13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
Ephesians 6:13-14
***Jesus Is Truth
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
***God’s Word Is Truth
17 Sanctify them bythe truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17
***Truth Doesn’t Fail
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Matthew 24:29
**Will be seen by all
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:30
**Will gather His people
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:-31
**Will be unexpected
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of[f]heaven,but My Father only.37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
14 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.
James 4:14
Life on this planet is brief. Compared to eternity, our existence here is truly just a small blip on the screen. There is no guarantee of tomorrow. In light of all this what are we to do?
Believe in Jesus and be saved. Trust Jesus for our future. And live for Him each day that we have. Tomorrow may never arrive. Let us use this day to honor and glorify our Lord!
1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”
James 2:1-3
The Apostle moves to the subject of favoritism in chapter 2. James condemns favoritism in all its forms in these verses. The particular emphasis seems to be on class and financial status in verses 2-3.
This Scripture teaches us to treat others justly and equally. Everyone is to be treated with dignity and grace no matter the differences in societal class, money, or position. In the church, everyone is a part of the body and no one is more important or less important.
Christ is the head of the church and all who make up that body are saved and sanctified forevermore. Even our guests who are not a part of the church should be treated with dignity and love. No one is favored above the others. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.
One of the great tenets of the Christian faith surrounds the person of Jesus Christ. We proclaim that He is all God and all man. Somehow, through the miraculous power of God, Jesus received humanity in the incarnation.
Today, let us think about the one who came to identify with us. He felt the emotions we feel and Christ experienced life as we experience it. Let us look as some examples.
**He became hungry.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. Matthew 4:1-2
**He became tired and rested.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. John 4:5-6
**He was thirsty at times.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
John 4:7
**Jesus cried.
“Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.
The mystery of the incarnation is deep and profound. Jesus experienced the entirety of humanity and yet remained without sin for us. He loves us today. And He understands because, He’s been there.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Do you ever feel as if you have waited on God for a long time? Does it seem that your patience is at an end and you’re wondering when the Lord will come through for you? If so, you are not alone. Consider these examples from Scripture………..
**Abraham waited on an Heir—Genesis 21:1-5
**Joseph waited on a Dream—Genesis 37:18-28
**David waited on a Rule—I Samuel 16:1-13 & II Samuel 5
**Job waited on Restoration—Job 42:12-17
**Jesus waited on a Resurrection—Matthew 28:1-8
All these waited patiently and God’s promise was fulfilled in their lives. Wait on the Lord, my friend. God is faithful and will reward your longsuffering when you trust in Him!
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
This promise from the Word of God is powerful and all-encompassing. The precept that the Christian learns here is key to achieving the peace of God. Let us examine this one verse in detail this week.
Who is the author of this promise? God Himself is the guarantor of this awesome principle. Our Lord is able to keep every pledge He makes. We can trust Him with everything and with every need in our lives. Our Lord is able to do exactly what His Word declares.
What does the promise entail? God will supply all of our needs. He will bring us through and grant us all that we need to live for Christ. This verse does not guarantee that the Almighty will give us all that we want. The Father has vowed to meet our needs whenever they arise. God’s timing can be very different than ours. He will provide and you and I can trust Him in our times of difficulty.
How is this promise enacted? The Father will enact this principle through His riches in Christ Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead and His resurrection teaches the Christian that God’s power can and does perform miracles. Our Lord can do all that He has declared. If He raised Jesus from the dead, the Almighty can take care of us.
What an incredible promise one sees in this passage of Scripture. Thanks be to God who takes care of His own. You can trust in the Lord, child of God.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that Christians have been given the “mind of Christ.” He takes that principle further by instructing Believers to live in that reality in Philippians 2. “Let this mind be in you” is the command given to God’s people. Let us examine three precepts about Jesus life that He demonstrated for us. And may we pursue the mind of Jesus in our own lives as well.
First, Jesus was willing to serve. Christ served by teaching, healing, and loving the outcasts. Then, He took upon Himself the posture of a servant and completed His earthly ministry dying as a common criminal for the sin of humanity. He served the people of the world by giving up His life for them. Greater love cannot be shown. (John 15:13)
The Savior also humbled Himself. Christ left behind the glory that is rightfully His as the Son of God and took upon Himself human flesh. He humbled Himself and condescended to this planet so that those who believe might be saved. He lived for our righteousness so that we might be made righteous through His life. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Finally, the Son of God fulfilled the will of His Father. Even though Jesus is co-equal with the Father, nevertheless, He was obedient unto death for our salvation. Jesus is our example of obedience and we ought to follow that trajectory in our lives as well.
One day the entire world will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. There is coming time in which every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess the lordship of Christ. Christian, let us acknowledge the glory and lordship of the Savior every single day. It is the least that we can do.
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 7:24-29
Jesus’ final illustration in this Scripture asks us this question. Upon what are we building our lives? Those who hear and obey Jesus’ teaching will be able to stand and persevere when the storms of life come upon them. Because their lives are built upon the foundation of Christ, true believers will endure till the end.
Those who hear the message and refuse to obey it will suffer the consequences. Since their lives are built upon the temporary foundation of this world, their lives will suffer destruction when troubles and trials overtake them. When the foundation is lacking, the structure will eventually fall.
The end of Jesus’ teaching spark two reactions from the crowd. First, they were astonished. No one had ever taught and captivated an audience like the Lord Jesus. His teaching is simple and yet powerful and life-changing.
They were also impressed by Jesus’ authority. He did not appeal to the authority of others. He grounded what He taught in the fact that He is the final judge and authority. No other authority was needed.
True saving faith will result in change. Your desires will be changed, your life focus will be changed and your salvation will result in right living. Believers will not be perfect. But, true Christians will seek faithful obedience to the Word of God.
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good and perfect in all of His ways. His goodness remains in all times and in all places. The Lord is good, great and holy forevermore.
The Lord is protects His people. Even during times of difficulty, Jesus is our refuge who never changes. He is our place of safety in a dangerous world.
The Lord cares for His children. He knows those who trust in Him. And Christ never forgets His own.
The Old Testament prophet gives us great truth here. God is good, protective, and compassionate towards those who are His. That truth is what we need to live for Him each day of our existence on this planet.
mrtonyfrench 