In Matthew chapter 6, verses 19-24 & 33, we read, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.“

In the scripture Jesus is telling us that if we are working for our own benefit and all we want is treasure of this world, we are only serving what we can earn ourselves, which will be destroyed by rust or stolen by thieves, or eaten by moths. These are all worldly possessions which will not last, they are only for a season. But, Jesus is telling and showing us to look at Him for our treasures, and come into His glorious light where darkness can not reside. Jesus is the light of the world and he will show you and give you a new heart and new desires, if you will only trust and follow him.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33.

Jesus said you can not serve both God and money. What is meant here, is either you are working for the worlds possessions, such as money, cars, homes, that next high paying job, with all the perks. Or you are serving God, putting Himn first. Then Jesus said Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Jesus is telling us to put Him first and Seek him and live for His Kingdom and then He would give us all that we need. Notice I did not say God would give us all that we wanted.

I have noticed that most Christians today are to busy serving God that they do not have the time to Seek Him. I believe Jesus is telling us to stop all the self serving in the Church today, and slow down and seek Him with all our hearts and put Him first in our lives. Get to know Jesus on a personal basis, become God’s friend, spend time with Him, read His word, the Bible, He tells us all we need to know about Him and How we can become His friend. He is waiting for you with open arms, waiting to show you His perfect will for your life.

Once you begin to Seek Him with your whole heart and He becomes the most important person in your life, then He will start to show you how to serve Him. Then and only then does the serving become something you desire to do, because you will be serving Him in a way that is unique for you. Now this type of serving does not become an obligation, but and opportunity to get to know Him and serve Him in a personal way. This is when you will start to find the ultimate goal of life, which is to pursue God with your whole heart.

So, stop serving God in order to try to earn His favor, this will only lead to heartache and disappointment. Start seeking Him with your whole heart and he will reveal how you are to serve Him. Because when you are serving Him in accordance to His will, then you will never burn out or get tired, because He will sustain you in all your efforts.

Prayer: Father God help us to always seek You first and put You first in our lives. Help us in this journey of life to live for you. Guide us into your perfect will, so we can serve you with all our hearts for the rest of our lives. Thank you Jesus for loving us and showing us how to seek You and Your Kingdom. Thank you for Your precious sacrifice You made on the cross, so I can live with You for eternity.

I chose to sign up for that journey.

Each daily email from Dr. Peck is short and contains these 5 things:
1) One inspirational quote
2) One lesson
3) One question to reflect upon and answer in your journal
4) One link to a valuable resource
5) One short prayer

Dr. Peck gives you one daily to ask the Lord and then journal about that. Here are the answers the Lord gave me to the first 11 questions. BE blessed.

Day 1

Lord, what time wasters can I start eliminating today to redeem my time?

Lord, help me to see what it is you want me to do, so I can be more productive for you and not waste the time you have given me.

David I want you to limit your time watching television to 2 hours each night, and before you watch television I want you write in your blog. I also want you to talk to me before you take on anymore responsibility at Church or with the United Methodist Men’s fellowship, this is at all levels. David, I want you to be the most productive for my kingdom and be an influence for all the men I send your way. Be open to My spirit so you can have my heart and my eyes. I want you to see what I see and I want your heart to desire what I desire. The only way you can do this, is by trusting in Me and relying on Me to provide what you need. Remember, I love you and I will provide all you need.

Thank you Jesus and I will need you to help me so I can become all you want me to become. Jesus help my faith to grow and become as strong as yours was when you walk the earth in human form. I love you.

Day 2

Lord, what one simple action step can I take to slow down the pace of my life?

David, I want you to make sure that when you take on a job or role in the church or community, that you ask me about taking on that responsibility. I will let you know if this is from me. Now when I give you an assignment I want you to complete it with all the gifts that I have given you. When I send somepne your way, make sure you give them all the time they need to become my child so they will know how much I love them. The main thing I want from you David is for you to come to me for your assignments. I will never give you something to do that will not be in alignment with your gifts I have given you. So, slow down and come to me before you accept any assignments and I will lead you into your destiny with me and give you a ministry that only you can fulfill with and through me. I love you David.

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me and giving me your word and I need your help to complete that which you have given me.

Day 3

LORD, what simple daily habit can I establish that will bear much eternal fruit?

David, I want you to spend more time with me in the morning. I need to be with you in an intimate way. I want you to continue to do your daily devotion as you are now doing, but I now want you to spend at least 10 minutes with me in quiet meditation, just listening to my voice. If you make this a habit I will reveal everything you need to know for your ministry. I will send to you men who are hurting so you can help them see me as a loving Father they have never known. So, start this habit in the morning, then we will start a journey that will change your life. I live you with an everlasting love and I desire to have an intimate relationship with you.

Father, thank you for this opportunity of spending this time with you and help me to be faithful in this habit of alone quiet time with you. I love Father and thank you Jesus for being my friend, savior and God.

Day 4

Lord, how much quiet time do you want me to spend with you each day praying and reading the Bible?

David, you are already spending about 30 minutes with me in the morning and I now want you to be still in my presence for at least 10 minutes each morning so you can hear my voice. So, I would like to spend more time with you in the mornings. I will leave the decision to you how much more time you want to spend with me. I love you my son, give me all of you so I can give you all that I have set aside to bestow upon you. Remember my word says in Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God. I love you.

Father, what a privilege it is that you the creator of the universe wants to spend time with me. I will start the habit of getting out of bed 30 minutes earlier so we can spend at least an hour together each morning. Father, I need your help to start this habit and I want You to be the highest priority in my life. Help me to accomplish this, in your name I pray this prayer.

Day 5

Lord, what are reasonable goals for me to set and achieve in 30 days, 3 months, and one year from now?

David, I want you to first of all Rest in My Spirit every morning, like I told you get up early and seek me and rest in me. I will over time give you all you need to accomplish the ministry I have already given you. In your relationship with Karen, I want you all to spend more time together getting healthier. I want you to walk with her at least 3 days a week for one hour. This will create a bond for you two that will last for the ages. Then in the evening before you go to bed I want you to write something in your journal about the day, then I want you to read your journal at the end of each month. Do this and you will see increase in all you do. I will see to it. I love you my son, now go and be my disciple as I have called you to be.

Thank you father, and Jesus I love you will all my heart, thank you for being my friend, savior and King. Amazing!!!!

Day 6

Lord, what can I do to help ensure that I journal every day? How much time should I set aside to journal each day? What time of the day should I journal?

Lord I will set aside one hour in the evening to journal what you have given to me today and how you have revealed yourself to me that day, and any miracles you have allowed me to witness that day. I will also put down any revelations you have given me from your word.

And who is to hold me accountable?

My lovely wife Karen. Father give her the wisdom to keep me on track and to continue this journey with you.

Now, father, help me to stay on this plan until you change it or give me another assignment?

Day 7

Lord, how will journaling help me be leave a great legacy?

David, this is the only way your family (wife and children and grandchildren) and my family (the church) will know what I gave you. The ministry I am giving and will give to you. This is also the only my anyone will know how you have affected all the people I have sent to you and how much you have influenced them for me. So write it down, make it plain, this way all will see how much I love you and how much I want to love them.

Thank you Father for all you do for me and may I always put you first in my life. Lord I pray that you will keep me humble and that I will always keep my eyes upon you, my Master, my King and my God!!!

Day 8

Lord, what action step can I take this week to BE outstanding?

My son, I want you to read the book Outstanding by John Miller and start applying the principles he outlines in this book. Because I gave him these principles and the message he writes about is from Me. David you are on the verge of something wonderful, stay strong, stay determined and stay in My Word and continue to talk to me every morning. Then you will be the example I need you to be for everyone I bring to you for you to minister to. I love you my son, keep fighting the good fight, with the faith I have given you.

Thank you Father and may all my actions be it word or deed glorify you.

Day 9

Lord, what simple things can I do to SIMPLIFY my life?
What is the ONE THING you want me to FOCUS on?

David, I want you to stop worrying about how you are to serve me. I want you to Seek me with all your heart, then I will give you the areas I want you to serve. I want you to seek me above all things in this world and put me first in your life. I want you to seek me in the morning and then live your life like your are my son, which you are. Doing this David, you will simplify your life as I will guide you into all the areas for you to serve me. You know the ministry of serving men and helping them to become spiritual fathers is your primary mission. Just don’t worry or fear what the serving of these men will look like. I will take care of all that. You just seek me daily in a way you have not sought me before. I love you and want you to give me everything in your life.

Thank you Father for loving me so much and Jesus thank you for being my Savior, Friend and King.

Day10

Thank you Father for your faithfulness to me, even though I sometimes are not as faithful as I should be to you and my promises to you. Forgive me and help me to see the opportunties you give me and not look at anything I do for you as an obligation.

Here is the life purpose statement he gave me to write down: My purpose is to passionately pursue my Heavenly Father, to become the servant leader as modeled by my Savior Jesus. By this men’s hearts will be transformed, which will produce spiritual fathers.

Now living a life of repentance is totally different, because living a life of repentance is all about turning toward God and it is not about turning toward your sin. By living a life of repenance you are giving control of your sinful life to God and letting him have total control. If you do this God will give you a new heart and new desires. God will then take the sinful and bad behavior and turn it into something beautiful.

Now, let me give you an example from the Bible. In the book of 1 Samuel chapter 24, we find, Saul the first King of Israel, who has made some mistakes while king, and God has now already told the prophet Samuel to anoint David as King of Israel. Saul has found out about the anointing and has been trying to kill David for years. David has been on the run and is hiding in caves to keep Saul from killing him. One day Saul goes into the cave where David and his men are hiding to relieve himself. David’s men try to get him to kill Saul, but he would not. But David cut off a piece of his robe. After Saul left the cave David showed himself to Saul and that he could have killed him. Saul confessed that David was more righteous than he was and admitted David would be King one day and stopped pursing David. But, David was also moved to repent to God for cutting the robe of the king and repented from touching the one anointed by God who was King of Israel, and vowed he would never touch him again.

But, in 2 Samuel chapter 26, we find Saul pursuing David again in order to kill him, so you can see Saul is right back into the same behavior he confessed. Again, God gave David another opportunity to kill King Saul. While Saul and his army were sleeping David and his top general went into the camp and was standing over Saul and could have killed him. David’s General asked him if he would not kill the king then let him do it. But, David was true to his repentance and said he would not touch the Lord’s anointed King.

What does all this mean? Well, as you can see Saul only confessed his sin of trying to kill David and knew it was wrong, even told David he was more righteous than he was. But when you only confess your sin you are not turning toward God you are turning toward man and earthly desires. David on the other hand repented from his sin of touching the anointed king and God gave him the wisdom and understanding he needed when faced with the same temptation again.

So, what in your life are you just confessing? What in your life do you need to repent? Give those over to God, turn to Him and let Him give you a new heart and new desires. He will take the mess and turn it into something new and wonderful. Try Jesus and see He will never disappoint you or let you down. But you need to repent and not just confess those things that are keeping you from Him.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to not just confess my sins and wrongs to you. But help me to live a life of repentance always turning to you and giving you everything in my life. Amen.

Second you must be reconciled to yourself. I know this may sound a little crazy but our self image and how you view yourself, will dictate how you think God views you. So, your self image is very important. What you need to know is that God loves you and accepts you just the way you are and He did not make a mistake when he made you.  We are acceptable to him and he loves us for who we are. When Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist, a voice from heaven was heard and God said, “This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3: 17) Now, notice when God said this about Jesus, before he started his ministry, before he performed one miracle and before he healed one person. God His Father was pleased with Jesus just for He is. Now, can you put yourself in the verse above and say, I am God’s son or daughter, in me He is well pleased.

 In Ephesians 2:13-16, it says, “But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.  For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that  separated us.  He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”

The model of a blessing is found in Genesis chapter 27, which is the story of Jacob stealing the blessing of Esau from his father Isaac.  In this story Isaac tells his oldest son he wants to bless him, but he wants him to go and bring him a meal. While he is gone Jacob and his mother dress him up to smell and feel like his brother, as his father is blind. As Jacob approached him to receive the blessing, Isaac pulled him close so smell his scent. Now most people will focus on how Jacob and his mother stole the blessing, but that is not what I want you to focus on right now.  I want to look at what Isaac did and how he blessed Jacob, and even though he stole the blessing it still remained in effect. So lets look at how Isaac blessed his son, which is found in Genesis 27: verses 27-29:

“Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”  So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, ”Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine.  May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

Notice how he pulled him close to him, close enough to smell the scent of him. Men how close do you have to be in order to smell the scent of your wives.  Next Isaac spoke his blessing to Jacob out loud so he could hear the words and the blessing for himself, then he placed high value on Jacob by telling him he would have abundance and nations would bow down to him. Isaac then gave Jacob a special future by describing his role and leader of the family, and he also placed an active commitment to the blessing he gave to Jacob, telling his other son Easu that the blessing he gave Jacob would stand and could not be recinded.

What does all this mean? Well men, I know this is the model we must follow to give our blessing to our children. Remember all the years of teaching your children what you knew while they were growing up, and they looked up to you and thought the world of you, you were Dad.  This was important, but what they may have learned from you is that they need to be just like you in order to gain your acceptance and blessing. I know most fathers stop at the teaching stage for their children, and do not go on to bless them so they can go out and be the man or woman God created them to be. This is what I meant about the father vacuum in our childrens lives. Remember, you teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are. So just don’t teach your children, reproduce your faith in them, and when they get older you can give them your blessing to be that which God has created them to be.

So why don’t you follow this guide to bless your children: 1) Meaningful Touch; put your hands on them and pull them close; 2) Speak out Loud the blessing to them, this way they will know for a fact you mean what is being said; 3) Attach High Value to your child, let them know how much they mean to you and how much they mean to their Heavenly Father; 4) Give them a Special Future. 

If you will bless your children in this manner you will release them from trying to live a life that pleases you and they will not have to live their lives trying live up to your standards. They will then be free to go out and live their lives for their Heavenly Father and they will be free to passionately pursue that which God has made them, pursuing a God filled life doing that which pleases Him. I hope I have let you know how important the blessing is in the life of everyone. Now if you did not receive a blessing from you father, I will pray a prayer for you right now. But if your father is still alive, I want you to go to him if possible and talk about this issue. It is that important. God bless you as you journey on the path to become a Spiritual Father. May God the Heavenly Father bless you.

If your earthly father was cold and distant and not there emotionally or physically, you will have this concept that God is far away and can only be reached, unless you do something great that pleases Him. If your father was a strict disciplinarian and abusive,  you might think God is this being sitting on his throne with this rod in his hand, just waiting for you to mess up so he can beat you down.  Some you may have had a father that was never around and had nothing to do with your upbringing at all. In this case you will might think you can never get God’s attention or that he just does not care about you at all.

What I have learned from Dan Schaffer, in his book Spiritual Fathers is “What most men are missing is a sense of their own identity and a sense of validation that passes from father to son.”  So you can see if the father is not in the home and not giving their children the sense of worth and validation, their understanding of God is greatly diminished.  Many men will cling to the macho image and put on a great front of being strong, tough and independent and needing no one to help him through life struggles.  THis is nt how men feel at all, in fact the opposite is the truth. They are looking for someone to give them a sense of value. Let me just say this, most of the ills of society, such as, young men in prison, selling drugs, gangs, pornography, and sex crimes and be traced back to fathers not being in the home.  This is what I mean by the father vacuum. In fact, in 1996 Gallop did a poll on fathering, and came to this conclusion, ” The most significant family or social problem facing America is the physical absence of the father from the home”

So what does all this mean and what can be done about it? Well we need to follow our model of relationship, which is the one between Father God and his Son Jesus. The Bible gives us the answer. When Jesus was coming to the Jordan river to be baptised by John the Baptist, and he came up out of the water this is what everyone heard from His Father in Heaven. “This is my Son, whom I love,with Him I am well pleased”  (Matthew 3:17)  I want you to notice something here, when did God say this to Jesus?  He confirmed Him as his Son and was well pleased with Him before Jesus started his ministry, before he had done any miracles, Jesus was just his Son and God was pleased with Him.

Now, I want you to personalize this with me. Say, I am His Son/Daughter, whom He loves, with me He is well pleased. Do you believe this, if you do then you know that God loves you for who you are, just as you are and you don’t have to do anything for Him to love you.  If you don’t believe anything else I tell you, please understand this; There is a place in God’s heart that only you can fill. He loves you very much and he wants you to come to Him and let Him love you, in a way no one else can or ever will.  

So, do you see the importance of understanding the father vacuum, because we see God in the pattern of our earthly father. So, it is essential that  we heal the father-son wound in order to understand biblical faith, so we can know the depth of love that our Heavenly Father has for each and everyone of us.

Prayer: Father God, touch the hearts and lives of those who are hurting from the relationship with their earhtly father, help them, guide them into a deeper relationship with you, so they can know how much You love them right now, not for what they have done or not done, but because of  who they are, your child. Amen.

Please go to the link of the day and see what Dan Schaffer is doing to grow spiritual fathers in our culture. 

Link of the Day: http://www.buildingbrothers.org/wbb/

A highly trained and decorated fireman, who was also a trainer of younger and upcoming firemen, went out shopping for a present for his chief, and bought him a nice new Ipod. He brought it back to the firehouse, and just as he was opening the box a 5 alarm fire call came in. He jumped into the fire truck and also brought along the Ipod as well. Arriving at the fire, which was a 5 story apartment building, this fireman remained in the truck listening to the Ipod. As he was setting in his truck a family of 5 was at a window screaming to be saved. Based on his inaction this family of 5 perished. He was arrested and at his trial he testified that he loved his chief so much he wanted to make sure the gift was working properly before he gave it to him. The fireman was convicted and the chief separated himself for this fireman. If you were on this jury, what sentence would you give the fireman? Death, Life, 20 years, probation. Keep you answer in mind and we will come back to this in a moment.

Why are so many Christians afraid to witness to the lost. Well, for me it was because I didn’t know how to go about it, and I was afraid I would say or do the wrong thing and make that person worse off. I was also afraid of not having the right answer. However, if we are to follow Jesus our Master, then our job as Christians is to witness to those who do not know Him, so they will not perish. All you need to do is to talk to them about your Jesus story. Our Scripture lesson today in Jude tells us that those who do not know Jesus will go into the fire, and if we do not do our jobs and pull them from the fire they will spend eternity separated from God, which has been defined in the Bible as Hell.

How are we to go about talking to people who are not saved by the precious blood of Jesus? It is called the Law of God or the 10 Commandments. Let me give you some scriptures to make this point: Psalm 19:7: “The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.” Galatians 3:24: “The Law was our Schoolmaster (tutor) to bring us to Christ.” Romans 3:19-20: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 7:7: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet.” Romans 2:15: “Those under the law show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.”

When you are witnessing to someone, you need to take the conversation from their intellect, the mind, which is the place of argument, to their conscious, the place where God has written the understanding of right and wrong. This is where they have no excuses for their sins. What has happened over the years is the church has gotten away from using the law, this schoolmaster, which we now know convicts those who are sinning and separated from God. We, as Christians have not been telling them they need a savior to save them from the wrath to come, which is the perfect judgement of a Holy and Rightous God. What has been preached has been something like, come to Jesus he has a WONDERFUL PLAN for your lives, He will solve your problems, make you happy, and he will rescue you from the hassles of life. Asking people to come to Jesus because He will make them happy or will give them a wonderful life is not the way to witness to them and bring them to salvation, they will more than likely fall away, especially when life gets hard and painful. Peace and Joy are by-products of a relationship with God, not reasons to come to Him for salvation.

Let me give you two different illustrations to prove this point. Two men get on the same airplane, the first man was given a parachute and is told by the fight attendant that the parachute would make his flight more enjoyable and comfortable. He takes the parachute and finds his seat. He finally puts on the chute and finds out that it is heavy and most uncomfortable. He then looks around and sees everyone laughing at him for putting on the parachute in a perfectly good airplane. He takes off the chute and throws it to the floor, disgusted and humiliated. The second man was given a parachute by another flight attendant, but he was told to put the chute on because he will have to jump from the plane at 10,000 feet. He puts on the chute immediately and goes to his seat. He does not care the chute is heavy or uncomfortable. He looks around and sees everyone laughing at him, but he does not care. Why? Because he knows why he is wearing the chute, he knows it will save his life when he jumps.

The first man was not told the real reason why he needed to put the parachute on, so when it became uncomfortable and when he was humiliated he throw it off with disgust. This is what happens when we try to witness to someone without using the law. They are told to come to Jesus for whatever reason or problem, and when the times get rough, which is what Jesus said would happen if you pick up your cross and follow him. They usually fall away. However, the second man was told why he needed the parachute and he clung onto it for dear life. Why? Because he knew it would save his life. This is what Jesus does for those who come to him in a repentant way and truly come to him for the right reason. We need to get away from telling people to become Christians because they will have a good time or that God will give them a wonderful life. We need to use the law of God to show them the reason why they need Jesus. Because they are sinners just like we are and they are in need of a savior and Jesus is that savior.

J. C. Ryle a 19th century preacher said: “People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven, and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of hell. Let us expound and beat out the Ten Commandments, and show the length, the breadth, and depth and height of their requirements. This is the way of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. We cannot do better than follow His plan. We may depend on it: men will never come to Jesus, and stay with Jesus, and live for Jesus unless they really know why they are to come, and what is their need. Those whom the Spirit draws to Jesus are those whom the Spirit has convinced of sin. Without thorough conviction of sin, men may seem to come to Jesus and follow Him for a season, but they will soon fall away and return to the world.”

Now back to our fireman in the courtroom, what sentence did you give him? Did the firefighter have an obligation to fight the fire and try to pull those 5 people from the fire? If your answer is yes, and if you are not witnessing to the lost, then you are that FIREFIGHTER!

The above illustrations were taken from the witnessing course, “The Way of the Master”, by Ray Comfort and Kirk Camaron. Check out there website at http://www.wayofthemaster.com/

The world does not attract you anymore. James 4:3-4, says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” In Phillipians 3:8-10, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” So why do you want and dream of the things of this world, which Paul says is rubbish/trash. Why would you want to possess rubbish, when you can have Jesus and the things He offers, which will last for eternity. Counterfeit Christians are in love with the world, where are you spending most of your time and thoughts? Are they thinking and desiring worldly things or heavenly things.

Those who know God stand firm and take action. Let us look at what Daniel and his three friends did when the king threatened to throw them in the fiery furnace, which you will find in Daniel 3:17-18, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Now this is how a man of God takes a stand. Daniel also said in Daniel 11:32: “With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.” So, you either Love God or Hate God, there is no middle ground. Are you on fire for God or are you being cold and indifferent to Him? Or are you maybe just lukewarm, coming to church one hour and pretending to have fervent love for God. Remember what Jesus said in Revelation 3:15-17 to the Church of the Laodicians who were lukewarm, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” So, as I see you better take a stand for Jesus and stop pretending, either be for Him or against Him.

Those who know God, Love the Brethren. In Deuteronomy 6:5 it says, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is where we begin, if we do not love God in this manner we can not truly love each other. In Leviticus 19:18, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” We are commanded to Love each other, and Jesus said the two greatest commandments are, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40). We are commanded to Love ALL our brothers and sisters. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Also in John 15:11-12, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Near the end of his life Peter, who denied Jesus, wrote in 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” The Apostle John also wrote in 1 John 4:7-11, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” The command is clear, if we say we love God, then we must love one another.

When you know God, you have a passion to serve him. Where is your passion? Where are you spending the bulk of your time? What are your excuses for not reading you bible, going to church regularly, attending Sunday School, going on a mission trip, or helping with a homeless shelter. If Jesus was in Human form today He would be hanging out with the homeless, hungry, poor and downtrodden of our society. No matter your excuse, where you spend most of your time and money is your god or idol. So, we must put God first in our lives, this is what Paul said in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” To Know God is to be intimate with Him, to be passionate about Jesus. “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)

How do you know you are really saved? God and Jesus will always come first, no matter what is going on in your life. This is what the Bible says about being saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9) It is the finished work on the cross of my savior Jesus is what saves you and me. But, we have to repent from our sins and believe by Faith in Jesus that he can save us. Just talking about it, just knowing about Jesus, just coming to church will not do. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9)

The fruit of true repentance is evidenced by obedience to GOD.

What does it take to be a True Christian? It is not just who or what you believe, and it is not just what you have faith in. It has everything to do with Who and What you OBEY. Jesus said in the above passage that you will know them by the fruits they produce. A good tree can not produce bad fruit and a bad tree can not produce good fruit. Also in 1 Peter 4:17-18, it says “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Is being a true Christian about who you profess, or who you possess? You can talk about Jesus all the time, but do you possess him in your heart. You can come to church on Sunday and feel good about yourself and look like a saint, but if you don’t live for Jesus the rest of the week and have a desire to get closer to him, what kind of Christian are you? The following scriptures make this point. Ezekiel 18:4, “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.” Romans 8:5, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Revelation 20:15, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

God’s love demand Discipline. How much time are you spending with God each day. Are you reading the Bible, God’s holy word; Are you spending time in Prayer; Are you going to Sunday School; Are you going to Bible studies, or are you in a small group. Are you spending all your time on what you want and not giving God any of your time and efforts. Are you working for His Kingdom or are you wrapped up in your little kingdom on this earth. If you are not working for God’s kingdom then what you put first in your life is your god and idol. This is a violation of God’s commandment of not having any gods before Him. This is sin. Colossians 1:19-20, says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Nothing I mean nothing should come before Jesus!

Do you know God or do you just know about God? In John 1:12, it says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Joining a church can not save you, taking communion can not save you, being Baptized can not save you.If you have not repented of your sins and get baptized all you will be is a wet sinner.

What is the difference between what demons believe and what most Christians believe? In James 2:19, it says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” It is the belief in Jesus and who he was that makes all the difference. Mark 1:23-24, says, “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, what do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” So if it only takes believing in God and Jesus then the demons will go to heaven as well. But this is just not true, so there has to be more than just believing. It has to do with who you obey.

On the next post I will give you the evidence so you can see if you are truly a follower of Jesus.

How can we become more fruitful? I am going to give you three steps to becoming more fruitful, and in this you will find true JOY!

First, Jesus told us to follow his commands. He told us to love one another as He has loved us. The only way to do this is for us to be attached to him. Because He is the vine and we are the branches growing from Him. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave us the great commission or command, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” So, Jesus has commanded us to go and tell others about Him. If we are in Jesus we will produce the good fruit that Jesus produced.

Second, we need to go in Jesus’ name for Other people who may or may not know about Jesus and what He did for them on the cross. When we are taking the risk for Jesus other people benefit from our risk taking. They see our faith in action, and Jesus can use this time to plant some seeds in the lives of people who see us taking the risk for Jesus. Someone might just come to Jesus for the first time due to your actions and presence. How cool would that be.

Third, you need to do this for Yourself. I have never been on a mission trip or heard someone come back from a mission trip and said, “ I did not get anything out of that trip and I wish I never went”. But I have heard this, “I went on this trip to give to other people, but I received more than I gave”. Also when you go out in Jesus’ name, either on a mission trip or to witness in His name we receive blessings from God we can not hold or contain. We also gain the friendship of those you are with and those you witness to.

So when you put these three steps together you find your true JOY.

J = Jesus
O = Others
Y = Yourself

You must put Jesus first in your life, and then you put others before yourself, then you will have true JOY. In John 15:11 Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” I want to leave you with this last scripture from Paul in I Thessalonians 2:19: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”

So are you being fruitful for Jesus. If not, you can be, all you need to do is take the first step of faith and just GO as Jesus has commanded and he will be with you.