A Life that Becomes Great

You must be taught by One who is great if you want to become truly great. Since there is only One who is truly great when we are taught by Him then He will lead us into greatness.

Luke 6:40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

You must learn to sit at the feet of Jesus everyday and allow Him to teach you His ways. When He speaks to you do what He says. He will speak to you through His Word and you will find that as you obey His teaching that He will teach you more.

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Faithfulness is what is necessary to become great. Faithfulness in the little things will bring more truth so that you can learn faithfulness in the bigger things. Righteousness is doing what is right. We learn to do what is right by doing what Jesus teaches us. Yes, when we become a Christian we receive the righteousness of Christ, since He always did what was pleasing to God, but He also tell us to do righteousness that we might represent Him to the world.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

As you allow yourself to be taught by Him then you will learn to practice righteousness and will become more like Him. As you learn from Him then He will also lead you. You will see that as you follow Him that He will also teach you to be a servant, for Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

Matthew 20:26-28 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

As you learn to follow Him and be led by Him then He will lead you into the good works that He prepared beforehand for you. He has made you unique and no one else can do what He has called you to do. He wants you to follow Him.

Matthew 4:19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Follow Him and you will be His servant and you will see His kingdom built. Your cup of joy will overflow as you learn to walk in His ways, do righteousness, love kindness, do good to others and see Jesus and His glory.

John 12:26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Do you want to become great? Then you must learn to become like the One who is truly great. Jesus came to serve and those who follow Him, He will lead and will teach them to serve. All of our service to others is an expression of our service to Jesus Christ. Whoever serves Jesus, the Father will honor him and he will become great like his Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

A Life with Love Must Be Preserved

Love is destroyed through doing wrong. Doing wrong brings pain and doing right brings happiness. We reap what we sow. Sometimes we reap immediately but more often we reap later, however, we always reap what we sow.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Galatians 6:7

When we reap what we sow then that is called judgment. Our actions are judged by their consequences and the consequence of our actions is the judgment that we bring on ourselves.

For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Colossians 3:25

The actions that we do, whether right or wrong, come from our heart. It is also out of the heart that our words come. It is our own deeds and our own words that will judge us and the judgment that we receive will be without partiality.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37

The Lord gave each one of us a conscience which tells us what we should do and lets us know when we do wrong. We have within us the “knowledge of good and evil”. If we do wrong then our conscience becomes hardened and if we do right then our conscience becomes more sensitive. The word “violate” means to change and when we violate our conscience and do wrong then we are changed. When our conscience becomes hardened then we are changed and can no longer give or receive love like we once did. Love is the food for the soul and nourishes the soul and keeps it healthy. We need love. The Lord made us to thrive when we are loved.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17

When we go against our conscience and do wrong, and not do the right thing, then we have sinned. The sting of death is sin.

The sting of death is sin, I Corinthians 15:56

Where there is sin, there is not only death to the soul, but there is death to the love which feeds the soul. In place of love there is guilt.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:22

Sin brings guilt and death. Death to our soul and death to our relationships. Instead of love, with sin, we have guilt and death. Instead of oneness we have separation, first of the souls and then physical separation.

For the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23

Love must be preserved or it will not remain. Love is the sweet fragrance in the relationship. Love is the salt that preserves the relationship and keeps it from rotting and keeps it fresh. Love is what covers the multitude of sins that each of us commit, whether it is the words spoken, or the deeds done in frustration or the neglect that is easy to come into a love relationship.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:7

The only way that we can love one another is if we have been born of God, or, in other words, if we have been born again into God’s family as His child.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12.13

All of have sinned and are guilty and separated not only from each other, but from God.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

When we give our hearts to Him then He gives us His heart, which is filled with His love and He loves through us. He takes our hardened evil heart which has brought, not only ourselves much grief, but pain to others through our words and our wrong actions. His heart is pure and good and He will love through us.

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

It is His love that restores our relationship with Him and with everyone else. When we believe in Jesus Christ then we become born again, our sins are forgiven, our guilt is removed and we become God’s child and a part of His family. We will not be judged or punished for our wrongs, for Jesus Christ took our judgment and our punishment on the cross. We receive eternal life and eternal love through Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16,17

God did not send Jesus Christ into the world to judge the world but that the world might be saved through Him. The Lord is coming again to judge all of those who did not believe in Jesus and receive Him but chose instead to go on in their own ways and continue in the anger and stubbornness of their hearts.

I, the Lord, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’” Ezekiel 24:14

Come to Him, if you have not done so, while you can and before it is too late. He will restore you and He will allow you to find and keep love. He will preserve the love in your life and in your relationships. Your wrongs will be forgiven, your guilt will be removed and you will be clean on the inside. You will thrive and your heart will be happy.

A Life that is Made Great

We can not make ourselves great because there is nothing within us that is good. Greatness comes from doing good and doing what is right and teaching others also. However, there is One who is truly great and He is the One who makes great.

Psalm 18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your condescension makes me great.

The word “con” means with and the word “descend” means get down. When God came down to earth to be with men and show them the way of salvation then He made us great by lifting us up out of our despair and hopelessness. The Lord alone is great and He came to restore man to the greatness of being made in the image of God and being called a child of God.

Psalm 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

The Lord has regard for the lowly. He comes to those who realize their desperate need for Him, not just to get them out of the mess they are in today, but for eternal salvation which begins today and continues into all eternity. He came down to lift us up.

John 3:13-15 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

What is the outcome of those who have been made great in this life and restored to a relationship with God? They will want to do good. Doing good works is the fruit of those who have been lifted up and made great.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Good works is what we were created for in Christ Jesus and even these we can not do apart from Him. He has gone before us and prepared them so that all we have to do is walk in them. When we walk with the Lord then He will lead us into these good works. For doing good works is what characterizes the person who has been made great.

 

 

A Life with Love Honors Another

Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. Genesis 9:20-24

Noah drank wine and became drunk. Drinking wine is mentioned in the Bible as not being wise.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. Proverbs 20:1

If you want to be mocked then drink wine and if you want fighting in your life and marriage then drink alcohol. Alcohol has destroyed more families and more lives than we will ever know. It is wisdom to stay away from it. The Bible also says that drinking wine is not loving.

It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. Romans 14:21

The word “good” means the highest form of love. Therefore, the highest form of love towards anyone is to not cause them to stumble. Wine is a stumbling block to many and you have no idea who it is a stumbling block until they have stumbled over it. The Lord has one of the biggest warnings towards those who are stumbling blocks.

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! Matthew 18:6,7

Noah lived a life of wisdom and honor and only did a little foolishness. However, it is his foolishness that is much remembered.

Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. Ecclesiastes 10:1

His foolishness brought much pain and sorrow to one of his sons and one of his grandsons. Ham saw his father naked and went and told his brothers.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8

Rather than covering his father’s shame, Ham made it known. Love covers a multitude of sins and love covers shame. Ham did not honor his father.

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you. Deuteronomy 5:16

It did not go well with Ham because he did not honor his father. As a result, it did not go well with one of Ham’s sons. As a parent it is more painful to see your children suffer than it would be to bear the suffering yourself and especially if you are the cause of the grief. Love acts wisely and love honors. How important it is for parents to not allow their children to ever see them naked. When a parent allows this to happen then that parent is setting their child up for failure and making it more difficult for the child to fulfill God’s commandment to honor their mother and father.

All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness; Lamentations 1:8b

Also, it is neither good or wise for a young lady to allow any man to see her nakedness before marriage. It will cause the man to not have as much respect for her after marriage and many a man will not marry a woman once he has seen her nakedness. A woman needs to keep her mystique and a man needs for a woman to keep her purity. If a man wants a female to unclothe herself then he does not love her. A man who will abuse his wife is also a man who can not wait until marriage for the physical. If a woman will have high standards for herself and not compromise physically then the man will rise to those standards and honor her and treat her with love and respect.

Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!“You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory. Habakkuk 2:15,16

The glory of a young man is his strength, whether it is his physical strength or the strength of his character. It is to his shame and disgrace to give his date or “friend” anything to intoxicate her in hopes of seeing her nakedness. A young lady’s glory is her purity and her beauty. It is a disgrace and shame for her to give to someone else what is reserved only for her husband and in marriage.

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, Matthew 1:19

When Mary, the mother of Jesus, became pregnant with Jesus and was “with child” before marriage, Joseph, who was engaged to her and being “a righteous man”, did not want to disgrace her. Joseph did not understand that it was the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, who had appointed this to happen. It was not until the angel came to him in a dream and let him know that the Messiah was coming into the world through Mary, did Joseph understand that Mary was still a virgin and had remained faithful and pure. Joseph had to have felt hurt and betrayed, however, righteousness is doing what is right in God’s eyes, and Joseph knew that the “right thing to do” was to not make known any shame and disgrace. Joseph not only loved Mary but he loved the Lord and wanted to do what was right. If someone wants a good marriage then they must have a godly marriage and a godly marriage is doing what is right in God’s eyes. Doing what is right is God’s eye is doing life, love, and relationships according to God’s design.

A Life that is Great in Life

If you want to be the great among people here on earth then you must do what is right and teach others also to do what is right.

Matthew 5:19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord gave us His commandments so that we might learn to do good to others. If we keep His commandments then we will be doing right in life and the outcome will be good towards all who we come in contact with in this life. When we don’t keep His commandments then we are doing evil towards others and the result is that we bring grief to others. When we cause harm to others we are the least in God’s kingdom.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

The Lord has told us how to do good and that is to treat others right and to do it with kindness and not grudgingly and to walk humbly with the Lord. The only way we can live this kind of life is by God’s grace. Grace comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord.

James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

The Lord meets the one who wants to do what is right. The word righteousness means doing what is right.

Isaiah 64:5a You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.

Do you want to be great in life? Then learn to keep His commandments and teach others through your life, words and actions. The Lord will help you. He will meet you and give you His grace. Not only will He do these things for you but He will exalt you. You do not need to seek to exalt yourself. That is pride. Humble yourself before the Lord and seek to do what is right and He will life you up.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

There is none like the Lord. When He lifts you up then you will know that it is the Lord and He will be the One who ultimately is exalted for He alone is God.

Isaiah 64:4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

He alone is worthy of all honor and glory.

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

A Life with a Love that Can Be Restored

Love can be restored. All of us have failed at loving perfectly and when we do not love then our love relationships are hurt and damaged. When our relationships are hurt then people are hurt and when hurt continues then it breaks relationships and when relationships are broken then hearts and people are broken.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He alone can give us hope when all seems hopeless. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. When our hearts are broken we must look to Him. He can heal. There must be healing for relationships and love to be restored. If we close off our heart because of hurt then we also close off our hearts to give and receive love. When we close off our heart and do not allow God to heal it then we also become bitter. Bitterness is unresolved hurt that feels like it just happened yesterday, when in fact, it occurred sometime in the past. When we are bitter then we relive the hurt over and over again. Bitterness destroys a person and also hurts those who are close to the one who is bitter. Bitterness creates loneliness.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; Hebrews 12:15

Bitterness comes from not drawing near to the Lord in your pain and allowing His grace to transform you in your pain. Pain does change us and pain can make us more loving, sensitive and compassionate or it can make us bitter. God’s grace takes what could be bad and makes it good for those who love Him.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Once you are healed then your relationships can be restored. Sometimes pain comes from looking to someone to give you what only God can give you. Only God can give you eternal security, perfect love and total protection. Expectations destroy relationships. Even though a husband promises and makes a vow to God to love, protect and provide, a wife must still look to the Lord to be her Lover, Protector and Provider. The Lord will never disappoint her. We will always be disappointed if we look to anyone other than the Lord. He is the only One who can make the promise never to disappoint. Give your expectations to the Lord and allow Him to fulfill them His way.

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:11

In the same way, a husband must look to the Lord. He must not have expectations of his wife, for he too, will be disappointed. The temptation is even greater for the husband to become bitter, otherwise, the Lord would not have given him a specific command to not be bitter.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Colossians 3:19

For love to be restored those who have been hurt must experience God’s healing. For healing to occur they must look to the Lord. Expectations must be given to God. Confession to God and each other must occur. Cleansing of wounds must happen. In a relationship between two humans both people are at fault in some way. Both must humble themselves before God and before each other. Forgiveness must be given and received. We can and do forgive because God has forgiven us. Relationships and love can be restored in Jesus Christ because He forgives and He restores.

But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” Mark 14:29-31a

Peter failed in his love for Jesus. Peter denied that he even knew him when the test of his love for Jesus came. However, Peter was broken and allowed the Lord to restore him in his relationship with Jesus and Peter went on and became a faithful and great leader for the Lord. He ended up dying for Jesus out of his love for Christ and Peter was faithful to the Lord until the end of his life. His love and his relationship with Jesus was restored. The Lord can reconcile any broken relationship and restore the love in the relationship.

‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, Jeremiah 32:17

Your past failures do not define your life nor do your past failures determine your future.

A Life that is Truly Great

If you want to be truly great in this life then there is one thing that you must do and that is you must do good. Doing good is meeting the needs of others without hurting others in the process. The end does not outweigh the means. If the end is good but the means are not then you have not done anything great but rather you have hurt others. Doing good also will not take from someone else to do good to another. Doing good is kindness done to one with justice to all.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Another way of saying it is that doing good must be done the right way. Doing good does not take what is rightfully someone else’s to give to another, even if they are in need.

Mark 7:27,28 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

The Lord is constantly looking for someone who will do good to others. We all are looking for someone who is genuinely doing good.

Psalm 14:2,3 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

The beginning of doing good is to seek God for He is the only One who is good.

Mark 10:18b No one is good except God alone.

The Lord is looking for someone who will seek Him because apart from Him we can not do any good. There is so little good in us that none of seek God. We all seek after our own interests. Seeking God is a prerequisite to being truly great. Otherwise everything that we do will be for our own self and we can not serve ourselves and others also.

Matthew 23:11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

The more good we do and the more that we serve others, rather than ourselves, the greater we will be.

Matthew 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Before you can be truly great on earth you must become great in the kingdom on heaven. The kingdom of heaven is here on earth and dwells within the hearts of the people who have received Jesus Christ as their King, for He alone is King of kings. He is our King and we are His servants. In serving Him we are to serve others and do good to them, just as He came and did good to others.

Acts 10:38a You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good

Do you want to be truly great? Then you must discover the needs of others and meet them through serving. This what it means to be truly great. God is the only One who is truly great and in doing these things you will be more like Him. Doing good is when God meets man once again.

 

A Life with Love Stands Alone

Noah was a man who had chosen the Lord and he was a preacher of righteousness.

and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; II Peter 2:5

Life was very difficult during the days of Noah. The hearts of the people were wicked and there was no restraint to their wickedness.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8

Noah was able to stand alone and be faithful during his generation. The Lord was pleased with Noah. Noah listened to the Lord and obeyed by faith. By faith, Noah pleased God and Noah and his family were saved and Noah became a heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7

The Lord is still warning of the judgment to come. Those who listen and obey will be saved. Those who ignore God’s warning will perish, just as in the days of Noah.

And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26,27

Jesus Christ is returning just as He said. It will be like the days of Noah when everyone carried on business as usual.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37

Noah was faithful to the Lord and the Lord was faithful to His promises with Noah. The Lord is always faithful for He can not deny Himself.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. II Timothy 2:13

Noah stood alone during a time when it would have been easier to “go along with the crowd”. The Lord praised Noah as being righteous.

even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,” declares the Lord God. Ezekiel 14:14

For love to be faithful there will be times that love must stand alone. However, we are never alone, just as Noah was not alone. The Lord had His eye on Noah and extended His favor to Noah. The Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth and the One who made the world that He was getting ready to destroy preserved Noah.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, Psalm 33:18

The Lord is still looking to help the one whose heart is completely His. If you have never given your heart to the Lord then know that you still can and you will never regret it.

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars. II Chronicles 16:9

The Lord is God and if He is with you then He is sufficient enough.

If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31b

He who gave up His only begotten Son, will He not with Him give you all things?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

The Lord will not withhold any good thing from those who seek Him.

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Psalm 34:10

A Life that Does Not Need to Worry

The Lord knows how fragile we are and our tendency to worry. He tells us not to worry. He makes it very clear and says “Do not worry”.

Matthew 6:25-33 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

The Lord knows that we need food, shelter and clothing. He says “do not worry”. He says that He feeds the birds and that they do not even store up but He feeds all of the birds every day of their lives. Amazing. He says not to worry about our clothing. He knows that we need clothes. He began by clothing Adam and Eve in the garden and He will provide clothing for his children. Do you need shelter? Yes! He will provide for you. All of these things the world eagerly seeks but He tells us to seek Him and His kingdom and righteousness and all of these things will be added to us. God is faithful. Do not worry about His part but be concerned that you do what He has called you to do and that is to be faithful to His commands and instructions to you.

Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.

He also says not to worry about tomorrow. He truly knows how we are made and how tempting it is to worry about tomorrow so He tells us to not even worry about tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Do you have troubles today. Yes, we all will have struggles and troubles but the Lord says that He is a present help in time of trouble.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

Go to Him with your struggles and trouble. He is not only an eternal Savior but He is a present Savior who will show Himself strong on behalf of those who turn to Him with all of their heart.

II Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

 

A Life with Love Lives By Faith

Enoch walked with God. He did not just walk before God but he walked with God. Enoch loved God and God loved Enoch.

Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:21-24

The Bible says that after Enoch had his first child then Enoch walked with God. There is something very humbling about having a child. We realize our desperate need for God. When a baby is born we see the marvelous and magnificent hand of God and we want to worship and praise Him. Our heart is filled with much gratitude. We don’t know much about Enoch before his first child was born but we do know that he had a uniquely close walk with God after his first child.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:5

Enoch was a man of faith and he was pleasing to God. He was so pleasing to God that the Lord did not allow Enoch to see death. Enoch walked with God by faith. Faith is what pleases the Lord. Faith is believing and trusting in what God has said and acting on it. Faith is not one of many options but it is the only option for the one who wants to please God and walk with Him.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Faith comes from hearing the word of God.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Mark 13:30

Faith is not what saves a person. Jesus Christ is who saves a person and faith is believing in His Word and coming to Jesus Christ for salvation. You can have faith in other religions but they can not forgive you and save you. Saving faith is putting your hope and trust in Him and what He did for all of us on the cross and coming to Him through His promises. Faith is acknowledging that there is not anything that you can do to deserve or work for salvation. It is God’s grace that invites us and allows us to come to Jesus Christ by faith.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9

Faith is believing what we can not see. By faith Enoch saw the Lord.

It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14,15

Enoch did not have any Scripture nor did he have the Law. However, Enoch had the knowledge of good and evil within him and Enoch chose to do good. All of us have the knowledge of good and evil. We do not need someone to tell us what is good and what is evil. Our conscience tells us what is right and wrong. When we listen to our conscience and do what is right then we become more sensitive to right and wrong. When we ignore our conscience and do what we know is wrong then our conscience becomes hardened and we no longer recognize good and evil. Good brings us happiness and evil brings us pain. We have to at first consciously block God out to do wrong but then the wrong starts to seem okay and then the wrong seems to be right. After awhile God does not even seem to exist or He may seem cruel and twisted. When we start to see wrong as right and right as wrong then we no longer can see God for who He really is, a loving and good God.

With the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself twisted. Psalm 18:25.26

Your view of God is not an indication of who God is but is more of an indication of the perversion of your heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Enoch had a pure heart and he saw the Lord by faith. Enoch saw the kindness and love of God and so Enoch experienced God’s love.

The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the Lord. Proverbs 19:3

It is man who ruins his own life and his own marriage. Man chooses to go his own way and then in the wickedness of his own heart, man blames God. First, he ignored his conscience and then his heart became hardened and he could no longer see God. Then, to man, God becomes twisted in his mind and he does not want to believe that there is a God. However, God has made man to know in his heart that there is a God but man in his foolishness chooses to live as if there is no God and then he becomes even more foolish and blames God in his heart. He cries out, “why would you do this to me, God?”.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; Psalm 14:1a

But God, reached down to man in His great love and loved man when man had turned his back on God. Two of the most powerful words in the Bible are the words “but God”. All of us have foolish hearts. Each of us has gone our own way. But God, did not leave us in our desperate need for Him. He came to us.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

If you have gone your own way and turned your back on God and His great love. It is not too late to come back to Him. He came for you and me. He has demonstrated His love for us when we did not love Him. Jesus Christ came and died and rose again in order that we might be reconciled to God and see Him and His great love for us.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, I Peter 3:18a

Just as the Lord took Enoch so that He might not see death so the Lord took the death that we deserved so that we might have life. Enoch lived by faith and trusted in a loving God and he experienced God’s love. We too, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, will see God in His great love and come to know Him. Then, one day, He will also take us home to live with Him for all eternity.