Friday, November 30, 2012

Duck Dynasty #2

This is what separates these guys from the rest...their love and service for God!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEsDA3bvUDE

Sloth or laziness #4




Not only can being lazy affect your day to day life but it can also be a major problem in you spiritual life. Don't miss this! Check these verses out:



Luke 19:36-40

36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying:



“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’[a]

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”



Wow. A lack of worship or a refusal to worship is to fail to recognize and submit to God's authority. This can be identified as laziness also. Why? Because a failure to be awed by What God has done through Christ is just plain laziness! It is putting yourself on the throne. Basically saying "God you are no big deal". Please, Please don't be guilty of this!



A great example of this is sporting events vs. church. Wow do folks get excited about a home run or a touchdown or a teams victory. Where is that same excitement for Jesus who has given us the ultimate victory???? Laziness is the only answer! We better be careful before the rocks start crying out for us!



Think about this over the weekend! Are you lazy in your worship?



Tom

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Sloth or laziness #3




Yesterday we looked at what being a sloth or lazy is not so today lets look at what the effects are of being lazy or slothful.



1. Being lazy is destructive!



Look at this verse:

Ecclesiastes 10:18



18 Because of laziness the building decays,

And through idleness of hands the house leaks.



Wow, some folks are so lazy they don't take care of things that can easily be fixed. Therefore severe consequences will be paid down the road. This can be said for relationships too. If we are to lazy to take the first step in repairing them, well they may just never be fixed!



2. Being lazy is irresponsible.



Being careless about your own soul is lazy and irresponsible. Failure to seize the day for God's glory is irresponsible. So being lazy is not only physically irresponsible such as we seen under #1 but also spiritually irresponsible. Not a good thing for when we see Jesus face to face one day!



Look at this verse as it can cover both the physical and spiritual laziness:



Ephesians 5:15-16

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.



3. Being lazy can be hateful!



It took me a while to grasp this point. We have to look at this point as love for our fellow man. God is love. Jesus tells us to love others and even love our enemies. So if we are being lazy and not sharing our faith, our blessing, our time, and our love then it can be said we are being hateful to our fellow man!



Matthew 12:30

30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.



Matthew 5:42-48

42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.



Wow that pretty well sums up that point huh?



So like I said yesterday, be careful about concluding that you are not lazy before we see all that God's Word has to say about it! Slaps me around a little!



Tom

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sloth or laziness. #2




Continuing to day on the subject of being a sloth or lazy. Today let's look at what being a sloth or lazy is not.



1. Stillness is not being lazy.



We live in a world of business. Jesus being our example often withdrew to a deserted place for prayer.



Luke 5:16

16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.



God commands us to be still.



Psalm 46:10



10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!



2. Observing the Sabbath is not lazy.



God commander us to observe the Sabbath.



Hebrews 10:25

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.



Deuteronomy 5:12

12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.



The Sabbath is also a day of rest.



Leviticus 23:3

[ The Sabbath ] ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.



Luke 23:56

Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.



Listen to God's Word here!



3. Recreation isn't lazy.



God intends for us to have fun...vacations, hobbies, arts, entertainment, ect. But they have their place and time. Give God the glory for his blessings and good times!



Deuteronomy 28:2

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God.



4. Retirement from a job is not lazy.



Retiring from a job and and then doing nothing but playing golf or vacation is lazy. When you retire it gives you time to be free to serve the Lord more! Don't forget that. Kingdom minded pursuits should be a main priority. Yes take time for fun but also keep God first!



Colossians 3:23

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,



Give God your very best and serve Him with all your heart, soul, and strength and you will never be lazy!



Tom

Monday, November 26, 2012

Sloth or laziness.



Before I did the series on marriage that was requested we were looking at the 7 daily sins that is based on the seven deadly sins. So let us pick up where we left off and today look at Sloth or laziness.



As Americans we have been conditioned over the past several decades to try and do little as possible. To get to a point where we can retire and do nothing. Even our government makes it easy for folks to do nothing and get food and bills paid for by a thing called entitlements. It is a sad state we live in compared to our grandparents days. Now we have our children lay around getting fat, playing the xbox we bought them for hours on end. Who cares if they make good grades or not as long as they are happy, right? What are we doing??????



The bible has much to say about this. For example:



2 Thessalonians 3:10

10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.



Proverbs 12:27

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.



Proverbs 13:4

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.



Now think about these verses. Before you say I am not lazy or like a sloth, wait until we are done with looking at this over the next few days! haha Today we look at those who do almost nothing, as we go through this we will see laziness has more to it. We see above in the 2 Thessalonians verse that at the very least we contribute to others laziness by the entitlement programs we support by our votes and not requiring more from the folks who receive them. I have no problem helping those in need but we should expect folks to do something for themselves not sit back and do nothing. God's word says no work no eat!



When folks are as lazy as a man who won't take care of an animal he kills to eat....that is lazy! The other verse says a lazy man has desires but doesn't do anything to get those desires....lazy! BUT those who are diligent will be made rich! Now I want you to think more about spiritually than materially on the being made rich. Do godly things and receive godly blessings!



Think about these things today and don't be lazy!



Tom

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

What Thanksgiving is about right here!


The optimist says, the cup is half full. The pessimist says, the cup is half empty. The child of God says; My cup runneth over. Anonymous

Marriage #9 Love, Respect, and SACRIFICE.



This is my final devotion on marriage. Marriages can be very difficult and they can be very easy. One thing I have noticed about great marriages...they have three things in common: Love, Respect, and sacrifice.

Ephesians 5:33

33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

In our marriages, the key is this sacrifice! If we put our other half first, before ourselves, love and respect are obvious. The great marriages have these three essentials. The bad marriages are the where selfishness has set in. Not much respect, not much love, and no sacrifice. Christ set the example for us with His Bride the church. He showed all three of these essentials and expects us to do the same for our other half!

So are these essentials a part of your marriage? If they are great! If they are not you better make some changes! We are one flesh with our spouse, let us do as Christ commands and thus our marriages will be blessed!

Tom

Monday, November 19, 2012

Marriage #8 Love your wife as Christ loved the church.




Men, this is so simple to understand.



Ephesians 5:25-29

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.



This tells us first of all to love our wives. Love is more than a feeling. It is respect, honor, caring, seeing past mistakes, forgiving, and taking care of them. Feelings come and go but love should not. Don't base your marriage on feelings alone. It is much, much more than feelings.



Second, Christ is our example. As he loves the church, we are to love our wives. Stop and think about that for a moment. Christ died for the church, are you willing to die for your wife. Christ gave himself in total devotion to the church, can you say the same for your wife? Christ did so much for the church as you look at verses 26-27. Sanctify, cleanse, washed, took away spots, wrinkles, so the church could be Holy and without blemish. To sum all that up is to say He forgave her through HIS BLOOD of all her imperfections and sins! Wow! Are you forgiving of your wife? No matter what? Think about this...can you wife wrong you in any area that would be worse than the sin you have committed against Christ? I think not! Christ has forgiven us so must be willing to forgive our wives.



Third, The Word says men ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Hopefully we all are taking good care of our bodies. We are to take care of our wives as we take care of our bodies. We should nourish and cherish the bodies God has give us, just like Christ nourishes and cherishes the church!



Oh How Jesus loves us! I hope your wife can say without hesitation how much you love her!



Tom

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Blessed!

Another blessing from the Lord above! Thank you Jesus!

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Friday, November 16, 2012

Marriage #7 Submit to one another.




Some more simple and straight forward verse from God about marriage this morning:



Ephesians 5:21-23



21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.



First, we are to submit to one another both in our marriages and as servants of the Lord to others. Submit is a word we don't like to hear in our day and time, but if we take Jesus for our example that is exactly what He did. The key here is thought that we do not submit to those who change the Word to their own fancy...stand strong on God's Word!



Second, wives are to submit to the spiritual leadership of their husbands. The problem here is many times men are not being the Spiritual leaders of their house thus leadership becomes a problem. God has made man to be the spiritual leader of the house, most women who see this in their husbands have no problem following in this manner. So men do what God has designed you for and lead your families closer to God by bible study, prayer, faithful church attendance, and serving the Lord with your life.



Third, remember as the spiritual leader men you are to be like Christ. Humble, loving, respectful, and serving. Like I said before, if we have our lives in line with what Christ expects from us, our wives will have no problems following that leadership!



Tom

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Bonecollector Roared this morning!

Scored on a 9 point this morning...God is good!

Marriage #6 Keep Your Marriage Vows




This simple and to the point this morning.



1 Corinthians 7:10-11



Keep Your Marriage Vows

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.



We are not to depart from or wives or husbands case closed. We have earlier talked about reasons why it would be acceptable but the main point is God does not want us to divorce. Go into marriage with this thinking! Fight for your marriage, treat your spouse right, and honor God!



Tom

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Marriage #5 You don't have authority over your own body!




This is a very important teaching from God's Word that is over looked very often by both in a marriage. Please read these verses:



1 Corinthians 7:1-7



Principles of Marriage

7 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.



Paul was a man of self-control who chose to stay unmarried and devote his life to God, which if we all could do would be best because that distraction called marriage would not be there. However, Paul knew how weak we are! So lets look at a couple of important things here:



1. v.2 tells us we are to have our own wife or husband. Notice it is singular. One! Let us be faithful to that one!



2. v.3 tells us to give the affection due to our spouses. This is very important to catch because if we love and show the attention due to our spouses everything else will tend to fall into place. Do not skip this part and expect the next verse to happen!!!!



3. v.4 tells us the husband and the wife do not have authority over their own body. Wow! have you ever heard that before. Your spouse has authority over your body. Remember we said when we are married we become "one flesh" so in reality this makes sense. Treat your spouses body like you would treat your own...with respect and much care,



4. v.5 tells us that sexually we are not to deprive one another, except for times of fasting and prayer which would be total devotion to God. Even in this Paul knows how weak we are and warns us to not do this for too long for we will fall into temptation from the devil! Now let me say a word here to the ladies, I believe this is very important for you in relation to your husband. Men are wired as visual, sexual beings. They need your love making in more ways than you can imagine. This is a major reason why divorces happen is neglect in this area. You would be surprised at what your husband will do and how he will behave if this area of your life is being taken care of properly! Now to the men, our wives need attention! They want more than just a quicky in bed. They need conversation, touch, romance, and time! If you are taking care of these areas the love making will come much easier for her. This is a major reason wives leave their husbands, someone else is showing them the things they need! Do not neglect these areas!



The rest of these verses tell us again that Paul wishes we were more like him but he realizes God makes folks different. These verses on marriage are very important from the Word of God....sit down with your spouse and discuss them and see where you need to do more work! It will pay off in the long run!



Tom

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Duck Dynasty or Duck Commander fans. Please watch!

I wanted to share this video this morning for the devotion. Many of us are Duck Dynasty fans, this video shows you where Phil's heart is at! Nothing but truth!






Tom

Monday, November 12, 2012

Marriage #4 Reason to divorce?




For our next look at marriage I want us to see two things. The only reason given by Christ for a divorce and that marriage is to be taken very seriously. Be sure to read all of this devotion before jumping to any conclusions!



Matthew 5:27-32



Adultery in the Heart

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding

31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.



Ok what do we see in these verses? First God's Word says we are not to commit adultery. That is easy to understand. Don't cheat on your spouse. But these verses take it even further. If you look at someone with the thoughts in your heart that you would like to see her/him naked or have sex with her/him is wrong. This is called lust. The Word says this is committing adultery also! Wow! This is a battle my friends. We must be on guard at all times. It is so tough today as the sexual agenda is pushed to the limit in all areas of life. Even at church! I am shocked at how some dress to come and worship! The Word tells us to take this very seriously and do what even it takes to keep from sinning! Evaluate your life right now...what do you need to do to honor God, your spouse, and your self from committing adultery.



Next we see the only reason given by Christ for divorce. Sexual immorality! That is it. Even with sexual immorality, we must be very careful to try and work things out and forgive. Christ has forgiven our sin and expects us to forgive others. Don't forget that point! God's Word says what God has brought together man should not separate referring to marriage. Let me also say God has given us a brain for a reason. If someone is being abused physically, emotionally, or verbally and the offender will not get help then one can not stay in that situation. Also if children are being abused, we must get them to safety!



Lastly, if we divorce for any other reason than sexual immorality, then remarry we commit adultery and cause our original spouse to do the same. Think about that for a moment and how many have committed adultery according to the Word of God! God is very clear in His Word about this, let us not take it lightly!



Tom

Friday, November 9, 2012

Marriage #3 Be a crown!




While this verse applies to the wife, I think it can also be said of the husband too!



Proverbs 12:4



4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,

But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.



This verse goes right along with our walk with Jesus. We are to be examples of Him to others. The same can be said of our spouses need to be living in a proper way as not to be an embarrassment to us. We also need not to be an embarrassment to them. I bet just saying that has brought to mind someone who is always doing something shameful or hurtful to their spouse. This is very sad when you think about it. The one whom we are suppose to love the most next to God is hurt or embarrassed because of someones foolishness! Just like this verse says above it is like rottenness to the bones when we are shameful of our spouse.



Let us think about our conduct and they way it reflects not only on our spouse but also on the rest of our family too. If we live in a way to honor Jesus then we will also be honoring our spouse and it shall be a crown upon their head! great happiness!



If changes need to be made....start today!



Tom

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Marriage #2 Keep Fighting




This is going to be a strange devotion. I have not read the book of Hosea in a long time. But out of nowhere the Lord laid this on my heart about marriage. Please take time to read at least the first three chapters. The basic message of the book of Hosea is that we commit adultery against God but in His mercy and grace He comes after us wanting us to repent and follow Him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls!



I also think though we can take this as a marriage lesson too. Look at this verse as it gives you a picture into Hosea:



Hosea 3:1

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”



Here is the marriage lesson we can: if God still continues to pursue, forgive, love, show mercy to us in our Spiritual adultery against Him how much more should we do the same to our spouses no matter what the circumstances are? I think we know the answer. Fight for your marriage. God has made it clear in His Word we are not to break the marriage covenant:



Mark 10:1-9

10 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.

2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him.

3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”



Much to think about here!



Tom

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Prayers please.

My step-sister passed so I won't be able to post devotions for a few days. Be back soon.

Tom