The Up-and-Outer

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Confession means to simply admit unfaithfulness to God through your sinful thoughts and actions; to totally agree with God’s point of view regarding your thoughts and actions as inexcusable; to humbly accept any consequences brought about by those thoughts and actions; to diligently act in renewed faithfulness toward your gracious, forgiving God.

The Son of Man majors in sinners.  He doesn’t major in sin — He majors in sinners.  But then, everybody’s a sinner, right?  Then what kind of sinner does He focus on?

Hungry ones.  Desperate ones.  And still today, Jesus gives His attention to sinners who desperately need Him to address their sin because of who they know He is.

Could it be that many of us are just too righteous for Jesus?  You know…we’re too “okay” for Jesus.  We’re part of the crowd.  We have not broken loose to go climb the sycamore tree as Zacchaeus did.  We just haven’t realized, as of yet, that unless we’re galvanized into Jesus’ mission, we’ll miss Jesus.

How hungry are you?  How bad do you want Him?  That’s what God wants to know from us.  Are you up in a tree looking for God?  Are you out of fellowship with God?  Then look no further for God is passing by and He is passing for you and me.

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  • Learning Right with Might

    “Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand” (Nehemiah 1:10).

    Nehemiah was a Jewish man who served the pagan king of Persia. Nehemiah was living proof of some of the most important leadership principals: You cannot lead if you are not willing to follow. You cannot rule if you have never served. You cannot be over if you have never been under. You cannot give unless you have received. You cannot speak to the people if you have never listened.

    Nehemiah was a man who waited patiently on God through prayer. Intercessory prayer involves waiting on God. When we wait we praise, persevere, and prepare for His ministry through us. Only those who truly wait on the Lord will truly understand the power of prayer.

    Before we attempt great things for God, we must learn to wait on God’s timing. Don’t become impatient with God’s delays for it does not mean that God is denying. God is preparing you and I through prayer which leads to waiting upon Him for greater things than we could imagine. So be like Nehemiah. Yes, he suffered as he waited upon God. But he was learning and he was living and he was loving continually His God and the people before him as he prayed.

  • Can Revival Happen?

    “Run to and fro through the streets…and see now, and know, if you can find a man…that seeketh the truth…” (Jeremiah 5:1).

    There is a great problem today as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. Many do not believe in the existence of God, or the biblical God that we serve. Also, there is not a  respect for Scripture as authoritative and lawful. There is another quandary as well, it is the problem of a guilty conscience over personal sin.

    Throughout the history of the church, there have been episodes of revival and reformation within and through the church. But upon closer observation, the people revived and the sinners converted, already had, for the most part, a belief in the evidence of God, which is described in Scripture as a respect for the authenticity and authority of Holy Scripture, as well as the presence of a guilty conscience over one’s own personal sin.

    We must turn back to the doctrines of Scripture found in the only Book that shows us who God is and what we are. We are totally depraved–mankind is not lightly sinful-we are totally, entirely sinful. We sin because we are sinners. And because of this fact every unbeliever is headed for a future damnation. Society is ignoring this truth, but more than they, the church is ignoring the warning of the Bible.

    Pleasing God is better than feeling good. Truth hurts before it heals. There is coming judgment wherein a judgment day appointed by God. The payment for sin is death–an eternity in hell, instead of heaven. May we tell and may we tell someone soon.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Gallup-Poll Faith

    “Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9).

    God works with a remnant of people who believe. Isaiah speaks of a remnant of real believers among the many with a Gallup-Poll faith. A Gallup-poll faith is a faith that is wishy-washy. It’s the total amount of people who say but do not behave. Their living contradicts their position.

    It takes the grace of God to preserve a trusting remnant among those who identify outwardly with Him. The remnant is not a super-spiritual elite looking down on others, but they do dare to live by faith in God. The rest are careful not to risk too much on Him. The difference does show.

    Jonathan Edwards describes a true Christian:

    “As he has more holy boldness, so he has less self-confidence…As he is more sure than others of deliverance from hell, so he has a greater sense that he deserves it. He is less apt than others to be shaken in faith, but more apt than others to be moved by solemn warnings, God’s frowns and calamities of others. He has the firmest comfort, but the softest heart; richer than others, but poorest of all in spirit. He is the tallest and strongest saint, but the least and tenderest child among them.”

    That beauty marks God’s true people.

  • Power in Death

    “And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry” (Matthew 17:23).

    The Lord Jesus left heaven to come to “the cross” and die. Why would he die? One reason was to break the back of Satan and to crush his head. Satan deals mischief to humanity with his lies and murders and God sent his only son to break him and to banish him to eternal hell.

    You and I are a part of this great ministry. Malachi tells us “And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 4.3). There is a coming day where we will rule with Christ and God will put down all rebellion against His Son. He will use us to occupy for Him.

    There is coming “a” day and there is “this” day in which He invites us to do His bidding. Through discipline, prayer, the study of His Word we are cultivated and nurtured daily so as to defeat Satan and his tactics in the lives of others.

    Remember the reason our Lord died. He was raised again to prove our sins are forgiven and He reigns on high to put all enemies under His feet and He has come to indwell us as to live through us so that we may be co-laborers so with Him.

    Today are we living in the power of the third day? Have we taken time to be with Jesus? Are we sharp and focused now on the power of Christ in you? Don’t grow self-indulgent, or neglect prayer, for your faith will be weakened. Stay spiritually healthy and strong in the Lord.

  • When Old Faithful Isn’t

    There was a bothersome headline a while back from the USA Today, “Old Faithful Gets Fickle.” What? The famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park was not as faithful as it once was. The 140 foot tower of steam erupted faithfully about every 66 minutes, but something was not right as the report continued.
    The eruption could be predicted for 12:11 p.m. But it didn’t occur until 12:18 p.m. The one predicted for 2:46 p.m. jumped the gun at 2:38 p.m. The problem was that underground shifts by minor earthquakes occurred, plus vandalism by visitors. The “Tommy Tourists” would come by and throw things into the geyser’s hole, from chicken bones to underwear. What?
    Most of us have had something or someone that was kind of our “Old Faithful”, but they became “Old Unpredictable.” It might have been a job that you used to have and depended upon for a long time. Or it could have been a mate that took off and left you holding air and nothing but hopelessness. Maybe it was your parents’ marriage that hurt you deeply that caused a rift for your growing up days.
    Maybe your church or your spiritual leaders have let you down and they were once your “Old Faithful.” It hurts when an “Old Faithful” isn’t anymore. It leaves us disoriented, and afraid, and even unsure of ourselves or unsure of others. Our future can seem so drear and so uncertain. But don’t let it bring you down. While others let you down, you don’t have to go down.
    Remember this for today. Jeremiah says, “I remember my afflictions and wandering, the bitterness and the gall, I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him” (Lam. 3:19).

  • What is Happening in Our Country?

    “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:24).

    How do we explain…

    1.   The massacre in a Florida High School.
    2.   A barrage of sex scandals from Hollywood to Congress to our Seminaries.
    3.   Continued attacks on Christianity.
    4.   The willing slaughter of our nation’s unborn children.
    5.   Growing distrust.  Violence.  Confusion.  Turmoil.

    Nothing that is happening in our world today — not one act of perversion or evil — is an anomaly or an accident. What we see today are symptoms of an accelerating moral and spiritual unraveling of our country and world — the natural result of a nation that has turned away from the absolute truths found in the Bible.

    The only way for change in the direction of America is the change that happens through hearts of human beings, and that catalyst is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That change must first happen to God’s people.  W.A. Criswell said it this way, “The nation cannot turn to God if I do not turn to God.  The nation cannot repent, if I do not repent.  God doesn’t win nations or companies or crowds or throngs.   He wins souls one by one.  And the only way we can lift our nation Godward is if I am moved Godward.”

    The true church can never rest and a faithful pastor’s work is never done.  We need to constantly preach to the world and to ourselves the true gospel, and strive for greater clarity and precision — not less.  By so doing, we cultivate our own spiritual growth, we protect the health of the church, and we strengthen our witness.  Salt and light is what we are to be and that is what will retard the leaven of sin.