July 16th 2017
Share In The Joy Of Jesus, And Your Joy Will Be Obvious To Those Around You, And May Cause Them To Believe Too!
Revelation 3:19-20 (NIV)
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Do you thank God for the food you are about to eat at each meal and/or snack? Do you expect Jesus to join you when you eat? Is Jesus truly available to you every second of every day? Do you want Jesus to be with you all the time? Isn’t that a scary thought, to know that everything you do is being witnessed by Jesus? When Adam and Eve committed that first sin, they tried to hide from God, but He called out to them. Has God called out to you lately? Jesus calls out to us “So be earnest, and repent.” There is that bad word, repent! Actually, repent is a decision every child of God must make. It is when you decide to change because you are accepting Jesus as the focal point of your life. Then you commence trying to become more Christ-like every day!
In this world, we can choose to either follow the ideas of mankind, or we can follow the commands given to us by Jesus! Many times, we are faced with making a choice about whether we will approve the rules of mankind or the rules imposed by God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14:22b-23). Paul puts it on the line here, when he wrote “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” This may seem extreme but the fact is that everything on this earth is based in evil not good! Satan has been cast down to this earth, and his constant endeavor is to influence mankind to sin. And because of the curse mankind has a bent toward sinning, because of our inherited sinful nature!
Only true followers of Jesus have the capability to influence mankind toward doing good deeds. All other members of mankind are influenced by Satan without the protection of the Holy Spirit! People who are fortune tellers or so-called seers are tapping into the realm of Satan, they are not truly capable of connecting with the dead to gain any knowledge of the hereafter. Paul wrote about this separation of those who have accepted salvation from those have yet to do so. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). To those who are perishing, “we are the smell of death.” Yet to those who are being saved we are, “the fragrance of life.” Every person alive today their immortal soul, is either perishing, or it is being saved!
Do you ever think of the hereafter? To this question the old man answered, yes, I think of the hereafter very often. When I go from one room into the next, I ask myself, what did I come in hereafter? It seemed like a good time to lighten up this commentary a bit! Now back to the very serious matter of our salvation. From the Old Testament, we read about loving God. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
How much time do you spend each day studying the Scriptures? Parents and grandparents, do you try to “Impress them (the Scriptures) on your children.” Yes, I know, this is not an easy task, maybe you could send them Scriptures as a text message to their Smartphone! How brave are we, if you are trying it without the aid of the Holy Spirit, it is very likely to fail. They too live in this cursed world, and Satan will try to tell you that it will not work. Please know it is important, and you must try! The teenage, and even younger, suicide rate is the highest in recorded history right now! Our children are being taught they are only highly advanced animals, and thus, there is no hereafter to look forward to! Jesus told us about how we can gain His joy while still in this lifetime. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:10-12)
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24). Each day gives us opportunities to share the faith with those around us who may not yet have a faith of their own! Those who have accepted grace know that each day offers opportunities for us to give thanks for this wonderful life, because it will be followed by a better time and place. A place of eternal joy. Yes, life is immediately better when you accept the gift of grace offered by Jesus. He died, for your sins, and therefore, your destiny is assured, and His joy is available now, yes, even in this cursed world! Now that is a happy thought! Therefore, turn that frown upside down and smile! “Be happy in Jesus!”
Another great thought from the Old Testament about how God answers the prayer of the believer. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! (Isaiah 65:24, NLT). God knows what you need He just wants you to ask Him for help coping with today! Everything you will ever do is done in a today. You cannot redo yesterday, you can only apologize for hurting someone in the past. You can only plan for tomorrow, but remember no one is guaranteed tomorrow for possibly today you will die! All things you need in this lifetime come from God, and Jesus told us the correct order in requesting things. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34)
Don’t worry, be happy! Share in the joy of Jesus, and your joy will be obvious to those around you, and may cause them to believe too! Jesus once said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13). Salt adds flavor to food and drinks, and if not overdone improves enjoyment! You lose your saltiness when you stop being centered on Jesus, and become more influenced by the ideas of mankind. Political Correctness says everybody is okay doing what they believe is right. This idea is not correct in a cursed world, and may lead to chaos!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Revelation 3:19-20 (NIV)
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Do you thank God for the food you are about to eat at each meal and/or snack? Do you expect Jesus to join you when you eat? Is Jesus truly available to you every second of every day? Do you want Jesus to be with you all the time? Isn’t that a scary thought, to know that everything you do is being witnessed by Jesus? When Adam and Eve committed that first sin, they tried to hide from God, but He called out to them. Has God called out to you lately? Jesus calls out to us “So be earnest, and repent.” There is that bad word, repent! Actually, repent is a decision every child of God must make. It is when you decide to change because you are accepting Jesus as the focal point of your life. Then you commence trying to become more Christ-like every day!
In this world, we can choose to either follow the ideas of mankind, or we can follow the commands given to us by Jesus! Many times, we are faced with making a choice about whether we will approve the rules of mankind or the rules imposed by God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14:22b-23). Paul puts it on the line here, when he wrote “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” This may seem extreme but the fact is that everything on this earth is based in evil not good! Satan has been cast down to this earth, and his constant endeavor is to influence mankind to sin. And because of the curse mankind has a bent toward sinning, because of our inherited sinful nature!
Only true followers of Jesus have the capability to influence mankind toward doing good deeds. All other members of mankind are influenced by Satan without the protection of the Holy Spirit! People who are fortune tellers or so-called seers are tapping into the realm of Satan, they are not truly capable of connecting with the dead to gain any knowledge of the hereafter. Paul wrote about this separation of those who have accepted salvation from those have yet to do so. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). To those who are perishing, “we are the smell of death.” Yet to those who are being saved we are, “the fragrance of life.” Every person alive today their immortal soul, is either perishing, or it is being saved!
Do you ever think of the hereafter? To this question the old man answered, yes, I think of the hereafter very often. When I go from one room into the next, I ask myself, what did I come in hereafter? It seemed like a good time to lighten up this commentary a bit! Now back to the very serious matter of our salvation. From the Old Testament, we read about loving God. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
How much time do you spend each day studying the Scriptures? Parents and grandparents, do you try to “Impress them (the Scriptures) on your children.” Yes, I know, this is not an easy task, maybe you could send them Scriptures as a text message to their Smartphone! How brave are we, if you are trying it without the aid of the Holy Spirit, it is very likely to fail. They too live in this cursed world, and Satan will try to tell you that it will not work. Please know it is important, and you must try! The teenage, and even younger, suicide rate is the highest in recorded history right now! Our children are being taught they are only highly advanced animals, and thus, there is no hereafter to look forward to! Jesus told us about how we can gain His joy while still in this lifetime. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:10-12)
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24). Each day gives us opportunities to share the faith with those around us who may not yet have a faith of their own! Those who have accepted grace know that each day offers opportunities for us to give thanks for this wonderful life, because it will be followed by a better time and place. A place of eternal joy. Yes, life is immediately better when you accept the gift of grace offered by Jesus. He died, for your sins, and therefore, your destiny is assured, and His joy is available now, yes, even in this cursed world! Now that is a happy thought! Therefore, turn that frown upside down and smile! “Be happy in Jesus!”
Another great thought from the Old Testament about how God answers the prayer of the believer. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! (Isaiah 65:24, NLT). God knows what you need He just wants you to ask Him for help coping with today! Everything you will ever do is done in a today. You cannot redo yesterday, you can only apologize for hurting someone in the past. You can only plan for tomorrow, but remember no one is guaranteed tomorrow for possibly today you will die! All things you need in this lifetime come from God, and Jesus told us the correct order in requesting things. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34)
Don’t worry, be happy! Share in the joy of Jesus, and your joy will be obvious to those around you, and may cause them to believe too! Jesus once said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13). Salt adds flavor to food and drinks, and if not overdone improves enjoyment! You lose your saltiness when you stop being centered on Jesus, and become more influenced by the ideas of mankind. Political Correctness says everybody is okay doing what they believe is right. This idea is not correct in a cursed world, and may lead to chaos!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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