My Heart -- Christ's Home

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it is a bit like opening your home up to a guest.  So the analogy of Jesus becoming an inmate of the home, really helps us to understand the importance of surrendering all of our sin, and spending time with Him every day.

   

   The first room you show Him is the living room. It's a nice cozy room with a fireplace and a comfortable sofa. He then says to you, 'Why don't we set aside some time each morning to talk and read from the Bible. And you say, that would be a great idea!  So the next day, and the next, you had this time with Him. And you really enjoyed it.

But somehow, as the burden of responsibilities pressed on you, gradually, you start shortening your time every morning, and then you would start skipping days with Him, and finally you entirely forgot about it.

And one morning, as you are rushing down the stairs to go to an appointment, you notice that Jesus is sitting in the living room.  All of sudden you realize that you have totally forgotten about your most precious guest!   You say,  'I am so sorry that I've forgotten about You! Have you been here every morning?  And he says,'Yes'.   You then feel even more ashamed.  You say, 'You have been faithful to be here every morning, but I, the host have been not been faithful in my time with you!  Will you forgive me for not having my time with you?'  And he says,'Of course I forgive you'.

  The spiritual lesson we can learn is that we will sometimes spend lots of time with our Lord, but gradually, our time with Him becomes less and less, until we forget about Him, just because of all the busyness of life! And when we forget to spend time with Him, we are being just as rude as forgetting about your guests that you had invited to your home!  How careful we must be to keep Satan from distracting us with things that aren't evil in themselves, but they tend to get us too busy to spend time with God!  This reminds me of the text in Matthew 13:22 that says,'He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.'

   It only takes a little distraction to for us to neglect our time with Jesus, because that distraction becomes bigger and bigger until we're just too busy for communion with God. 

 As soon as we neglect our time with our Savior, immediately we will become a sport of the enemy!Let us always be faithful to spend time with our Lord!

I'll write more on this subject in a future post.  :)

   

   

                            When Will the Latter Rain Come?

    I have often thought that we are just waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to just happen sometime in the end time, and its coming wouldn't have much to do with what we do.   But that's not the picture that the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy depict!
    Zechariah 10:1 says,'Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so the lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.'  And Hosea 10:12 says,'Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain righteousness upon you.'  Notice that this says we have to ask, and we have to break up our selfishness and prepare ourselves spiritually to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  The latter rain doesn't just happen without much of our cooperation.  We must be changed in our hearts so the Holy Spirit can use us in a powerful way to spread the end-time gospel.
   Read this quote from Testimonies to Ministers p. 511-512,  'The dispensation in which we are now living is to be, to those that ask, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Ask for His blessing. It is time we were more intense in our devotion.  To us is committed the arduous, but happy, glorious work of revealing Christ to those who are in darkness. We are  called  to proclaim the special truths for this time. For all this, the out pouring of the Spirit is essential. We should pray for it. The Lord expects us to ask Him.  We have not been wholehearted in this work.
  Notice that this says, NOW is the time for outpouring of the Holy Spirit!  We are not waiting for the Lord to fill us, the Lord is waiting on us!  The Lord wants us to earnestly ask for it.  He wants us to be more fervent in our devotion to God, and to surrender our entire selves to Him. Let's do that today, so Jesus can come and take us Home sooner!

                    What Are You Doing for the Master? Part 2

   We don't very often hear the topic of the Holy Spirit spoken of.   But could be our church is lacking the Holy Spirit, and that we haven't surrendered our selves, so the Holy Spirit can use us as the conduit to show Jesus to the world?  I don't mean the kind of 'outpouring' of the Spirit, where they get all hyped up, and have this emotional 'experience', and that's it.
   The outpouring of the Holy Spirit involves a lot more than that.  We must first lay self aside and ask earnestly for a changed heart, and to confess all of our grievances and and sins that we have committed against God and against each other.  And thus we can all be unified, with God and with our fellow man, so the Holy Spirit can dwell in us! So we can carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, so we can get this sinful world over with, so we can home to heaven!  We can hasten the coming of our Lord!  Matthew 24:14 says, 'This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, as a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.'  That's exactly what the disciples did in the upper room!
   Please read the following quote from the Spirit of Prophecy.  It's  pretty long, but please read it anyway.  :)            

  Review and Herald: "How can we stand  in the day of test if we do not understand the words of Christ?  He said: 'These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto You.' It is the Holy Spirit that is to bring to our remembrance the words of Christ.  The theme Christ chose to dwell upon in His last discourse to His disciples was that of the office of the Holy Spirit.  He opened before them a wide tract of truth. They were to receive His words by faith, and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was to bring all things to their remembrance. The consolation given by Christ in this promise was found in the fact that the divine influence was to be with his followers to the end. But this promise is not accepted and believed by the people today, and therefore is not cherished by them, nor is its fulfillment seen in the experience of the church. The promise of the gift of the Spirit of God, is left as a matter to be little considered by the church.  It is not impressed upon the people, and the result is only that might be expected-- spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death.  Minor matter occupy the mind and soul, but divine power which is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, which would, if possessed, bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, although it is offered to us in infinite plentitude. Just as long as the church are satisfied with small things, they are disqualified to receive the great things of God.  But why do we not hunger and thirst after the gift of the Holy Spirit, since it is the means whereby the heart may be kept pure? The Lord design that divine power shall cooperate with human effort.  It is all-essential for the Christian to understand the meaning of the promise of the Holy Spirit just prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus the second time. Talk of it, pray of it, preach concerning it; for the Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit than parents are to give good gifts to their children. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' "
     The fact that the last topic Jesus spoke of, before the cross, was the office of the Holy Spirit.  That should tell us really how important the Holy Spirit is!  When someone you love is dying, you only speak to them about the most important things.
    I am afraid that we are too occupied with small matters,  to desire with a deep longing for the power of the Holy Spirit!   We should be ashamed of this!   Don't we realize that if we ask in faith, and surrender our entire soul to Jesus, and be unified in Christ and our brothers and sisters in the faith, that we can receive the power of the Holy Spirit in its fullness?  Jesus says in Matthew 7:7-11 says, 'Ask, and it shall be given you;seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. O what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?'   
    I know that I have often been occupied with worldly things, when we should be concerned about the things that really matter, that is the salvation of souls!  Let us all pray that the Lord can use us to be a witness for Him!

                     What Are We Doing for the Lord?  Part 1

Even though I wasn't at GYC, I watched it live-streamed.  I now feel differently about what my objective in life should be.   The Lord is calling for laborers!  And what am I doing about it? Am I, are we, fulfilling the Great Commission which says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."? Matthew 28: 19-20. I have often looked at this passage, and have thought, 'Well, I don't really feel like sacrificing that much.  Aren't there other people that can do it?'  But the Lord is calling me and you.   
   It seems like we as individual churches, think, 'Well, we do need more souls in our churches, but we feel too scared to go on some outreach, because we're scared that we'll say the wrong thing.'  It seems like we as the church rely on an evangelist coming in, and kinda doing the work for us. Don't get me wrong, this is good. But we as the church should be trained to go out door to door in our communities, and ask if they want to receive Bible studies.  And then others of us, can study with each one.  Or at the very least, we can go door to door and personally invite them to an evangelistic series, and those who are willing, you can pray with them!  Or you can simply give out tracts door to door.
   But before we do this, we need to be converted ourselves in our own hearts, and pray earnestly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives and to give us the right words to say to the people we are witnessing to, and to bring conviction to the people's hearts.  In the Desire of Nations on p. 671,"The preaching of the word will be of no avail without the continual presence and aid of the Holy Spirit. This is the only effectual teacher of divine truth. Only when the truth is accompanied to the heart by the Spirit will it quicken the conscience or transform the life.  One might be able to present the letter of the word of God, he might be familiar with all its commands and promises; but unless the Holy Spirit sets home the truth, no souls will fall on the Rock and be broken. {DA p. 671:4 and p. 672}
   So we may have all the right words to say, and know how to present it just right, and have received our degree in evangelism, but without the Power of the Holy Spirit, it will avail to absolutely nothing!  So it's not so much about how much we know about evangelism, as it is about us having a close walk with our Savior and being filled with the Holy Spirit, which will give us the right words to say!
  I'll write more about the Holy Spirit and witnessing in my next post. :)

                                  Digging a Well With Sticks

This is a little known story about the children of Israel, after the serpent on the pole incident. The story is found in Numbers 21:16-18a. "And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, Well; sing ye unto it: The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves."

   Have you ever heard of people digging wells with sticks? Why certainly not! But why did Moses command them to do such a silly thing? Because, God wanted to show them, that He was the one that was going to provide them with the water; not them.  Yet, at the same time, God wanted them to do something, God provided them with the water, as they worked on digging.  

   This is the way that God wants us to be saved!  See, when we come to Jesus, we come to Him not in our own righteousness,  because in ourselves, it is impossible for us to cleanse ourselves from sin, just as those elders of Israel couldn't dig that well with some sticks! 1 Timothy 1:9 says,"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"   But at the same time, we are to show that God has wrought a change in our lives, by living according to the principles of God's Holy Law, just as the elders did start digging with their staves. 

   Those elders could have said,'Oh, if God provides us with the water, I don't need to do anything, after all, it seems so silly to dig with just some sticks!' James 3:17,22 says, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone....Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works, was faith made perfect?"   But God would not have given them the water, if they would not have shown that they had faith in what God said, by doing all in their power, to make it come to pass.    
    Also, to most people, it seems silly to forsake a pleasurable, and sinful life, in exchange for some thought of paradise called heaven.  Just as it seems so silly to dig a well with sticks.  1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
   So let us not be scared to do the Lord's Will even if it seems crazy to the rest of the world around us.  Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." 

                                Who Do We Reflect? Part II

Another lesson we can learn from water reflecting its surroundings, is that water reflects its surroundings best when the water is still. When water in a stream is flowing, it will hardly reflect anything because the water is flowing too fast. But when the current slows down, it will start reflecting its surroundings again.

  There is a spiritual lesson we can learn from this. If we get too busy and rushed in our lives, our ability to imitate our Savior will become more and more dim, until people can't see Jesus in our lives anymore!  Jesus wants to take time out of our busy lives and slow down and contemplate His Character, and spend time in prayer and in studying the Word.  Psalm 46:10a says, "Be still, and know that I am God" We will obviously grow closer to God, when we take some time out for quiet time with the Lord.
   This reminds me of the story of when Jesus went to Martha's, Mary's and Lazurus's, house.  The story is found in Luke 10:38-40, "Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." So we see from this that Martha wasn't wanting Mary to do something wrong, but she was more concerned about giving Jesus a fancy meal, rather than taking time to listen to Jesus.  So it is wrong if we can get too busy even doing good things, if that crowds out time with our Savior!
  One time, when Jesus was ministering to the people that came to Him, Jesus told His disciples to go out of the villages and rest awhile, they didn't even have enough time to eat. So, Jesus saw that they really needed to rest their bodies, and  refresh their minds as well. Mark 6:31
    So let's take some time out of our busy lives, and spend some time at the feet of Jesus.  

But this stream is moving so fast, that we can't see any reflection of anything because it is too hurried!

We see that this stream has slowed down with very little current, so as a result, it is reflecting its surroundings quite well.  

                                 Who Do We Reflect?  Part I

Water has a special ability to reflect its surroundings. I don't scientifically know why it does it (God made it that way).
  We can learn several spiritual lessons from this. In the Christian life, the water represents us, and the trees or other objects represent God or Satan. As human beings, each and everyone of us is going to imitate or reflect one side or the other: God or Satan. There is no neutral ground! Who do we reflect? Romans 6:16 says,"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness?"
   A second lesson we can learn, is that whatever we are surrounded with, we will tend to reflect it, or imitate it. So we really need to be careful with what and who we associate with!  If we spend time reading God's Word and in prayer and beholding the character of Christ, we will continue to become more and more like Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says,"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
  On the other hand, if we don't spend time with the Lord, and don't associate with Godly people, we will not reflect God anymore but Satan's way. Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."  
   May we always reflect Jesus in all that we say and do!