Believer versus Unbeliever

VERSE:                                  Jude 12‑13

    These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves.  They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds;  late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;  raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

REFLECTION:

    What is this verse talking about?  These are some pretty dark and lonely images.  Do you feel like one of these things?  Jude is talking about unbelievers.  As we sit down to eat our feast daily, we sit with unbelievers, be they are family members, friends, or total strangers in a restaurant.  They feast with us as if everything is normal.  They have no fear that they may be cast into eternal life, and go about their business serving only themselves.  If you are an unbeliever, your only life is here on earth.  You must make the most of it, and do things to please yourself. 

    The harsh reality of it all is the pictures that are painted in these verses:

   * An unbeliever is just a cloud pushed by the wind, serving no purpose on the earth except to block out some "Son" light. Believers are clouds, full of the living water, ready to rain down the love of Christ on those unbelievers.

   * Unbelievers do not bear fruit in the harvest of summer or in the twilight of their life.  They are dead spiritually, and will soon die physically, never producing the fruit that God wanted.  They are rooted in things other than God's word.  Believers are also like an autumn tree that can still generate fresh fruit, crisp and sweet, like the word of God.  Believers are growing strong rooted in the word of God.

   * An unbeliever is a tumultuous sea, their shame foaming up, and their tragedies crashing like waves against each other. A believer is a placid calm sea, calmed by the tender love and mercy of Jesus Christ even during tumultuous storms.

   * An unbeliever is a wandering star soon to be consumed by a black hole snuffed out by the sins of life and spiritually dying with no twinkle left to gleam.  A believer is a bright shining star, shining the light of Christ so all the world can see. 

Which one are you, believer or unbeliever?

PRAYER:

    Pray that you will bear the fruit that God wants you to bear and that you will always shine bright the light of Jesus Christ.

A Light in the Darkness

VERSE:                                   Daniel 2:22

He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.

REFLECTION:

How intimately do you know God? Has He shared any deep and secret things with you? How often do you get completely silent and spend some quality time with God? He wants to spend time with you. Remember, He wants to share His innermost feelings with you but you have to tune out the world and tune into God.

How many of you have entered an unfamiliar dark place and know exactly what you are going to encounter? God knows what is in the darkness and He will illuminate His light in that darkness so that you will see what's ahead. You need to allow Him to guide you through the darkness.

If you recall the story of Daniel and the lions' den, Daniel was thrown into a deep dark den full of ravenous lions. Daniel put his faith in God and instead of Daniel being eaten by the lions, God tamed
them, and Daniel lived. Through Daniel's darkest time, he put his faith in God and God delivered him from death.

In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is called a "roaring lion seeking who he can devour," and in order for us to avoid the darkness of death and isolation from God, we must put our full faith in Jesus Christ. Only then God will shine His light on the darkness of sin and save us. To be able to put your full faith in God, you must get intimate with Him. Set aside quiet time to pray and read the word and He will reveal deep and secret things with you.

PRAYER:

Pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Pray for a better understanding of God's character. Pray that God will lead you through the darkness of your life.

Purity Loves Company

VERSE:                                          1 Timothy 5:22

Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins, keep yourself pure.

REFLECTION:

This verse has three important suggestions for Christians.

First, the laying on of hands is something that should not be taken lightly. You cannot go around just laying hands on people, expecting God to move in their lives. The laying on of hands needs to be done only when a person comes to you and asks for help, i.e. healing. God also wants Christians to have the right mindset when laying hands, and this is where the next two components of this verse come in.

Don't share in other people's sin. For example, compromising your faith and going to a bar with people just to make them happy is like enabling them to sin. You cannot profess to have true faith in God if you willingly participate in sinning with others. Drinking just to make them happy is wrong. Using foul language just because your friends do is wrong. Stand firm on your faith, let God guide your heart, and then you will be able to follow the third key, keeping yourself pure. The only way to do that is to flee from sin and keep your eyes on Jesus.

If you can keep yourself pure and avoid sharing in other people's sins, God will give you the ability to lay hands on someone. That is the perfect time for that person to need it, for God will have compelled them to ask.
PRAYER:

Pray for God to lead you not into temptation, so you can avoid other's sins. Pray for discernment when you are asked to lay hands on someone. Pray for a pure heart so you can commit yourself to God's work.

Dwell in His Tabernacle

VERSE:     Psalm 15:1-2

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  Who may dwell in Your holy hill?  He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

REFLECTION:

            Can you abide in God’s tabernacle?  Can you dwell in His holy hill?  There are many people today who profess to be Christian yet do not possess the correct credentials to abide in God’s tabernacle.  There are what might be construed as Sunday Christians.  Those are the people who put on a good front when at church but the moment church is over they continue in their sinful ways.  It is true that we enter the kingdom of God not by works but by God’s saving grace.  And it is only by our repentance of our sins and putting our trust in Jesus that this is established.  However once we put our trust in God we will want to do all we can to show that we deserve to abide with Him.  If we say we are a Christian but our life doesn’t bear that out that confession may be false.  We need to examine our heart and our true intent of our actions to really know whether we can dwell in God’s holy hill.  Let’s take a look at what needs to be done. 

Verse 2 tells us that we must do three things: Walk uprightly, Works righteousness and speak the truth in our heart.

• Walk Uprightly - Walking uprightly means that we will want to obey God’s laws.  Not out of compulsion but out of desire to please God.  Essentially it means to live by God’s word to the best of your ability and let others see the witness of Christ through that.
• Works Righteousness - Do you do righteous things?  We need to find a way to further God’s kingdom.  We are not here to fulfill our own pleasure but instead we are here to please God by telling others about Christ.  We should do works that are righteous, essentially, plug into a ministry at your church or elsewhere.
• Speak the truth in your Heart - Is what you say really what you mean?  God knows the intent of our heart so if we speak the truth but don’t mean it, He knows.  Likewise the bible is the truth and we must not only speak it audibly but we must cherish it within our heart.  The truth of Christ must come from every fiber of your being. 

With those three points examine yourself and ask yourself can you abide in God’s tabernacle?

PRAYER:

Pray that you can walk upright.  Pray that you can find righteous works to do in your church.  Pray that the truth is always in your heart.  Pray for opportunities to tell others about Jesus.

Daily Diligence

VERSE:                                               Proverbs 13:4

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

REFLECTION:

There are many people out there who hope against hope to win the lottery. Many of the ticket buyers do not have the money to spare but they shell it out regardless. Then there are those who work hard daily to put bread on the table for their families. It sometimes seems that you work your tail off, never getting ahead, while others get rich with little or no effort.

We need to look beyond material things and focus on our families, friends, and spirituality. Are you rich in those areas? Do you work hard to make your family happy and secure? Are you there for them, and are you willing to lay your life down for your spouse and children? How about your friends? Do you care enough about your friends to pray for them, in good times and in bad? Would you still be their friend if they turned their back on you? Keep it up, and God will make you rich in
friendship.

How about your walk with God? Are you diligent in your walk? Do you read the word daily? Do you get on your knees and pray for your family and friends? Do you praise and worship God every chance you get? If you are diligent in spiritual things then you will be blessed by God. The most important thing in your life should be your walk with God. Remember, God will provide you with everything if you put your trust in Him. Be diligent in all you do and God will richly bless you.

PRAYER:

Pray for diligence in all areas of your life. Pray for family and friends. Start the new year right by praying daily.