Keeping The Glory

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 106. The Psalm is a long one, recounting the struggles and backsliding of Israel. I’m not going to post the whole psalm, but I do want to focus on one verse.

Psalm 106: “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.” (ESV) This verse leads us right to the story of Nebuchadnezzar. He went from being one of the most powerful rulers on Earth, to wandering aimlessly through fields and eating grass, like an animal. That very thing can happen to us when we stray from God’s side. We come out from under that glory, and are then ruled by instinct; basically, animal instinct. Instead of the Holy Spirit controlling us, our flesh controls us. It’s not just losing it for a few minutes. It’s not just giving in to the craving for the cookies on occasion. It’s so much more than giving in to temptations. We slip out from under God’s glory when we cultivate and insist on maintaining an attitude that it’s alright to let sin rule over us. “It’s just sex. So what if they’re not married. So, what; everybody cheats on their spouse.” That type of attitude shift pulls us farther and farther away from God’s side, and closer and closer to that dangerous edge of the cliff. “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for the scripture says “He’ll give His angels charge of you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” -(Matt. 4:5-6)

Jesus replied to the devil that we are not to tempt the LORD our God. That’s a powerful statement regarding sin. Don’t ever take your salvation for granted. You might not lose your salvation, but I guarantee you God will call you to account. God will never bully you; He is a gentleman. But, He will let you have your way…until your way sends you running back His way. And, it will. He’ll be right there waiting with open arms; but God is not mocked. We reap what we sow. (Gal. 6:7)

The thing some people don’t realize is that you’re really, really playing with fire, when you let the devil get a foothold in your life. that’s why vigilance, diligence, and perseverance are so important. Turning immediately and getting back on the right course is what God wants from us. If we do wrong, correcting it, making it right, is expected of us. God is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him. (1 John 1:9) It is when we don’t do those things immediately, that we find ourselves headed for trouble.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Go, And Sin No More

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, gives us a powerful revelation about Jesus’ words in John 8:11 – “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” The message bids us to “feel that between us and all scorn and indignity is a strong shield.”

We are also reminded that we are to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Being human, we are bound to do things imperfectly at times. We are limited in patience, and even in perseverance at times. Of course, it’s always easier to give up, isn’t it? That’s because we have a tendency to be self-condemning. Sometimes, we’re even harder on ourselves than others are.

Jesus spoke those words to a woman caught in the act of adultery. The whole scene changed from one of self-righteousness and condemnation to one of self examination, repentance, and opportunity. The men who were ready to stone the woman to death had to admit their own sinfulness, and repent of their condemnation of her. The woman was saved from them, and forgiven by Jesus, and given the opportunity to correct herself. Jesus didn’t require anything from her, but to get up and go forward; onward.

We can do that very same thing when we miss it. We can do it each and every time, if we just determine to step up and forward into the opportunity, learning from the mistake, without judging or condemning ourselves. Psalm 119:1 says it like this: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.” (NIV) Now, if you give it little thought, you’ll realize that can also be applied to being non-judgmental, non-condemning…to learning what caused the failure, and correcting it, rather than focusing on who caused it. Remember, God does not impute wickedness to us. We ought not to either, then. I, for one, do not attempt something with the intent of failing at it; do you? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. *Something I learned from my son when he dropped the bag of cookies at the store is that that’s the way the cookie crumbles. LOL PS – they’re just as good crumbly as they are whole.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He’s Only Just Begun

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus doesn’t stop saving us when we get saved. I hope you’ll all check the twolisteners.org website out and read the entire message, to help you understand what I’m talking about.

Salvation is an ongoing thing. We get saved from death when we come to the Lord, accepting Him as Lord and Savior. (John 5:24) But we also get saved as we’re going along and trying to walk out this new life with Him. I can’t begin to tell you how many times Jesus has saved members of my family…from me. He’s always saving me from myself; you know, the salty fries I’m not supposed to eat, the cookies that I really only need two of…Yeah, and then there are the two sizes too small pants…worked when I was 25. But, if I tried that now, I’d have to call 911 just to get me back out of them. Then again, maybe not. Denim is so thin nowadays, I might be able to just bust out myself. Jesus knows this. So, He sends a little angel to whisper in my ear and remind me I have better sense than that. He’s my Savior every day, all day long, He is.

The point I want to make is this: Guess what, Mr./Mrs/Ms. Christian-you’re not perfect yet. You still need Jesus just as much after 20, 30, 40 years, as you did when you first came running to Him. And guess what else-He loves it! He loves it when you are bold enough to come running and say, “Lord, I need you, cuz I really messed up…” We shame and guilt ourselves out of that quite often, because we get under the mistaken impression that Salvation makes us perfect. It does in God’s eyes, because He sees Jesus when He looks at us. He sees Jesus’ righteousness; we don’t have any outside of Him. (Romans 3:10) But God also remembers that we’re just babies spiritually. That’s why Jesus is our Savior until that great day. (Philippians 1:6) He’s always ready, always willing, and always able, more than able!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu