vows

March 10, 2020

“I Am Filled With Joy At His Success”

29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. – John 3:29 NLT​

John 3:26-29 NLT

Over and over in Chapter 3, we are reminded of John’s faithfulness and steadfastness in following the plan that God had laid out for Him. In today’s society, with all of it’s “me first” attitudes, we need this constant reminder. We, like John, need to know our place in God’s plan and be faithful in carrying out that plan. God’s plan is for us to teach and preach the “foolishness” of the gospel. God has gifted each of us with a special gift that He wants us to use in spreading His Word. What is our gift and how are we using it to further the Kingdom of God here on earth? There is not one job in God’s Kingdom that is not important. Every part of the body has to function well for the Church to work as God planned it. Do we do our job with gratitude that God has chosen us to help Him? Are we filled with joy when those that have more visible jobs are successful? Do we honestly and fervently pray for those in authority over us? Are we “filled with joy” when those around us are promoted to a position over us? In our hearts and minds, we must see ourselves as less important and Jesus as Lord or as Paul puts it, we must mortify the flesh and follow after the Spirit.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-10-2020

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December 9, 2018

Keep Your Promises to God

even-smaller-bug-light1

4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. — Ecclesiastes 5:4 NLT

Eccl. 5:1-7
When we are having problems in our lives, we often make statements to God that we will do such and such if He will answer our prayers with a “yes”.  Then, when He has fulfilled His commitment and the seas are calm, we often forget to perform our part of the contract.  Perhaps, we have said that if God would bless us financially, we would increase our tithe and we haven’t done that yet. Or, perhaps we have felt that we were in physical danger and God delivered us in answer to our prayer but we have yet to fulfill the contract.. This puts our very lives and souls in danger. When we make a vow to do this or that for God, we must be careful to fulfill this vow as quickly as possible. Take the case of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts.  They sold a piece of property for an amount of money, how much we don’t know.  Ananias and his wife had agreed to keep part of the money but to tell the apostles they were giving the full amount. Ananias brought some money to the apostles and told them that it was the full amount of the purchase price. This was not true and when Peter pointed out that Ananias had not only lied to them but to the Holy Spirit, Ananias was struck dead immediately. The same thing happened when Sapphira came in and told the same story.  
Acts 5:1-10
We must be very careful when we make vows and promises to God. He is not a man that He should lie and we cannot keep secrets from Him.  If we have made a commitment to Him, whether the commitment is financial, more time spent with Him or a change in our lifestyles, we must be careful to make sure that our actions are consistent with our promises.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 12-09-2018

April 14, 2016

No Secrets

even-smaller-bug-light14 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. — Ecclesiastes 5:4 NLT

Eccl. 5:1-7
When we are having problems in our lives, we often make statements to God that we will do such and such if He will answer our prayers with a “yes”.  Then, when He has fulfilled His commitment and the seas are calm, we often forget to perform our part of the contract.  Perhaps, we have said that if God would bless us financially, we would increase our tithe and we haven’t done that yet. Or, perhaps we have felt that we were in physical danger and God delivered us in answer to our prayer but we have yet to fulfill the contract.. This puts our very lives and souls in danger. When we make a vow to do this or that for God, we must be careful to fulfill this vow as quickly as possible. Take the case of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts.  They sold a piece of property for an amount of money, how much we don’t know.  Ananias and his wife had agreed to keep part of the money but to tell the apostles they were giving the full amount. Ananias brought some money to the apostles and told them that it was the full amount of the purchase price. This was not true and when Peter pointed out that Ananias had not only lied to them but to the Holy Spirit, Ananias was struck dead immediately. The same thing happened when Sapphira came in and told the same story.  
Acts 5:1-10
We must be very careful when we make vows and promises to God. He is not a man that He should lie and we cannot keep secrets from Him.  If we have made a commtiment to Him, whether the commitment is financial, more time spent with Him or a change in our lifestyles, we must careful to make sure that our actions are consistent with our promises.
Post 04-15-2016