Proverbs 28

As I was reading Proverbs 28 today I came across some verses that popped out at me and would like to share them:

v6 "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways."

v13 "whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."

v18 "Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall."

v19 "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty."

v22 "A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him."

v27 "Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse."

Key Words:

* Integrity

* Confession

* Hard Work

* Generous

I have to ask myself if those terms describe me? Do those terms describe you? Are you a man or woman who is full of integrity. We get our word integer from this word. Integrity means complete or whole, not lacking in anything. Do people see us as a godly person or an ungodly one? Do people see us as a generous person or as a stingy person? Do people see us as lazy or as a hard worker? Integrity is when those on the outside look at our lives and see that our lives align with our Heavenly Father. Is it hard to be full of integrity? Yes. It is something that one would have to work at constantly. Although it is difficult and hard work, it pleases our Heavenly Father; something which should be the number one priority of our life! Let us live with Integrity, Confession, Hard Work, and Generosity.

Personal Security: The Book of 1 John

The Bible teaches that when a person is saved, he or she is saved forever. There is nothing he or she nor anybody else can do that will take away the salvation that God has freely given them for their faith and trust that they have put into Jesus. I would say that there is nothing mystical about salvation. It truly is when one confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, then they will be saved. (Romans 10:9) This verse implies that a person knows exactly what Jesus did for them when He died on the cross; that He paid for the penalty of man's sins. So by confessing Him Lord we confess that we are a sinner and that He is the sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the whole world.

Therefore, we repent of our sin, our sin nature, and turn from that to follow the living God. That is what salvation is! It is not a simple "O, I believe that, but I am going to live the way I want to." It is a complete confession that you have placed everything you have and are into the Lordship of Jesus Christ the Savior. Jesus even said, "Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven." He also shared that "broad is the gate that leads to destruction, but narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life." one has done that they salvation is secure. If one has truly repented and placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, then that person's salvation is secure! There is no way and nohow their salvation can be lost or taken away.

This brings me to my brief point I would like to make this morning. It is this: if someone wants proof to validate their salvation, John gives us a litmus test we can take in our own life to validate for us whether or not we have salvation. Again, it is a litmus test that we have been saved, not a do these things and you will be saved. The message that John is arriving at that every other writer and disciple arrived at is that your life will be different when you are saved!

Here is the Litmus Test:

* Keep the Lord's Commandments- live like Him

* Don't love the world or anything in the world- if you love the world that the love of the Father is not in You.

* Abide in the Jesus

* Love one Another

* Avoid False Teachers

* Test the Spirits to make sure they are not false

* Hold one another accountable

I would encourage you to read the book straight through to see John's complete message. But it is quite something!

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Without Blemish

I have been reading through Leviticus. Yes, I know what you are thinking, "Can you get anything out of Leviticus?" The answer is; most definitely! Here the theme throughout Leviticus is the sacrificial system and how it is to operate. Within that them there is a sub-theme that we see in the description of the offerings that are to be offered. The offerings, whether bull, goat, or lamb are to be without blemish. They are not to offer anything to God that is not there best. Giving God a mangled lamb is not cool! He wants the best, the most pure, the one that will cost them something. Now how does the New Testament relate to the book of Leviticus?

In Romans 12:1-2 Paul encourages believers to, "offer up your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship." Do you see, we now are the lamb, the bulls, and the goats. And daily we offer up our lives as sacrifices unto our great God. We are not to give God what we think He wants or what we desire to give Him. Our duty as His children are to give Him what He desires. What He desires are sacrifices that are the best, without blemishes. So, are we giving God what He desires, or what we want to give Him?

Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 5:26-27, "that He (Jesus) might present her (the church), having cleased her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

Let us stop right now and ask God what areas in our life are we failing to offer up to Him our best, sacrifices that are without blemishes? Is it in the area of family, evangelism, finances, obedience in words and deeds, loving others, etc? Whatever it is, let us confess it right now and tell Him that our desire is to give Him what He wants, what He desires. We all know that He is worth it!

Packing For Heaven

About a week and a half ago I was packing for my mission trip to Kenya. I was told to pack mosquito spray, food, and then the obvious, clothes for my trip. It got me thinking about this life and how transient this life is. I begin to think about our future home heaven and what we need to pack to take with us there. Let me share with you what we cannot take with us:

* Money

* Titles/Positions

* Materials (clothes, cars, homes, etc.)

* Recreational equipment and devices

But here is what we can take with us:

* Our Testimony

* Other People

* Authentic Worship

These are the three things we can take with us. Two of them our intangible, and the other is tangible. So the only tangible thing is people. Let us make a commitment to ourselves and to our Lord that we will take as many people with us to heaven as we can. Let us invite, share, and explain to our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who our great God and Savior Jesus Christ is. Remember this is not our final destination, but heaven is. What are you packing?

The Famous One: Matthew 4:23-25

We live in a day where people would not mind if they were famous. In fact many would love to be famous. Some to the point where they would risk looking like a fool in order to appear on American Idol. Just think of the 62 year old this past Wednesday who has a number one hit out, "Pants on the Ground." I don't know about you, but I remembered his song. And now he is famous. As believers we are called to make Jesus' name known. We are called to make Him famous. Now how do we do that?

Here in this passage the Bible tells us that Jesus' "fame spread throughout all Syria..." What lead to His fame. Verse 23 tells us, "He went throughout all of Galilee teaching in the their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people." Three quick things lead to Jesus' fame throughout the territory.

1) He Proclaimed Good news about the Kingdom of God.

2) He healed every Disease

3) He healed every Affliction

Long story short Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God. He touched people who no one else would touch. He brought hope to their lives. He brought healing to their lives. He brought encouragement to those who needed it. No one else did what Jesus did. He stood out. What are we doing to stand out, in order for Jesus to become famous. Are we making a scene because we are so Jesus like? Or are we making a scene about how religious we are? Or are we making a scene of how we are so different than what Jesus was. He was the kind of guy that stuck out so much, in a good way, that "they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics..." Even great crowds followed Him. Why? Again because He was different. He preached Good News of the Kingdom of God. He touched those no one else would. He loved those no one else would love.

What will we do today that will make Jesus famous, that would want to make other people want to be around us, because being around us means they are being around Jesus?

Follow Me: Matthew 4:18-22

I will try and keep this post a little shorter since the last two were book length. Here is the account where Jesus calls to Simon (or Peter), his brother Andrew, as well as, James and his brother John, to follow Him. Now this is no detailed account. Fact is, we have very few details regarding their calling to follow Jesus. Here is what we do know: Peter and Andrew were casting their net for some fish. James and John were in the boat with their father mending their nets. 'Casting' means throwing the net. So, Peter and Andrew were in the act of trying to catch fish. James and John were 'mending' which means getting ready to cast their net.

These are the only details we have of the four of them. Then all we have is what Jesus says, only to Peter and Andrews, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." All we know is that Jesus called to James and John. I am sure it was along the same lines as what He had spoken to Peter and Andrew. That's it! That is all we have! Here is the reason why I make such a big deal about having very limited information; because these four men dropped everything and followed Jesus. What was it that made them drop, jump, and follow? I know it wasn't Jesus' look. It wasn't His hourly wage He was going to pay them to follow. So what was it? I believe it was His message.

In verse 17, while in the region where these men were, Jesus preached saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This really is all we have to go on. I am sure that the four that was called by Jesus had heard of Jesus' ministry and message. The message was so powerful and convicting that when Jesus offered to them to come and be His disciple, (to learn more about this ministry and message) they left immediately. They were so awestruck by the ministry and message. So captivating was this message, they left their jobs (fishermen), their belongings (boat, net, paddles, etc), and their family (sorry father Zebedee). Now they would embark on this ministry and message that would enable them to catch men.

As believers do we realize what Peter, Andrew, James and John realized then; that this Jesus is different! His ministry is different. His message is soberingly different. Are we so captivated and awestruck with who Jesus is and what He stands for and teaches, that at a moments notice we would leave everything? This is first century discipleship. Leaving all to follow a master teacher and submitting oneself to learn from him.

21st Century discipleship, especially here in America, looks grossly different. In fact it looks like the account in Luke 9:57-62. On three occasions Jesus asked people to follow him. Two of those responses were, "let me go bury my father," and "let me first say bye to those at my home." Today, many say they will follow Jesus, as long as they can do what they need to do first. First let me go build my retirement. First let me live the way I want to. First let me get settled. First let me sow my wild oats. First let travel where I want to. First let me follow after my career. First let me spend my own money. First let me read this fiction novel. First let me sleep in. The list literally could go on and on.

Let us, who are believers, follow in the footsteps of the four and be willing to leave job, livelihood, materials, belongings, and even family for the sake of knowing and living for Christ! This is true discipleship!

The Devil Made Me Do It! Matthew 4:1-11

We have all heard of the phrase, "The devil made me do it." What is someone referring to when they belch out these words? The reason why they did something bad, isn't their fault, it is the devil's fault. He is the one that tempted them that made them do whatever their bad deed was. Now there is some truth to that statement. If we take a journey all the way back to Genesis 3, we can watch the snake tempt Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. We can see his slick and cunning words that influences Eve's behavior. Look at what I said, 'influence' not 'force' Eve's behavior.

The devil influenced Eve's behavior to sin against God. That is what the devil is all about; being against God. He is anti-theos or anti-God. Therefore, his actions, words, ideals, and purpose is in direct opposition and rebellion to God. That is his nature. So, going back to the garden and seeing what Eve does, followed by Adam, shows too, they have followed in the footsteps of Satan. Their direct rebellious act imputed into their personhood the same nature that flowed from Satan: a sinful one. Now we all have a nature that is in direct opposition to God. The devil inside all of us makes us like that. Romans 5:12,18-19 says, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

This brings me back to Matthew 4:1-11. Here in this passage Satan is seen attempting to tempt Jesus. Jesus is the perfect Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the one that will die for the sins of the world. What did Romans say again, "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." Here is what I want you to understand before we look at how Jesus defeated the temptations of Satan: because we are born again, saved, delivered from the punishment of sin, we have been given a new nature. This nature is the same nature that Jesus has, a perfect, godly, righteous nature. This nature is for God. This nature lives for God. This nature pleases God. Now because we have repented of our sin and placed our faith and trust in who Jesus is and what He did for us, we too have that same nature.

We no longer have to remark, "the devil made me do it" because we have Jesus living inside of us. We have His nature. You might be struggling with a sin. Maybe it is a personal one, a public one, or a private one. It may be pornography, lust, anger, bitterness, selfishness, unkindness, rudeness, stingy/robbing God, hypocrisy, cheating, pride, ingratitude, neglect of the bible, neglect of prayer, neglect of evangelism, etc... Whatever the sin, us believers have the power to overcome because of our new nature we have possessed in Christ. Look at how Christ defeats the powerful, the cunning, the slick temptations of the devil.

First, He was lead by the Spirit. And verse 1 tells us that the Spirit is the one that led Him to be tempted. The reference here to the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, which is the third part of the Trinity. You can say that the Holy Spirit is the one that activates in us the new nature we have through Jesus Christ. He is the one that teaches us and guides us to use and live in the new nature we have acquired. If we are going to stop sin, we will have to live by the Spirit. Galatians 5:17, "So, I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of sinful flesh."

Second, we will have to spiritually prepare ourselves to face temptations. Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. This is what scholars refer to as a 'supernatural fast'. Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. Fasting is laying aside something, in this case food, for the direct purpose of seeking God on a deeper level and experience. Fasting can be utilized when a decision has to be made, or someone wants to overcome a habitual sin, or one wants to know God more intimately, or when one wants to pray more fervently for a person or ministry. Fasting is a tool to sharpen us spiritually where we become closer to God.

Third, we need the 'sword of the Spirit', which is the Word of God. In every tempting arrow that Satan shot at Jesus, Jesus knocks it down with the Word of God. This is our offensive weapon. Psalm 119 says, "I hide your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Jesus knew Scripture for every temptation. How much Scripture do you know? A lot? A little? Some? How are you coming along in knowing more? When is the last time you read? The goal in reading Scripture should not be quantity, but quality. God wants you to get something out of it, so that you can apply it to your life. Just as Jesus is seen doing.

Last, make sure you take a faithful stand to worship God, and Him alone. Jesus' last rebuttal tells Satan, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.'" As Jesus did, so do we, need to take the strong stand for worshipping only God. At the end of the day that is all that matters; the worship of God. Having that standard and goal of living, will allow us to face anything and most importantly temptations.

No longer do we have to say, 'the devil made me do it.' But we can say, 'Jesus helped me overcome the devil.'

Preparing the Way

Matthew 3:1-11

Here in Matthew 3 we are introduced to John the Baptist. John the Baptist is infamous for being the forerunner of Jesus who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry and mission. For someone to pave the way for Jesus one might think that one would have to be slick, with a polished and intellectual message. You might think that the forerunner of Jesus would be in the city with decent clothes. Probably, this guy should be nice and kind to help smooth the way for the coming Messiah. However, John is polarized opposite. In verses 1-11 we see the aspects of his incredible ministry of preparing the way for Jesus.

First, John preached a message of repentance. He told people to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Second, John understood his role and his ministry. He quotes from Isaiah, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the lord; make his path straight." Also in verse 11 John says, "but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry." This is a man who understood his role and mission and that he was preparing the way for someone much greater than he.

Third, John was not flashy and was not urbanized. He wore the latest fashion in camel hair and his diet consisted of South Beach Desert diet, which was locusts and wild honey. If we probably got a glimpse of John we would not think that he was civilized at all. He lived in the desert, wore desert clothes, and ate desert foods. The crazy part of all of this is found in verse 5, "Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him..." Who would have ever thought that people would travel to see and hear such a man? Again it is important for us to understand he had a message that was completely different than any message of that time. Nobody was preaching repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. The religious leaders at that time were going through the religiousity of being a Jew. There were no people who understood their role and mission in pointing people to God's Messiah. There was something undeniably different about John. He whole-heartily lived for God and was all about His glory and pointing people to the Messiah. He was all about someone else other than himself!

Fourth, John was not shy and timid about what he said either. He flat out rebuked the religious leaders of the day. He rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees so hard, snot came out. He tells them to quit being religious, prideful, lazy, good for nothing leaders; and bear fruit that accompanies true repentance. You can say that John took a stand to live for God. But not only live for God, to call others who claim to live for God, to truly live for Him. Why would he be so bold as to call these religious leaders to be authentic worshippers of God? Because those who go through the religious motions and live a prideful pious life (that says look at me), distort the truth of who God is and what He desires men and women to be.

So what does all of this have to do with you and me? We are called to share Jesus with the world. Therefore, just like John we are to prepare the way for Jesus to work in the heart of those we want to introduce to Him. We need to begin to think of ourselves as forerunners of Jesus. Those who prepare the way for Him to work in the hearts of those around us. The way we do that is to emulate John. We need to share the message of repentance. We don't have a spiritual or religious message, we have a message of life change that is produced when one repents of their sin. Second, we need to understand our role, who we are/who God is, and what we have been put here to do.

Third, we need to be ourselves and be true to who God called us to be. John did not try to be someone he is not. He was just an ordinary desert boy, who was used to do supernatural things for God. John did not need the city life, the city clothes, the city food. He needed to prepare the way! Last, we need to be bold and sometimes even confrontational. Those who claim to be believers/Christians but are blatantly living opposite to the ways of Christ, we should love them enough and love God enough to gently correct them. I am not telling us to be the spiritual police. But the leaders of John's day was obviously not representing God correctly or John would not have said what he did. Today for us, this could be a potty mouth believer, a cheating on a test believer, a married flirting believer, a stingy believer, an unfaithful to church believer, or anything that misrepresents who God is and desires us to be. Let us be faithful to preparing the way!

Going through the Motions: Revelation 2:1-7

Matthew West has a great song titled, "The Motions." The lyrics say, "I don't want to go through the motions, I don't want to live one more day without your all consuming passion inside of me, I don't want to spend my whole life asking, 'what if I give it everything, instead of going through the motions."

This passage reminds me of this song. It seems as if the church in Epesus was doing a lot of good. Look at what Jesus tells them; "I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance...and you have not grown weary." Jesus even commends them about how they cannot stand evil and how they hate the works of the Nicolaitans. They also tested leaders to see whether or not they were legite. The church at Epesus was on the right track. It looks as if they are doing the right things.

But Jesus hammers them with this one thing that He holds against them; "you have abandoned the love you had at first." In other words, you have done a lot of good and even for my name sake, however, in light of your doing, you have neglected the one for whom you do all of this stuff. This passage also reminds me of Mary and Martha. Where Mary was sitting with Jesus listening to him while Martha was in the kitchen cooking Jesus a scrumptous dinner. Martha gets ticked at Mary because she is in there (in her opinion) doing nothing. Jesus commends Mary however because she choose the best thing, sitting with and spending time with Him.

Here at the church in Ephesus, I believe they got so busy doing and watching out for the fraudulant that they neglect the object of their actions. They neglected the object of their faith and works. They started just going through the motions. They did because they always had. This is what they were suppose to do. The more they did- just because- the more they neglected why they did what they did. The older one becomes in the faith, the easier it is to lose sight of why we live, why we do, why we act, why we love; the way we do.

The same goes for a marriage. The longer a couple is together, the easier it is to lose sight of why you married them, why you love them, why you are together, etc. That is why it is importnat to date you spouse, spend time with them, talk to them, to keep the fire of love burning. This is what Jesus is telling this church, rekindle the burning love and passion you once had for me. Don't do for doing sake! Love me first and then let the personal relationship you have with me live through you. Believers will be much more effective impacting culture and community when we have a thriving, vibrant, and growing personal relationship with Jesus.

How's your love for Jesus? How's you personal relationship with Jesus? I am not asking how are you talking, or avoiding sin, or how is your church attendance? I am asking how is