Date: Monday, June 23, 2014
Today's Chapters: Psalms 79-84
Message Title: Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, when you told people that you were a Christian they saw you as a good, honest, hard working, and trustworthy person. Today, when you tell someone you are a Christian people frown, “Oh, you are one of them.” is the attitude you get. Why? Sadly, there are a people calling themselves Christians that are more corrupt than people who live in the world. How are we to lead people to Christ when we, as Christians, show no hope ourselves? We need to remind ourselves what Christ did for us, and get back to living the way God wants us to live. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” - 1 Peter 2:11,15,16.

If you haven't noticed by now, God is angry, and let me tell you, it's not with the people of the world. He is angry at His own people, those who know to do right, but live the way they want anyway. “O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” - Psalm 80:4-7,17-19.

There comes a time when God will no longer hear the prayers of His people when they have no desire to live according to His Word. Now, we are never going to be without sin, but we must not let our flesh control our actions. We need to walk in God's Spirit and take control of the desires of the flesh or God will not hear us until we call on Him with a sincere heart. “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” - Galatians 5:13,16.

God really does not want to see His people suffer, while He could intervene at any time, He chooses not to. Why? We live in our own free will, and He will never mess with that. God explains why He lets His people fall, “Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.” - Psalm 81:8-12.

Strange gods, those who make up their own god by changing God's Word to suit their lifestyle, or those who make up their own god through careers, hobbies, lifestyles, and self pleasure. We all want things in our lives, but when those things become our very thoughts, every hour, every day, that is when it becomes a god, and that is when God gives them up to their own lusts. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” - Romans 1:26-28.

A Christian may rebel, but sooner or later, they will realize that God's ways is really the best way. “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” - Psalm 84:2-5,9-12.

I read this story about a saved couple that renounced their faith in Jesus when their only son died suddenly, who was not saved. They did not want to go to heaven if their son was in hell, but as their broken hearts began to mend, they realized that if they did not tell their grandson about Jesus, he would end up in hell also. It was then that they had a change of heart and returned to Jesus, the grandson also was saved. When we call upon Jesus Christ to save us, we really cannot renounce our salvation, that is simply something that God will not do. Why? Because once saved, always saved. God really knows the heart of everyone, and those who get saved do so by faith because God nudged their heart. Circumstances change our faith in God, but in the end, God knows how we really feel.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” - 1 Corinthian 6:9-11,20.

God doesn't want to keep us from enjoying life, He does want to keep us from suffering more than we have to. God will purge away the sins of anyone who comes to Him, but unless they come to Him He will not interfere. “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:5-9.

Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son, to save me, sometimes I forget just how much suffering You went through just to keep me from hell. Lord, I want to be faithful to You, and I want to live the way You want me to live. Lead me and guide me, let me always follow Christ and not lose sight of what He has done for me. Give me Your power to learn Your truths, follow them, and not my own will. Use me to somehow to show the world how they too can be saved. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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