Expecting Trouble

"But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply; "I am carrying on a great project, and cannot come down." (Nehemiah 6:2-3)
You would think that everyone would appreciate the efforts of Nehemish, in his work to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. It was a labor of love for both the glory of God, and the protection of the people of Israel. But not everyone was supportive, in fact there were those (because of selfishness and jealosy) who were set on hindering the work, even hoping it would stop. If we read the book of Nehemiah, we see that he put the will of God ahead, of what other people thought, or did.
Nehemiah was a constant prayer warrior. He fought his battles on his knees before God. And God directed his actions. It was God's will that the wall be restored, and through the faithfulness of Nehemiah, and his faithful workers, this became a reality. The question still remains; Why is there always oposition to the work of God? Many a faithful serviant has faced unexpectant conflict, in the process of accomplishing Kingdom work. Well the Bible makes it clear, that we have an enemy that is like "a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Satan will always try to work through people, to cause conflict and develop obstacles, in accomplishing kingdom work. Whenever you do something for the Lord, expect that there is going to be trouble. To me this is evidence that Satan is alive and well. But what Nehemiah knew in his heart, John reminds us of, in 1 John 4:4 "Greater us He that is in you, than he who is in the world." No matter what the battle is in our service for the Lord, if it is the Lord's will, that a certain project of program is accomplished, it will be accomplished. Because as Paul said: "If God is for us, who can be against us." (Romans 8:31) GP

I Need My Space

"Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, he departed again to a mountain by Himself alone.“(John 6:15) After feeding the five thousand, Jesus departs to a mountain by Himself. In essence He was saying,"I need My space" Do you ever feel that way?
Do you ever feel like you are being crowded? People can zap the life out of us, if we'll let them. How many times have you wanted to pursue something for the Lord, and someone or some ones, will come and want to dictate, how you will do it, and demand that it be done, a certain way, or their way; and destroy all the creativity you have to offer. There are many times that people don't want to give other people room to breathe, let alone pursue their dreams. Jesus knew what His purpose was. He knew why He was here in this world, and the world was not going to distract Him, or to ruin the fulfillment of that purpose. He knew that He was headed to a cross, to die for the sins of man-kind. The rest that He did for man-kind, while He was here, was icing on the cake. The words "No, I need my space on this" is hard to say, because we worry about what people will think about our independence. If there is one think that is so important in relationships, and certainly in work relationships, is that everyone deserves their space. Everyone needs the space to pursue their dreams, and find their place in this world. Even with a work project, or activity, if it is a small space; it is still a space, for one to realize their talent, and potential. Too often we rob people of this. And too often, it comes back to hurt us, because not only does it hurt the person, it hinders the group from accomplishing the goals they wanted to achieve. Jesus knew the value of finding His space.
We need to find ours, and allow others who are around us, to find theirs.
(GP)

O How I Love Jesus!

The Church of Ephesus, seemed to be a very successful church. They were a busy, active, involved church. But something was missing. According to our Lord Jesus, they had "left their first love" (Revelation 2:4) Can it happen that you can get so busy serving the Lord, that you stop loving Him? Just like in any relationship, if you don't put effort into it, the love can grow cold. The Lord calls them to do three things, in order to restore this broken relationship. 1. They are to remember how new and vibrant the relationship was in the beginning.(v.5a) 2. They are to repent of this neglect, and change their minds, which will change their actions.(v.5b) 3. They are to repeat the basic fundemental things, that made their relationship with the Lord, what it was in the beginning. Prayer, feeding on God's Word, worship, obedience, are all vital foundational activities, that keep our realtionship with the Lord strong. (v.5c) They were to repent, and change their attitude and actions, or they would have to face the consequences. The Lord warned that He would come quickly, and remove their lampstand from it's place.(v.5d) In essence He was saying to the church which was to be a bright light in the world at that time, that they would no longer exist. The Lord would remove them.
Here's the question to sum up what the Lord requires, of us as His church. How can we be a bright light in our community, if our light for Jesus is very dim, and almost out? We should always live up to the title of the old hymn "O How I love Jesus" Let it never be, "O How I loved Jesus" GP

How Much Do We Weigh?

If we were to place ourselves on a spiritual scale, what would we weigh? How strong of a commitment to the Lord and His Word, would the scale reveal to us? As much as I am hesitant to step on a physical scale to view my physical weight, I would be more hesitant to view the results of my spiritual maturity.
Belshazzar the last king of Babylon in Daniel 5 was told how much he weighed, in light of his relationship with God. Belshazzar was a grandson to King Nebuchadnezzar. The event is of a great feast that he gave at the palace, during the siege of Babylon in 538 B.C. He really shook his fist at God, when he had the vessels of the temple, (which King Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem) brought in, and used during the feast. Everyone one was in a festive mood, until Belshazzar, and all his guests, saw a hand writing something on a wall. It says that King Belshazzar became so afraid, that he became pale, and his knees began to knock, so much so, that his legs gave way. The words said this: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. " Daniel was the only one who could interpret what those words meant. It was a statement from God to Belshazzar:
"God has numbered your days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales, and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.(Daniel 5:25-28) In essence, God was saying: Belshazzar, Judgment is coming, and you have been found lacking! You thought you had it all, but in reality, you have nothing!
In God's scales, how much do we weigh? I pray that our love and devotion to God is strong and full. As we step on God's scales, I hope that He sees the fullness of His Son Jesus in our lives. Establish a relationship with Him today, and never, ever, find yourself in God's sight, empty and lacking. GP

What Kind Of People Ought We To Be?

Do you know when the Lord Jesus is coming back? Many will ask this question:
"Do you really believe He is coming back?" Peter's answer in his second letter, in essence was an emphatic "Yes!"
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,.."(2 Peter 3:10-11) That is a good question. In light of all that will happen when Jesus returns, what kind of people will He find us to be? Will He find us to be holy (set apart to be God's people, committed to worshipping, and following Him, instead of the world. And along with holiness, godliness, (which is bearing the virtues of God's character in our lives). As He is a righteous God, we are to be a righteous people. Will He find us to be so? I pray that He will.
But time is of the essense, because we don't know when Jesus will return. It could be at any time. And this life is our time to prepare for His coming.
Of all the bad things that could happen to someone, the worst is to leave this world without establishing a saving realtionship with Jesus Christ. And if we are here when He returns, for Him to find us involved so much with the world, would be severely unfortunate for us. Peter's question is a vital question. One that must be responded to today, before it is too late. (GP)

How Salvation Works! (Outline By Alan Carr)

How Salvation Works!
I used another sermon outline from Alan Carr on Sunday for the message entitled "How Salvation Works" Of all the questions ever asked, this one is the most important: What must I do to be saved?" The Jerusalem crowd after hearing Peter's dynamic sermon on Jesus Christ asked this question (Acts 2:37c) And the Philippian jailer also asked this question (Acts 16:30) If you ask this question today, these are the answers concerning how salvation works.
The First Step Is Conviction (Acts 2:37)
After they heard what Peter said about Jesus Christ, it says that they were "pricked in their heart" They came to realize who Jesus was, and what they had done in putting Him on the corss. Realizing that He had come, as God planned, to be the Savior of the world. I hope that you will realize (if you haven't) that you need a Savior as well.
The Second Step Is Conversion (Acts 2:37b-41a)
Peter tells the crowd what they must do to be saved: Two things are involved here: Repent or feel sorry for your sins, and the life you have lived apart from God, and then be baptized for the cleansing of sin, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Third Step Is Continuation (Acts 2:41b-42)
It says that the early Christians (following their conversion) devoted themselves steadfastly to these things: The Apostles Doctrine (Bible Study) Fellowship (Being a strong support group) The breaking of bread (cf. Communion and partaking of the Lord's Supper) and Prayer (Communicating with God)
The process of being saved is not an easy process, because it involves, personal surrender, and personal faith.
Have you allowed Jesus to save you today?
It may be hard, but it is the most important decision you will ever make in your life. This decision involves your eternal security.
Please don't wait to do it, and let it be to late! GP
Alan Carr www.sermonnotebook.org

Looking In The Mirror

"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25.
This is a very humbling experience, but one that is so necessary. In various situations in our lives, we may think that our thinking is right, our attitude is right, and after following through with our actions, we find ourselves very miserable. The question that James asks us in these verses, is, before we think, and feel, and act, do we look in out spiritual mirror, which is the Word of God. So much would be better about our lives, if we would do this. But because of pride, and conceit, we choose to let our own thoughts and feelings dominate our lives. Could it be that we may be wrong? Heaven forbid! Well our Heavenly Father who is in heaven, wants us to be right. He knows how we can be right. The way to be right, is to learn and obey the truth from His Word. Oh how we like to look nice in public, and so we look in the mirror several times, to make sure that everything looks good. Shouldn't our spiritual side look good too? It can, if only we will look in the mirror. The mirror of God's Word! GP