Will You Graduate?
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18.

God wants no Christian men or women stunted in spiritual growth serving Him. Of course, the statue of a person is not a hindrance unless the hindrances have to do with their heart and mind. (Luke 19:1-10). God looks at the person not on their physical appearance. (I Samuel 16:7). God gives liberally to all that seek Him with a proper heart. (James 1:5). God’s mind and His plans are not ours (Romans 11:33-34). God’s love is everlasting. (Jeremiah 31:3). It is not wonder why Father God rejects disciples who are narrow minded, petty, and childish.

Smallness in a Christian is the result of largeness one’s ego. He sees himself as all important. He has not learned the law of detachment; he feels that he himself necessary to God’s work as is the instrument for God’s power. He does not understand that to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit is to walk in love. (Romans 13:8,10).

This is not all. If I am dwarfish towards others, it is because first I am dwarfed toward God. I can never be stingy, prejudiced, and opinionated if I am open to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. God is love and whoever does not walk in love does not know God. (I John 4:8). Paul’s words strike me forcibly, “Grow up…toward… Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Paul tells us to grow up. It is our responsibility to put away childish behavior. To end my spiritual dwarfism is to make continual progress to become Christ like. The end of this childlike behavior is not what we are supposed to be. We are to grow into strong men and women for Jesus.

If I am spiritually immature, it is because something has gone very wrong with my heart, my mind and my spiritual growth. Many Christians do not grow in maturity because they are in a perpetual state of babyhood. The question is will do mature? Will you graduate? Fixing our eyes on the Author and the Finisher of our faith is the key to on-going spiritual growth. (Hebrews 12:2). How do you measure up?

A Cheap View of Heaven!
Therefore, all who dwell upon the Earth whose names written in the Book of Life by the Lamb, who was slain from the beginning of the world, shall worship him. Revelation 13:8.

Forgive me Father for having a cheap view of heaven. I have rejoiced indeed that Jesus died to make a place for me there; but Your Word keeps reminding the difference of salvation and being a disciple.

Isn’t that what Paul means; “Christ…loved the church and gave Himself up for her-that He might present to Himself the church in all of her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

It is one thing to arrive in heaven by the skin of my teeth, but how much better to arrive there applauded! The right to be there is because what Jesus has done for me but also involves the work He has done in me. Simple faith in Him assures me of a place in heaven, but only firmly following Him confirms me being a disciple (2 Peter 1:11).

I must confess that I have been one of those who have cheapened your grace. I have led many to believe that the ease of accepting Christ as Savior also applies to the lived-out in my Christian life. God’s grace is not softness, as witnessed by Calvary’s wounds. God’s grace is simply permission, not qualification. It merely opens the door to God’s great school of training and discipline; it does not promise us it will not come with persecution and suffering.

I thank you Father God for your grace! Without it we would be suffering endlessly and hopelessly lost. Lord, may we never throw your grace to the pigs by living irresponsibly and sloppy here on earth will please You! (Matthew 16:25). Discipleship is a long road in the same direction to the cross.

Developing a Hardness!
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:4.

If I am going to be an example of what a disciple of Jesus Christ I must learn to develop a hardness. Jesus Himself was a mixture of both tenderness and hardness. And unless I develop the same mixture I will drift off into sentimentality or else become very rigid.

Jesus never became hard to His Father’s will, but always towards the people who tried to prevent Him from doing that will. He set His face like stone to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). If I decide to follow Jesus I will be pulled in many directions, all supposedly for good to save me from myself. The disciple who does not deliberately develop a hardness will find himself too weak to resist the warnings from family and friends that he is too fanatical.

Jesus developed a hardness toward people even His closet friends, whenever they appeared to block His path in doing God’s will. Jesus made statements like “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:23); “What is it to you?” (John 21:22). “Women, what do I have to do with you?” (John 9:24). If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me”. (John 13:8).

I must always be tender toward human need but incorrigibly hard against human short-sightedness. The person who is shortsighted will always want to take shortcuts around the will of the Father. I must walk both in love but with wisdom being on the lookout for those who would want me to become soft and self-indulgent. My strength comes from me setting my face like stone to accomplish the Father’s will. “Our sufficiency is of God,” Paul said (2 Corinthians 3:5). That is the sufficiency from God and the stubbornness of a person who will not be sidetracked from accomplishing the will of God. Paul stated when he encountered obstacles “I am ready not only to be jailed…but also die for the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 21:13).

The Exceeding Life!
And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
2 Corinthians 9:8.

I must remember that God has not called me to “succeed” on my own strength. He has called me to “exceed” on His strength. Success is something that I should not be concerned with. I must be diligent in giving glory to Him. The scripture above states very clearly that God will supply in making all things for every task as abundant as we submit to Him. Furthermore, He stated unless my righteousness shall “exceed” the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” I will not enter the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 5:20).

The problem with the religious community is they want all the credit instead of glorifying Father God. This is the sin of pride. It is God who provides all that we need for the tasks the He calls us to do. We must remember that Jesus did not come to match earth’s best, but to produce heaven’s better. We as disciples must produce all things in that glorifies God.

Jesus Christ in in the business of producing the greatness of Father God. The two sins of Israel, basically, were forsaking God and not glorifying Him more. There were many Israelites who were not idolaters, but they were still had a religion of works rather than faith in God for salvation. The sin of the Laodicea church is that they became indifferent and apathetic. (Revelation 3:14-2). They were going through the motions of being religious but no longer interested in the message of the cross. This made them very attractive to the world-because they no longer needed God. They relied on their earthly knowledge, riches, and sophistication but Jesus called them pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

Jesus has called us to exceed, overflowing with the Masters love for a dying world. I must stand up for the righteousness of God as the prophets did. I am a poor disciple if the world sees no difference between themselves and me. I must make the world either to despise me or desperately longing of the righteousness of God working within me. I can only do this through Him who is “made into us…righteousness”. (I Corinthians 1:30).

Godliness is Not Geographical!
God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” John 4:24.

I must remember that my relationship with Father God is not determined by a certain place. Godliness is not produced by topography. Man builds himself tremendous, large cathedrals thinking that this impresses Father God and proves their holiness. This is exactly what Jesus confronted with the religious leaders of His day.

Jesus vividly made this point to the woman at the well (John 4:4). She was emphatic about Mount Gerizim: the place where men ought to worship” (John 4:20). Jesus replied that it did not matter where she worshiped, it was how to worship that she needed to be correct about. The house of worship is in spirit, that is, and being properly tuned to God spiritually.
Jeremiah stated in his parable regarding the ripe and the spoiled figs. (Jeremiah 24). The good figs were the Jews, who had been taken to Babylonia, while the rotten figs were the Jews who remained in the holy land.

The parable ends forever the sin of place. Babylon was supposed to be the evil place, Judah, the good. But that was not true of the figs, for the rotten ones were in the good place; the good ones were in the rotten place.

How this speaks to my heart just now! Babylon with all its evils did not corrupt the captive Jews. Why? Because the right kind of geography was inside of them, not outside. Their hearts were right though their surroundings were evil. It was exactly the reverse with the Judean Jews, whose hearts were wrong though they were surroundings were right.

How often I have blamed my friends, my family, my job, or my environment for hindering my progress with God. False! The blame lies in my own negligent heart. The battle is one or lost within me. Babylon can become my purest heaven or Judea, my deep as hell, depending upon the state of my heart. The Lord God said in His Word that Jesus was a tender plant in a dry desert. (Isaiah 53:2). Father God, you want me to make sure to be the opposite of my surroundings, a touch of heavenly beauty in a barren land.

Playing with Fire!
Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13.

Lord, I know that I cannot serve two masters. There are many examples of people who try to obey their own fleshly desires, inspired by Satan and at the same time trying to serve God.
I remember the bitter lesson King Asa learned trying to play both ends against the middle. He appeased the King of Syria, an archetype of Satan, by giving him expensive gifts from the Temple. Result? “He helped him not.” (2 Chronicles 28:21). Distressed Ahaz turned to Syria and sacrificed to its gods, “but they were the ruin of him” (v23). The king made the mistake thinking that he could satisfy Satan. The more he tried to appease Satan his situation grew worse.

How many believers are self-deceived thinking if they give into grip of sin over them will weaken. They really believe if they don’t make waves and give in a little Satan will leave them alone. There are many examples of people who try to obey their own fleshly, desires, and Satan who inspires them and at the same time trying to serve God. I like what Paul stated when he said we should give no opportunity to Satan. (Ephesians 4:27). Look at the ruined lives of those who gave him a chance-Eve, David, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira. The price is too steep.

My carnal nature loves to bargain. I shrink from pain and struggle; because we think it is easier to keep Satan quiet. Appeasement is the habit of a careless life, not the habit of a soldier. There is something inwardly begins to crumble if I do stand up to Satan. Appeasement is my confession of defeat and failure, my resignation from discipleship, my surrender to the one who nailed Jesus to the cross. Paul stated, “not for one moment do we yield”. (Galatian 2:5). Each time I refuse Satan and his lies I will be strengthened; each resistance will make be a better solider of Jesus Christ.

Surviving or Overcoming?
For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

I am determined not merely to survive as a Christian, but to overcome. Too often my life has been a “hanging in there” kind of thing, God has called me to be an overcomer. Do I get into one problem after another and then say, “Thank God I got out of that one alive”. Is that all there is, getting out of things alive?

The secret to overcoming is to have adequate resources, and the secret of adequate resources is tapping the infinite supply of God’s provision. When I read over the acts of mercy of Father God I remember the poor widow’s plight. (2 Kings 4). She had a little oil, nothing more. Creditors were pressing her to sell her sons as slaves. Elisha advised her to procure all the empty jars she could get and begin to pour the little bit of oil into these jars. Then it happened! By God’s wonderous power the oil kept flowing until every jar was full. She was obedient to the word of the prophet and her need was met.

Where did the oil come from? Where else but the same place as the loaves, the fish, the wine, the manna, and the thousand other things God sent His poverty-stricken people. God simply was supplying out of His storehouse. The people could not see this but God moved on their behalf. We see God’s abundance through our eyes of FAITH. Faith calleth those things that are not as though they were. (Romans 4:17). I am an overcomer because I believe what God has said in His word. Sometimes to my natural mind it does not make sense but FAITH SEES THE ANSWER even before it is manifested in the physical realm.

I overcome because Jesus is the great overcomer. His redemptive sacrifice on the cross of Calvary paid for it all. As we BELIEVE, we SPEAK. And as we believe and speak, we LIVE a life of faith. He stated that He has provided everything for us according to our faith. (Philippians 4:19). Our measure and our supply are according to our faith. If you are lacking in any area don’t blame God blame your lack of faith.

Going Beyond Feelings!
He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the Lord is requiring from you—to act with justice, to treasure the Lord’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God. Micah 6:8

For so many Christians faith stops with their emotions. We sing, we dance, and we yell amen but when we reach difficult situations our faith stops. Walking by faith means we have an eternal perspective because we fix our eyes on what is eternal because we know what we see is temporal. (2 Cor. 5:6-8). We think that when we have an emotional feeling God has blessed us with His presence. But this is not so because His Word says He will never leave us. The prophets were most emphatic that repentance shows itself in justice, in equity, in helping the fatherless and widows. To them the way we treat others is the way we will treat God. Service to God means it rends our hearts not our garments. (Joel 2:13). If we humble our selves before God but continue to be the same then we have just the shell of religion.

Many decisions we make are based on our feelings. But once our feelings have passed, we tend to return to our old ways. Many people come to the altar crying seeking forgiveness only to return to their former lives. Why because their tears were just emotion. They were not based on true repentance by turning their back on their sinful lives. True repentance produced disciples and warriors for Jesus. It is easy to go forward to the altar but how crucifying it is to go back to being the same old you.

Holiness and repentance are not putting on a long face crying trying to impress others of how holy you are. A transformed heart before God produces fruit of the Holy Spirit that glorifies God by the way we believe, speak, and live a life of faith.

The Neighbors Sheets

What dirty sheets our neighbor hung up on her clothes’ line a women stated to her husband. “Maybe she needs to use a new brand of soap. I wish I could help her to wash her sheets!”
The husband looked at her without saying anything. Every two or three days the women repeated the same comments about her neighbor’s sheets as she looks through the window.

In about month the woman was very surprised to see that her neighbor hanging clean sheets and they looked brand new. She said to her husband, “Look! Finally, she learned how to wash her clothes. I wonder if another neighbor taught her how to wash?” Her husband responded, “No, today I got up very early and I washed our windows…..”

How easier it is to criticize others. Sometimes we criticize others because we don’t understand their actions. But before we judge others let’s take a long look at ourselves! Only God knows the hearts of people. Psalms 19:14

Learning How to Lose!
For whoever wants to save their life, they will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:25.

Lord, I will try to learn the lesson. You have been teaching me all my Christian life-how to lose. The Christian life is the life of great losses. The natural man always wants to come in first; the true disciple of Jesus learns how to come in last.

Look how Jesus lost. He lost the confidence of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:3). He lost many disciples (John 6:66); and He gave up His dignity, respect, and clothing (Matthew 27:29,35); and most important He gave up his life. Look how Paul lost. “For Christ’s sake I have lost everything (Philippians 3:8). That ‘everything’ included his life.

I will never amount to anything for Christ until I attend my own funeral. A disciple is like a house in a cyclone; every part gets blown away bit by bit until there is nothing left but the foundation. Then God builds a new structure. The trouble with me-and with most Christians-is that I want to live; I dislike dying. Paul said something profound about that: “Death worketh in us” (2 Corinthians 4:12). Lord, there have been many times when death did not work in me at all.

This is difficult to understand, Lord. I thought at first that the Christian life was full of joy, vitality, victory, and an eternity of heavenly blessings. That is the way You treated me at first. Then You began stripping away my selfish life. What a list! Friends, ambitions, carnal desires, promotions, and even family. My life seemed at times without a plot. And I thought that God was angry with me. However, in time I realized that which You were taking away is to build a strong foundation in You. I am thankful for Him through whom all the promises of God are “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). When I deliberately say no to my life for His sake, He responds by making it a victorious yes.