of Israel all of the evil He is going to cause to happen to them as a nation. For example: read chapters 15-17 to have some idea of His wrath on disobedient people. In addition to husbands and children being killed by the sword and their wives being savaged by heathen men who ride in to conquer, God also says that He is going to burn their houses down. Do you want to know why He is going to burn their houses down? I mean, if the people sinned against Him it is easy to see why He is going to cause destruction to fall upon them... but their houses? He said it is because they used those houses to burn incense to their false gods. What about the thousands of "houses" in America that are being used to butcher children in?
There will come a day in America that another calamity will happen, and it will so exceed 9/11 that by comparison--- 9/11 will look like the first failed plot to bomb the World-Trade-Towers when Clinton was in office. When that happens there will be people looking to heaven and asking, "why?" Why? Why? Let me save you some time and give you the answer before you even ask.
When God allows a large city to disappear in seconds and untold millions will vaporize.... instantly. Don't look to God in wonder. It is your sin that caused it. You showed no heart and shed no tears for the millions of helpless children who died in the cruel hands of abortionists. God will not continue to look the other way as with your lips you honor Him, but by your deeds you serve the devil.
June 10, 9:33 a.m.
Have you ever paused to consider your life? You should. Don't be so busy or uncaring that you do not honestly reflect on who you are and what is your purpose for being here. Revelation 4:11 states the reason why God created everything and it is the only such explanation recorded in the Bible. However, knowing why God did something and understanding your part in it are not necessarily the same thing.
Looking back on my own life I feel like the village-idiot who was enamored by his own shadow. While, I suppose, it is okay to be fascinated by things of no importance, it causes time to be wasted and that is of utmost importance. Benjamin Franklin wrote: "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." My thought for today is that if life were played like a game of golf I would be requesting a mulligan... another chance to do it better.
What I write next is not to try and determine whether or not this person was saved, I only want to use her to illustrate a choice she made in her life which I admired. I will say that neither she, the Pope, nor any other person can follow the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, as it relates to salvation and be saved, for it is completely a works driven system. However, there will be countless "Catholics" who are members of such churches and in spite of their churches teachings, will have completely trusted Jesus as the author and finisher of their faith: thereby granting them the gift of eternal life and a home in Heaven.
Many years ago I read a story about Mother Teresa as she was boarding a plane. Someone asked her if she needed to stow away any luggage. Her answer was that the only things she "owned" on Earth were the clothes she was wearing and what was in the small bag she had in her hands. I always thought that would be a great way to live. To truly understand that a person's journey on Earth is very brief and this is only a temporary dwelling place.
So, if I were granted my mulligan one thing I would do differently is that I would have never bought a house, never filled out an application for a credit card or a loan of any type. Therefore I would not have become a slave to the "things I owned." Let me ask you a question. Are you a bond or indentured servant to your possessions... who owns who?
Your house has you in bondage for 30 years, your car for six, your credit cards for your entire lifetime... that is if you only make the minimum monthly payments. Friends, these are prison sentences which cause you to waste your life trying to pay for them. And while you are doing this, what really matters... children... family... friends... service to God... are all being lost or set aside.
I greatly struggled before signing the papers to buy a house. I kept quoting in my mind Matthew 8:20 "And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
I also knew that the "servant is not greater than his Master." I knew as well that when Jesus sent His disciples forth to preach the Gospel that He did not permit them more than the clothes on their back to take with them. He wanted them to understand that He was more than able to meet their daily needs... read Matthew 6:33.
So, if I were granted my "do over" I would have never been in bondage to the "things" that He already promised to provide us with as we sought to serve Him and those around us. There would have never been a credit card, house, loan, (of any type) or car payment to be indentured by. I would have had only those "things" that were needed and could be gotten by paying cash.
In that way there would have been more time for walks in the park with the family, more merry-go-rounds to enjoy, a few more gentle pushes on a swing-set... better service to God. Time... just more time to have done things better. And all of that is possible... as long as you are not wasting your life (time) having to work, only to be able to pay for "things."
Perhaps tomorrow I will write about what it really means to be rich, and how with only a little effort you can become wealthy... and it has nothing to do with money.
In finishing today I am going to ask a question. But, even though the question is specific, do not leave it that way. Broaden the question and make it inclusive of all aspects of your life. Then, if you begin to see yourself as trapped and in bondage to things that really do not matter... then begin to change your life, while you still have the precious "time" to do it. "Why do you own three pairs of shoes... when you only have one set of feet?"
June 11, 12:07 p.m.
Before I write about true wealth I would like to write a few words and say that the world is a little more of a sad place because of the home-going of Dr. Joe Boyd. He was one of the great preachers of modern times and a real gentleman. If you ever had the privilege of going soul-winning with him, or if you went anywhere to eat out as he was paying the bill he would say to the person receiving the money, "Make sure your last trip is up." And he would offer a kindly smile and point toward the heavens.
He was a great man of God and I count it an honor to have met and gone door-to-door with him as he preached the Gospel. Dr. Boyd took his last trip ten days ago on June 1 and it was in fact, "up." We weep whenever a man of God Like Dr. Boyd goes to Heaven, because we will miss him and his effort to see souls saved: however, God sees it differently as He welcomes His faithful children home. Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
You can always tell something unique about a man by what verse(s) they use in signing Bibles. As you read which ones he chose, then it is easier to understand a lifetime, nearly 70 years, of being in ministry to the Lord. Dr. Boyd used Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Now I will try to explain how a person can become extremely wealthy, yet it has absolutely nothing to do with having money. If you read Forbe's list of the world's wealthiest, usually, and at this time also, the agnostic Bill gates leads the list with an estimated wealth of a little more than 55 billion dollars. (I will write and publish more in a few minutes, I have to walk Virgil.)
Keep in mind that in order to be truly wealthy your reach would never be able to exceed your grasp. Let's take a look at "the world's wealthiest man" (Bill Gates) and see if 55 billion dollars is enough to make him truly wealthy.
In today's market the estimated retail value of all real-estate in Manhattan is more than one-half trillion dollars. In other words, in order to purchase the real-estate (only) in Manhattan Bill Gates would have to have more than 10x what he has now... and that is just for one burrough in one city in one state in one country. So, it is easy to see that even with all of the money that Gates has control of, his reach could quite easily exceed his grasp.
Are you aware that there are many people in the world today with maybe zero dollars in the bank, and yet they are incredibly wealthy: for their grasp and reach are identical. Let me show you how that can be you.
Jesus is God Incarnate. So, of course He had control of all wealth in the world. So, in that sense He was wealthy. Yet, I want to show you that even as the "man, Christ Jesus..." he was also wealthy, yet He never owned a house or lands, never owned a chariot... or any other means of conveyance, never had more clothes or shoes than what He presently had on, and never even had a pocketbook or a bank account, and He carried no money on His person: yet even the "man" part of the God/man (Christ Jesus) was incredibly wealthy. What follows is the reason for that.
In Matthew 4:1-11 you will read of the temptation of Christ as offered by the devil. In verse eight the devil offers all of the kingdoms on Earth and all of the glory that is in them to Christ... that is if Christ will worship the devil instead of God. Of course, with Holy Scripture Christ rebukes the devil and he flees. But I also want you to notice something else about these passages. Both the "reach" and "grasp" of Christ were identical.
True wealth would be the ability to own or possess anything that your heart desired. So, unless there was nothing on Earth that you couldn't buy, (and as we saw with Bill Gates and Manhattan that is not possible) then only having money does not make you wealthy. Therefore, true wealth has nothing to do with money, because there would always be "things" you couldn't purchase. True wealth is to have no desire for any "things." Another way to say it is that I would not get up from my desk and walk the 12 (or so) feet to the couch to be given the finest set of clothes even if they were hand-stitched by the most talented tailor who ever lived.
True wealth is to be able to see all of the kingdoms of the world and all the glory they hold, and yet... desire none of it! An evangelist had gone to New York one time and he was shown the town by his friends. That night on his knees in prayer he thanked God for all of the beautiful things he had seen. Then he closed with, "But I thank you most of all dear God... that of everything I saw... I wanted none of it." That is true wealth.
The Bible is an amazing Book, in that it can many times teach us wonderful truths, even by what is not recorded. Let me explain. The men who were inspired by God to write the Holy Bible lived, preached, traveled and wrote the Bible in many well-known and historical places. The writers of the New Testament would have seen (firsthand) many of the man-made wonders of the ancient world: such as the Pyramids of Egypt, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, (the place where Paul wrote to the Ephesians) Lighthouse of Alexandria, etc. etc. etc. Yet, not a single syllable is uttered about these magnificent structures they would have seen many times. The reason for this is that none of them had any interest in "things."
All of these men knew what it was to be truly wealthy, yet in material goods they had nothing. They could see all of the beautiful "things" the world had in it, and want none of it and would have no interest in recording any of the amazing sights they passed by daily. Their heart was set on things above, not on things on the Earth.
If you do decide to have this type of true wealth, there is also something else that goes with it. You have to make a conscious decision to not want things, however, it must not be because you could not attain them anyway. Otherwise, for you it is no more than the story of the fox and the "sour" grapes.
Make a decision to be genuinely happy for anyone who buys something new and shiny and takes pleasure in it. Be happy for them, but know in your heart that it is not for you. If you can do that, then you, my friend, are truly a wealthy person: your reach and grasp are now identical.
It's okay to have a car, you might need one for your job. But, does it have to be fancy... shiny... new... etc. The fancier and newer it is only leads to worry for you about scratches, dents, etc. Besides, it can be easy for such a car to become an idol to you. A couple of years ago I bought a new car, a cheaper one but still brand new. Do you know what I found out about myself. It is easy for such things to become an idol for me, something I care more about than I should. I was washing it often and worrying about a couple of dings I got on the door from a grocery cart. Then God sent me a blessing.
After a church service my pastor backed up with his truck and ran it into my side door. Big dent! I had it appraised and the insurance company wrote a check to have it fixed. I decided to keep the dent. It looks just fine on my car and it is good for me. I seldom waste my time or money on washing and vacuuming it anymore. If the grandchildren accidentally spill a drink on the seat or floor, that is okay... I can buy them another drink. Now whenever I see the nose-prints on the back glass from our dogs, Virgil and Stella, they only make me smile as I picture them getting excited over something they saw from the car window.
I remember some time ago reading about a sect of Amish, I believe they are called Beachy, who drives cars. One of their group bought a new car and immediately took a ball-peen hammer to it and made hundreds of dents throughout. He needed a vehicle for transportation, he did not need anything to turn into an expensive idol.
I do have some "things" that are treasures to me. However, it is not because of any monetary value they might have, i.e., rubber dinosaur, old coin, superman mug, cross necklace, scribbled drawings that say, "I luv you grandpa," etc. They are valuable only because of who it was that gave them to me, not valuable because they could be sold for money.
I am not there yet, but I long for the day when no "thing" on Earth has any hold on me. Besides all of that, large amounts of money is probably not good for anyone and God seems to disdain it for most of His servants. There is an old Irish saying, "If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people He gives it to." Keep in mind also that He chose the only disciple who was to betray Him (Judas) to be the one who carried the money for the group.
In conclusion: get off of the treadmill, drop out of the rat race, etc., set your mind on the things of God and strive to follow Colossians 3:2 "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."
June 12, 10:50 a.m.
Just a quick thought for today. When does doing something that should be good, turn out bad? For example: adopting a poor child from a third-world country ought to be a good thing, shouldn't it? The honest truth is... not always: it depends on who is doing the adopting.
This morning I read where some judge has cleared the way for Madonna to adopt just such a child... and all I could think about was the soul of the poor baby. Not only has this sick and twisted entertainer proved herself to be just another "Hollywood whore," in a very long line of such people, she also practices a false religion (Kabballah) where there is no hope for salvation.
Almost all of these false cults have one common thread running through them. There is very little difference between them and all other liberal thinkers who believe their "god" to be a minimalist. In other words, it is impossible to "know Him." Of course, the Bible, God's Holy Word, teaches the exact opposite of this and that is why Christ came into the world and died and rose from the dead so that we could in fact... know God!!! The Apostle Paul stated in Philippians 3:10a "That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection..." That is the whole purpose of God becoming man in Christ Jesus, that our sins would be atoned for and we could have fellowship with and actually know the God of heaven and Earth!
I will finish this today with a famous quote that has a lot of truth in it: "Know God, know peace... no God, no peace."
posted by Robin Johnson @ 9:40 AM
<< Home