Psalm 40:1-3
Psalm 40:1-3 (New International Version)
1. I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2. He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3. He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
There is an old saying "If you're in a hole, stop digging" Like me a lot
of people, fall into a pit or hole they have made for themselves. People
get into relationships, drugs, bad habits, etc. when they realize where
they are it's to late. For example, me...I just started hanging out with
some bad friends...then....started smoking, just to be cool... then a
beer or two.... then marijuana...them Cocaine....then dealing
drugs....then stealing to support my habit...then jail time...the list
goes on.... I was in so deep, I couldn't make it out on my own.
Then one day I cried out to God, because I had no where to look,
but up. Jesus turned to me reached down and lifted me out of the pit I
had created for myself, he forgave my sins, took away my shame, he set
my feet on the foundation of his word and put a new song in my mouth.
Jesus gave me a new life, a new attitude, a place that was safe and
secure.
If your in a place where you feel trapped or feel like your in a
pit and feel there is no way out...take it from me there is! JESUS! If
you hear a voice, or people say that there is no way out for you, Don't
believe it! It's a lie! You can make it out no matter how far down we
are, Jut cry out to God for help. His words are true. He will rescue
you!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Matthew 5:29
Matthew 5:29 (New International Version)
29. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell.
Wow! That is a serious passage "GOUGE OUT MY EYE!"
In the movie Fireproof, Kirk Cameron's (Character) Caleb Holt
had a sin in his life, Lust. He was looking at porn on the internet.
Caleb got saved and the Lord started dealing with Caleb's heart and the
Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin. So what did Caleb do? He
"GOUGED OUT HIS EYE"! not literally but he did something that the
passage in Matthew 5:29 is talking about. Caleb took his computer
outside, took a baseball bat and smashed it and then threw it in the
garbage!
One thing I had to gouge out of my life, was my friends. I tried
to make it as a Christian, but kept hanging out with my old friends and
kept slipping back to my old habits and sins. It wasn't until I told my
friends "I can't hang out with you any more, I'm a Christian now." that
my Christian life started growing. You see, my friends all stilled
partied, got high, etc. when I was around them now matter how hard I
tried, their influence was to strong. I had to "GOUGE" them out of my
life.
A friend of mine once said " Every time I go in a Bar I want to drink"
My answer was "DON'T GO IN BARS!" Gouge Bars out of your life!
Let me ask you a question. What's in your life you need to
"GOUGE OUT"? Friends, relationships, lust, drugs, etc.? Don't worry God
will help you when you ask him. Just take the first step, like Caleb and
I did.
Later,
DJ Jackson
1 John 1:9-Forgiveness
Forgiveness
1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Have you ever messed up, sinned, made a mistake, did something or said
something you regret? I have plenty of times! Believe me!
I was taught a valuable lesson on this a few years ago... I'll never
forget.
I was a new Christian and I was really trying hard to serve God
but I messed up. I sinned. I felt so bad I could barley hold my head up.
I asked God to forgive me but didn't feel forgiveness. I went to Youth
Group that night, sit in the back felt all alone when this other kid
came up to me and said; "God wants you to know you are forgiven" WOW! I
felt so free! a smile came to my face I could lift my head up again,
didn't feel ashamed anymore.
To this day I don't know if that other kid was an Angel or if he had a
word of knowledge for me or what, all I know is how it freed me from my
sin and guilt.
Now that I have been serving God for a few more years now, I
have learned to turn to God's word for help. When I sin or mess up I
turn to 1 John 1:9 and have done so many times! Just like the kid who
told me I was forgiven God's word has power to forgive.
In Christ
Later,
DJ Jackson
James 5: 19-20
19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James closes his book with one last thought. In these two verses he sums up our responsibility as Christians, followers of Christ. So how do we save someone? What does it mean to wander from the truth? James is saying that if you or one of your friends is starting to move away from God, you need to talk with them about it. If one of your friends was about to walk in front of a bus, you'd do whatever you could to get their attention. Yet too often we let people who we call our friends run away from God and just shrug our shoulders as they go.
Is there someone in your life who needs some correction?
-Jeff-
James 4:7-10
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
If you didn't read yesterdays post, you will probably want to before reading this one.
In verse 6 God says that He gives grace to the humble, now He says that we should submit to Him. Too often as Christians we skip to the second part of verse 7, the resist the devil part, and we forget the submit part. God wants to use us to beat back the enemy. He wants to use us as a mighty army to push the devil back, but He's more interested in what happens to us than what He can get out of us, and if we won't submit to Him we'll never see Him move.
The rest of this passage is a picture of repentance, but have you ever been sorry like THAT for your sin? I remember a couple of times being in the move of God and feeling Him push on me, and crying out. Have you ever experienced sorrow like that for your sin? I fear that we've made it to easy for people to get saved. We've reduced it to this little formula, say a prayer and you're done. I think that's a good start, but if you've never made it to this next step, then you've never experienced the true freedom that God has for us.
-Jeff-
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