THIS ISN'T "LET'S MAKE A DEAL"

Contrary to popular opinion, (both in AND out of the church), God does not play, "Let's Make a Deal", nor is HE Burger King.  He doesn't trade one thing for another and HE doesn't serve everything up "our" way.  
If you have gone to God begging for one thing or another, health, job, money, etc. and have been blessed enough to get that prayer answered. It is NOT because you promised God you would go to church, or promised Him you would read your Bible more or pray more.  It could be for a number of reasons but it is NOT through anything you did that God blessed your life or someone else's life other than you prayed and hopefully you believed.  But even if you had a few doubts and God came through for you, that's just God.  More than likely He answered that prayer for you already knowing that you only meant what you said because you were desperate or scared.  More than likely He answered that prayer for you to let you know how faithful HE is, even if you aren't.  To show you how much HE loves you even if you don't show Him.
How many "deals" have you made with God lately?  How many of your bargains have you kept?  I don't just mean a day or couple of days, I mean diligently trying to do what you told Him you would do. I know about this "Let's make a Deal" game, I played it in the past myself.  Until one day God spoke to my heart and convicted my Spirit and I totally gave my life to Him.  I realized that He had done far more for me than I could ever repay even IF He DID play the game.  

There is NOTHING I can exchange for Jesus giving His life for me.  NO deal I can make sweeter than the gift of Salvation that God gives.  NOTHING to compare to living in Eternity with God the Father and Jesus the Son.  NOTHING.

If you've made some bargains with God lately, now is the time to say, "Father, please forgive me for I truly did not know what I was doing".  Now is the time to say, "God is able to save us but, no matter what, I will serve Him".  As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo said before walking into the fiery furnace.  "Even if God doesn't save us, we will NOT deny Him, we will not serve other gods". (paraphrase)
Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 [a]If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; [b]and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

What has God done for you lately?  Things you haven't even asked for: 1) let you wake up this morning, 2) A roof over your head, 3) food on your table, 4) the internet if you are reading this right now, even if it is free internet at the library.  

I'm just trying to show that God blesses us each and every day but it won't always be this way.  Now we get to the serious business.  Many of you, especially if you are my age, have heard parents, grandparents talk about the tribulation and the second coming of the Lord.  Unfortunately OUR children have not heard it enough and their children?? Their children probably haven't heard it at all.  Unless it's from you or they are blessed enough to be in a good God fearing, Bible believing church with a Pastor that preaches the truth of God's Word.  

This to my children's generation:  If you do not raise your children in church and to believe, worship and honor God, do not expect them to do those things when they grow up.
Proverbs 22:6 (NASB) has this to say:  6 Train up a child [a]in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Notice it says, "train up a child in the way he should go" first.  They have to have something to go back to or not depart from.  You are not doing them a favor by not teaching them about God when they are young.  Another thing you must keep in mind is that children learn more by observing than by being told.  In other words, they mimic what you do whether you want them to or not.  When they are grown their thoughts will be, well it wasn't important to my parents so it must not be that big of a deal.  
Remember that while they are small YOU are responsible for their teaching.  YOU will be held accountable on judgement day for your part in teaching them about God.  If you did not make God a priority in their childhood, HE won't be a priority in their adult life.

Here we are back to playing "Let's Make a Deal" again.  God please save my child, please heal them.  I'll do anything, I'll pray more, I'll read my Bible more, I'll go to church more, I'll take them to church".  Sound familiar?  We have probably all done it at one time or another. We have responsibility, Salvation is free but we can't take it and run, it isn't a one time thing, it's a lifelong process.  I'm not saying God won't bless you, I'm just saying we need to quit playing "christian", quit playing church and start living for God, before it's too late.  Quit playing the "Let's Make A Deal" game and start truly serving and loving God, then even though we are not promised an easy life, you WILL see constant evidence of God in your life, you won't have to go to Him with empty promises, you will go to Him in complete faith and watch His faithfulness unfold.

Isaiah 29:13 (NASB)
13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their [a]words
And honor Me with their [b]lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their [c]reverence for Me [d]consists of [e]tradition learned by rote,
(PARAPHRASED:  Because people say they love Him and say they will do anything for Him but it's only lip service and doesn't come from the heart because the heart is far removed from Him.  Their reverence and honor consists of the traditions they have been taught and not for true love and worship of God.)

A Word Fitly Spoken

I have a dear friend that used to sing a song called Apples of Gold. I haven't heard the song in a long time but I remember one line that says, "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver". There is also a verse in the book of Proverbs that refers to this. I was reminded of this song recently by my oldest daughter. Ever since she mentioned it, situations have come up that have brought the words "a word fitly spoken" to my mind over and over. Many times we war with our flesh over how to handle situations but most of the time, what is on our mind comes out of our mouths. "From the heart, the mouth speaks". Why, do we human beings think we have the right to say whatever is on our minds, right or wrong, whether it's really our business or not? Situations can be turned for good and bad by the words from our mouths.

As I said, I've had situations (conversations) come up recently where I really wanted to give a particular person a piece of my mind and tell them what I really thought. Each time this happens the Lord reminds me, "a word fitly spoken". I'm so thankful for that still small voice because as bad as I thought the situation was at the time, what I wanted to say "in the flesh" would only have made the situation worse. Because I was obedient to God and did NOT say what "I" wanted to, He has done what He always does and stepped in and turned the situation around. How awesome He is!

One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Whole Bunch

I hear and read a lot of controversy about Christians and Christianity. As a "christian" it hurts me to hear that people have been treated badly by other Christians and that they dislike or turn away from Christianity and more importantly God because of it. The Bible tells us not to be like the hypocrite that stands up and says I've done this and I've done that. He will not be mocked and people that use His name (claiming to be Christian) and do not follow Him will be held accountable. And woe to the ones that have caused souls to be lost by their actions. This is where one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Once a soul is turned away, they will judge all Christians on that one experience.

The Bible also tells us to "love thy neighbor as thyself". Neighbor here does not mean JUST your next door neighbor, it means every man, woman and child. To God the earth is the neighborhood. A true christian that reads and understands the Word of God and truly seeks to follow Him will treat others with respect and dignity. That's not to say that Christians don't have a bad day once in a while, we can't be perfect like Jesus was, we can only strive for perfection. We are human and we will fall short. However, a person that truly strives to be like Jesus will not be consistently rude or demeaning.

We have churches full of people that are only there for the status or to make a show. They sit in their pew every service and listen to the preacher and the words may or may not reach their ears but it doesn't reach their heart because their heart isn't in it. They walk out the door and don't give another thought to being "christian" until the next time they walk through the doors. They go on with life as usual, they curse their family, their job, their pets, their neighbors. They have different faces for different people. At work they may cuss like a sailor, tell dirty jokes, demean their husband or wife or disrespect their parents, because those people at work don't know them from church. And then, turn around in the next breath and say they are a christian. Lots of people claim to be christian simply because they believe God exists. There is a vast difference in claiming to be a christian and literally being a christian. A true christian as I stated above, doesn't just claim it, they walk the talk to the very best of their ability. Again we are all human and we don't do everything right.

A true christian believes with all their heart that the Bible is the infallible Word of God and that He meant every word of it. They don't pick and choose part of the Bible to follow and then disregard another part because they disagree with it. I hear a lot of people, especially young people, say things are different now, that was for the old days, but the Word of God never changes. What He laid down as law was intended to be law throughout the ages. All God is trying to teach us through the Bible are good solid morals. Don't steal from your neighbor, don't covet your neighbors wife, don't lie, refrain from sex outside of marriage, treat others as you want to be treated. I realize not all Christians do that and even pastors have fallen from Grace by breaking God's commandments. There again, people are human, the battle between good and evil rages constantly within all of us. The devil is constantly seeking those whom he may destroy. If he can cause a christian to stumble and turn you away from God then his mission is complete.

Don't blame God for the way those who claim to be christian act. He has not instructed them to be that way, He is very clear about the way Christians are supposed to live their lives, they choose whether or not to follow His example.

When I say one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, I don't mean that one "bad" christian can make all Christians bad, I mean that one "bad" christian will bring judgement on all Christians and ultimately judgement on God from the secular (non-christian) world. Causing the world to perceive the whole bunch as bad.

The Bible talks about a day when God will separate the wheats from the tares, meaning He will separate His people from the ones that "claimed" to be His people. Until that day comes no one will really know for sure who is truly a christian or Child of God and who isn't.

If you are a child of God remember that the world judges you the same way they judged Jesus. You may think to yourself, I don't care what others think of me but remember if you "claim" to be a christian everything you do is either a testimony to Christ or a detriment. You are no longer living your life for yourself but for God and you ARE your brother's keeper. You are not living your life to please people, however, you are living your life to please God and that has a direct effect on the way you treat people and the way people perceive you. Remember that "out of the heart the mouth speaketh". Guard your words and your deeds, make them pleasing to God so that the world sees what an awesome God we serve. Let your light so shine that people are brought to Christ through you not repelled from Him because of you.