Today's Choices = Tomorrow's Consequences

Our church supports a faith-based, addictions program called, Reformer’s Unanimous. There are Ten Principles that are taught, learned, and memorized by all those who participate in the program. These principles are not just for the drug addict, cigarette smokers and sex offenders. They can and should be applied to the every day life of any Christian who truly wants to be right with God and man. Regardless of who you are (or who you ‘think’ you are) we all sin and are in need of a Savior. Gossip, back-biting (or stabbing,) anger, adultery, stealing, haughtiness, selfishness, etc., these are all just as much an addiction as any form of substance abuse. We try to make one worse than the other but it is not so in the eyes of God. Anything that goes against His Word is sin. 

The principle that I’d like to talk about today is #7. “Our sinful habits DO hurt those who follow us.” I had taken it upon myself to teach the RU Principles in my Sunday School class, and while going over this one I asked the teen girls a question. “Can you name one person in the Bible, who went against God, or disobeyed their authority, and God blessed them for it?” Most said no, but two girls had an answer. One said, “Moses.” She talked of when Moses struck the rock and water flowed. She said, “Even though he struck the rock, God allowed the water to come forth.” She went on the to say that she knew Moses didn’t get to go into the Promised Land, but still God allowed the water. The other teen girl said, “Joseph’s brothers.” She said, “Even though they sold Joseph into slavery, God still allowed them to come to Egypt later, and used Joseph to take care of their families.” She acknowledged the fact that they went through famine and all the trials that they went through when they first came before their brother, but still God took care of them and their families. I thought both girls gave good answers. However, they seemed to focus only on the blessing that came AFTER much consequences had been suffered. Consequences suffered, not only by the men who disobeyed, but by their families as well. The girls were not flippant in their answers or disrespectful. They answered well. However, it is the attitude of today that the consequences are worth the fleeting moment of enjoyment, or gratification. “It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.” That is the motto of this generation. I got what I wanted, I’ve said ‘I’m sorry’, now you have to forgive me and move on. No true repentance. No true remorse. More like a satisfaction in knowing they actually COULD have their cake and eat it too.  But, they learned it from someone, somewhere, didn’t they? I think if we had the advantage of asking a few folks today what they “would have done”, if they had considered the consequences, we’d be surprised by their answers. 

Adam & Eve = Cain & Abel

Abraham & Sarah = Isaac & Ishmael

Jacob &  Leah = Dinah & her brothers

Moses = The Promised Land

David & Bathsheba = newborn child, Absalom, Tamar & Amnon

These are just a few folks whose decisions are well in the past, and STILL affecting us today. Their choices did NOT just affect them.  Oh, but wait… ALL is and was forgiven, that’s true, but the consequences have remained unto this day. So tell me, WHO or WHAT are you willing to sacrifice to have what you want? Your marriage? Your children? Your grand-children Your great-grand-children? Our sinful habits and choices DO affect those who follow and watch us. Who is watching YOU? And WHERE are you leading them? In the paths of righteousness, I hope. Or, down a road of destruction, unhappiness, bitterness, family or church discord, deceitfulness, etc. You’re right, it is YOUR choice, but at WHOSE expense?

Immediate Change

Mark 1:41, "And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean."

In the previous verse, a leper had besought (to ask or pray with great urgency) the Lord, that He might make him clean. Jesus grants his request, and the following verse says, "And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed." What a wonderful God that can cleanse us immediately. When Jesus came across those who were deaf, dumb, lame, blind, etc, He was always moved with compassion because He knew they could not heal themselves. These folks SOUGHT Him in order to be made whole. They followed Him because they wanted what He had, not because He was just like them. He was different. Though in the flesh He was still a perfect, holy God. He still is! A compassionate, uncompromising, loving Saviour. When the unclean sought Jesus, 

BLIND men received their sight, not just "a vision."

LAME legs were restored, not just "repaired."

DEAF ears were touched, not just "tickled." 

You see, when Jesus makes you clean, you are made WHOLE, there is a LIFE CHANGE. There is a FOREVER CHANGE. What a great Saviour, who can cleanse you IMMEDIATELY!

The Island of Buried Hopes

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev.1:9)

Can we not imagine how eagerly John would lay himself out for a life in the incessant service for His Divine Master and Lord? No task would seem too great, no toil too arduous, if only His Lord might be glorified; and we can well imagine how all his plans, ambitions, desires would center round the extension of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Then, suddenly - - Patmos! What now became of all his hopes and longings, his plans and projects? Surely he buried them all as he set foot on Patmos. They died when he first heard his sentence; they were interred with no prospect of a resurrection. Patmos was, for the beloved disciple 

The Island of Buried Hopes!

 But John soon discovered that Patmos had its compensations. True, he could no longer entertain the hope of carrying out all his plans, yet he learned in Patmos that the truer and nobler service would yet be his than any he had ever contemplated. To him came the assurance that not only has the Lord loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, but He hath set us apart as both kings and priests, and nothing can ever terminate that royal priesthood. John had caught sight of a far greater honor and holier service awaiting him the land that lies beyond.

It might have been thought that John in his dreary exile was terribly isolated. Someone has said not isolated, but insulated, and there is a world of difference between the two. True, the island was small and his confines narrow, but that was only the outer circumstance of his life, his daily environment.

Nothing to see! Alone! Ah, but John found it not so! The overwhelming glory of the sight of his risen Lord robbed him of his strength until he felt the gracious gentle pressure of the pierced Hand resting upon him. Again and again he tells us that he heard a Voice speaking to him. Whilst these things were so he could never feel that there was nothing to see! He could never feel alone! And the Spirit so insulated John that God’s messages might pass through him to the entire world!

Most of us are well acquainted with this experience. We may not have had to suffer at the hands of any earthly potentate, but there must be comparatively few who have not, at some time had to bury their fondest hopes, their most eager desires. Oh, weary troubled heart, if God has led you to the Island of Buried Hopes, it is that He may show you yet more wonderful things. He has not failed you, not forgotten you, but has led you into the darkened room because, in His own time and way, He would reveal to you the unsuspected glory of His grace and power.

Is our life lonely? Monotonous? We need opened eyes. Standing near us all the time is the same wonderful Lord who stood by John in Patmos. Oh, the joy, even of Patmos, when it is filled with the presence of Jesus! 

Patmos HAS its compensations!

But if we would share in them, and Patmos is to be a blessing to us, we must fulfill certain conditions. Here is the secret that transforms all disappointments, suffering, monotony, loneliness -- love to Christ, that impels us to learn of Him day by day, to lean upon Him in constant communion, to look upon Him as the all-sufficient Saviour.

To those who fulfill these conditions there is no Patmos that is not irradiated by a glory that is not of earth. 

Our Father makes no mistakes!

(-- copied, Mrs. C.E. Cowman)

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Note From Author: 

Typically, I do not like to copy other people’s work without giving them the credit. To my knowledge I have noted the original author. I hope this post in an encouragement to others who have been forced to “The Island of Buried Hopes.” You CAN survive with the Saviour. Let me encourage you to focus on Him. Fill your heart with His Word, your life with His work, and your days with His service.  Guard your heart, and don’t forget that God loves you, and He cares. He will NEVER leave you alone with your broken dreams, and buried hopes. He ALWAYS has something better for you.

To Be Like Jesus

   I remember a chorus we used to sing at church, when I was growing up, called "To Be Like Jesus." It went like this, "To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask is to be like Him. All through life's journey, from earth to glory, all I ask, is to be like Him."  Until recently, I only had one idea of what being "like Him" really meant. As Christians, we should strive to be like Jesus. I have heard many a message on this subject. We need to love like God love's. We need to have compassion like God has compassion. We need to live a righteous life, because we serve a righteous God. We need to be a shining example of our Lord, who loved us and gave Himself for us. We need to go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in. We need to lead and win souls to Christ. ALL of these things are true, and we should do them! I could go on and on. I have heard many messages in my life time, but there is not that much space here, and sadly, my memory is not what it used to be, so I will not try to quote a line from each one. :-)

   I grew up in a Christian home, with godly parents, who were a shining example of true servants of Christ. It was not until I became an adult, with children of my own to raise for Christ, that I realized how much "like Jesus" they were (and still are) and how little I was "like Him." Oh, I am not saying I have not lived for Him, because I have tried my best to, and I am still trying. I am not saying I have not spent my life in service to Him, because I have(and failed,) and I am still serving as best I can. I love the Lord. I have been so blessed by Him that living a life without Him would be foreign to me. I am not bragging on me, I am bragging on HIM. I gave my heart to Jesus at age thirteen, and thank God, He has been my best friend and never left me. I am so underserving of His constant companionship, and undying love. I will never understand why God would give His most precious, for this faltering, failing servant, (I could spend the rest of this page just bragging on HIM! He is so good!) Yet, all these years I have strove to serve Him, to witness about Him, to worship Him, and yet I never fully grasped what it mean to be "like Him." 

   Serving Jesus is not just about singing praises, teaching sunday school, being in His house every time the doors are open, going door knocking week after week, living a righteous life, having Godly standards and principles, encouraging others to know Him or be faithful to Him, cleaning the church, working on the bus, teaching children's church, showing up at EVERYthing that the church schedules, carting bratty children and unthankful teenagers to camp, picnics, and amusements parks, giving to missions, playing the piano or organ, taking care of crying babies in the nursery, praying daily, and having devotions every day. All those things are wonderful places of service for Christ, and you are commended for having participated or taken part in any or all of the above, but...... where are your scars?

   When I look at my blessed parents, my gracious father & mother-in-law, my precious grandparents, and some very faithful servants of God that I have been privileged to know and learn from, I see scars. I see wounds. I see tears. I see broken hearts. I see lives that have done all those things I listed above, while fighting battles within the church or personal battles with their children or grandchildren. They continue on while being falsely accused of horrible things, by people who have yet to walk a mile for Jesus in their own life. They trudge forward while the darts are being thrown, and they hold their shield of faith high over the heads of some of the most unthankful, ungrateful people. All the while hoping that their faith will help others to see Jesus. They don't look for trophies, gratitude, men's applause or praise, they just look up, because that is what Jesus did. When in the midst of persecution, slander, suffering, heartache, and pain, Jesus looked to His Father. And even though He could have come down off that cross and proven to them that things they were saying were  untrue, and the punishment they were giving him was unjust, and undeserved, He didn't. "..and as sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." (Is. 53:7) He bears in His body the marks, the wounds, and the scars. Where are your scars?

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal.6:14)

"From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." (Gal.6:17)

Continue Thou

II Timothy 3:14-15 "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

I have a friend, whom the Lord has blessed with a great many talents. One of those is the gift of song writing.  Two of the songs she has written, have become very close to my heart, as I grow older and learn more about the grace and mercy of God. The songs are titled, "Keeping Grace" and "Goodly Heritage." Both tell a story of being born into a home with parents that are already born again, and being raised to know the Lord, thus becoming a child of God at an early age. I am doing them very little justice really, they are tremendous songs that have touched my heart, over and over. 

I, like the author of these songs, was blessed to be born in to a Christian home, raised by Godly parents, and taught by example to serve the Lord. Thus, coming to know the Lord at an early age. I was able to hear some of the greatest preacher's while growing up. I was able to glean from many a Godly woman in my life, especially my mother.  Though I am grown now, I am still able to hear good, sound Gospel preaching at my own church, Faith Baptist. My pastor also has in other great preacher's and evangelists on occasion, so the Word of God (KJV 1611) is preached openly and without reservation, and I am blessed to hear it, and glean from it. By God's grace, I plan to continue to serve Him, and hear what He has for me, and try to be what He wants me to be, until He calls me home. 

So what's my point in all this? By God's grace, I want to grow better, more and more, every day. It is not enough to just learn what is right, you have to continue in it. You have to persevere to the end. Just as Paul is telling Timothy here to stick to the truth of the word, and it would protect him from the snares of the devil. It will keep you from being lured away. Also to remember who had taught him - - "knowing of whom thou hast learned them" - - not evil, wicked men, but men who had experienced the power of God and knew the truths they had taught him. He also reminds him - - "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures."  In order to know the things of God, you must know His Word. What a joy! What a blessing, to know the Scriptures from your childhood!!! That is when true learning begins. 

"It is a great happiness to know the certainty of the things wherein we have been instructed." 

(Matthew Henry) 

So if you have been blessed, as I, by growing up in a good, Godly home - - Be thankful. Praise the Lord for it, and CONTINUE in the things that you were taught. It is a blessing. It was by God's grace you weren't born to a drunkard, or drug addict, or even worse! Praise God that He has saved many from those places, but you and I, through NO GOODNESS OF OUR OWN were graciously spared. Like the song says, "No righteousness nor good have I, that I could glory in. Amazing grace, has kept me from, what I might have been." (words from "Keeping Grace" written by Leah Sandlin)