Being Good or Being Blameless

Should We Be Good?

 

The real question is should we be good, or should we be blameless? What do each of these mean? What's the difference, and why does it matter? Let's investigate. I'll give you the scripture that got me thinking.

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

¹ I will sing of your love and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
    with a blameless heart.
³ I will not look with approval
    on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
    I will have no part in it.
⁴ The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

⁵ Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
    will minister to me.

⁷ No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.

⁸ Every morning I will put to silence
    all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
    from the city of the Lord.

 

This Psalm states that it is from King David, a man who was rescued by God many times, disciplined by God, reinstated by God, and blessed by God as the King over His people. In this chapter we see that he made a conscious choice to separate himself from evil men (people) and that as king he would see to it that the evil were not blessed or allowed into his presence to seek help. He states that "I will be careful to lead a blameless life". We know that, for the most part he did that, but several times he failed and committed sins that affected not only himself, but his family and his kingdom. God is very mindful of such promises that we make to Him. We know that the only people that are blameless are Jesus and those that He personally can call His own; those that confess that He is Lord and confess their sins to Him, and are purified by His blood.

 

We should have no pride in doing "good".

 

Deuteronomy 6

New International Version (NIV) http://www.biblegateway.com/

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

 

Doing good here is clearly defined as obeying the laws that God gave to Moses for the people of Israel to follow. The laws were designed to be good and to keep the people from sinning, but they did not have the power to accomplish that. Why? Because our will is ours alone. If we choose to sin and disobey, we face the consequences of our decisions and our actions.

 

So, in reality, we should make every effort to be "good" and to do what is right. But we also need to know that in our own weaknesses, we cannot. So we need Jesus to help and strengthen us and wash and cleanse us, so we can be blameless. It is impossible on our own.

 

Galatians 6

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

So our focus needs to be on walking in the Spirit and watching for opportunities to do good and be kind to others so that we honor and bring glory to Jesus and to God. We should also be united with other believers so that we encourage and strengthen each other. In that we have hope.



No Compromise ( Living a Godly Life )

No Compromise

 

 

 

Back in the late 1970's I had the pleasure of meeting a contemporary Christian music artist named Keith Green. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Green ). I really enjoyed his music and saw him at an outdoor concert and festival in Oregon. Some friends and I were able to meet him as he was walking around the festival. He lived his life just as he sang, with No Compromise, which was the name of a really good album that he had out at that time. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snyPIp6m-U&list=ALBTKoXRg38BA6CB3sm345FX5yk-lmMPje ) He shared some personal thoughts with us and made quite an impression on me. I can speak to the fact that this is the way God wants us to be, living examples of what He has called us to be. The only way we can do that is by living with no excuses, and no compromise. It is all around us and it is our job to filter it out of daily life. We do that by our choices and our actions. They need to reflect everything that we believe.

 

 

Psalm 119: ⁹ How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.
¹² Praise be to you, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
¹³ With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.

 

So there you have it. The key is learning His Ways and putting them to memory. We do this by reading and studying His Word. We do this through prayer. Just ask and He will guide your paths and help you say "no" to sin. Temptation is not sin, unless we say "yes" when we are tempted. We need His strength and His help to continue to live sin-free. We worship and sing His praises and show our love and commitment to Him through our voices. We also walk free through sharing. When we share what we have learned with others, we also remind ourselves.

 

 

Hebrews 7: ²⁵ Therefore he (Jesus) is able to save completely^[c] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus is our example of how to live. He lively a holy and pure life, and so should we. Can we? NO. We can be perfect through His grace, though. And we can continue in His grace as long as we are not deliberately continuing in sin, or a path or pattern of sin. There should be a clear difference between the life we lived before we knew Him and who we are as Christians.

Hebrews 10: ²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[e] 31} It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

Hebrews 10: ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come
    and will not delay.”^[f]

³⁸ And,

“But my righteous^[g] one will live by faith.
    And I take no pleasure
    in the one who shrinks back.”^[h]

³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

So, No Compromise needs to be our motto. Call it living by faith, being set apart, being godly, etc. It doesn't matter what you call it, but we need to be an example for others to follow, and we can't do that if we are riddled with examples of falling into or continuing in the sinful nature. We need to fall on Him, so He can take us and fix us and prepare us to spread His Gospel. Let's take hold of His Calling and set the example.

All scriptures are courtesy of http://www.biblegateway.com/ , the NIV version.



Calling

Knowing Your Calling

 

 

It is so important for each one of us to know who and what we are in God's eyes. He has a plan for each of us, and it is special for us and valuable to His Kingdom. I know there has been a lot of discussion on this topic, but an old pastor of mine recently passed away and I wanted to share something that I learned from him that might help someone to find their purpose or rekindle the fire that was once lit in their life and in their spirit.

 

Isaiah 40:3

 

New International Version (NIV)

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord^[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.^[b]

 

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

 

God is calling those who will prepare the way for His second coming. There are many ministries and many media available to do that, but people need to rise up above what they are currently doing to achieve that. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to lead others, then you need to trust Him to help you do it and to lead you in the way that you should go. You already know that it is what He wants to do, because it is in line with what needs to be done to prepare for Jesus to come again. These verses are describing John the Baptist as he went before Jesus calling people to repentance to prepare them to accept the salvation and calling that Jesus would come to bring. The same is true in this age as we need to remind the world that He is coming again and His requirements and calling have not changed. He will never change. He is looking for voices in this day to go before Him and prepare the way for Him to come again. He is coming either way, so we may as well prepare.

Isaiah 6

New International Version (NIV)

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Clearly none of us should think of ourselves as equal to Isaiah or John the Baptist, but with God all things are possible and He can use us the same way that He used prophets and teachers and evangelists of other eras. Today is the day of salvation and we can be His voices in this present age. But first we need to hear His voice, know His calling, understand our gifts that we have received from the Holy Spirit, and be willing and not afraid to speak His Word. We live in a world that is not unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, or Ninevah, or Babylon, or Egypt, or any of the other nations that God saw were so corrupt and ungoldly that He felt the need to send prophets and warriors into to save the few that were righteous, or destroy them altogether. He is coming soon. Let's join His Army and help prepare the Way for Him.

Peter 1
 

New International Version (NIV)

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters,^[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

http://www.biblegateway.com/ All scripture is copied from this site using the NIV translation. They offer a daily scripture for your encouragement. You can also visit http://www.klove.com/ for additional prayer requests and live Christian music and encouragement. We all need encouragement. There is a war for God's people to fight and in times of war there needs to be times of refreshing. Please seek out people and media that fill you with encouragement so you can fight the good fight of faith on a daily basis. 

We are all Junkies

We Are All Junkies

 

 

Just about everyone has things in their lives that they like (love). You know those things that we would do just about anything to make time to do. These can be healthy or unhealthy. For some, like myself, it is running or fitness. For others, it is a career. For still others, it is love, family, travel, sports, etc. There are those that have unhealthy "addictions" like drinking, drugs, violence and crime, laziness, anger, etc. The point is that most of us have things that are so important to "us" that we sacrifice other things or people or GOD to do or to have. When we do this for some period of time and we turn more and more attention to this and more and more attention away from God, we begin to go sideways. Whatever we do with our lives, God has to be number one. When anything else becomes number one, we have chosen an idol, and we can make just about anything in our lives become an idol for us. It is usually unintentional. It just happens. The answer:

 

 

1 Samuel 12:20-22 (http://www.biblegateway.com/)

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.


God will gladly accept you back, you just need to refocus yourself on Him and on His ways. His ways require us to all things in moderation. We can still do the healthy "habits" that we have so long as they don't take our eyes and our focus off of Him. He will have us serve no other "god" except for Him. We need to work. We need to take care of our families. We need to have healthy avenues to blow off some steam. We can have a little wine, etc. But the things that are illegal, or immoral, or things that we do in excess, are the things we need to get rid of or bring back under control.

Ephesians 5

New International Version (NIV)

5 ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.
⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.



Trust in the Lord

Trust in the Lord at All Times!

 

 

We all have struggles and difficulties in our lives. These are normal and should be expected. The way we handle difficulties is a good indication of "who" we are. If we go through them depending on God and His people that He has put in our lives to be there for us, then we are truly His and committed to Him on a daily basis. If we struggle with our faith and get sideswiped by them it may be an indication that we are struggling spiritually and emotionally and need to get closer to Him as soon as possible.

Nahum 1:7

New International Version (NIV) From http://www.biblegateway.com/

⁷ The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

 

So we know that we CAN trust Him, and we know that he WILL care for us if we do. So why do we struggle with this? Well, for one thing, we are people and He is God, and we should not forget that. We will fail in our own strength time after time, but we will succeed when we put our trust in Him.

 

Psalm 125:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.

 

Stand strong if you trust in the Lord because He will never leave you or forsake you. You will have the strength you need in times of trouble. He will provide for your needs. He will turn His anger to those who would rise up against you. There is no other power in heaven or on earth that can compare with our God.

 

Remember that when times are good, we have a tendancy to slack off. Seek Him and trust Him whether everything is good or not so good. Commit your way to Him and you will find success. Others will come to you for wise counsel because it will be obvious to them that you are someone who lives the faith that they are seeking. Remember your testimony. You don't want to be the one that claims to know God, but set a bad example for others and cause them to stumble.

 

Psalm 62:5-7

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God^[a];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

 

All scripture references are from http://www.biblegateway.com/ NIV version.

Feel free to also check out http://www.klove.com/ for live online Christian music and commentary. They also take prayer requests, offer encouraging stories and Bible verses, concerts, and more.

 

And remember:

John 17:22-24

New International Version (NIV)

²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
²⁴ “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

 

 

Running the Race

Sometimes the Easiest or Shortest Path is not the Best One.

 

 

 

I enjoy running, so from time to time you will find that I use analogies to running for life lessons. My point with this post is that we learn and grow through the struggles that we face. It is human nature to want to travel the shortest and easiest path that we can. Just as when I run, I look to take the "inside" corner. When there are many runners near me, I will try to position myself to get inside of them on an upcoming turn. This saves wasted steps and time. I also try to break free from "packs". It's difficult to set your own pace when you are "trapped" in a pack of runners. But in life we need to have challenges and difficulties. They strengthen us and teach us how much we can endure. Our faith becomes much stronger in the face of opposition and trials.

Hebrews 12:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

 

Ultimately, Jesus is our example to follow. He certainly did not take the easy road. He walked the "narrow" path, meaning that he had a fixed vision of where He was going and didn't stray to the left or to the right or lose sight of His destination, even when facing death for crimes that He did not commit. Perseverance is the key. Many start the race, but only a handful see it through to completion.

 

 

Acts 20:24

New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

So my question is, do you know what your calling is? What race are you running? If you know what God is calling you to, then by all means set your sight and focus on that and run the race that He has put before you. We are not all Evangelists. We are not all teachers. But we all have a calling. Please ask yourself what your calling is and what you should be doing with it. There is great joy in finishing the race set before you. A great medal awaits you at the finish. Greater than any human race will ever give you. I have many race medals, but none will compare with what I will feel when Jesus sees me and says to me as in this scripture:

Matthew 25:20-22

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

All Bible references are copied from the website:http://www.biblegateway.com/

From time to time I will quote messages from: http://www.klove.com/. Feel free to visit their website. They have a lot of helpful info there as well as daily verses and a link to listen to Christian music online.