GIVE FREELY!

PROVERBS 11: 24-25

"GIVE FREELY and become more wealthy;  be stingy and lose everything.  The generous will prosper;  those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

It is more blessed to give than to receive!  If you cast your bread upon the water it will return to you a hundred fold.  If you GIVE FREELY you will become wealthy.  God's laws tell us that the more we give, the more we will get.  Look around you and you will see that the ones who are always giving, always have more than they need.  Those who are stingy and hoard their possessions are always in want and never have enough.  The generous will prosper and those that refresh others will themselves be refreshed!

Can a scripture or our One Truth Today be any more crystal clear?   If you are generous with what the Lord has given you, your wealth and possessions will increase.   If you withhold what you have from others you will be wanting.  The more that you sew, the more that you will reap! The generous man will be wealthy and the stingy man will be without.   If you want to be one who prospers and has wealth, what do you have to do?  GIVE FREELY AND PROSPER!

God has put a plan into effect that is inevitable.  One man gives freely, yet they gain even more.  Another man is tight fisted and stingy with everyone around him and yet he retains little and has not become wealthy.  In your experience you have known people who are living examples of these two types.  Generous people do not give to get, yet they do.  It is in giving that they receive the benefit of their generosity.  The simple truth remains, if you want to be wealthy and prosperous then you must GIVE FREELY.  If you are in want all the time and never seem to have enough, then perhaps you should examine your attitude about sharing and giving to others.  The stingy lose everything.  The wealthy GIVE FREELY!

GOD IS LISTENING!

PSALM 66:18

"If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me."

At some time in every ones life they cry out to God.  What determines whether God will hear your cry or whether He will not listen?  This Psalm and the truth for today tells us to praise God as we speak to Him.  This Psalm also tells us that if we do not confess our sins, the Lord will not listen to our prayers.  Those who fear the Lord will listen to this advice.  Do you fear and respect the Lord?  Do you worship Jesus Christ and confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness?  All the earth is told to shout for joy and give praises to His awesome power and glorious deeds.  The question is will He hear you.  We want to know that GOD IS LISTENING!

Have you confessed your sins to the Lord and asked for His forgiveness?  Have you repented of all your sins, both past and present?  We are even talking about the sins that may be deep in your heart and hidden from view.  Have you sinned against a spouse, child or family member? Have you trespassed against anyone without confessing the sin to Jesus Christ?  Do you have a debt that you owe to anyone?  If you have not confessed the sin in your heart, God may not hear you or listen to your prayers.

God hears and knows everything, but that does not mean He is listening to you.  You can not mock God or try to fool Him about your trespasses and debts to others.  He knows the condition of your heart.  He knows every sin that you have committed.  If you say you have not sinned you are calling God a liar.  No one is good, no not one of us.  We must all acknowledge and confess our sins, debts and trespasses.  Remember you are really sinning against God and your only hope of forgiveness resides with confession to the Lord.  If you want your prayers to be answered then ask God to forgive and forget all your confessed sins.  GOD IS LISTENING! 

A SINFUL MAN!

LUKE 5:8

"Oh Lord, please leave me, I am too much of a sinner to be around you."

What kind of a person did the Lord Jesus Christ come to save?  Is there anyone who is too great of a sinner to be saved by the Lord?  Is there anyone who is "good" in God's sight?  What can prevent us from being with the Lord?  The Lord is no respecter of people and therefor He is willing to allow anyone who will accept His invitation and believes in Him to receive the free gift of Salvation and eternal life.  Who will be excluded from this offer of salvation and forgiveness of their sin?  Do you think that you are too much of a sinner to be around the Lord?

Every person needs to come to a knowledge that they are not good, that they are sinners and live a life to the flesh.  We are born of the flesh and live a life of flesh until we hear the "good news" that offers us a new life of the spirit that is eternal.  No one person is good, no not one and so we all qualify for His Salvation.  Every ones sins vary but we all need forgiveness of sin if we want to have Life.  In this scripture, Peter, when he was confronted with the purity and holiness of the Lord, realized how sinful and filthy he was in contrast.  All of us are filthy in our sin and need to be saved by the Lord.  

The good news is that no matter what sins you have committed in the flesh or how corrupt you have been, you can still be saved by Jesus Christ.  If you repent and turn from your sinful ways and walk the straight and narrow path toward God you can be saved.  If you open your heart and ask the Lord to come in and live with you, there will be a saving grace.  If you believe with your heart that Jesus Christ is the Lord God and was raised from the dead to eternal life, you can be saved.  If you fear God and Love God and respect God, you can be saved.   Jesus Christ will be faithful to forgive all of your sins.  You will become a new creature in Christ Jesus with a new heart and with the right to come into the presence of the Lord.  You will be cleansed from your filth and accepted into His Kingdom.  Jesus Christ can save you even if you are A SINFUL MAN!

PRAY OFTEN AND ALONE!

MARK 5:16

"Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness to pray."

Jesus Christ the Lord God was without sin.  Why did He pray so often and many times alone? What should we learn from the Lord about praying?  When the disciples could not obtain effective results with their prayers, what did the Lord tell them was required?  What do fasting and withdrawing to lonely places, such as a desert, have to do with effective prayer?  Our goal as a believer is to be more like Jesus every day.  What should we glean from His example in the scriptures and the Truth For Today? 

When the world closes in on us and life becomes too hectic or busy, the time has come to withdraw to a quiet and secluded place and pray alone.  Good advice is to have a quiet time each day in which we stop and reflect on the Word and God's Will.  Building a strong spiritual muscle comes with the exercise of withdrawing and praying alone on a regular basis.  Find a place were the world can not interfere or intrude.  PRAY OFTEN AND ALONE!

Retreats and seminars are fun and important, but be sure to set aside some alone time.  You may be tempted to go away with a spouse or a friend and pray together, but, do not neglect to allow for time for each of you individually to withdraw and pray alone.  This is the example that the Lord set for us and one that we should emulate.  The truth is that we are never alone when we pray to and with God.  The Lord is right there with us when we pray.  He hears our requests and petitions and He will answer them.  PRAY OFTEN AND ALONE with the Lord.

PEOPLE SHOULD BE BAPTIZED!

LUKE 3:3

"Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan river, preaching that PEOPLE SHOULD BE BAPTIZED to show they had turned to God to receive forgiveness for their sins."

Have you been baptized?  Why did the Lord Jesus Christ allow John to baptize Him in the Jordan river?  Do you understand what it means to die to the flesh and rise up from the watery grave a new spiritual person?  Does being baptized cleanse and wash us of all of our previous sins?  Who should be baptized?  What is the prerequisite to your being baptized?  If you have turned to God and been saved by His grace, and received forgiveness of your sins, then why be baptized?  The truth for today tells us that being baptized shows God and others that we have turned to God and we have received forgiveness for our sins.  PEOPLE SHOULD BE BAPTIZED!

John received a message from God when he was living in the desert wilderness.  John listened and began to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, who predicted what one must do to fulfill the Word. John's message was that all men needed to repent.  They needed to turn around from a path of sin and walk in God's path.  The needed forgiveness of sin and they should be washed clean and become a new creature.  Baptism was the outward sign of an inward cleansing and change.  To those believers in God and His Word, this was a way to prepare for the way of the Lord.  John was crying out in the wilderness to tell everyone that PEOPLE SHOULD BE BAPTIZED!

The message is clear.  If you believe in God and you have asked Him to forgive you of your sins and you have accepted the free gift of Salvation, then your being baptized will show the world and God that you are a new creature, born again, and raised from the dead.  As a new spiritual being you will turn away from the world and walk a straight path to the Lord Jesus Christ.  This baptism of repentance shows that you have been washed clean of all previous sins, died to the old person, and you are new spiritual person that has turned to God for your Salvation.   If Jesus  is the one to be like and emulate then PEOPLE SHOULD BE BAPTIZED! 

WONDER WOMAN!

PROVERBS 31: 25-31

Ladies, does this sound like you?  Are you clothed in strength and dignity?  Do you laugh without fear of the future because you and your family have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?  Are you more precious to your husband than jewels, such as ruby's and pearls?  Does your family have trust and confidence in you and rely on your word?  Do  you have the mental, physical and spiritual strength to complete the tasks that God has given to you?  This sure sounds like "wonder woman", yet this is a good description of the woman who fears, loves and respects the Lord!

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  If you have accomplished step number one then the other steps will fall into place.  Submit yourself to the Lord, and the rest will follow naturally for any woman.  You will be trusted by your husband.  You can comfort and encourage others and you will be able to do good all of your life.  You will do your tasks willingly as unto the Lord.  You will desire spiritual food on a daily basis for your life.  You will have compassion on the needy and you will reach out to them.  When you open  your mouth Godly wisdom and counsel will come from your tongue.  You will be greatly praised!

A Godly woman such as this will have children that will bless her.  Her husband will praise her.  Your husband will believe that you are blessed and trust in you.  Even as you grow older you will be beautiful and your inner beauty will increase.  Your praise will last forever!  The blessings of God will be abundant to the woman who reverently and worship fully fears the Lord.  She will be greatly praised.  Alone this may be too much to comprehend or hope for, but, with the help of the Lord it is available to any woman who fears Him.  You can be a wonder woman!

CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH!

LUKE 1:3-4

"Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful account for you, so you can be CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH and everything that you were taught."

What gives any document reliability and credibility?  Was the document carefully examined and were  the facts substantiated by other methods?  Were the times and places and statements in the document authenticated?  Was the author known and accepted as reliable.  Did the author have first hand knowledge and experience of what was written about?  Was the account done carefully and did it contain the truth?  Did it reliably represent what other equally reliable sources also said?  Was it consistent with other known truthful and reliable documents?  If all this is true then you and accept and be CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH!

Luke, a physician, and one of the disciples was present from the beginning of the Lord's ministry here on earth.  Luke thought it a good and desirable thing to write an orderly account of the events of the works of Jesus Christ from the beginning and in detail.  Luke gave us exact accounts and eye witness statements about Jesus Christ and His ministry.  He searched out diligently accurate accounts down to the most minute details.  His account of the life and times of the Lord are done with precision and his careful account is reliable.  You can be CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH.

Luke had a purpose, he wanted to let others know the full truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He was speaking to anyone who had no first hand knowledge of the Lord.  He wanted others to understand with certainty and security about the doctrines and truths of our faith. Oral representations are subject to uncertainty and change over time.    Luke wanted to leave a thorough written account for all generations.  Luke's was not the only written account that was comprehensive and it was substantiated by the other Gospels.  It was substantiated by other writers of the time.  The credibility comes from the number of other author's who told the same exact truths about the life of Jesus Christ.  They all confirm and substantiate the Lord.  That is why you can CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH!