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THE POISON OF SLOTH

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on April 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Proverbs 21:25 The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

Webster’s defines sloth as “a disinclination to action or labor, sluggishness, laziness, idleness.” In theological contexts, sloth carries with it not only the idea of laziness and spiritual things, but also apathy and inactivity in the practice of our everyday lives.

The slothful person is like a piece of driftwood floating effortlessly and heedlessly downstream with the current. It takes no effort, no strength to be lost. A drifting boat always goes downstream, never up. Likewise, a drifting, slothful soul is inevitably moving toward an eternity of destruction.

The sin of doing nothing–the sin of omission–is just as dangerous as any sin of action–of commission. You don’t have to do anything to be lost: just do nothing. Just be slothful about your soul. Tragically thousands of us Christians are slothful also–when it comes to prayer, worship, reading the Bible, witnessing for Christ, helping neighbors in need, giving to charity, or giving to God’s work.

A stubborn, slothful spirit is a great hindrance to receiving Jesus’ forgiveness and transforming power. Don’t let this happen to you.

Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.

Broad, low and flat is the way to destruction. It is the narrow, high and rocky path that leads to salvation. We can pretty much assume that if we are taking the easy road filled with many fellow travelers that we are likely on the wrong path. We can also assume that the right path is the far less traveled one filled with challenges and obstacles.

It is easy to go along just to get along in this world. It is exceedingly hard to stay on the path of light and righteousness; God’s path. Many times, we may not be sure which path to take. So, when faced with a choice of paths, we would do well to choose the harder, less traveled one.

On that path God awaits, saying “I am with you and will never forsake you. I will give you what you need to make the journey. And your reward will be the peace which surpasses all understanding.” So, the choice is ours. Will we choose ease or peace, pleasure or joy, sloth or salvation?

Rocky road?

Z gardener

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THE POISON OF IMPURITY

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on April 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

In God’s eyes, impurity is one of the most revolting sins, because it twists and distorts one of God’s most precious gifts: human love. Impurity drags this gift down to the level of the beast.
 
Yet impurity–surrounding us as it does in the form of filthy stories, suggestive remarks, open vulgarity; in magazines, on television, in the movies, through the internet–has a better press agent than purity. Purity is considered smug, but impurity is considered smart–and the consequences of this vicious sin are played out. Satan fails to speak of the remorse, the futility, the loneliness, and the spiritual devastation that go hand in hand with immorality.
 
Christ can do only one thing with the sin of impurity–and every other sin, Jesus neither condones sin nor condemns it; he forgives it. He will also cleanse you and give you victory over your sin. Jesus said to the immoral woman, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). He says that to you as well–and He never told anyone to do something without offering them the power to do it.
 
Ephesians 5:3         Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity…because these are improper for God’s holy people.
 
From the “Good Morning, Lord” series
The material world (culture), that humans have shaped and created to live in, exposes us to every form of human weakness in attitude, behavior and spirit. When we allow these weaknesses into our personal world they subject us to every negative human experience (doubt, fear, worry, etc.). When we engage in these negative human activities it causes the words, thoughts and deeds that hurt us and hurt others.
 
Let us this day confess those weaknesses, take personal responsibility for our part in them, repent of them and commit this day to act according to God’s will. Let us begin that commitment by forgiving other and by asking God for forgiveness. Then, we will be forgiven, made pure again and live in the Eden God created for us.
 
Confessing and committing,
 
 
Stan

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SPIRITUAL FOOD

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 31, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 
 
Nothing will help us grow spiritually more than spending time alone with God every day, reading His Word and praying. I know our lives are busy today, but time alone with God is essential to our spiritual welfare. Most of us wouldn’t think of missing a meal, yet we miss our spiritual “meals” when we neglect God’s Word–and we end up spiritually weak.
 
Even five minutes alone with God each day can renew and strengthen your soul.
 
Psalm 119:105    Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
 
  
 
Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing Net Surfers
Psalm 104:33      I will sing to the
Lord as long as I live; I will sing 
praises to my God while I have
my being.

 

 
 
 
 
Even more than our physical bodies require nourishment, our spiritual selves must have time in communion with God to grow and remain strong. Each prayer, each time we think of God or our relationship with God, we receive the spiritual sustenance we require to grow into fully mature spiritual beings.
 
When we act according to God’s will, we become a portal for God’s love into the world. This is spiritual exercise. And, just as we require spiritual food, we also require spiritual exercise to become the spiritual beings, the children of God we were created to be.
 
So today, let us feed our souls with God’s presence and then exercise our souls by acting according to God’s will. Then we will have a healthy, growing and strong spirit. Then, we will be living in the Eden created for us.
 
Working out with God,
 
Z gardener

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THE POISON OF ENVY

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 27, 2015| 1 Comment »

Envy dethrones God. Envy destroys our spiritual health, and it takes the joy, happiness, and contentment out of living. Envy becomes a spiritual leprosy, isolating us from both God and other human beings. No wonder God ranks envy on the same level as sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, and drunkenness (see Galatians 5:19-21).
 
To get rid of this devastating poison, first recognize that you have it. Then confess your sin to God and renounce it. Finally, since envy cannot be overcome in your own strength, open your heart to the transforming power of Christ.
 
Proverbs 14:30      A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
 
 
Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.
Envy devalues one’s own life, station or outlook as being inferior to another’s. It robs us of self-respect, identity and status as children of God. Most of the time it springs from a sense of inferiority or covetousness (desiring that which belongs to another). It is never good, it always hurts the one experiencing it and seldom affects the one to whom it is directed.
 
If we face this weakness honestly and turn it over to God, he can help us overcome it. That may begin with a frank assessment of our own situation and recognition of changes we need to make. If we make those changes we will clearly see the true nature of God, our value to him and therefore our own value and worth. Then we will have no source or foundation for envy because we truly know who and whose we are.
 
Seeing clearly,
 
Z gardener
 

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FREE OF PRIDE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 
He had dropped out of church when he didn’t agree with a building project that was being planned. After his wife died, however, he found himself wishing he had never left; his loneliness was almost more than he could bear. But would he have the courage to swallow his pride and go back to church? Finally he did, and his only regret was that he hadn’t done it sooner.
 
Maybe this reminds you of a situation in your life. Do you need to swallow your pride? Do you need to apologize or admit you were wrong about something? Do you need to work to restore your relationship with a brother or sister in Christ–especially if you were the one at fault? Or, like this person, do you need to get back into a fellowship of believers?
 
If so, confess your pride and seek God’s wisdom and strength for the future. Let go of your pride–and then patiently wait to see how God will work to restore and change your heart and your life.
 
Ecclesiastes 7:8    Patience is better than pride.
 
 
 
MIchael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing Net Surfers
 
 
 
When we face our pride and confess it, our pride loses its power over us. So today, let us face our pride honestly, confess it and repent. Then, that which we need so much will be available to us, and will be good for us.
 
Facing down pride,
 
Z gardener

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THE POISON OF PRIDE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The pride that God loathes is not a healthy self-respect or a legitimate sense of personal dignity. It is the haughty, undue self-esteem out of all proportion to our actual worth. It is the repugnant egotism that is repulsive to both man and God. It is that revolting conceit which swaggers before men and struts in the presence of the Almighty. And God detests it.
 
Pride may take various forms. Spiritual pride trusts in one’s own virtue rather than in the grace of God. Intellectual pride gives its possessor self-confidence rather than God-confidence. Pride in material things enthrones self and displaces God; secondary things are exalted to the place of first importance. Social pride manifests itself in arrogance and status. All forms of pride emanate from the haughty human heart, and pride is the sin that God detests most.
 
What can you do about it? Confess your pride. Humble yourself in the sight of God. Look then at Christ, who “humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).
 
Proverbs 16:5 – The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
 
  Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.
 
 
Sin springs from the false sense of separation; separation from God and from others. The particular sin of pride takes this false sense of separation to its worst manifestation. In pride, we not only falsely separate ourselves from God and others, but we perceive ourselves as superior to God or others. It is the gateway sin to all other sins. It is the original sin that caused us to be cast out of Eden. 
 
However, the gate to Eden was reopened by Christ’s sacrifice and we can live in the garden again. To live there, we must overcome our pride and turn our lives and our priorities over to God. We must see through the false illusion of our sense of separateness, and accept that we are God’s children, indivisible and eternally connected.
 
Then we can live in harmony with true reality as one of God’s children, no better or worse than any other. Then we can see the true picture of our selves in our world. Then the garden appears and we can claim all the hope, joy, love and peace that God put in this garden for our best good.
 
Coming together right now,
 
Z gardener

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CAVING IN TO THE CROWD

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The name Pontius Pilate will be forever linked to the death of Jesus Christ, for it was he, as Roman governor, who gave the final order condemning Jesus to death by crucifixion.
 
But the name of Pontius Pilate will also stand forever as a prime example of someone who knew what was right–but failed to do it. Repeatedly he told the mob clamoring for Jesus’ death that he found no basis for condemning him–but in the end, he caved in to the pressures of the crowd and ordered His death. Publicly he washed his hands and told the crowd that they alone were responsible for Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:24), but in reality Pilate’s cowardice sent Jesus to the cross.
 
How often do you cave in to the pressures of the crowd, seeking the approval of others instead of the approval of God? We all like to be liked–but that can be a very dangerous thing. Make it your goal to live for Christ and be faithful to Him, regardless of what the crowd demands.  
 
Luke 23:4, 23         Then Pilate announced…”I find no basis for a charge against this man”….but with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.
 
 
 
Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.
It is important to note that it was the crowds of people that demanded Jesus’ crucifixion. They, and their religious leaders insisted on his death. Not the Roman Governor or the Emperor, but in essence, us. He died for us and because of us.
 
How often today do we face the same choice in our lives? Do we not crucify Christ each time we deny him, each time we turn away from his will and each time we fail to stand up to wrong regardless of popular opinion and modern culture?
 
So today let us lead the crowd and not cave in to the pressures of modern leaders or culture. Ignore the pressures that say “Everyone does it, don’t be a stick in the mud or nobody does that any more”. Today, let us say “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” and, let us with our actions say, “We will follow God’s will, not the crowd’s, and we will keep God’s commandments now and forever.” 
 
That is the lesson we must learn from the crowd-demanded crucifixion, from Peter’s denial and from Judas’ betrayal. His death was for us, by us and of us. Now, it is our turn to resurrect Christ in our own lives, to lift him up and to claim the salvation that his death secured. We are the crowd. Let our righteous shouts prevail.
 
Honoring, claiming and raising up Christ,
 
Stan

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READ THE LABEL

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

After a minister had spoken strongly against sin one morning, one of his members said, “We don’t want you to talk so plainly about sin, Because if our children hear you mention it, they will more easily become sinners. call it a mistake, if you will, but do not speak so bluntly about sin.”

The minister went to his medicine shelf and brought back a bottle of strychnine marked “Poison.” He said, “I understand what you want me to do. You want me to change the label. Suppose I take this ‘Poison’ off the bottle and put on a label like ‘Peppermint Candy.’ Can’t you see the problem? The milder you make the label, the more dangerous the poison’s presence.”

Romans 6:32 For the wages of sin is death, But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.

We must not shy away from using truthful words about evil and sin. Like poison, they are to be identified and warned against in the clearest of terms. However, we must not make sin and evil the focus of our lives or our self-perception. We are to be children of God overcoming and avoiding our weaknesses. We are not to see ourselves as evil beings who only do good to avoid punishment or damnation.

Sin, in its truest sense is the illusion of separation from God, and it is very poisonous. Yet the antidote to sin is communion with God. That means love, peace, joy and hope are to fill our existence. Focusing on negative emotions and thoughts such as fear (accept in the sense of reverence and awe), self -recrimination, judgement, scorn, condemnation of self or others is not healthy, not should it be our point of focus.

Label sin, yes. Live love, yes.

Focused on love,

Z gardener

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Love By Your Actions

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on March 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Love By Your Actions

Did you know that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had more than six hundred man-made laws they were required to obey? People couldn’t keep all those laws; it was impossible. Yet the rulers believed that those laws had to be obeyed in order to win God’s favor.

But Jesus summed up God’s law, scripture and prophesy with only two commands: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor.” And he used a special all-encompassing word for love, a word that includes everyone. We are to love our neighbors, he said, even though they may have a different color skin, ethnic background, or language; even though they look different, walk differently, or act differently.

The Greek word for love that Jesus used implies action. It is not a passive word; it is an action word. We are to love by our actions. We are also to help our neighbors who are poor. The gospel of Christ has no meaning unless it is applied to those who are in need.

What will you do today to show God’s love by your actions?

Luke 10:27 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.

If we say we love God and our neighbor, yet do not act on that love, we are but a “clanging gong, a noisome cymbal”. And who is our neighbor? They are the weak, downtrodden, despised and alienated. In short, it is everyone, but especially those in need, pain or those suffering discrimination, bias or separation. Yes, the wealthy, wise and beloved are also our neighbor and deserve our love. Yet Jesus said that we have helped or rejected Him by how we treat the “least among us” not the great among us.

So today, let us put our love into action toward those less fortunate than ourselves. Then the sound of our love will not be a clanging gong but a beautiful song. And, it will sound like a heavenly harp to the ears of those less fortunate ones who experience our love as it flows from us in our actions.

Acting on love,

Stan

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Fear–And Fear Not!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 19, 2015| 1 Comment »

The Bible says, “Fear not”–“Fear not, for I am with thee” (Genesis 26:24 KJV). But the Bible also says, “Fear the Lord.” If God’s Word says, “Fear not,” and yet it also says, “Fear,” which does it mean? The answer is: both.

Fear is a twofold word. It refers to an emotion marked by dread and anxious concern. But it also means awe and wonder and profound reverence. The latter is the fear that inspires trust and confidence. The Bible calls us to have the latter kind of fear.

When we fear God, we don’t cringe before Him like a prisoner robbed of freedom by a ruthless dictator. Our fear causes us to trust God with respect and trust. It is a reverence that comes from seeing the majesty and holiness and power of our loving heavenly Father.

There is no shame in being afraid. We’re all afraid from time to time. But there’s an interesting paradox here, in that if we truly fear God with all our heart, then we have nothing to fear.

Deuteronomy 10:12 Now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to Love him?

Michael & Alison Smitherman
The Singing NetSurfers
I will sing to my Lord as long as I live, I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.

This concept becomes very clear when we think of it in terms of our earthly father. In a healthy relationship we love and trust our father. We know he will do anything for our best good. We also know that he will watch over us to ensure we act according to his good purpose and rules. We also know he will hold us accountable and punish us when we break those good rules.

Thus we both love and respect (fear) our father. That respect goes with an expectation that we will be both protected held accountable. Therefore we do not have to fear for ourselves because our father is there. But we do know and respect (fear) his sure justice and punishment when we go astray. This too, is for our best good and not to hurt us.

In trust and reverence,

Z Gardener

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