I’m sure Moses wondered if God could use him since he had killed a man, but God used him to deliver the Hebrews to freedom. David led the armies of Israel on many campaigns which is why God wouldn’t let him build the Temple. It was because of all the blood that he had shed while he was king. There have been many people who have done many things in their lives that we might say are too bad for God to use or to forgive. God can even use pagans to do His work when He chooses to. Remember this:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/col.3.16/27100
Many people seem to be chasing after things more and more today. It is almost like everyone is trying to get ahead of their neighbor because they have this thing and I need something bigger. Why? We are rewarded with all of our blessings through God the Father because of our faith in Him and in Jesus Christ. He even gives to each of us, whether we deserve it or not, the breath that we breathe and the home that we live our family lives in. Even those who do not worship Him get their blessings from Him although they probably think that they did it themselves. No man is capable of doing these things alone. We are given our good things in this life in order to give God thanks for all of it…but do we thank Him for them or do we pat ourselves on the back and say to ourselves “You did good!”.
All of the rewards that we are given in this life come from God and we should acknowledge it. But…pride, the original sin, gets in the way. Pride in our education and in the money that we have earned yet it is God that has given each of us the intellect and ability to have everything that we enjoy. In the Old Testament, Solomon was a wise king and God gave him much in all things of this world. He had riches and wisdom and he built the most magnificent Temple that the Jews ever worshiped in but his wisdom showed him that everything that we gain in this life is like a puff of smoke.
Vanity of vanities…Solomon said that all of the work of mankind is only pride and a puff of smoke.We labor for all of our “things” only to die and give them to people who didn’t do the work to attain them. Your only true reward is the one you will gain when you enter into heaven after following Jesus in this life and doing His work while you can. Then your reward will be, “Well done, my good and faithful servant…”. I pray that will be what I hear from my Lord one day and I also pray that you will too.
The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. John 4:49-53 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/jhn.4.49-53.KJV
Jesus Christ comes into our life to bring us to Himself and He does it wherever we are. I don’t mean that you should stay home and worship, because we’re supposed to worship together. Jesus will come into your life wherever you are and in whatever situation you are having to deal with. He loves you. He died to bring salvation to everyone who will accept His gift through faith in Him.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/rom.15.4/9133
To most of the world, everything that is happening in the news is unexpected and worrisome. But if you are a Christian, you know that it has been foretold for a very long time. Most of what we see and hear is just the “birth pains” as Jesus said it would be. The news that we hear and see on TV is part of those “birth pains” leading up to the time of the Tribulation, but most people in our nation and around the world don’t want to see it. Most of them don’t want to know that God foretold these things hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
The problem is that we have taken God’s Word out of education and in some churches His Word isn’t preached like it should be either. When you ignore God’s Word, you are leaving yourself open to suggestions from Satan and his demons. If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior in your life, then you are being influenced by him and the demons that he commands. I don’t mean that you are possessed and need to be “exorcised” of your demon, but when your mind and your heart have not taken in God’s Word and His Son for your Savior then you are working for the devil whether you know it or not.
God loves you and He has called us to be His and to be part of His family but when we enjoy the world and its pleasures so much that God’s conviction isn’t enough to bring you to Him then we are in a very bad place. Because…you have no guarantee that you will live until tomorrow and if your life ends tonight you will meet God but He will be your judge since you rejected Jesus as your Savior. Our lives are short in comparison to eternity, so make sure of where you would like to spend it before your time is up on Earth.
but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1jn.1.7/20823
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. Ecclesiastes 4:9 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/ecc.4.9/27097
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1co.16.13-14/42331
They seem to be words that have the same meaning don’t they? But there is a fundamental difference between the two. Joy can be felt and known even when you feel sad and depressed, happiness can only be felt when you feel happy. Your circumstances have an effect on happiness, but joy is not subject to feelings or circumstances. Joy is felt and known by those who know Who their salvation depends on and salvation can only be known and felt through Jesus Christ.
Christians have joy in their hearts because of the grace that we’ve been given through accepting Jesus as our Savior. We have the joy of being loved by our Creator because He wants to love us and not because of anything that we deserve. Because we don’t deserve His love, it is a gift by grace through faith in Him. The joy of salvation is something that the world around us cannot understand nor can it comprehend it at all. Salvation doesn’t make sense to the world around us but fellow believers know it and can feel the joy of being known and loved.
Happiness is dependent on our situation and our feelings and has very little to do with the source of our salvation. We derive happiness from food and our family and from paying off bills. Happiness is a very human feeling that is totally dependent on your situation and very little else. It can be taken away at any time so it is very fragile, while joy is eternal when your joy comes from your relationship with Jesus your Savior. No one can take your joy from you because it is only truly found in Jesus Christ. Once you have a relationship with Him, your joy in that relationship will be yours forever. The “joy of the Lord is your strength“!
The Living Message of Christ 