October 1 here stupid

 The book of Jude verse one reads: 1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Jude was raised in the home of Joseph and Mary.  Jesus was his half brother.  (Joseph was not the Father of Jesus...God the Father was.)  I enjoy in verse 1 the phrase to them that are sanctified by God the Father,  The word sanctified means to make holy, to purify.  The only way we can become sanctified is through the blood Jesus shed. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the  people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.    Heb 13:12 (KJV) Church membership, good works, giving to the poor nor anything else we can do can purchase our salvation.  Have you asked Jesus to cleanse you through His blood? Then Jude states:  and preserved in Jesus Christ. The word preserved means to guard from loss or injury;     hold fast; to detain in custody. When we ask Jesus to save us He guards us from loss or injury... He holds us fast...He detains us in his custody.  I have never been arrested.  Yet.  If our government demands that I marry same sex couples I will be arrested...detained in their custody.  Then I get to start a jail ministry.  In the meantime I try to avoid being detained in the custody of law enforcement...whom may I add I respect greatly and am thankful for their dedicated unselfish service.  Jesus preserves me.  He detains me in His custody.  I cannot save myself.  I cannot keep myself.  Thank God He saves us by grace and detains us by grace.    Then the last two words I want to examine are , and called.  Do you remember your mother standing on the porch and calling you home for supper?  My wife Marless tells me when she was a girl they had a dog named Stupid.  One evening Marless and her mother....in their pajamas...with their hair in curlers...drove through their neighborhood looking for their dog.  With windows down they were calling...."Here Stupid.  Stupid.  Here Stupid".  I came running to the car.  That's how I met my wife.  No that part is a joke.  But about 59 years ago I hard the Lord calling me.  "Here Stupid."  Well actually He said..."Here Tommy."  I stopped and listened.  I had been listening to the devil and I had been stupid.  Just like all of us have.  As I listened through the Bible and the Holy Spirit of God I realized that I had sinned and needed a Savior.  He called me.  He made it clear that He would come down to my level.  He would come down to the depths of sin I was in and lift me out into a new life if I would trust Him.  I did.  And He did what He said He would do.  He saved me.  He is calling you too.  Have you trusted Him yet?  If not you are missing the Christian adventure.  You are heading into eternal torment.  Respond today while He is calling you.  Ask Him to save you.  Then you too will be sanctified, preserved, called and used in His service.  There is no greater life. 

 Lukewarm driving.  I enjoy doing the speed limit.  Actually sometimes I enjoy exceeding the speed limit. (true confessions)  One time coming from a town about 8 miles down the interstate  I opened my motorcycle up just for the fun of it.  The speedometer was broken so I had no idea how fast I was going.  My friend and his wife on a bike behind me kept up for a while and then dropped back.  His wife had tapped him on his shoulder and said "Slow down" when he hit 100.  I went off and left them.  I had no idea I was going that fast.  I do not share this to my glory...I share it to my shame.  We should obey the speed limit.  Do as I say...not as I do.  Or have done.  If I had gotten a ticket I would have no one to blame but myself and my stay in jail and fine would have been deserved. If I had caused a wreck I would have to live with that for the rest of my life.  If I lived through it.  Seldom but occasionally I have been on a two lane road and because I was thinking about other things I slowed down until I was doing about 10 miles per hour below the speed limit.  At which time I would look behind me to see if I was slowing anyone else down.  These moments of going under the speed limit embarrass me if I have caused a line of cars to have to follow me.  Now in my Christian life I want to go full speed.  I want to wear out rather than rust out.  I want to enjoy the Christian adventure. This is a fault I have.  Sometimes I find myself not pulling the weight I should be pulling.  I am not doing all that I should be doing.  I have become lukewarm without realizing it.  I have drifted from maximum performance into just so so performance without realizing it.  Jesus does not want us to be just so so.  He wants us to be on fire for Him.  As a matter of fact He says He would rather us be cold rather than lukewarm.  Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Jesus is talking to His church. Have you slowed down in your Christian service?  Don't be lukewarm.  Come back to your first love and get on fire for Jesus again. (And don't speed.) 

 The Hot Air Balloon. I enjoy flying. I wonder about flying in a hot air balloon.  I understand it is very quiet and peaceful.  Unless you are in a storm.  Of course the big negative of a hot air balloon is the lack of steering.  You go with the flow as the wind blows and your poor ground crew has the challenge of rescuing you when you come down.  Occasionally we hear of people being killed as their hot air balloon drifts into power lines or catches on fire.  I prefer powered flight.  The Bible speaks of people being carried by strange winds of doctrine.   “Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”  Satan wants us to be tossed to and fro by strange doctrine.  No matter how educated, handsome or popular a preacher may be compare what he says to what the Bible says.  Every preacher.  Even me.  Especially me.  Have you ever chased a piece of paper being blown by the wind?  We hope no one is watching.  You bend over to pick it up and the wind blows it away.  Finally I step on the page and think “Let’s see you get away now.”  False prophets teach us false doctrine.  You can’t believe every word you hear.  You need to step on the doctrine, examine it and compare it with the Bible. Just because the doctrine may come from a verse in the Bible does not mean it is truth. Many Scriptures are twisted to be interpreted in a way contrary with the rest of the Bible. “2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Rightly divide the Bible.  Don’t build a doctrine out of one verse which contradicts the rest of the Bible.  We all still have much to learn.  The Bible is revealed to us as it’s author guides us to the truth. “John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:”  And what is truth? Jesus.   “John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” You will find the truth in Jesus.  Read His Bible daily.  Over and over.  Jesus is truth.  In Him you find you the way and the ability to live the life He has set before you. And one last unrelated thought.  When you speak, are you full of hot air?  

 Add salt to your words.  Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt. Without speech our communication is limited.  We can use sign language.  Even then some sign language can be offensive.  (Like a middle finger)  If we visit a foreign country we may use sign language to try to communicate.  Most of us take speech for granted.  We learn how to talk by listening to and then imitating others. Perhaps your first word was “dada.”  We imitate others and eventually pick up some words for which we should have our mouth washed out with soap.  As Christians the Holy Spirit dwelling within us convicts us to avoid some words and jokes as we try to imitate Jesus.  WWJD  What would Jesus do?  Would He use profanity?  Tell off color jokes?  I think not.  So, as we become more like Jesus for many of us our vocabulary loses some of its words.  This verse commands us to always speak with grace.  That word grace means  acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, joy, pleasure, thankworthy. Do others benefit from what you say?  Do your words bring joy and pleasure?  Are others thankful for your words?  Even words of rebuke and correction can be received with thankfulness.  Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. We all need correction from time to time.  Proverbs 28:23  He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. Be thankful when someone cares enough about you to show you the error of your ways.  Next, we have the words, seasoned with salt.  That does not mean to use words that sting.  Salt is a preservative. It helps stop corruption and it appeals to the taste buds. Let your words stop corruption and be pleasant to the ear.   Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Jesus makes us salty.  Living a Spirit filled life makes us different.  It makes us like Jesus.  We have a have a long way to go in order to be just like Jesus.  That is the goal we reach for.  In the meantime, be careful that you do not lose your savour or saltiness.  Unconfessed sin dulls our spirituality, and we can become unprofitable.  Confess your sins. Live in the Spirit and let your words be seasoned with salt. Think before you speak.  Ask the Lord to give you the words to say.  Also ask Him to show you when it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. 

 Air Conditioning.  The house we live in has central air and heat.   I am so thankful. The air conditioner stands quietly by waiting for its opportunity to serve our needs.  When the thermostat signals that the house is getting too warm the outside unit whirls into action to cool the house.  I hardly notice when it is on. However, I certainly notice when it goes out.  As long as it does that which it is designed to do I take it for granted.  On occasion like now I consciously stop to thank the Lord for it as I enjoy it so much.  As I consider the value of the central air and heat, I stop to think about the value of the members of the church. We are not all equipped to do the same thing.  Some are leaders and some are followers. Some are teachers and some are students.  Some serve on committees and some listen to the committees’ recommendations.  Some serve in the kitchen, and some serve with the landscaping.  Some clean toilets and some vacuum the sanctuary. Who does what is not as important as what gets done.  As long as we are in one accord Jesus is pleased and Satan is angry.  As long as we are in one accord and do that which we are equipped to do things hum along accomplishing our purpose in life.  To win the lost and to feed the sheep.  However, when one or more members get a burr under their saddle things begin to unravel.  Satan is an unraveller.  He thinks up ways to sow discard that makes us scratch our head and think where did that come from?   Christian please do not be envious of other Christians.  We are all in this family together.  1 Corinthians 12:15   If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? You are not accountable to God for others.  You will give an account of your performance not mine.   Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and 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. Only unbelievers will be at this Great White Throne Judgment.  Their rebellion will seal their fate in hell.  But those who repent and call on Jesus asking Him to save them will be judged at the cross.  Repent and trust Him today and then concentrate on what you can do for Jesus and encourage others do the same. 

 As you think in your heart.  Consider washing your hands.  You turn on the hot water and begin washing.  As the water flows from the hot water heater, it becomes hotter and hotter.  Soon the hot water alone becomes too hot to keep your hands under.  So, you turn on the cold water until you get a comfortable temperature.  Now consider negative thinking.  Bad things happen to you.  Bad things happen all around you.  Bad things happen to everyone.  Everyday bad things happen to everyone.  The more people talk about the bad things the more depressed they...and those who hear them become depressed also. Fearing Covid 19 is an example.  It is similar to the water being too hot.  To make the water tolerable we add cold water to it.  Has the hot water gone away?  No.  If you turn off the cold water the flow would become too hot to keep your hands under again.  So, in turning on the cold water the hot water does not go away.  Instead, the inflow of cold water makes the flow tolerable.  In life our mind thinks about that which we choose to think about.  Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.  If we think only on the negative happenings our emotions and actions reflect our thinking in a negative way.  We cannot stop the bad things that affect our lives...however we can add thinking about good things to diminish the effect of the bad things.  When I am sick, I thank the Lord.  I thank Him because I am well most of the time.  If I was never sick, I would possibly forget how thankful I should be when I am well.  When my car breaks down I should be thankful because most of the time I can drive it when and where I please.  We should always be thankful to the Lord.  Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. What we think about effects our whole life.  We must add thankfulness and praise to God in order to balance our thinking.  You can have absolute control over that which you think.  When negative thoughts bombard your mind recognize the negativity and begin thinking of things that lift your spirits...instead of things that drag you down.  Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. This is a command to us Christians to control our thoughts.  We have to live with the negative things.  But we do not have to let the negative things ruin our lives.