Friday, February 27, 2015

Heart #2



So how much does the condition of our heart concern God? I think this verse pretty well gives us the answer to that question.

Genesis 6:5-6
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Wow! I often wonder if God still has this thought run through His mind??? Regretting that He had made man because of our continuous minds running towards sin and evil. Thankfully a man named Noah was seeking to obey God and thus God spared mankind. 

God has now given us a way to cleanse our hearts and that is through the shed blood of Jesus. When we give Jesus our lives the blood of Jesus is what God sees covering our hearts and thus we have been freed from the ugly sin that had covered our hearts. Praise Jesus! All glory and honor belong to Him!

Please do not miss this morning though that our sin grieves God. It hurts Him to His core! When we give our lives to Jesus we are to follow Him in obedience and strive to obey Him in all areas of our lives as sinless as possible! Here is a reminder of this from scripture:

John 14:15

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

Brothers and sisters remember our sin hurts God so strive to please God not hurt Him!

Tom

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Heart



This morning we are moving on to our last body part to look at in this series. This is the main body part as in your heart is who you are. The soul, the spirit, the deep down you!!! So this morning lets jump right in and ask ourselves this question. Where is my heart at in life right now? Look what Jesus says here:

Matthew 6:19-21

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is basically saying your heart needs to be desiring to live for godly things like love, mercy, kindness, giving to those in need, etc., not for the material things of the world. OUCH! Honestly evaluate where you are with this right now! God says here our hearts are where we come out in the answer to this question! Love for him or love for the world! Look at this if you don't realize the importance of this question:

1 John 2:15

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We may be saying right now....I love Jesus not the things of the world, can I look at my lifestyle and see that? As I sit in my overly blessed life getting fatter and fatter in my bank account and belly and others are struggling for basic things like clean water, food, and shelter can I really say my heart is where it should be?

Think about that for awhile! 

Tom

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Feet #8



Today we will wrap up our look at the feet with the most important aspect to remember....whom we are compared to Jesus! Check this verse out:

Acts 13:25

25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

Now remember who said this...John the Baptist of whom Jesus said:

Luke 7:28
28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

So if John tells us He is unworthy to untie the sandals which contain the feet of Jesus, then it means Jesus is the greatest! Leet us not ever forget who we are following. Whom our feet are to go after....Jesus! Remember whom God says He is???

Matthew 3:17

17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[a] with whom I am well pleased.”

Philippians 2:10

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Revelation 17:14

14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Those verse make me want to shout "Praise the Lord"!!!!! 

There is no other pair of feet I would rather follow and serve than Jesus! How about you??? Those feet are scarred for my sin, I am so unworthy but so grateful for what Jesus did for me and you!

So this day, whose feet are you going to follow???

Tom

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Feet #7



As we have seen with other body parts in recent weeks, if our feet contain ousel lead us to sin God makes it clear what must be done:

Matthew 18:8

8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

Folks this is the seriousness of sin...we must at all costs eliminate it from our life. The first step in that is to have Jesus as Lord and Savior in your life! Then do what ever it takes to stay pure as you live for Him in every area of your life! One way to keep our feet leading us in the right direction is to be doing this:

Romans 10:15

15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

If we are busy about the Father's business of spreading the good news of Jesus then we won't have time for our feet to lead us astray!!! So here is the question we need to ask ourselves this morning....are my feet beautiful because they are doing God's work or are they ugly in sin?? We are the ones who make the choices, what do you chose this day?

Tom

Monday, February 23, 2015

Feet #6



Another thing we need to watch where our feet lead us is in whom we trust! Look at what God's Word says here:

Proverbs 25:19
19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

Where do you go when you are in need? To a person of the world or to someone who has a strong foundation in Christ? God warns us here of the consequences of going to a man of the world for help!!! Bad tooth!!! Every had one? It is agonizing! A foot that slips should speak to many in my area right now as we just went through an ice/sleet/snow storm. One second you are on your feet doing fine and the next you are on your back hurting in a major way! These are what God is telling us about trusting those who are of the world in a time of need. 

God's ways are always the best ways and we need to see people out in life who will lead us to his ways with our problems not the ways of the world!!! The ways of the world just makes things worse! 

Don't let that foot slip today...keep it on that solid rock...Jesus Christ!

Tom

Friday, February 20, 2015

Feet #5



Sadly my feet tend to slip towards sin but I have an answer for my slippage:

Psalm 94:18

18 If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.

The mercy of my God picks me up again! Oh rejoice brothers and sisters over the love of our God! All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and we get it!

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If that don't want to make you shout I don't know what will! To have a God who catches us when we fall, forgive us, and allow us to try to live for Him again is simply amazing!!!! 

Thank you Lord Jesus for your mercy and forgiveness. Help me not to slip in sin today Lord and glorify your name with my life!

Tom

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Feet #4



Of all the places you could set your feet right now what would you chose? The beach? In a message parlor? At a sporting event? A host of others things may come to mind but here is the ultimate place:


Psalm 40:2
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, Andestablished my steps.

You may be saying upon a rock? Oh yes upon this Rock:


Romans 9:33

As it is written:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

1 Corinthians 10:4

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

1 Peter 2:4

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,

When we are standing upon the ROCK, Jesus Christ, we are in the best place we can possibly be! Remember what Jesus told us of where to build our houses at:

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

So where is your are your feet at? On the rock or on the sand? It is our choice!

Tom

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Feet #3



What about the nation's feet? Where are we headed? Where is the nation leading us? I am afraid we are much like the nation of Israel many years ago:

Psalm 9:15
15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

Our nation and the rest of the worlds feet are caught in the traps of the devil in sin!!!! I like how God put it in His Word though "pit which they made". What we get ourselves in as a nation is our own doing and we the people are just as guilty as our leaders because we elect them and then allow the sin they lead us too! When oh when will the people of God stand for Him?????? We have allowed some sin to stand so long that now it has become accepted practices. Like what you might say....entitlements...God says no work no eat (2 Thess. 3:10)(I am not talking about those in need for a time I am talking about able bodied people too lazy to work), abortion...God is giver and taker of life (Job 1:21), homosexuality...God says its wrong (1 Corn. 6:9-10), stealing....our government taking our money and wasting it and borrowing from other countries, drunkenness...look around its common practice these days, idols set up all over the place to worship, and I can go on and on!

Folks the only way for a change is to repent and give it all to God! Are we willing or are we going to continue to to fall for the traps of the devil and follow him as a nation right to hell??? I know that is blunt but it is truth folks! 

Stand up for you faith in Jesus Christ!

Tom

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Feet #2



The bible makes it very clear of us about what are feet are supposed to do, here are a couple of easy scriptures to follow:

Job 23:11

11 My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.

The His mentioned here is God....first hold onto what God did! Follow the steps of Jesus as He is our example for life. A few of those steps according to scripture are these: obedience to God's Word, compassion, forgiveness, zeal to do the father's business, mercy, patience, self, control, grace given to others, humility, and love to all are a few of the examples that Jesus set for us. The second part of the verse goes on to say keep the ways of God and don't let your feet run away from these ways!!!! Control your steps brothers and sisters!

Another scripture:

Proverbs 1:10-15

10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,[a]
And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
13 We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;

Run Forest run!!!!! When folks are leading you to the path of sin....do not follow! Get out of there! It reminds me of what Joseph did when Potiphar's wife was trying to seduce him:

Genesis 39:11-12

11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.

Joseph got out of there!!!! We need to do the same when sin is crouching at our door!

Folks we are in control through the power of the Holy Spirit over sin, use those feet and flee from it!

Tom

Monday, February 16, 2015

Feet



Alright today we move on to another body part mentioned in the bible as we continue on in this series. What about our feet??? What does the bible say about what we are suppose to do or not do with the feet God gave us? Well let's take a look over the next few days. Let's start here with a picture of serving others: 

John 13:1-17 
13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 
2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?" 
7 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." 
8 Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" 
Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." 
9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" 
10 Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean." 
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 

Have you ever been around someone or maybe you are this someone who just can't stand feet? They just think feet are nasty? Well back in Jesus day as they wore sandals and traveled them old dirty, dusty roads their feet would get pretty nasty. It was a custom when you went in a persons house that they provided water and a towel to wash your feet and often times if they had a servant the servant would wash the visitors feet. Thus this is the example Jesus is setting for us here. To serve others! The difference here is this God in the flesh washing the disciples feet. I think I would have been much like Peter..."Jesus I will wash you feet but you are not going to wash mine!" Amen? Can I get a witness! 

Don't miss verse 15 as Jesus says "do as I have done to you." We are to serve others and as Jesus has given the example here nothing is too low for us to do! Then He goes on to say "blessed are you if you do them." Blessed my friends for serving others! 

So as we get into this subject of feet....whose feet are you going to wash today? 

Tom

Friday, February 13, 2015

Hands #10


As we bring to close the look at our hands and what God expects us to do with the hands He created I want us to remember this verse we already looked at because it reminds us of the seriousness of sin before a holy God!

Mark 9:43

43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Brothers and sisters we must do what ever it takes to remain faithful to our mighty God. Our hands are so useful but if not properly kept can cause us to sin against God. Let us keep those hand pure and undefiled! Using them for the glory of God and lifted high in praise to Him for He alone is worthy!

Let us close with the verse we started with:

Psalm 134:2

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.

Tom

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Hands #9



When our hands are dirty from working in the garden or we have been to Wal-Mart when the flu season is at it's peak what do we do as soon as we can? Wash our dirty, germy hands!!! What does God call us to do when our spiritual life is dirty?

James 4:8
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Wash our hands, purify our hearts, and get a single mind in Christ is our call! When we do these things we draw near to God and He draws near to us! Who in their right mind doesn't desire that???? Thank grace and mercy for the shed blood of Christ for that is our spiritual soap! Nothing else can make us spiritually clean but the blood!

Remember this hymn?

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

So once again I ask...are your hands clean this morning? They can be by being washed in the blood of Jesus!

Tom

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Hands #8



Let's look at a couple of verses about the hands of God! First let us remember this:

Hebrews 1:10

10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;

Once again we see God is the Creator of all, and He is in control! Let us not forget what The hands of God have done!!!

Another thing we need to remember about the hands of God is this:

Hebrews 10:31
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Although God has provided the path to heaven for all those who will put their faith in His Son Jesus Christ, we also must remember for those who chose not to they will face judgement from God and that my friends is something to fear! I myself would much rather be in the loving hands of my Lord and Savior Jesus whom no one can snatch me out of:

John 10:29
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

So are in firmly in the hands of the loving God this morning? Or do you need to think about being in the hands of God for judgement? Wow! Not a good thought! Your choice!

Tom

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Hands #7



So what about the hands of our nation as a whole? Would you say we have clean hands before the Lord or dirty hands before the Lord? This is what God said about Israel...are we any different?

Haggai 2:14
14 Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

Let's take a moment and reflect ....our nation was founded on the Word of God. At one time our nation did a fair job of trying to be a godly nation although anytime man is involved there will be bumps in the road. Slavery, racial problems, broken agreements with the indians, civil war and the list goes on to show we have bumps!!! But as a nation we held on to the Word of God as a whole. Now as a nation we are trying to get rid of God's Word from all areas...schools, government, states, individual lives, and even now some are trying to tell preachers they can not use certain portions from the pulpit! Really???? 

So if we remove God's Word the guide book for His people how can we have clean hands before God? We won't know how! Take a look at this nation of ours, do you see clean godly hands or do you see dirty ungodly hands? Think about abortions, murders, rapes, drunkenness, adultery, hatred, vulgar talk, homosexuality, liars, thieves, and the list goes on.....all this is dirty hands before a holy God!

Our only hope is to get God's Word back into our lives and then apply what God has taught us! This nation must repent or the downward spiral will continue and the blessings of God will disappear!

As a member of this nation it starts with me and you....are your hands clean? 

Tom

Monday, February 9, 2015

Hands #6



One of the most important principles taught in the bible about the hands is in the area of work! God expects a man to work and take care of his family. We are not to be lazy!!! Look at this verse:

Proverbs 6:9-11
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

Wow does this ever describe out nation right now!!! We have become lazy and think others are to take care of us! Look at all the entitlement programs of the government!!! Noon! Get a job! Work for your money. Now i realize some folks come upon hard times and need help for a time. I am not talking about that, I am talking about able bodied folks who are able and not willing or looking to work! Look what God says here:

2 Thessalonians 3:10
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Folks when we get back to the teaching of God's Word and obey it things will be so much better! How long until we figure this out??? 

So let us examine our selves this morning....are we working or are we looking for someone else to take care of us? God gave you two hands...use them to take care of your family and to glorify the Lord!

Tom

Friday, February 6, 2015

Hands #5



When your hands are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and become pure what value is that? Look here!!!

Psalm 24:3-5
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Look at the promises for clean hands....ascend the hill into heaven, stand in the presence of God, and receive blessings and righteousness! Wooooohoooo! Who don't want that!

Do you have those clean hands this morning? You can! Call upon Jesus to be your Lord and Savior today! If you need help just ask be glad to assist in anyway I can. If you are already a follower of Jesus just bask in His promises!

Tom