What Is Your Life?

What do you think would be a fatal attraction for believers? Scripture is clear on what believers should do and how they should live.

We all make wrong choices through our journey of life. Even when, we believers, make wrong choices, wrong decisions, God helps us through the consequences of our wrong decisions. Normally, we learn from our mistakes.

Some decisions we make through life can be deadly. Drugs and alcohol can be deadly decisions. And believers sometimes get caught up in things in this world. Caught up in work, caught up in causes, caught up in the world’s ways.

Friends, we only get one chance through this world. One chance to write our own book of life. After we die, we can not change or edit anything.

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ”

We are all going to stand before God one day and give an account of our life on earth. Yes, lost and saved will give an account.

Often, at the end of each year people evaluate their life, set goals for the coming year and lay out a plan. At the end of the year they evaluate their actions. Some people even tweak things throughout the year when they see their plan needs adjustment.

Both believers and unbelievers are in this world together. The difference is the saved, believers, who focus their life on things in this world have a fatal attraction. Believers are drawn away from God with bait. James 1:14 says, ” But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ”

And 1 John 2:16 says, ” For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ”

The greatest fatal attraction for believers is the world.

The world has millions of people and some of these people hear the word of God, believe the word of God, and come to Jesus Christ by faith in their heart, not their head.  They pray and repent asking God to forgive them of their sin and they ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into their heart (not their head) to save them. (Romans 10:9,10) God saves them.

As they read and study God’s word and fellowship with other believers, they grow ” in Christ “. They learn what God wants them to do and how to live.

Believers are Ambassadors for Christ and not on a mission to obtain wealth and stature in this this world. Yes God does prosper us. Yes God does bless us. But our number one mission is to share the gospel of salvation with a lost and dying world. Jesus explained it to his disciples this way –

Luke 8:14, 15 ” And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. ”

God leaves believers in this world to be his ambassador to win the lost. Problem is, people are bombarded with things in this world every day they are here. Many people are enticed to abandon their mission and follow after things in this world.

If believers would focus on their mission, we could change the world. Ask yourself, when was the last time you sat down with an unbeliever, and with the scriptures showed them how to get saved?

What is your life all about? What is your life? Your life is but a vapor that appears for a little time on the time line of eternity and then it vanishes away. When you die, your life’s book has been written. No rewriting is allowed. No editing can be made. And when you stand before God on your judgment day, you will give an account. Wouldn’t you like to edit a few of your life’s chapters while you have time?

Until next time.

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*M

Out On A Limb

Okay, here we go, out on a limb. Look up two definitions: devil (s) and Satan.

These two words I have tried to stay away from, even though I know they are in the scriptures. Why did I stay away from these words? Honestly, because they scare me. Remember,  I said I got saved because I did not want to go to hell.

You may not even believe in devils, Satan or hell. But what you do believe, you got your information from someone and from somewhere, usually a book.

You may choose to believe Buddha, Confucius,  Mohammed, the Pope, Alexander Crowley or God Almighty and his word. And when your life in the flesh ends – you will discover if you made the right choice or wrong choice. The only thing about this choice you made, once you die in the flesh, you can not change things or change your destiny. Why? Because God gives man, on average,  70 – 80 years on this planet to find the truth. If you never took the time to find the truth during those 70 – 80 years, that is on you. That would be your fault, not God’s fault.

Proverbs 25:2 KJV ”  It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

I had someone ask me the other day, How can God just kill a bunch of people? Would he really do that? I answered, That is easy to answer, look at Noah and the flood. Out of all the people alive on the planet then, God killed everyone but 8 people. Only Noah and his family God saved. So yes, God can and would do that. The person said to me, You are right, that was easy to answer. I never thought of that.

I am not going to debate if you believe in God or not. And I am not going to debate Bible versions with you. My stand is clear, only the King James AV1611 which was just fine for everyone until the early 1900s when man decided to start changing God’s word with the RSV and ASV and other “versions”. Today there are over 60 versions and everyone and their brother is now making their own versions of God’s word. Dangerous ground for them.

I can certainly understand what God meant when he said in Amos 8:11,12 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
12. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. ”

God gave us his word to teach us, lead us, guide us and show us the way of salvation and eternity. You either believe him or you do not believe him. That is on you, not God.

After I have explained something from scripture, people have said to me, well that is what you believe. I answer, yes and no. They say, what do you mean by that? I say yes I believe that but no, it is not just my belief. I believe God and his word, not my point of view of God’s word.

When God’s word says something I do not understand or something I was not  taught, I search out the matter from God’s word. If what I thought or what I was taught goes against what God’s word says, I always fall back on Proverbs 3:5,6 ” Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ”

Works everytime. Yes, friends, family, pastors and teachers will come against you when you disagree with them so get used to it.

So when people say to me, that is what you believe, I can say, I believe God and his word, do you? If they say yes, I say, so if God’s word says something and you believe God and his word, is that your point of view or you believe God?

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. The first three and a half years I was saved, I heard a lot of preaching and teaching of hell, on good and evil, on God and Satan. But after those three and a half years, I moved and since then, I have heard very few messages or teachings on heaven and hell, good and evil and God and Satan. I can count on one hand how many times I have heard a message on devils in 35 years!

If our adversary is the devil, why are Christians ignorant of devils, Satan and foul spirits? How are believers to know their enemy and his devices if they are not taught they have an enemy?

Ephesians 6:12 tells us ” For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ”

Tell me, who are the principalities?  Who or what powers are we wrestling with? Who or what is the rulers of darkness? Paul also tells Satan has devices he uses against people. 2 Corinthians 2:11 ” Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. ” How can Satan get an advantage over us and what type of devices does he use?

Many believers are ignorant of Satan’s devices. I know, I was for many years after I got saved. I was afraid to study these matters so I was willingly ignorant out of fear.

When I decided to go back through the New Testament and do it with an open mind, not what I was taught, but letting the Holy Spirit teach me, not man, I discovered some things. I saw the words unclean spirits, foul spirits, devil (s) and people possessed with devils.

I knew God sent King Saul an evil spirit in the Old Testament ( see 1 Samuel 16:14). But when you see 4, 5, 6 different people mentioned, within 20 verses, all of whom had devils or evil spirits possessing them, I thought, that is a lot of people Jesus healed who were possessed with devils. How can that be?

So I asked God – the Old Testament has devils and evil spirits, the apostles and Paul dealt with devils and evil spirits, so why hasn’t the church been taught about devils and evil spirits? So let me ask you, can you recognize the devil’s attacks on you? Can you list five devices the devil has used against you?

Lord willing, we will explore this more next time. Until next time.

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