Blasphemer

Leviticus 24:15 - "15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death."

A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in one of the classrooms in the Children's Church area in the church chatting with a guy.  In the middle of our conversation he used the Lord's Name in vain.  It made me do a double take, but knowing that this individual was a fairly new believer and still maturing in his faith, I chocked it off to a lack of knowledge concerning spiritual things. Yet, I still found it hard to believe that someone would not know that using God's name in a profane way is wrong. 

According to the scripture above, this individual can be thankful that he lives under God's grace and not under God's law.  Thank God that Jesus came and died for our sins, past, present and future, and set us free from the law of sin and death or we would have been having a party where thisd individual would be getting stoned and not in a way that people get stoned today. 

But, aren't all of us worthy of being stoned for all of us have violated God's law in one way or another.  Thank God that we live under God's grace and mercy and Jesus' blood cleanses us from all sin. Thak God that Jesus took our place.

Today would you take a moment and give God thanks for his grace and mercy.  Would you offer a pray of thanksgiving that all of your sins have been forgiven and that you stand justified in His sight.  It is a beautiful thing to know that we are in right standing with God and that no parties will be thrown in our behalf.

Distinguishing Between the Clean and the Unclean!

Leviticus 10:10 "... so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean..."

Why is this such a challenge for many people today..."distinguishing between the holy and the common, the clean and unclean."
We want to skirt the issue and act like the rules do not apply to us.

• We have people living together (not married) and coming to church and acting or believing that everything is alright between them and Jesus when the scripture makes it absolutely clear that fornication is a sin and that sin will be judged.
• We have married couples going through divorce and showing up to church with another man or woman on their arm and even flaunting an engagement ring while still legally married to the other person and yet the don't see anything morally or ethically wrong with their actions.
• We have individuals belly-up to the bar on Saturday night, going home drunk and showing up to church on Sunday morning sporting a hang-over and trying to serve Jesus in their arena of ministry.
• We have people who call themselves Christians who smoke, get drunk, cuss, chew, view pornography, abuse their wives and children, cheat on their taxes, and the list goes on and on...

In these verses of scripture, God calls us to distinguish between the holy and the common, the clean and unclean. If our life is not changed because of our relationship with Christ, they what difference is there between us and a common sinner who does not know Christ. Paul made it clear that "if any man has come to Christ, old things pass away and all things become new" but if there is no newness have we really come to Christ?

If there is no difference between the sinner and the saint, then how will the world ever see how Jesus can make a difference in their lives? If we continue to be like everyone else in the world and yet claim to be a Christian, too, isn't that a contradiction. Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space.

I know this is hard today, but I love you enough to tell you the truth.  And, on my watch, that is what I intend to do, tell the truth.  We need to continually ask our self, “What Would Jesus Do?” If you and I will ask him that question, we will probably make some very needed changes in our life.

Keep Watch!

Matthew 24: 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into."

There is much speculation as to when the Lord might come. We have all heard the multiple prophecies and have seen the dates come and go and we might get the feeling that all is well and we have plenty of time. Of course, that might be true for no man knows the day or the hour when Jesus is coming, but the words of Jesus still ring true. KEEP WATCH!

The truth to stay focused on is not when he is coming, but the fact that He is coming.  KEEP WATCH! He tells us to keep focused on Him for when we least expect He will arrive.  Keeping watch is more than just reminding ourselves that He might come today, even though that is important.

•Keeping watch means that I keep my heart right, I stay away from anything that might hinder or slow down my walk with Him. 
•Keeping watch means that i stay connected to Him through prayer and the study of His word. 
•Keeping watch means that I stay connected with other believers so we can strengthen and encourage one another. 
•Keeping watch means that I am faithful to God's house and go in weekly for instruction in His Word.
•Keeping watch means that I keep my attitude right and I love at all times,.
•Keeping watch means that I support the work of God financially with my generous giving so that God's Word can continue to be spread around the world...

KEEP WATCH!  If you haven't been doing so, today would be a good day to start.

Friend of God

Exodus 33: 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

There is such power in prayer.  When Moses would go into the tent to meet with God, God's presence in the form of a cloud would cover the top of the tent.  It is called the Glory of God.  While in the tent, Moses and God would speak as friends.  The would talk face to face.

That is the same relationship we have with God.  The Word tells us that "Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  We can go into His presence and talk with Him, face to face, as one friends talks to another.  We should not make prayer so complicated.  If we have a friend, we call tell him or her anything, or we should be able to if they are a true frined who loves us unconditionally.

Jesus loves us unconditionally.  He knows all about us...he knows everything we have ever done or ever will do and He still loves us and calls us friends.  The Bible tells us that "while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us."  And it also says, "No greater loves has any man than this, that he would lay down His life for His friends."  And, Jesus laid down His life for us. 

YOU ARE A FRIEND OF GOD!  Walk in that truth...walk in that knowledge today and make a decision to spend some time with your friend.