Stew and Park were very happy when they finished carpentry school. They were ready to be

expert builders. In the summer after their graduation, they both got jobs with a very good

building firm. They each were given a project to complete and were very excited. They each

took their tools to the construction site and looked at the plans for their buildings. Stew studied

the plans carefully and prepared a list of materials. When they arrived, he started to work

carefully following the plan and keeping a detailed list of materials he used and time he spent

on every aspect of the project. Stew worked hard ten hours everyday, but always took time to

rest and refresh himself daily.

Park was very anxious to get started. Instead of making a detailed materials list, he ordered

large quantities of the things he thought he might need. After reviewing the plans, he made

several “improvements”, knowing his new employer would be happy with the initiative he

showed. He even changed the location of the building fifty yards further south because the

land was more level and offered a better view. Park often spied on Stew’s progress, laughing to

himself at how slowly he was getting things done. He also thought it was a waste of time to

keep such careful records. After all, he thought “my employer will be so happy with my

building he won’t even care about record keeping.” Park worked twelve to fourteen hours

everyday. You never know, he thought, when the employer might arrive. Park wanted to be far

ahead of Stew when he came. He didn’t waste time putting small pieces of wood together. He

would always cut from a full sheet, even if it left a lot of waste.

Stew was making regular progress, checking and double checking the plan and the

measurements so everything would be just right and very little would be wasted. He paid no

attention to Park. His only concern was making sure he carried out his employer’s wishes and

making the best use of all the employer’s resources.

The day finally came. The employer was coming. Stew and Park were both very excited.

Stew kept working as he was, but Park was frantically trying to get every little detail finished.

Park knew the employer would be very pleased with his building and all he had gotten done.

He even felt sorry for Stew, figuring he would probably get demoted or fired. Park knew he

would be getting a promotion. After all, he had done much more than Stew. His building was

much larger and better looking.

The employer went to Stew first. Stew approached him very respectfully, shook his hand,

showed him the ledger and then the building he made, which was exactly as the employer had

wanted it built. The employer was very happy with Stew. He gave him a raise and

immediately put him in charge of his biggest projects. When Park saw how generous his

employer was, he was sure great things were coming his way.

Park quickly walked up to his employer, looked him in the eye, shook his hand and patted

him on the back, as if they had been close friends for years. Park was absolutely beaming. He

had a big smile on his face and could not wait to see how pleased the employer would be with

all he had done. The employer looked around in astonishment! What have you done! This

building cost twice as much to build as it should have, and because of the changes you made, it

will never be suitable for its intended purpose. Not only that, but you built it fifty yards too far

south. It is in the flood plain; in the spring, the runoff will wash it away.

You stole from me, you did not carry out my instructions and you wasted my resources.

Instead of getting promoted, he was sent to jail.

Is your building useful for God, or are you doing what seems best to you? “ In those days

Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.” [Judges 7:16 NET] If

God is not the King of our lives, we will all move in different directions and become useless to

God and each other.

We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field,

God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like

a skilled masterbuilder

I laid a foundation, but someone else

builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. For

no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid,

which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with

gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each

builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it

clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test

what kind of work each has done. If what someone has built

survives, he will receive a reward. If someone’s work is burned

up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as

through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:915

NET

We can work very hard in this life, but if we are not following The Master’s plan, all of our

works can be burned up. “For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ

Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.” [Ephesians

2:10 NET] God has prepared works in advance for us to do. We must do His Good Works.

Very often we try to improve on God’s plan; but when we do, we accomplish nothing good for

Him.

“ The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as

Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For he says, ‘See

that you make everything according to the design shown to you on the mountain’.”

[Hebrews 8:5 NET] We are God’s Tabernacle (Temple) because God, through Christ, dwells in

us. We must be careful to do everything according to The Master’s plan.

To The Glory Of God

Darkness cannot be added. Darkness is the absence of light. The light of a candle can be

seen from five miles away on a clear moonless night. People in the military are warned that the

light from a cigarette can be seen from a mile away. When I was working the night shift, it

took great effort to keep the light out of the bedroom so I could sleep during the day. The light

would shine through every little crack, every little pinhole.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the sky displays His handiwork.

Day after day it speaks out;

night after night it reveals His greatness.

There is no actual speech or word,

nor is its voice literally heard.

Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth;

its words carry to the distant horizon.

In the sky He has pitched a tent for the sun.

Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber;

like a strong man it enjoys running its course.

It emerges from the distant horizon,

and goes from one end of the sky to the other; Psalm 19:16

NET

The Bible says light came into the world but men loved darkness.(John 3:19) Man must make

a continual effort to keep The Light of God out. He must keep filling in the cracks where The

Light of Truth is trying to come in. That is why mankind is without excuse. God seeks man. In

the Garden of Eden, God sought out man, even after he had sinned against Him, which is very

significant because God knew what it would cost to redeem mankind. He would have to send

His Son to die a painful and humiliating death on the cross, by hands of the very people He

came to save. “ How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Hebrews 2:3NET

Jesus is the Light of the world. Since He is not here with us physically, His light shines

through us. We are the ones who must pierce the darkness and shine The Light into people’s

souls. The “heavens” give people general revelation about God, which in turn opens the door

for us to shine The Light of specific revelation about our loving Savior’s plan of salvation.

If someone is sincerely seeking God, God will make sure that one of His own brings him

the words of truth. There are many examples of this. Three very vivid ones are in the book of

Acts, the conversion of the Apostle Paul, the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius. It is our great

privilege as believers, to be the purveyors of LIGHT to these people. We must let ourselves be

open to God’s guidance in order for this to happen. If we don’t respond to His leading,

someone else will; and we miss out on a great opportunity to serve our Savior.

In the book of Esther, we see a clear picture of this.

When Esther’s reply was conveyed to Mordecai, he said to take back this answer to

Esther:“Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the

one Jew who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the

Jews will appear from another source, while you and your father’s household perish. It

may very well be that you have achieved royal status for such a time as this!” Esther4:1214

NET

God put Esther in the position as Queen for a reason. If Esther chose not to do the Lord’s

will, it would have hurt her, BUT the Lord’s will would still have been carried out some other

way. Let’s make it our greatest ambition to be available to God’s calling and NOT say, I’m too

busy right now. Instead let’s be like Isaiah who didn’t look to the left or right to see if anyone

else would volunteer, but anxiously responded “Here I am; send me.”

“I hear the voice of the Sovereign Master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our

behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” He said, “Go and tell these people:” Isaiah

6:8,9 NET

To The Glory Of God

STEPS OF FAITH

One night my son (who was about ten at the time) and I got caught in an ice storm. A fortyfive

minute ride suddenly turned into three hours of very tense driving. But not for my son. About half way

through he fell asleep in the back of my van.

To help put this in perspective for you. The ice was so bad even at five miles an hour on level

ground it was hard to stay on the road. The salt truck was driving in reverse so he could drive over the

salt he just laid down. My son wasn’t the least concerned. His attitude was, wake me when we get

home. NOT if we get home. Although my son’s faith in me was unmerited, this is a good example of

the childlike faith we should have in God. I was not in complete control, even though my son may

have believed me to be. BUT, God is, always. How many nights have we spent worrying needlessly

when we should have been fast asleep, trusting God. Faith is the main essential to the Christian walk.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God…” Heb.11:6.NIV

WHAT IS FAITH?

I knew a very devout woman who had, what was probably a treatable medical condition. She

refused to go to a doctor because she was sure God would heal her. She considered it a breach of faith

to seek medical attention. She told everyone who would listen, “Jesus is going to heal me.” She

believed that firmly right up to the day she died. (I was a pall bearer at her funeral) I loved this

woman, but her faith wasn’t childlike, it was childish. Having faith doesn’t mean we should ignore

sound advise. It is not an excuse for driving with bald tires. It is not a breach of faith to have a smoke

alarm in your house. Our faith however, should not be in doctors, tires or smoke alarms. We put our

faith in God.

Peter walking on the water is a good example for us:

Matt14:28-30 “Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the

water.” So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came

toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to

sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” “NET

If Peter kept his eyes on Jesus instead of looking at the rough water all around him he would not

have sank. That same principle applies to us. If we are focused on Him we can do the works He

prepared in advance for us to do, and bring Glory to His name. Apart from faith we can do nothing for

Him. I probably haven’t told you anything you don’t already know. The burning question is; HOW do

I apply this in my everyday life?? After all Jesus isn’t standing on the water beckoning us to come to

Him. How do we know when we are being childlike in our faith and not childish?

There are many examples of faith in the Bible but the best way to understand faith, is to exercise

faith. I’ll share an example from my life maybe that will help you find ways to exercise faith in your

own life. When I was in Bible School I made a promise to myself that I would not do school work on

Sundays. Believe me it was tempting to take out the books on a quite Sunday afternoon to get ahead

on an assignment, or study for a test, but I didn’t. That to me was an exercise of faith. I don’t believe

my grades suffered because of it. Even if they did, my walk with the Lord was more important. If I

passed Bible School academically and failed spiritually I FAILED.

I challenge you take small steps of faith. Exercise your faith muscle, and as you do the Lord will

show you how to take larger steps of faith. One step everyone can take, being confident that it is the

lord’s will, is tithing. Give ten percent of your income to the Lord. Don’t think, I can’t afford to.

Realize you can’t afford not to. Giving of our finances to the Lord is an investment in this life and the

next. This is just one of many examples. Trust God by investing your time and talents. Be sure to take

small steps at first so you don’t become overwhelmed and find you can’t carry out what you intended. I

am sure if you give prayer consideration to this, the Lord will continue to open doors of faith

opportunities for you.

Hebrews11:1NET

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not

see.”

TO THE GLORY OF GOD

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid.

Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom

of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he

went out and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew13:4446

NET

Lets put this in modern terms: Imagine someone knows of a company that is going to have

their I.P.O. (initial public offering) and he is confident it is really going to take off. So he sells

everything he has so he can buy stock. Everyone is telling him he is wasting his money and

being foolish. He is working two jobs, has sold his car, his baseball card collection(that he has

been collecting since he was very young) his skis, tennis racquet, anything of value. He moves

out of his apartment into a very low rent apartment in a bad neighborhood. His family and

girlfriend have deserted him. Even his parents tell him at every opportunity that he is acting

crazy. In short he has lost everything!

Eventually it all worked out and he made more money in a few years than he was likely to

make in two lifetimes. The sacrifice was more than worth the reward. He took a lot of ridicule

and risked everything, (even things very dear to him) but it was worth it.

We know of course that the Lord was not talking about material gain, but the point is the

same. With joy we should surrender our possessions to Him knowing the reward will be more

than a thousandfold. We won’t see most of the reward in this lifetime. However there is no

doubt that we will receive it.

It is important to note that God doesn’t ask more of us then we have. Still He does ask ALL

that we have. We nay not be specifically asked to give up everything, but we must be willing

and ready to do it. In the story of the rich young ruler [Matthew 19:1624]

Jesus tells him

specifically to sell everything he has and give it the poor, because He knows that the ruler put

his faith in his wealth. Most of us want (need) to have a cushion of protection, maybe a

savings account, or influential friends, or a secure job, heath insurance, etc. There is nothing

wrong with those things, but it cannot be the basis of our confidence. Think about it; is there

anything, house, family, job, country that you are not willing to give up for the Lord? Don’t

get fearful thinking that as soon as we realize that there is something very dear to us God will

ask us to let go of it. In most cases God doesn’t ask those things of us. He wants us to have joy

in this life. He is not out to get us, or intentionally make our lives difficult. Most of the

difficulty we have in this life we bring on ourselves. There is something very liberating in

turning everything over to the Lord with full confidence that He always has our best interest in

mind.

Then Jesus,when He looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to

Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” (Now Jesus said this to test

him, for He knew what He was going to do.) Philip replied, “Two hundred silver coins worth

of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” One of Jesus’ disciples,

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two

fish, but what good are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

(Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) So the men sat down, about five thousand in

number. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed the bread

to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted. When

they were all satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left

over, so that nothing is wasted.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with

broken pieces from the five barley loaves left over by the people who had eaten. [John6:613NET]

This boy could have said that he had only enough for himself. After all it wasn’t his fault that

the others didn’t bring food. He gave all that he had, what he had fed himself and many others

until they were full, with food to spare. Don’t underestimate your worth to God. You may

think you have very little to give, but in God’s hands it will be of great value, if you surrender

it to Him.

Please note it says in Matthew13:44; “Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had

and bought that field.” WITH JOY in his heart he sold all that he had. When we are presented

with the gift of salvation, we gladly forsake everything to possess it. It really is a small price to

pay. Jesus payed the price we were unable to pay. Again, He doesn’t ask more than we can

give, but He does ask ALL that we have.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like giving up a small amount to receive a large one, like giving

up a glass of water to receive an ocean, a bird house in exchange for a castle. Empty yourself

and be filled with the Spirit.

These are just nice sounding words if we fail to mix them with faith. BUT if we put faith in

these words of Jesus they have the power to change us, and the world, plus give glory to His

name. A person doesn’t just pick up a musical instrument and instantly becomes a world class

musician. Someone doesn’t just get up off their easy chair and run a marathon, without having

prepared. Olympic athletes must be fully committed to get the Gold. It takes a lot of studying

to get into an ivy league college. FAITH is like that; it is muscle that must be exercised.

Exercise your FAITH muscles. You will be surprised what the Lord can do.

To The GLORY of God

One day the forces of “natural selection” got together and said we’re tired of the evolutionary process,

we want to go back to being single celled organisms. This whole natural selection process just isn’t

working out. We were much happier when we were just swimming around in the primordial soup, this

thing has gotten way out of hand. One of them said, what can we do, it took billions of years to get

here we can’t just reverse the process. They were all quiet and sad for a long time. Several offered

suggestions but none seemed any good.

Finally one of them said, lets remove our selves from the process and just let it happen on its own.

They all looked at him with horror and said. Do you know what would happen? A hideous creature

would evolve, one that had no respect for other life forms or the environment. It would wantonly hunt

and destroy, even causing the extinction of other species. A creature like that would consume and

waste natural resources. It would even prey on, and mistreat its own kind. It would throw off the

whole ecosystem. This disgusting creature would destroy millions of years of evolution in a very short

time, and eventually destroy everything along with itself.

Then there was a long pause. They all looked around at each other and smiled. That was exactly

what they were trying to accomplish. In a very short time this terrible creature would destroy what

took them billions of years to create.

After a while they all started to laugh. They were laughing so hard tears were running down their

faces, they could not speak or even take a breath. Finally one of them was able to get composed

enough to say what they were all thinking and laughing about. This creature would actually consider

itself “intelligent life!” …………………………

…….. THAT’S HOW MANKIND CAME TO BE!

Natural selection basically says that nature selected and evolved life forms that would be better able

to survive in the changing environment. Mankind flies in the face of that. Man is weaker then the

animals and less adapted. Man must change his environment to survive instead of being changed by it.

Life has NEVER been created in the laboratory even under ideal conditions. And even though there is

a lot of fossil evidence of mutation within a species there is NO evidence of one species evolving into

another.

The Bible says: God created humankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them,male

and female he create them. Genesis 1:27 NET The part of us that is the image of God is the only good thing

about mankind. Apart from that we are just ugly disgusting creatures. When man becomes self

centered and pridefully he is no good to himself or anything around him, especially God! “But the

Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of

the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made

humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.” Genesis 6:5,6NET

The Deceleration of Independence says:” We hold these truths to be selfevident,

that all men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these

are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. “ If we don’t have a creator we have on “unalienable

rights”its just survival of the fittest, might makes right. But praise God we DO have a creator that

loves us and cares for us, if we are willing to let Him.

Jesus wanted ever much to comfort Jerusalem. It is easy to hear the anguish in His heart in this

verse. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I

have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and

you were not willing. Matthew 23:37NIV His arms are extended. Allow yourselves to be gathered to Him,

to be filled with His loving kindness. Jesus said to Paul on the road to Damascus:

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the

goads.”Acts 26:14 NET Paul was very anxious to serve God, but instead he was persecuting Him and

hurting himself. The same is true of any of us who don’t allow Jesus to be the Lord of our lives.

Become a new creation in Christ Jesus. And remember: For all who are led by the Spirit of God

are the sons of God.Romans8:14 NET

TO THE GLORY OF GOD

I was a big fan of the M.A.S.H. TV Show. The the reruns ran backtobacktoback

for a while playing from 5:00 to 6:30 every weekday. The thing about watching reruns is you know whats going

to happen in future episodes. Colonel Henry Blake was always talking about what he was going to do

when he got home from the war. He basically put his life on hold until that time. If you are a fan

MASH like I was, you know Henry Blake never made it home. I would find myself saying to him as I

was watching the show “live your life now, you don’t have tomorrow.” NET

God has that view of us. He knows how many tomorrows we have. In a certain sense He is

probably saying to us, you are spending your time foolishly. Don’t bank on an uncertain tomorrow,

today is the day. The book of Hebrews talks a lot about “Today.” Many people procrastinate their way

into hell. Tomorrow I’ll get right with God. I have heard it said “the road to hell is paved with good

intentions.” Every time someone hears to voice of God and ignores it they harden themselves toward

God a little bit, until they eventually reach the point of no return. Hebrews 3:15 As it says, “Oh, that

today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

In Exodus chapters 7 and 8 we see four times that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Then in starting in

chapter 9 The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh started the hardening and God finished it.

Pharaoh saw the miracles from God but refused to believe, even when the truth was undeniable. In a

sense you might say Pharaoh grieved (or sinned against) the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God gave

irrefutable evidence and Pharaoh chose to ignore it. In Genesis 6:3 It says”My Spirit will not contend

with humans forever.”NIV God is very patient with us, but there comes a point where God stops

working in hearts on unbelievers to lead them to salvation. After a person says “I’ll do it tomorrow” so

many times, they run out of tomorrows. TODAY is the day of salvation.

Although this primarily refers to unbelievers, the believer must take this principle to heart as well.

Is there someone you have been meaning to share the Gospel with. TODAY is the day. First

Thessalonians 5:19 tells us “Do not extinguish the Spirit.” NET The parables often remind us of our

need for preparedness and the necessity of taking action at the proper time. We do not know the time

of “The Master’s” return. Matthew 24:4247“

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,

he would have kept watch and would not have let his

house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour

when you do not expect him.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in

his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose

master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his

possessions.”NET

Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. The Christian life is like swimming against the current.

If we are not swimming we are loosing ground. Now before you start feeling overwhelmed, remember,

we are using His strength, not our own. Trying to do things in our own strength just tires us out and

accomplishes nothing. But in His strength we accomplish great things and our strength is renewed.

To The Glory Of God

Ecclesiastes 7:24

It is better to go to a funeral than a feast.  For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.

Lines like, all the worlds a stage or life is just a dress rehearsal, in many ways reflect the Christian

life. We live in the moment, but always have our eyes on the future. Knowing that our reward comes

after we a are translated into God’s presence. We have choices to make. It seems odd that we would

choose to mourn, but to some extent that’s what God wants us to do.

Let me explain:

The secular world spends much of their time crowding out the brevity and futility of life. TV, the

internet, cell phones, etc, are all part of it. Then something happens to make them come up short and

face the truth. What they do at those time can effect how they spend eternity.

The believer can be God’s messenger during those times. It is not so much what is said and done in

the first moments that matter, but rather, what is done in the long haul that matters. In the first

moments of a tragedy many come forward and make promises but very few follow through.

Do you mourn for the unsaved? Jesus did (does).

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your

children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! Look, your house is left to you desolate! For I

tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

I realize that this is not mourning in the strictest sense, but the principle is the same. Jesus was (is)

brokenhearted over His own who are spiritually dead, and we should be too. I am not saying that we

need to spend our time long faced and sad. God wants us to have joy and happiness in this life. The

Psalms remind us all the time to rejoice. It is possible, even necessary, in the Christian life to do both.

The passage in Matthew we call the Beatitudes is very often read with the wrong emphasis. If we

read it in context it is clear to see that it is not about several groups of people. Or people who find

themselves in a situation that is beyond their control, or against their will. It is about people who are in

a place they have chosen to be.

The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:112

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.  After he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach

them by saying:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to  them.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.”

Allow me a paraphrase of this passage that will help illustrate my point:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, on account of me.

Blessed are those who mourn, on account of me.

Blessed are the meek, on account of me.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, on account of me.

Blessed are the merciful, on account of me.

Blessed are the pure in heart, on account of me.

Blessed are the peacemakers, on account of me.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, on account of me.

These are not different groups of people but rather attributes that should be present in all of us.

They all comes with a promise. These attributes will be in more abundance in some of us then in

others but all believers should have these qualities in them. We must choose to have them, they will

not be thrust upon us.

When we look at the the Beatitudes from this perspective they are a very different thing. It is a

great responsibility and privilege to be, poor in spirit,mourn,meek, merciful, etc, for Jesus sake. It is

what He wants us to do. He realizes what a difficult thing this is, that is why He is careful to point out

in each case, the reward for being this way.

This, like many other things in the Scripture, is something we can possess right now, and also in

greater abundance as we keep our eyes focused on Him, and walk with Him. I challenge you. Take one

of these every day and focus on it, pray about it. Maybe do a word study on it. See how God would

have you apply them to your life, then look forward to the rewards, in this life and the one to come.

To The Glory Of God

Am I the only one who felt sorry for the fig tree that Jesus cursed in the Gospel. After all it wasn’t

even the season for figs. I don’t go out to my tomato plants in the middle of winter and expect to find

tomatoes on them. And I don’t condemn them for not having tomatoes in winter.

Mark 11:12-14

Now the next day,as they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. After noticing in the

distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he came to it he found

nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you

again.” And his disciples heard it.

Mark 11:20,21

In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the

roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has

withered.” NET

What then can we learn from these passages? That God has unrealistic expectations of us? That we

should make unreasonable demands on others, and then be angry when there not meet? Of course not!

Then what?

The big lesson here is that the tree represents the Nation of Israel, but that’s not what I want to

focus on. I want to look at how this passage effects our everyday walk with God. First I would like to

point out a few other passages that might help you see what I am trying to say.

2 Timothy 2:4

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season;

correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction.

NIV

Ecclesiastes 11:4

He who watches the wind will not sow,and he who observes the clouds

will not reap. NET

John 4:35

Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I

tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest!

The example of the fig tree shows us that our timing is not God’s timing. The Nation of Israel was

not ready for the coming of the Messiah and because of they were driven from their homeland. We are

often guilty doing the same in our walk with God. “This isn’t the right time, my children are to young,

my car is to old, my house is a mess.” Sometimes consciously and sometimes subconsciously we do

this when God wants us to do something. We’re not the only ones. Moses resisted Gods call at first,

Sarah did not expect to be having a child at ninetynine

years old, Jonah had to experience a fish tale

before he was ready. There are many others as well. Some, it is sad to say, never responded to His

command.

It is clear in the Scripture that God has a work for each one of us, a special task(s) that He has

prepared just for you

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared

beforehand so we may do them. NET

Since God has prepared for us we must prepare for Him. And be ready when He calls. I drove a lot

of old Vans back in the ’80 and closest thing to air conditioning was driving with the windows down.

Those old vans were noisy. Often if I was driving on the highway with the windows down I could not

hear the radio, in fact I would usually forget it was even on. Then I would come to an exit and slow

down and hear the radio again. We are often like that with God, flying down the highway of life, but

not listening for direction, because there is to much noise (distractions) in our lives.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, let

us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run

with perseverance the race marked out for us, NIV

Sometimes the smallest things can trip us up or get in our way. Very subtle sin habits can creep into

are lives without us even realizing it. Such as being to focused on sports or shopping or house keeping

or our children, the list goes on. These things can keep us from hearing the “still small voice” of God.

Just like driving down the highway with the windows open. The Scripture says “be still and know that

I am God.”Ps46:10 NIV

We are told:

Matthew 7:15-20

“Watch out for false prophets,who come to you in sheep’s clothing

but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are

not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles,are they? In the same way, every good

tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear

bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is

cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.

Let us continually keep our hearts prepared for the Lords calling, keep our minds fertile for the

Lord’s planting, in every season of our lives. So that we can bear good fruit and not “wither from the

roots.” To the Glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.