In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on these passages of scripture:
Psalm 46 (all)
”Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants also would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand; His name would not have been cut off Nor destroyed from before Me.” Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!” And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out. “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”“
Isaiah 48:18-22 NKJV
”Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”“
Ezekiel 47:1-5, 12 NKJV
”Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”“
John 4:10, 13-14 NKJV
”On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.“
John 7:37-39 NKJV
”For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.“
Titus 3:3-7 NKJV
”And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.“
Revelation 22:1-4 NKJV
The river of God flows from eternity, through time, back into eternity. It reveals an eternal God to a time-bound world. As well, we are given the opportunity to walk in the rule of the Kingdom of God now!
Through this River, the Holy Spirit of God, we receive the authority to become the children of God. As such, we are connected to His way of being and doing, are directed in the path we should go, are gifted with those things necessary to manifest Him in this present world, and are able to pray within His will.
We are in the world; but we don’t have to be of the world. Let’s live as God’s children NOW. This is now possible for us because of the River of God flowing to us through Christ!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
”You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.“
II Peter 3:17-18 NKJV
Many years ago, I heard a conversation, which I would probably now intrude myself into, but at the time I did not.
There were two people talking as they went down a hallway. I was in a side room making copies. I heard one of these individuals saying that they now knew that they could drink in moderation, and did not have to be so inflexible.
You see, both of these people had been struggling with substance abuse; one was further down the road, in terms of recovery, than the other. The one who was further down the road, was making this observation about how they were “free” to do these things in moderation. I knew that this was terrible advice; but since I wasn’t even supposed to be hearing the conversation, I remained silent.
A little background: I had already been “burned” once by an individual in front of whom I said that I don’t drink at all because “I don’t need another thing to worry about doing in moderation.” This individual retorted to me, “So you have the Holy Spirit and you can’t drink in moderation?” Again, at that time, I did not have a response. I would now.
Let me give you the rest of the story in terms of both of these scenarios.
In the one in which the recovering addict said to the other recovering addict that they could now use substances in “moderation,” the one proclaiming their newly found “freedom,” died prematurely of substance-abuse. The other, fell away from their commitment to sobriety and fell back into addiction for some length of time.
In the other scenario where the person chided me in terms of the fact that I should be able to drink in moderation, that person has basically given themselves over to doing a whole host of things contrary to the word of God.
Now, please understand me; I certainly don’t think that everyone who consumes alcohol in moderation is going to die an early death. Nor do I think that they will necessarily fall into apostasy. The point I want to make to you here is, you cannot gauge your own steadfastness, your own resolve, by what others allow in themselves. Your steadfastness before the Lord is a very personal issue.
Now, there are some things that are clearly against the word of God, and there should be no talk of moderation, or “being able to handle these things.” Sin when it is finished, brings forth death, no matter who you are.
Make no mistake, one of the worst things you can do in terms of maintaining your steadfastness, your resolve, is to look at what other people are doing, or allowing in themselves, and following suit, rather than doing what God has called YOU to do.
In our opening scripture we see Peter warning the people not to follow after the ways of false teachers who were twisting scriptures in order to do the things they were doing.
Friend, don’t allow the influence of others to cause you to fall away from your own steadfastness, from your own resolve to follow after Jesus. You have the Holy Spirit in you to lead you and guide you. Listen to Him; listen to the word of God. Follow the Good Shepherd Who will never lead you into temptation. He will keep you in the way you should go
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
”Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.“
James 1:16-17 NKJV
There seems to be a very disturbing trend in terms of Hollywood and popular music stars. The trend is the incorporation of not only very sexually charged images, but those images presented in conjunction with demonic expressions.
Indeed, I saw an image from a concert from one of the most popular female singers in the world. It truly looked like a scene from hell, complete with a dark throne, huge serpent images, as well as human sacrifice references.
Somewhere along the line, a whole generation has somehow been persuaded that things associated with Satan are exciting and cool. This deception leads to opening oneself up for the hordes of hell, to not only influence behavior, but to enter in and control the lives of the vulnerable.
James, in speaking of enduring temptation, references the fact that we are drawn away into temptation by our own strong desires.
Tragically, the one being drawn into temptation is only thinking about pursuing that strong desire, totally oblivious to where that sin ultimately leads.
”Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.“
James 1:12-15 NKJV
In our opening scripture we see what James had to say immediately after referencing the cause of our temptation. He basically is saying that those who enter into temptation, have been deceived into thinking that these are good things, things they need and can’t do without.
Now, in fact, sinful behavior can be pleasurable for a season. In the Hall of Fame of Faith, we see Moses referenced as refusing temporary pleasures in order to attain a Heavenly reward.
”By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.“
Hebrews 11:24-26 NKJV
Friend, don’t fall for the enemy’s propaganda. The world, the flesh and the devil, in offering lures of pleasure, are trying to lead God’s children into temptation where they can ultimately be destroyed.
Make no mistake, if what you’re wanting does not have its source in God, it will lead you astray and leave you used up and lost.
To maintain our resolve to faithfully follow Christ even when facing strong temptation, we must take seriously this instruction from Colossians 3:
”Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.“
Colossians 3:2-7 NKJV
Don’t be deceived. If it isn’t from God, it isn’t good!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!