Set Your Course And Don't Turn Back

"Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem."
Luke 9:51-53 (NKJV)

Whenever I am taking a trip somewhere I check the route and make a plan.  Sometimes I fly to a destination or I might take a train and other times I just drive to the place.  Before my trip begins I will set the course and make the necessary preparations for a successful trip.  But, no matter how good my planning and preparations are I often have issues on my trip where things are less than perfect.  Still, once I have set my course and made a plan to go somewhere I am going to get there no matter what.  Even if there are some difficulties along the way I will reach my destination, I will not turn back.

We are all on a journey in life and things will not always be easy.  No matter who you are or what you do you will face challenges that will tempt you to turn back from the course you are on.  If you ever want to amount to anything or do anything meaningful in life you will have to be determined to go forward no matter what.  When Jesus went to Jerusalem in Luke 9 He was determined to get there.  We can see that not everyone was happy with His decision but He went anyway.  In the same way we set our course in life and follow it until we reach the end, no matter what.

For Christians, God gives us a course in life and we keep going, we don't let anything stop us.  We must first have the correct course from God; that comes through His Word along with direction by the Holy Spirit.  We have to keep our sights set on the goal and not get swayed by any bumps along the way.  We never quit no matter what.  Take the time to get the right course from God and then be resolved to never go back from that path.  Once your course is set listen to any further direction God may give you along the way and be determined to go forward and not turn back.

Input And Output

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

Generally speaking, you cannot have more going out of something than you have coming in.  This is true financially and it has been said that if your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.  This principle is true physically, if you expend more energy and effort in activities than you take in nourishment you will become weak.  Another example would be with a car, you can only drive your car as long as you have gasoline in the gas tank. This same principle is also true spiritually, if we are giving out more than we are taking in we will have trouble.

Colossians 3:16 tells us to let the Word dwell in us richly, but this requires action on our part, it is not something that happens automatically.  We first have to take in the Word of God so that it can dwell in us.  The second part of the verse shows the result of our having a rich supply of the Word of God in us, we can teach and encourage each other and we will sing with grace in our own heart.  If our supply of the Word is low it will have an effect on our ability to help others and maintaining a healthy spiritual level for ourselves.  Without a continual supply of God's Word we become weak spiritually.

Some people just think about how important it is for those who are teaching and encouraging others to have a supply of God's Word without realizing the problems each of us will have in our own spiritual life if we do not let the Word dwell in us richly.  Trying to live the life God intends for us to live day after day without continual input from God's Word will create a deficit due to more output than input.  We have to know the Word, speak the Word, meditate on the Word, and do the Word to keep ourselves spiritually fit and to help others.  We need to have an abundant supply of God's Word in us.

Is That Really True?

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
Acts 17:11 (NKJV)

Whenever I see something on the Internet or hear something that someone claims to be true, and especially if it seems a bit odd, I always want to check its accuracy.  How can I know that this thing is really true?  I would rather do a thorough check on something than just to accept what someone claims to be factual.  In the past people could make outrageous claims or say things that were hard to prove as to whether they were true or false.  Today almost anything someone says can be researched through various websites and search engines to see how accurate those things really are.

Over the years I have heard many things that people claim to be in the Bible itself or Bible based that had no basis in the Bible at all.  No matter who it is that tells us about what the Bible has to say we need to check it for ourselves and not just blindly accept everything anyone says as actually being from the Bible.  This is what we see in Acts 17 where it talks about the people of Berea.  These people did not just accept whatever they heard, they searched the scriptures to see if it was so.  That is a great example for us to follow. 

Too many Christians do not know much about the Bible and what it actually says, that is very sad but it is also easy to fix.  Today Bibles are easily available and we can search the scriptures for ourselves as the Bereans did.  We don't have to just listen to other people to know what the Bible says.  We can read and study the Bible for ourselves and check to see if what we hear is really Bible based.  Doing this will enable us to have a solid foundation of the Word of God in our life and this will help us to live the victorious Christian life that God has planned for us.

How Much Can You Help?

"A man of great wrath shall suffer the penalty, for if you deliver him [from the consequences] he will [feel free to] cause you to do it again."
Proverbs 19:19 (Amplified)

No one likes to see other people suffer or go through problems in life; when we are around a person who has some type of difficulty we want to find a way to help.  A person would have to be cold and callous to not want to help someone who is in trouble.  But the question is not just if we can help someone when they have a problem.  The real issue is how much can we actually help someone and for how long.  We should do what we can to help other people but there will come a time when we cannot help someone any longer and that person needs to help themselves.

The Bible does tell us to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) but it also shows us that we need to bear our own burden (Galatians 6:5).  In a normal situation where someone faces challenges in life that person has to come to the point where they have to deal with their problems on their own or they will never get anywhere in life.  This does not mean we do not care about people but are we really helping someone who has some problem if that same person will not do anything to help themselves?  Is it right to always come to someone's rescue and not expect them to do anything themselves? 

Certainly there are times when we can and should help other people but each person needs to learn how to apply biblical principles for themselves and to become someone who is able to help others and not just receive help.  We should be ready to lend a helping hand to those in need, to pray for others, and give a word of encouragement.  But our goal is not to build a dependency on ourselves but to help others learn to do these things for themselves.  It is good and right to help others but the time will come when they have to help themselves and that is the point we need to bring them to.

Walking In Love - Speaking The Best About Others

"He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends."
Proverbs 17:9 (NKJV)

We all face choices every day about different things: what we do, where we go, and what we say.  Some of the choices we make may not be entirely up to us because of obligations and commitments we have.  What we do depends on who we are, whether we are single or married, have children, and so on.  Where we go also depends somewhat on other factors, like what our occupation is, where we live, and things like this.  But one choice that all of us have, that is really just up to us, is the choice of what we will say about ourselves and others; no one chooses our words for us.

We should say the right things about ourselves, based on what the Bible says, but do we realize the importance of how we talk about others?  Do our words help or hurt?  Do we talk about other people the way we would like them to talk about us?  What do we do when we hear something negative about another person?  We have all heard bad things about others, whether it was something they had intentionally done wrong or just a mistake.  But should we repeat everything we hear?  Do we think about what the results will be if we repeat something bad that we have heard about someone else? 

We have a choice with what we hear, are we just going to repeat it to others and possibly create more problems or are we going to walk in love and watch our words?  This does not mean that we overlook problems or ignore something that is wrong, but it does mean that we don't have to repeat everything negative we hear or know about other people.  Our words can help keep people together or our words can separate even close friends and family members.  Walking in love means that we speak the best about others, even when we know something about them that is not so good.

In Like A Lamb And Out Like A Lion

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
John 1:29 (NKJV)

"But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
Revelation 5:5 (NKJV)

There is a saying that people have for the weather in the month of March that goes like this, "In like a lion and out like a lamb".  What people mean is that the weather in the beginning of March is usually worse than the weather at the end of the month.  This is because typically winter weather is still seen in the early part of the March while at the end of March the weather is milder and more like what is seen in the spring.  This difference in how the weather changes from the start to the end of March is seen in other things where the way something starts is different from how it finishes.

In John 1:29 John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  In 1 Peter 1:18, 19 it tells us that Jesus redeemed us by His blood.  In the Old Testament sin was only covered by the blood of the sacrificial lamb but through the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, our sins have been washed away!  However, what Jesus did for us did not end at the removing of our sins; Jesus overcame sin, sickness, depression, lack, and anything else that would hinder us from living the abundant life He came to provide for us (John 10:10).

Jesus paid the price for our sins as the Lamb of God and as the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah, as He called in Revelation 5:5, He also gave us the ability to live a life free from the domination and oppression of the devil and sin.  Jesus is the victor over sin, is seated at the Father's right hand, and has all authority in heaven and on earth.  While Jesus did come into the world as a lamb, He finished His work and went out like a lion.  We need to read and study the Word of God to get a full understanding of everything Jesus did for us and then walk in the benefits He provided for us.

Some Things Are Worth Being Repeated

"For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,"
2 Peter 1:12, 13 (NKJV)

When I was young there were not many channels to choose from on television and there were a limited number of things you were able to watch, today there are many channels and many programming possibilities.  One thing that there is more of today than there was in the past is what are known as reruns.  Some show that had been previously aired was rerun, it was repeated at a later date.  For me there are some shows I could watch over and over while seeing others once is more than enough.  This same principle is true with the Bible, but only in the positive sense.

What Peter writes about in the first chapter of his second letter is very interesting.  Peter talked of reminding people about some things, even though Peter himself acknowledges that these same people knew and in fact were already established in this truth.  Despite the fact that they already knew something Peter recognized the importance of going over it more than one time.  Today it seems like some people think that if you just hear something one time it is more than enough, even if they are not really established in that truth or they don't completely understand the principle involved.

To be strong, stable, effective Christians we need to be thoroughly established in the truth we find in the Bible.  That means we need to hear the truth of God's Word more than once, even if we have heard it more than once before, even if we already know a lot about it.  If we keep the attitude that we have more to learn it will enable us to continue to learn more while on the other hand if we think we know it all we hinder our ability to learn.  We should all keep a teachable attitude towards the things of God and keep on hearing the truth, we need to hear it more often than we realize.

Divine Direction From The Holy Spirit

"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,"
Acts 1:1, 2 (NKJV)

Most of the time when you buy some new piece of electronic equipment or something that needs to be put together you also receive a set of instructions.  While you might have some prior knowledge that can help you with your new purchase, you usually need to refer to the instructions to be able to deal correctly with your new item.  You might even take a quick look at the directions you have and think that you don't need them, you are smart enough to figure it out on your own.  But, after running into a couple of difficulties most people will check back with the instructions to get things done right.

In Acts 1:2 it says that Jesus gave commandments to the apostles.  But, Jesus did not just share some random thoughts that He had; it was by the direction of the Holy Spirit that Jesus told His disciples what they needed to hear.  Today God tells us what we need to hear through the Word and by the Holy Spirit.  God is smarter than we are and He always knows what we need ahead of time, even before we know we need it.  Just like a company that produces a certain product knows that people need proper instructions to do things right, God knows we need divine direction to live the right kind of life.

Sometimes we think we can go through life on our own without really paying attention to what God has to say in His Word, just like the person who thinks they are smart enough to figure things out on their own without reading the instructions.  The Bible is filled with divine directions from God that the Holy Spirit will use to help us in life.  God can and will work with us to prepare us for what is to come in our life before we even recognize what is coming.  But it is up to us to be diligent to read and study God's Word and then follow the divine direction that the Holy Spirit gives us for every area of life.

Overcomers Or Underachievers?

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.  Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
1 John 5:4, 5 (NKJV)

Everyone will face problems in life; this is an inescapable fact.  But that does not stop some people from trying to do just that, escape from their problems.  Some people try to ignore the problem hoping that it will go away or they just try to endure it rather than do anything about the problem.  Some people look for another person to come to their rescue to save them so that the person with the actual problem does not need to do anything.  But some people deal with challenges head on and when faced with a problem they overcome it; while this is not the easiest way to live it is the best way to live.

In the Book of Revelation we see the phrase "he who overcomes" written to each of the seven churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3.  Along with this it lists the rewards given to those who overcome, but there is no mention of a reward or benefit for those who give up or don't do anything about their problems.  This shows us that we can be overcomers and it also shows us that it is up to us to do something about the challenges and problems we face.  God never planned for His children to go through their lives on earth just trying to hide from and be overcome by their problems.

It is through Jesus that we have overcome the world (John 16:33; Romans 8:37), we are supposed to reign in this life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17), and we are born of God to overcome (1 John 5:4, 5)!  Rather than be an underachiever and live below the standard that God wants us to and even made provision for us to live at we need to be an overcomer by taking advantage of everything that Jesus did.  God's plan has always been for us to put our faith in His Word and the work of Jesus so that we would live a victorious life!

Walking In Love - Love, The Identification Of A Disciple

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:34, 35 (NKJV)

There are some things that are easy to identify because of how they look or sound.  For example, a cow and a chicken look and sound very different; I doubt that anyone has ever gotten those animals mixed up.  Another example would be a small car and a semi-truck, they look and sound very different.  We are able to identify these things because of the distinctive look and sound that they have.  But wouldn't it be strange for a cow to cluck like a chicken and a chicken to moo like a cow?  And imagine the confused looks on people's faces if a small car would drive by sounding like a huge truck.

When Jesus was on the earth He showed love for His disciples, even though they argued about who was the greatest, misunderstood His intentions, and did not always do things the way He wanted them to.  John 13:1 says that Jesus loved His disciples to the end.  Then, in John 13:34, 35, Jesus told His disciples to love each other the way that He had loved them.  Jesus went on to say that people would recognize His disciples because of the love they showed to each other.  The love shown between those who follow Jesus should be an easy way for people to identify who they are.

Jesus performed miracles, did amazing teaching, and had a great prayer life, but Jesus never said these things would be the identifying traits of His disciples.  In this context Jesus was specifically talking about those who followed Him, Jesus was not talking about our relationship to everyone but to fellow believers.  If Christians demonstrated the kind of love that Jesus was talking about a lot of people would be very interested in joining that group to get some of the love.  Our goal should be to walk in love with one another, to love like Jesus loved, and to be the example that Jesus intended us to be.

Dream Big Dreams For God

"Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:... And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind."
Genesis 37:5, 6, 11 (NKJV)

According to the dictionary, a dream can be something that happens when you sleep, an imaginary thought that has no basis in reality, or something a person has wanted to do or be for a long time.  All of these things can be called dreams, but we can't build our life on a dream we had while we were sleeping or on fantasies that will never come true.  But people do have good dreams of a better future and of being someone better than who they are right now.  If someone has no dreams or hope for a brighter future, no desire to do something meaningful with their life, then that person is in a sad condition.

There are dreams that we all can and should have. As Christians we should be inspired through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit to dream big dreams and achieve great things for God.  We can learn something from Joseph and the dreams he had; when he shared his dream not everyone was happy.  It is interesting to notice in the story of Joseph that his brothers hated him for his dream but once he explained his dream they actually envied him!  It is also interesting to see that while at first his father was upset with the dream, Joseph's father kept the matter in mind; he did not just discount the dream.

When we have dreams that are in line with the Word of God some people will be unhappy and even envious, and some will take notice.  We need to be careful who we tell our dreams to and if people don't accept our dream and react negatively we should not allow that to influence us.  We need to be sure our dream is really a godly dream and keep our dream alive by not letting anything push us away from that dream and trusting God to bring it to pass.  The end result of Joseph's dream was that God fulfilled it; God used Joseph to deliver his whole family.  What dreams are you dreaming for God today?

Build On The Rock, Or Face The Consequences

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV)

My grandparents lived out in the country by a bay.  The road from my grandparent's home to the town ran along that same bay.  One thing I remember is seeing the foundation of a building that someone made too close to the water.  You could see the concrete blocks, but they were almost completely covered by sand and sometimes even by the water.  At some point the water was not so high and it seemed to someone that this was a good place to build.  Eventually the mistake of choosing this location became obvious and the building was abandoned, it was ruined before it was even finished.

Jesus told a story in Matthew 7 about two men who built houses and faced storms.  One man was wise and did what Jesus said, like a man building a house on a rock, his house withstood the storm.  The other man was foolish and did not do what Jesus said, like a man building a house on sand, this man's house was ruined.  Both men heard what Jesus said but the men responded differently to the words of Jesus, that was the only difference between them.  In the same way that these two men built houses we are building our life.  And just like the two men in the story we too will face storms.

How well we stand in the storms of life depends on the foundation we have built on.  To have a stable and successful building you have to build on the right thing, to have a stable and successful life we must hear and do the right things.  We need to hear the words of Jesus, and the entire Word of God, and we need to do what we have heard.  We need to put into practice in our lives everything we see in God's Word, this is like building a house on a rock.  When we are hearing the Word of God and living a life based on it we will have success and no matter what storm comes we will endure.

God's Word: Not To Be Mixed With Traditions

"For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, If a man says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban - (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."
Mark 7:10-13 (NKJV)

There are some things that don't work well together.  For example, some medicines need to be taken with meals and some before eating.  Some chemicals should not be mixed with other chemicals, unless you want to have a dangerous and explosive reaction.  Some plants will only grow and thrive in certain environments and not in others.  The same is true with the Bible, we need to make sure that we take the Bible as our standard of truth and not mix any of our own ideas with the Word of God.  What God has said in His Word will have the greatest effect in our life when we don't mix it with other things.

In Mark 7 Jesus was responding to the Pharisees' criticism about the disciples eating without first ceremonially washing their hands.  Jesus then made the statement about people not helping their parents because of some tradition.  The Pharisees were more concerned about following man-made rules than they were about what was actually right or wrong.  They had put their rules and traditions on the same, or even a higher level, than God's Word and this mixture made God's Word ineffective in their lives.  Jesus did not mix God's Word with man-made traditions and He was successful in helping others.

What we think, do, and say should be based solely on the Word of God.  How do we make sure we do not mix man-made rules and traditions with God's Word?  The solution is simple, spend time reading and studying God's Word to be sure we know what is in it.  If we find that things in our thinking, actions, and speaking do not line up with the Word of God we need to make changes in our life and not try to make an addition to the Bible to help justify why we did not receive the results that the Bible promises.  When we live our life by God's Word, without mixing in anything else, will have success.

Going Too Fast For Conditions

"I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.  Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land."
Exodus 23:29, 30 (NKJV)

I was born and raised in Wisconsin and Wisconsin gets a lot of snow in the wintertime. When it snows you have to change how you drive, the roads become slippery and caution is necessary. But sometimes people do not pay attention to the road conditions; they drive too fast and have problems.  This is what is called driving too fast for conditions, someone was going too fast for the conditions they were driving in and that is why they had a problem.  What is true naturally is also true spiritually; natural and spiritual development take time, getting in a hurry can lead to problems.

If we are going too fast, naturally or spiritually, we may miss some things along the way because we pass by them too quickly.  Going too fast could mean that we find ourselves in a situation that we are not ready for or we might not take the time necessary to do something the way it really should be done.  This is the same thing God was talking about in Exodus 23, there is only so much we can handle at a time and if we get going too fast we can end up with problems.  God has a plan and purpose for our life but everything won't come to pass tomorrow.

Some people get in a rush in their relationship with God thinking that they start their life with God one day and become a spiritual giant the next day.  Sometimes we try to move forward too fast and we do not take advantage of everything we are involved in at the moment and we miss an opportunity now we won't have later or we run into problems trying to deal with things we really aren't ready for.  We need to realize that God knows what is best for us and allow Him to work with us and develop us at His pace, that way we will do everything the right way at the right time going exactly the right speed for the condition we are in.

A New Start In A New Year

"Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."
Isaiah 42:9 (NKJV)

People like things that are new.  When someone buys a car they talk about the "new car smell" that their vehicle has.  Even if someone has just bought a car that is not actually new, if it is new to them that new car can bring a sense of excitement that comes with something new, it gives a sense of a new beginning, a fresh start.  The same thing is true when someone moves into a new house or apartment and even when a new phone, computer, or some other electronic device is purchased.  There is something special that people generally feel when a new thing comes into their life.

Today is January 1 and it is a day that brings a sense of hope for a fresh start to people.  Even though today is just another day on the calendar and it is really no different than February 1 or March 1, January 1 can still have a different feel to it for many people.  Some people look back at the previous year with some regrets about things they did not do or things that they may have done and wished that they hadn't.  The idea that we can have a new start or even a second chance for something is what often motivates people when a new year begins. 

In Isaiah 42:9 it talks about things that have come to pass and a new thing being declared.  Everything that happened last year is in the past and we can't change that.  But, we can leave our past behind and God can give us a new start this year.  We all have goals and dreams and no matter which of them did or did not come to pass last year we can have an expectation for a new and better year ahead.  Begin this year with anticipation for a new start in a new year.  Expect that this year will be your best year ever and that God will help you to declare a new beginning!