Oceans will part when you trust God

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Do you live a good Christian life?

Pastor_Abuse_Allega_681456l[1]

Every good Christian dream of the day when you stand before Jesus Christ and hear Him say, “Welcome to my Fathers’ Kingdom, thou good and faithful servant. Unfortunately, not every so-called good Christian will see their dream turn into reality. As a matter of fact, Jesus, in one of His discourses made it clear, “Not every one that says unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). That begs the question. Is living a good Christian life enough to get you into heaven?

Anyone can seem to live a good Christian life, until the truth comes out.  The Scribes and Pharisees appeared good until Jesus exposed them for what they were; hypocrites. In one, instance, He referred to them as: “You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26). This pious group was more concerned about outward appearance than they were about the heart.

Unlike the Biblical Scribes and Pharisees, we Christians, must not only seem to live a good Christian life, but our hearts, words and actions must be in sync with the teachings of Jesus Christ. In other words, we must practice what we preach in public and in private. “For I say to you, this is Jesus talking, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:21). The blue print for a good Christian life can be found in Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount‘. (Read Matthew 5,6,7)

Do you always attempt to prove a wrong?

EP63013PC018

Who among us have never tried to prove a wrong? Whether it was something which you have said that hurt somebody‘s feelings, or your downright failure to honor a commitment as well as disobeying a command.

Such behavior is common among human beings; Christian and secular. Rather than fess up and accept responsibility for your action or inaction you put up defenses. Then, when, you are backed into a corner you come up with excuses that usually make no sense. Oddly enough, once you start making excuses you are inclined to lie. The Bible tells us “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22).

Do you remember when you were a child how you would try to prove a wrong to wiggle your way out of trouble? That was what Adam and Eve did after they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Here is what the Bible says happened when God confronted both man and woman.

Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Then Adam replied, “I have heard thy voice in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman whom you gave me offered me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this that thou has done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Genesis 3:9-13).

So, my dear brothers and sisters, the next time the adversary tempt you to prove a wrong fess up and accept responsibility because that is what Jesus expects you to do.

Rich, young and pretty.

Image via photobucket

Image via http://www.modemmom.com

Image via hellomagazine.com

Image via http://www.billboard.com

No reasonable person will deny that the women pictured above are, ‘Rich, young and beautiful. And while nothing is wrong with the combination, without Jesus those women are nothing. God does not look at physical appearance and worldly possession. He looks at the heart.

Incidentally, “Young Rich And Beautiful”, is the title of a 1951 Musical I have stumbled upon recently. The title grabbed my attention, and I immediately thought about the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-25.

And as [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, but One, that is God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became extremely sorrowful, for he was extraordinarily rich.

And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”