What is fear? Fear happens when we have done something wrong and are expecting a penalty. So what does it mean to have fear of the Lord? When we have proper fear for God, we will not disobey God’s laws because we will have such a great love for God.
Kalon Mitchell
Two Masters
Christ told us that we either serve God or man. We have to choose which we will serve. When we decide to serve God, we have to learn how to adapt to being a christian. How can we do this?
The Spiritual Vineyard
It is easy to lose focus and become jealous of what others may have. We need to be focusing on what we can do for the Church and for each other. This is very poignantly pointed out in the Parable of the Vineyard. The Church is compared to a vineyard in many areas of the Bible.
Trials
For thousands of years, people have been going through trials. We have to go through trials so that we can learn to have compassion for others. We need to learn to find joy in trials. Only then can we learn how to be perfect.
Filters
In photography, you can use filters to change how a picture looks. Spiritually speaking, we use filters to change our lives and we have to be careful what filters we apply in our lives. What filters are we to use then?
Righteousness and Glory
We are told in Matt.6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness. What exactly does it mean to seek after righteousness? How does glory play into this equation? Are these parts of making it into the Kingdom as the scriptures suggests?
Open Doors
A little over a year ago April 4th, I was laid off from my job. I spent the next nine months looking for work. Every day was a struggle to keep a positive attitude and remind myself that God was in charge and had a plan in place that He was working out for me. Every job interview I would ask myself, “Is this the one?” and “Is today the day?” And many times I would walk away excited about the prospect, feeling good about the interview, and then would come the call that I interviewed well but that for various reasons they were not going to hire me.
Then one day I got a job… it was just for a couple days, filing paper work. But I put my heart into it (Ecclesiastes 9:10). I wasn’t expecting this to turn into anything. It was just a little side job. But as it happened, things began to grow. It was incredible and mind blowing to see how God was opening doors before my very eyes and I had nothing to do with it.
It made me realize that after all the time and effort that I had put in, it was still in God’s hands. The church is a family, a growing living organism. In the New Testament, the preservation of the early church was promised to Peter. In Matthew 16:18-19, it is also promised that though there would be problems, the church would never fail. God’s hand has never slipped. He has always been there, leading and guiding those who are carrying on the commission given to the church to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
When we spend the time in doing the right things, in seeking after God, He promises us that there will be no lack of doors opening for us (Matthew 7:7-8). We need to make sure that we are the ones knocking on doors, trying to seek out and understand God’s will for us, both in the church and in our individual lives. If we continue to knock and seek, we can be assured that we will be able to be with Christ at His return. Revelation 3:8 says: “I know your works. See I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” Revelation 3:20 adds: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Christ is actively seeking to be a part of our lives. He wants us to open up ourselves so that He can come and live in us as it says. We must choose this for ourselves. The doors are there, waiting for us to choose which ones we will walk through.
Our Actions
We all make choices everyday. But how often do we think about how our choices, and consequently our actions, have effect and impact on others and the church? We can either have a good impact or a negative one. Looking at two stories, we will see just how much impact we can have.
40 Years of Manna
During the Israelites 40 years of wandering, God provided food for them; namely manna. This was a miraculous food. It is mentioned numerous times throughout the Bible. So what is the importance for us today?
True Love or Lawlessness
Matt. 24:12 speaks about the lawlessness of the end times. This lawlessness leads to a lack of love. Love is a Godly attribute that can only come through obeying God’s laws and commandments which are put in place for our own good and well being.
