Romans 8:17-18 “And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His sufferings. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.” When Jesus walked the earth, He made it very clear that there would be hard times ahead (2 Timothy 3:1) and as it says in Romans we would share His sufferings. Often times we have no idea what others are going through, the cross they bare, the weight of the burdens they carry, the problems not spoken of for one reason or another. And yes, even that person sitting in front of you, behind you or beside you at church, may be weighted down and suffering and you have no idea. Not everyone is able to share their problems with others. This is not always a matter of pride but of privacy, or a product of how they were raised, there may be many reasons they are unable to give voice to what they are going through, but God does know their sufferings. And handing your burden over to Him (Psalms 55:22) does not mean they suddenly disappear, but they do become easier to carry. He provides us with the strength to move forward and the fact that “we are His heirs” reassures us that there is a brighter future. We have a relationship with the Father, we are His adopted children, in Ephesians 1:6 we are called His beloved, and there is no greater gift than to be called a child of God. But as it says in Romans, if we want to share His glory than we must also share His sufferings. While this verse points to a specific type of suffering and inheritance (suffering with Him, being rejected by man, being unjustly put to death to share His glory) we do know that as believers our inheritance is based on His grace and our faith. Edmund Clowney tells a story about the French Protestants who suffered because of their faith. In “1685 Protestant public worship became a crime. Men caught at secret worship services in the fields were sent to the galleys. Chained to a rowing bench, they slaved at the oars until they died. A replica of one of the great galley oars hangs in the museum (of the Desert) today. Underneath is a model of a galley. Beside it are inscribed the words of a Reformed Christian galley slave: ‘My chains are the chains of Christ’s love.’” How great a love they had for Christ, a love so deep that they were willing to suffer as He had suffered. We may never experience being put to death because of our faith in Christ, but we do experience trials that cause us pain physically and/or emotionally. As those who follow Christ, we will experience sufferings, mine may be different than yours, and yours may be different than the next persons, but none of it is meaningless. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Peter 2:19 “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.” As we’ve discussed before, there were many false teachers infiltrating the first century churches. This verse makes me think of the times we are living in where some preachers are referred to as “feel good preachers”. Their message is basically that Jesus is more of a friend who accepts all they do without any consequences for their actions. Their message is focused on what the individual wants rather than focusing on God. So, if you think about it, those first century false teachers were the original “feel good preachers/teachers” who promised a type of freedom to pursue your own pleasures without the need for accountability. But their promise of freedom was something they were unable to deliver on, only God has the ability to deliver true freedom. We all make choices and the choices we make either enslave us or free us. Paul chose to obey Christ and carry the Gospel throughout the nations, and this led to his imprisonment. Even though Paul was surrounded by walls that were meant to hold him captive, he was actually free and found joy in serving the Lord. Those who focus on doing what makes them feel good at the moment becomes slaves to their own sin and their sin controls them. Whether it is money, sex, drugs or whatever else you can think of, they are trading a relationship with God to satisfy their own pleasures. Christ provided a way for us to be free from sin and death. Not in the sense that we will never again sin or never die but in the sense that we have been redeemed and we are forgiven. And even though our physical bodies will experience death, we will experience eternal live because of His grace and mercy. It is through our faith in Christ that the chains of slavery have been broken. If we refuse to follow God then we are following Satan, those are the two options we have. We cannot follow our own desires and say we are following God. We cannot be controlled or enslaved by our selfish ways and still have any degree of true freedom. Freedom is found in the spirit of God and while some may tell you following God is restrictive, it is because they have never tasted the freedom He offers. They have never been empowered by the Holy Spirit. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

John 14:13 “You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” This is a verse we hear often with the last part being omitted, which can take the meaning out of context. Jesus makes us a promise to give us what we ask for in His name. But to understand what He was saying we have to look at other comments Jesus made about prayer and most importantly about the will of God. If you read John 13:33 through 14:12 you see that Jesus was telling His disciples He would be leaving them and that His followers would be doing greater works than what He did. It’s important to keep this in mind when reading verse 13 because Jesus doesn’t say He will give them anything and everything they ask for. He says “ask for anything in my name” which implies that what is being asked for is consistent or in agreement with His will. Other verses that mention God’s will are Matthew 7:21 where it tells us that only those who do “the will of my Father” will enter into heaven. 1 John 2:17 tells us whoever does the will of the Father will live forever. 1 Peter 2:19 “For God is pleased when, conscious of His will, you patiently endure unjust treatment.” And of course, probably the most recognized verse that mentions God’s will is Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Which, by the way, is where we find another verse that tells us “For everyone who asks, receives” (Matthew 7:8). And once again you have to read what comes before this verse to understand that your request must be in agreement with God’s will. Jesus also points out in John 14:13 that the request has a purpose and that is to bring glory to the Father. If our prayer request are made with pure motives and not selfish desires, then God will answer in a way that honors Him. Everything in our lives should be done in such a way that it glorifies God. When we keep in mind that God’s will should come before our own will and that honoring Him should be our goal, then we will find peace and satisfaction. Our self-centered nature will begin to subside as our love for Christ grows and His ways become our ways. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

James 4:4-5 “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit He has place within us should be faithful to Him.” Wow! Those are some really strong words James uses in these two verses, perhaps to underscore the seriousness of the issue. Jewish prophets would often use the terms prostitute (Isaiah 1:21, Hosea 9:1) and adulterers (Jeremiah 3:1-10) to describe those who were spiritually unfaithful. Our relationship with God can be described as a marriage with God as the husband and believers as His bride. What could be more damaging and painful to a relationship? It causes not just pain but a feeling of betrayal and the loss of trust. So when we pursue a friendship with the world it breaks our trust with God. We cannot physically remove ourselves from the world, it surrounds us each and every day, it is unavoidable. Not to mention the fact that if we do as Jesus instructed us to do, go forth and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we cannot totally separate ourselves physically from the world. But James is talking about our behavior, does it reflect a worldly attitude or lifestyle? Are we selfish, prideful, envious, materialistic? Do we think and speak like worldly people? If someone met you for the first time, what kind of impression would you leave? Would they say you are different from most people, kind, considerate, humble or would they say you are like everyone else? What would they say once they got to know you? Would they continue to think positive about you, or would your worldly behavior and attitude come out? Do we worry about what the world will think of us rather than what God thinks of us? If we are attempting to please the world then we are making ourselves an enemy of God. We are bombarded everyday through TV, social media, podcast and so on, telling us what is good, normal and right in man’s eyes. But God, our creator, is the only one who has true wisdom, the only one who will not lead us down the wrong path, the only one who has the right to tell us how we should live our lives. And do not fool yourself into thinking you can pursue worldly things and remain faithful to God, “no man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). We must make a choice, and God takes our choice personally. He is a jealous God; He is passionate for us. Friendship with the world puts us in the position of being unfaithful to God. In Mark 8:36 it tells us “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” I think it’s good for us to step back and look at our life sometimes in order to make sure we have our priorities right. And if we are not putting God first then we need to re-evaluate our actions, words and thoughts. And take to heart “that the spirit He has place within us should be faithful to Him.” Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Corinthians 8:20-21 “We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.” At the beginning of the 8th chapter Paul is letting the Corinthians know that the churches in Macedonia were overflowing with generosity. Even though these believers were experiencing their own problems and were poor, they gave far beyond what they could afford, and they were eager to help the church in Jerusalem. Paul was encouraging the church in Corinth to give willingly and cheerfully. Now that we know some of the background, let’s get into verses 20 and 21. The “generous gift” that Paul was referring to would of course have to be delivered and he wanted to prevent any talk of funds being mismanaged. Then just as now, there were those who would like to cast suspicion especially on church leaders. And when it comes to money, those who donate want to feel confident that the money is being given to those they were seeking to help. Paul knew that having more than one person handling the money would help avoid talk of wrongdoing and give confidence to those who had generously donated. When money is collected and applied to God’s work, this is a serious responsibility because this is money that belongs to God not to men. Therefore, Paul was being careful to avoid the appearance of wrongdoing in God’s eyes, but also in the eyes of men. Paul was setting a standard for all Christians, a standard of integrity. Our integrity should not only be maintained or seen in the area of money, but in every aspect of our lives. People watch what we do, how we dress, what we say and like it or not we are often judged by the behavior of just one Christian. People often say they don’t care what others think, I myself have often said that. But the truth is we should care, because as Christians, all we do and say reflects on God. How many times have you heard someone say they don’t attend church because Christians are hypocrites? Why do you think they say that, maybe because at times we say and do things that aren’t very Christ like. Even though they may have met many who were kind, loving and compassionate, they will judge by the one that fell short. We know that there is only one that is perfect, and that is God, we represent Him here on earth. It is just as important for us, as it was for Paul, to avoid accusations of wrongdoing. In fact, I would venture to say it is more important for us to maintain integrity as we grow closer to end times. Why? Because our behavior and words could cause someone who is on the fence about their faith to fall in the wrong direction. We want to draw them closer to God not give them a reason to turn away from Him. God does not want even one to be lost, and neither do we. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” In the sixth chapter of Matthew Jesus gives us good advice about prayer, what it should and should not be. I’ve always looked at prayer as being a conversation with God, and I know for me personally I try to get to the point of the conversation quickly. That may be due to the fact that if someone is telling me something and they go into a long story I lose interest and begin to tune them out until they get to the point. It’s a bad habit, but it’s true. I remember at my last church I had two very dear friends who had totally different styles of prayer. One was short, sweet and to the point, the other would go on and on and on, often saying the same thing three or four times. There were times you could tell she was searching for words because she would repeat “thank you” or “praise God” several times until she thought of something to say. I loved both of these ladies dearly, but when the second one would start praying, I would be praying “Please Lord, help her not repeat herself”. And there were several people who were uncomfortable praying out loud around her because their prayers were very short. She was taught that prayers should be long in order to be meaningful, and that repetition was good. And there are times when our prayers will be long because we have countless things on our list to thank Him for, or a multitude of people whom we have prayer request for. Sometimes we repeat ourselves once or twice for emphasis (although I don’t know why we do that because God heard us the first time), but as this verse in Matthew says we shouldn’t use vain repetitions. Are we repeating ourselves because we like the sound of our own voice or because what we are praying for is so deep in our hearts that we are having difficulty putting it into words? When Jesus gave us the model prayer it was short, sweet and to the point, why use a thousand words to say what you need to say when you could do it in twenty words. God hears your words, and even if what you are saying doesn’t come out the way you want it to – God understands because He knows what you want to say before you even say it. And if you have come to the point where you are searching for something to say, it may be time to say AMEN. If you are asked to pray out loud, just ask God to give you the words, if it is only three or four sentences don’t let that stop you. God would rather have three or four heartfelt sentences than a book full of words. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” From Genesis to Revelation the author, the source of information is God, this fact alone makes the Bible unique. But this is not the only reason it is unique. Did you know that the Bible was the first book to be printed by movable type? It has outsold every other book ever written. God used more than 40 different people in over 1500 years to write His words. It was written in three different languages across three continents. There was about a 400-year gap between the completion of the Old Testament and the writings of the New Testament; these are known as the silent years. The shortest verse is John 11:35 “Jesus wept”. The Bible in its entirety has been translated into 704 languages and partial translations have been done in over 3,000 languages. The Bible also supports several scientific facts that were not widely believed at the time of its writing. For example: the earth is round Isaiah 40:22; the earth is free-floating in space Job 26:7; that blood is needed for life Leviticus 17:11. Its teachings and its impact on society is unique in itself. The Bible has survived for thousands of years despite the fact that some have attempted to destroy its credibility. There are many other factors that make the Bible unique, there has never been another book in the history of man that has had such an impact on how we live our lives. So why is all of this so important? Because scripture is God speaking to us, giving us counsel, instructing us, He ensured the survival of all these Bible books for a reason. And that reason is found in 2 Timothy 3:16. Every verse that is in the Bible is there for a reason, you cannot pick and choose what scriptures you wish to believe, it is all true and beneficial. Some verses may seem “old fashion” to us but that may be due to things that were once unacceptable in society have become acceptable (Isaiah 5:20). I admit there were things that I once thought was “outdated” but as I’ve gotten older, I can see the wise council in those verses. So, I encourage you to continue reading His word and pray for wisdom and understanding of the scriptures as well as how to apply them in your life. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus spoke these words after the resurrection, and it is often called the Great Commission. This was not simply a suggestion; it was a command. Those who follow Jesus, those who believe, those who are disciples of Christ whether they lived in the first century or now, are commanded to share His powerful message with all. There are many churches and people who concentrate more on the gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than on the Great Commission. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 it tells us the Holy Spirit gives the gifts of healing, of miracles, of tongues and prophesy (to name a few) and He alone decides which gift each person should have. These gifts had a purpose then as they do today, they were used to build up, to strengthen, to encourage, to bring unity, to develop growth in order to serve the Kingdom work fully. They were not intended to be our primary focus. These gifts are to glorify God and for the benefit of the entire church, not just the individual. These gifts are wonderful, they are powerful, but they should not be our primary focus. Our primary focus is, and should always be, making disciples, sharing the Good News. Because how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? (Romans 10:14) And how will they hear about Him unless we tell them? I admit it is not always easy to share the Word, there are those who would like us to be silent and we will be hated by some just as Christ was. But did someone tell you about the Gospel? Maybe it was your parents, your grandparents, a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker or even a total stranger; point is if that person had not shared with you the knowledge and love that they have for the Father, you would not have had the opportunity for salvation. You would remain in darkness but now you are overcome with the Light. Our work does not end with simply telling them about Christ or in baptizing them, we must also teach them. You do not hand a child a book and say, “Read this, it will tell you all you need to know”. You must first teach them to read and help them to comprehend what they are reading. Only with teaching can we learn to understand, to grow and to develop our skills more fully. And as we are learning we begin to have a deeper understanding, a deeper love, and a deeper relationship with the Father. If you want a child to obey you, you must first expand their understanding, and this comes not only through teaching but also by setting a good example for them. And when you come across those who are resistant to hearing the Gospel, pray for them and take comfort in Jesus words, “And be sure of this; I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.