Meditate on this!
Most
of us do not like a confrontation. It is like seeing the snowball at
the top of the hill gathering speed and density. Nothing can be done to
get out of the way; yet for purpose and plan you stand your ground, the
hour has arrived; God is glorified and so has JOY. John 12:27-36 and Psalm 22:1-31.
During
the early days of submarine duty the boat I was on was stationed in
Spain, we swapped crews about every one hundred days. While the ship was
in port being fitted out for the next patrol at sea we would have
opportunity to go ashore and meet the local people. Most of the men went
to the attractions that sailors like most, but there were a few of us
who went to a place called Victory Villa. Yes I know that I have talked
about this Villa before, but it is worth another mention. No longer are
the Polaris Class submarines home ported in this small town called Rota,
but the area is still very active with the U.S. Navy and other branches
of the service. Ever so often I visit the Villa by internet and over
the years this outreach to the military is being very effective in
furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of the things I miss most about
those days is the close family effect of having all things common as
described in the Book of Acts. Outreaches and missions have this
framework and the evidence of Acts 4:32-37.
To some degree our local churches have lost this joy of the LORD,
Revelation 2 and 3 give us an account of all churches from the day of
Pentecost until the rapture of the church found in the very next chapter
of Revelation, Revelation 4:1-4.
James
James 1:21-27 – The Word of God is like seed and as we have said before; the Holy Bible makes many references to this truth. Luke 8:4-15 and notice Luke 8:11.
If we intend to plant the Word of God in our soul then we must be
willing to lay aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness. (Now
why would James say that we are filthy and wicked?)… Because it is true,
go look at your natural makeup in the mirror. Not a glance but a
sincere look! We have an abundance of evil lurking within our natural
mind and you very well know it.
Being
meek is not cowering and waiting for the axe to fall; meekness
understands our bankrupt condition before our Holy God. Meekness is the
bottom wrung of the ladder of repentance, the turning away of everything
that distracts us from doing the Word. If we are distracted in the
least way we will only hear the Word and we will be deceived. There are
many hearers of the Word and there are few doers. Doers of the Word of
God know who they are in Christ; hearers on the other hand forget. They
forget the cost to God for their salvation. Repentance is not forgetting
who you are, repentance is not returning too who you are.
The
law of the Living Word of God is liberty, liberty to continue being a
doer or in other words to continue to grow in faith that produces works
which is blessed of God. Religion does not provide the liberty to be
blessed of God. Religion does not go beyond the call of duty simply
because it forgets to be a doer. You may say; “I see religion feeding
the homeless and visiting the widows in their distress so what do you
mean? The motions of religion are nothing more than unrepentant people
who have forgotten who they are before God. The works that religion does
is not rewarding or blessed.
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