Post by Les Brewer on Aug 15, 2012 12:35:05 GMT
John Wolf
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified
From the Pastor's desk...
Good morning family and friends,may the Lord bless you and keep you.May the Lord make His light to shine upon you and give you peace.
Hebrews 12:12-17,"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down,and the feeble knees,and make straight paths for your feet,so that what is lame may not be dislocated,but rather be healed.Pursue peace with all people,and holiness,without which no one will see the Lord:looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble,and by this many become defiled;lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau,who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.For you know that afterward,when he wanted to inherit the blessing,he was rejected,for he found no place for repentance,though he sought it diligently with tears." (NKJV)
Following peace and holiness with our fellow man is a difficult task at times,to say the least.But,yet this is what the Lord tells us we must do,if we are to inherit the blessing (heaven).What does a Christians do,when hostility towards them comes from those who live contrary to the word of God? How should a Christian react to those who ridicule,lampoon,joke and make fun of them because of their faith in Christ?
I'll confess,just because we are Christians does not mean that harsh words from those who do not serve the Lord,do not hurt.They do,and sometimes very much. Take comfort in knowing that if they hate you it's because they hate Christ first.We must keep in mind that we are in a war for souls,and that we are on the battlefield of the world.Satan is the captain of his forces,but,the King of kings and the Lord of lords,Jesus Christ,is the leader of the armies of heaven.Our battle is not with the people themselves,it is with Satan and his legions (Eph. 6:10-20).
If we,as Christians,would become more concerned with what the Lord has to say about our lives,than what fallen,unredeemed man has to say about us,we would see more of a change in peoples lives.We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ,and we should never back up in the battle.Retreat is not an option! Do not allow the world and the desire to be accepted ever sway you from losing your inheritance.Esau had no control over his fleshly appetites.He was hungry for food,we too,sometimes get lonely for acceptance from people.But we must control our desire for acceptance by the world,lest we let down our guard,and begin to be like the world,rather than what the Lord wants us to be.
Esau didn't stop even long enough to consider that he could have gotten something to eat from another source.But he was so hungry,he let his flesh make a devastating decision for him.He sold his birthright for a plate of food.What this is saying,is that he did not hold his birthright in the highest regard.It meant nothing to him while he was "starving to death".It was until he had eaten,that he realized what he had done.Then he tried to recover his right as the firstborn,and was rejected.
Let us be careful as Christians and build each other up in the faith,that those who are weak or feeble,can receive encouragement and strength.We must make straight paths for our feet to walk on.My friends,we are in the last quarter of the game,it's almost over and the whistle is about to blow.Live with all men peaceably,from our heart,holding no ill will towards those who hate us for our stance with Christ.Don't sell your birthright as a child of God,just to be accepted by those who hate Christ.Christ lived a life of loneliness,and in the end,all the disciples forsook Him.But the Father never left Him,and He will never leave us either.If you have Christ you have everything you need.You are in the majority.God bless you all and fight the good fight of faith,lay hold of eternal life and don't let it go..........In the Master's service,brother John.
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified
From the Pastor's desk...
Good morning family and friends,may the Lord bless you and keep you.May the Lord make His light to shine upon you and give you peace.
Hebrews 12:12-17,"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down,and the feeble knees,and make straight paths for your feet,so that what is lame may not be dislocated,but rather be healed.Pursue peace with all people,and holiness,without which no one will see the Lord:looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble,and by this many become defiled;lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau,who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.For you know that afterward,when he wanted to inherit the blessing,he was rejected,for he found no place for repentance,though he sought it diligently with tears." (NKJV)
Following peace and holiness with our fellow man is a difficult task at times,to say the least.But,yet this is what the Lord tells us we must do,if we are to inherit the blessing (heaven).What does a Christians do,when hostility towards them comes from those who live contrary to the word of God? How should a Christian react to those who ridicule,lampoon,joke and make fun of them because of their faith in Christ?
I'll confess,just because we are Christians does not mean that harsh words from those who do not serve the Lord,do not hurt.They do,and sometimes very much. Take comfort in knowing that if they hate you it's because they hate Christ first.We must keep in mind that we are in a war for souls,and that we are on the battlefield of the world.Satan is the captain of his forces,but,the King of kings and the Lord of lords,Jesus Christ,is the leader of the armies of heaven.Our battle is not with the people themselves,it is with Satan and his legions (Eph. 6:10-20).
If we,as Christians,would become more concerned with what the Lord has to say about our lives,than what fallen,unredeemed man has to say about us,we would see more of a change in peoples lives.We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ,and we should never back up in the battle.Retreat is not an option! Do not allow the world and the desire to be accepted ever sway you from losing your inheritance.Esau had no control over his fleshly appetites.He was hungry for food,we too,sometimes get lonely for acceptance from people.But we must control our desire for acceptance by the world,lest we let down our guard,and begin to be like the world,rather than what the Lord wants us to be.
Esau didn't stop even long enough to consider that he could have gotten something to eat from another source.But he was so hungry,he let his flesh make a devastating decision for him.He sold his birthright for a plate of food.What this is saying,is that he did not hold his birthright in the highest regard.It meant nothing to him while he was "starving to death".It was until he had eaten,that he realized what he had done.Then he tried to recover his right as the firstborn,and was rejected.
Let us be careful as Christians and build each other up in the faith,that those who are weak or feeble,can receive encouragement and strength.We must make straight paths for our feet to walk on.My friends,we are in the last quarter of the game,it's almost over and the whistle is about to blow.Live with all men peaceably,from our heart,holding no ill will towards those who hate us for our stance with Christ.Don't sell your birthright as a child of God,just to be accepted by those who hate Christ.Christ lived a life of loneliness,and in the end,all the disciples forsook Him.But the Father never left Him,and He will never leave us either.If you have Christ you have everything you need.You are in the majority.God bless you all and fight the good fight of faith,lay hold of eternal life and don't let it go..........In the Master's service,brother John.
