Hay there all. I’m still in the market for a server. I have my eyes on a potential free one. I’ll ask that you all remember in prayer the need for a new server. There are many things that can be accomplished to the glory of God with this server. Well, I don’t have but three hours and fifteen minutes to get this done so, I’d better get hopping. << Read Verses 1-3 >> Listen here Christian, you follower of Christ, if it is that you really are a follower of Christ, you need to be deathly aware that following Christ is a 24 hr. per day, 365 days a year thing that runs from beginning to end. That means that not only are you to learn how to be submissive to authority, not only are you to speak God’s Word boldly, not only are you to sacrifice of yourselves, but, you are to be ready to sacrifice all of yourself just as Christ did for each and every last slimy sinner that was totally without hope other that by Christ. Remember that you too were on that slimy list. This is likely a good time to mention that God does not care about your abilities. He is no respecter of persons. God wants your availability. He wants you to stand ready to take part in doing His good will. How can you be ready? Easy, once again it goes right back to the basics. Get in line with what He has given us in His Holy Word first and you’ll find yourself instantly in right alignment to God’s will. You’ll be available!!! He’ll then start to use you. It’s too hard to stick to a regimen of study & prayer you say? There’s an easy answer for that too. Separate yourself from (Does this look familiar? This is your big chance to make the same kind of executive decisions that God makes.) the things of the world and to the total immersion of God’s Holy Scripture. That’s right! I’m sure it’s bringing to mind the, “if thine right eye offend thee”, quote from Jesus. Now, I’m sure that your eye does not offend you but, what you expose it to surely does. The same is true of your ears. Ever wonder how you could improve your manner speech? Try doing what I just said. Forget about the TV, the Internet, the radio, and all the latest sports stuff. Immerse yourself in God’s Word so that when you do foray back out into the world, you’ll go in God’s wisdom and guidance. We all know that we’re supposed to be in the world and not of the world. Well, I’m asking you. Just what does that mean? How much of the world can we partake of and still not be of the world? Rather, let me ask you this. How tiny a drop of human feces does it have to be that’s floating around in your glass of water for you to still know that it’s there and drink it anyway? Do you not know that each and every filthy thing that we partake of that is of the world was another blow to the nail for Jesus on the cross. He not only hanged there, he had to feel the wedge of the cold iron piercing His flesh and ripping it ever wider with each and every blow!!! That was your sin on the head of that hammer!!! If you say that you follow Christ then this is the extent to which you will go. This is how much you will forgive. This is the amount of ridicule you will accept so as to still show God’s grace. This is the readiness we must have!!! But look at us. We’re unfit for the service to God. What happens when someone cuts us off on the road to work? What happens when the checkout cashier is slow? What happens when our paychecks are late or in danger (you commission workers)? What happens when the feelings we express to another go without reception or disregarded? We seem to instantly forget that our God is greater than all of these things and so much more. And we think that we’re fit to be called His servants,… HA! Forsake all else and Study God’s Ways! He will make you better for it. HE will meet your needs. He will look after your wants. After all, if it were really important to you, wouldn’t you want the best of the best working on it for you? You just trust it to God whatever it is. Get busy allowing Him to entrust you to be part of His good will. Don’t worry, when you’re working in God’s chocolate factory, you will get fed. << Read Verses 4-10 >> This goes all right in line. It’s like 1-2-3. If Christ died on the cross, you’d better be ready and willing to go that far. If Christ was raised by the glory of the Father, you’d better be ready and willing to go that far. He’ll make you able. You just be willing. Study His ways in His Word so that you’ll be ready. Where does it start? FAITH!!!!!!! …, not by works but by faith! Though He slay you, trust God. If you want Him to use you, you need to be available by this pattern. This is why we are baptized. There is no magic or special power in baptism. It doesn’t get you closer to God. It’s a mark and an outward sign of your obedience to be available to God before all men and a reminder to yourself. God knows that we forget easily. That’s why He constantly repeats things and ties things in with feasts and rituals. God knew about putting a prize in the package long before Cracker Jack came along. It is a ritualistic show so as to say that we are dead to the world, washed, and raised up new. Salvation is strictly of the heart. Baptism has to deal with your day to day walk with God. We will find snags in our walk with God at times. Many times those snags were caused when we decided of, our own volition, to stake a claim to some point in life and tell God that we would do it our own way. Eventually, the string pilled up by that snag will pill tight. By that time, there has been considerable damage done. The only way to salvage the cloth is to go all the way back and undo the snag from the start. We will find that where we staked claims in disobedience, there will be snags that will eventually pull tight. We will not be able to go further in our walk with God until we go all the way back and undo the snag. We will need to go back and obey the thing we refused to obey previously. Do you want to be of service to God? Obey!!! He doesn’t ask you to agree. Just look at Jonas when God sent him to Niniva. He didn’t think that God knew what He was talking about. He flat out went in the other direction until,… SNAG! He had to go all the way back and do it right. Never the less, you should also know that God loves a cheerful giver. He’ll bless you for obedience. He’ll make it run over because He likes your work ethic,… because He likes your service with a smile. Obey! Obey! Obey! It’s a JOY to Obey! << Read Verses 11-14>> Remember this? Jesus is the door. Remember that? If you were homeless and someone let you walk through their door and it was freezing cold outside and soothing warm inside, why in the world would you crave to go back out and live in the cold again. You’d have to be crazy. Sin is freezing cold. God is the comforting and warm glow of the fire. We’re on the inside. Why is it that we’re still trying to stick our faces up against the window? Sure it looks all nice and alluring out there,… but it’s deadly! It was slowly killing us and numbing us to the severity of our own situation as it sapped our will to go on. How easily we forget. Christ ventured out into the cold from within His warm place to come and get you specifically. Here you are, on the inside, enjoying all the benefits of the heating bill He paid on the cross, with your face stuck to the window, while, others all around you are busy showing their thanks by rendering Him respect and obeying His wishes in His home. Where the heck do you think you are!?!?!?! If you are new to the home, take the time to get warm. Get closer to God who is that warm glowing fire. Then, go out and bring others in. You, that aren’t new. Cuddle and embrace the new ones and run with them to do God’s good will. << Read Verses 15-22 >> Now, just look at your life. Though we don’t like to admit it, each and every day we do things that we know that we should not do with the full knowledge that God will still forgive us. We’ll claim that we don’t think that way. Well, then, why do we still do those things and feel, with a good conscience that we are serving God? I’ll tell you. When you start gazing out the window too long, you’ll find yourself being slowly drawn in by some invisible force that you can’t even feel. Eventually, your face will end up right smack stuck against the glass. It’ll be a bit uncomfortable for a little while. If you’re smart, you’ll have realized during the gaze. If you’re average, you’ll realize your mistake when your face begins to register the icy sting of the cold on the other side of the window. If you’re not so smart, you will so lose feeling in that area and you will not even be aware of the harm that is being done to you. You will suffer loss and will not know it until it is too late. Let me tell you this. If you have an unbridled tongue, if you can’t stop you mind from lingering on lustful thoughts, if you spend money on yourself (including your bills) first, if you have more time to play, relax, and watch TV than to serve God, if you’re always looking for that someone else to get something done, if you refuse to maintain proper daily upkeep of you body (God’s temple), if you make lasting decisions in anger, elation, or distress, if you fail at keeping your commitments, if God is not using you,… well then, you’ve got your face up against the glass. You’re too busy looking outside to see what’s going on in the inside. You’re numb and dumb to what God would have of you and what sin is doing in your life. You need a sharp and hard break from the ways of the world. Remember, God wants us to check ourselves. If we don’t He will. Break now or He will break you. That, I promise you. I know it first hand. Whatever is in you way, that makes you have a hard time relating to God because of it, God will remove. He’ll remove your car, friends, money, self-fulfillment, position, health, and anything else. As long as you are under God’s roof, you will do according to His will. You will honor His Son who let you in in the first place! Don’t long for the old things. There was never any lasting joy in those things. They had a season of pleasure and an eternity of death. You want to know real pleasure? Do good, by God, for someone else. Experience just a small part of what it’s like to be God. Do the good that He gives you to do. It’s not from you. It’s from Him and it’s free. You’re inside and under new management! Praise God! << Read Verse 23 >> AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
