Be Rich In Jesus Christ

One of the founding fathers of the United States, Patrick Henry, was a native of Virginia, of which state he became Governor. He was eminent through life as a statesman and an orator.

A little before his death, he remarked to a friend, who found him reading his Bible, "Here is a book worth more than all the other books which ever were printed; yet it is my misfortune never to have, till lately, found time to read it with proper attention and feeling."

This excellent man left in his Will the following important passage;—

"I have now disposed of all my property to my family: there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is, the Christian religion. If they had that and I had not given them one shilling, they would, be rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor."

So many of us traverse through our entire lives in the endless search for worldly riches. Some of us acquire what we believe to be the riches that were sought after, but either through time, greed, illness or death, they soon vanish from our grasp.

After reading the above quotation by Patrick Henry, it reminded me of the bible passage 1 Corinthians 1:5. This one powerful passage can be looked at as three distinct parts which describe the true source of the riches that are found only in Jesus Christ. Let's take a look:

1. The source of these riches is found in Jesus Christ. God wants the best for his children. His promises are riches for us all. Phillipians 4:19 says,"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

2. The promise of these riches is that a person is enriched in everything. Christ makes a difference in every facet of life. In other words, He makes a difference in what you or I want. Even more importantly, Christ also makes a difference in what one does with what one has.

This enrichment is "in all utterance and in all knowledge." "All utterance" is the outward expression, and "all knowledge" is the outward. These apply to such areas as husband-wife relations, parent-child relations, and relations with friends and acquaintances.

They also apply to one's physical welfare, such as blessings and privileges of health and the sufferings and sorrows of illness. Enrichment can also apply to one's economic life, which would include earnings and expenditures. Most of all, enrichment applies to one's spiritual life.

3. To have this enrichment, certain conditions must be met. One must surrender all aspects of one's life to the Lord Jesus. Ones must have an abiding faith in Jesus and his promises as set forth in God's Word. One must be obedient to God's will after first determining what it is.

So what is the main idea of all of this? It is this; that in order for you and I to appreciate the riches of Christ in our lives, we must focus our attention on his promises and not on ourselves. A simple concept for sure, but one that is very difficult for most of us to follow.

Scripture readings:

Romans 2:4 "His kindness and forbearance and patience"
Romans 9:23, Ephesians 1:18, 3:16 The riches of God's glory
Romans 11:13 The riches of God's wisdom
Ephesians 1:7,2:7 The riches of his grace
Ephesians 2:4 The riches of his mercy
Ephesians 3:8 The riches of Christ are unsearchable
Romans 10:12 "Abounding in riches for all who call upon Him"
I Timothy 6:17 The world offers uncertain riches
Luke 16:11 Jesus gives "true riches"

Let's Pray:

O God, who resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble: grant us the virtue of true humility, where of Your Only-begotten son showed in Himself a pattern for Your faithful; that we may never by our pride provoke Your anger, but rather by our meekness receive the riches of Your grace. Amen

God bless you,

Adele

The Attitude of Pride

There’s an old saying that, “God pickles the proud and preserves the foolish.”

Tancredo Neves ran for the presidency of Brazil in the 1980s. He boldly declared that if he got 500,000 votes from his own party, not even God could keep him from being president. Well, he won the election, but one day later he got sick and died. There is no way to know if God accepted his challenge, but what we can know for sure is that human beings ought not to make such bold, arrogant pronouncements. Remember the Titanic. People said God couldn't sink it, but it sank on its maiden voyage.

The world may see pride as a sign of respect and dignity, a sign that our worth as human beings is supreme, that we deserve respect and even worship for ourselves. The world may take pleasure and satisfaction with pride as it represents achievements that we have accomplished. But, our conceit is the source of pride. When we are filled with conceit, we have a vastly exaggerated opinion of ourselves.

Our self-esteem must come from who we are in Christ and what Christ has done for us. This should give us an enormous satisfaction and sense of worth. The King and Creator of the universe cares for us and loves us. He is living within, guiding, loving, and holding us. There is no adequate substitution for that! But, it is sad that we try so hard to substitute the wonders of the truth of what Christ did for us with senseless, insignificant lies.

Christ is calling us from an over-exaggerated opinion of ourselves, calling us from our vanity and from our delusions of conceit. Christ calls us out of conceit, which is faith in ourselves, and into Himself.

Let’s not fall into the trap of putting on a performance, of acting out the Christian life. Let’s not play a Christian, but let us be a Christian. Let our actions be in response to the transformation of Christ's grace by living honest lives. We must allow Christ’s amazing grace to root out all the evil within us, especially the hypocrisy that causes so much destruction. Those who won’t listen to advice cannot be helped. More souls are ruined by pride than by any other sin whatever.

God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily. Here are a few things that we can we do to avoid entertaining the attitude of sinful pride in our lives. They are:

1. Avoid the attitude of pride in our lives. (Because of its consequences) Proverbs 13:10; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 15:25; Proverbs 16:5

2. Avoid the attitude of pride in our lives. (By practicing its alternative) Proverbs 16:19; Proverbs 25:6-7; Proverbs 26:12; Proverbs 27:1; Proverbs 18:12

Scripture readings:

Proverbs 21:24; Isaiah 16:6; Isaiah 25:11; Jeremiah 48: 29-30; Amos 2:1; Obadiah 1:3; Zephaniah 2: 8,10

Let’s pray:

Father, Your love is pure, and Your motives are for our good. We ask forgiveness for walking in pride and letting this false strength and reliance on our flesh guide us, defend us, and sustain us. We turn over to Jesus this pride, its causes and effects, and all its inordinate desires. Father, we ask You to renew and create in us a clean heart, and to purge us of all pride that blocks us from being like Jesus. Help us to set our will on You, Father that Your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us defeat pride and all its roots by Your love. And Father, help us to be at one with You in Jesus. For this we pray and give thanks, in Jesus’ name. Amen

May God bless you,

Myree

Saturday Scriptures with Sahara - Palm Sunday

In Christian tradition, the Sunday before Easter has come to be known as Palm Sunday. This was because people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem by spreading leafy branches on the road before his donkey as he was entering the city at the time of Passover (in the spring) (John 12:13). The cutting of palm branches was usually practiced in the fall, at the Festival of Tabernacles, as part of the construction of the booths (Leviticus 23:40-42).

In Matthew 21:8, we read that some of the crowd showed the same respect by throwing their garments before him; others by cutting down branches of trees, and casting them in the way. John says, (John 12:13), that these branches were branches of the palm-tree. The palm was an emblem of joy and victory. It was used by the Roman soldiers as well as the Jews, as a symbol of peace.

This was the way in which conquerors and princes were often honored. To cast flowers, or garlands, or evergreens, before a warrior who was returning from victory, or a king entering into his kingdom, was a common way of testifying joyful and triumphant feeling.

Many hundreds of years before any of this came to pass, the Scriptures foretold of a Ruler who's Kingdom would never end, One who would bless all nations and lead all nations. Everyone expected a military ruler, like the Judges of old, who would protect Israel and defeat all her enemies.

Instead, Jesus comes out and attacks the existing rulers of Israel, the religious leaders, the Priests, Pharisees and the religious Lawyers. He flaunts His credentials as the true King of Israel, and attacks at the heart of the religious leaders' stronghold…the money.

I don’t think that Jesus’ entry was necessarily a "humble" one as many would like to portray it, but a Royal Entry as the new King of Israel. No one at that time missed the prophetic symbol represented by Jesus' entry on a donkey's colt. He was proclaiming Himself the Messiah, the promised King, who would free Israel and bring everlasting peace.

Although He came meek, full of kindness and compassion to those who were plotting his destruction! He came to deliver up himself into their hands; their king comes to be murdered by his subjects, and to make his death a ransom price for their souls!

The people recognized His gesture and began to shower the road with their blankets and branches. They began to yell praises to Him, which the religious leaders protested. Why would they protest their Messiah? Because they had lofty positions of honor and authority, allowed them by the existing power structure. They enjoyed a good lifestyle and they didn't want a new work of God to mess things up. Jesus' very existence threatened their whole way of living.

Upon his arrival, Jesus removed any doubt the religious leaders had about killing Him. He ushers in a whole new kingdom, a Spiritual Kingdom… but first, He has some unfinished business with the worldly kingdom of Israel.

Scripture readings: Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9; John 12:4

Let's Pray:

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

May God Bless You,

Sahara

Bible Study Snacks, Romans 2:1-11

Hi, everyone!

I hope that your week has gone well. As always, I thank you for joining me in another bible study session. We have been studying the Book of Romans for the past few weeks. Today, Our focus will be on Romans Chapter 2, verses 1 thru 11.

It is my sincerest hope that you find these Bible Study Snacks both helpful and spiritually enlightening. Now, before we move on with our study, I’d like to briefly review the scripture that was covered during our previous meeting.

Last week we learned that: The mention of salvation naturally leads to the need for all men to be saved. Paul began to demonstrate this need on the part of the Gentiles. He explained that because of the Gentiles failure to acknowledge the eternal power and divine nature of God as revealed in the world around them, and for their subsequent pride and idolatry, they were exposed to God’s wrath from heaven (Romans 1:18-23).

This wrath manifested itself in God simply letting them reap the fruits of their vanity. By giving them over “to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts,” “to vile passions,” and “to a debased mind,” the result was such corruption that even those who knew better were caught in its clutches (Romans 1:24-32).

Allow me to point out that Romans 2: 1-11 can be divided into two sections:
I. Everyone will be prosecuted. Even the self-righteous are liable for their sins before God. (Romans 2: 1-4)
II. Everyone will be justly prosecuted. Everyone is judged according to his or her works.(Romans 2:5-11)

Let’s pray:

Heavenly father, please guide us as we study your Word today; I pray that our hearts and our minds will be open so that we will not only receive your Gospel, but learn from it as well; you are the Light of the world, Lord, and your Spirit will illuminate our path as we journey through your teachings. In the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Carefully read through Romans 2:1-11. I must stress the word “carefully” here because if you aren’t “careful” you will miss Paul’s point. Paul is continuing to reveal the great need of righteousness among all mankind; Gentiles and Jews. His underlying argument is that all men need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. False teaching enables people to believe they are righteous and do not need the Savior.

This week’s study questions:

1. How does a man condemn himself? (Romans 2: 1-3)
2. What happens to a person who acknowledges (literally: judges) another person’s wrongdoing and then does it to himself? (Romans 2:3)
3. What is the proper response to God’s kindness and patience? (Romans 2:4)
4. How do some people wrongly respond to God’s kindness, forbearance and patience? (Romans 2:4)
5. What are the stubborn and unrepentant people storing up to? (Romans 2:5)
6. How is the Day of Judgment described in verse 5?
7. Please write verse 6 down. It is the standard principle of justice among man and God.
8. What will those doing good and seeking immortality receive? (Romans 2: 7)
9. What will those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth obtain? (Romans 2:8)
10. Does God as Judge treat people differently; for example, because of their background? (Romans 2: 9-11)
11. List at least three changes you desire to take place in your life because of these verses.

Finally, after answering the study questions, read Romans 2:1-11 again. Pause and read each question and verse as many times as you feel necessary. Keep in mind that you might see something new that you overlooked the first time around. As we go along in our studies together, I will pray that God’s message will continue to come through loud and crystal clear to you! The next time we meet, we will study Romans 2:12-29.

Until next time...may God bless you!

Sheri

Always Be Thankful

In the midst of the storm, when the storm-battered vessel was plunging at its four anchors off the coast of Malta, Paul "gave thanks to God in presence of them all" (Acts 27:35). He could do that because he had faith in the word and promise God had given him.

Paul's reasons for gratitude to God cover the whole territory of human life and experience. He gives thanks for:
1) His daily bread (Acts 27:35)
2) Men who have faith in Christ (Rom. 1:8)
3) Deliverance from anxiety (II Cor. 2:14)
4) Deliverance from temptation (Rom. 7:25)
5) The memory of his friends (Phil. 1:3)
6) Kindness in the day of trouble (Acts 28:15)
7) The "unspeakable" gift (II Cor. 9:15)

The Christian should always be thankful, because if he does all in the name of Jesus, the Lord will always be with him, and work out all for good. God is continually loading us with his benefits; we deserve nothing of his kindness; therefore let’s give him thanks for his unearned bounties. That is, that we should be grateful.

This is what God is pleased to require us to perform in the name of the Lord Jesus. In the gift of that Savior he has laid the foundation for that claim, and he requires that we should not be unmindful of the obligation.

For what types of things should we be giving thanks for..? For things temporal, for our beings, and the preservation of them, and for all the mercies of life; for things spiritual, for Christ, and for all spiritual blessings in him; for electing, redeeming, sanctifying, adopting, pardoning, and justifying grace; for a suitability for heaven, and for eternal life itself; for the Gospel, promises, truths, ordinances, and ministry; and this is to be done always, at all times, in times of adversity, desertion, temptation, affliction, and persecution, as well as in prosperity. What is the bottom line here? Thanks should be given to God in every circumstance of life!

I think about the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus met on the way to Jerusalem. These men met him at a distance and asked for pity. Jesus asked them to go show themselves to the priests; curing them of their leprosy as they went along. Of the ten, only one cleansed leper returned to thank Jesus? Why? (Luke 17:11-19)

The following are nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, "O, well, Jesus didn't really do anything."
One said, "Any rabbi could have done it." One said, "I was already much improved."

Similarly, a sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. After all, only one of those men who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings, as well as in prayers. Christ noticed the one who distinguished himself in this way, he was a Samaritan. The others only got the outward cure; he alone got the spiritual blessing.

If you have learned anything from all of this, it should be to: ALWAYS be thankful for God's benefits, and ALWAYS express your thanks!

Scriptural readings: Acts 27:35; 2 Co 1:11; Acts 28:15; Eph 5:20.

Let us pray... Lord, there are marvelous things that I do not know nor can I comprehend. Lord, things that happen in my life, and things that happen in my friends lives. Lord, I desire to be thankful, to appreciate everything that comes across my path. Lord, I thank You for mercy, for the hunger for righteousness, for forgiveness, for purity, for providing for my needs. Lord, so often life hurts, I get angry -- upset, I do not understand, yet Lord You ask me to be thankful for everything, and have faith; thank you. Amen

Bless you always!

T.J.

Anger Is Not An Option!

You've heard of road rage, but have you heard of "sidewalk rage"?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that, apparently "fast-walkers" feel hostility towards "slow-walkers" (which includes smokers, cell phone users, people with bags, children, and pregnant women). At its most extreme, sidewalk rage can signal a psychiatric condition known as "intermittent explosive disorder"—as in "get out of my way, or I'll plow you over."

On Facebook, there's even a group called "I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People in the Back of the Head." (It's not worth visiting the site, but in case you're curious, as of 3-7-11 it had over 18,000 members.)

Signs of a "sidewalk rager" include muttering or bumping into others; hogging a walking lane; and giving a "mean face" to slow walkers.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is centered around God's love for, and through us. We can’t tolerate anger in our lives. Anger brings physical, emotional and social damages. These affect not only our own lives, but others as well. All these serious consequences point to our urgency of the gospel of Christ's love.

Does anger play a significant role in your life? Ask yourself the following questions:

When was the last time you lost your temper?
Did you ever physically hurt someone through your anger?
What are some of the phrases that you use when angry?
Have you ever apologized for your anger?
What relationships are being stressed because of unresolved anger?

Perhaps an examination of some consequences of anger might help motivate those with a spirit of anger to rid themselves of it. Let’s take a look:

Anger is unacceptable before God. We can never accomplish God's ways with anger. James 1:19-20
Anger leads to more anger. If you think your anger is bad now, it will get worse unless you take a strong course of action. Proverbs 10:12
Anger becomes addictive. Angry people don’t simply change. Proverbs 19:19 Anger leads to hostility and potential lawsuits. Anger easily leads to stressful situations and extra expenses that otherwise could have been avoided. Matthew 5:25
Anger always needs reconciliation. Anger produces strained relationships which must be solved before we go on in our spiritual lives. Matthew 5:23
Anger always needs restoration. Angry people are constantly hurting people and causing offenses. Proverbs 14:17

Any way you look at it, anger is simply not good for us. The American Tract Society Bible Dictionary describes anger as "a violent emotion of a painful nature, sometimes arising spontaneously upon just occasion, but usually characterized in the Bible as a great sin." (Matthew 5:22; Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8)

An author for Reader's Digest writes how he studied the Amish people in preparation for an article on them. In his observation at the school yard, he noted that the children never screamed or yelled. This amazed him. He spoke to the schoolmaster. He remarked how he had not once heard an Amish child yell, and asked why the schoolmaster thought that was so. The schoolmaster replied, "Well, have you ever heard an Amish adult yell?" Ecclesiastes 7:9 tells us, "control your temper, for anger labels you a fool." This might be some pretty good advice for some of us to follow!

Let’s pray...

Lord God, please forgive me when I have not used self-control because of my anger. In my life and in the lives of those I love, please bring healing and restoration to the areas which have been damaged or hurt because of anger. Search my heart! Speak to me! Help me become still when my emotions feel out of control. Help me not to sin in my anger, but use this energy instead to work through problems in a constructive way. Likewise, help these others on my heart learn to manage their anger in a godly way. In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

Sarah

A Basket of Plenty

You might not give a lot of thought to the simple basket. Baskets have been used through the centuries by countless people for a variety of reasons. Although it is basic in design, its functional usefulness has left an indelible mark on human lives. The Bible also gives us many examples of how various types of baskets were used in ancient times.

Four kinds of "baskets" come to view in the Old Testament under the Hebrew names, dudh, Tene', cal and kelubh. They were variously made of willow, rush, palm-leaf, etc., and were used for various purposes, domestic and agricultural, for instance, in gathering and serving fruit, collecting alms in kind for the poor, etc. Some had handles, others lids, some both, others neither.

Dudh was probably a generic term for various kinds of baskets. It was probably the "basket" in which the Israelites in Egypt carried the clay for bricks (compare Psalm 81:6 where it is used as a symbol of Egyptian bondage), and such as the Egyptians themselves used for that purpose, probably a large, shallow basket, made of wicker-work.

The commonest basket in use in Old Testament times was the cal. It was the "basket" in which the court-baker of Egypt carried about his confectionery on his head (Genesis 40:16). It was made in later times at least of peeled willows, or palm leaves, and was sometimes at least large and flat like the canistrum of the Romans, and, like it, was used for carrying bread and other articles of food (Genesis 40:16; Judges 6:19).

The Tene' was a large, deep basket, in which grain and other products of garden or field were carried home, and kept (Deuteronomy 28:5,17), in which the first-fruits were preserved (Deuteronomy 26:2), and the tithes transported to the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 26:2 f).

The term kelubh, found in Amos 8:1 for a "fruit-basket," is used in Jeremiah 5:27 ("cage") for a bird-cage. But it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that a coarsely woven basket with a cover would be used by a fowler to carry home his feathered captives.

In the New Testament interest centers in two kinds of "basket," distinguished by the evangelists in their accounts of the feeding of the 5,000 and of the 4,000, called in Greek kophinos and spuris.

The kophinos (Matthew 14:20; Mark 6:43; Luke 9:17; John 6:13) may be confidently identified with the kuphta' of the Mishna which was provided with a cord for a handle by means of which it could be carried on the back with such provisions as the disciples on the occasions under consideration would naturally have with them.

The sphuris or spuris (Matthew 15:37; Mark 8:8) we may be sure, from its being used in letting Paul down from the wall at Damascus (Acts 9:25, etc.), was considerably larger than the kophinos and quite different in shape and uses.

Finally, there is yet another kind of basket that I have not mentioned, but is important in our daily lives, I am sure that it is quite familiar to all of you. It is the wastebasket. Wastebaskets are numerous. You find them in school, in the office, at home and at church. They hold the things we don't want, or are through using. Once in a great while we might unintentionally throw something valuable into the wastebasket.

A lowly wastebasket probably wouldn't have received as much attention as the previously mentioned baskets in Biblical times. After all, that's where garbage or trash is placed before being disposed of. But, let me leave you with this thought... Wouldn't it be nice if we could throw some of our words, acts of unkindness, and even many of our bad habits into the wastebasket and never use them again?

May God bless you!

Myree