Charges to Believers

Here are a few "charges" to Believers that God put in the Bible. May these be reminders of His grace and mercy and our responsibility to praise Him daily for our great rewards.

"But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now." (Joshua 23:8)

Do not stray from the Lord's ways, he will guide you daily on His path and lead you in the way you should go.

"So be very careful to love the Lord your God." (Joshua 23:11)

Let us not take God's love for us for granted. We must be very careful to remember that He is constantly providing for our needs and we are to be ever praising Him. Would you receive the greatest gift in the world and not say "thank you"?

"Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His Holy Name." (Psalm 30:4)

Lift up your voice in praise and in song to God. He delights to hear your voice and wants to spend time with you each day, establishing a close and personal relationship with you.

"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" (Psalm 32:11)

May we rejoice in our salvation and praise God continuously for all His gifts and provisions. Sing unto the Lord, for He doesn't hear your earthly voice, He hears the voice of one of His children calling out to Him with thanksgiving and praise.

I hope you will find some joy in these verses today. I am always reminded of God's goodness and grace when I read the Bible's charges to be joyful and grateful for His gifts! Praise His Holy Name!

The Lord will Provide

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)

We have all heard the old expression, "God will provide," but have you ever really considered it to be true in your life? Have you ever just leaned back and thought about all the serendipity and divine interventions that you have noticed, let alone the ones you haven't? More and more lately, I have noticed the Lord's hand in all aspects of my life and in the lives of others as well. He truly will provide. Psalm 37 says "the days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty." (18-19)

There are many instances in the Bible of God's provision. The provisions of manna and quail to the Israelites in the desert for 40 years, the protection given to Daniel in the lion's den, the protection given to David from Saul's evil schemes, rain for the crops, water for the people, the parting of the Red Sea, and on and on it goes. The Bible is a veritable broken record of God's provisions to His wayward and sinful creation. Jesus said "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25) God also uses other believers to provide for each other in times of need. Paul wrote "this service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." (2 Corinthians 9:12) Remember that as many times as God provides for you, He is also using you as a provision for others' needs. If we are selfish and accept God's gifts but do not pass them on in favor, He will discontinue our blessings.

But our ultimate provision is our salvation available through Christ. We are lost in a sinful world with no will of our own and God extends His mighty hand to us that we might take it and walk with Him. The blood of Christ covers us and allows for communion with the Almighty. The Bible says "for we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15) Do not takes God's gifts and provisions for granted as achieved on your own. You may gain many riches in the world, but only He can make you truly peaceful and truly filled. Jesus said "what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

We were watching a show the other night on TV called Earth 2100. It was focused on the environment and what the people of the earth should do to protect it from disaster by the year 2100. They kept mentioning all these disasters and changes that were going to occur if we didn't change our evil ways of handling our planet. By the year 2100 the earth was virtually destroyed and nearly uninhabitable. I turned to my husband and said, "they left one thing out...God." God made this world for himself and for man, and He will return again one day to reclaim it and remove theevil and the damage we have done.

There are those who believe that global warming and environmental issues are the Devil's way of drawing our attention away from important Christian issues like abortion, gay marriage, and the like. I personally believe it is God telling us to remember that He can turn, and in many instances has turned, us over to this world of sin. We must be careful what we do with His creation. The sins of man will be accounted for at the end, but our earth is the only home we have until the glorious appearing of our Lord. It is our responsibility to be good stewards of God's provisions and resources. Meanwhile our ultimate goal should be to spread the gospel of Christ. So let's all remember that yes, God will provide, as long as we are using His gifts for His glory. But once we begin to abuse them...well, let's just don't...

Grace

"But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 3:9 (NIV)

From the beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth, He chose man to be his special creation in his own image. From Adam until now, God wants a relationship with man. He never intended for creation to be filled with sin, but in order for man to have free will, it had to be made available. Otherwise, we would be emotionally void of choice and would be like the animals. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God banished them from the garden. "And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'" (Genesis 3:22) Before the fall, Adam and Eve would have happily lived in the Garden of Eden taking daily walks and communing with God forever. But after the introduction of sin and knowledge, they now had a choice between good and evil and could easily choose the latter. Since God cannot tolerate sin, man was banished from His presence.

But our God is a God of Grace and He does not long to see us suffer. "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:32) For as evil as we are, we have this amazing capacity to commune with the Holy God. And above that, He actually wants us to! He has given us the ultimate gift in His Son, Jesus Christ. We now have a way to get back into the presence and glory of God our Father. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'" (John 11:25-26)

We who trust and obey in the Jehovah God, Creator of the universe, will now be allowed to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. So we will certainly see increased suffering and sin in our world right now, for it is controlled by Satan himself. But if we believe in Christ and choose to follow His way here on this earth, we will go on to live in a place where there is no more suffering and pain. James wrote, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (4:14) Since our time here is short, but the promise of life with the Father is for eternity, wouldn't we want to make sure that no matter what happens tomorrow, we are sure of where we will be when this earthly life comes to an end? May we seek God here on earth with all our hearts, and get just a brief glimpse of our eternity. His grace is magnificent and beyond comprehension, but it is ours for the asking if we lay down our lives and follow Him.