As I was listening to the Bible on my ipod yesterday, a verse really stood out to me.  I was in 2 Chronicles 12.  It is talking about King Rehoboam.  Chapter 12 starts out telling how King Rehoboam started out well.  By the 4th year of his reign he was fimly established as King and then he abandoned the law of God (12:1).  Because he was unfaithful to God, God sent the King of Egypt to attack Rehoboam and Jerusalem.  In verse 5 we see the Lord telling Rehoboam "You have abandoned me; therefore, I will abandon you to Shishak (King of Egypt)." 

Then Rehaboam and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves before the Lord.  When God saw them humble themselves, He said He would not destroy them.  However, He was going to allow them to be under Shishak's reign for awhile so they would know the difference between serving Kings of other land and serving God.  So what we see is Rehaboam fall away from God.  When he fell away, Israel fell away and God punished them.  Just like we do with our children and God still does with us.  God allowed them to "lie in the bed they made."  He allowed them to expereince the natural consequences of their sin.  He will do that with us as well.  When we sin and repent, God forgives us, but we still live with the natural consequences of our sin.

Verse 12 goes on to tell us because Rehaboam humbled himself, God's anger turned from him and he was not totally destroyed.  God is a just and Holy God who hates sin, He is also merciful and forgiving and will forgive us of our sin if we repent.  By repent, I mean, stop doing the sin (turn from it and turn to God) and ask God to forgive you.  He is faithful to forgive, however, there may be consequences to live with.  Rehaboam was not destroyed and there was even some good that came out of his reign verse 12 tells us, but I believe He missed out on God's best for him and here's why.

2 Chronicles 12:14 is what stood out to me the most as I listened to these verses.  "He did evil because he had not set his heart on God."  Rehaboam did not make an active decision to serve God daily, hourly, and minutely.  He did not totally abandon God and tried to keep most of His laws, however he wasn't sold out to God.  He did not pray and seek God with all his heart.  He didn't grossly forsake the law of God as he had done in his 4th year, but he also did not seek to have a relationship with God either. 

I honestly believe that is how many Christians are today.  They are good people and try to do what is right, but they don't seek God with all their heart.  They do not have an intimate love relationship with Him praying and reading His word daily.  They are not set on seeking God and sold out to him, so for the most part they have ho-hum, so-so lives.  Not really doing any harm, but also not making much of a difference or leaving much of a legacy. 

When we don't have an intimate love relationship with our Creator, we miss out on His best for us.  You have to make up your mind to serve Him, love Him, and seek Him daily.  Then we can have a life with joy, peace, and abundance.  Jesus says in John 15:9-11, obey my commands, remain in my love and your joy will be complete.

We have to stop riding the fence and choose to serve, love, and remain in God daily.  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.  Set your heart on it.

Staying the narrow path, have a blessed week.

I received the following in an email today and had to post it.  I couldn't have said it better myself.

"Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a
church in Houston, Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to
ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he
discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You' d better give
the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh,
forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount?

Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it.
Accept it as 'a gift from God' and keep quiet.'

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed
the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change.'

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?
I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just
wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see
you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the
nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a
quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary
example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us
to the test! Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of
Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian'.

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become
actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits, they
become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."  Author Unknown

Staying the Narrow Path, have a blessed day.

Living Lives Set Apart

Most of us know that God has called Christians to live lives set apart. He tells us to live in the world but not be of the world. I think many of us have forgotten that or maybe don't realize fully what that means. Statistics tend to back this up. Christians get divorced at the same rate as the rest of the world, they drink the same alcohol, they use the same language, they watch the same tv shows and movies, and share in the same gossip. We are living the same lives as the rest of the world. We are afraid to be different. We are afraid to stand out and possibly be labeled as weird or "holier than thou". We have bought into Satan's lie that it is a bad thing to be different than everyone else. The reason Satan wants us to believe that lie is because he knows that when Christians live lives set apart they become great witnesses for the cause of Christ. You are the only Bible that some people will ever read and if your words are written the same as theirs then they see no reason to turn to Jesus.

We often think that it is hard to live a life set apart for Christ, the Bible does say the path is narrow. I discovered these verses though as I was reading through proverbs and discovered that it's not as hard as we make it to be.
Proverbs 4:18 "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."

The path may be narrow but it is shining brighter than the full light of day and easy to see. Just like the headlights of your car keep you on the street at night. God's path is full of light to keep you on it.

How do we stay on God's path? Proverbs 4:20-24 tells us.
" My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;  for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.  Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil "

We stay on the right path with lives set apart by:
1. reading God's word and heeding God's word ("My Son pay attention to what I say")
2. Keeping God's word on our mind constantly and memorizing it ("Do not let them -God's
words- out of your sight, keep them in your heart")
3. Guard your heart - keep out the garbage (ie. rated R movies, trashy television shows,
trashy music, bad interenet sites etc)
4. Keep your tongue in check - I think this is probably the most difficult and takes the most
diligence and prayer on our part to do. (No gossip- even if it is true- no foul language, no
yelling at spouse or children etc)
5. Keep your eyes on the path and the goal (The goal is to live Godly lives just like Christ - to
be Christlike) and do not swerve left or right (Consciously make decisions that will keep you
on the path- when you feel God's conviction that you are about to step over the line step
back)
Just like you make choice to keep your car on the road and you steer it on the path, you must do the same with your life. If you keep going in the ditch on the curve, that means you need to slow down and make deliberate actions to stay on the road. If you struggle constantly to stay on the path, pray for God to help you, because He will.

Just remember trying to live a Godly life will not save you it is the fruit of your salvation. Jesus said in John 14:21 that loving God means obeying his commands. It also says in Ephesians 2:8-10 we are saved by grace and not by our works.  In order to go to heaven, you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  If you don't have one, or don't know what I am talking about, email me.

Staying the Narrow Path, have a blessed week.