december 11 dr jeckel and mr. hyde

 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  You may remember the horror book written in  1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Dr. Jekyll is a kind respected doctor  in London.  His evil side desires to be immoral and socially  unacceptable. He puts together a concoction that changes his appearance  and he becomes the horrible Mr. Hyde.   Over time he no longer needs the  concoction but transforms without his will into Mr. Hyde.  Then the  concoction enables him to become Dr. Jekyll again from Mr. Hyde.  But  eventually the chemicals run out and he ends his life rather than be  killed as Mr. Hyde.  We all have a Mr. Hyde hiding within us.  As born  again Christians the Holy Spirit transforms us to be like Christ. Romans  12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the  renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and  acceptable, and perfect, will of God. God is still in the transforming  business.  We are to be conformed to be the image of His Son.  Romans 8:29   For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to  the image of his Son. Christians are to produce the fruits of the Holy  Spirit. Galatians 5:21 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,  longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: As  Christians we are instructed to walk in the Spirit.    Galatians 5:25 If  we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. However our old  nature or old man still dwells deep within.  Colossians 3:9  Lie not one  to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; We  have put off the old man but he still kicks.  Occasionally we give in to  him.  We think or say or do that which makes our Lord disappointed in  us.  We become miserable because we have grieved His Holy Spirit.  Our  soul longs to repent and seek forgiveness.  We can only walk in sweet  fellowship with His Holy Spirit when we turn to Him in repentance  confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness.  1 John 1:9 If we  confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to  cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Usually at night  when I go to bed  I count my many sins of the day.  I agree with God that I have sinned.   I ask Him for forgiveness for each sin I can think of.  Why He is so  merciful and faithful is a mystery to me.  Psalm 40:10 I have not hid  thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and  thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth  from the great congregation. Are you a Spirit filled Christian or a  Christian who has grieved Him?  I have lived in grief.  I have lived in  sweet fellowship.  I can testify that sweet fellowship is better than  living in grief.  Will you live in sweet fellowship? 

 Expect to be criticized.   On Saturday, July 4, 2015 I received a phone  call at home asking me if I would marry a same sex couple. A few days  earlier the supreme court on June 26 ruled those marriages were legal.  I  explained that no I would not be able to perform the marriage.  “But  they already have their license.  Can’t you just look the other way this  one time?”  “No.  I wish I could help you but I can’t.” Said I,  “I  love them even though I don’t know them or agree with them but I cannot  marry them.” “But The justice of peace offices are closed and they want  to get married today.  Can’t you marry them and then ask the Lord to  forgive you?”  Again the answer was “no”. Finally they asked “Do you  know any other minister who will marry them?”  Again the answer was  “no.” I try to help people if I possibly can.  However I cannot go  against my convictions.  I will state my convictions but will not argue  with those with differing views.  I love them and pray for them and do  not hate them.  Just because we disagree doesn’t mean I hate them.   Jesus loves them even though He disagrees with them.  May I be like Him.   I posted on Face-book their request and my response to them.  About  240,000 people responded.  Some of the negative comments were: “You are  not a true minister of God because God loves everyone.”  “You consider  yourself  holier than others.”  “If you really lived for Jesus you would  marry them.” On and on went the negative responses. Some even said they  thought I made up the story and had not even been asked to perform the  ceremony.  About 240,000 people commenting.  About 90% of the comments  were favorable.  About 10% of the people blasted me. Not very pleasant.  How would you like to be blasted by 24,000 people?  For standing up for  Jesus?  I was shocked that so many people responded.  It hurt that I  hurt people.  My desire is to help people, not hurt them.  But I believe  I responded the way Jesus wanted me to.  The bottom line.  Expect  be  criticized if you make Jesus your Lord. Jesus was criticized.  Those who  opposed Him killed Him. I sometimes consider the Apostle Paul.  He was  run out of town time after time.  I ask why aren’t I being run out of  town?  Fortunately, we have enough Christians bound together in sweet  accord to resist the devil and push on together.  How do you respond to  criticism?  I suggest you look for a grain of truth in the criticism.   Most complaints have some truth to them.  Learn from the criticism.  Be  faithful to Jesus. Expect to be criticized. 

 2 Samuel 10:4 (KJV) Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved  off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the  middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.  Hanun became king  of the Ammonites after his father died.  The Ammonites were enemies of  Israel.  However, David and Hanun's father had respect for each other.   David sent ambassadors to Hanun to give his condolences.  Hanuns  advisors concluded David had sent the ambassadors to spy out the land so  they could attack it.  Hanun humiliated David's men by cutting off one  side of their beard and cutting their robes shorter than a mini mini  skirt and sending them home.  David was furious.  Hanun realized he had  made a grave mistake.  Instead of trying to reconcile with David he  hired mercenaries to fight for him.  They were badly beaten by David's  army.   What do we learn from this history lesson?  1. Show sympathy for  those grieving.  We wonder what to say to the bereaved.  Frequently  just being present and silent is the best thing.  2. Accept a man  innocent until proven guilty.  Ungodly minds suspect evil.  David's  condolences made no sense to ungodly people.  Surely it must be a trap  as they would never show sympathy as David had supposedly done.  Be  careful what you think.  Be careful who you listen to.  Read the Bible  and listen to God.  3. Admit you are wrong.  A coach in high school told  us "If you are wrong...you are wrong."  That meant much to me.  We all  are wrong sometimes.  Admit it.  Make restitution.  Apologize.  Face the  music.  Don't cover it up and deny it.  That only makes things worse.   You cannot buy protection.  Righteousness will prevail.  The wicked may  seem to get away with wickedness for a while...but judgment day will  come some day.  4. Expect to be humiliated if you live for  righteousness.  Evil hates righteousness.  Graciously take the insults  realizing that some day Jesus will make all things right.  Jesus was  insulted.  Spit on.  Beaten.  Whipped.  Nailed naked to a cross.  Yet He  said, Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.   David was not wrong to oppress the oppressor.  But we are instructed to  let God give the vengeance.   Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth  vengeance, and recompence. We could never get even like Jesus will get  even.  Let Him take care of it.  Now understand we are to stand our  ground.  A Pear Harbor attack or attack like September 11 must be met  with retaliation or the oppressor will take more.  We must defend our  homes and our homeland.  But for most injustices we need to let Jesus  handle it for us. 

 Please like, share, comment and subscribe to help us reach  more people  for the Lord.  The High Priest      God ordained the Jews to have a high priest. After  Jesus was betrayed He was led to the house of Caiaphas the high priest.   Luke 22:54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the  high priest's house. The Jewish leaders were envious of the attention  Jesus got. Mark 15:10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered  him for envy. Perhaps envy is a sin you struggle with.  No matter what  Jesus did He could never please the Jewish leaders. In our society we  have some who are labeled “Never Trumpers”.  Back then they had some  people you could label “Never Jesus”.  Caiaphas committed a great sin.   In anguish he rent his garment.  Matthew 26:65 Then the high priest rent  his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy.  Caiaphas broke a  commandment of God.  Leviticus 21:10  And he that is the high priest...  shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; When Caiaphas broke  God’s law red flags should have gone off in the hearts and minds of  those who saw it.  We expect more of our religious leaders and the  failure of preachers like me only gives more ammunition to Satan to  discredit Christianity.  Caiaphas the High Priest condemned Jesus who  was to become the eternal Supreme High Priest the next Sunday.  The  rejecting of Jesus would bring complete destruction on the Jewish nation  in the year A.D.70. Sacrifices and the position of High Priest came to a  halt.  When Caiaphas died, if he did not repent and ask the risen Jesus  to save him, he opened his eyes in torment like the rich man did.  Luke  16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.   Someday at  the Great White throne judgment he will stand before Jesus and have his  life reviewed.  Revelation 20:12  the books were opened: and another  book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out  of those things which were written in the books, according to their  works. Jesus was condemned to have His flesh rent.  He became the final  sacrifice and High Priest.  You can go to Him with your hurts because He  loves you and understands your pain.  Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an  high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;  but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let  us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain  mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus came to the house  of Caiaphas and was rejected.  Is He welcome in your house?  Will you  take Him into the houses of others? 

 Please like, share, comment and subscribe to help us reach more people  for the Lord.  The Pole Vaulter.  The Lord has set a high bar for us to reach.  Thou  shall not: murder, commit adultery, take the Lords’ name in vane, covet,  steal and on and on the Bible is full of thou shalt nots.  Then there  are the thou shall dos.  Love the Lord with all our heart, mind and  soul.  Honor our parents.  Pray without ceasing.  Be faithful in church  attendance.  Give generously.  Do unto others....etc.  Sometimes it  seems there is no end to the commandments He has given.  The bar is so  high that none of us can reach it.  Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and  come short of the glory of God;  We may proudly say I have never  committed such and such sin but none of us can say we have completely  obeyed the Bible all our lives.  Every time we sin we break the first  commandment. Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Anything that is more important to us than God is another god.  That  could be that second helping of banana pudding.  To make it worse if we  break one commandment we are just as guilty as if we had broken all of  them. James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend  in one point, he is guilty of all. Ouch.  How can we reach that bar  that Jesus has set?  The simple answer....we can’t.  But in Jesus we  can.  Consider a pole vaulter.  Over the bar he goes using the pole  vault.  Now consider Jesus as the pole vaulter.  He puts His arm around  you and pole vaults both of you over the bar.  You say that is  impossible.  Now you get the point.  We cannot conquer that bar by  ourselves.  But Jesus takes us with Him over that impossible bar.  Then  Jesus twists so that He lands on His back.  We land on his chest.  He  cushions our fall.  We knock the breath out of Him.  We kill Jesus.  It  was our sins that killed Jesus.  But He arose.  He didn’t stay dead.   Jesus gave His live and rose again so that we can have victory in Jesus.   Do you have that victory?  If you will repent and receive Him today  you too can live the Christian adventure and arrive safely in Heaven.   Will you be there? 

 The War horse.  This devotion will compare the war horse of yesteryear  with the modern motorcycle used in ministry today.  Many motorcycle  organizations such as the Christian Motorcyclists Association exist to  minister to and witness to the motorcycle culture.   Job 39:19 Hast thou  given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? In  1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller in Germany made the first production  motorcycle. The first to be called a motorcycle. The horse has  strength...so does the  motorcycle.  hast thou clothed his neck with  thunder? Many of us love the thunder of our man made horses.   A tunnel  is a concert hall to many of us.   20 Canst thou make him afraid as a  grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. The war horse was  brave and prepared for battle.  The snort of his nostrils caused fear in  the hearts of the approaching enemy. Our horses of steel and chrome are  unable to be afraid...so we must be brave warriors and ride forward to  minister as our Lord opens the doors. 21 He paweth in the valley, and  rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. The war  horse stomped his hoofs into the dirt ready to charge.  We go forth to  meet the forces of evil head on praying for the opportunity to win  someone to the Lord. 22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted;  neither turneth he back from the sword. Our war horses are not capable  of fear...but we as their commanders must not turn back when Satans  forces oppose us.23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering  spear and the shield. The rattle of the enemies' arrows in their quiver  did not stop the war horse.  May we push forward through depression,  rain, mechanical break downs and ungodly people to serve our risen  Saviour. 24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither  believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. The war horse pressed  forward into battle even as the enemies trumpets ordered their troops to  attack.  If you live for Jesus expect to upset the devil.  Expect  hardships.  Expect trouble.  Paul was run out of town after town because  he was living for Jesus.  Any Christian living for the Lord should  expect criticism and hatefulness from others. Press forward to fight for  Jesus realizing that our enemy is like a hungry roaring lion. 1 Peter  5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a  roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  25 He saith  among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the  thunder of the captains, and the shouting.    We can be afraid of battle  and run or we can remember we fight for the King of Kings who someday  will come again riding on a white horse.  Revelation 19:11   And I saw  heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was  called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make  war. When I gave this devotion to our chapter of the Christian  Motoryclists Association, The Kings Kids in Livingston, Texas I asked  this question.  If instead of returning on a white horse what if Jesus  came again riding on a white motorcycle?  What brand of bike would it  be?  Some said a Harley.  Others said a Goldwing.  I concluded by saying  if He came on a motorcycle He would be riding a Triump.  Jesus is  coming again. Triumply.  Are you looking forward to His second coming?   By the way it is not necessary to ride a motorcycle to be part of the  CMA family.  Find out more at cmausa.org. 

 They never bathe.  They live above the tree line in the Himalayan  mountains.  They never take a bath their entire life.  When they die  they are cut up into small pieces and put on a platform for the birds to  devour.  They believe their afterlife will be spend in many places as  their remains are spread by the birds.  Missionaries from down the  mountains go to their village to tell them about Jesus.  Missionary  Ventures International has purchased and donated Yaks for the  missionaries to travel on. These missionaries are living the Christian  adventure.  What a joy it is to be part of God’s family and help take  the good news that Jesus saves to others.  You don’t have to go to  another country in order to be a missionary.  Our communities are filled  with people who don’t know Jesus as their Saviour.  They may think they  know all about the church.  Sometimes church people are not very  Christ-like.  As a matter of fact I dare say that NONE of us Christians  are 100% consistent in our Christian walk. I hate to confess that I am  not always Christ like.   But thank God for grace. 1 John 1:9 If we  confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to  cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is by God’s grace He saves us  when we repent and ask Him to save us.  It is by God’s grace that we  continue to live each day.  Does your life make a difference?  Have you  been cleansed?  I can’t imagine how it would feel to never have had a  bath in my whole life. Do they get accustomed to the odor?  Down here we  become accustomed to sin.  We are all sinners.  Sin is everywhere  around us.  Sin is natural.  When a person gets fed up with sin they may  seek a way to be clean.  A dunk in a baptistery will not wash away your  sin.  Joining a church will not cleanse you.  Good works?  No.  Doing  unto others as you would have them do unto you?  No.  Turning over a new  leaf?  No.  What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.  Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off  are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Have you heard the Good News that  Jesus saves?  Do you believe in His death and resurrection?  Are you  sick of living in sin? Are you willing to repent and ask Jesus to save  you?  If you are He is able to deliver you.  And make your life new in  Him for eternity.  Will you trust Him today?