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What's Your Motivation
Matthew 6:1, 'Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.'
MATTHEW 6:1-4
The motive behind our gift is more important than the gift itself. Paul said if he gave all of his goods to feed the poor, or if he made the ultimate sacrifice of giving his own life for someone else, and wasn't motivated by love, his gift would profit him nothing (1 Cor. 13:3).
Many Christians give faithfully but never see the hundredfold return that the Lord promised because of wrong motives (Mk. 10:29-30). Paul said God loves a cheerful giver - not one who gives grudgingly or out of debt (2 Cor. 9:7).
Jesus gave us the key to purifying...
The Best Defense
Matthew 5:39, 'But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.'
MATTHEW 5:38-48
Which would you rather have - God defending you, or you defending yourself? That's the choice that Jesus is offering us here. 'Turning the other cheek' is not a prescription for abuse but rather the way to get the Lord involved in your defense.
Many people feel that these instructions of Jesus guarantee that others will take advantage of us. That would be true if there was no God. But when we follow these commands of Jesus, the Lord is on our side. He said in Rom. 12:19, 'Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is...
WE HEAR SO OFTEN THESE DAYS THE QUESTION, "ARE WE IN THE LAST DAYS?"? IT CERTAINLY FEELS LIKE IT AND THE WAY THIS WORLD HAS BECOME, I CAN'T IMAGINE GOD LETTING IT GO ON MUCH LONGER. WE JUST NEED TO BE READY WHEN JESUS DECIDES TO RETURN, AND HE IS GOING TO RETURN, YOU CAN COUNT ON THAT. I AM READY, ARE YOU?
The Cost Of Living For Christ
Luke 9:58 'And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.'
MATTHEW 8:18-22; LUKE 9:51-62
This verse has often been used to support the misconception that Jesus and His disciples lived in poverty. However, in this instance, the fact that Jesus had nowhere to lay His head was because of persecution. The Samaritans, because of a religious prejudice, had just refused Him hospitality and a place to stay as He journeyed to Jerusalem. Persecution is part of the cost of living a Christian life. Jesus was communicating to this man that not having a place to stay at times was part of that cost.
There are many forms of...
Grow In Grace
Luke 9:55 'But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.'
LUKE 9:54-56
Jesus was constantly being accused of breaking the law of Moses. He taught differently than the law of Moses (Mt. 5:21-48), and now He rebukes His disciples for desiring to do what an Old Testament prophet did with God's blessing and power. However, Jesus didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.
Jesus came not to destroy men's lives but to save them (Jn. 3:16; 10:10).
'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them' (2 Cor. 5:19). Jesus was just in doing this because He bore our sins (Isa. 53:4-6) and the accompanying wrath of God (Mt....
Life Of God
John 10:10 'The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.'
Hearing God's Voice
John 10:2-3 'But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.'
JOHN 10:1-21
This verse promises all who are God's sheep that they not only can, but that they do, hear His voice. Many born-again people doubt the truth of this statement based on their experience. They don't think they can hear God's voice. However, the Word of God is true - not our experience.
The harmony between what this verse says and what our experiences say is that it is our new born-again spirit that hears God's voice. Although God has spoken and still does speak in an audible voice at times, very few...