Genesis 2: God Has Plans

God Has Plans

In Genesis 1 we saw how God created the earth and how we have to realize that we are not accidents and that we have a purpose here on this earth. God finished making the earth and then rested on the 7th day (Genesis 2:1-3). First off, which day is your day of rest? If you are not fully rested how can you be re-energized to not only do the job(s) that lay before you, but also do the work God has before you? People will make excuses and say "Just gimme coffee and I can get it done" but is that what God wants from you? I know American culture is "go go go" and "achieve more and make more money", but God established a predominant culture many, many moons ago that also involved rest. Let's be honest, even cars, cell phones, lap tops, light bulbs are not meant to run at all times...and neither are we. 

God created man and placed hm specifically, not just anywhere, but in a place for him to do the job God bestowed upon him (Genesis 2:15). God also saw that the man did not need to be alone. Many take this section of scripture to mean God's view of marriage in terms of we should all be married, but in context, Adam was the first person on the planet and therefore was completely alone. Today, if you are not married, do not force yourself to be married due to the belief of this verse because celibacy/singleness is also a gift (Matthew 19:9-12) and God does not contradict Himself. 

God know what He wants from you, now you must be receptive to what it is He wants and then you must be obedient to do what it is He has called you to do.

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3 John 1: Imitating Evil or Good

Imitating Evil or Good

Our choices in life are our choices in life. There are choices we make on a daily basis. We make choices on who to call, who to visit, whether or not to call in sick to work....you get my point. If you are a Christ follower, your choices should be reflective of that spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, leading you to interact with people a certain way. The Spirit leads you to do what is Godly. So when those thoughts come, do you follow what the Spirit say, or do you make your own decision to do something different. In 3 John 1:11, we are instructed to imitate what is good, not what is evil. What is evil is not of God but what will pull you away from God. When you are evil you have not known God. Why would you know God and then continue to do evil? Misstep is one thing...but a consistent practice is another.

 

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Wednesday Wake Up #36

Warning Against Idleness

In reading 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 we get to see the encouragement against idleness. What is idleness? That means being inactive. Imagine your car sitting still in neutral. It has potential to go forward or backward, but it just sits. It is useless. I look at MANY (far too many) Christ followers who see themselves as right with God but do not serve, read or read and study the Word. It is time to start doing more for the Kingdom of God. 

Idleness did not just mean inactivity. In verses 6-7 Paul directs fellow Christ followers to keep away from any brother/sister in Christ who is walking in idleness. That means if this believer is not living like a believer (I assume more often than not) then you have every right to keep your distance. And why wouldn't you? We already know that bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33). So if someone among you is not following the example of Christ, then it is okay to leave them to their ways. You don't have to fix them or feel guilty that they chose their lifestyle.

In verses 10-11 Paul calls out those who would not (notice that it wasn't cannot) work. He says, if they aren't willing to help and work and they just want to be busy bodies, then they should not eat. This I understand was specific to the church and not local government. The thinking is that people thought if Jesus was coming back then what was the point of working. They decided to let others work and they reap the benefits of giving Christians. Paul didn't like that, but he also wanted those who were doing the right thing to not grow weary in doing it (verse 13). Paul knew how to call out those that weren't doing the right thing but also knew how to encourage those that were doing the right thing in the name of the Lord. 

 

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Friday Focus #34

Stop Making Excuses

I have heard people say that when they are done living whatever lifestyle they are living or when life calms down then they will go to church, get right with God, read the Bible, etc. I think to myself, why wait? If you really want to do something you will make time for it regardless of what else is going on. People who love to work out will work out. People who love to plant and garden will plant flowers and tend to their garden. If you like working on cars, then you will make time for that. But as for God, many will say it just isn't the right time. There is no good reason as to why you need to wait to reconnect with God. Stop making excuses.

If we don't want to go to church, read the Bible, etc then just say that instead of there is no time for it. We all have 24 hours a day and chose to spend it doing what we want and what are also priorities. If you do not add time with God to your schedule then there will be something else that will come into the mix later and keep you from making time. Some people have said that they will wake up earlier or spend part of their lunch hour reading the Bible. Others listen to sermons while driving to and from work. There is always time, but your choice is has been to do something else.

Do you remember when Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha? Read through Luke 10:38-42 and see how Martha was so distracted doing so many things that that when she realized she was not getting help from her sister, she complained to Jesus who told Martha that Mary had chosen to spend time with him rather than run around doing other "stuff" that was not as important. What ever is important to you will show not just by your words, but also by your actions.

 

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Philippians 1: A Good Work

A Good Work

The work has begun in you once you receive Christ through God's grace. That work is the Holy Spirit working through you to shape you to be more Christ like as the days pass. The time when that work will be complete is upon the Second Coming of Christ. This is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 1:6. He knows that God has started something good in the church (the people in the church) and that work will be completed upon Christ's return.

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Wednesday Wake Up #25

Is God #1

Have you ever read through Exodus and the story of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32)? Moses had not yet come down from Mount Sinai and the people, instead of waiting for leadership, talked to Moses' older brother Aaron and asked him to make them a god. Aaron obliged and had them give him their gold and he made it into a golden calf for them to worship and give offerings to. Obviously, what they did was wrong which is why God sent Moses back down the mountain to destroy the idol. While we don't have golden calves in our homes there are things in our lives that get in the way of making God number 1.

Work for many has become God. Think about it, if your boss calls, you answer. Your boss says that you need to come to work and you go without fail. Then when you are at work you work extra hard and get no kudos, but only a bunch of stress. Your health is getting worse and you aren't making time for the people in your life (loved ones, family, friends). And what is most important, you are not making time for God. Remember how upset God was with Cain (Genesis 4) because Cain gave God the leftovers from his sacrifice?  God wants you to make Him your priority? Do you only talk to Him when you need him, but never to just thank Him for being an awesome God? I often refer back to the first 4 commandments because they all focus on making God first, especially the 4th commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) which reminds us to have a Sabbath. Take a day off, not just to rest but to also give God His due praise.

Money is another idol people can have as a replacement for God. They do everything they can to make sure that they can make more and more money and spend, spend, spend. They have to have the newest everything (car, phone, gadget) and they do whatever they can to make sure they can afford it. But they haven't seen their Bible or read from a Bible in ages. See the focus here? The focus has moved from God being #1 to money being #1. We must remember that man cannot serve 2 masters as he will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Jesus said this. Can we really ignore it? We all need to work and make money, but if that is your focus more than serving the Lord and giving back to Him then the priority is not God.
 

My point is not to condemn people but just to show how easy it is to let other things that are important become more important than what really matters in God's eyes. My prayer is that we all can see those roadblocks in our lives and make sure to make God's will for our lives #1.

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Friday Focus #21

Fresh Start with Jesus

No matter where you are in life, that is not the end. It is not over. There is still another chance when you bring Jesus in. He will not force his way in and make you submit to him. It is your choice to bring him in and let him work through your life. I have had people tell me that they 1) are not good enough to go to church and 2) are not good enough to go to Heaven. They have missed the point. You don't earn church attendance or Heaven. You don't earn Jesus. You cannot read scripture and come away with that belief. Please do not be misled. Seek Jesus and begin again with him.

Before Paul wrote many books from the New Testament, he was not the Christ loving individual we have come to understand him to be. In Acts 9, we are taken through Paul's transformation and experiences with Christ. Paul was responsible for the stoning of Stephen (a new disciple). Paul was responsible for pulling men and women out of their homes and having them killed for following Christ which stepped on the toes of the Jewish faith. On the road to Damascus, Paul has an encounter with the voice of Jesus who asks why Paul was persecuting believers. When Paul rose from the encounter he was blinded and instructed to go a temple to meet someone. Once he meets that person his sight will be restored. Paul followed through and had his sight restored. Paul began to proclaim Jesus as the son of God in the synagogues. It did not matter what life Paul had before he came to know and follow Christ, but what mattered was his dedication to Christ after deciding to serve him. Paul didn't have to be good enough. He just had to have a fresh start which including repentance for his sins.

I will say it again, you do not have to earn your way into God's good graces. God's grace is free. It does not cost any money. Grace is not connected to any good deed. Grace is not connected to any church or denomination. Grace is given to us freely from God and all we have to do is accept it (Ephesians 2:1-10). I was watching a video last night from Ray Comfort who was evangelizing (preaching the word of Christ) on the streets of Huntington Beach, Ca. He explains to people that their set of beliefs is opposite to what scripture teaches. Check out the videos below:

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Romans 5: Peace, Endurance and Adam

Peace, Endurance and Adam

Romans 5:1 shows us that in Jesus there is peace. It does not bring strife and problems, but peace. Think of the problems that you have had in life. How many have been because being Christ centered was not the focus, either from you or other person/people? I know I have had plenty of situations occur and more to come that need the focus of what is Christ like. I cannot control others and their words and actions, but I do have self control through the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit is part of that peace that exists in Christ and when we are Christ centered. The peace with God comes through our acceptance of Jesus.

In Romans 5:3-5, things get kind of tricky from an outsider perspective. To read or hear the words "rejoice in our sufferings" sounds like be glad when things go horribly wrong. But there is more to it. The secular way to look at it is the "every cloud has a silver lining" saying, but from the God perspective we know that what we experience is an opportunity for us to grow in Him if we seek His will for our lives. I wish I could tell you the plethora of times that things went horribly wrong in my finances, work life, relationships, etc and how when I changed the focused to "what does God want from me in this", it gave me clarity which through actions because of my faith in Christ led me to a better situation. Through that suffering I developed endurance for problems. That endurance keeps me from falling apart when things start to go bad. In other words I am not giving up when problems arise. That endurance has produced character which is how I present myself when I am with others. One might say, "he isn't a quitter" and that is due to the problems I have had to endure and did not give up on when I encountered them. And through that character I have developed by dealing with issues from a God's will perspective hope is produced. That way I know when issues happen I am hopeful that doing God's will and not my own will produce fruit.

Adam is the father of all mankind. But, from Adam, Eve was created and Adam followed Eve's lead to bite from the apple that the serpent tempted her to eat. Therefore, in Romans 5:12-13 Paul shows us that through Adam sin was brought into the world, but through Christ, for those who follow him, that sin is not counted against you. Before Jesus then you would basically have to be perfect and never break commands or laws or anything so that God copuld be pleased, but even that isn't done out of love but obedience and obedience does not equate to love but love brings forth obedience.When we stop "religifying" our faith we see the freedom in Christ, not the perceived shackles from the secular perspective.

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John 21: Cast the Net on the Right Side

Cast the Net on the Right Side

When we live our lives and do things that are normal to us with work, marriage/dating, school, friendships, etc, we do things based on what we know. We do things the way that we have often done them. That way is sometimes based on the idea of "what can I get out of this." That is not the way God wants you to think.

 

After the resurrection of Jesus, he appeared to the disciples. After he appeared to them, Simon Peter and the other disciples went fishing. This was their work. This was their livelihood. This was how they operated. While out fishing the men were not catching any fish. Jesus called out to them (but they didn't know it was Jesus) from the shore and asked them if they had caught any fish. They answered no and Jesus said "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." They caught so many fish they were not able to haul them all in (John 21:1-8).

 

What does this tell us? When you heed the Lord's direction and guidance the blessing can come in an abundance. They can be so abundant that it can be overwhelming, but not in a bad way. Can you imagine following God's direction and being blessed by what you needed? Following His direction sounds like the magic word...obedience.

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Wednesday Wake Up #12

Make Time for God

We all have 24 hours a day and 168 hours a week. What we do with that time is up to us. That is our decision.We cannot blame our boss for "making" our day crazy and keeping us from God's word. We can't blame the kids or spouses for things being hectic at home and keeping us from a quiet time. Our quiet time is our decision. I know people who wake up extra early (over an hour than usual) just to have a quiet time with God before they go to work. It is that important to them. That leaves no excuses for later in the day.

As cliche as it may seem, the first few of the 10 Commandments are focused on God and keeping the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8) and having no others gods before him and not taking His name in vain. Ask yourself, am I keeping a Sabbath? It doesn't have to be Sunday, but is there a day where you stop working and rest and give respect to God? 

What other gods are there (Exodus 20:3) I don't think it just means other religions, but the other things we do that take precedence in our lives over what is most important. I know I talk a lot about social media, but we waste so much time on our devices seeing what everyone else is doing rather than spending time in the Bible and seeing what God wants from us. What was the last thing you did last night? What was the first thing you did this morning? Did it have anything to do with being thankful to God? Did it have to do with the other things that are not important?

God doesn't want our left over, but our first fruits (Genesis 4:4-5). If you are struggling with making time for God, maybe put a sign on the first thing you are going to see every morning to remind you to make time for God. The sign could be a verse or a simple reminder to pray or be thankful. Whatever it is, make time for God and keep Him first.

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Matthew 21:31- The Two Sons

Matthew 21:31 "...Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you." commentary- Once again we talk about what is fair and what is not. Jesus tells a parable of two sons. One is told to go work in the vineyard and he said no initially and then later changed his mind and went and did as he was told. The second son was told to go work in the vineyard and said he would, but did not. 

Even though the first son initially denied his fathers orders, he later changed his mind and did as he was instructed. Isn't this just like those who initially are told by God what to do, and how to live, say no, but then later become obedient to God's word? Even for those of us who have already accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior can still be disobedient, but we can a;lways make the choice to go back to doing what God wanted us to.

For those of us who say we will follow God's word and seek to be obedient and then do not, then we have lost our way. We become the second son who says he will obey but then does not. 

On a personal note, we sell ourselves out for so many things from sports, to understanding money and investing to gossip columns to food (foodies), but do we sell out for God? Do we really commit daily to Him as we do our routines? God isn't saying don't be dedicated to your work or your family, but He is saying "don't put that before me."

Matthew 20:13-14- What's Fair?

Matthew 20:13-14 " But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go...'" commentary- A land owner hires extra workers late in the day and promises to pay them. When the end of the day came, the men who started work early got their share that they agreed upon. Yet, the ones who only worked an hour due to being hired later also received the same pay as those who worked a full day. 

Those that worked longer were upset thinking that they should have more than the other who came late. The landowner made no extra promises, he only followed what he said he would do. 

I compare this to the kingdom of Heaven. I have heard numerous arguments from unbelievers who think that it isn't "fair" that one can live a life of sin and still get their sins forgiven when others asked for forgiveness a long time ago. God doesn't operate on what's fair, but He operates on being true to His word. If he says it, it is true. It is not a scale that we use to rank who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 18:1-6). God forgives and knows your heart, it is not up to you to try to take on a role (God or in this chapter's case the landowner) that is not assigned to you. Do your part.