Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
To break this down, It's basically saying that if you think you can judge others, You are wrong!!! When you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty, because you do the same things they do.
As Christians our duty is to become "Christlike". The only way to do that is to read, follow, and live the word of God, but how many of us really live by this here word (Romans 2:1)? Ask yourself this how many times have you accused someone of something just because you know you have done it before?
If you said never, none, zero, or anything else like that, you are probably wrong. Lets look at this a little deeper. These days it seems as if everyone is in a relationship or something close to it(depending on how you like to live). Every relationship goes as the same, in the time of courting the zeal is at a all time high! as soon as the zeal is gone then comes the realness. In that time of realness how many times have you, yourself, accused your other for cheating or talking to someone else? Knowing that in-fact you were doing that very thing? Come on be honest with yourself if no one else!!
As Christians, how many times have we looked down at others and formed an opinion without knowing the real truth? Some Christians still struggle with such sins like Fornication, Lust, and Gluttony, yet, they look down at the lives of prostitutes, those who are over weight, and those who have a lust for money, sex, or anything else that is not of the Lord. Some Christians look at other Christians thinking they can't be real Christians, cause they are still doing some things that they have yet to be delivered from. Sorry, but, if we as Christians are to be Christlike then we are going about this thing the wrong way, cause our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ never did that at all. I mean, come on now, lets not forget the 8th chapter in the book of John.
My fellow Christians lets take a look at our lives. Take some time and try this, when you're alone just point one finger straight ahead as if someone was standing there. Notice how many are coming back. How many times have we accused or looked down on others based on our own guilt. The definition of Judge is to form an opinion or estimate, to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about. Let's look ourselves, are you living your life according to the word of God?
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Lets be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Are you a Christian?.....Yes you say?
Good.....Then that means that you have said the sinner's prayer, You've been baptized, and from time to time, if not every week, you attend church, But....
....The question still remains are you a Christian?
If you were to look up the word Christian in the dictionary you will see up to 11 meanings to that word. The ones that stick out the most are: exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike and of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. So in other words if we are Christians then we are people, believers who are Christlike(like Christ), and, living our lives according to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In order to do that we must be fruitful and not barren in the knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Question is how do we become fruitful in the knowledge?
Some will say, Go to church, and attend lots of bible studies. Yeah that helps but it's not enough!
In the new testament of the bible (2 Peter 1), apostle Simon Peter writes to Christians about after adding faith to our lives we must now add 7 more things in order to be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
After we have added faith to our lives by accepting Jesus into our hearts, we must now add "Virtue". What is virtue?......Glad you asked. Virtue is defined as moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. Conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude. A good example of "virtue" could be found in Genesis 39 where Joseph was approached by the wife of Potiphar. She was trying to have sex with the young man and she used the ultimate line "but no one would never know". Joseph knowing that fornication and adultery are both sins backed off and told her, "My master (her husband) trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of every thing. The only thing here the I can't touch is you and thats only because you're his wife. How could I do such a thing to him? on top of all that it's a sin against God". See the "Virtue" there?.....How much Virtue do you show in your everyday life?.....Could you show more?
To our virtue, we must now add "Knowledge". In order to be "Christlike" , we must have knowledge of how Christ lived. A great way to find out about the life of Christ, we should read and live the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One thing that I do want to point out is Matthew 16:13, where Jesus asked peter, Who does man say that I am? Peter explain that some say he's John the baptist, some say he's Elijah, and others say he's Jeremiah. Jesus then asked him Who do you say I am? his answer was then You are Christ, son of the living God from there because of his "Knowledge" of the son of God he was blessed.
To our knowledge we must add "Self Control". Self Control can be applied in many cases....Take the example from "virtue". In Genesis 39 Joseph was tempted but he had enough "Self Control" to not fall to that temptation. Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty nights and was temped by the devil with food and water...Jesus showed "Self Control". When we are faced with having to pass something up that we know we don't need or should have, or when we are about to go off on some one, Lets take out the time to show a little "Self Control" people!
To our self control we must add "Patience". Patience can go a number of ways here. First we must have patience with others....being forgiving in the book of Matthew, Jesus teaches use that we must forgive each other every time someone sins against us. The other part of "Patience" is very tricky for a lot of us. We tend to put a rush on God for the things that we want, then when we don't get it when we want it, we turn it into a situation where we feel God has turned his back on us. Keep in mind Psalm 37:4 which says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. and Matthew 6:31-34 which says So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But 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.
To our Patience we add "Service to God". Lets keep this one short and simple. If you call yourself a Christian and you are living in the faith, Your whole life is a service to God! We must live the life of Christ so the other could look at us and Learn!
To our service we add "Kindness". We all know what kindness is, to best way to gain enough strength to show kindness all the time would be to follow Ephesians 4:31-32 which says Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
And Finally to that we must add "Love". "Love", you can look in the dictionary to find out what love is and still have the wrong meaning of it! True "Love" is best described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love". When thinking about "Love" always keep in mind 1 John 4:8 which says Whoever does not love does not know God, because "GOD is LOVE" and 1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. GOD is "LOVE". Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
As the bible says, if you add these things to your life you will live fruitful and not barren in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you shall be Blessed!
Good.....Then that means that you have said the sinner's prayer, You've been baptized, and from time to time, if not every week, you attend church, But....
....The question still remains are you a Christian?
If you were to look up the word Christian in the dictionary you will see up to 11 meanings to that word. The ones that stick out the most are: exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike and of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. So in other words if we are Christians then we are people, believers who are Christlike(like Christ), and, living our lives according to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In order to do that we must be fruitful and not barren in the knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Question is how do we become fruitful in the knowledge?
Some will say, Go to church, and attend lots of bible studies. Yeah that helps but it's not enough!
In the new testament of the bible (2 Peter 1), apostle Simon Peter writes to Christians about after adding faith to our lives we must now add 7 more things in order to be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
After we have added faith to our lives by accepting Jesus into our hearts, we must now add "Virtue". What is virtue?......Glad you asked. Virtue is defined as moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. Conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude. A good example of "virtue" could be found in Genesis 39 where Joseph was approached by the wife of Potiphar. She was trying to have sex with the young man and she used the ultimate line "but no one would never know". Joseph knowing that fornication and adultery are both sins backed off and told her, "My master (her husband) trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of every thing. The only thing here the I can't touch is you and thats only because you're his wife. How could I do such a thing to him? on top of all that it's a sin against God". See the "Virtue" there?.....How much Virtue do you show in your everyday life?.....Could you show more?
To our virtue, we must now add "Knowledge". In order to be "Christlike" , we must have knowledge of how Christ lived. A great way to find out about the life of Christ, we should read and live the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One thing that I do want to point out is Matthew 16:13, where Jesus asked peter, Who does man say that I am? Peter explain that some say he's John the baptist, some say he's Elijah, and others say he's Jeremiah. Jesus then asked him Who do you say I am? his answer was then You are Christ, son of the living God from there because of his "Knowledge" of the son of God he was blessed.
To our knowledge we must add "Self Control". Self Control can be applied in many cases....Take the example from "virtue". In Genesis 39 Joseph was tempted but he had enough "Self Control" to not fall to that temptation. Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty nights and was temped by the devil with food and water...Jesus showed "Self Control". When we are faced with having to pass something up that we know we don't need or should have, or when we are about to go off on some one, Lets take out the time to show a little "Self Control" people!
To our self control we must add "Patience". Patience can go a number of ways here. First we must have patience with others....being forgiving in the book of Matthew, Jesus teaches use that we must forgive each other every time someone sins against us. The other part of "Patience" is very tricky for a lot of us. We tend to put a rush on God for the things that we want, then when we don't get it when we want it, we turn it into a situation where we feel God has turned his back on us. Keep in mind Psalm 37:4 which says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. and Matthew 6:31-34 which says So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But 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.
To our Patience we add "Service to God". Lets keep this one short and simple. If you call yourself a Christian and you are living in the faith, Your whole life is a service to God! We must live the life of Christ so the other could look at us and Learn!
To our service we add "Kindness". We all know what kindness is, to best way to gain enough strength to show kindness all the time would be to follow Ephesians 4:31-32 which says Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
And Finally to that we must add "Love". "Love", you can look in the dictionary to find out what love is and still have the wrong meaning of it! True "Love" is best described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love". When thinking about "Love" always keep in mind 1 John 4:8 which says Whoever does not love does not know God, because "GOD is LOVE" and 1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. GOD is "LOVE". Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
As the bible says, if you add these things to your life you will live fruitful and not barren in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you shall be Blessed!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
I Know You're Down, But.....
God is with you...All though you may be crying now God loves you and he will save you from what you're going through.
Matthew 24:13 says But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Romans 10:13 says For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Basically I brought you those two scriptures to say whatever you're going through remember to call on the Lord for your help and make it to the end for he will make a way for you to be better at the end.
Romans 8:28 says And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose....Things happen for a reason, God has good planned for you!
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?...with God on your side no one or nothing can be against you.
In Psalm 13 David shows that he has had that same problem. Through his trials He cries out to the Lord asking, "how long will you forget me?" How long does my heart have to hurt? People against me will feel as if they have won and be happy cause I am defeated!!!. That is something we all do in our times where we feel that we just can not take it anymore.
What I do want to point out is what David did at the end of Psalm 13, something we all forget to do. He trusted in the Lord!!! He goes on to sing to the Lord. "I trust in your love" in the act of his faith and trust in the love of the Lord our God, his heart became happy again because he realized that God has saved him. His song became happy because God took care of him and was doing it all along.
In your times of sorrow how deep is your trust in the Lord? How many times do you just look up and say to God, I know I'm going through something right now but I Thank You for loving me enough cause it could be worst?
Is your faith in the love of God as strong as you think it is?
The answer to those questions are for you and God only. Keep your head up through those tough times and remember even if you can't tell right off back God is there and he has already made a way out for you.
Matthew 24:13 says But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Romans 10:13 says For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Basically I brought you those two scriptures to say whatever you're going through remember to call on the Lord for your help and make it to the end for he will make a way for you to be better at the end.
Romans 8:28 says And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose....Things happen for a reason, God has good planned for you!
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?...with God on your side no one or nothing can be against you.
In Psalm 13 David shows that he has had that same problem. Through his trials He cries out to the Lord asking, "how long will you forget me?" How long does my heart have to hurt? People against me will feel as if they have won and be happy cause I am defeated!!!. That is something we all do in our times where we feel that we just can not take it anymore.
What I do want to point out is what David did at the end of Psalm 13, something we all forget to do. He trusted in the Lord!!! He goes on to sing to the Lord. "I trust in your love" in the act of his faith and trust in the love of the Lord our God, his heart became happy again because he realized that God has saved him. His song became happy because God took care of him and was doing it all along.
In your times of sorrow how deep is your trust in the Lord? How many times do you just look up and say to God, I know I'm going through something right now but I Thank You for loving me enough cause it could be worst?
Is your faith in the love of God as strong as you think it is?
The answer to those questions are for you and God only. Keep your head up through those tough times and remember even if you can't tell right off back God is there and he has already made a way out for you.
Ladies, God wants You!
I hate to start this off being so cliche....but hey why not?
In the beginning...well somewhere in the beginning after creating the world, God created man and gave him his job. Well in the midst of man doing his job, God looked and decided that man should not be alone. God goes on and says he will make a helper for him and then goes on to make woman. From that moment on it has been more than evident that God is calling upon women to condition their minds to be wives.
But what does it mean to be a wife?
According to www.dictionary.com, a wife is only defined as a woman joined in marriage to a man; a woman considered in relation to her husband; spouse. Seeing as how thats very vague, I think we should take a look at a greater source to find out what a wife is.
We have all heard the saying "behind every great man is a great woman." In example.....in the Bible Abraham had Sarah, Jacob, in due time, ended up getting Rachel, and both Abraham and Jacob carried the ultimate blessing! (refer to Genesis 12:1-9 for that). Noah, while building the great arch, had his wife there for him, and Boaz ended up with Ruth.
If you take the time to look at these stories and also look at the lives of Ester, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Rebekah, you will see that all of these women had something in common....That something was Proverbs 14:1 which says The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. That is basically saying, a smart woman or a woman with common sense builds her house or relationships, foolish women tear them down. None of those women were foolish! LoL
Most bible scholars like to refer to the woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 as the perfect woman. She is a hard worker who takes care of the house hold and is looked at to be very submissive to her husband. These days it seems as if we live in a world where women have a problem with submission. Submission does not mean you are his slave without a mind. It means you encourage the vision that God gave to your husband. In slang terms, It is your job to help birth that thing forth....This is why God gave you the womb, to give birth and also be the incubator of the vision and ideas given to your husband by God. Ephesians 5:22-24 says wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
If God is giving the vision to the man, Then it is man he is speaking to (not saying he does not speak to woman). He wants man to be the leader of the house, The one who will carry out all of the godly duties which means being the pastor, minister, teacher, and prayer leader of the house, I say this because if man can prove that he can handle all of those jobs in the house then God will then supply the vision that is to be carried out by man but incubated and birth by woman through encouragement and the will to do whatever it takes to help him carry it out.
Now to use Proverbs 31 as our reference and sticking with that, you do find alot of jobs that are bestowed upon the wife.
Proverbs 31:14-15 says "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls"....
....That being very self explanatory it's saying she is the provider and the cook. It is her job to go out get the food then prepare it and have it on the table.
Proverbs 31:16 says "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."......
.....Its not only the womans job to build upon the land but it is her job to carefully inspect it and then buy it and work it!
Basically according to Proverbs 31 it is a womans job to provide for and take care of home so that Man can take on his "Adam Duties" and run the earth...and be the spiritual source to his wife.
Alot of women will not like what this says cause we live in the day where its every person for themselves. Men don't want to be men and fix themselves and take on the job God has waiting for them as Spiritual and Earthly leaders and at the same time women see no need to be as submissive as the Proverbs 31 lady. What women don't realize is if they follow Proverbs 31:10-27 then the rest of the world especially men have no choice but to follow Proverbs 10:29-31.
***Sidenote*** Ladies if you want your man to treat you better or you are tired of men who can't or just wont treat you better, then maybe its time that you start to do better. Give and show God that you can be and do better and he will send you better than what you run into.
***Special Thanks to my friend Ms. Yolonda K. Robinson. Her blog on myspace titled "Be a Wife..." was the inspiration for this lesson, and it includes some of the info used here***
In the beginning...well somewhere in the beginning after creating the world, God created man and gave him his job. Well in the midst of man doing his job, God looked and decided that man should not be alone. God goes on and says he will make a helper for him and then goes on to make woman. From that moment on it has been more than evident that God is calling upon women to condition their minds to be wives.
But what does it mean to be a wife?
According to www.dictionary.com, a wife is only defined as a woman joined in marriage to a man; a woman considered in relation to her husband; spouse. Seeing as how thats very vague, I think we should take a look at a greater source to find out what a wife is.
We have all heard the saying "behind every great man is a great woman." In example.....in the Bible Abraham had Sarah, Jacob, in due time, ended up getting Rachel, and both Abraham and Jacob carried the ultimate blessing! (refer to Genesis 12:1-9 for that). Noah, while building the great arch, had his wife there for him, and Boaz ended up with Ruth.
If you take the time to look at these stories and also look at the lives of Ester, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Rebekah, you will see that all of these women had something in common....That something was Proverbs 14:1 which says The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. That is basically saying, a smart woman or a woman with common sense builds her house or relationships, foolish women tear them down. None of those women were foolish! LoL
Most bible scholars like to refer to the woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 as the perfect woman. She is a hard worker who takes care of the house hold and is looked at to be very submissive to her husband. These days it seems as if we live in a world where women have a problem with submission. Submission does not mean you are his slave without a mind. It means you encourage the vision that God gave to your husband. In slang terms, It is your job to help birth that thing forth....This is why God gave you the womb, to give birth and also be the incubator of the vision and ideas given to your husband by God. Ephesians 5:22-24 says wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
If God is giving the vision to the man, Then it is man he is speaking to (not saying he does not speak to woman). He wants man to be the leader of the house, The one who will carry out all of the godly duties which means being the pastor, minister, teacher, and prayer leader of the house, I say this because if man can prove that he can handle all of those jobs in the house then God will then supply the vision that is to be carried out by man but incubated and birth by woman through encouragement and the will to do whatever it takes to help him carry it out.
Now to use Proverbs 31 as our reference and sticking with that, you do find alot of jobs that are bestowed upon the wife.
Proverbs 31:14-15 says "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls"....
....That being very self explanatory it's saying she is the provider and the cook. It is her job to go out get the food then prepare it and have it on the table.
Proverbs 31:16 says "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."......
.....Its not only the womans job to build upon the land but it is her job to carefully inspect it and then buy it and work it!
Basically according to Proverbs 31 it is a womans job to provide for and take care of home so that Man can take on his "Adam Duties" and run the earth...and be the spiritual source to his wife.
Alot of women will not like what this says cause we live in the day where its every person for themselves. Men don't want to be men and fix themselves and take on the job God has waiting for them as Spiritual and Earthly leaders and at the same time women see no need to be as submissive as the Proverbs 31 lady. What women don't realize is if they follow Proverbs 31:10-27 then the rest of the world especially men have no choice but to follow Proverbs 10:29-31.
***Sidenote*** Ladies if you want your man to treat you better or you are tired of men who can't or just wont treat you better, then maybe its time that you start to do better. Give and show God that you can be and do better and he will send you better than what you run into.
***Special Thanks to my friend Ms. Yolonda K. Robinson. Her blog on myspace titled "Be a Wife..." was the inspiration for this lesson, and it includes some of the info used here***
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