To-Do List

Today's To-Do List

1. Read the Word.
2. Help someone.
3. Give someone the Gospel message.
4. Be kind to someone.
5. Be a spiritual leader for my family.
6. Pray.
7. Pray.
8. Pray.

Thank you Lord for another day of life. Please give me wisdom not to waste it, for everyday is for You.

Applying Easter

Night before Easter. It wasn't a bad day. It was actually pretty good. My Christian brother and I had yet another one of our Saturday Bible studies. We're still in the book of Matthew. Chapter 23 this time. Matthew has so much to teach. 

I had read this Gospel many times in my lifetime, but the past year it finally made sense. I thought I had understood it. I mean, I read it, I read English well, I'm thinking. It seemed to make sense. I've even read some of Matthew in Spanish and in Italian. It all says the same thing.

We started our study in Matthew a few months ago - every Saturday. One or maybe two chapters at a time. We study in depth. Discuss what the passages mean, non only what we think it means, or what we've heard other people say that it means, but we focus on what the author means. Yeah. The author. God himself.

It's very important to understand what he is saying in his Word. You, the reader (I know there are at least 1 or 2 out there somewhere) have realized by this point that I'm not going into detail on the study of Matthew itself, but rather the plan here today is to place a bit of emphasis on the importance of delving into the Word, on understanding what the original manuscripts in the Koine (commonly spoken) Greek meant, and what God wants us to get out of it. The entire Bible, the stories, the parables, the analogies, the admonitions and commands, the poetry, the pleading (and on and on) can be applied to our lives.

Yeah. About that. There's no a lot of rationality in merely reading the Bible daily and whipping a check mark with a Sharpie on our calender to note that we've done our daily Bible reading. Notice I said "merely". It is very important to make this a routine, a habit, a part of life. However, without application, we are wasting our time. We are wasting God's time.

Let's please remember to apply what we read, what we learn, and use it in our lives, our family's lives, in raising our children, in making sure that everyone that we can reach is saved.

That's the point today. Application.

Today is 04/20/2014. Easter morning. 12:51 A.M. A lot of us Christians, and some reluctant non-Christians with a drug problem (they'll be "drug" to church against their will) will end up going to some type of Easter service, I imagine. Let's pay attention to the sermon. Really think about what's being preached. Take it home with us. Apply it. Not just today, but for the rest of our God-granted time here on earth. 

Life is short. Do something.

Sorry for the lack of editing. It's now 12:55 in the morning.

God Bless. Love ya guys.

Sam

No Comdemnation

Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. I find myself reading it over and over. I suspect that the reason for this attraction to this portion of the inspired word of God is the fact that it tells me something that draws from me a sigh of relief, in that while I am a sinner, I am still promised by the grand maker of this universe that the sacrifice that his (God's) son, Jesus, made 2000 years ago is still at work today. It's at work for those who repent and put their trust in him, and follow him.

I should have been up there on that cross going through the horror that surpasses anything Stephen King would have thought up in his creepy little check under my bed before I go to sleep and leave the light on till the morning mind of his, only afterwards to be thrown into a fiery hell forever. Stephen King did in fact tell me that, by the way. No, really. He did. Straight through the TV during an interview. Forgot what late night show that was. I'm sure you can find it as you waste your time away on YouTube here in a minute. Made ya check, huh?

What? You think I'm hard on myself? You betcha. Because I deserve that fiery pit. No, I'm not very proud of it, either. And here's another thing - so do you. Oops! Did I offend somebody? Not the intention here, but I do need you to understand the importance of Jesus' sacrifice. It's not just some nice thing that some Jew did for us long ago. It's the way to heaven. God is love, but he is also wrathful. "How?", you ask. He has several attributes. He is love and he shows wrath to those that go against him and his rules. Y'all know the 10 commandments and what they mean already, so I won't go there today. I have an earlier post on that called If You Died Tonight...

Back to Romans 8. I think my mostest bestest verse in the whole Bible has got to be Romans 8:1, which says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Whew! This is a verse that continues to remind me that I am saved and am not going to hell. Not because of anything that I did, mind you, but because of what my wonderful God did for me, and for you, if you'll believe that. We turn from our wicked ways and follow him, trusting him like we would an elevator or a parachute (I know, gotta throw some Ray Comfort and Todd Friel in there, don't I?)