"Why call ye Me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say? Depart from Me ye cursed of iniquity."

Jesus said to those who thought they were doing right by casting out devils and doing all kinds of good works, "Depart from Me ye who work iniquity for I never knew you." Why? They did not do the things that He said. They thought they were saved and going to heaven, but they were looking and listening to others. They did not know what Jesus really said because they never opened up His Word to see for themselves. They thought they could go to heaven by being good or doing good works or trying to duplicate what true saints of God were doing. 

They did not truly repent or yield themselves to Jesus for their salvation. No, they merely called Jesus Lord but did not do the things He said to do because they never looked to see what He said.

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. We eat and drink to make sure our physical bodies are filled while our soul is starving because we do not feast on the Word of God. By not feasting on the Word of God causes spiritual death. by spiritual starvation.

Faith comes by hearing in your inner being the Word of God. A lack of reading the Word and knowing within yourself what He said results in "Why call ye Me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say> Depart from Me ye cursed of iniquity."

He That Hath An Ear, Let Him Hear.

As Christians, standing upon the promise that God has already provided the means for salvation, it is imperative to stand firm in our ways going in and going out. The Bible says, "God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If we sow to the flesh, we shall of the flesh - reap corruption. If we sow to the Spirit, we shall of the spirit  - reap eternal life." So how do we know we are sowing to the flesh? (1 John 2:15-16) provides a clue. It says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Even though the Christian is in the world, he or she is not of the world, but is sowing to the Spirit. You can sow to the Spirit by being filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Let's look at how the deception of Satan caused sin to occur on the earth. In (Genesis 3:1-6), we find Adam and Eve in the Garden and the serpent saying to Eve, "Has God said that you shall not eat of every tree in the garden?" Then Eve replied," We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said to the woman, ye shall not surely die: for the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desire to make one wise (the pride of life), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her and he did eat." Thus the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life actually originated with Satan in deceiving Eve.

The above passages paint a picture of how one Scripture (1 John 2:15-16), authenticates the other Scripture (Genesis 3:1-6). This provides another reason not to sow to the flesh because the Bible declares, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." Thus, the best way to manage your flesh is to sow to your spirit-man and keep your eyes upon Jesus whereby resides the hope of your redemption. In so doing, we have this hope that one day, when we reach our destination, we may see Jesus who shall say to us, "Well done My good and faithful servant."

How To Turn Garbage Into Rubble.

Back in the depression era, my family was barely making ends meet. With three small boys in "1 day bed," housed in the same room with mom and dad, made for some difficult nights. When I was, dunno, three or perhaps four, I experienced night mares quite a bit. My dad worked in a dairy and had to get up very early, and my night mares didn't help his nerves much. However, at that young age I do remember blaming the night mares on the devil. One particular night mare I recall even today, although my memory has faded quite a bit since then was of a nation in rubble. The reason I vividly recall it might be linked to the fact that it occurred more than once. Even at that time, with whatever ability of understanding I had, I felt the nation in question was America.

Today, we see America in a time of mockery and complacency, ignoring the warnings of many years gone by. No one would argue that the depression of the 30's & 40's was merely a foreshadow of what we are seeing now or about to see. Many in those days thought the German dictator was the anti-Christ and Bible scholars were in hot pursuit of connecting the dots. Howbeit, one major piece of the puzzle was missing at that time. The prophecy of the Jew returning to his/her homeland had yet to occur.

At our time in history, it is agreed to by many scholars that most of the pieces are in place and the stage is set. Much like Israel, America also had a role to play in both history and Bible prophecy. As the homeland for the Jews (God's chosen people) by whom God said He would bless the nations; God set it aside and blessed America to become a homeland for Gentiles from every nation (founded on Judeo-Christian principles) for the purpose of blessing other nations.

However, much like Israel, America became so prosperous through God's blessings that it said: "God, we don't need you anymore." "We are rich, in need of nothing." Get out of our courtrooms and sporting events. Get out of our graduating ceremonies and classrooms. Sure we believe in free speech, but don't mention God or Jesus to us or we will single you as a hate monger.

We Americans are a civilized people. We would never do anything barbaric to babies. We would never reward the guilty and tax the innocent. We would never say, "Thou shalt not kill" is offensive to anyone."We would never turn a confessed killer loose to society on a technicality. We would never allow any marriage to occur other than what has been the norm since the beginning of time. We would never give our government's taxpayer money to any group that commits voter fraud. That's just who we are, and because we are a righteous nation in our own eyes, we do not need a God to tell us what to do.

I never have zeroed in on what the rubble in those night mares were. I do know that America has a lot of excess garbage that needs to be cleaned up. But, we can always just pass that along to the next generation and let them deal with it. And if that don't work, perhaps some day the garbage will become so large it will simply turn into rubble. Dunno, just wondering.

IT'S TIME TO GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

Jesus said, "It shall come upon you like a snare." He also said, "At a time when you think not, the Son of Man cometh." The Church has been warning for years that the end is near--Jesus is coming soon. Because the end never did come, many said, "We have plenty of time. Let's eat drink and be merry." Therefore, many went there own way--getting caught up in the many things that satisfy the flesh--the Super Bowl, March Madness, eating, drinking, building, etc. It seems they always forget the warnings Jesus gave us, until some great disaster hits close to home. Then suddenly  they remember and quickly look upward and inwardly toward the spirit. But it doesn't last long, because when the time passes to remove the memories of the recent calamity, they return to the wallow of the flesh..

Today we are facing another crises close-to-home, however this time it involves the whole world. Many are scared, fearful, some terrified without hope. Some look to the government to help. Perhaps the tragedy will only last a little while longer and we can get back to normal again. We can forget the hardships and start living again. Bring on the games; eat, drink and be merry. However, someday it will all come to an end and we shall give an account for the things we did in the flesh while here on this earth. It is time to get serious with God. It is time to get your house in order before your house runs out on you.

I read of a man who was a contractor and recently had a job to do 500 miles away in Detroit. After his job was completed a week or two later he was ready to return home. However, he started feeling sick. Thinking he better not go home and perhaps expose his family, he decided to stay in a hotel until he felt better. Soon after checking into the hotel he began feeling worse and went to the nearby hospital. They were heavily overloaded with patients  and told him to go home. Later on he became real sick and called an ambulance, which took  to the same hospital. After putting him on a ventilator, his lungs gave out and he died. He was a healthy 49 years old with no past health issues, I know nothing of this man's spiritual life, but this is a good example of how fast things can happen.

Life is fragile and unpredictable. To put off your eternal salvation until you think you are ready is like playing Russian roulette with your life. Why? Because we are all sinners and sin cannot enter into heaven. We all inherited a sin-nature from Adam and the wages of sin is death. Not only death in the grave, but spiritual death (eternally separated from God). The Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation."  No one is guaranteed tomorrow, today is the acceptable time. Give your heart to Jesus today and He will change you from the inside out. Say this little prayer now. "Jesus I believe you died, was buried and rose again from the dead, come into my heart and be my Lord and my Savior, Amen." God will take you right where  you are, no matter what you have done. Trust Him today and you will not want to go back to where you were yesterday.

 

The Rewards of Praising God

The Bible tells that the Lord inhibits the praises of His people. He becomes overjoyed when we lift our praises to Him. But there is a two-fold reward for us also. The Bible declares that the joy of the Lord is OUR strength. When the Lord is overjoyed by our praises, His joy becomes our strength. When we sing and praise God with our voice, the Holy Spirit begins His work within us.

There is a beautiful passage in Ephesians 5:14-19. In essence it tells us to "awake from sleeping and Christ will give you light. See that you do not walk as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

It is a two-way street. You giving thanks and praises to the Lord. The Lord being overjoyed with your praises, at the same time is filling you with His Spirit and the joy of the Lord becomes your strength. I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor heights, nor depths, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Lord inhibits the praises of His people. If you need joy -- you must sing for it, if you want joy -- just shout for it -- with praises unto our Lord. Give it a try -- you will be glad you did. He loves you.

Why be Faithful?

You are "Jewels" in God's crown. He loves you because you are good, and you trust in His Son to be Lord of your life -- but there is another reason. He loves you for your faithfulness. By faithful, I mean committed to do what He has entrusted you with. You might think -- what can I be entrusted with? However, God sees you right where you are. You don't have to be a Billy Graham but whoever you are, be faithful in what you do. God sees you in your infirmities and He knows you and what you are capable of doing. If you are even faithful in little things, He will make you rulers over much. When you sing, do you do it to the Lord, or do you hope no one can hear you because you can't sing too good? God only cares where your heart is. Is that praise to Him with joy, or is it blowing in the wind not knowing where it will go?

No supervisor or manager wants to see their help slack in their work or not show up when expected. God is no different. You may not think you can give much to God and maybe you can't, but are you faithful? That is the important thing. Then when we meet the Lord on that day, He will say -- "Well done good and faithful servant." What you are doing for the Lord might seem trivial now. You might not even think of it as doing something for the Lord. As the Scripture says, "Whatsoever you do, do it as unto the Lord." Sometimes circumstances get in our way and takes our mind off our priority. Yet, within our situation we can find a way to keep on track. To keep our heart and mind stayed on the Lord who can lead us out of our circumstances. He said He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Proverbs 28:20 says, a faithful man shall abound with blessings. Luke 16:10 says, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. A faithful son or servant is one that sends joy to the heart. You are a son or daughter of the Most High God and you can send joy into your Father's heart by being faithful.