Fear the Lord

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord , and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.3.7.KJV

To those who are graduating…

Life at home has sometimes been challenging and hard. Trying to live up to the expectations of others and not knowing what you expect of yourself…it is confusing. But, if you have graduated from high school or even moved up into the next grade then more is expected of you. In our world today, children are asked to be more and do more than almost any generation with maybe the exception of those who chose to fight in World War 2.

This generation is looked at from the point of view of being the “Me” generation. As if everything is about me and what I have or what I want in life. In some ways that is true, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you take a good look at your life and if you are truly honest with yourself about what you do and how you live, Christian or not, most of us live our lives as if it is “about me”. The big problem is that it isn’t about you or me, it is about Jesus and whether or not you have accepted Him as your Savior.

When you go off to college many of the restrictions which we had while we were in school are taken away. We aren’t living under our parent’s roof, usually. We have a certain amount of freedom to choose our own course in life and for many people that is frightening. So, how do you cope with that kind of power over your own life? Some of us try to fill that void with drugs or alcohol or even sex, if you are brave enough or stupid enough to go that way. But the question remains: what is missing?

God placed a longing in our soul and our spirit which we can’t define or know what it is exactly until He touches you and your soul feels His touch on your life. Drugs of any kind will not fill that void, that longing for a purpose and neither will anything that we can do or buy with our money. That place which feels empty is made to be occupied by only one Person and that is Jesus Christ. Until you have truly given your heart and soul to Him and turned away from your so-called “old life”, there will always be an empty feeling which is never filled.

No amount of education will fill that space and no amount of money or fame or anything else will ever make it go away until you let Jesus into your heart and allow Him to change you into the person that He knows you were designed to be.

Pride and arrogance are not part of a Christian’s life, at least they aren’t supposed to be. Running after a perfect score on a test or an average of 4.0 in college won’t matter to your employer. Employers are looking for people who are disciplined by the experience of going to college so that they can bring that discipline to the workplace but your paycheck isn’t going to be any better if you have a 2.8 or a 4.0 average. It is your ability to learn and to do the job which employers are looking for.

Just as being a Christian requires you to obey God and follow Jesus into the rest of your life, a position at a workplace will only be yours if you follow directions and obey the rules of the job. Living with Christ as your example is something that all Christians should try to live up to. Granted, He was and is the Son of God and He didn’t have a “human nature” to fight with day in and day out, but we should strive to live like He did in many of life’s challenging moments. Seek Him out as you go through the process of going to college and don’t latch on to the secular teaching which tries to replace God or the Bible with theories and ideas.

We are blessed!

Look at the news, see the people who don’t have a place to sleep or regular meals to eat. Be thankful for the blessings that you have every day because it doesn’t take long for things to become bad for you or for me.

Start children’s learning early.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.22.6.KJV

Inspired by God

Forgiveness…

What does this mean in our society today? It means that we, as a society, should forgive those who have wronged us in the past. It means that the bitterness and resentment should be forgiven by us first toward those who we hold responsible for a wrong. Forgiveness is the closest that we can come to God before we die and it is an act of will on our part that can take away years of pain and suffering. One word and deed which can change the life of those who have held onto bitterness and anger for so long they don’t remember why they were angry, but with true forgiveness they will feel healing and a peace in their lives which has never been there before.

Our country needs a Spirit of forgiveness to sweep over this land and into the hearts and minds of those living here. It will take God’s Holy Spirit to make this happen and it will take an honest revival in our country before this will happen. Can it happen? Yes, but only if people will stop being so politically correct they aren’t any good to the people around them!

God has never stopped loving you or those who wronged you in the past, but until you forgive them and change the way you feel about them, your health and your life will suffer because of it. That is why it says in the Bible, “if you have anything against your brother, leave your offering and be reconciled to him, then come and make your offering“. Living with anything in your past which is unforgiven and causes you to feel anger or resentment and bitterness will make you sick physically. Healing can only come when the forgiveness is full and real between you and your brother or sister.

Don’t live that way because I have seen this in my family and it truly rips a hole in a family and the relationships in that family. I pray that anyone who reads this will seek God’s will for their relationships with their family member and with Him too.

God is faithful…

Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7:9 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/deu.7.9.KJV

Choose this day Whom you will serve…

Those who follow the Lord

Which way do I go?

It depends on who you follow in this life. If you are more interested in doing your own thing and just living for today, then your eternity may not matter much to you, at least right now.

If you have felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit at any time in your life and feel that you should give your heart to Jesus regardless of your personal preferences now, then eternity may have a real surprise for you.

Why have I done this post in this way? Because it truly is your decision in this life which determines your destination in eternity. Many people seem to think that when they die, they are buried and that is that. Some people think that they can influence their destination by their own actions in this life. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is wrong.

According to God’s Word, our works and our influence have nothing to do with which eternal destination will be your home. The only determining factor is whether you have believed in Jesus and His atonement for your sins for your salvation. If that saving belief is not a part of your life at some point before you die, then you may not be in the worst part of hell but you won’t be in heaven.

All of us come to a crossroad at some point in our spiritual life on Earth. Both paths look similar when you are given the choice and at least one path may look easier to follow. The other may look a bit narrower and possibly require a bit more work to follow spiritually, but the choice is still there: which one do you choose? Can I choose one and then move to the other? Sometimes it works that way if you choose the easy path and then find that it is leading you to a place you really don’t want to go. If you aren’t truly sincere about your choice and you choose to follow Jesus on a trial basis then you can move over to the easy path later if you wish.

Why am I pointing out these different choices? Because everyone on Earth comes to this crossroad at some point and it really is your choice today which will determine your eternal home. Why is the narrow pathway harder and more difficult? Because you have to follow Jesus and that requires a commitment on your part. One which is deep and true, like a marriage. Because when you commit to following Jesus, there really shouldn’t be any second thoughts about your decision. You can feel it in your soul and you know that it is True.