Jesus Is The Truth

The all important thing is to make Jesus Lord. Men can grow lopsided by emphasizing the truth of divine healing. Man can go wrong by all the time preaching on water baptism. But we can never go wrong in exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him the preeminent place and magnifying Him as both Lord and Christ.

—Smith Wigglesworth

Are You Unreasonably Committed?

Note: This is a repost of an article written by a well-known minister. Names have been eliminated. I couldn’t say it better myself.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.  Proverbs 4:7-9  (KJV)

If you really want to get the wisdom of God, you’ll have to do more than casually read the Scriptures a few minutes a day. You’ll have to feed on them night and day. You’ll have to get rid of the rubbish you’ve been feeding into your consciousness by reprogramming your mind with the Word of God.

“Oh, Brother,” you may say, “that’s unreasonable!”

Awake To Righteousness And Sin Not

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  1 Corinthians 15:34  (KJV)

The interesting thing about this passage is that Paul was writing this to the church in Corinth. In other words, he was writing to Christians and he said that some of them didn’t have the knowledge of God. The word know there isn’t talking about an intellectual comprehension of God but an intimate experience with God as in relationship. Some “know” God in their head but don’t “know” Him in their heart.

Christians all over America are sleeping. They think Christianity is all about potlucks and pats-on-the-back. They think that things happening around the world to Christians can’t happen to them.

What they fail to realize is that if a person actually is fiery and passionately in love with Jesus, you will be persecuted. Not so much by the world. The world doesn’t really care so much. They are loving their sin. Persecution will come from the religious–those who have an outward show of piety but their heart is far from God. Jesus was persecuted and killed by the religious of the day. Paul, the same. Most of the prophets suffered the same fate. See for yourself how the religious persecute and denigrate those who follow Christ passionately and freely.

Psalm Of The Day

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103  (KJV)

This is such a precious verse because it displays how desperate David was for the Word of God. Are you this desperate for the Word? Is it sweet to you as honey? Is the Word of God something that you can’t get enough of?

What Does It Mean To “Wait On The Lord?”

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.    Psalm 37:4  (NKJV)

The Emphasized Bible by Rotherham states: “rest thy delight on Yahweh.” In other words, instead of running to food, drugs, alcohol, technology, money, church, the pastor, sex, busyness, or any other thing, run to Jesus. Get all of your delight and all of your pleasure from Him. He is your joy.

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Psalm 37:7a  (NLT)

Wait patiently for him to act on your behalf. Again, The Emphasized Bible states: “yea wait with longing for him.” Another translation reads, “wait confidently.” Confidently, patiently with longing and expectation–that’s how we wait on Him.

The Thorns Will Get You If You Let Them

And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.  Mark 4:18-19  (KJV)

It amazes me the amount of people who live for the weekend. Their entire life is either talking about the past weekend or looking forward to the next one. What it really says is that their life so brutally sucks, that the only way they can make it through is to look forward to something of pleasure. Yet, that pleasure eludes them.

When you account for sleep on the weekends, these people are only really living 20% of their lives.

And pile on top of that the amount of time that people spend fumbling and fawning over technology and you have a gargantuan amount of time wasted. No wonder people turn to a counterfeit like drugs or alcohol.

Breaking Addictions: Clothe Yourself With Jesus

But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).   Romans 13:14  (Amplified Bible)

Jesus many times talked about the dangers of this world–a few of them being addiction, deception, and distraction. In this verse Paul says to stop giving into and thinking about the evil cravings of our flesh.

That is much easier said than done. The enemy comes along to deceive saying, “It’s impossible to stop giving in all the time. You’re human. You make mistakes.” Then we give into the lie and stop pursuing altogether.

With all the things going on the world and the Information Age, we are constantly bombarded with problems, opportunities, interruptions, media and technology.

When we give in time after time after time we develop an addiction. Really, it is a habit of giving into our flesh.

We find ourselves in a conundrum where we don’t like the place we are in, we want to be free but we don’t know how to stop the merry-go-round and get off the ride. Plus, we’re not even sure if it is even possible to live as we believe we should be able to live. Free.

Where do we start? Change your shirt.

A Call To Love

If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

²And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

³Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.

⁴Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

⁵It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

⁶It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

⁷Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

⁸Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

Breaking Addictions: Believe The Love Of God

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us…  1 John 4:16  (KJV)

Knowing and believing the love of God.  A serious key to breaking addictions and living in the freedom that Christ Jesus purchased for us in the finished work of the cross is to know and believe the love that God has toward us.  Look at how the Amplified Bible translates this scripture:

And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us.   1 John 4:16

Breaking Addictions: The Word Comes First

And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.   Galatians 5:24  (Amplified Bible)

Okay, that’s pretty tough.  I admit.  Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh?  What does that mean?

Let’s break it down a little.  This verse has two parts.  The first part is “And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah)…”  It is a statement that starts with a fact.  Do you belong to Christ Jesus?  Then God the Holy Spirit is talking about you in this verse.