Saturday, November 11, 2017

Acceptable In God's Sight


How orthodox must one be to be found acceptable in God's sight, with his/her name written in The Book?  This is religion.

I'm not talking about behavior, I'm talking about doctrinal beliefs.  This is definitely religion.

Jeremiah 29 verse 13 says "... you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."  Verse 14 adds "I will be found by you..."

So we see here that acceptance is not based on "correct doctrine" a.k.a. head knowledge, it is based on a searching heart, which we usually see as a soft heart and/or an open heart - at least deep down, even if there is a hard shell over it.  The Lord God can do something with an open heart.

To such a person I counsel you to seek the LORD and search the Scriptures.  Don't be in a big hurry to get "the final answer", since you will find this to be a lifestyle rather than a project.

In the gospels (the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) you will find out what a wonderful Man Jesus was while on earth.  He is the same now, and you will fall in love with Him.  This becomes a relationship with Him.

And concerning doctrine, John 16 verse 13 says He will guide you into all truth.  And I will add that this process, (guiding us into all truth), will take our whole lifetimes.  We never stop learning and He never stops drawing us, if we are open to Him.

His name is Jesus.

Larry Carroll

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Don't Compare


Recently, Pastor Don James of Bethany Church in Wyckoff, NJ shared a message he called "The Curse Of Comparisons."

http://www.bethanychurch.tv/video/counter-culture-part-1

Basically, DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS.

Where comparison begins, contentment ends.
Second Corinthians 10 verse 12 We don't dare to compare ourselves... It's a trap.

Comparing makes us feel either superior or inferior, and neither one honors God. Then we get either arrogant or jealous.

Why does this happen? Where does this come from? From the culture we live in and the god of this culture. He wants to steal our joy.

This was so good for me to hear, and hear again. It is so good for me to be reminded not to compare myself with ANYONE. Being reminded at those times when I'm starting to compare myself to someone saves me from a lot of grief.

Remember this: The Lord God has a unique path for each of us to walk.  It is totally inappropriate to compare myself to anyone else since each person has a unique path to walk in this life.  Instead, I will keep my eyes, and you keep your eyes, on the LORD.  (Yes, I know you probably don't live in a monastery or convent.  But learn to do it.)

And I'm going to add this: (especially if I'm comparing my life to what might have been "if only." If only I made better choices in the past.) Don't go there.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.