mrtonyfrench

I was lost—Jesus found me!

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:4-7

I was spiritually blind—Jesus opened my eyes!

The blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Matthew 11:5

I was separated from God—Jesus reconciled me!

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:10

I was headed for Hell—Jesus saved me and now I am headed for Heaven!

Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:1-3

Christ has done all of these things for me. He can do the same for you! If you haven’t already, will you trust Him today?

Tony French

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

Light exposes the truth so all can see. The truth of the gospel is we are sinners, we need a savior, Christ is our Savior, and eternal life is given to those who believe and trust in Jesus. Every person on earth needs to be exposed to this truth. We are not to hide the gospel, we are to shine it for all to see.

Light is meant to shine. We do not hide light in our homes, we use light to help see the truth. We also shine the light of the gospel so our friends, family, and neighbors can see the truth. The ultimate goal of shining the light of the truth is the glorification of God. As people see our good works through our relationship with Christ, they glorify God in heaven.

Be the salt that God desires you to be. Shine the light so others may see Jesus and be saved. You’ll be blessed if you do!

Commit to read these verses throughout this week. Commit to pray for your own spiritual condition so that you would grow in purity, peacefulness, and persistence in following Christ.

Seek an opportunity to shine the light and share the gospel this week. Seek an opportunity to invite someone to church.

Tony French

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We are reminded today about what awaits the Believer in Christ. The Apostle Peter tells us that we have an inheritance through Christ’s work upon the cross and His resurrection. He then goes on to describe the inheritance we have in Christ. Let’s be encouraged as we examine this topic this week.

**Our inheritance is imperishable. It will never spoil or decay. Our inheritance in heaven will not rust or rot. Praise be to Christ our Lord!

**Our inheritance is pure. No defilement of any kind will ever mar our Heavenly home. What a contrast. In our society, everything is stained and corrupted by sin and rebellion. However, the dwelling place of God’s people is pure, holy, and undefiled. Christ alone is worthy!

**Our inheritance is eternal. Our inheritance will remain long after everything else has passed away. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

**Finally, our inheritance is reserved. We have a reservation for Heaven through Christ’s saving work. It cannot be taken away or destroyed and nothing can keep us from our reserved place in Heaven.  Christ alone is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise!

Tony French    

An examination of the beatitude found in Matthew 5:13

Verse 13

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Jesus declares us to be the “salt of the earth.” Salt preserves and cleanses. From a spiritual standpoint, Believers are to preserve the culture by holding to the truth of Scripture. When we abandon the truth and give in to the spirit of the age we cease to be salt and are not any good to the kingdom work upon this earth.

We are also to be cleansing agents by doing right and loving others. In a world filled with hate, we are to love and help others. We cleanse the world through righteousness and holiness.

Salt also creates thirst. Christians should live their lives in such a way that they create a “thirst” for the gospel. Peter puts it this way, Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)

May we go and do likewise!

Tony French

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.  “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said* to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said* , ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”  Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus is the judge of all things. At the end of the age, He will gather the true Believers to Himself and He will judge those who refuse to believe in Him. This parable gives us insight on these future events. Let us observe three observations from this parable of Christ.

**There are true believers and false believers. Some who claim the name of Christ are true converts and they are the good seed that grows into good wheat. There are others who claim to be a Christian, but, they are actually not a Believer at all. The non-believer may look like a Christian and may even act like one for a time. However, the true and false will be revealed for who they really are in the end.

**True and false believers will inhabit the same space in this life. Both are allowed to grow. It is only at the end that the differences come into focus.

**Ultimately, the true believer shall be gathered to Christ and the false convert shall be separated from Christ. All shall be judged and the true faith will be rewarded while the false faith will receive condemnation. No one escapes the judgement of Christ.

What about you? Have you placed your faith in Christ? Do you believe that He lived for you, died for you, and rose again for you? Are you a true believer? You may fool people for a time if you are not really a Christian. But that ruse will not last forever. In the end, the wheat will be revealed along with tares. Trust Christ today and be saved!

Tony French

An examination of the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:10-12

Verses 10-12

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The last of the beatitudes seems counterintuitive. How can we blessed when we are persecuted, insulted, and mischaracterized in our pursuit of righteousness?  There doesn’t seem to be much blessing here at all. But, take heart.

We can blessed in these things by recalling our reward in heaven. While we believe that God does bless and reward us here on earth, we realize that our greatest blessings are in heaven. We await those blessings as we await the coming of the Lord.

Also, we are blessed by remembering that others were persecuted before us. We are not alone. Others who have sought to live righteous lives have experienced persecution, pain, and sorrow.  They made it through and so shall we.

Blessed are Christians in this age and the age to come. Blessed are we indeed!

Tony French

Dear Christian, God is with you!

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”

Hebrews 13:5-6

Christ lives in you!

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Our faith will be rewarded!

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Keep serving Jesus, Believer. Your faith is not in vain. Keep striving and living by faith knowing that Christ is with you every step of the way.

Tony French

An examination of the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:8-9

The teachings of Jesus have a revolutionary feel and orientation. They are only possible as we live through the Holy Spirit each day. They are upside down principles that lead to right-side up living! Let’s see them today as they are recorded in sacred Scripture.

Verse 8

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

God is ultimately pure. In Him, there is no spot, no blemish, and no error. Christians are commanded to be like Christ and He is our example of purity in a sinful world. 

God’s people should seek to be pure in thought, belief, and deed. We do this not to obtain salvation, but as evidence for salvation. Our purity, as the Spirit works in us, should be an example to others that we are truly in Christ.

Only those who are pure will see God. Jesus purchased our purity when he died for us and rose again.  Our sins have been forgiven and we have the righteousness of Christ when are justified through Him!

Verse 9

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

One of our greatest human needs is for peace. We desire peace with others, peace with ourselves, and peace with God. Christ-followers have peace with God and peace through Christ because He gives us His peace. (John 14:27) We are now expected to be peacemakers.

Reconciliation with others is not always easy. Working through divisive problems can be extraordinarily taxing. However, reconciliation is commanded in Scripture (Matthew 18 & 2 Corinthians 5:18-19) and should be practiced as we live life together.

Blessings await those who are peacemakers. Is there someone with which you need to reconcile? Start the process today.

Tony French

As Christians, our desire is to live holy lives. We want to be like Jesus. But we still struggle with sin. While we want to be holy, we struggle against the world system, the evil one, and our own sinful nature. We can easily sympathize with Paul’s struggle in Romans 7.

What can we do to overcome sin? Is there any help? Thankfully there is. Let us examine three steps to overcoming sin. I’m sure there are more, but, we will limit this discussion to three steps.

**Avoidance. First, let us commit to avoiding situations that tempt us as much as possible. Paul spoke of fleeing fornication (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Corinthians 6:18) and of avoiding the very appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Stay away from circumstances that allow sinful temptation to flourish. We can’t always avoid these times. But, we should take every precaution possible to prevent them from occurring in our lives.

**Prayer. Jesus counsels us to pray that we would not enter into temptation (Matthew 26:41). He also teaches us to pray that we would be spared from temptation in the model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  A consistent prayer life is a powerful defense against sin. Avoiding temptation is not simply running away from sin. That is important, but, it’s not always enough. We need to run towards Christ. One of the best ways to do that is through prayer.

**Trust. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us this: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.  This promise reveals several important keys to escaping temptation.

**God is in control of your temptations.

**He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.

**God will provide an escape route from temptation. Look for it early in the temptation process and when you find the escape, take it.

**Christ will give you the strength to bear it all to help you overcome sinfulness.

Overcoming sin is difficult and arduous. Sometimes we will lost the battle. When you do, simply confess your sin, ask forgiveness, and move on (1 John 1:9-10).   Stay in the fight. Avoiding sinfulness means escaping the consequences of our sin. And obedience is always worthwhile in the life of a believer.

Tony French

An examination of the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:6-7

Verse 6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Great blessings will flow to those who earnestly desire and seek after God’s righteousness. The righteousness that we are to seek after can be found in God’s Word, in prayer, in the church, and through living a daily of life of discipleship. Growth is sometimes slow and there will be setbacks. Nevertheless, the true kingdom citizen will want to know what God has commanded us to do and how to live.

We live in a day where folks seem to be running from righteousness and sprinting toward evil.  Evil is good and good is evil in our time. God’s people, however are to search for and seek after God’s right way of living.

Seek to learn more about Christ and to obey the Word of God. The blessings of adoption await those who seek after Him.

Verse 7

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.

One powerful attribute of kingdom living is the ability of showing mercy. The merciful are promised mercy in return.

This being the case, the opposite must be true as well. Those who will not show mercy will not be shown mercy. Those who deliver condemnation will receive condemnation in turn.

So, what about you? Will you choose mercy or judgement? Will you choose compassion or condemnation? God bless you!

Tony French