Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 – 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
However, when you do vow and obey the Lord, it pleases Him greatly. If we’re not trying to please the Lord, we need to examine and question our path.
Not to be confused with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
One night back 1994-95, or sometime around then, I asked God to give me some encouragement. I had been studying quite a bit back then and just needed something to fill up my tank.
That night I had a dream. You know what it was about?
Neither do I! I have quite a post going here so far here, huh?
Actually it was an incredible, unforgetable event for me.
I actually only remember the last 3 seconds of what I kind of remember being a pretty long and in-depth dream. The words that came from my own mouth were,” Thank you Jesus, You have shown me more than I could have ever asked for!” The only little bit I remember at the end was a brilliant color of blue and it was like I was in the air travelling. That was it. The sensation of how I felt about what I had seen was still with me. What I had seen was not allowed to be remembered.
I knew from the time that I woke, had those feelings, that the Lord had just answered my prayer for encouragement. I didn’t for two seconds think to myself, that stinks, I can’t remember what I just went through. I knew that the reason I couldn’t remember is because I wasn’t allowed to.
1 Corinthians 2:9 – 9However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
The greatest moment on earth will not even begin to compare to the normal everyday of Heaven.
So why are we trying to build Heaven here on earth? We are warned repeatedly by scriptures in the New Testament not to do this.
It takes faith to take what God has entrusted to us and invest it into the Kingdom of Heaven instead of ourselves. Jesus and God love that kind of faith.
A day whisks by, you blink, and it’s over.
A year isn’t very long, when one looks back at life.
A decade flies by, where does the time go?
A half a century elapses; your time on earth is on the down slope.
If you have managed to do quite well based on worldly standards, was it really that great? If you did it all for yourself and have nothing to present to the Lord when the rewards are due, how will you feel?
We’re not taking any of physical comforts with us. It all stays behind. The only thing that continues forward is what you have done for Him.
If you’re reading this, you’re never too old and it’s a great day to serve Jesus. It’s even a better one to make that service an everyday habit.
Paul let’s us know to run the race.
Acts 20:24 – 24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
We all have a duty to run the best race that we are capable of running. By running the race the best you can, you’re going to affect others on their race as well.
The race for most is not a sprint, but a long endurance run. But you need to be running. We don’t need to be running to the left and to the right or backwards. Run towards the prize. The prize is in front of you. The Devil will tempt you will all sorts of distractions and will have you running ragged.
Hebrews 12:1-3 – 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Keeping our eyes on Jesus as you run will keep you running straight.
We have a duty to keep running up to the time of our departure. Rapture or Death you need to run the best race you can.
When the race is complete for you, it will be time to pass off the baton to another. Make it a goal to build those up around you to make them strong loving Christian people so you may pass the baton off and begin your new life with your Savior in Heaven.
The purpose of this post is to remind people that we can’t be putting others on a pedestal.
Great men of God are still men. That’s what I love about the Bible.
God is infallible, man is a mess.
The more hooked into to God we are and the more we die to ourselves, the less of a mess we become. Even under those circumstances, we are still humans.
My example today is John the Baptist. What a great man of God. Dedicated his whole life when he was called from what we believe was from his birth.
Here is what Jesus had to say about John the Baptist.
Matthew 11: – 10This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
John prepared the way for the coming Messiah. He was fully committed to God.
After John was arrested and was in prison, he wondered if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. I believe John like many of the Jewish leaders of the day, thought the Messiah was coming to take over and rule the Jews over the other nations. So when that wasn’t happening, he was second guessing his baptism.
Matthew 11:1-3 – 1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Why did John ever doubt? Because he was a man.
He was in prison after giving his life to God. He was hearing about Jesus preaching the Good News, but I can’t help to think, and this is my opinion, he was waiting for Jesus to make his Kingship and then get John out of that prison.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that for two seconds that if John knew that if he was going to be in prison or beheaded and that was God’s plan for his life, that he would have changed a thing. He was a souled out believer.
John was a great man of God. Like all great men of God, he had his moment or moments.
I am so grateful that the Lord had all those things recorded in his Word. If all the great men of God were perfect, who would attempt to follow and present the Gospel after them? Certainly not I.
However, since all men are fallible, we can all know that perfection isn’t a necessity to spread the Good News.
A heart for Truth is. To spread around the correct Gospel is. Perfection however, is not a prerequisite. Time for all of us to spread the Good News.
In the following verse King Saul and David are talking about David wanting to fight Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:32-37 – 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
Now this post is on one thing in which 20 or more could be written. I’m going to concentrate today on how God prepared a boy to fight and take out one of the toughest warriors of their day.
David was the youngest of 8 sons that belonged to Jesse. He tended the sheep for his father’s flock.
During that time he had dangerous Sheppard duties. I know I would be freaked out at my age if I was tending sheep and a lion came along.
He was the protector of the flock and I’m sure he practiced slinging stones from his sling all day long. It appears to me it was the kind of job which gave him time to practice as well as time to meditate on the Lord.
When the lion and the bear came around, he had built the confidence to confront his enemies. However, don’t miss the fact that God had him out there as a Sheppard in the first place. David had a willing heart to serve God.
Now David found himself on the battle lines. He knew that God already rescued him from the lion and the bear. No small task there. He also knew that God would give him victory over Goliath.
They tried to put armor on him. They tried to give him a shield and a helmet. They tried to give him a heavy sword to use.
None of this was familiar to him. It wasn’t how he trained. It wasn’t how God how prepared him up to this point. David was ready for battle based on his trust for God. He trusted that God would give him victory and he trusted that God had prepared him to fight.
He didn’t count on God giving Goliath a heart attack, although God was capable of doing that. No, God had prepared him prior to this fight, from his responsibility of protecting the sheep.
We have a responsibility to continue to prepare for what God has planned for us. If we’re not ready and our hearts are not right, we get passed over like David’s seven older brothers.
Prepare yourselves. How? By studying God’s Word as often as you can.
By studying God’s Word you prepare for that lost sole that is seeking God and needs your help. By preparing you’re less apt to get swept away by some slick talking guy that’s not teaching the correct things about God whose Son is Jesus Christ.
Every one of us has some sort of talent that can be used for God. No talent is too small. If you use a small talent for Jesus, it’s better than an amazing one someone has that isn’t.
Prepare for the things God has in store for you, because if you’re not prepared, or willing and able, he can’t use you in the battle.
We’ve been in the story of the Exodus and the focus is on how quickly man can forget the awesome Hand and works of God.
The Israelites were at the Red Sea and complaining to Moses. As we know God parts the Red Sea in another awesome miracle. The Israelites cross over and do a dance and sing songs for the Lord.
Immediately they have no water in the desert and they come up to Marah. The water was bitter. It doesn’t indicate that people asked Moses to ask God to make it drinkable. It says they grumbled against Moses. Once again, Moses went to God and God had him throw in a piece of wood and they could drink of it.
Not even few small paragraphs later we have them complaining of …… Food.
Then God rains down Manna. Do they obey God concerning Manna? Of course not. Don’t get me wrong, many of them did. The others, well they were going to try and store some the next day and it was rotting, just like God said. Others went out to find some on the Sabbath and there was none, just like God said.
We look at the Israelites and we think,” Are you blind? Do you not hear and see the Hand of the Lord?”
Trust me on this one. Nothing has changed. The time period changes, but humans don’t change. When they are trusting God and following Him and his Word, they are blessed. When they are not, destruction comes.
God does get tired of man not obeying Him. Plagues were set off on the Israelites who continued to grumble. Plagues were set off on those who chose the idol over the Ten Commandments. The whole assembly that came out of Egypt, besides Joshua and Caleb, died in the desert. They were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Why, because they wouldn’t listen to God.
The next generation listened to God and they began their conquest of the Promised Land. Who were they conquering? Nations that were evil in God’s eyes and that weren’t obeying Him.
How quickly can humans forget?
We were once a great nation. Why? This nation served God and overall was an ally of Israel. Not always strong and shame on us when we weren’t, but guilty enough that their neighbors aren’t fans of ours.
Now this nation worships money. It’s over $12 Trillion down and that’s the conservative estimate. It has been fighting since 1962 to throw God out of everything.
Make sense? Actually, when one gets to know the Word of God and the sinful fall of man, it does.
Study God’s Word nonstop. The only sanity, in an insane and out of control world, is God and His Word.
Yesterday we spoke of the ten awesome plagues that God put on the Egyptians. The Israelites witnessed it all. After the Plague of the Firstborn, the Egyptians begged the Israelites to go and even gave them their goods, silver, and gold, when they were asked by the Jews.
In another mighty act the Lord led them in the form of a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
In Exodus 13:17 the Israelites are on their way out of Egypt. God has just delivered them singlehandedly from a strong dominant well to do nation. How many versus does it take for them to lose heart? About 15 versus it seems. Pharaoh has a change of plans and decides he wants his slave labor plan back along with everything that was just plundered from them.
Exodus 14:5-9 – 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
I don’t think Pharaoh’s heart needed to change much nor needed a lot of persuasion from God to harden. So with one miracle after another, day upon day from the Lord, how did the Israelites respond?
Exodus 14:10 – 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
Crying out to the Lord is the good part. We need to cry out to the Lord for deliverence, but were they crying out to the Lord in confidence?
Exodus 14:11-12 – 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Now I don’t know about you, but when they were upset during captivity when the Egyptians took away the straw and still wanted the same number of bricks, I can understand whining to Moses that more hardship was being brought on by Moses’ boldness. At that time they were trying to go with the flow and they were being beaten for something they weren’t prepared for.
That was before the Hand of God led them out of Egypt. Now after witnessing God’s mighty strength, are they praying to Him stating, “please God, help us again!?”
No. They’re complaining to Moses asking him if it was because there were no graves in Egypt that he brought them out into the desert to die.
They were asking Moses if “he” brought them out of Egypt to die? I’m pretty sure we read that Moses was very careful to explain to the Israelites that it was God that delivered them out of Egypt.
My, how quickly man forgets! I emphasize the human race, as the Israelites are just the example in this story.
We could stop right there and wrap it up, but there is so much more. We could use another day and let’s make that tomorrow.
Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
No generation of people has seen the direct mighty Hand of God at work more than this one.
They witnessed 10 plagues that were sent upon the Egyptians to help set them free. Those plagues weren’t only to help set them free, but to display the awesome power of God also.
One by one they witnessed them.
The Plague of turning the Nile to blood.
The Plague of Frogs.
The Plague of Gnats.
The Plague of Flies.
The Plague of Livestock dying. Yet not the Israelites livestock.
The Plague of Boils.
The Plague of Hail.
The Plague of Locust.
The Plague of Darkness.
The Plague of the Firstborn.
The Plagues were a strong judgment on a nation that had enslaved and suppressed God’s chosen people. Not only were the judgments awesome in their severity, but just to make sure there was no mistake, the Israelites were warned and spared of the judgments. This way, no one could pass it off by unfortunate circumstances.
Were the plagues bad timing for the Egyptians? No, they came right after God told Moses to tell them they were coming if they didn’t let the His people go.
Did this generation of people (Israelites) as a whole, straighten up and live unwavering from this day forward?
Let’s discuss more on this tomorrow.
John 8:12 – 12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
What is darkness?
Well by reading the scriptures, most of the time it refers to a lost place you don’t want to be or it describes evil.
Darkness happens when one gets away from God.
When one walks blindly in the dark they stumble, fall, can walk off the edge and get seriously hurt, or die. Their acts many times are considered evil by God, even when they aren’t trying to be that way. Because when you’re in the dark, you can’t see the problem unless someone else sheds some light on it. Ah, great saying and I think you know where we are going with this.
Who is the light of the world?
Jesus is the light of the world. This is what Jesus has to say to all those who have accepted him as Lord.
Matthew 5:14-16 – 14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
So the Light of the World just got done telling us what he expects from those who have accepted Him and love Him. Jesus is stating you now need to be a light on the hill because you are a part of Him.
Are you hiding your light under a bowl? You need to really answer that question. If you are, Why?
Would you like it if a so called friend ignored you every time someone else came along. Let’s imagine you are walking along with a guy named John and you bump into Bob.
John: “Hey Bob how’s is it going?”
Bob: “Hey John, I’m doing great. Hey who’s you friend here?”
John: “Who?”
Bob: “The guy you appear to be walking with, Him.”
John: “Oh yeah, him. You know he’s a personal friend. We talk sometimes when no one else is around. But now you’re here and frankly I just don’t feel comfortable in introducing him to you.”
Bob: “Oh, are you upset with him or ashamed of him.”
John: “No! Are you kidding me? He’s everything to me. It’s just that it takes me out of my comfort zone to introduce him. You know?”
Is this a friend? This is the way many treat their so called important friend Jesus.
There is nothing in the Bible that I recall that states if you’re shy don’t worry about sharing Jesus with the world. Nothing that says if sharing God and Jesus takes you out of your comfort zone, don’t worry about it.
Anyone can be a light on a hill. Anyone can share what the Lord is doing in their lives. This world is full of hurting people that are constantly put in our paths and you can be a light to those people.
Jesus has another verse that comes to mind.
Matthew 10:32-33 – 32“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
I’m not saying that this verse is aimed at a timid Christian who doesn’t share the Lord with others. But this verse does point out how important it is to Jesus that you acknowledge Him before other people.
Be a light on a hill for everyone to see. The world is full of darkness and it needs Jesus.