Many Benefits!

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. Proverbs 25:28 NIV

Picture it--a walled city with holes punctured by battering rams--and an entire army from the enemy coming through to either capture or kill those within the walls. Such is the person who is incapable of controlling themselves because they lack discipline--their lack of self-control allows the enemy to come through to capture or kill.

How does that end? The end result for anyone who lacks self-control is disaster--whether it is from a lack of self-control with eating, greed, speaking without thinking, drugs or alcohol, or stealing and lying--whatever it is that refuses to be disciplined in a person's life--will end in disaster.

But we yet have hope with receiving Holy Spirit into our lives! One of the many benefits of allowing Him room to reign in our hearts is self-control.

With Holy Spirit guiding us--we shower others with love, we know peace and joy, we are compassionate and kind, gentle in reprimands and corrections, but firm in our convictions and faith to do what is right and submitted to Holy Spirit's guidance to help us be in total control of what we say and do.

If our spirit-being has been ravaged by the holes punctured by the enemy, we may be setting ourselves for rejection by people and Holy Spirit's guidance. For when our spirits are low--we put our souls at risk when depression seeps in, and clouds of doubt about who we are and what we can do--creep through the holes and blind us to the truth--we are more than conquerors--not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

Perhaps, for some--it is time to allow those holes that have been punctured to be sealed with Holy Spirit so we can receive His many benefits and know wholeness and Holiness, not holeyness (full of holes).

Is it soup yet? Time is marching on and we don't know the day or the hour of His return, but we can live with the expectant hope of living with Him in glory, when we allow Him to live within while we wait. There are many benefits we can receive when we receive Holy Spirit and allow Him to reign.

Holy Spirit, You are welcome to take up residence in my heart, to guide me all the days of my life and to reign with full authority in teaching me--reminding me daily of God's Word--keeping me full of love and self-control.

Is Everything Meaningless?

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.  What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:2-9 NIV 

Unless a person understands the stage of life Solomon was in, one could think that Solomon was decreeing that life was not worth living. But that is far from the case and since his proclamation came before Christ arrived, we know that every moment of life is precious in His sight and when we accept His gift of salvation--everything has meaning.

Having received the gift of wisdom--beyond measure of any other mortal--Solomon lived according to God's Word until he connected with many women who did not know God and in fact worshiped other gods. Gradually, he began practicing some of the forbidden rituals (the danger of being unequally yoked in faith and beliefs) and by the time he realized he fallen far from where God desired him to be, he realized he had wasted the gift given to him. Wisdom without knowledge produces disasters. Knowledge without wisdom is just as catastrophic. This is why we're told, "Wisdom is the principle thing, and in all our getting, get understanding."

Giving a teenager a car when they don't know how to drive usually has negative consequences. They know what the car is, but they do not know the details of how the car functions and without instruction, the car may never move and doesn't benefit them. However, with instruction and knowledge of not just how the car functions, but also the laws pertaining to legally driving, and understanding consideration on the roads, the car benefits them.

We have been given a great gift--salvation--and until we know what it means and begin to practice the instructions in The Word--we may never benefit from the gift. If we never understand the benefit of salvation, life really is meaningless.

With the abundance of grace we've also been given, we learn from our mistakes and commit to doing better and as we continue in life, we'll see just how great our God is and how wonderful life can be--even when we miss the mark--as long as we get back on the path.

There are valuable lessons living provides for us, so let's live to the glory of God and learn how we please Him and be a blessing to others. Living for Him, gives life meaning that is sometimes difficult to understand and express, but so worthwhile.

What The Righteous Can Anticipate For Obeying God!

"Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes." (Psalm 112:6-8 NIV)

What can the righteous--those in right-standing with God expect? The first verse begins the expectations for the righteous. "Blessed is the man who fears (reverently respects) the Lord and delights in keeping His commands." And then, the blessings are enumerated along with the curses for those who do not reverently respect The Lord or delight in His commands.

The righteous shall never be moved or ruffled by current events--not wars, nor rumors of war, not the foolishness of politicians or the ungodliness of judges. They shall not be moved the obvious influences of Satan that lead to the deaths of innocents or plots to overthrow. The righteous shall be remembered forever for their attempts to live a life that pleases God and not man.

The righteous shall have not fear or be moved by all the bad news in the world. They will--with every event--look to the Lord for comfort and solace and keep praising Him for His goodness. With every newscast that broadcasts events that cause others to shudder and quake, the righteous will continue to pray, and not be overly concerned about what they see on the surface, for they know The Word and the times in which we live. The righteous understand that certain events must take place as the final revelation unfolds for all the world to see. The righteous are not concerned about their end for they know, their final destination is to spend eternity with Jesus.

As we get closer to seeing those things that must come--we know the end is not yet--but we are getting closer. Satan's influence in the minds of people can be see in every aspect of our daily lives. He is the author of confusion and chaos and where ever he reigns, we can see the results. When men and women are distraught over who God intended them to be and change to please themselves, it is confusion that ignites the change and chaos that ensues. Throughout history--if one would care to investigate--every time man rises up against God and His intent for our being, tragedy occurs on every front, leaving some shaking their heads, confused because they do not realize we were created for His good pleasure and not our own.

Finally, when the end comes--the righteous will have opportunity to see the look amazement on the faces of all those who attempted to belittle and persecute those who trust in The Lord. For when The Lord returns to claim those who are His, the rest will have only a fiery lake to anticipate--their eternity for unbelief and disobedience.

Of course, there will remain those who continue to pacify flesh instead of seeking God's wisdom and obeying Him. They will be without excuse for their final outcome for the righteous--those in right-standing with God--have ever continued to point them in the right direction and they refused to see the benefit of obeying our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Don't Let Him Cut You Off!

"Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off." (Romans 11:22 NIV)

Like any good parent, God is more than a one-dimensional parent. He can stern, but also kind. His sternness appears when we disobedient children won't conform to His ways. For those who are quick to obey, they receive the benefits of His kindness.

If we remember when we were kids, most of us wanted to receive the benefits from being a good kid. Kind words from parents, privileges, and even special treats--the benefits of being obedient. Few of us--if normal--ever wanted to be on the receiving end of a parent whose anger was directed at us because of disobedience. There is no pleasure in the benefits of disobedience if the result was a loss of privileges, being grounded or severely punished (not abused).

What makes us think that God does not operate in the same manner? He does. The benefits He has for us are immeasurable when we are obedient, but the punishment for disobedience, could be a little difficult to handle. But in the midst of His sternness, grace abides--providing us room to improve our attitudes and behavior, becoming obedient and being brought back into a position to receive His benefits.

However, if we continue to disobey, He will cut us off and leave us to fend for ourselves. He told the prophet Jeremiah to stop praying for people because He would not hear his prayers. I don't know about you, but I never want to think He is not hearing my prayers because I've been disobedient. I do not want Him to cut me off!

Walking through this journey called life leaves us in position to make many choices. We can choose to follow the straight and narrow path and receive His guidance and benefits or we can take the broad path, depending upon the guidance and counseling of man and get cut off from God's benefits. Which will it be for you?

Following the crowd--going along to get along will get a person cut off from receiving God's best in their lives. Don't let Him cut you off!

The Irrefutable Testimony!

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Romans 8:16 NIV).

There are a number of people who are confused as to whether or not they are descendants of Abraham and entitled to all the benefits of being one of God's chosen. From the beginning, God chose those He wanted to call His own and bless. This relationship was based on a natural connection to Abraham through bloodline (the basis of most relationships claiming to be family). However, because many of the natural relatives were rebellious and disobedient, the connective relationship with God was broken and Jesus had to come to restore it.

When the relationship was restored through the work on the cross, all who chose to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord became part of the family by adoption through Holy Spirit. Now, if we are adopted into the family of Abraham, and recognized by God as being part of the family, why on earth are we confused?

Instead of listening to those who are confused and allow negativity to reign in their lives, we must know for ourselves whose children we are. Imagine this event being played out in a courtroom. We have been charged with proclaiming we are joint-heirs with Christ (He's our elder brother) and thereby children of the most High God. All of the witnesses of religious dogma have been called to testify against us, but there is One who testifies with irrefutable evidence-the Word of God. Holy Spirit convinces our spirit that we are the children of God and as such, entitled to all the benefits and promises of God!

Do we dare believe Him? Absolutely, we dare and proclaim from the mountain tops and throughout the valleys that we are children of God. We have a right to proclaim God as our Father, Jesus as our elder brother and Holy Spirit as our guide and counselor in all matters. We have a right to receive all the benefits God promised the Children of Israel from the beginning. We can claim with assurance that God has planned our lives and He planned them with purpose--that we might prosper and have a future with hope. We can proclaim that whatever we put our hands to when we obey God, will succeed. We can rest assured of His promises of victory--being the head and not the tail, being healed by the stripes Jesus bore before being nailed to the cross, having an eternal resting place with Jesus when we choose to be obedient. We have a right to make these claims when we have accepted the adopting agent--our faith in God.

Now with the right to receive all the promises, we all put ourselves in position to receive all the persecution and negativity that was directed at Jesus. We must stay focused on Him and never lose sight of the prize in Christ Jesus--our hope must remain intact until the end when we receive our eternal reward. However, when we choose not to be obedient, we must also expect to receive the consequences that were also promised to those children who disobeyed.

Think about it! Are you proclaiming to be a child of the Most High? I have been accused of proclaiming an inheritance in Jesus--and the evidence provided by Holy Spirit is irrefutable! Hallelujah! I am a child of the Most High, entitled to all His many benefits!