One Of The Easiest and Hardest Things Christians Can Do

Matthew 7:1-5 English Standard Version

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

This teaching Jesus taught us is often quoted, depending on your translation it may read “plank” instead of log.

This is a very good (and some what humorous) illustration Jesus uses to teach us to work on our own sin and faults before we attempt to point out others.

The truth is a log or a plank blinds you and is obvious to others. It is easy for us to not even see our own sin and faults because we are not only blinded but the little we do see is others and unless we can see our own reflection.

This is why we must be self aware of our actions in order that we do not fall into hypocrisy.

Now of course that doesn’t mean we can’t talk to others about their sins or faults but it does mean we can’t make them our main focus.

We must work on our own sins and unrighteousness. We must go to God in repentance.

One of the Easiest things a Christian can do is only focus on others sins and faults, in that case it is not up to you and you do not have to change anything. You just tell the other person what they need to do and that’s that. Many choose to do this and boy is it easy.

One of the hardest things a Christian can do is to focus on their own sins and faults. In this case it is up to you, you have to change. But the good news is its not ALL up to you. God can help you. But we have to take up our cross and follow Him. We must crucify the flesh and we must let go of what needs to be let go of.

Remember if you do wish to talk to others about their issues no one will listen to the hypocrite with the log in their eye. Remove it or at least show the person that you’re aware it exists and are trying to remove it.

Be humble, submit to the Lord and be a servant of God.

Do what is hard and not what is easy.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A1-5&version=ESV

Daily Scripture Reading Plan:
Monday – Proverbs 31:10-31

Tuesday – Psalm 98:1-5

Wednesday – James 3:13-4:8

Thursday – Mark 9:30-37

The Importance of Rest II

Labor Day was just last week a day designed for the worker to have a day of rest and be celebrated. Unfortunately now a days it seems like most or at least too many are not given that day off. Quite the contrary actually many stores and businesses say it is one of their busiest days or weekends of the year.

Two years ago I wrote a blog called, “The Importance of Rest”. Unfortunately I feel that things have gotten worse in the world when it comes to rest and not better. I know for me personally I continue to struggle with recognizing the importance of rest. This past week I went to bed later and later and woke up earlier and earlier. Not good. By the end of the week I felt sick every time I returned from work due to the lack of sleep.

Luckily I have been resting well this weekend and been able to get better.

A lot of us were forced to take a rest this year for an extended period of time but for most the stress of their jobs, finances or a desire to just keep busy kept them from resting and they were more tired than ever despite being stuck at home.

I said this in my previous blog on this subject, I can’t begin to tell you the importance of rest.

It is true.

We know we are not greater than God and yet God chose to rest and told us to do the same.

You need to rest, so do so not because anyone else tells you but because God tells you to.

So rest in the arms of the Lord and Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

PS-Here is a link to Bible verses on rest.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/rest-bible-verses/

When Someone Mocks God

I did it again.

I was reading a sad news story and decided to do the unwise thing of looking through the comment section. And naturally there began a chain comment mocking God.

This time it was an attack on prayer. The person said, “Instead of praying, why don’t you do something that works?”

A foolish statement.

I thank the Lord that He granted me the wisdom and the maturity not to respond. He helped me not to get upset and respond to this man’s comment. This man was trying to hurt believers and get them angry but instead of that he actually received many replies from Christians who did not respond with anger but instead corrected him with love. Hopefully some see the loving replies he received and realize the Light that comes from Christianity when someone tries to be hateful and dark.

When it comes to his effect on me he ended up inspiring me to write this blog so it appears his comments have done the opposite of what he intended.

One mistake people make is they act as if prayer is an “instead of” option. If a fire breaks out no Christian is saying pray only and don’t send the firemen. We are praying for the fireman and the victims of the fire. We are praying for strength, protection, comfort and guidance. We are praying to the Lord for help.

It’s a silly thing to mock, besides I’ve never heard someone say in response, “Thank you for mocking those who prayed.”

Instead you hear, “Thank you for all the thoughts, kind words and prayers.”

Prayers uplift a person, telling someone they’re being prayed for shows that people out there care.

So why do these people mock prayer?

Because if God isn’t guiding their heart, satan is, he knows the power of prayer and wants the believer to stop it and give up a crucial part of our relationship with God.

Truth is there wasn’t much of a point for me to respond to that man, he had taken it upon himself to ridicule those who did respond to him. In this moment his heart and mind are made up he was enjoying mocking Christians and God. Our brothers and sisters had planted a seed in his brain but by his own free will he rejects God and refuses to open his mind and heart to the Lord. Sadly he and others like him think these thoughts are their own but truth is they come from satan and they’re being used by him.

The skeptic presents an argument where they attack the effectiveness of prayer but no believer has a chance to win that argument. Because the skeptic has placed unreasonable demands on the believer.. They refuse to believe the testimony of the believer but they themselves cannot test the power of prayer because they lack faith, so therefore the argument by human standards in unwinnable. That doesn’t mean you should give up, talk to them and share your story, treat them with love. The argument possibly could be a pointless endeavor but your story is not.

God knows your story and wants you to tell it, He loves you and sees what you’re trying to do. Keep up the good work.

Now the skeptic may also bring up a time in which they did pray and the prayer supposedly wasn’t answered. But the truth is ALL prayers are answered. But sometimes the answer is “no” or maybe even “not yet.”

Just because you did not get what you asked for doesn’t mean your prayer was unanswered.

God is our Father and just like any good parent He doesn’t give His children everything they want.

God knows what is best and that is why we pray by God’s will not our own.

So that leads to the question what do you do with a person who mocks God and rejects the Gospel? Someone who refuses to have an open conversation and talk with you?

You do what they mock, you pray.

You pray and continue to be the light in the darkness.

Who knows that person might accept the Lord into their heart and they could be praying for you someday.

Wouldn’t that be something?

So how do we end this entry? What better way than the Lord’s Prayer…

Matthew 6:9-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

“9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

[a]For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

Sources:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A9-13&version=NKJV

Look Again

We as human beings try to do the right thing by our standards. I often think about how I could help more and what I would do or should do if I encounter someone in need, I tell myself I would try my best to fill that need.

I was reminded recently that God knows what is best and what is needed not us.

Here’s what happened the other day, I left the grocery store and I saw a homeless man sitting on the side walk with nothing but a few bags beside him. His head was hanging sadly.

My mind immediately began to race about what to do. Do I give him money? Some of my food? Ask him what needs? All these thoughts were racing through my mind.

I decided to ask God.

I could hear the words, “Pray.”

I did exactly that. I prayed for his needs to be met. But then of course that didn’t seem good enough so I asked God, “Okay, now what?”

I heard, “Now get in the car and drive away”.

I got in my car went to drive but then thought this can’t be right, I have food, some spare cash, I could supply him with something.

Then I heard, “Look again”.

So I did and I saw him differently than I had originally.

The man had four full bags next to, his backpack was also full and his head wasn’t hanging in sadness but instead he was asleep.

The man’s current need was sleep.

If I had approached him to try and meet what I thought he needed then I would have been interfering with what he actually needed.

God knows our needs.

Trust in Him.

He will provide for you and others.

Have a Blessed Week,

Chris

Grace is a Gift

Well with us being close to a week into the New Year and today being the Epiphany the holiday season is officially over.

This week I’ve decided to write about something I struggle with and that is my struggle with grace and being too hard on myself.

It’s very important not to hold yourself to higher standards than God.

He has given you grace as a gift. It doesn’t come with a gift receipt. Don’t try to return it. Accept it.

If you make a mistake, call out to the Lord, ask for forgiveness and focus on the solution not the problem.

God is the solution.

He can and will get you through whatever you’re going through.

When you mess up remember, He forgives you, so forgive yourself.

God is greater than all, He knows what is best. I’ll say it again don’t hold yourself to a higher standard than God does.

Before I had a strong relationship with the Lord I found myself feeling immensely guilty when I would sin. I would feel so terrible and put so much pressure on myself that I would feel sick from being so hard on myself. I would then abandon having a relationship with the Lord. I would stop reading the Bible and lose focus on the Lord.

This of course just led to more sin and unhappiness.

It was only when I truly gave myself to the Lord that I was able to see His grace and allow Him to do His work through me.

My entire life has changed since then and I truly have been able to change.

All thanks and praise to God.

If God is choosing not to punish you, don’t punish yourself.

There may be consequences on Earth for your sin, if they’re trust in God’s will and accept it. But remember ultimately you are forgiven by His grace.

The ultimate punishment you can bestow upon yourself is keeping yourself from God.

Go to Him humbly and let Him change you.

Remember…

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I can do all things through ^[a]Christ who strengthens me.

Have a Blessed Week,
Chris

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A13&version=NKJV

New Year’s

Hello, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

 

Anyone else feel 2019 has just flown by? I know it seems that way for me.

 

As we reflect on all that has occurred over the last year, let’s make sure to thank God for all His blessings He has given us. He has been with us through the good and bad moments, the trials and the victories. He has been with us through it all.

 

I know many of us make New Year’s Resolutions but one amazing thing about God is you don’t need a new year or a new month or a new week or even a new day. With the Lord you just need a new moment.

 

Give yourself over to God, He can change your life today.

 

Have a Blessed Week and a Happy New Year!

 

-Chris.

 

PS-If you could keep my family and I in your prayers I’d appreciate it. My older brother, his child and girlfriend are dealing with stomach flu, while my side are dealing with a cold.

Sin Is Like Time

(Note: I have to give all credit to God on this entry, this one comes straight from Him.)

One day while running late to work, I began to feel guilty and since I had woken up early, a bit shocked as to how this could have happened.

I heard the Lord say this to me…

When it comes to time you have to be careful. When you think you have leeway you begin to make mistakes. You allow yourself to get distracted, focus on unnecessary tasks and before you know it those small things turn into a big problem. 

As it is with time it is also with sin. 

I didn’t understand so I asked for more detail and I heard…

Just like with time, sin can creep up on you. You think you have nothing to fear and you make a mistake or do something you would consider a “small” sin but the truth is there is no small sin. All sins are sins. What you may consider a “small” sin just leads to more sin. 

You continue to sin and before you know it a big consequence has occurred because of your first “small” sin. 

So as it is with time it is also with sin. 

I thank the Lord for giving me that message filled with so much truth.

Another connection when it comes to sin and time is the fact you can’t make up for either. What I mean by that is you can’t go back and change time or your sins. All you can do is focus on the now.

That is why you must go to the One who is above time and can you forgive you of all your sins.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Have a Blessed Week,

Chris

Drowning in Guilt

How often do we let ourselves become overwhelmed with guilt for our past sins? Or feel grief because we fall short and sin even after becoming a Christian?

Guilt is good because it shows that you love God and want to strive for better but if we constantly remind ourselves of our sins we are allowing the sin to win.

You need to repentant and move forward. Repentance in the Bible actually means to change your mind, you can’t change your mind if your mind is still focused on your sin.

Remember satan will get into your head and tempt you. If you fail to be on guard you can fall into sin again but if that happens satan will be there to remind you of what you just did, he will tempt you then ridicule you for listening to him.

Don’t give in to him twice.

If you do what ends up happening is we drown ourselves in guilt. We drown our spirit with negativity and we lose focus on God.

Change your ways focus on what you can do now, you can’t change the past but you can change your future, keep fighting.

Remember Jesus died for our sins and we have the grace of God. It is a precious gift we must hold onto.

The first people to sin were Adam and Eve and they tried to run away from God, He found them.

Don’t run away from Him in your sin, run to Him!

Remember the Prodigal Son, God like the Father in the story will be waiting for you with open arms because He loves you.

If you do run from God and continue to feel guilty, you are more likely to fall back into the sin for comfort.

Let God comfort you, not the sin.

God is greater than yourself, if He forgives you than you can forgive yourself.

The Bible instructs us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we can’t do that if we loathe ourselves. We will loathe our neighbors as we loathe ourselves.

It has been proven that people tend to get angry with others who possess the same flaws that they hate about themselves.

Don’t resent yourself, you will resent others just the same.

Love yourself as God loves you.

Have a blessed week,
Chris

Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving time, a perfect time to reflect and be thankful for what God has given us, family, love, finances, forgiveness, salvation, so many things.

Take the time and think about it and pretty much everything you have can be credited to the Lord.

The blessings from God I have received are endless, from my family, the good times and bad, He is always there to provide for my wife and I.

Thank you God.

Have a blessed week,
Chris

Here is a link to some Bible verses that are great for Thanksgiving.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/thanksgiving-bible-verses/
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Isaiah 53: The Forbidden Chapter

This week I am not writing much in my blog post but instead choosing to let the Word of God speak. This post is geared towards Jews who have not read or have been told to ignore Isaiah 53 and also anyone else who has not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Read this and tell me if anyone comes to mind

“Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression^[a] and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.^[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes^[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life^[d] and be satisfied^[e];
by his knowledge^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+53&version=NIV

This happened to only one man on Earth, Yeshua (Jesus).

Watch this video about the Forbidden Chapter:

Also check out the videos of many Jewish people’s testimonies of coming to Jesus. Listen to their stories maybe they seem similar to yours.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQDc5idYQE2T6IYKT3bUN7A

https://www.oneforisrael.org