BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN

Hebrews 13:4

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

The Word of God says marriage is between a man and a woman, and that has been God's plan for marriage since the very creation of man. Our Lord Jesus Christ also speaks of this in Mark 10:6-7, "But God's plan was seen from the beginning of creation, for 'He made them male and female.' This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife" Don't change the God's formula for marital relations if you don't want to see the judgment of God upon the disobedient. Do not deviate or reason away from His will on the matter of marriage. Stick to the plan and keep it pure.

RECOVERING WHAT WAS LOST

Joel 2:25

The LORD says, "I will give you back what you lost to the stripping locusts, the cutting locusts, the swarming locusts, and the hopping locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you."

Have you ever worked for a paycheck only to feel like you were holding your money in a bag full of holes? Have you ever felt at the end of a long day that your life was lacking and unsatisfying? It’s hard to fathom that the word, “sad,” could ever be associated with the phrase, “rich young ruler," but Jesus taught us about such a person. In Matthew 19:22-23, Christ teaches us, “when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.’” If you make God your Lord and money your servant, you can simultaneously achieve being rich and happy. Whatever it is that you think might be lost for making a commitment, fear not because God's promise is that He'll give back whatever was destroyed.

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN

Psalm 33:12

What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, whose people he has chosen for his own.

When you think it through, the entire nation of believers that we see today actually began with a family that would grow generation after generation. Following this logic, the idea of starting out correctly within a family to create a joyful nation isn’t all that far-fetched. God showed us this in in Genesis 12:2-3 when He said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Through all of it's generations, God made Abraham’s family into a nation. Set your family's future up by choosing to serve God together in the way of Joshua 24:15, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." If you obey Him in this way, your family will truly be blessed.

DIVINE WEAPONRY

2 Corinthians 10:4

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

The things of our physical world are constantly affected by the activities of the spiritual realm. The existence of a Spiritual Being as taught by the Word of God is undeniable and science cannot explain it, but the proof of a Higher Power manifested in people’s changed lives is overwhelming. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12 that, “we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” This is one of the main reasons that Jesus offered to come into your life. When Jesus departed, He gave us the Holy Spirit - the divine power that can clean our lives and protect us from the evil influences of the spiritual realm. Always remember that the Holy Spirit is with you and be careful to listen to and obey His guidance.

YOUR PERSONAL REVELATION

Matthew 16:16-17

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

Is it possible to learn from God when you can’t physically see Him? The Word of God says in John 4:24, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” As a Spirit, He cannot be seen and in order to communicate with Him we must obey His command to pray. It’s through prayer that we can converse with God, and it's through His Word that He communicates with us using the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 teaches that, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” Just as was done with Peter in Matthew 16:16-17, God will reveal Himself to us and we will learn things that couldn’t be learn from any human being. Are you ready for His supernatural lessons for you?

STRIVING FOR THE BIG PRIZE

1 Corinthians 9:25-27

All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Vincent Van Gogh once said, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” There are those that will discourage you from trying to successfully convert your dreams to reality, but remember that you’re already a success if you’ve received Jesus as your Savior. The only thing that you have to do thereafter is to discipline yourself to reach the potential that God designed for you. Remember that you cannot be a disciple of Jesus without self-discipline. Self-discipline will help you to achieve excellence in everything. Are you pursuing Christ with discipline and excellence in mind?

LOVE OF MONEY

1 Timothy 6:10

For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

It’s so easy to violate God’s process for experiencing a blessed life. Many people choose to pursue wealth before committing one's life to God when the proper approach would be to commit one's life to God before pursuing wealth. Matthew 6:33 even pointedly tells us, “And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Our primary concern should be to love God, and God’s concern is to love us and provide our needs. Don’t even bother trying to change or improve upon the process. Just obey His instructions and you’ll not wander towards a faith that leads to sorrow.

PASSING JUDGMENT

Proverbs 24:23

Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

In the eyes of God, we’re all equal because everyone was created in His image and likeness. Furthermore, we are still unique even among each other. This concept brings to mind a story about a political socialist that once visited the wealthy Andrew Carnegie to rail upon him about the injustice of Carnegie’s excessive wealth. From the socialist’s point of view, wealth was meant to be divided equally among all people. Wisely, Carnegie called his secretary for a quick assessment of everything he owned and divided it by the world’s population. He then ordered his secretary to, “Give this gentleman l6 cents. That's his share of my wealth.” David sang in Psalm 119:57, “You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words.” God doesn’t play favorites among his people and He certainly has enough blessings for all of us. Just be obedient to Him and those blessings are yours. Are you worthy of His blessings today?

FULL OF BITTERNESS

Acts 8:23

For I can see that you are full of bitterness and held captive by sin.

A preacher once told a story about an emotionally broken woman who had suffered a great tragedy. She was complaining bitterly about her life, “I wish to God that I had never even been made!” One of her friends very wisely asked, “Why would you wish that? You’re not even made yet, you’re still in the process of being made, but you’re arguing with God during the process.” Bitterness is a prison that holds you captive in the same way as sin. Learn to let go of your bitterness following Paul’s example from 2 Timothy 1:12, “I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” There’s just no point in being full of bitterness when you’ve already come to trust God. Are you bitter about anything today? Is there any reason that you can't let go?

INDULGENCES AND YOU

Romans 13:14

But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires.

Our evil desires and action are what brings trouble upon our lives. Peter L. Ream of Home Life once wrote that, “If alcoholism is a disease, it is (a) disease that we approved; (a) disease that is licensed to propagate; (a) disease that is sold and promotes crime; it is habit-forming; a disease that is spread by advertising approved by the government; and (a) disease that is given as a Christmas present.” Paul said in Ephesians 5:18, “Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.” The reality is quite stark that the ways of the world can truly ruin you and all the blessings that are meant for you. Trust and obey the Holy Word and let Jesus take control of your life.

ACCOUNTABLE LEADERSHIP

Hebrews 13:17

Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

All of us are called by God to lead in some way, shape or form. Before Dwight D. Eisenhower became an American president, he would demonstrate the art of leadership with a simple piece of string. He’d put it on a table and say, “Pull it and it will follow whatever you wish. Push it and it will go nowhere at all. It’s the same exact way when it comes to leading people. People need to follow someone that is leading by example.” As leaders we're all accountable to God for our actions. The best way to lead others is to follow Jesus Christ as your own example, so that when people follow you, they’ll actually have been led by Him. Is your personal example to others one that is rooted in the footsteps of Christ?

DARK AND EVIL PATHS

Proverbs 2:13-15

These people turn from right ways to walk down dark and evil paths. They rejoice in doing wrong, and they enjoy evil as it turns things upside down. What they do is crooked, and their ways are wrong.

When the early American leader Aaron Burr was a student at Princeton, a spiritual revival swept through the college. Burr’s response to the revival was, "I follow only reason." But as the revival continued Burr sought advice from the college president, Dr. John Witherspoon, who would discourage Burr from getting too caught up in the emotion of the revival. Burr went back to his dormitory room, threw open the window, and shouted out across the campus, "Goodbye, God!" Burr had allowed the worldly influence of his school president to win out over the eternal influence of the Word of God. This decision would resound loudly later in Burr's life, even as he rose to the office of Vice President of the United States as he would be best remembered for killing Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel which would effectively end his political career. His life ended in a self-imposed exile. It is truly amazing how bad company can have a lifelong effect. What do you do to make sure that you find yourself in good company?

TREASURE HUNTING

Ephesians 3:8

Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

As a younger man, one of the tasks assigned to me was to assist on four sea explorations in search of the Yamashita Treasure. The faces of the treasure hunters were always filled with excitement, anticipation, and hope; they would willingly pour out their time, resources and lives to find the targeted treasure. There are time when I can plainly remember the feeling of utter danger aboard the search ships. Of course, there's a bigger treasure that will last well beyond our earthly lives: the treasure of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you seek His kingdom first, the Bible teaches us that earthly treasures like the Yamashita Treasure will be added unto you. Get with the program, are you seeking Jesus' kingdom first or not?

CURSES FROM YOUR LIPS

James 3:10

And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

Before you were a Christian, I’m sure that there were words that would emerge from your mouth without any regard as to whether or not those words were blessings or curses. I recall sharing the Gospel with a salty-tongued boy that received the Lord Jesus as Savior. An adult that knew this boy told me that every sentence this boy spoke contained a curse word. This boy became an man of encouragement who would carefully use his words for blessings, and never for cursing. Jesus taught us in Matthew 12:34, “You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” If Jesus is in your heart, you’ll find your mouth speaking good things that are a blessing to others. Have you used your mouth to utter blessings or cursing today?

YOU MIGHT BE THE STUMBLING BLOCK

1 Corinthians 8:12

And thus, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

There are habits and practices that you had before you became a Christian that need to be unlearned. New believers that are still developing are watching you and witnessing what you say and do, so you should be careful with your tongue and your actions. You don't want to be someone's stumbling block, or worse yet, the cause of someone backsliding. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:9, “But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” Be ready to unlearn those practices that can cause a weaker brother or sister in Christ to stumble. Besides, it wouldn't kill you to lose a few bad habits. What bad habits do you have that you know could cause someone else to stumble?

THE GOLD STANDARD

Psalm 119:115

Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God.

In life, there just have to be standards to live by. If we didn't have standards, there's no telling how the free-flowing world might influence you. John Wanamaker, the department store mogul once wrote, “I made my biggest purchase when I was eleven years old. In a little mission Sunday school, I bought from my teacher a small, red, leather Bible. The Bible cost me $2.75 – which I paid in installments. That was my greatest purchase, for that Bible made me what I am today.” The New York Herald Tribune captioned its story on Wanamaker’s billion dollar wealth with, “Later deals in millions called small compared with buying Holy Writ at 11.” If you obey God’s commands and make His Word your standards, surely your life will be blessed. What are you using today to set your life's standards?

SETTLE ANY DOUBTS

Ephesians 2:13

But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.

One of the most awesome experiences that I'm looking forward to having is being in God's presence. I remember having overwhelming feelings of expectation the first time I came face to face to meet a national political figure. While that feeling was great and memorable, I'm positive that it’ll be nothing compared to the moment I come face to face with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, the biggest question surrounding this topic is will you meet Jesus Christ face to face when your time is up? If you don’t know or are unsure of the answer to that question, you need to receive Christ as your personal Savior and settle any and all doubts.

EVERLASTING

Job 19:25

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last.

We can very easily see that the human founders of different religions died and never lived again. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, stands unique as a church builder because, “The gates of Hell will not prevail against Him.” He even conquered death when He rose from the dead after 3 days entombed. This is the reason why the road to salvation is such an exclusive path attainable only though Jesus. Jesus told us very plainly in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again." Our Savior defeated the grave and just like Him, we shall live everlasting beyond our physical death.

WITH HOPE

John 11:25

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.”

In a single week, I attended two funerals. Two mothers had passed away orphaning their children. I was amazed at how the children received this sad event from two different perspectives. One set of children were a set of unsaved children crying at their mother’s death bed without the hope of heaven, feeling that they would never see their mom again. On the other hand were children that were saved by grace and they received their mother’s passing with loneliness, but with hope because of the promise of heaven. That second set of kids reminded me of an African Christian tribe that joyfully refers to their dead as having arrived. Have you made sure that your most precious loved ones are heading to heaven if they should pass? Better yet, have you made sure that you're heading to heaven?

TRUE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD

1 John 1:6

So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth.

In the Bible, darkness is typically symbolic of nothingness. Light, however, is usually symbolic of opportunity or a better place. There’s a story I'd heard about a businessman who wanted to determine which of his two sons were the worthier of inheriting his company. He gave a small amount of money to each and said, “With this money you are to buy something that will fill this house.” The elder son bought the cheapest and bulkiest thing he could buy so he bought straw enough to cover the floor. The youngest son, who knew the wisdom of his father, bought candles which he took home and lit one in each room, so that their light would fill the house. The Father said, “To you, I give over my business. You have shown true wisdom.” Stay out of the spiritual darkness and know the true fellowship with God in His light.

YOUR FUTURE IS IN GOOD HANDS

Psalm 31:15

My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.

J. H. Bomberger once told a story about a brave officer at the sinking of the troop-ship HMS Birkenhead. A young officer by the name of Alexander Cumine Russell was already safe aboard a lifeboat when he spotted another sailor swimming above the waterline close to another nearby lifeboat. Russell spotted a woman screaming out to that swimming sailor and pointing at a drowning man, “Save him! He is my husband!” There was nothing, however, that the swimming sailor could do because there was no more room for another person aboard the lifeboat. Russell looked at the woman and her children and the struggling sailor then jumped into the water to help the woman's drowning husband to his own place of safety. Russell then disappeared drowning into the sea. That sacrifice is similar to that which Jesus had given to us when He gave His life for us. We who should die, were given a chance to live and have a glorious future because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. All along, since before you were born, your future has been in His hands.

MY GOD, MY GOD

Matthew 27:46

At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

You may have asked at some point why Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross. Simply put, the reason Jesus hung upon the cruel cross was because He had to fulfill a purpose that was ordained for Him by God the Father. Paul taught us in Romans 3:25, “For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.” At the very moment of His crucifixion, God the Father who is holy was separated from God the Son who was carrying the burden of the sins of the world. Jesus was forsaken so that each and every single person could be forgiven. Jesus was forsaken for wretches just like us.

WEALTH AND POSSESSIONS

Ecclesiastes 5:19

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God.

Have you truly considered the reality that Ecclesiastes 5:19 is teaching us? There is nothing in your possession that was actually created by you. Although you may have worked for your home, car, money or possessions, you have these things because you have a God-given life to do so. It’s fair to argue that if you’re benefiting from something without working for that thing, it’s because somebody already did the hard work for you. On the other hand if you don’t believe that God created you, but rather that you have randomly evolved throughout the years, this would be a very difficult concept to understand. King Solomon taught us in Proverbs 26:11, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” The Bible tells us that we were created by God and that He has given you everything to enjoy your life. Believing something else would just be a fool repeating his folly.

CHECK YOUR FACTS

1 Timothy 1:13

Even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.

The New York Times once covered the Humanist Manifesto II signed by one hundred and twenty religious leaders, philosophers, scientists, writers, and social scientists. This document was highly critical of religious dogmatism and stressed that humanity alone must solve the problems that threaten mankind's existence on earth. The Manifesto also went on to say that, “No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.” There are many things that we do out of ignorance and unbelief, and we must acknowledge that the Manifesto's position isn’t new. In fact, we can trace ignorance and unbelief back to the very first man, Adam. Be leery to not make the same mistake. Jesus gave to us the embodiment of truth in His life, so get your facts straight and read the Word of God to know and understand Jesus.

SILENCE THE FOOLISH

1 Peter 2:15

It is God's will that your good lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you.

Your best arguments in life are going to be things you've achieved and accomplished. Ultimately, the evidence of your walk will always prove more worthy than your talk. Many times I've been asked, “What’s the difference between what you believe and my religion?” My answer has always been that once you're in Christ, you become a new creation - and that is quite an accomplishment. The Polio poster-child, Larry McKenzie, became an inspiration to millions as he shared his Christian testimony during his travels. He said, “I've met many famous people on my tour such as the President of the United States, the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others, but I think often about the time I'll meet the Lord Jesus, and until then I really want to serve Him any way I can.” Larry's physical deeds despite his disability showed evidence of a good walk in Christ. Talking only goes so far, so let your walk be a demonstration of a good life in Christ. Is your walk today one that's obviously in Christ? Is there any outward evidence that you're even a Christian?