Monday, March 19, 2007

Study Time w/ Lena's Journalin' to Luke Chapter 12 Today. Is youyr faith in God genuine faith that is tried and in demonstration today?

WOW!
Is your faith true? Has it been tried and proven by circumstances? Does it stay even when challenged? Is it evident to others, a faith that is demonstrated outwardly for others to see the fruits of? Or when they look at your life, especially those closest to you, would they say you are at all in any way like He is? (Christian means Christ-like)
Every belief system will be challenged by pain, suffering, circumstance, mockery & debate. Only the faith that remains, was ever a faith at all.
Listen, this is HUGE, the suffering, whatever type, whether physical or emotional, is only temporary. It is a test to see if one knows their faith is not based on a natural kingdom. Threats against someone’s life and soul are sent for the purpose of seeing where our faith is at. If the body here on earth is threatened by disease, or torture, if the mind is made to be challenged or upset, does the person still believe in Jesus for eternity? Is that faith everlasting, enduring through all to the end? Or is it only based upon present successes and blessings? When the happiness or blessings are not presently felt, does one give up their faith?
There is one who can kill the physical body, but there is One who can destroy the eternal soul. Everyone has a time on earth, no one but God knows how long that time is and how one will be taken away from that time.
Is God the Maker of me, the Creator of the whole universe, the One who is All powerful, need to be on trial with me? Is He in a time of proving, that I may count Him worthy of my praise? Am I checking to see if He’s gonna do what I want, and do it my way, and if He doesn’t do it my way, is there a consideration at all that I may not stay with Him, love Him or serve with Him now and forever?
That may seem a silly question, BUT is it? This is how we behave. It is what Christians seem to be doing, proving if God is even real to them.
Be very careful that, “putting God on trail” thinking, is very dangerous business!
In Isaiah 14, Lucifer, a very high ranking angelic being, who was continuously in the presence of the Lord, tried to stand in God’s place, even exalt himself above God’s place. He wanted he and God, to change places. He said that in his heart, then as soon as that thought crossed that chasm of mind/heart and came out the mouth, he was cast down to earth in a tragic catastrophic moment. That makes me wonder who we think we are when we entertain such thoughts taught to us by the god of this lower world, the old self exalting Lucifer? He was made a god alright, given rule by man who gave him place and rule. If we do not acknowledge, trust/rely on, and serve, God Most High, the only other we do worship, is this made lower, god.
If God is God, serve Him, if not, then it is already determined by our lack of decisiveness, we are already serving him (little “h”).
Those who decide for God, will follow Him in all His ways. They will allow Him to tell them where to walk and how, for they want to be guides on the road to eternal life. There is no question that He is God, of them and all others, no question what their place is here, as His dedicated servants and sons.
This is strongly written. People need to be alerted to the deceptions of satan who is after their very souls. Take a hard word, if it is hard, apply it and live!
Life is not measured by how much you work or how much you are worth by what you own from working better than others may be able to earn and show for their life’s labors. People build bigger barns and have parties to host people and show what has been built by their efforts, they get pleasure in how much they are blessed in their labors, but the true labor that is blessed by God, is the one who gives of his life for the kingdom of God and does not need to feel secure with more of the things in this life.
Money takes time to make, time =’s life spent on whatever. When we go to the store and buy something, we are cashing in our time for the things we buy. We are saying my life has been valued at this price. This thing I’m spending my money on is worth this much time to me. Some have to spend more time than others for the same amount of cash. The less time spent for a higher amount of money somehow sets value for that specific person.
So what we spend time on, is representative of the value we put on things. What we spend our lives on now are measurements in an eternal bank account with God, saved or unsaved, what are we spending our life on? We spend it how we want to, and it will be shown us, and all of the universe, on judgment day what was truly important to us.
Is/was God important to us? Was our family, was church, our places of worship and equipping important to us, personally? How much importance was placed on building God’s kingdom while we lived on earth? How did we show it with the spending of our time or money? If our money speaks to God and others of what is important to us, what would be said?
What do we live with and for, things or people? Things don’t talk back, disagree, or challenge, people do? Did God design us to live to never be challenged or changed? Nope, a thing will never serve God well in doing that.
One may like to think they have and do serve God while they sit alone in a house of things old and new, but who is sitting in that house with them, being taught by example the words of eternal life? Who wants to visit that household, because they see Him there and experience His great love?
Do we trust God enough to risk our own tranquility, do we trust Him enough to be agitated and upset in our wrong thinking and make willing changes? Are we willing to pay the price it takes to give up our determined way of living to love people? If we do not, we cannot say we love Him. The love of God, the love He will measure us by, is by His own measure and definition, not ours.
Everything we do, is our chance to express our levels of trust in God and our opportunities to follow His ways above our own, in demonstration of who is King and Lord to us personally. Trust is a big issue, and all of life centers around it. Are we making ourselves feel secure? Or finding our security in Him, rather than the measure of the success of living to get more and more things?
Ever notice people making more money, yet not having more? Ever notice the money seeming to leak out? It is a result, of the sowing and reaping principle. If we give into the eternal, we’ll have what we really need, which is a right relationship with God and His will. If we give only to ourselves, we will always lack in every area.
We have to know how the enemy appears to us to steal away our true faith. If we do not recognize him or his tactics and strategies against us, we will allow him to come into our lives, homes, businesses, churches, relationships and wreck havoc on us. You have to recognize him, even in disguise, that you may disallow him from having any place in stealing away your future security with God.
Earth is the place God has set us up to believe in Him and live for Him. We are tested and tried to see if our faith in Him is eternally genuine. We’re here to study for, and apply ourselves to the test. Only he who studies, applies the principle of the studies to the test of his life, and stays till the end, will be saved. Really.
The gospel message, must be demonstrated at all costs.
We must not be contentious, but we must live for truth, we must not compromise our faith for what will not last.
Even relationships. The only relationships that will last are those set in Him. This is what one must live and breathe here for a deeper relationship with Him and trust Him enough to be willing to demonstrate it to others, daily.