What Do You See?

William Wilberforce,1759-1833, lived in London, England his whole life. He grew up in a culture that was much like ours (except worse.) Twenty-five percent of women in London were prostitutes. The average age was sixteen. Alcoholism was an accepted norm. Children, as young as six-years-old were forced to work ten or twelve hours in horrible and sometimes dangerous conditions. Public hangings and displays of animal cruelty were forms of entertainment for drunken crowds.  The slave trade was a very lucrative business in Wilberforce's culture.

But accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and God changed in his life. The most obvious change was Wilberforce's way he looked at everything. Suddenly he saw what he had been blind to before. He now saw things from God's viewpoint. He saw:

• God was real and that God loved everyone.
• The slave trade was not an economic necessity, it was horribly wicked.
• The idea of children working long hours, in awful was no longer acceptable.

For the first time in his life, Wilberforce was through God's eyes. But he was living in a culture where almost no one saw things this way. How you see things affects every area of your life! Do you see the prostitute as a wicked, immoral person or some one that God loves? Do you see the gang member as someone for whom Christ died? Do you see the poor a public nuisance  or someone who needs God's love expressed in a tanglabe way? 

Today, ask God to open your eyes to see the way He sees.

God's Math

Many, many years ago when I was in elementary school,  I was introduced to the subject of math. I soon discovered that math and I were not to become friends. Teachers first taught us how to add. Later we were taught subtraction. Granted teachers did their best but for some reason I could not grasp the concept. I remember them teaching subtraction. The idea was simple. If I had four apples and someone "took away" (subtracted) two apples, how many did I now have? Simple, right?

People today are still confused about math, God's math to be exact. With God's math, subtraction always comes before addition. People think they can just add Jesus to their lives without subtracting anything. Jesus becomes an "add-on" to their lives. Similar to when you order a new car. The salesman asks what options you want to "add-on" to the basic model.

Jesus did not come to earth to add an option to our lives. Jesus came to take away (subtract) our sins. John 1:29, Romans 11:27 , 1 John 3:5 So, before you accept (add) into your life, you must first ask Him to take away your sins. He takes away our sins when we confess and ask for forgiveness. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Has Jesus taken away your sins? Have you asked Him to come into your life?

Your Enemy - Part Two

A couple of days ago, I blogged than we have an enemy (Satan) who hates us and wants to destroy us. 1Peter 5:8 We looked briefly that Satan has plans for our destruction. 2 Cor 2:11 Eph. 6:11 And last we saw that to defeat our enemy we must know him. Do not think I am glorifying Satan but he is an powerful adversary. 

Allow me to give you some brief facts about Satan and next blog we will begin to learn some of his tacticts:

• Satan is powerful but not ALL-Powerful. His power is limited. Each time Satan wanted to test Job, He had to go to God and get permission. And God, being the Supreme Power, gave permission but also limited him how far he could go.
• Satan is NOT everywhere. Only God is Omni-present. Satan is a created being and as such he is limited in where he can go. Though he does have demons everywhere.
• Satan is real. He is not an influence or a force. He is evil personified.
• Though Satan is powerful and we cannot face him in our own strength, we do not have to fear him. 1 John 4:4 tells "...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
• Satan cannot read your mind and know your thoughts. However, he does know human nature and has had thousands of year to study us. He knows which "buttons" to push in your life but he doesn't know what you are thinking.

Knowing God

This morning I was reading in John 16 and something caught my eye. In verses 1-3 I read, "All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me." 

Two things stuck out to me: 1} anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God." The Jews that persecuted the early Christian church actually believed with all their heart they were serving God (Even though they broke the Commandment - Thou Shalt Not Kill.}

2} Jesus gives us the reason behind their actions; because they have not known the Father or me."  They were religious, they were educated but they did not have a true relationship with the Father or Jesus. We know from Church history that thousands have been killed in the name of God.

Some time later, these two things came together in the person of Saul of Tarsus. Saul [later called Paul] was on his way to Damascus to wreck havoc on the Christians, when he encountered Jesus Christ. Acts 9:4-5 "“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked."  

In Paul's own words he said that he had been jealous for God - He thought he was serving God but he did not know God, hence "Who are you, Lord?”

Application: Whenever we feel like God is leading us to do something (especially controversial things) we had better make sure that our actions are truly from God.