Walk By The Same Rule

 "Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."  Philippians 3:16.  There is a rule which has been delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ by which we are to walk and please him.  As we examine the religious landscape, do we see one rule or many different rules?  Do all walk by the same rule or do we seek to walk by different rules?  The rule of God has been given to us in the Bible.  The rule has been written so that all might know and walk accordingly.  Our desire should always be to please and glorify our God.  Therefore, we must seek his way, not our own way.  There are also not to be many interpretations of this rule.  We are to simply walk by the rule which God has given and all mind the same thing.  God wants unity among those who believe in him and follow him.  The only way that we please God is by following the rule which has been given to us.  Rather than all of the division that we see in various religious societies, let us seek to be as one and united by believing and accepting as divine truth the rule that God has spoken.

Let Thy Mercies Come

 "Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word."  Psalm 119:41.  O, let the flood gate of God's mercies open so that we might receive his salvation.  The mercies of God make possible our salvation.  Let us behold constantly that God saves us from the way of sin.  His word is a light that shines so that we might walk upon the path of his salvation.  His word is our instruction so that we might live our life in a pleasing way before him.  As we heed the word of God, we grow in his mercies.  The mercies flow over our soul cleansing us of our waywardness.  The word shines forth in the blackness of evil so that we might know which way to travel.  Only through his word do we know that we need salvation and how we might come to possess such a blessing.  No other word truly reveals the salvation that is found in the wonderful mercies of God than his word which flows from the heavenly voice.  God speaks of salvation from all the evils of the land, and gives mercies so that we might be removed from the vileness of evil.  His mercies have saved us.  May those mercies ever flow over our troubled souls giving life and hope.

Truth Or Fables

 "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."  II Timothy 4:4.  What do we wish to hear?  A time would come says the aged apostle that the heart would move away from hearing the truth and would prefer to hear fables.  When we view the New Testament account of the gospel preached, we see multitudes of individuals obeying the gospel.  The truth of God is a message from God that has the power to save the soul.  In fact, the truth is the only message that can save.  Fables are lies or stories that come from the mind of humans.  Different humans proclaim different stories.  Many wish to be saved in their own prescribed manner.  But, God reveals truth.  Only the truth saves.  As time has gone forth, fewer and fewer prople are saved.  As the world population grows, the church which proclaims the truth has not kept up in numbers converted.  Despite our best efforts to proclaim truth, more and more are inclined not to believe.  The Bible is the truth of God which saves.  Human hearts must have the desire to hear this truth and obey this truth.  Our ears must be inclined to hear only the word of God.  Fables will make one feel good, but will not save.  Fables will ease our conscience, but will not save.  What we hear will make a difference in our eternal destiny.  Let us turn our ears unto the truth rather than fables.

Life After Death

 "If a man die, shall he live again?  All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come."  Job 14:14.  God has blessed man with a soul that will never see death.  Our human body which houses the soul will succomb to death.  But, we who have been made in the image of the Creator God will live forever.  Job is aware of  his appointed time and for the change that will come.  This old human body will be framed with immortality.  This earthly body which is corruptible shall be clothed with incorruption.  While we live in this earthly house, we must make preparation for the change that will come.  We must live life with a sense of urgency that our appointed time will come.  The days of our earthly pilgrimage will end.   We must be ready to meet God.  Our life has a destiny that we must choose.  Where will we spend this immortal existence?  Heaven awaits those who are righteous and have served God faithfully.  Hell will be the dwelling place of the evil and unrighteous.  God is to be sought and a relationship with him is to be developed while we have this appointed time.  Knowing that we shall die and that we shall live again, let us prepare so that we are ready when the change comes. 

Not OfWorks

 "Not of works, lest any man should boast."  Ephesians 2:9.  The writer of these words has just declared that we are "saved by grace."  Grace was God's marvelous act to save humanity from sin.  We are not able to save ourselves.  Only God can save, and through Christ, God provided for the salvation of humanity.  We, therefore, are not saved by works that we do.  While there are works that we must do so that we can be saved, those works will not save us.  God will never be in the debt of man.  We will forever be in his debt, and depend upon him for our salvation in Christ.  But, we have been called to labor in God's great vineyard.  We have been created so that we can work.  We must never be slothful in God's kingdom, but each day go forth to labor. Our works in the kingdom of God will never merit our salvation, but unless we are busy in the work of the kingdom, we will not be eternaly saved.  Our home in heaven is very much dependent upon our doing the will of the Father.  The salvation which comes by the grace of God must be obtained.  Let us heed the word of Christ, "Son, go work today in my vineyard." 

Abide In His Love

 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."  John 15:10.  Jesus is the perfect example of obedience to the Father's commandments.  He constantly walked in all the will of God.  Because he chose to do the will of the Father, he abided in God's love.  So it must be with our lives.  We will abide in the love of God if we keep his commandments.  God has loved us with an amazing, incomprehensible love.  We must continue in that love.  For the love of God delivers us from the guilt and penalty of sin.  God's love for us gives us eternal life, and the hope of heaven.  His love will deliver us from the pangs of death.  Under his banner of love, we are never alone in this present world.  We also have a refuge from life's storms.  God provides for us all the blessings that we need in this world.  We need his love for us.  Therefore, we must walk in obedience to his will always keeping his commandments.  The commandments of God are not unreasonable, and the keeping of those commandments guarantees us peace and security in this life.  Let us insure his love for us by keeping his commandments daily and constantly.

When We Escape

 "And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita."  Acts 28:1.  Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, is being taken to Rome where he desires to stand before Caesar.  While on the journey, a terrible storm occurs threatening the loss of life.  Paul has informed the crew that there will be no loss of life.  This comes to pass as we read, "and when they were escaped."  They had escaped the wrath of the sea.  God has made it possible for us to escape his wrath for our serving sin.  In this mortal life, we will serve God or we will serve the devil.  Service to the devil will be punished with the wrath of God.  That wrath has been displayed in ages gone by.  We know of the flood that destroyed the world except for Noah and his family.  They were able to escape because of their righteousness and obedience.  We read of the wrath of God upon Sodom because of the sexual perversion of that city.  Lot was able to escape because he believed God and went out with the messengers that were sent to warn him.  There is a day of wrath coming upon the sons of men.  God's wrath always comes because of sin and transgression.  In Jesus Christ, we can escape.  May we have the wisdom to hear the warning and flee for our souls.

What The Living Know

"For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten,  Also, their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."  Ecclesiastes 9:5-6.  While we live, we hav a knowledge of what transpires around us.  We love. We hate. We envy.  But, the hour will come when we shall leave this mortal existence.  W shall no longer know of things that happen in the land of the living.  Our sure knowledge now is that we are going to die.  This is no surprise to anyone.  We are constantly surrounded by death.  While we live, we have an opportunity to love and do good.  Many times, we may do the exact opposite.  But, the time will come when we will not have that opportunity.  Life under the sun will continue, but not for the dead.  We will not return to this mortal existence.  We will be unable to return and change anything.  The way that we die is the way that it will be.  Knowing that we shall die, let us love instead of hate.  Let us be without envy only seeking the good of others.  Rather than our memory being forgotten. let us ensure that our journey here brought a benefit to the lives of others. 

Trust Rather Than Fear

 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."  Psalm 56:3.  This is the one who killed the bear and lion with his hands.  He faced Goliath while an army was fearful.  But, all men at one time or another know what it is to be afraid.  Different events fill our hearts with fear.  What we must learn  to do is trust God.  God wants his followers to be without fear.  Fear can disrupt our relationship with him.  Fear can cause us to lose sight of God's power and purpose.  But, trust brings us to God.  Trust makes us know that with God,we can do all things and overcome all things.  Trust leans not on our understanding and will power, but commits to God who can do all things.  Trust allows us to know God's peace that does indeed pass our understatnding.  Trust allows us to wait on God.  God wil always do what is right for us.  Fear creates irrational behavior and will cause us to rush.  We will make wrong decisions which will lead to wrong actions.  Trust brings us to a calmness of spirit and an assurance of soul.  Trust knows God who reliefs anxiety and fretfulness.  Fear can make us faint.  Fear can make lose sight of our goal.  Trust gives us hope and ultimately, victory.  When fear comes, God is there to protect and help.  We encounter moments when we are threatened, but trust will give us strength and we will overcome.  Fear makes for loss whereas trust always brings gain.

Redeeming The Time

 "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."  Ephesians 5:16.  The days are evil, aren't they.  But, evil has been on the earth since Adam and Eve decided to go their own way.  That brought disaster, and the time has not gotten better.  Jesus had to die so that we could be redeemed from our sin, and purify our soul.  God wants us to "redeem the time" because of the evil of our time.  We all wish that we could call back time and relive our days.  We, like Adam and Eve, have walked in our own way, and made our share of mistakes.  Let's go ahead and call them what they are--sins.  How do we redeem the time since we cannot relive any of our days and undo anything that we have done?  We realize that the "days are evil" and we must live with caution and dependance upon God.  We watch so that we do not fall into any more traps that are set by Satan.  We turn our attention upon those Godly principals that are set forth in the word of God so that we can live and walk in a way that pleases our Creator.  We understand that each moment is precious, and that heaven or hell is only a step away.  We "redeem the time" when we seek God and allow him to control our heart and life.

High Time To Awake

 "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  Romans 13:11.  How true is this passage.  Indeed, it is now time to awake from our slumber and laziness.  This blog has been neglected for some time, but a new day has dawned.  Aren't we blessed that we can have new days?  God is so gracious in that he is willing to give us new opportunities.  I pray that those of you who read these words will search your soul and know that your salvation is nearer than when you believed.  But, you must believe.  You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and be united with him in baptism.  If you do not know salvation, then come to Christ in obedient faith putting on Christ in baptism.  God will then add you to the church which you read about in the New Testament.  You live each day seeking a closer walk with God in holiness and faith.  We use the power of God's Holy Spirit to overcome sin and temptation.  We keep our focus upon heaven and the life after death.  I will make it a focus of my life to write meaningful words of encouragement as often as possible.  I will use only the word of God without any philosopy or human wisdom because only the work of God can save the soul.  If I can answer any question personally or help in any way, use my email to contact me.  wvthomas68@gmail.com.  I would love to hear from you even if you just say hi.  Let us today begin a journey toward a new opportunity.