Who Can Say?

"Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?"  Proverbs 20:9.  Indeed, who can say such?  Do we have power to clean our heart and remove our sin?  Do we have any power to perform such mighty spiritual acts?  We make filthy our heart by the thoughts that we have.  The heart is the fountain of every evil act.  These evil thoughts become sin.  We are the one who has defiled the heart.  Only by grace can the cleansing come.  From the throne of mercy, the heart is washed in the cleansing flow.  God makes clean that which we defile.  No act can we do that will make us clean and hence, pure.  We are but vile children of the dust who depend upon the love of the Almighty.  We must come to Him and beg for His mercy so that we might be pure.  We must never be self deceived in believing that we can cleanse and purify the heart from sin.  Only God can cleanse the unclean and purify the impure.  Let us not say, I, but rather, let us humbly confess to God who has the power of cleansing and purifying.

The Rose Of Sharon

"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.  As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."  Song of Solomon 2:1-2.  The rose and the lily are among the most beautiful of flowers.  God has provided these flowers of beauty to grace His creation.  There are thorns in this world.  These thorns pierce our lives.  Just as a real thorn on a rose can cause discomfort to those who are pierced by them, so the thorns of life bring discomfort.  But, among the lilies is the love of God.  In this world, God has poured out His love upon us.  That love graces our life, and heals the piercing thorns of life.  We see Jesus as the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley.  As the rose and the lily brighten our life, so Jesus brightens our life.  In the rose and the lily, we see hope and beauty.  In Jesus, we see God's love for us and the beauty that He brings to us.  The rose and the lily of earth will lose their beauty over time, but the love of God never fades.  How amazing that God shows us in such simple ways how much He cares and loves us each day.

Have Salt In Yourselves

"Salt is good: but if the salt  have lost his saltness, wherewith shall ye season it?  Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."  Mark 9:50.  I like salt to season my food.  However, I have noticed that sometimes the salt seems to have lost its flavor.  Jesus uses the term "his saltness."  Our master has taught us that we are salt, which is used to alter the taste of food, and also, to preserve.  The disciples of Jesus have the unique calling to alter the society in which we live.  Our lives are to make a difference.  We are to be an influence for good, and not for evil.  We are to live in a way that others can see our relationship to Jesus, and desire to possess that lifestyle themselves.  We must not lose our saltness.  We must continue to serve, honor, and glorify the Savior by living lives that make a difference.  By this life, we also have the power to preserve.  Society will be better by the life that we live.  The principles of good will benefit our society, and those people who serve God will enjoy His blessings.  A people can stand or fall by the manner in which they choose to live.

The Way Of The Wicked

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; but the prayer of the upright is his delight.  The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord; but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness."  Proverbs 15:8-9.  All of us have two paths that we can take in life.  We can either choose to be wicked or righteous, but we can not choose both.  God, of course, wants us to choose the way of righteousness.  As we choose this path, we delight in His law and obey His instructions.  God will delight in us, and He will hear our prayers unto Him.  The way of wickedness is an abomination in His sight.  The character of God cannot delight in the way of wickedness.  God turns His face from those who do not delight in Him and follow His rule of law.  God will not accept the sacrifices that the wicked make unto Him.  Our sacrifice is accepted depending upon the character that we possess.  We cannot claim to know God if we are not guided by the instructions that He gives for righteousness.  Which path is ours?  Are we an abomination or a delight?

They Had Left

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."  Revelation 2:4.  It is indeed true that some of God's people leave Him.  Many have fallen victim to sin's enticement, and have returned to their old life.  God writes to His church in Ephesus, and tells them that they have left Him.  God has not forgotten them.  The heavenly Father desires that they repent and return.  When one chooses to leave God, he must repent and return.  God allows those who leave to return.  It is His desire that they who leave come home.  These in this passage had fallen.  The saved can fall, and if one remains in this departure will be lost.  God warns that if the Ephesians did not repent, He would remove their candlestick.  The candlestick was the church, and therefore, they would cease to be His church.  God's people today are known as the church.  We must remain faithful and loyal to Him so that He will know us and own us.  Falling away from God is a very real danger, and we must be very cautious that we do not leave our first love.

Unto Him Be Glory

"To whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen."  Galatians 1:5.  God is worthy of glory and the glory given to Him is to be constant and continuing.  We give glory to God because He is God and there is no other.  God is the supreme being of the universe.  The universe is His because of His divine power.  With a word, the heavens and the earth came to be.  By His power all that we know and do not know, all that we see, and do not see is sustained and held in place by His divine will.  We give glory unto Him because of His deliverance.  From the bondage of sin, God has delivered us.  From the toil of trials, He has delivered us.  From the ignorance of wrongdoing, He has delivered us.  God has emancipated us, and unto Him be the glory both now and forever.  God has enlightened us.  God has shown us life that is full and abundant.  God pours joy into our hearts.  Even in hardship, we can find joy in giving glory unto Him.  We give God glory because of the wonderful and enduring promises that He has made to us.  Those promises sustain us and give birth to a lasting hope.  Truly, unto Him be glory for ever and ever.

Come To Jesus

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28.  What a grand privilege it is to be able to come to Christ.  But notice that we must come.  We must surrender our heart and life unto Him.  He came to earth that we might come to Him.  He invites any and all to come.  He respects the person of no one.  No one is better than another.  We are all made equal in our coming unto Him.  The conditions for coming are the same for everyone.  The blessings which are bestowed are the same for everyone.  The promises made are the same for everyone.  The sins which we have committed that have separated us from God are different, but nonetheless, we still may come.  Let us come now, without delay.  We come so that we might receive His rest from our sins and from our guilt.  And, if are faithful to our coming, we will have that eternal rest that is promised through Him.