Where is your mind at?

Monday, Monday! If you are like most you have a million things to do this week at work, with the kids, at church, ect. So our minds tend to be focused on those things instead of God. Look at this verse:



Colossians 3:2

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.



Where are our minds suppose to be? On things that are in heaven or important to the Kingdom of God. The stresses of life can be overwhelming, but God tells us not to worry!



Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.



God tells us how to deal with these worries here:



Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;



Give it to God and then be obedient and do the things of the Kingdom of God. When we are doing God's work, we won't have time for our minds to get on things we have no control over!



So get your mind right this morning! Get it on God!



Tom

Are you hearing?

These are the Words of Jesus:



John 8:47

47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”



To many folks today let the Word of God go in one ear and out the other. We must listen and take to heart every Word of God. We can not pick and choose what we want to hear and what we want to ignore. God's Word is an all or nothing option. When folks choose not to listen to what God says we are told here it is because they are not of God. Can't get more simple than that can it. Once we hear the Word then this is the next step:



James 1:22

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.



Do what God says...plain and simple!



So this morning are you hearing and doing or are you picking and choosing? When you figure this out you will know if you are of God or not!



Tom

Be a Berean!

We can pick up some very important things from the Bereans! Read these verses:



Acts 17:10-11

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.



So what do we see here?



1. "they received the word with all eagerness" They wanted God's Word! Do you? I will be honest, some days I have a eagerness to get into the Word, and some days I have to force myself into the Word. The key is though, I get in the Word. No matter how I get into the Word, once I get started I am ALWAYS blessed by spending time with God. So get in God's Word!



2. "examining the Scriptures daily" The Bereans are in the Word daily! Not just on Sunday morning but daily! This is how we get to know God and His ways. Are you in the Word daily? Examining is more that just a read over! They studied to get deep meaning. I hope and pray you are too so you can get a deep relationship with God!



3. "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" what does this mean? It means they did not take man's word about the scriptures but they looked and studied for themselves! This is a important point. I pray that your pastor or whoever is bringing the truth to you about scripture, but it is your responsibility to find out. The Bereans looked for themselves and you should too! If your are reading and studying your bibles like you should, you will have a good idea if the truth is coming out because you are studied up!



So are you like the Bereans? You need to be! Get in the Word, eagerly, read to lean and apply what God teaches you. The blessing that will flow from that is a deeper, more intimate relationship with the God who created you and loves you!



Tom

Indicator you are in Christ.

Indicator you are in Christ.


When you receive Christ into your life you immediately receive the Holy Spirit to live in you. So with that said we should start and continue to grow into these traits:



Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.



Now when you look at these honestly evaluate yourself, are these godly traits a description of you? If you say yes it is a great indicator that you are in Christ. If you say no, you may want to evaluate where you are in Christ. Now I did not say you were not a Christian, I am just saying growth and the traits of the Spirit should become evident in your life. These are all qualities of Jesus and He is our example. These should be qualities we are all growing in as followers of Jesus Christ.



So how about it, do you have these traits?



Tom

Death is coming, that can be great news! (Tribute to Mrs. Cloar)

Death can be a very difficult thing to deal with. Yesterday I lost a special lady in my life. Mrs. Cloar. Although she was not officially my grandmother to me she was. She always brought much laughter and joy to my life. The past several years have been difficult for her as she lost Mr. Cloar. Then recently some health problems set in. She said many times she wished the Lord would just take her home and yesterday God did just that. I have no doubt she is with Jesus now and reunited with Mr. Cloar, oh what a beautiful day it must have been in heaven yesterday.



God tells us in his Word that death is coming.



Romans 5:12 [ Death in Adam, Life in Christ ] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—



Ecclesiastes 9:1-3 Death Comes to All

9 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead



Death may be coming but for those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior like Mrs. Cloar had she has eternal life in heaven with Jesus!



Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.



Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.



John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.



Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.



This verse reminded me of both Mr. and Mrs. Cloar....they lived their lives in a way that honored God. A great example to others they were!!!



Ecclesiastes 7:1 [ The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly ] A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.



Yesterday Mrs. Cloar had the ultimate victory! Jesus has defeated death for her and now she is as happy as can be at home in heaven!



1 Corinthians 15:54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”



My friends we tend to think of death as a bad thing but for the believer it is victory. For we are not made for this world, we are just passing through, we are made to be with God and have the perfect relationship with Him which He designed us for from the very beginning. Jesus is the way, have you found Him?



Mrs. Cloar I will see you soon, give Jesus and Mr. Cloar a hug for me!



Tom

increase/decrease

When we follow Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life, our goal should be a continual process of doing exactly what John the Baptist said here:



John 3:30

"He must increase, but I must decrease.”



We are selfish people. It takes great faith and effort to continually put Jesus before ourselves. It is of my opinion that we never fully get there until death but we must be seeking to put Jesus first in every area of our life. For Jesus alone is worthy to be First, King, Lord, Savior, and Master.



So if you sit back and think about the last year in your life, has Jesus increased in your life or Has self increased? I pray all of us are increasing Jesus in our lives daily!



Tom

Slow Down!

Heard this song this morning and wanted to share it with you, Stop the World by Matthew West:






We are busy, busy people. Too busy in my opinion. So busy many times we miss fellowship with God. He desires that with us, and we should desire that with Him. Look at these verses:



Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!



Psalm 63:1

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.



1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.



1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.



John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.



Proverbs 8:34Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching at my doors day by day, waiting beside my doorway.



Be still the Word of God says, know He is God. We need God daily and we need to have one on one fellowship with Him. It is a must for a deep relationship with Him. Are you taking time for God? Slow down, for our relationship with him is most important!



Tom