Archive for July, 2009
July 31, 2009 at 8:15 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #128: Working for Good versus Always Seeking for Good!
A righteous man cares about his animal’s health, but [even] the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel. The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense. The wicked desire what evil men have, but the root of the righteous produces [fruit]. An evil man is trapped by [his] rebellious speech, but the righteous escapes from trouble. A man will be satisfied with good by the words of his mouth, and the work of a man’s hands will reward him. Prov 12:10-14 (HCSB)
In the middle of this passage is a basic truth: Good things happen to those who work diligently, but the person who only pursues what he can never have, never finds satisfaction. Wicked or evil people are usually all talk and no walk. Their actions can never support what they say they desire because they want shortcuts to success. These same people also cannot even produce what is good even when they try to do good, because their motives are all wrong.
How do you know what is good and how to live a productive life that produces the fruit that rewards not only you but others as well? With an open mind and receptive heart invest time in God’s Word seeking God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom. His guidance will direct you in all you do and say. Your life will be productive and satisfying to not only you, but also so many others who need to taste God’s goodness in their lives.
So the challenge according to God’s Word is this: Are you working for good according to God’s will, way and wisdom, or are you trying to pursue your own good things but you never seem to find satisfaction in your life? Is the Rolling Stones’ song, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” your theme song? If your life is defined by the song, then it is time to realize what you have been doing is not working, and there is a better way. That way is found in realizing there is but one standard for what is “good.” And that standard is God’s standard. Begin today to stop seeking what you cannot obtain and begin to open your mind and heart to what God desires to show you about how to enjoy the good things He has in store for you.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:33-37 (HCSB)
July 30, 2009 at 9:19 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #127: How Easy We Can Be Deceived to be What We are Not!
The thoughts of the righteous [are] just, but guidance from the wicked [leads to] deceit. The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand. A man is praised for his insight, but a twisted mind is despised. Better to be dishonored, yet have a servant, than to act important but have no food. Prov 12:5-9 (HCSB)
I always find it so awesome that as I read and study God’s Word that it is evident that God as our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. His Word reveals truths about our inner nature that most of us do not wish to admit, and thus many of us would rather turn from His Word and the truth about our shortcomings and weaknesses than accept His guidance. We begin to question why did God make us so vulnerable if we are also to have been created in His own image? And that is where much debate centers regarding the relationship between God and man. It is the basis that many of us seek counsel in life from different sources to find an acceptable answer that we can believe and cling onto as our basis of truth. However, do we seek the truth or keep searching until we hear counsel that we can accept as relevant truth for our purposes?
When we pursue truth acceptable to our own purpose we are heading down the path of the wicked: the path of self-centered sin. We assume that if we are created in the image of God we must contain the authority and ability to identify truth, however like all images in a mirror, being a reflection of the original does not make it the same as the original. In fact, the image in the mirror is backwards: the left is the right and the right is the left. It is a twisted view of reality. So what hope do we have then? The beginning of all hope lies in our accepting the reality that we may be in the image of God, but we are not God, and admitting our shortcoming is the first step to wisdom. As the passage states it is better to acknowledge our humility than to pretend to be what we are not.
To be deemed righteous in the Bible says that God deems us righteous by our acts of faith which leads to obedience to His Word. Our acts of faith begin with accepting our need for God so that we can go from being but the image of God to being adopted by God, and that requires turning our life around and stop pretending that our mirror image of right being left and left being right is truth. We must allow God to enter our hearts and change our view about ourselves so that we can discover the joy of finding the truth. What a joy it is to discover what life is intended to be like when right is right and left is left! How much easier it is to find our way through the challenges in life. When that occurs, we also for the first time can recognize our sin nature and can choose rightly when confronted with the choices that life presents to us everyday. Being right with God also means not making left turns when we should make right turns, and thus being left out from the right choice blessings He desires for us.
Where are you today? Are you seeing the reflection in the mirror only as truth? If so, sin is still in control and blinding you of the joy that waits once you realize how you have cheated yourself – deceived yourself all this time. Recognize the twisted view you have on reality and seek God to change your perspective about who you really were created to be. Begin today by seeking God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word, and your vision of yourself will be eternally changed to the right view.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25 (HCSB)
July 29, 2009 at 8:27 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #126: Are You Stupid? Ask Your Spouse and Friends!
Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid. The good obtain favor from the Lord, but He condemns a man who schemes. Man cannot be made secure by wickedness, but the root of the righteous is immovable. A capable wife is her husband’s crown, but a wife who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.
Prov 12:1-4 (HCSB)
Are you considered smart by others? Or, do you feel you are the only smart person? Which realization would likely lead to making stupid choices? The smart person invests in instruction and advice, and is open-minded. However, the stupid person makes choices that choke out the words of others in their life, and selfishness and foolishness are at the crossroad of their choices. Likewise, the righteous or smart person knows it is good to seek guidance from the Lord, and the stupid person is too busy scheming to consult anyone for advice, much less the Lord.
What is the result of living stupidly? You life will never be secure because in life relationship building is the key to helping someone to live a stable and secure life. We are a communal society in God’s great plan for man, and those who choose to walk in the light of their own interests and knowledge stumble over others along their selfish path. As a result, they never find firm footing and refuse the help of others when they begin to fall, but the same people will grab onto others thus causing others to lose their firm footing. Yet, when the selfish, stupid man gets back up after the calamity he has caused, he blames everyone else, and never accepts responsibility nor apologizes for his stupidity.
Fact: Stupidity affects others blindly! Selfishness blinds the stupid person who never realizes they can never find a firm footing because of their own unstable ways.
However, the smart person seeks the wisdom of others to impact their lives, and this begins by seeking quality people of good character as close friends. And most obvious is the smart person’s choice for their life partner, their spouse- the most important life choice a person will make in their lifetime. When a smart person marries a smart person in the eyes of the Lord, they uplift and support each other in all matters. They recognize God’s vision is that a smart husband and a smart wife are made a wise couple by relying upon and submitting to each other’s advice to walk through life.
So this begs the question: how would your spouse look at you? Are you a smart or stupid spouse? Are you truly in a godly, wise relationship, or selfishly connected to your spouse? Which would be blessed and which is subject to causing shame? All of your closest relationships are held together by how open you are to listening to and accepting the good advice of others, and the openness and closeness of the relationships you have determines the stability and security you have with your spouse, family and friends.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11 (HCSB)
July 28, 2009 at 9:04 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #125: Genuine Generosity Realizes a Profit not Sought!
One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it. The one who searches for what is good finds favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him. Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but violence takes lives. If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful. Prov 11:24-31 (HCSB)
The handling and sharing of money is a big part of instruction found in God’s Word. Jesus spoke on it regularly in His teachings, and there are repeated references from Genesis to Revelation. However, in studying these passages, it is not money that is evil, but the motivation one has in pursuing or handling money. This passage also reveals money or wealth is not ours to hold onto. Wealth or the accumulation of money is not the real measure of a righteous person, but what one does with their wealth that does.
To those who are blessed in this lifetime with wealth, also comes a larger responsibility to utilize the wealth to the benefit of others. And, it is interesting that those who rightly invest in the needs of others also find rewards that exceed their wildest expectations. However, those who filter the use of their wealth by a “what’s in it for me” attitude will find they have defined their fate as a slave to what they value most, money. Once money and the profit motive that is defined by hoarding of wealth is the focal point in your life, then God will allow you to live the resulting life that is defined by those choices you make.
Money separates when greed is your motivation. Families are destroyed and friendships are severed over the greed of money. However, a generous, unselfish heart is rewarded as they seek only the profit of impacting the lives of others. Greed destroys, but generosity builds up relationships, and reaps eternal rewards for all who desire to be a channel of God’s blessings.
In these tough economic times, decide how you serve God and His Kingdom purposes according to God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at Him. And He told them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.” Luke 16:14-15 (HCSB)
July 27, 2009 at 9:03 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #124: What a Twisted Tale We Can Write
Those with twisted minds are detestable to the Lord, but those with blameless conduct are His delight. Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape. A beautiful woman who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout. The desire of the righteous [turns out] well, but the hope of the wicked [leads to] wrath. Prov 11:20-23 (HCSB)
Well many people have said I have a twisted mind, but I pray it is because I think outside the box as I approach understanding and explaining the principles found in God’s Word, but I pray my mind is not twisted in the sense that the wicked live their lives. To have a twisted mind can mean that you are altering and changing the truth to suit your lifestyle choices, thus affecting the intended meaning and purpose established by the author, which in our case is God, Himself. The passage in Proverbs declares plainly those who twist God’s Word for their selfish aims are detestable to Him and thus are assured punishment waits, unless one sees the error of their twisted ways.
What makes a twisted mind contemptible before the Lord is that he or she rejects the good sense that comes from the Lord. I do not believe that being called twisted because one enjoys being silly is wrong, but the minute a person rejects the truths and message of truth that come from God, then that person steps over the line for selfish reasons. Even well-intended, serious religious people can be twisted when they attack others only to make themselves feel better about their own failures in their lives. They twist the word of God for their own purposes and not as God has intended. Self-righteousness is a twisted and perverted attitude that will place someone at risk in their relationship with God, because they place their “self” as their own judge of what is right, thus altering and even rejecting God’s authority. What good does it serve, well what good does it do when we place the “gold ring” we claim we have won for ourselves on the snout of the pig? Well, you still have a pig who does not know any better than to wallow in the mud they create for themselves.
When you seek God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word, your life will become blameless before God and you will be able to recognize the twisted schemes of the wicked who seek to pull you down to wallow in the mud with them. God will keep you on the right path and avoid the temptations of engaging in a war of words with the wicked.
Do you know those who twist God’s Word to serve their greater selfish purposes? How do you respond to them? What risk is there if you do? Fact: wrestling with pigs is a messy business.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces. Matt 7:1-6 (HCSB)
July 26, 2009 at 2:18 pm · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #123: What Kind of Profit is Worthy to Pursue?
If someone puts up security for a stranger, he will suffer for it, but the one who hates such agreements is protected. A gracious woman gains honor, but violent men gain [only] riches. A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings disaster on himself. The wicked man earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.
Genuine righteousness [leads] to life, but pursuing evil [leads] to death. Prov 11:15-19 (HCSB)
Encouraging people to borrow what they themselves cannot afford often causes ill feelings and relationships suffer in many such deals. God has clearly stated you should not be engaged in borrowing money, and to help others to borrow entangles you in borrowing, as of you were the borrower. Doing right and being right are both aspects of pleasing God, and financial dealings reveal our right standing before God. In this passage the wise stay away from encouraging wrongful lending practices. If a neighbor or friend has a need, don’t be the security for a loan, but give freely to them to help them. Helping others God’s ways reveals His grace through our actions and deeds. However, those who are cruel or ruthless will bring disaster on themselves through the ill-gotten wages they earn. Only those who walk in ways that please God will realize a true reward, and that reward changes lives in a right way.
Our profit motive determines the long-term reward in financial relationships we find ourselves. God will bless the righteous motives, but curses those that only consider their own selfish desires. Maybe that is why the person who is rich by his or her own motives for personal profit appears rich outwardly but is never satisfied and struggles internally. However, the person who seeks the profit that comes from God, seeking only His blessings, life is satisfying and there is little want, whether rich or poor by the world’s standards.
What profit do you value important to you?
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:23-25 (HCSB)
July 24, 2009 at 9:13 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #121: What is the Social Contract under God’s Guidance?
When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices, and when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting. A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked. Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense, but a man with understanding keeps silent. A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but the trustworthy keeps a confidence. Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance. Prov 11:10-14 (HCSB)
Since the earliest times of man, there have been two driving foundational truths that have allowed mankind to develop and prosper: (1) Natural Rights of Man; (2) Social Contract Theory. Though these are philosophical terms and concepts dating back to the great philosophers of the Enlightenment period 300-400 years ago, they are rooted in God’s plan for man from the very beginning. All that the philosophers did was put a label upon them and apply the concepts to the changing times of Europe and America after the Renaissance period. Interesting enough these philosophers were men of deep beliefs in God.
Natural Rights means that people have basic rights, such as those to life, liberty, and property in a state of natural to all men. Likewise many of the philosophers, especially those influencing the American Founders, argued that certain of these rights are inalienable, thus inherent in our being human, and that people create governments to protect those rights.
Social Contract Theory refers to the agreement among people to establish a government and obey its laws. And in its definition there is an underlining foundation that proclaims that the government is only allowed to govern over the governed by the consent of the governed. It therefore is the purpose of the social contract agreement to protect and promote the good of the community. The good of the community as a whole is to be in contrast with private interests that may conflict with public interest, or the public good.
Even Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher dating back to the 4th Century B.C. wrote about these basic truths that explain why man is a social creature by nature. Yet, we have a conflict within us: pursuit of our private interests versus protecting the public interests, or the good of the community. However, in God’s wisdom we realize that by following God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according God’s Word our interests are best protected and served when we focus upon the interests of the community as a whole. This simply means that we are to do what is right in the interests of all men and thus our best interests will be realized.
To sum up much of the wisdom presented in the Proverbs, you are to keep a proper focus and priority upon: first and foremost, what pleases God; secondly, what serves the best interests of all others; and, thirdly, what satisfies your private interests, as long as those interests do not conflict with the interests of God or your fellow men.
In the light of where our society has developed and the challenges it is engaged, our hope is in filtering all our actions and reactions to these foundational truths that are anchored upon God’s Word. As long as we as a society hold to our motto: In God We Trust; then we have hope. However, if we allow our focus to become solely on our own private interests, we will destroy the hope of our nation because we will have forgotten what makes our Nation great.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live, so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:24-27 (HCSB)
July 23, 2009 at 7:12 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #120: What Profit is there in the Pursuit of Profit?
Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight. When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them. Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death. The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of is wickedness. The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires. When the wicked dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth vanishes. The righteous is rescued from trouble; in his place, the wicked goes in. With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued. Prov 11:1-9 (HCSB)
What happens to your value system when you buy into the dream of getting rich at all costs? What attitudes do you risk when your bottom line is your guide in life? The pursuit for wealth can become your stumbling block because you will make key decisions in life by the cost of the decision? When that begins to happen you have committed adultery with money as it becomes your guide and not God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word alone. Profit becomes first the stumbling stone that will trip you up by your decisions in life, but ends up being the millstone that crushes the life out of you.
The good news is wealth should be a reward or a blessing that comes from right life choices. When you follow God’s plan and purposes you realize a different profit in view – you discover the profit of building up others rather than self. The fact is there are many godly people who have been blessed with wealth, but their financial wealth is not their focus. These people discover that relational wealth is far more profitable.
Consider the passages images of contrasting the choices that define the righteous from the wicked:
§ The righteous are honest, the wicked deceive
§ The righteous are humble, the wicked selfish
§ The righteous are exalted, the wicked burdened by others
§ The righteous are secure, the wicked insecure in all their ways
§ The righteous are builders, the wicked destroyers
As you examine your life in the light of God’s plan and purposes for your life, consider if you believe wealth will lead to right living, or that right living will lead to wealth. And, that you truly have confidence in the fact that right living is defined by God’s perfect, pleasing and good will. Do you define wealth by your bank account and monetary investments, or do you define wealth by all your relationships you have built up and invested in? What is the measure of your wealth?
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.” Matt 6:24 (HCSB)
July 22, 2009 at 7:00 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #119: What More Should You Expect From the Lord?
The Lord’s blessing enriches, and struggle adds nothing to it. As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a man of understanding. What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desires will be given to him. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever. Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so the slacker is to the one who sends him [on an errand]. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing. Prov 10:22-28 (HCSB)
Why do people enter prayers with a laundry list of things they want from God? If you do, what are you actually saying to God, the Creator of the Universe? Are you guilty of trying to help God, attempting to direct His blessings and actions according to your will, ways, and wisdom that is based upon what authority? Thus, are your prayers inspired by reverence to the Lord, or your fears about your own life? What more should you expect from the Lord than what He already is doing?
What should you expect from the Lord as you seek Him in your prayers?
§ The Lord is omniscient, or “all-knowing”, and thus well aware of your situation without your help.
§ The Lord is omnipotent, or “all-powerful”, and thus more than capable of handling anything that needs to be done without your assistance.
§ The Lord is omnipresent, or “ever-present”, and thus is wherever He is needed at the right time and He deals with your needs in real time according to His perfect, pleasing and good will.
§ The Lord is the standard of what is right and good, and thus God works all things in your life to work towards what is right and good, even when your faith says otherwise.
In essence, what God’s Word reveals is the fact that should you feel the Lord is absent, non-responsive, or has turned His back upon you – who is at fault, God or you? I believe God’s Word clearly reveals that you are the one who has a choice, and you are the one who has forgotten to talk to God until some emergency has arisen, or you have walked in ways other than God’s ways, and it is you who have turned away from God to serve your own will. However, you are too proud to admit you are at fault. Recognizing your position with God is the beginning of repentance, which means simply turning back to God, returning to God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word.
How is your life changed when you accept a right relationship with the Lord? Your prayer life changes and you realize its purpose is to draw you closer to God, to know Him better, and be comforted by the knowledge that He loves you and is active in your life for His good purposes. You also will realize when you are in His will, your expectations are the same as the Lord’s expectations, and your faith is strengthened.
The passage today declares such a righteous life will be secure forever and you will be filled with joy, even in the midst of the storm. So, God’s Word is clear, the next time you are rushing into prayer, are you going to declare there is a purpose for you telling God what He needs to know, or are you asking Him what you need to know when life seems too hard to handle on your own?
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him. Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]
Matt 6:7-13 (HCSB)
July 21, 2009 at 6:47 am · Filed under FCA, First Baptist Ocala
Words of Wisdom #118: The Harder You Try, The More Obvious Your Motives
The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. The Lord’s blessing enriches, and struggle adds nothing to it. As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool, so wisdom is for a man of understanding. What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desires will be given to him. Prov 10:18-24 (HCSB)
As I listen to our leaders in Washington push for legislation that they claim is for the benefit of our country, their words are a perfect illustration of this passage. The amount of rhetoric is unbelievable, however the more they try to explain their motives for all their new legislative acts, the more they expose their lack of sense and shameful motives. Yes, politics in Washington today is such a laughable model, but it also reflects our own shortcomings as well. There is obvious derision and even outright hatred on Capitol Hill between “Red” and “Blue” Congressmen and Senators. Slander is the handy tool of political persuasion which covers their motives by claiming the means is justifiable by the ends. They claim what they are doing is for the good of the “People”, however the more they barb with others on “Capitol Hill”, their diatribes recorded by the stimulation of the “media,” the more their real motives become revealed: they actually exalt their own political positions of power and prestige. They misuse the wealth of the “People” to manipulate the same “People” they claim to be working for, to serve their own selfish interests.
Yet, there is hope for America! I would maintain that God shines His grace upon us for His purposes, not for political gain nor for improving His public poll status, but for our own good. The fools will get what they deserve, and those who seek God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s wisdom according to God’s Word will in the end receive the righteous desires of their heart. We will always have those who will fall prey to lust for power and prestige, and they will often appear as good intended public servants, but they too will be revealed in the proper time as “wolves in sheep clothing.” However, God will prevail through the only vote that matters. His “yes” will mean yes, and His “no” will mean no! What He says will be clearly understood and there will no hidden agenda.
Although I have used our political stage to illustrate the passage above, please beware our politicians are just a reflections of our society. How do I know this: “We elect them to represent us!” So maybe we should take a moment to check our motives in this life.
Coach
www.coachbrown.org
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:33-37 (HCSB)
Next entries »
2010. Powered by