This New Year

Somebody asked me if I had a new year's resolution the other day. I replied "It is good to have goals in this life so that you can intentionally be striving to reach them. I have goals, but that they are life goals."  We never have to wait for a new year to begin to begin again. We are give new opportunities every day. Life is so short! If we have no goals we'll waist our time quickly. I want to make the most of my time because the days are evil Ephesians 5:16. I want to live for God's glory. I can do nothing apart from God's grace and power John 15:5.


I want to glorify God in my thoughts, words, and actions. 1 Corinthians 10:31 That is how I will divide my list. Here are a few of my life goals.

Thoughts and Attitudes

*I am working towards having a meek and quiet spirit which is precious in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:4

*I want to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

*I desire to practice contentment. Discontentment lead to the first sin and leads to all others. Philippians 10:1

*It is my goal to have a humble submissive attitude as did Christ. Philippians 2:5-8

Actions

*I desire to study God's word daily. Matthew 4:4
*It is my goal to memorize scripture so that I might not sin against God. Psalm 119:11
*I want to boldly and humbly share the gospel. Mark 16:15

*I want to honor and obey my parents. Ephesians 6:1-3

*I don't want to keep a record of wrongs, but I want to forgive just as Christ forgave me.1 Corinthians 13:5, Collosians 3:13

*I own nothing, and I want to be a good steward of the earthly things God has given me. 1 Corinthians 10:26

*I want to serve others and consider them better than myself. Philippians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 13:5
*It is my goal to never pay back evil for evil, but to overcome it with good. 1Peter 3:9, Romans 12:17-21
*I want to speak for those who can not speak for themselves. Proverbs 31:8
*I am striving to flee youthful lust, deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and guard my heart. 2 Timothy 2:22, Titus 2:12, Proverbs 4:23
*I want to be hospitable. Hebrews 13:12, 1Peter 4:9
*I want to be patient and kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*I do not want to be educated in evil, but rather be mature in my thinking. 1 Corinthians 14:20

Words
*I want to rejoice in all circumstances and cease from complaining. 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*I want my words to be edifying to others, and I desire to become a better encourager. Ephesians 4:29

*I desire not to use sarcasm, coarse jesting, filthy language, silly talk, or idle words. Ephesians 4:29,       Ephesians 5:4, Matthew 12:36

*I will not misuse the name of the Lord my God. Exodus 20:7

*I want to let my yes be yes and my no be no. I need not swear. Matthew 5:33-37

*I do not want to gossip or slander. 1 Timothy 3:11

*I want to always be truthful. Leviticus 9:11

*I desire to boast in nothing but the Lord. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*It is my goal not to quarrelsome. 2 Timothy 2:22

What are your goals? Have you considered the ways you use your time. Are you seeking God's glory or your own? I hope you will live intentionally for the glory of God!

Headless

Without a head
I have never met a living headless person, nor a dead one for that matter. the fact is that if you are alive, you have a head. Your head contains a vital organ. Your brain. Without your brain, you cannot do anything. Your brain governs everything in your entire body.  For instance, your heart is important, but it would not beat without your brain telling it to beat. There is nothing that you do aside from your head. In Ephesians 5:^{23b says "}Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body." Christ is the head of every Christian. This means we should do nothing apart from Him.

Christ' Head
God is the head of Christ (1Corinthians 11:3). Christ did nothing apart from his head. Christ set the perfect example for every Christian. We will fail to submit to our head in everything while we are still in our fleshly, but submission should be our goal. We are still on a journey to sanctification, and we must walk by the spirit. We should ask before we act, " What would you have me to do Lord?". We are to have the attitude and mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5  says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:". Consider what Jesus' attitude was toward His head.

*In John 6:38 Jesus said, "'For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

*John 5:19, 20, and 30 say,  "So then Jesus said to them,' Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me."

*John 4:34 Says, " Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."

Who's Your Head?
Is Christ your head? Does He govern your life? To say He is your savior and not your Lord is ludicrous. There is no such thing as a headless Christian, and if you are your own head, you are not a Christian. God wants your whole heart, mind, soul, and life. Surrender to Him. Ask yourself if you are truly living with Christ as your head.

Great Sermon!

I just read a great sermon online by John Piper. It was entitled: "Final Judgement: Eternal Life Vs. Wrath and Fury (Romans 1:28-2:11)" It was not full of fancy analogies, funny jokes, or cute stories, but it was full of wisdom. I appreciated his straight-forwardness and boldness.

Death

"I'm dying! Quick! Save me!" I could hear my brother saying from the other room. My siblings like to play like they are fire-fighters. They will lock a door and then try to get in by using a hair pin or a little key to "rescue" the person in the burning building. A little bit latter I could hear my two year old brother trying to play the game too. He said "I Dyee!" It was very cute! The truth is though, that everyone really will die. Hebrews 9:27b says,"it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement." We will all have to stand  before God and give an account for every word, thought and deed we have ever done. The standard we will be judged by is God's law. Take this quick test to see how you will do on judgement day.

The Test:
*Have you ever told a lie? Even if it was a "white lie".
Scripture says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. (Rev 21:8)

*Have you ever stolen anything? Regardless of its value? Listen to your conscience.
Thieves will not inherit the kingdom of god according to the bible. (1 Cor 6:10)


*Have you ever used God's name as a cuss word to express disgust? This is called blasphemy and is a serious sin. The Bible says that God will not hold anyone guiltless who takes his name in vain. (Ex 20:7)

* Have you ever looked with lust? Jesus said who whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her in his heart and it is breaking one of the ten commandments. (Mat 5:28) (Ex 20:14)

*Have you ever hated anyone? The Bible says whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and that breaks the sixth commandment. (1John 3:15, Exodus 20:13)

*Have you always honored and your parents implicitly? Dishonoring your parents is a sin. (Ex 20:12, Eph 6:2)

Innocent or Guilty?

These are only six of the ten commandments that we have looked at. How did you do? Will you be innocent or guilty on judgement day? We are all guilty of breaking God's law! According to scripture no one is righteous. We will all be found guilty on judgement day. Romans 3:10 says, "There is none righteous, not even one;". The Bible also says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,". The law will not help you it will just leave you helpless and guilty before a Holy God exposing your sins. So what are the wages of sin? What happens when we are tried and found guilty? Scripture says the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).

Judgement

And so we are back to our topic, namely, death. We will all die and then we will be judged (Acts 17:31). After this some will go away to eternal judgement, but the righteous to eternal life. (Daniel 12:2) (Matthew 25:46) (Mark 9:48) So who can be saved if "no one righteous"?

Good News!

 ^{1 Corinthians 5:21 says, "}He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Because Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for or sin, we can be forgiven and made righteous through faith in him. 

God cannot overlook our sins because  He is a righteous judge. Justice had to be served. That is why Jesus paid the price for our sins. He died so that he could give us mercy. He died so that we could live. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;" Because of God's grace we can be saved through faith in Christ. Trust in Christ alone for your righteousness. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but through me." (John14:6) Also Acts 4:12 says " and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

You can only be saved through faith in Christ! When you put your faith in Christ, God gives you His righteousness's and a new heart. True faith is always accompanied by repententance. Scripture says even the demons believe that God is one. Yet the Holy spirit does not dwell in them. Trust Christ and repent, and God will fill you with his Holy Spirit and give you a new heart!

Freedom of Speech

In America we have laws that were set up to give us freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Other countries are not this way, and our country may not always have the same laws. Even I wonder how long it will be legal to openly speak about my beliefs, but what I'd like to remind you is that if you are a Christian, you are always free to speak the truth and the gospel. We are not free to speak things that would dishonor God, but we have freedom to obey God and honor him in every aspect of our lives. Remember that the apostles were often told to stop proclaiming the gospel, but they continued to do so. We must obey God rather than men. We do have to love and honor all men, but our highest authority is God. We must obey him first and other authorities second. Click Here for more thoughts on submission to government leaders.

Hiding In My Heart

The Challenge
I have a very difficult time memorizing things. In fact, I learned to skip count by singing a song, and I still sing songs in my head when I do my math. I can remember things for a small amount of time, but they just don't stick. When I don't use it, I loose it. I assumed I just couldn't memorize God's word either until one day something inspired me to try.

The Inspiration
I was conversing with a friend who told me of a teacher she had. He had memorized the whole book of Ephesians. The teacher challenged her, and she challenged me to memorize it. I began trying, but it wouldn't stick. Finally I made a melody up and recorded small portions of it on my Ipod. I listened to a few verses every night before I went to sleep until I had memorized them. I repeated this process until one day I had finished The whole book after about a year. As I was learning it, I went around singing it, and as a result many of my family members have memorized portions of it too.

The Benefits
It is so nice to always have large portions of scripture with you so that you can use them to meditate on if your thoughts begin to wander to sinful places. It is also good to have scripture in your heart when you are witnessing. I like the fact that if Bibles were ever illegal I'd still have some of it with me.  Not only that, but it gives me wisdom when I need to make decisions (Psalm 119:24). In Psalm 119:105 The psalmist compares Gods word to a lamp for our feet. I think this is such a wonderful picture of what scripture is. When God's word is in our hearts we have a light with us to guide our steps.

The Goal
Memorizing scripture for the sake of just knowing it will not profit you very much. You must hide it in your hearts so that you may not sin against God as the psalmist says in Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Our goal for memorizing scripture should be to apply it to our lives. Scripture is one of our defenses against temtation. We need to hide it in our hearts not just in our heads.

The Charge
Do you have a hard time memorizing scripture? Pray God will help you. God has given our minds the capacity to memorize the entire Bible. Don't you think God would want us to use what He's given us well? Be creative and look into different methods for memorizing God's word. You may sing a song, write it on paper, or pace back and forth. Just find whatever helps you to hide it in your heart! God's word is precious! Read it, memorize it, meditate on it, and obey it!

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The Power of Rejoicing

Imagine...
Imagine it's midnight, you have just been beaten unjustly for doing the Lord's work, and you're in prison with your feet bound. What would you be doing? This is exactly where  Paul and Silas found themselves one midnight long ago.

Acts 16:22-34
"The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!' And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down beforePaul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'

"They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.' And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household."

Staring Me in the Eyes
Honestly, if I were in this situation, I don't think I'd be rejoicing. I think I'd be crying out to God for relief, but as I read this passage I was amazed! Here were two men in a very trying circumstance, who were praising God! This passage was staring in my face. It made me ask myself, "Why do I ever complain if they rejoiced when their circumstances were much worse?"

Do Not Simply Cease! Rejoice!
The Israelites complained despite the many good gifts God had given them. God gave them manna, and they complained because they wanted meat. How often are we like them? God has given us so many gifts! Our goal should not be to simply cease from complaining. We should rejoice! Philippians 4:4 says "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Paul said it twice because rejoicing is so important!

What Would The World be Like?
When Paul and Silas were rejoicing, all the doors were opened and every one's chains fell off, not to mention the fact that an entire family was saved! Maybe we are missing out on miracles because we aren't rejoicing. I wonder what would be different in our lives if we rejoiced? What would the world be like if every Christian rejoiced? 

The Charge:
No matter where you are in life, let's follow the example of Paul and Silas in rejoicing. Let's just watch to see what God does!

You Can't Buy Insurance for Tomorrow

I think one day I'll meet the man
I've prayed for, and we'll united.
I think we'll buy a piece of land
And start our own home site.

I think we'll have many children
Who will run around my house.
I think God will graciously save them,
And they'll one day meet a spouse.

I think I will have many grandchildren,
And they'll ask what I believe.
I'll share the gospel with them, and then
I'll pray they will receive.

I that think I will watch them grow
And even raise their babies.
I think these things, but I can't know.
God may have other plans for me.

I think that I will live to be
As old as one hundred years.
I'll think that I'll be all wrinkly,
And may loose my ability to hear.

But God may have planned that I'd die
After one more year's gone by.
Maybe my life will be much harder.
Maybe He's planned I'll die a Martyr.

What if he wants to show his power
 In teaching me how weak I am.
Pain might teach to trust each hour
I may walk alone in this land.

I may not live until tomorrow!
I may die this very night!
There is no time that I can borrow!
No time to rest during this fight.

Christ could return before I die.
I want to be faithful in His sight.
We may not have much more time.
Christ will return as a thief in the night.

How old do you think you will live to be?
How long do you think you'll live?
You'll find you'll live accordingly
Wasting time if there's time to give.

You can't insure time on this earth,
But be sure if you trust Christ
He'll give you second birth.
In Him there's insurance for life.

Trust Christ and don't waste today counting on tomorrow.


Our Condition
*We are guilty before God of breaking his laws. (Romans 3:23)
* The just sentence for our sins,law breaking, is death. (Romans 6:23)
* We will go to "court" and stand before a righteous judge. (Hebrews 9:27)
* He cannot overlook our sins justice must be satisfied. (Isaiah 45:21)

Breaking News
BUT GOD IS MERCIFUL AND NOT JUST, JUST! How can God be both just (which is giving us what we deserve, hell) and merciful (which is giving us what we don't deserve, heaven) at the same time? He satisfied justice for us. The price still had to be paid, but He paid it in full for those who repent and place their faith in Him! By Jesus' death on the cross, He took our guilt upon Himself, He satisfied God's wrath against sinners, and He made a way to righteousness for us.  Righteousness means a right standing with God, the Judge. Jesus is the only way to salvation! (John14:6, Acts 4:12) If you put your faith in Christ and ask him to forgive you, you will be saved!( John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8, Acts 16:31)

Faith and Repentance are Inseparable
True faith is trusting in Christ alone for your righteousness, and it is always accompanied by repentance (forsaking and hating your sins and submitting to God). You will still sin sometimes as a Christian, but if you confess your sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9) However, there is a difference between believing in God's existence and true faith. James 2:19 says " You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shutter." Even Satan and the demons believe in God's existence, but they do not have a surrendered heart to Him. When you are saved, God gives you his Holy spirit to dwell in you. The holy spirit gives you power to overcome sin. Demons do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. You are not saved by turning from your sins, but turning from your sins is a result of salvation. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God's glory alone.

Your Servant in Christ,

Dallas