I track the days. I track three days; yesterday, today and tomorrow.
My Lord Jesus also tracks these days for me. For he himself has walked under the rising and falling of the Sun and Moon.
But the Lord also keeps track of millenia; that which is yesterday, today and forever.
Can I trust him? You be the judge.
By His Grace
Am I sober? Am I willing to walk in the day undressed before Him? Has He shown me what I am before Him, that I might remember?
Or am I as the man who owns a mirror? I saw my reflection but I can’t remember what I look like. My mind is so tiny. I am so very small and fragile.
But He has not left me alone, without instruction. “Remember”, He commands. And my mind is quickened to look around. Do I remember what I once knew?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12)
“Pay it forward.” It’s a great idea isn’t it. The Lord thinks selfless giving is a great thing too. Let’s get sneaky, wise and stealthy. It does only a temporary good to announce our good deeds. But deeds done in secret last forever.
If you’re worried that others won’t pick up the lesson of “pay it forward”, teach them privately and without the use of personal examples. Every good deed you do that has an announcement after it becomes owned by you. Every good deed you do without being detected is owned by The Father in Heaven who is undetectable.
“Loose lips sink ships.”
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6)
I take note that “Pay it forward” is used by secularists now. It seems to have become popular lately as people try to “reinvent the wheel” of righteousness. Trying to escape Christianity, people are busy building a man based “religion” without Jesus. The problem is, all the really good ideas belong to Jesus. They have to get a bit crafty when they present their own rendition.
This “Pay it Forward” seems to have come from a play in Athens Greece around 317 BC. Here’s the script that has been passed to us as having come from that play.
“I do not pretend to give such a deed; I only lend it to you. When you […] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro’ many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”
Jesus said it better by doing it with His body. And look how many have been granted access to heaven. It is this granting that spawns all Christian giving.
Think about it.
Hey there studly guy! Howdy gorgeous woman! Have you heard the news lately? Scientists are saying with a slight tweak to the genetic material they can cause us to live for 500 years! Whooo hoooo!!!!!!
You might think that’s good news, but its not. Even if they invent that tweak tomorrow morning and you happen to have enough money to purchase a dose of whatever they make, you’re still gonna die.
Yep. You’re going to get old and wrinkly. Your bones are going to give out on yah. Your eyes won’t work too well. And you’re going to turn up your TV really loud.
Then the day will come. The Sun will shine. The birds are going to chuirp. People will laugh, cry, eat, and dance. But you won’t be here. Nope you just won’t be here.
I’m not going to bother to tell you where you will find yourself on that day. You wouldn’t listen to me if I told you. And you wouldn’t change your life if you let me talk to you.
I just wrote this little piece for you, in case the Lord happens to be merciful and cause you to drop by here.
There’s no need to tell you to have a good day. That’s the entire focus of your life isn’t it.
By the way, my hope’s name is Jesus.
It is comparatively easy to convince a man of his sin. It travels with us moment by moment. Guilt is a majority of our spiritual make up. And it is the substance that leaks out into our fleshly day. And by that “awakening” a man becomes aware of a need to cleanse himself. So, by that means, it is also comparatively easy to convince a man that Jesus is a necessary aspect of this cleansing.
We read and hear of people saying that they need the Lord all day long. Just a cursory look into the Christian announcement by His people will provide a rather overwhelming view of our sense of need. And how can that be a fault? All men know of their guilt. It is a natural outcome that others should hear us speaking of our need for the Lord’s blood in decimating our sins.
But something less vocal comes up from the horizon of the Christian experience. We strive all day long to convince ourselves and others that this “something more” is just as essential as the preliminary acknowledgement of our need for salvation.
It is essential that we recognize that we are not just saved to make us happy folk. We are saved that we might enter into His suffering. We are saved that we might become brothers in the Lord’s testing. We live in the same place He was tested. He was found to be without sin. He was found agreeing with His Father in Heaven. And He was rewarded because of His faithful heart.
We too are living in that same place of testing. And when we are set free of that pernicious guilt, we are then called to walk as He did. We have become bonded to His character. This seems to be a very difficult matter to convey to all who are learning to love the Lord of Love.
As we walk in this place we learn to carry our soul to Him at every turn. It is in this learning that we recognize that we are far more than just man. Here we learn that we are to share in His duties here. Not only do we learn to speak His language. We also learn to mimic His activity. Prayer, a certain striving against sin toward holiness, and service to every creature. These things are far more important than that initial saving knowledge. Yet few are willing to enter in.
It seems enough for most that they accept the Lord as their Master so that their sins are forgiven. But to serve that Master seems a bit of a
English: Baptism of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
stretch to them. Yet it is the essential part of our walk. To begin to walk in the matter of salvation is not the entirety of the message. To walk and suffer as He walked and suffered is the predominant theme of Christianity.
And so, I wrote this post with the matter that matters most. I can’t make anyone come to grips with this concept. Preaching is done across the entire world, every day and night regarding this subject. So few hear it. So few accept it. So few do it. Why? Because salvation from guilt and sin is a natural desire of the human mind. But the walk of Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit. As we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves compelled to agree with the Father in Heaven. Thus we begin to understand the necessity to live as the Lord Jesus lived. He became a servant, though He is the Son of God. We too are called to become servants, though we are sons of the same God.
By His Grace.
English: Digital clock of a basic design commonly found in hotels. Original photo shot by Derek Jensen (Tysto), 2005-September-29. Improved by Althepal using Helicon Filter. category:alarms Category:Tysto-general (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have had words with those who are caught in sexual immorality. They are caught because they do not love the Lord. I do not mean that as an accusation. It is a truth. For as we love Him, we learn to abstain from the things unholy. There is a volume to say on this subject. But who would read it? If there are questions, I am more than willing to discuss. I understand the problem. I know the fix. And can testify that the Lord is able to redeem. We do not just cover our sins with Grace. We are encouraged and commanded to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us according to His Good purpose.
Grace? Work? Which one applies? How about both. Let Grace cover you as you work for His Glory. Why is that so hard to understand?
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13)
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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