FOREVER FRIENDS

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

I mistyped and FRIEND became FIEND because I missed typing the R.  Losing the “R” can get you into all kinds of trouble; consider this….

Satan may come to you pretending to be your FRIEND but don’t allow him in your inner circle….look a little closer, he is missing an “R.”  Satan is a FIEND!

Satan doesn’t want a RELATIONSHIP with you, his plan is to drop the “R” and draw you into an ELATIONSHIP!  An “ELATIONSHIP” gives you a momentary high before the big let down. An ELATIONSHIP is selfish; while Satan has you drunk with elation, he will steal everything he desires then leave you empty and broken.  An ELATIONSHIP is riddled with empty promises; promises of fame, fortune, fun and bright lights but as the light fades, we realize the promises were really an entryway to the road leading to destruction.  An ELATIONSHIP is unfulfilling, unsatisfying and unrewarding….the end, thereof is death.  Satan doesn’t want a RELATIONSHIP with you; he is a FIEND.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Jesus is your FRIEND…He embraces the R…He is the RESURRECTION.  It is through Jesus we have eternal life.  Jesus is the REVELATION OF GOD, because of Him, we can know and see God. Jesus is TRUTH; His REALITY promises RESTORATION; a new life.  He is the Light in the Darkness; He fills the empty with His Spirit.  He promises to NEVER leave you broken, wounded and hopeless.  He has even provided for you with “After-life Insurance.” A special place just for you, with Him because Jesus is your FRIEND and desires a RELATIONSHIP with you; to give you everlasting JOY…not an ELATIONSHIP  of temporary PLEASURE!

 Look to Jesus; He is Faithful and always your FRIEND.

DEFRAG THE MEMORIES

Psalms 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all your works; I muse on the work of your hand.

The older you get, the more you FORGET.  Our brains become so full of information that it takes longer to process and sometimes we get into information overload and crash.  I sometimes forget why I walked into the other room, let alone try and recall the things that happened a year ago…or 20 or 30 or 40 or 60…thankful for Timehop.

A funny thing however, is, the bad memories seem to fade much slower than the good memories…that is unless you are talking about my kids; those memories are pretty much perfect.  They were little angels, never cried at night, caused me no pain during childbirth, were always clean with perfect manners; why they were even model teens…Hey, I’ll admit it, I’m old and the memories have faded.  Now, mention the name of someone who hurt my feelings 40 years ago and I have perfect recall…I can tell you where we were, what they said and exactly how I felt at that moment…ahh memories.

What about along the journey with God; have the memories began to fade; do the negative moments threaten to overshadow the glorious experiences with Him?   Has it been so many years that the memories have become all jumbled up in your mind until the recall has slowed and threatens to crash?  It is time to run the “Defrag” program.

Spend some time in His Presence today and allow God to restore all the fragmented memories floating around in your head.  Memories of that first time you knelt at an Altar of Repentance and committed your life to Him.  Memories of rising out of the waters of Baptism, knowing your sins had been washed away and how clean you felt.  That morning or that night when He filled you with His Holy Spirit and you spoke a language that only He understood. 

Then meander down the path in which He has led you.  Sure you stumbled, but He picked you up and continued with you.  There were moments of doubt and crossroads but that still small voice directed you and His light illuminated the road to take and you kept walking.  Sometimes your faith was stretched than you remembered His words, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” and He didn’t….ah memories.

An old song by Dottie Rambo, runs through my mind as the memories flood over me…

♪♪ “Roll back the curtain of memory now and then.  Show me where you brought me from and where I could have been.” ♫

And I worship with thanksgiving in my heart…Oh the places you’ve taken me and oh the things you have protected me from…You’re a good, good Father.

RELIGIOUS PARTY

George Washington was the only President that was not affiliated with a party.  In his farewell address, he warned the country against dividing into political parties. A laughable bit of historical trivia, especially as we look at the divisiveness in our government today; nobody wants to reach “across the aisle.” 

And so it is in the World of Religion….

Now it is natural to congregate with people who agree with your doctrine, life philosophy and world view but this self-segregation, has formed a myriad of Religious Parties, which is totally against the Word of God.

Jesus never intended for us to form “Religious Parties.”  One of His last commands was NOT come together and congregate, shunning those who don’t agree with your doctrine or have not received your revelation.   NO, Jesus said, “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND MAKE DISCIPLES.”

Consider Cornelius….Peter argued with the Holy Ghost, but finally submitted, crossed “doctrinal” lines and preached the Gospel to the Gentiles.  Or perhaps Ephesus would never have known of a mighty preacher, named Apollos, if Aquila and Priscilla had not taken the time to explain to this man, who did not agree with them, the Word more perfectly.

We have hindered the spread of the Gospel and the Revelation of the Name of Jesus because of our loyalty to our Religious Party.  Step out of your self-imposed box and began to proclaim the Word more perfectly to those who have never heard and to those who have a different interpretation than you…you might actually fulfill the Great Commission and make a disciple.

DON'T LEAVE THE HIGH PLACES

1 Kings 15:14 But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the Lord all his days.

Asa, one of Judah’s kings that served God.  Although Asa’s heart was loyal to God, he was content to co-exist with the “HIGH PLACES” of pagan worship.  The “High Places” didn’t seem to affect Asa’s commitment to God but eventually it affected his grandchildren’s generation.

Has the Church become content to co-exist with the “High Places?”  We declare, “We serve God; our hearts are loyal to the Lord.”  And it seems our generation is not affected.

 But what about the next generation?  What about our grandchildren who view the “High Places” as a “normal” part of daily life? 

When the PROFANE becomes NORMAL, it is usually because someone refused to tear down the “High Places.”

Our Holy God WILL NOT co-exist with sin, even if it becomes a societal norm.  He has not changed and He still commands the People called by His Name to TEAR DOWN THE HIGH PLACES.

OFFERING GOD THE CURSED THING

That which God has cursed does not become holy because we call it holy and offer it as worship.

God commanded Saul to UTTERLY DESTROY everything associated with Amalek; men, women, children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys.  But Saul decided that surely God didn’t mean the king of Amalek.  And look at the beautiful, fat livestock; why they could provide food for God’s Children and even sacrifice the best as WORSHIP to God.

Saul decided that which God had cursed, he would call holy and offer as worship…BUT GOD SAID NO! 

It didn’t turn out well for Saul; God rejected him as king over Israel and it was an Amalekite that contributed to his death.

We may call it “holy”; we may offer it in “worship”; but God will not accept the profane as worship; despite our best intentions.  It will not turn out well for us…REMEMBER SAUL…

1 Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

1 Samuel 15:20-22 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

1 Samuel 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

BEFORE TOMORROW...FAT TUESDAY!

2 Corinthians 6:2 For He says; “In an acceptable time I have heard you and in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Today is “Fat Tuesday” or “Mardi Gras” for you who speak French. It is the day before “Ash Wednesday” which begins what some Christian religions call the Lenten Season. Lent is the 40 day period before Easter in which participants repent, contemplate and deny themselves an indulgence as a means of “mortifying” their flesh. 

BUT, BEFORE TOMORROW COMES IS FAT TUESDAY, A “DAY OF INDULGENCE.”

In Michigan, we eat Paczkis, a wonderfully fattening, heavy donut filled with deliciousness and full of fat, sugar and calories. I have to admit in past years, I have thoroughly enjoyed one or two. In New Orleans, it is a day and night of parades, celebration and wild indulgences. In Rio, it is anything and everything imaginable, for TOMORROW, we repent and discipline ourselves for forty days.

Can you imagine planning to Serve God, TOMORROW? Today we would plan a “DAY OF INDULGENCE.” We would indulge in every sin we desire because tomorrow we will be disciplined and obedient. WHO WOULD DO THAT?...and we wonder why Jesus continues to weep.

The Problem….what if for you, tomorrow doesn’t happen? What if Fat Tuesday is the last day you see the sunrise?

IN MAKING YOUR DECISION FOR GOD, THERE IS NO FAT TUESDAY. TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!!!

Choose wisely.

STEP OUT OF RELIGION AND INTO REVELATION

In our relationship with God, a REVELATION is when God opens your eyes to a TRUTH that has been there all along that either your humanness was blocking or you were not previously ready to receive. 

Every RELIGION forms around a “REVELATION.”  Some around a revelation of a TRUTH from God and other religions are formed around “revelation” of man’s thoughts.  

THE PROBLEM….Most all religions “STOP” at the revelation that provides a basis for their existence; even those who will proudly proclaim, “FULL GOSPEL” or “WE HAVE THE TRUTH.”  They are so excited at their new-found knowledge of TRUTH that they embrace that belief, proclaim it as gospel and become content with codifying that into their world view and never progress by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal more truth to them.

Now you know why there are so many Christian Religions.  But even before Christianity had formed a religion, the Bible describes the thought process that goes into forming A RELIGION based on ONE REVELATION…

Mark 9:2 Now after six days, Jesus took Peter, James and John, and led them apart, upon a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

Peter gets all excited about the experience and in his usual, impulsive, rambunctious manner, declares, as described in Luke…

 Luke 9:33 Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make 3 tabernacles; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah – not knowing what he said.

Peter wanted to STOP right there on the mountain and build a “RELIGION” on a REVELATION he had received but did not yet fully understand. 

Matthew, Mark and Luke, who were not on the mountain, describe the event but you will not find a description of John’s experience on the Mount of Transfiguration in any of his writings.  Could it be because the Revelation he received on the mountain made such an impact on him and his hunger to know “more”, caused him to pursue TRUTH!

Later, it would be Peter with the voice; who would loudly proclaim on the Day of Pentecost; it was to him, not John that the KEYS TO THE KINGDOM were given.  But to John, it was given an UNDERSTANDING OF THE KINGDOM because he was not willing to STOP AT A REVELATION.

Rather than describe the REVELATIONS OF TRUTH, John received as he continued his pursuit, I will let John tell you in his own words….

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we BEHELD HIS GLORY; the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John given the high honor of not only seeing JESUS IN ALL HIS GLORY on the Mount of Transfiguration but because he didn’t stop at ONE REVELATION, he is given the full REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST on the Isle of Patmos and declares Jesus as..

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

God is waiting to reveal more of Himself to each one of us, if only we would be willing to STEP OUT OF RELIGION AND INTO REVELATION!