"The Mouth Speaks"

  Jesus, speaking with the Pharisees, rebuked them for their words spoken against God. They weren't aware but Jesus was! From this Jesus revealed an important fact. "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." (Matt. 12:34) Whatever is in the heart of a person, that's what they will talk about. It doesn't take long to listen to someone and they will talk about what means the most to them. 

  Let's turn the page. The same with God. What means the most to God is what He speaks about. And what He speaks about should be very important to us. When those Holy Spirit inspired apostles wrote about the resurrected Christ, the power of His resurrection which this gospel surrounds it was the single most important thing to God's heart. The result? These men could not stop speaking about this Jesus. There was no shame in speaking about their Savior. Jesus commissioned those apostles to  go about in this world preaching this gospel and they didn't stop talking about it!

  God also speaks of a covenant surrounding the resurrection of His Son. God is a covenant God! He keeps His promises with man and when we come to the agreement made, His covenant because of Christ speaks volumes: "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." (Heb. 8:12) God speaks! Jesus speaks! What do we speak? The mouth speaks whatever fills our hearts. What a promise God has made to us and He will keep His covenant. Will we keep His covenant? It depends on what means the most to you. Whatever you love, you will talk about. If you pay attention in your relationships in day to day life, what is it that you speak about the most? That reveals to others what you love the most. Take time and read God's word. You will hear what means most to Him. Listen to your conversations today and hear what you speak. What do you learn about yourself?

   

"Grandmothers and People"

 God's message of saving grace comes through preaching/teaching and preaching/teaching comes through people. God has always used people to get His saving message to other humans.  For good or bad, people have an influence in our lives. In the same sense, the Devil uses people to crush people. People destroy one another, speak ill of one another, attack one another to do the bidding of Devil. 

  One of the greatest blessings is when you find the teaching of salvation within the family. We can see this clearly with Timothy. "For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well." (II Tim. 1:5) We gain more insight later in Paul's letter to Timothy: "And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (II Tim. 3:15) All along the way, Timothy's grandmother and mother taught him Scriptures!

  I love grandmothers! Maybe it's because my wife is one. But there is something so important about a godly grandmother. They are they unsung heroes of our day and time to their grandchildren. Parents throw God out of their home and many time its the grandmother that brings comfort and peace to the heart of the little children. Grandmothers are a place of safety and peace when the Devil uses others to try to tear apart and destroy. Thank God for grandmothers. Many a child was reared by their grandmother and the influence over the child's life is carried all the way to the end. Oh, don't get me wrong about godly mothers. What a blessing they are also. But there is this depth that is touched that only a grandmother can bring. 

  How much did your grandmother influence your life? If they were a blessing from the Lord for you, please take a moment and thank God for them being brought to you with a message from God. Paul saw the value to Timothy. It's people that point us to a hope beyond what we see. God gives them to us. It's people that God brings to us His message of comfort and hope. Give thanks! You will be called upon one day to do the same. 

"Today's Mission"

Today you're on a mission! Today let your heart build faith around one important thought. You didn't wake up one morning and decide you belong to Jesus. No, you were called to Him long before you heard. Jesus spoke from His saving message and you accepted it! You said 'yes' to Christ's calling. It wasn't your idea; it was the Lord's idea from the beginning and will last to the end.

  Today you're on a mission! Today let your heart build faith around one important thought. You belong to Jesus! Christ called you and you answered. Let your faith rest in Him and not on you. Today let it sink into your heart that you have been called into Him and faithful He is and will always be. Let His calling through this glorious gospel be where you place your emphasis and faith. It's not about your response but His calling. You were called by God. Rejoice in that calling. Bask in that calling. Pray in that calling. Sing in that calling. "Just as also you were called in one hope of your calling." (Eph. 4:4) 

 Today you're on a mission! Jesus is life, your life! Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all!!! Enjoy your day.

"God's Not the Cause"

  One thing we need to get straight is that God is always just and faithful. Paul expresses that plainly when speaking to the Jews that just because they were unrighteous doesn't mean God is unrighteous. (Rom. 3:3-6) God has always and will always do what is right! There is no injustice in God and no darkness at all! (I John 1:5)

  Where does this leave us? It's time for us as humans to fully accept the direct responsibility for the suffering that is occurring and has always occurred on this planet. Too many blame God for our suffering and that needs to stop. We need to believe our Bibles and read it more intently rather than just brush over it with a "I already know that" attitude. We give thanks to God for us as humans to have a free will and not some computer or robot that performs what it is told to perform. In the process of our free will, we scream at God why He allowed certain things to be or go the way they go. Why didn't He do something about it? So our faith wains. Is this really right? If God made us do what He wanted, we would have no choice. Man chooses their way and acts and too many dump God or question God when things go terribly wrong. People hurt one another, commit all sorts of hideous crimes and the immoral climate is just over the top yet God gets blamed. 

  From the beginning God held Adam and Eve accountable for their choosing. It was man, not God, who brought sin into this world. (Rom. 5:12) The result was the world became cursed under this power of sin. That wasn't God's intention. Someone might say, "Why didn't He stop it right there?" That means in order to stop sin God would have to destroy His creation by destroying those created in His image. This shows the depth of His love for His created! Instead of seeing mankind separated from Him, He chose to work to save mankind. In that saving, sin advanced forward while God was advancing His purpose to save. Why can't we see that? Too many living in this world create their own suffering by making more sinful choices and wonder why God doesn't rescue them. God wants to but there must be a heart to respond to Him on His terms. He isn't darkness! He isn't corrupt! God wants man to come into fellowship and He provided the means for that fellowship.

  When we look a little deeper into the life of Jesus Christ, we see that the presence of hurt and suffering doesn't mean the absence of God. We see clearly how God used suffering and pain redemptively! The cross speaks God suffers for us and with us in order to redeem our souls. Jesus refused the help of man from man's wanting to defend Him by fighting to refusing man's help to alleviate His pain by drinking from a cup. Next time you find yourself wanting to complain or ask why, look no further than your sins and there you will see God's intention!   

"I Need Hope"

  Too many times we find ourselves in difficulties and we have a melt down. We don't mean to and we can hear those around us telling us to trust and be strong. But that only goes so far. The uncertainty we face in our lives creates fear and anxiety. What is needed is hope! Where do we find hope when facing afflictions or needs? Hope that will endure is centered in God and in Christ Jesus. It is a living hope Peter says because God is living and Christ is living. (I Pet. 1:3) 

  If our hope is not placed in God and Christ, there will be little assurance and security when facing our troubles. Hope is where you surrender your own resources and look to the Lord God for the final and desired outcome! If we place hope in people, in our skills, education or anything else you draw upon when troubles hit, you open yourself to fear and uncertainty leading to anxieties and many more mental issues.

  Too many times we do not doubt God, we doubt us! That's just it because we focus on us and the troubles we face and that's when doubts arise and fears dismay. We look to God as we are. In other words, we know how weak and limited we are and think God is like us. Simply put, we depend and look at us in situations and that's what takes us down. We would like to trust in the Lord but we just can't get our focus off of us and so our hope is never founded in the Lord. It's in us and that's not hope. The teachings of what we call Scripture came from God and we need to understand the emphasis of Scripture is God's resources and God's faithfulness! Anything less creates fears.

  Let's listen to God:

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  (Rom. 15:13)

"God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (I Cor. 1:9)

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." (I Thes. 5:23-24)

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." (II Thes. 3:3) 

"In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago." (Titus 1:2)

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Heb. 10:23)

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

  I think these will do for now. Are you struggling? Where's your hope?   

"If You Knew?"

  If you knew you would face your death tomorrow, what would you do? Would you give advice to your loved ones? Would you be upset? What would you say to your friends? What would be the most important thing to you? Would you speak of the places you visited or places you wished you had? What would you say?

  King David, before his final breath spoke to his son Solomon giving him sound advice. David had experienced so much from war, to situations that were life threatening evening facing a giant of a man but he knew his own mortality and spent his life after the heart of God. David sat down with his son Solomon and DID NOT advise him how to rule. David did not speak of the family inheritance or his accomplishments. He pointed his son in one direction: "I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn." (I Kings 2:2-3)

  Of all the things David could have said, the last words his son heard from his fathers lips was pointing him to Jehovah God and heeding His word! David wanted his son to be a man of character, integrity and be strong acting like a godly man. What sound advice!

  The apostle Paul sent two letters to Timothy, his spiritual child. As Paul's life drew to a close, Paul advised Timothy: "For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance." (I Tim. 4:8-9) Godliness is the most profitable thing to pursue. As Paul ends his second letter he reminds Timothy: "In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day; and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing." (II Tim. 4:8)

  The man was 68 yrs. of age and had only been in Christ for 5 months. Cancer was taking his life. Each day he read from God's word and was rejoicing that he belonged to Christ Jesus now. As his life came to a close, he called his family to his side. His wife, two sons and a daughter stood by him as his physical life was leaving his body. Tenderly he called on each one: "Find the Lord before it's too late!" His wife had never obeyed the gospel. He pleaded with her not to harden her heart. He told his children that he had never taught them the Lord and wanted them to know the Lord was the most important thing in life. That was the last words they heard from their husband and father.

  What about you? What are you presently living for? What are your ambitions? What are you teaching your family? Whatever means the most to you that's what you will expend your life for and talk about. If you knew you would face your death tomorrow, what would you do?

"Preaching in New York"

  What a wonderful week so far in Buffalo, New York. The Lord has caused a growth in the church and you can see it both in the attitudes of the brethren and their numbers. This is my 22nd year for coming here. That's hard to believe but I have witnessed a lot of different things over those years. This area of the country is difficult, not to say others areas aren't. We have different challenges and obstacles in the mid-west and south. Up here, the idea of God has little presence from the communities around. We are use to seeing some sort of religion when you drive in our towns/cities. Up here, there is some but they are far in between. And speak of truth, to the majority there is almost no belief in the standard of truth much less the God as revealed in His Holy Scriptures. When you do see religion, the face of some couple or person is attached to it telling the area we are the power and come hear moving and inspiring messages from a great speaker, man or woman! It made me see no wonder our nation is in the mess it's in! I guess those up here would not understand what I mean and those where I am from probably won't understand what I mean. It looks as if I don't understand what I mean!!! Forgive me of that.

  Many times being here I have had a strange experience of some sort. I realize my time is not done in New York as I still must travel to Jamestown but things have been relatively quiet in regard to experiences up to this point. There have been hearts turned back to the Lord and focusing on Him and His teachings rather than being carried away after our own desires. The brethren here really do show a deep sense of love for one another and the brotherhood. I don't see any little groups/cliques or anyone just hanging with a certain few. They all enjoy each others company and include anyone that steps through those doors. They think that in the south and mid-west the church is vibrant, growing and striving for the faith of the gospel. I want them encouraged but I explain we too have our challenges and struggles of different sorts. Apathy, laziness, taking things for granted and fleshiness just like anywhere else affects us. If it affected the first century church how much more some two thousand years down the road? That's why preaching/teaching is so vital today.

  One more thing I'd like to share and this really tells the story. I spent a little time with a brother who thinks some in the congregation are not properly teaching some Scripture. He asked me about it and shared with me what he sees Scripture teaching. He had a good point but he didn't have it all on as he over-looked some important verses. I just listened. In the end I asked him to look at these verses I jotted down and he said he would. But here is where love came into it. He would not allow his disagreement to 'unbrother' him from the rest. On the stance he was taking, I could see brethren in the mid-west and south having his view and off they would run finding another congregation that would agree with him or a little clique of dissatisfied people. This brother has some options to go elsewhere (driving a distance) but he said we must love one another and keep working, helping where you can until we all get to the goal! He lead the closing prayer and he prayed for what else: unity, love and helping one another grow!! What a blessing! What an attitude! WHAT LOVE! That man is a child of God.