Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word then are ye my diciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.–John 8:31-32

 

It is a wonderful truth that we can know the truth. It is a glorious promise that it will set us free. Sadly many do not recognize the truth when they see it. Pastor/Author Greg Laurie writes:

“Americans have never been more spiritual yet more immoral. Research done in 2009 by the Barna Group concluded that “increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.” According to the study, Americans are now creating their own brand of faith.

And why not? Now that we live in the age of the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, why not the iGod? They keep what they like and throw out what they don’t like. If they believe in a God of love and forgiveness and mercy, they keep that. And if they are offended by the biblical teaching of a God of holiness, righteousness, and judgment, they delete that. They are effectively making God in their own image. As it has been said, “God made man in His image, and man returned the favor.”

The result is moral relativism, the belief that there are no absolutes. Moral relativism teaches that we are all products of the evolutionary process, that we make our own luck, create our own fate, and are all basically good. And if we happen to go bad, then it is because we are simply products of our environment.

The ironic thing about those who accept moral relativism is they are very tolerant of everyone, except people who believe in absolute truth. Then they suddenly become very intolerant. There is no tolerance in our culture today for such a view.

Moral relativism may sound fine in theory: I have my truth. You have your truth. Your truth is not necessarily my truth. But what if we were to put it into practice? What if we removed all the traffic lights and painted over all the lines on our streets? It would be absolute chaos. And that is what moral relativism is doing in our culture today.”

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.–1 Cor.12:27

The story is told of a performer who was asked to come to a program put on for soldiers coming home from overseas. The performer wrestled with whether or not he could make the program. He wanted to attend, but his schedule was so tight he’d only have time for a brief appearance. Deciding he could make it work, he promised to come as long as everyone was fine with the understanding he’d only perform one monologue then leave. He’d be on stage for ten minutes at the most.

The night of the benefit came and soldiers and families came from near and far. All wanted to see the performer and enjoy the concert, especially the soldiers who had been through some of the toughest fighting the war had seen. The performer took the stage, and went through his routine. After his last joke, he planned to leave, but as the applause grew louder, he decided to stay just a few minutes longer. Soon ten minutes turned into twenty minutes then thirty minutes, until finally after forty-five minutes he walked off the stage to laughs and thunderous applause.

Once backstage, his agent hastily approached him, “What are you doing? We have somewhere to be! Why were you on stage for that long?” The performer replied, “I meant to come off, and planned to after my last bit, but as everyone was clapping, I looked down at the first row of soldiers.” Pointing to the crowd the performer continued, “That’s why I stayed.” The manager followed the performer’s point and saw two soldiers sitting in the front row clapping. The two had obviously been in some sort of explosion, as both were missing an arm-one a right arm, the other a left arm. But by sitting together, they were able to use their remaining arms to clap for the performer.

Someone once said, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” That was true about the wounded soldiers, and it also applies to churches today. Many Christians approach church as a service to attend each week, but truth is, much more goes into church than a simple service. God desires for all His children to be involved in church in one way or another.

Your church needs your help to minister to others. They need someone to help in the nursery, teach Sunday school, work a bus route, greet guests, keep the bathrooms clean, minister to the widows and hurting, and perform a variety of tasks.—-

Paul tells the Ephesian church that they are one body with one mind and one goal. As a church, you should have one goal in mind-reaching unsaved people with the Gospel and ministering to Christians. How can you help accomplish that goal in your church?

You may not be in a position to work in certain areas of the church, but perhaps by praying for your pastor, sending encouraging notes to hurting church members, or visiting church members in the hospital; you can be a blessing to others.—– Obey God’s command to work together for the furtherance of His Gospel. (By Dr. Paul Chappell)

 

Verna Chambers, of Willcox, AZ., got out of bed one morning and put on a t-shirt with these words on it,”Be nice to me. I had a hard day”. Shortly afterward little Eric looked at her and said,”How can you tell this early in the morning?.

 

That ought to get our attention. Sometimes we start the day expecting the worst. Before our feet ever hit the floor we have convinced ourself that this is going to be “a hard day”. We rise with no chreeful expectation of what the day might hold. We just assume the worse. In other words, we make ourselves miserable before God has had a chance to bless us with some good thing.

 

The sad thing is that our attitude usually shows in our face and affects those we come in contact with. So, how are you doing so far this morning? Have you already decided that this is going to be a bad day? Is there really nothing to smile about? Is it not possible that some delightful blessing is just a few hours, or maybe only minutes, away?

 

I know, some of you would like to punch me in the nose about now. And you are right, I don’t know how hard life has been for you. And I don’t know what the day will bring. But I do know this. As a child of God I have a loving Father in heaven who is anxious to bless me–and you. Why then should we not expect Him to do so?

 

By the way–blessings come in many forms. Just being able to get out of bed and dress yourself is a great blessing. Many can’t do that. Having a roof over your head, shoes on your feet, and something to eat should be a reason to rejoice. Things could be a lot worse than they are!

 

I’ll admit, I don’t know what your day will hold. It might indeed be “a hard day”, but why should we expect it to happen when we have no evidence that it will? Even if it does can God not use it for some good? The best way to start the day is to be thankful for the gift of life, the gifts in life, and the gift of eternal life. Now, you have a good day!

—-your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.–Matthew 6:8-9

 

The following was written by James Smith in 1857–it is as true today as it was then!

 

Standing at my window one day, while the cholera was raging in London, I saw two corpses carried by, followed by one little child, walking alone next the coffins, with a few neighbors behind. That child was now an orphan. Both parents had been carried off by the pestilence. The sight of that child produced deep emotions, and awakened painful sympathy in my heart.

I was led to think of the sorrows and privations of orphanhood, and then of the happiness of the Lord’s people to whom Jesus has said, “I will not leave you as orphans.” A believer can never be an orphan! He has an ever-living, ever-loving, ever-present Father! But many of the Lord’s people do not realize this, therefore they do not live and act under its influence.

There are believers who are always complaining of their circumstances:
They are worked too hard.
They are tried more than others.
They have such a vexing family.
They have such a demanding job.
They have such financial losses.
They have no end of things to vex, harass, and distress them!

Complaining Christian, “Do you have a father?”

If so, had your Father anything to do with fixing your lot?
 
Did He place you where you are?

Is He wise?

Is He good?

Has He ever told you, that all things shall work together for your good?

Does He know what is best for you?

Has He left things to ‘chance’–or has He arranged all in His own infinite mind, and does He work all by His unerring providence? If He does–then are you justified in complaining?

Have you any real cause to complain?

Will it better your circumstances?

Will it please your Father?

Will it any way help you?

If not, leave off complaining, and “having food and clothing, let us be content with these!”

Seek grace from God, that you may . . .
  do all that is required,
  bear all that is sent, and
  endure all that is to be suffered–to His glory!