Seek First The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness

  Just a quick scroll through FB proves these words to be truth. 1Tim. 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. I can’t count how many times I have lost track of the excuses that different people use to twist scripture or to invalidate it. I know the urge to confront, argue with what they say and try to prove that they are wrong. You do this if you like but I think that it might be more productive to read and do verse 5. “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Took me a while to really understand these 2 Proverbs. Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than ...

  The more that I observe behavior the more I see that the things that we hate about others most often are the things we hate about ourselves. It is just easier to punish others than ourselves.

 2 Kings 13:14-21   Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syr...

  I Thought This morning the Pastor was preaching from 2 Kings 5 , NIV , and there were two words that stuck out to me that he read from verse 11 that Naaman said.  “ I thought ”. I sat for a few moments and meditated on how much trouble those two words have caused in my life.  I would say that all of my failures in life involve these two words.  “I thought this was a good idea”, “I thought this is what God said”, “I thought that this would be successful”, etc.  Why do I rely on, EVER, what I think instead of what God knows?  God has given us His Word and it is never wrong and it never fails. I have never failed when I slowed down, humbled myself, searched the scriptures and followed them.  Good ideas are not good enough, experience, especially other people’s experiences aren’t good enough, even a so-called prophetic word isn’t enough on its own.  Only that which can measure up with God’s Word, the Bible , brings su...

  A word and topic that isn’t spoken of much anymore, Doctrine. Doctrine-Instruction.  In a general sense, whatever is taught , knowledge. The act of teaching. Instruction and confirmation in the truths of the gospel.  Doctrine is often confused with theology. Theology-   Divinity; the science of God and divine things; or the science which teaches the existence, character and attributes of God, his laws and government, the doctrines we are to believe, and the duties we are to practice. Theology consists of two branches, natural and revealed.   Natural theology   is the knowledge we have of God from his works, by the light of nature and reason.   Revealed theology   is that which is to be learned only from revelation. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;”  John 7:16-17 Jes...

  Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: More than any time in my life I see people who claim to be Christian, and I believe many are, who are either ignorant of what God has said, ignore what God has said or try to twist what God has said. I would think that by this time in human history we would realize, and admit, that we are not smarter than God. That when God tells us something He knows what He is talking about and even more so is that He didn’t waste His time in telling us for His benefit.  Everything and I mean everything in scripture is said for our benefit.  I wonder if everyone would consider, if even for a moment, that everything God says to do or not do is because it is for our benefit? I have yet to find ANYTHING in scripture that if we do the opposite that it works out for our benefit. Going all the way back to the garden. God says don’t eat of 1 tree be...