NCarolinian

In Randy Alcorn's book, Deception , a much loved character of mine, Obadiah says, "The one who spends his life movin' away from his treasures is goin' to despair. But the one who spends his life movin' toward his treasures is goin' to rejoice!" (p.255) Sounds like very familiar advice that I once read from Jesus.  However a major consideration I would insert is the mortality of the treasure. Is the treasure you seek and the treasure you have already acquired eternal?  Matthew 6:19-21 records Jesus saying, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Some eternal treasure is bad like hate, bitterness, discord and murder. These treasures and their hosts will come to a final destina...

In the Living Bible Version of Scripture, Luke 10:20 records Jesus telling His disciples after they had returned from being sent out - "However, the important thing is not that demons obey you, but that your names are registered as citizens of heaven." I love how Jesus does not dismiss the subjection of demons altogether, He just focuses our attention on the "important thing" - the location of your true citizenship, Heaven. Christ charges us to "rejoice that your names are written in heaven." The words "written" or "registered" come from the original word Graph0 . This word means to write, engrave or to describe . I believe this is where we get the word graffiti . The original word used for "heaven" in this verse is Ouranos . This word means air, sky and God's abode . This word derives from another word, Oros , meaning a mountain . When you place a mountain in heaven you get Mount Zion, the Holy Mountain of God. So,...

Searching - I beleive humanity is in this mode from birth onward. We search for what we do not possess and deem required in either the want or need columns of our lives. We search for knowledge, meaning and our next meal. We search for our mate, career and peace of mind. Most everything is done from a platform of searching. We did and still do not come into this world knowing everything, nor will we leave this world having attained that distinction. Humans will hopefully, forever be learning and God will always be glad to teach. Talk about a personal God, God is all-knowing yet in at least four places in Scripture - Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Revelation 2:23 and Psalm 139:1  God is described as not only actively participating in the lives of those He has redeemed, but intimately investigates their hearts and minds or as the Bible says - "searches". Barnes Notes On The Bible commentary states - " It is not to be supposed that he [the Holy Spirit] searches, or inquir...

I am convinced that Jesus desires a huge family. Speaking to His immediate disciples and all future believers, Christ declared His leaving was in preparation of our Heavenly home and to fulfill the promise of Father God sending the Holy Spirit to guide us in the meanwhile. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3) "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—" (John 14:16) "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7) "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Fathe...

James 3:1-12 speaks to all of us, especially Christian teachers, about our speech; our word choice. He compares our speech to bits in the mouths of horses, rudders on the rear of a ship and the spark that ignites the forest fire. No matter what kind of vocabulary someone may have grown up with, God can change it for your better and His glory when you decide to work with Him. Praying as often as possible whether it be in your mind, aloud or in a private place is a good start to developing The Christian Vocabulary. Reading the Word of God or Bible is another source of words that will inject His words into your prayer life and common speech. Then hanging around the same kind of people that promote good, clean, wholesome speech will bolster your vocabulary and resolve to continue with God's developing plan. While the above steps are aimed at eliminating the negativity, the cussing and the cursing in one's speech - God would also love to develop actual word selection. Not only shoul...

There is no such thing as an unformed life. There is something or someone that forms or develops everything and everyone. Who or what are you following today? Whose disciple are you? If you consider yourself a follower or disciple of Christ then at some point in your faith journey the question may have come up - What does God want out of creating me?  A relationship with Him provided by His Son's sacrifice on the Cross and victory from death and the grave is what God says He wants for everyone ( John 3:16 ). But He desires an authentic, genuine seeker after His own heart, after His ways. I imagine those who pretend or who role-play disgust Him much like the Laodicean church made Him want to vomit ( Revelation 3:14-22 ). God can work with genuineness. He loves us and calls us just as we are then begins to develop us, but we must put in the effort as His disciple, we must live His lifestyle. When you observe and study the lives of The Twelve Disciples that Christ first called into Hi...

I believe the meaning of life is relationships, specifically a relationship with Christ Jesus that governs all other relationships.  Having this kind of foundation in my life grants me clear direction on my goals, attitude, mindset and over-all orientation of my life. My objective throughout life is to share with others my relationship with Christ.  Unfortunately, there are some individuals that when I share my relationship with Christ with them, they receive it as an attempt to force-feed them my religion. I've got news for everyone - I don't force-feed anyone. Everybody has a mind and heart of their own, all I am doing is sharing, just exposing anyone who would listen and consider a relationship, not a religion, like I have with Christ Jesus. Knowing and working within my foundation, direction and objective of life - I still get caught up in the minutiae, the routine of life. Routine and details are great for consistency and possibly feeling secure in what you do, but it cer...

Dear God, You still are knitting humanity together in our mother's womb ( Ps. 139:13 ) and still humanity is being born with their default, faulty wiring and/or programing - the sinful, rebellious nature. I get that after The Flood, the sinful nature was still around, even in an upstanding man like Noah and his family. And that you had a plan to ages later provide Salvation from this nature for the past individuals who had died, the present you encountered and future generations to come through Christ Jesus. However, knowing your revealed plan to come back and receive us so that we may be where your are ( John 14:3 ) - why the long delay, the need for wickedness to have its day and more people to be born that you know will decide not to follow you? I hear you say, "Because there were promises made to a nation, a cherished people - Israel. Prophecies made that will be fulfilled. Faithfulness that must still see full manifestation. Faithfulness to my character. Faithfulness to m...

Prayer is an anytime, respectful communication with God. And with these wonderful, personal times with the Lord, knowing and executing a certain pre-prayer mindset would go a long way in honoring your relationship with God.  A grateful, thankful heart and mind is a wonderful pre-prayer condition to bring into your prayer life. It properly sets the atmosphere of the room and attitude of our heart to communicate with God. A wise practice would be not to go into prayer with The Lord empty handed. Just like bringing tribute to a king, the King of Kings deserves our praise up front, in advance of any requests.  In Exodus 23:15; 34:20 and Deuteronomy 16:16 God comes flat out and says - "No one is to appear before me empty-handed." And in Psalm 100:4 , David wrote -  "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."  This speaks of a way to proceed into God's manifest presence. Paul also encourages this in the New...

God is more than enough in any category of our lives, so go ahead, ask your question. There is freedom, in Christ, to ask God about and for anything. I would go out on a limb and say most of the time the Lord will answer in one of three ways -  I will do the very thing you ask. Not yet. I have something better in mind for you. Many times the second and third answers blend with His timing being an uncomfortable learning lesson that develops more Christ-like character in us. Concerning the ways of God and His promises, Doubt and Fear are evil spirits that will use negative situations, especially prolonged ones, to inject their poisinous ideas. I know, as a Christian, I am not the only one who has been challenged with these spiritual aggravations, but even those close to Christ experienced this and Christ's reply was amazing. John the Baptist. This man went from leaping in his mother's womb as a reaction to being near Jesus in Mary's womb to  dressed in camel hair, eating locu...