PARROTS AND PUPPETS

John 18:34 “Jesus answered him, Sayest this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?”

A good question, isn’t it? Especially for this parrot age in which we live in.
People who do not think for themselves, do not speak for themselves.

I remember filling in at another Church and teaching a Sunday School class years ago and asking members of the class what they believed about a certain text, and the repeated reply was, “I just believe whatever the pastor believes.” This is what I call “secondhand religion.” To hear, “Polly wants a cracker,” sounds cute, but you can be sure it’s not an original thought with that bird!

Handed down tradition doesn’t mean its true, only that each generation has accepted it as such. Eternal truths never change, but these are few in comparison to man-made rules handed down to us, like the Jews of old, by well meaning but ill informed folk. Believe what you will about secondary issues, but Paul tells us to make sure we are “…fully persuaded in our own mind.” You’re not to adhere to what your guru tells you, but what God has shown you personally. It’s called the priesthood of all Believers.

It’s a good thing Apollos didn’t have this puppet philosophy (Acts 18:24-28). It is only those uncertain of themselves who want those around them to adopt their pattern of life so as to make them feel more secure in their set of beliefs and convictions.

A puppet cannot speak for itself but only says what another makes it appear to say for itself. Sadly many in our society are the same. They repeat what they hear or are told to tell without ever thinking for themselves. As the Bible says,“these things ought not so to be.”

So how about it? What do YOU say?

Do you know WHY you believe WHAT you believe?

The Positive and the Negative

The Positive and the Negative

1 Timothy 6:11 “But thou, O man of God, FLEE these things (negative); and FOLLOW after righteousness (positive)…”

There is no such thing as a car battery with only a positive post. For a battery to work, there must be a positive and a negative side. This is also true in the spiritual realm. The Bible is repeatedly clear on the point that you cannot hold hands with God and the world at the same time.

Paul wrote, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils” (1 Cor. 10:21).
There is a separation from something (negative) and separation to something else (positive). The Jews under Nehemiah “separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God” (Neh. 10:28).

Whenever you say “yes” to God (positive), you must also say “no” to the devil (negative). James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” It is useless to try and resist the devil without first submitting to God. The devil is too strong for mere mortals. Victory always begins with surrender to God. But, at the same time, we must also actively resist Satan. While we positively position ourselves on God’s side, we must also take a negative stand against the enemy. So again, the act of submission (positive) must be coupled with active resistance (negative).

Both elements must be part of any Churches teaching (2 Tim. 4:2). The preacher is to exhort (positive) and rebuke (negative). Any preacher that does not preach both sides is like a battery with no power.

A lady came to Dr. Tom Malone, long time Pastor in Pontiac, Michigan and author of many fine books, and said , “Dr. Malone, you need to be more positive in your preaching. You are so negative when you preach!” Dr. Malone responded saying, “No you’re mistaken, I AM POSITIVE in my preaching—I’m positive that sin is wrong!” He was right!

So remember, in order to have power, it positively takes both positive and negative!

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Losing Your Keys

SEEKING GOD

“But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29


Car keys! I sometimes wonder if car keys have legs, and sneakily use their legs to get up and walk away. Have you ever searched for your car keys, and still could not find them?
You continued searching diligently, but for some reason you still had no keys in your hand. The worst part about this scenario is that you were likely already late for something important. In this case, you opened every drawer, shuffled through every pile of paper, and looked in every pocket just to find those keys. Why? Because you needed those keys to get you to a specific place.

When you seek God, do you feel the same way? Do you feel as if you are searching and searching, but you still don’t have what you are looking for? The worst part about this scenario is if you are in the midst of a trial. In this case you should seek, search, and study the Scriptures fervently, because you will need God to help you get through the trial.

God promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him, but under one condition.

We are to seek Him wholeheartedly.

God repeats this promise in Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Sometimes we give our hearts to so many different desires, and we only save a small portion of it for God. If we give all of ourselves—our heart and soul—to the dream of success, to the aspiration of a promotion, to the comforts and cares of this world, then what is left for God?

Is God your whole heart’s desire? If you want to find Him, then your answer should be yes!

Losing keys is frustrating. Not being able to find God is far more frustrating. Thankfully, the Scriptures give hope. They show us the simple way to find God.

Seek Him with all of our heart and soul today, and remember to keep the SON in our eyes!

DOUBLE IDENTITY

It has been said ;“A Rose by Any Other Name is Still a Rose.” During His earthly ministry Jesus did not change into another thing what His Father had made into one thing. He did not change a stone into bread when tempted to do so by the Devil. When Jesus changed the water into wine, it was still a liquid substance. When God changes a sinner into a saint, he remains a part of the human race. Interestingly though, I have found through the years that many try to deny this very fact.

Some refuse to accept that they were who they were , and are who they are at the same time.
We are indeed "new creatures in Christ”(2 Corinthians 5:17) but that doesn’t distance us from the definition of our identity. Paul put it this way, “I am what I am.”

When the Holy Spirit comes into one’s life, his or her principles are converted from ones of depravity to that of Deity. Your tastes and temperament stay the same, but are now governed by the Divine Nature.
When Jesus spoke of denying self, it was in reference to rights, not recognition.

If we want to live a happy, contented life, we must accept the reality of our duality. We are “born again” (John 3:3) but still retain our identity and humanity. With this in mind, we must stay in Gods Word, obey it as best we can, be filled with the Spirit, and take life a day at a time. It will work, if we will.

CLEARANCE

In a major retail store I visited I came upon a section of shelves marked “Clearance.”

This is a special area of the store where they sell the items that had been scratched, dented or somehow damaged.

There is surely some process the store must go through to define and select items that are no longer “normal.” Likely there is a policy manual to guide them that specifies how big a dent may be, or how long a scratch can be, before it is labeled “less desirable” and relegated to the clearance area.

In case you haven’t noticed….. no one is normal! We are all unique, special, and we all carry the scars and dents of a life lived in the harsh environment of this world. We are all “damaged goods”.
Maybe our faults are physical, but they can also be emotional, intellectual or a result of our choices or habits. Whatever the cause of the problem, we all have them.

Thankfully God does not search through the shelves of our community and pull the damaged containers off the shelf, toss them into a basket and place them on a clearance isle somewhere in the back, dark corners of the world, or into life’s green dumpster.

In the gospel of Mark chapter 2 and verse 17 Jesus told us that He did not come for the “healthy”, He came for the sick. Jesus came for those that are beaten, bruised and broken. He came to those who are on their last nerve and are ready to give up, give out or give in.

If you feel you are normal and have everything “all figured out” then I apologize, this article is not for you. But, if you are among the other 99.9999% of us who are not abnormal, here this: God loves you!

God wants to lift you up, repair the damage that has occurred and place you, fully restored, into a place of safety and purpose.

You are always valuable to Him.

“SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE”

We live in changing times. More than ever before, and right before our eyes.

FASHIONS change. Don’t believe it? Just look at some of the pictures of yourself years ago! Side burns to here, Bee hives to there, high collars, bell bottoms- you get the picture.
FAMILIES change. Kin folk marry and move, babies are born, death divides and every year the family circle is altered a little or alot.
FRIENDS change. Childhood friends we once swore to be “best friends forever’ with are grown and gone and we don’t even know where they live anymore.
FEATURES change. Not many of us still weigh what we weighed in high school, and the hair we have is either turning gray or turning loose!

We used to have three networks on a Black and White TV - now we have 750 channels on a HDTV – showing the same three programs!
Records were replaced with 8 tracks, then came cassettes, then CDs now IPODS! We are surrounded by POD people!!!

And as one little gem puts it :
“My great-grandfather rode a horse, but was afraid of the train.
My grandfather rode on a train, but was afraid of a car.
My father rode in a car, but was afraid of an airplane.
I ride in an airplane, but I’m afraid of a horse!"

However, I’m glad that in the midst of a changing world, some things ……never change!

1.) The WORD FROM God …..hasn’t changed!
Psa. 12:6-7 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever”.

God’s Word is INSPIRED not EXPIRED! It’s ABSOLUTE and not OBSOLETE!

2.) The WORSHIP OF God…..hasn’t changed!
John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

He hasn’t rescinded the requirement to reverence!

3.) The WAY TO God …..hasn’t changed!
Jesus said : John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Salvation is still ….."For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."—Eph. 2:8,9

Each of these unchanging truths WILL change us!

Think on this, and remember to keep the SON in your eyes!

Falling Down And Getting Up

We live in days of economical difficulty, moral decay, marital disaster, and spiritual decline. As a result, a spirit of defeat has engulfed many.

During difficult days, a good verse to remember is Proverbs 24:16 — “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…”
Notice it doesn’t say, “IF a just man falleth.” Sooner or later, we all stumble. Everyone falls down now and then. That doesn’t mean we quit!
I recently read about a lady who was afraid to try ice skating because of the fear of falling on the ice. An experienced skater wisely told her, "Oh, you have to fall down-that’s the only way you can learn." The same is true in life. A baby will never learn to walk without falling a few times. If we never fall, it’s because we never try. The requirement to fall down during our journey is one of life's ironies. We must fall down (and thus, feel pain) so that we can succeed. Show me someone who never falls and I’ll show you someone who spends their life sitting and not moving forward. We can’t sit on the sidelines of life and expect to win the game. The old locker-room adage is appropriate: "Winners never quit and Quitters never win.”
We have to pick ourselves up (by the help of God) dust off and get back going. The Apostle Peter learned this and so should we. He messed up majorly, and yet was used of God even greater AFTER his mistakes , because he repented and returned. You are never a real failure unless you quit trying.
The key to falling down is to (1) learn from your experience; and (2) get back up, smile, and try again. You've just moved one fall closer to getting it right!