Tag: Faithful

17.t. “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 12:27   “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 Isaiah 49:3-7   And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”  But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God.”  And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”  Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I was a little perplexed by “ Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  Specifically “I have and I will”.  Jesus was troubled by what He knew was coming and the suffering He would endure.  He does not ask that this pending suffering be removed but rather God be glorified.  And then we hear “I have and I will”.  Does this mean I have glorified it by the virgin birth, sending My Son, miracles, signs, wonders, and proclaiming the coming Good News of grace, mercy, and love?   Does it mean I will continue to glorify it by what is coming, death, resurrection, ascension, redemption, salvation, and infilling of the Holy Spirit?  How is God glorified in this?  Imagine a perfect creation given free will to choose to follow and obey the Creator.  They are deceived by the Father of all lies, Satan.  Creation chooses to disobey (sin) and is separated from their Holy God and receives a death sentence from God as it were.  The All-Knowing God has established His perfect purpose and will in redeeming lost mankind. God is glorified when His creation believes in, clings to, and relies on Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God is glorified when we freely choose to believe in Jesus Christ’s redemption.  He is glorified when we seek and desire to do His will in our lives.  He is glorified when we surrender fleshly self-centered wants to doing that which honors and glorifies Him.  Nothing honors and glorifies Him more than complete surrender to Jesus Christ and fully trusting in His perfect will, plans, and purposes no matter the circumstances.  Jesus Christ surrendered fully to the will of God for our redemption and salvation.  He alone is worthy of all honor and glory.  How will you live today so that He is honored and glorified?

15.w. “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

John 6:22  On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Deuteronomy 5:27    Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

Jeremiah 42:3-6    Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us.  Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.”

Micah 6:7-8    Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Acts 2:37    Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Acts 16:30    Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Those who questioned Jesus seemed sure that if only Jesus told them what to do, they could please God by their works of God. For these people, as with many people today, pleasing God is found in the right formula for performing works that will please God. The sense behind their question seemed to be, “Just tell us what to do so we can get what we want from You. We want Your miracle bread and for You to be our Miracle King; tell us what to do to get it.” If we want to do the work of God, it begins with trusting Jesus. The first work is to believe in Jesus whom God sent.  This is first.  Some people stop with this.  They say they believe but, beyond these words is nothing to indicate any kind of change in their lives.  They seem to forget “obedience”.  Belief/faith/trust is the foundation for works that are done for the sole purpose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.  Without faith in Jesus Christ first, our works turn into what we trust to be right with God.  Our works easily become our false sense of security.  Our works are not out of obedience but rather out of self-reliance.  No work of ours will wash away our sins.  No work of ours will remove the stain of sin.  No work of ours will result in eternal life. No work of ours will give lasting peace, joy, and refuge.

Robert Lowry got it right.  This is from the hymn he wrote.  

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

11.e. “The prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.”

Micah 7:1  Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires. The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net. Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Psalms 12:1    Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

Psalms 14:1-3    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.  The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Romans 3:10-18     as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;  no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”  “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”  “Their feet are swift to shed blood;  in their paths are ruin and misery,  and the way of peace they have not known.”  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

We look at the times we are in and have to wonder what it will be like in the future when those who love Jesus Christ are gone.  It will be a time when the anger and wrath of God are not withheld.  It will be a time of punishment and a time of confusion.  It will be a time when trust is no longer a virtue.  We want to trust words that people speak and write.  We want to believe they are speaking the truth.  Even now we find it hard to believe anything that is reported.  News has become a political tool for the narratives the various media outlets determine to be important.  There is little news that is not tainted with bias or lies.  There is, however, a mountain of confusion from our elected officials and media outlets.  There are lies and more lies. They utter evil desires of their heart and it is weaved together through their intents.  The best of them is like a thorn.  They have turned aside and together they have become corrupt.  They are full of bitterness. The way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.  Ruin and misery follow them.

This is the world we live in but is not our home.  We have our eyes on our Savior, Redeemer, and  Son of God, Jesus Christ.  We can see the lies, bias, and half-truths.  We understand the way of the world and it should draw us closer to Jesus Christ.  Our hope is built on Him and not the things of this world.  I wonder if the best thing we could do right now is to turn off all news and social media outlets for 10 days.  I am certain our lives would not be as helpless or hopeless as they try to convince us it is.

8.s. “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Revelation 21:9  Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Ephesians 2:19  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:15   But if I should be delayed [I have written] so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Hebrews. 3:6   But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household, whose household we are if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

1 Peter 2:4-5   Coming to Him, a living stone – rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God – you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Interpretation of Revelation 21 has scholars commenting from both sides who say this is figurative and or that it is literal.  The Bible does tell us about the establishment of the new heaven and earth and new Jerusalem and we see it follows the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium.  Wether or not this is to be take figurative or literal one key point for certain is about those who will live here and those who will not.  The bride of Jesus Christ, the church, those who have acknowledged their sin, sought forgiveness, repented, turned away, and believed and completely served, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ for their redemption and salvation.  There is no place here for those who are lukewarm, complacent, and neglectful. Nor is a place for those who have rejected the offer of salvation, repentance, and redemption.  How many will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment with expectation of eternity in heaven only to here, “depart from Me for I never knew you”.  They will come to this judgment with thoughts of being good enough and done enough on their own to deserve entry.  They have not yielded to Jesus Christ.  Oh, they may have said things from their lips but the indwelling desire deep within their hearts and minds to have the Spirit live within them to guide, direct, and lead them in humble service for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ is not present nor was it.  Me, myself, and I have a way of not wanting to fully yield to Jesus Christ.  Yielding means we will put to death our self-centered and self-reliant ways and thoughts.  We need to daily surrender authority of our lives to Jesus Christ and keep our heart, mind, and soul, focused on Him, for He is truly worthy of all honor, power, and glory.

8.d. This calls for a mind with wisdom:

Revelation 17:6   When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”  And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

Oh my, this is a bit of a mystery, isn’t it?  Five of the seven Kings have fallen, one is, and another is to come.  The beast appears to have been destroyed by the Antichrist, and the are ten kings yet to come into the perfect plans of God.  They come into their power for a short time and they come to make war against Jesus.  A war they cannot win but they have the delusion of being able too.  In these short verses, we see the beginning and the end of the tribulation period through the lens of seeing the doom of those who lead both the political and religious activities throughout the world.  We know the power of Jesus Christ and wonder how they could ever think such thoughts.  However, we don’t have to go back very far into our lives to understand we too were like this lost and without hope until the grace, mercy, and love of God pierced our hearts.  We were called and chosen as all mankind is.  I find it hard to explain why one heart and mind are open to receive the grace of God and others are not.  We do well to remember to live in a manner that honors, glorifies, follows, obeys, and trusts Jesus Christ.  Our Christian walk is not a walk to be taken lightly for we are a child of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  Find time each day to set aside time to grow in His Word, pray, and actively be a light in the world pointing to Jesus Christ.

4.x. O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Job 5:27  Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.”

Job 8:8-10    “For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out.

Psalms 111:2    Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

Proverbs 2:3-5    yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Psalms 104:24    O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Jeremiah 32:17-19    ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.  You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts,  great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

Psalms 111:7  The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy;

This song seems to search out things of God in a way that should move our heart, mind, and soul to humbly bow with raised hands and worship, honor, and glorify Him.

God of creation, There at the start, Before the beginning of time, With no point of reference, You spoke to the dark, And fleshed out the wonder of light

And as You speak A hundred billion galaxies are born In the vapor of Your breath the planets form.  If the stars were made to worship so will I

I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made, Every burning star, A signal fire of grace, If creation sings Your praises so will I. God of Your promise, You don’t speak in vain, No syllable empty or void, For once You have spoken, All nature and science Follow the sound of Your voice.

And as You speak A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath. Evolving in pursuit of what You said. If it all reveals Your nature so will I.

I can see Your heart in everything You say, Every painted sky. A canvas of Your grace. If creation still obeys You so will I. So will I.  So will I.

If the stars were made to worship so will I. If the mountains bow in reverence so will I. If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I. For if everything exists to lift You high so will I. If the wind goes where You send it so will I. If the rocks cry out in silence so will I. If the sum of all our praises still falls shy, Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times.

God of salvation You chased down my heart Through all of my failure and pride. On a hill You created The light of the world Abandoned in darkness to die.

And as You speak A hundred billion failures disappear. Where You lost Your life so I could find it here. If You left the grave behind You so will I. I can see Your heart in everything You’ve done. Every part designed in a work of art called love. If You gladly chose surrender so will I.

I can see Your heart Eight billion different ways. Every precious one A child You died to save. If You gave Your life to love them so will I. Like You would again a hundred billion times. But what measure could amount to Your desire. You’re the One who never leaves the one behind

4.f. “They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed”

Nehemiah 9:6   “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Nehemiah gives an account of Creation and the hand of God choosing Abraham because of his faith and making a covenant with him and his descendants to give them the possession of land from people who were evil and vile.  He speaks of their rescue from Egypt and the wondrous works God performed then and in the wilderness.  In all of this, Nehemiah recounts their father’s sin in refusing to be mindful of God’s wonders and obey.  He also called out the fact that they themselves were no different and had stiffened their neck – they proudly denied serving God and did what was right in their own eyes.

We too must be mindful of our heart and know what is residing in it through the light of God’s word.  When our necks stiffen it is not as though we have taken a firm, knowing stand against God, but rather we have chosen to neglect His word, what He has done, what He has promised, and what He will do.  In this neglect, our eyes to our heart come to the point of being blind and our ears to our soul become deaf to His leading.  We are left with a stiff neck toward the things of God and since He is not the light and the bread of life to our soul we end up doing what is right in our own eyes for the door to our heart, mind, and soul is closed tight through this neglect.

Read God’s word with the intent of gaining godly wisdom and understanding.  Read it with eyes expecting to see something new revealed to your heart.  Read it with ears desiring to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading.  Read it with the door to your heart, mind, and soul wide open.  When we start to read it with this commitment we will start to understand what it means to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ.

194. But no accounting shall be asked from them

2 Kings 22:3  In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

Luke 16:10-12    “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?

2 Corinthians 8:20-21     We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us,  for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.

2 Timothy 2:2   and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

3 John 1:5     Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,

No receipt is needed because they deal honestly.  I wonder where that is at in the world today.  Dealing honestly.  We used all kinds of documents and contracts to hold people accountable and honest.  We check every dot and line to make sure we are covered because we don’t trust and/or we have been cheated.  Then during the project, something goes not according to plan and adjustments need to be made.  It was an oversight and both you and the contractor know this should be covered under the original scope.  However, because you were so meticulous in your contract it left no room for him to just do it.  Trying to protect yourself from fraud and cheaters is just the way of life.

Do you ever wonder if we are cheaters and frauds with God’s grace, love, and mercy?  Are we frauds and cheaters with His word?  Think about it.  God has given us great and precious promises in and through His word.  He has given us His word and promises that through His word we will find wisdom, knowledge, and understanding about Him.  He promises that we will grow in our understanding of salvation, knowledge of righteousness, and will be led into all wisdom by the Holy Spirit.  The builders, masons, and carpenters did not have to give an account of what was given to them because they used it honestly.  Can the same be said of us and the use of God’s word in our life?  If we were asked to give an account on how we read it, use it, follow it, apply it, obey it, meditate on it, desire it, seek it, search it and want it, would we be found as frauds and cheaters of what was entrusted with us?

We do well to stay in His word and let it permeate our thoughts and actions with humble service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

151. And his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God,

1 Kings 15:1  Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

2 Chronicles 25:2    And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21  Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

When walking down the paths of; 1. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God.  2.  he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.  3. seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

There are dangers we face that are self-induced and none so dangerous as not giving God our whole heart.   When God does not get our whole heart then we get influenced and driven by our own sinful desires or those of others.  When we separate our heart to serve other things more wholly than God we jump on a very wide deceiving path of influence, illusions, deception, false hopes, and fleeting satisfaction.  Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” This is true in more than just money.  If we try to manage our time with God in an attempt to satisfy both our self and God we most certainly will side with self.  When that happens the word of God becomes less and less, serving Him becomes a burden, honoring Him becomes counterfeit, following Him becomes more of performing art than the desired walk, and obeying Him becomes at best a guess of what society deems ok.  See what Peter says about slipping away from God and it’s the outcome: 2 Peter 1:3-10 “ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,”

Serving God half-hearted will lead to acceptance and tolerance of sin in our lives.  It will rob us or true joy, peace, rest, hope, and faith.

43. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Deuteronomy 7:6   “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Exodus 19:5-6   Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Psalms 50:5     “Gather to me my faithful ones

Amos 3:2     “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20     Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Being chosen and called is an act of God.  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  Being called and chosen is not enough. There must be a response to the calling of being chosen.  There must be an act of acceptance of the call and then act accordingly to that calling.  I fear too many want the benefits of being called/chosen but have no desire to live their daily lives in line with this calling.  I fear the neglect of His word has diluted the influence in their lives and leaving them blind and deaf to His calling.  Being chosen we are to be set apart from the influence of the lies of our culture, society, and worldly wisdom.  This calling and being chosen (setting apart) is more than accepting the call, for in this calling there is a call to action.  A call to make disciples, to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim the day of salvation, to proclaim the need for salvation, to proclaim hope and the reason for our faith, to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow and obey.

How are we too except to know any of this if we daily neglect His word and take a complacent attitude toward the calling of God.  The simple truth is we will not.  We mock God if this is our approach.

We all are to be obedient to God. We cannot just accept the wonderful calling of God and continue to live a life following our own desires. We are to be the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”

Paul very clearly stated the responsibilities of the called: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”  The called and chosen must be faithful! They must continue to actively believe, obey and rely on God. The called and chosen will need to faithfully endure, both in good and in bad times.

The man in the parable who was invited to the wedding had a duty to come dressed for the occasion, which symbolically meant that he was to put on righteousness, but he didn’t do that. So Jesus made this famous statement that “many are called, but few are chosen.” Therefore, the called-out ones must be spiritually prepared and be clothed with righteousness which is a manifestation of His word in our lives.

If His word is not ever-present in our heart, mind, and soul the world will take it captive with lies and deception.