Our Calling

Matthew 5:14 - You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

In the bible, we are called to be many things.

• Salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
• Light of the world (Matt 5:14)
• Fishers of men (Matt 5:19)

All of these things make a difference or can be shown brightly to the world. Salt was used as a preservitive to make sure things didn't go bad. So we are called to preserve this world. The the light is so that people can see the way in the dark. So we're called to lead people into God's presence. Fishers are to catch and bring in nets. So we are called to go out and witness to the masses.

These are our callings as a Christian. Examine yourselves. Do you think that you represent one of these?

Do you help preserve the lives of others?
Do you shine in the darkness?
Do you real people in for Christ?

Examine yourself, and remember your calling as a Christian. Go into all the world and preach the good news (Commandment, not a suggestion).

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

 

The Reborn

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new is come. 

The word Reborn means to be changed again. You had your first birth in life, where you were born into a sinful self, and if you have pronounced God as your Savior and are leading a life of praise, then you have been Reborn.

If you have accepted Christ and live for him, then you are a very special and unique kind of person in a group of people with the name, (what I like to call) The Reborn.

This sort of group is a person who is all out for Christ. The person who has been made new in Christ. He is a new creation. Some have accepted Christ and believe that he is real, but they have not joined The Reborn because they continue to live like they are still the person they were after their first birth. There is no change in them, and if there is, it's only for a little while. There are many false Reborns. You will find them everywhere. "Many will say, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you, away from me you evildoers.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

We see that these people who truly believed that they would make it into heaven by their works are turned away into eternity of hell. They prophesied! They cast out demons! Yet they were still thrown into the lake of fire for eternity. Why? Why did these people who followed God in their lives become a part of the death in hell?

Well, probably for many reasons. But one of the reasons is because they were not Reborn, or because they were Reborn and then slid away. In Revelation 2:4-5 it says, "Yet I have this against you, you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things which you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place." 

This verse shows that there are many who are Reborn, yet they fall away from the first love that they had with their savior. There are so many people who accept that Jesus is the Savior of their lives, but they will never come to make Jesus as Lord. They begin to break the second commandment  of the bible which says, "Do not create for yourself any graven image." Do you know what that means? It means that when people say things like, "My God is a forgiving God, and I can do what I want and ask for forgiveness later," or, "I don't think Jesus would be too upset with what I did...." They are creating for themselves a made up God.

It says in Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." God cannot be confined to humans ideas of Him. He is far more just and perfect than we can ever imagine. Yet people walk around with a fixed idea of what Jesus is like, and how many excuses He will make for their lives. Don't be caught into that mentality. When we lose our fear of the Lord, then that is a scary place to be.

Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." You want to be counted in the number of Reborn? Then change your heart and way of thinking to match the Father's. Fear the Lord. What does it mean to fear the Lord? "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." (Proverbs 8:13a)

One thing that you must always remember: To be Reborn isn't a once in your lifetime thing... To be Reborn must be a daily occurrence. "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously." (Matthew 16:24b)

Become Reborn. Follow Christ with your whole being, and accept your appointment to meet with God and learn more about him daily. I believe that if you aren't already doing this, you will become so.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

Expecting the Most

Nehemiah 5b-6: "As he opened [the scripture], all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 

How many are present? A thousand? Five thousand? More? All of the Israelites stood here silent, waiting. What are these people waiting for? The scriptures are about to be read.

It was rare for the teachings of Moses to be read in public. There weren't many copies of the teachings around, so when they did make a public appearance, the public made an appearance.

The people are silently sitting, hearts are pounding, people are wanting. Hunger for the Lord is here. People want to know what God has to say. They want the scriptures to be revealed to them, they want a meeting with the Lord. No, they don't want it... they need it. Ezra, the scripture reader stands on a platform so that all can see and hear. A man from behind Ezra brings the old scroll out to Ezra and removes it from a wrapping. The people see the word of the Lord. There it is! The beautiful parchment that will feed them spiritually. First one man stands in respect, and then another, and another. Soon, the whole crowd of Isrealites are standing in respect to the Lord. Ezra gives the scroll to the man at his right, and he begins to praise the Lord. The people of Isreal raise their hands and begin to yell "Amen! Amen!" They begin to jump around a praise God. They fall to the ground and begin to shout to the Lord, bowing face down and weeping. They are expecting a visit from the God almighty, and their hearts are now ready to hear the words of the Lord.

You might think: What is the big deal about scripture reading? They are freaking out, and the bible hadn't even been opened yet.

Well, these people came into God's presence with the right attitude. An attitude of expectation. Of hunger, of thirst for God's words. Maybe you've heard your pastor or youth pastor say that we should come to church expecting to meet with God. Well, I'd take that even a step further and say that we need to come into our scripture reading time with a expectation to meet with God. Just like these Isrealites.

What happens if we never expect anything from God? Let me put it this way. If your friends never expected anything from you. Always spent time with you with a spirit of "Well, let's get this over with", how would you feel? How would you act? Do you think those people will ever be satisfied with having a conversation with you? Do you think that they really care to come and talk to you? They probably have better things to be doing. You would feel horrible. Maybe you wouldn't want to talk to them back! But yet, this is what we do with God frequently. The alarm goes off a little early before work or school to spend time with the Lord, and we hit the snooze button 5 times until we realize that we really don't have much time or time at all with Christ.

Christians have lost their excitement for the word of God. You want a revelation? You want to learn more about God? You want a better relationship with Christ? Then come expecting. Come with hunger. Come with an attitude of praise, of wanting, of humility. The Lord will not turn you away. He will meet you if you agree to meet with him.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1- There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

The word Condemn means to: "pronounce to be guilty, sentence to punishment."

Now most of us know that Jesus came to this earth so that we would no longer be endangered of being condemned to eternity in Hell, condemned to a life of servant hood to Satan, and condemned to the grave. If we walk in the Spirit of God daily, always living our lives like we are Christs workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), And living for God's Glory (Hebrews 2:10), then we know that we can live without fear of being bound by the flesh and living apart from God.

Now here is the thing. Once many people get away from the danger of living an eternity without Christ, then they decide to forget this verse and worry about things, and live like they are taking care of themselves, and no one cares about them. I know I do this every once in a while, and it shouldn't be. We should be living as children of the light, not sinners of the dark. Once again, read Romans 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Are you in Christ Jesus? Then why do we live like we are in the flesh?

Whatever you might be going through, stress, a bad situation, a decision that is important to make, an abusive situation, something that you feel like you can't get out of... Whatever it is, you can rest assured that God hasn't forgotten you. I promise that. He always takes care of his kids. No matter what they are going through. Don't give up! Don't began to walk in the flesh. You cannot do this on your own. This situation that you feel YOU need to handle, probably can be put at God's feet.

Go before your maker and tell him about your problem. He will hear you. Not always will His answer be, "Right away!" Things may take time to develop in your life, but it will be for the best. Always remember that you are walking hand in hand with God. Repeat Romans 8:1 to yourself daily and remember that you are not condemned but walking with and in the Spirit of God.

God bless you, and continue to walk as a child of the light. You are not condemned any longer by this world. You have been made free by Christ Jesus. Go ahead, say it, "I am no longer condemned, and sin has no hold on me."

~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8

Post-Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

Thanksgiving is over. The Turkey is gone, the family has left. Now you're left with a mess of a house to clean. And work is just on the horizon. Or you have to go back to school tomorrow, and you're not ready for the break to end. People are being grumpy cause they didn't get enough sleep because they were watching the football game last night. Church is over and done with, so you know that tomorrow you have to wake up early and start back up with your regular routine. You are stressed just thinking about it. You complain about it to your family in friends. It really isn't fair though. Why can't you just have a break longer than 4 days? 

The Thanksgiving feeling that you possessed on Thursday has picked itself up in the middle of the night and is gone. What happened to the long prayer of thankfulness at Thanksgiving dinner? What happened to the feelings of being blessed? Maybe you are still being thankful, even after the holiday has ended, but what happens when the next bad thing hits? Will you still have that Thanksgiving hangover? Maybe.

People forget that this day of Thanks is suppose to last all year long. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In EVERYTHING give thanks". We have so much to be thankful for, yet we forget this as soon as the first co-worker starts slacking off, or your teacher overloads you with work. Or your family is bugging you about dumb things that could be handled properly if you just weren't so tired. Whatever the circumstances, people will come up with many excuses to excuse the fact that they are no longer thankful.

Being thankful is no easy task. It is when things are going well and we see that the glass truly is half full, but then the spark leaves so quickly when we realize that it's harder to be thankful in the tougher times than we first thought. It is hard to see the light when you're in the middle of a cave.

So what must we do to be thankful?

There was a story of a woman that I heard about just this year, and she had a very hard time being thankful for anything. So what she did was she took a journal, and every day would write five things in her life that she was thankful for. She did this for about a month and she became increasingly thankful for all that God had given her. I tried to do this very thing, and it works so well. You begin to HAVE to find things to be thankful for, even when you're not thankful for anything. You could try this with your own twist and make it your own, but just give it a try for a couple of days. Maybe you'll like it. Ask God to bless it and help you to always find things to be thankful for. He will listen and help. He loves it when his kids ask for help.

I pray that your post-thanksgiving stress is not too overwhealming and that you all learn how to be strengthened in Christ for your future walk with him. God Bless.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

How to Date Jesus

Ephesians 5:10- Find out what pleases the Lord.

Ladies: You put lipstick on, but not too much. Your perfume smells like vanilla, and your hair is down and neatly done. The dress that adorns your body is one that you rarely wear, but this is a special occasion. You're going to go out on a special date with just you and you true love. He'll be here any minute, so you quickly add a necklace to your adornments, grab your purse, and walk to the door to wait for the guy that makes your heart pump every time you see his face.

Gentlemen: You're nervous. She's beautiful. You want to just wrap her up in your arms and take her anywhere she wants to go. Her personality has a hold on you. You shave, put on her favorite cologne and slip on your deep red dress shirt. You put on your shoes and grab your car keys. She'll be waiting and that makes you even more anxious to see her.

Love is strong and something that is strongly desired. It is the cornerstone for almost all movies, music, and books in this day and age. The message that the media sells is, true love concurs all.

Sometimes, love shapes the way we live our lives. We do things like stay up late, and give up time with friends to devote it to the one we love. Love shapes our lifestyle.

What if you don't have someone to love? Well just imagine that you did, what would you act like? Grumpy? Upset? Easily angered? Probably not. You'll put your best forward for this person, because you want them to be happy. You want them to smile to laugh, to love you. So you selflessly do things for this person to make them happy.

How much more should we be doing this for Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and loves us more completely than anyone can possibly ever love us, and we don't even act like He's in the room with us. We're suppose to be putting our best forward for the one we love to see, but we don't. We confess to others that our love for Jesus is the strongest thing in the world, but we don't even act like He's there. When you love someone, you will put your best forward when in their presence. Well, we're in his presence all the time.

You can't escape Him, and you don't want to. We should be learning how to court our Lord every day. What would you do for your date?

You would study them. We should be doing the same for Christ. Study his word. Find out more of his Character. What are his likes? What are his dislikes? Write them down so that you can put the likes into practice and stay away from the dislikes.

You would talk to them A LOT. We should be doing this with Jesus. How can we get to know someone if we don't ever talk to them? We can't! Communication is the key to a relationship. Some people think that by just reading the bible is enough to have a active relationship with Christ. Think of it this way, if I were to just sit there and stare at the one I loved all day every day and never say anything to that person, would they ever know that I love them? Would they ever know anything about me? Would they ever know what I'm feeling? What I like? What I dislike? What my name is even? Well yes, Jesus does know all of those things, but don't you think he likes to be told. Just because I read your facebook and know every single fact about you, doesn't mean that I actually KNOW you.

You would love on them. Jesus loves praise too. In fact, that is what we were put on this earth to do! Glorify the Lord in all we do. If you were in a relationship and never told your partner what you liked about them, then your partner would probably have some major insecurities. Well, tell Jesus how awesome he is! Thank him for his gifts to you every day. Every breath that you breath is a gift from God. Let him know how much he means to you.

And Finally, You would live like you are in a Relationship. If you had a person that you loved, would you go off and flirt with other people? Absolutely not! Yet we do this to Jesus all the time. We flirt with the world. We go and set our eyes on other things that we have set higher than him. If you had a girlfriend/boyfriend, this would not fly. You can't live like nothing has changed in your life. Because that would hurt your partners feelings. We must live like we're in a relationship with Jesus. We talk about him, we can't get enough of him! People WILL KNOW that we are in love with him.

Live like you are madly in love with him. Because he is madly in love with you.


~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

Your Mark

2 Corinthians 1:22 – He put His mark on us to show that we are His, and he put His Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all He has promised.

When someone leaves a mark on something, that means others will be able to look at it and see that that object belongs to you. Like a brand, or logo. People will be able to see the object but they cannot take, harm or do anything to that object without your permission. That object’s ownership is yours. And you can use it the way you want to use it.

The Lord puts his mark or brand on his children. So what that means is, people will be able to look at you and know who you belong to. If people can’t see that you belong to Christ, then you are not wearing or showing off God’s mark on you.

How do we show people that God’s mark is on us? What if you’re shy? Nobody seems to care about you? You’re not outspoken, how do you learn to show off your mark? Well in that same Bible verse at the beginning it says that God will give you His Spirit as a guarantee of His mark on you. The Spirit will give you the power to showcase your mark from God. You can’t do it without him. It would be completely ludicrous to say that we need Jesus, and we need Christ, but we don’t need the Spirit. We NEED all three.

Show your mark. 

~Whatsoever Things Are True~

Philippians 4:8