What would HE say?

Reading from Nov. 20, 2009
Matthew 5-7

Matthew 7:21 - 23 stood out to me

It reads,
21"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord.'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but
he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven
will enter.

22 Many
will say to Me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?"

23 And then
I will declare to them,
'I never knew you;
DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'


Here is what caught my attention:
The word 'many'
The reason the word 'many' stood out so much
is because
the word 'many'
in this particular context
has a lot to say (from my perspective)
to anyone
that names the name of Christ
&
that thinks they are a Christ follower

The word Many = means
a considerable number of people
a large number of people
the majority

In this context
Jesus says,
to the majority of the people that stand before Him at the Final Judgment
more specifically
Jesus says,
to the majority of the people that had thought all along their life
that they were Christ followers
Jesus says to them

Remember
to the MAJORITY of them

Jesus says to them
DEPART FROM ME

Meaning
that the majority of the people
that thought they were getting ready
to enter into Heaven for all eternity
Were just told they would NOT be going

WHY would Jesus say that?

Jesus says, DEPART FROM ME
because
I NEVER KNEW YOU!!!

REMEMBER
These are people
that not only thought
they knew Jesus and
were one of His followers
BUT
they gave responses ~ that actually line up with a believers life and ministry

Reread with me their responses
Matthew 7:22 reads
#1.) They called Jesus Lord
#2.) They prophesied in Jesus name
#3.) They cast out demons
&
#4.) They performed many miracles

I don't know about you
BUT
Their responses sound like
the life and ministry of Jesus' first disciples
that we read about in the New Testament

Namely ~ Peter James John not to mention Paul
I could go on . . .

So
it appears from this passage
that we
who call ourselves Christ Followers
can NO LONGER
just hold to
our thoughts
surrounding our relationship with Christ

Typically we are asked
Do you know Jesus?
Do you have a personal relationship with Him?

It appears from this passage
that we must
start taking into consideration
not just our perspective
on our relationship with Jesus
but
from this day forward
I would strongly encourage you
to start taking into consideration
Jesus' perspective
on His relationship with you

Does Jesus consider His relationship with you
to be an intimate relationship?

Would Jesus say
That He has an intimate relationship with You
or
Would HE say
I'm sorry
But, I don't know You

What would HE say?
???????????????????

Just a few thoughts

Reading from Nov. 18, 2009
Ps. 124; 2 Cor. 11-13

2 Cor. 12:15a reads ~ "I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls..."

This reminds me of Paul's extreme love for his countrymen. In an earlier statement Paul shares how if it were possible he wished that he could be accursed so that his brethren that do not know the Lord Jesus could know him.

Now that is what I call LOVE

R U willing to spend and be spent to that extent ? ? ?
For the unchurched ? ? ?

Don't forget we are talking ETERNITY here ! ! !


2 Cor. 13:3 reads ~ "since you are speaking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, . . . "
Just another reminder that God is vocal and desires to speak to you/me directly.

2 Cor. 13:5 reads ~ "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you -- unless indeed you fail the test?"
Every time I read this verse I think about the people that know me BEST, and I think about this question:
What would they say about me in relationship to this test?

Would they say ~ Yes Indeed Joey White Passes the Test?

Would they say ~ Yes Jesus Christ is Living In and Through Joey White?

What about you?

Passing On ? ?

Reading from Nov. 11, 2009

Psalm 122; 1 Corinthians 9-11

As I was reading through Psalm 122 and I Cor. 9-11

A phrase out of I Cor. 11:2 caught my eye
I Cor. 11:2 reads "I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.

The phrase that caused me to stop and think was
"... just as I passed them on to you."

In light of this verse and more specifically this phrase
several questions popped in my mind

I hope you will take time to think through these questions

QUESTION #1:
Who are you passing the Christ-like life onto?
My first thought goes to my 4 girls
that I have the privilege to share life with
each and every day

QUESTION #2:
What is it exactly that you are passing on?
I don't know about you
BUT I soooooo desire
to be more and more like Jesus each and everyday
for their sake

Taking into account that we are not perfect
and will not be on this side of Eternity

Consider also these questions:

R U sure that you are passing on an accurate picture of Jesus
or
Is it DISTORTED?

What are you doing
to ensure
that it is the most accurate
picture of Jesus that it can be?

Remember

Especially in the case of people that are younger (In age or the faith)
Those individuals that look up to you
Are very impressionable

I'm sure you already know all of this
BUT
A necessary reminder is . . .

These people catch more of who you are
by the way you
actually
live out
your life
day by day

so much more than

What you say and teach


So

R U passing on Jesus

to anybody?
If so

R U passing on JESUS

??

U Love . . . U Grow Up . . .

Reading from Nov. 10, 2009
Job 35-36; I Cor. 7-8

As I was reading today I Cor. 8 stuck out
My Life Application Study Bible added this commentary

Stronger Believer . . . Don't be proud of your maturity; don't flaunt your freedom. Act in love so you do not cause a weaker believer to stumble.

Weaker Believer . . . Although you may not feel the same freedom in some areas as in others, take your time, pray to God, but do not force others to adhere to your stipulations. You would hinder other believers by making up rules and standards for how everyone ought to behave. Make sure your convictions are based on God's Word and are not simply an expression of your opinions.

Pastors and Leaders . . . Teach correctly from God's Word, helping Christians to understand what is right and wrong in God's eyes and to see that they can have varied opinions on other issues and still be unified. Don't allow potential problems to get out of hand, causing splits and divisions.

Paul advises those who are more mature in the faith about how they must care about their brothers and sisters in Christ who have more tender consciences; those "weaker' brothers and sisters are advised concerning their growth; and pastors and leaders are instructed on how to deal with the conflicts that easily could arise between these groups.

Stronger Believer . . . U Love . . .
Weaker Believers . . . U Grow Up . . .
Pastor and Leaders . . . U, well u know what to do . . . right?

Basically

we
need
2
ALL

L
O
V
E

as
we
R
Growing
N
Christ

Enjoy Your Day

What's My Next Step?

Reading from Nov. 4, 2009

Job 26-27; Mark 15-16
As I was reading through Mark 15
The very first verse caught my attention
More Specifically the phrase
The religious leaders - met to discuss their next step

I realize that this passage has a certain context

However

The thing that grabbed me was their intentionality

"They met to discuss their next step"

When it comes to you
&
your next step

Your Health - Physically; Mentally; Spiritually
Your Relationships - Spouse; Kids; Parents; Siblings
Your Finances
Your Dreams
Your __________

Have you met with The Lord
and asked Him
for His next step
for you in any of these areas?

If not, why not?

If so, what did He say?
If so, are you
following through
on what He said?

If not, what is holding you back?

Your Heavenly Father
Knows you
&
He Knows what your next step should be

Why not ask Him?
It's as simple as this

Father, what's my next step?

Wasn't that easy?

So, what did He say?

Look forward to hearing what Dad had to say to you

Only When

Reading from Nov. 3, 2009
Job 25; Mark 13-14

As I was reading through Mark 13
Verse 11 jumped out at me

Reading from the New Living Translation
Verse 11 reads like this
"...don't worry about what to say, . . Just say what God tells you to."

I realize that this verse is found within a certain context
&
I know that Jesus was not implying that we should not study

However

In light of Pastor Jim's new sermon series

I couldn't help but think about

ACTUALLY
LIVING
THIS OUT
DAILY

To only speak the words that are given to you from God

Among other things:
This reminds me of the saying
That God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth
To listen twice as much as we speak

I don't know about you
but
Being a talker
I would be hard pressed
and would have to make a choice
to exercise extreme self-control
in order to pull this off

To speak only when spoken to by God

Think about that

I mean really think about it

To speak
ONLY
When spoken to by God

(Please remember I am not saying
that starting today you need to
ignore people that engage in conversation with you.)

All I'm challenging you to do is
To just try it out

When someone ask you a question
Before you just blurt out an answer
Why not intentionally listen
to see if God might have anything to say
something through you

Let me know how it goes