Good Morning!! Thank you all for your prayers, letters, and kind financial support this week. We work from week to week around here and daily put our trust in God. We never know just how God makes everything work but Praise The Lord He does! We have been allowed another week to operate so that is on the plus side! This week's main question was on works so today I'll explain a little bit on this. Way too often we listen to people put us down for some good action or another which we have done. Don't let that put you off doing good works, that idea is NOT AT ALL what the Bible says on the subject! The fact is, if God is truly in our lives, we can no more stop doing good works than we can stop breathing! It is a consequence of the Holy Spirit living in us. We should never feel bad about doing some good work for someone else. Jesus did that all the time and IF we call our selves Christian, should we do less? We should not brag about our works to our friends however. In that case your reward will all come from man. The problem which arises in another person most of the time is that they see your works as something showing the flaws in their own character. The unsaved don't understand at all the desire to help out someone else with no strings attached. Selfishness is one of satan's well used tools. It is indeed the very thing which caused his fall from grace.

Our text for this morning is Galatians 6:9-10

"And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Therefore as long as we have the opportunity, let us do good unto everyone, especially unto those who are of the household of faith." Jubilee2000

Listening to the news each evening leads us to believe there is nothing good happening anywhere in the world but from time to time some heartwarming story comes to light! Why do these things happen and should we look for them more diligently? I think the Bible also gives us this answer. The answer to the first part of this question is the same as the reason why we keep His commandments, it is because we love Him! 1 John 2:3-6 The second part of the question is a little more abstract but lets look at another text.

"For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Yes, it would seem we are to dwell on the GOOD things of life rather than the bad things! Are we indeed helping bad things happen because we spend so much time listening and thinking about the bad happenings in this world? What would change if we all turned off TV and refused to listen to the accounts of rape, pillage, and murder which bombard us for hours on end under the guise of "entertainment"? What if we were NOT loading our minds up with the details of 400 murders a week? Do you suppose our society in which we live would change somewhat?

Too often we end up with some well meaning person wanting laws passed to force us all into good behavior. This usually does not work and is not the idea behind Bible teachings anyway. I am going to give you each a little key here which needs taken into your life and used when ever possible when dealing with others on Bible matters. The Bible is written for YOU to use to strengthen YOUR walk with God! It is NOT given to tell someone else how to live. It is NOT given to be a weapon with which to attack your neighbor for his shortcomings. It is written to point out YOUR shortcomings! With this key to scripture firmly in mind, how do you suppose your dealings with your neighbors are going to change? I'll bet your neighbor will stop going out of his way to avoid speaking with you! He will no longer get the impression that you are "better than him". He will notice that you are always doing kind thoughtful things around the neighborhood and he will try to become a little more like you! He will likely even ask you why you are so positive and can behave like this. This is the time when you point him toward the Bible! After all, your daily refection of Jesus is all the Jesus some people have ever seen! Hold this little golden key in your mind and read over your favorite text. Notice how the scriptures become more powerful and meaningful when it is applied directly to your life? It is because instead of you using them incorrectly, they are being applied the way they were intended! Can't scriptures be used to instruct? Yes, indeed they can, but FIRST as Jesus mentioned in Matt 7:3 you need to get that beam out of your own eye! People pay a lot better attention when it is they wish to become more like you! When used properly, the scriptures are to help your neighbor find God, not condemn him and drive him away. Jesus guided people's behavior much more in telling little stories and letting people apply those little stories to themselves, than He ever did by attempting force.

Our behavior should and does show we know and love Christ, it should not be geared to fitting in with the rest of the world. These "works" are not any attempt on our part to gain eternal life or to "work our way to heaven", they ARE what is described in Matt 7:15-20. This is an example of the fruit produced because we love Him. If we truly love Him we can not help but produce the fruit of that love! We can not help but love our neighbor as ourself! We can not help but keep His commandments! We can not help but reflect His love to our fellow man! Because of this fruit bearing, we are known as "peculiar people".

" But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:" 1 Peter 2:9

Also

"awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works." Titus 2:13-14

There is NOTHING legalistic about doing for another because you love them; you do things for your children, spouse, parents for those reasons and no-one will tell you that you are legalistic. Why do people think it is legalistic if one does actions for God because we love Him?

On the other hand, if we are NOT belonging to God but to satan, the same thing happens except in opposition. We won't follow God's commandments as we believe they have no effect for us, we won't care for our fellow man because we are too busy taking care of ourselves. We take advantage of our fellow man whenever we can and call it "good business". We are always on the lookout to do anything which degrades the image of God. We will belittle others efforts every chance we get to keep them "in their place"! We become selfish bitter people. It is because we belong to satan's side that we can't help but produce this bad fruit. No matter whose we are we WILL produce fruit! We we find ourselves behaving in this fashion even when we don't want to do these things, it is because there is a hold on us by the devil which we have allowed to be there. The only way to keep satan out of our life is to let Jesus in! The point of satan's leading is that he doesn't care WHAT you believe as long as it is not Christ and Him crucified!

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt 7:12-14

When someone tells you about many paths of salvation or to get to God,you can be sure it is the devil talking. Christ says He is the ONLY way!

"Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6

He is that narrow gate and narrow path. The only path which leads to life! The devil wants you on ANY path but that one.

We forget sometimes that Jesus came to save us, to BREAK that hold on our lives the devil has and yet we have a tendency to fall right back into the devil's leading. It is the devil who wishes us to disregard the commands of God. This is the way in which he deceived Eve and won the world in the first place! He used a food which God had said should NOT be eaten but it seems our appetite is an easy way for satan to deceive us! He still causes us to pollute the temple of the Lord which our body is by defiling it with unclean food! He is merely trying to re-win the world but with the plan of salvation all in place, he has been checkmated. He lost the war, it is all past history and the BEST he can do now is get as many people as possible to pay for their own sins. To not accept the Gift of God, to reject God's plan and in the prophesied last ditch failure, attempt to take the New Jerusalem as we all come back to earth. You have read about it in Rev 20: and 21:. Here is the news before it even happens!!

You know, I think we do have ourselves to blame for a lot of what happens around us. Our little aura of indifference. We become too calloused and uncaring of our neighbor who of course then becomes uncaring about us! Since we are going to change the world with our presence anyway, why not make it positive? In closing, I want to look at the two verses before our opening text. Galatians 6:7-8

""Be not deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man shall sow, that also shall he reap. For he that sows to his own flesh, shall reap corruption from the flesh; but he that sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life:"

Once again we get a little lesson in how whatever we do affects us! Let us each endeavor to sow well, tend our garden well, pull satan's weeds, and we will blossom abundantly with beautiful fruit of the Spirit!!

'Till next time, may God be with you each day and lets joyfully look forward to going home!

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