Another Thought

[Pine Baron]

Wednesday, September 16, 2020
It Will Cost You the World- Greg laurie

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
—John 15:7
Someone once approached a great Bible teacher and said, “Sir, I would give the world to know the Bible as you do.”

The teacher looked at him and replied, “And that’s exactly what it will cost you.”

Romans 12 tells us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (verse 2 NKJV).

How can our minds be transformed? It will happen through the study of God’s Word. In Acts 17 we read about those in the synagogue at Berea who listened very carefully when Paul and Silas showed up: “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men” (verses 10–11 NKJV).

I love that they listened eagerly and checked up on what they had to say. They were checking out none other than the apostle Paul, who wrote a good part of the New Testament. That is the right way to listen.

Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7 NKJV). The word abide means planting your roots deeply into Christ, soaking up the nutrients, growing each and every day, staying in a given place. It is staying in fellowship with Him. That means you study God’s Word. That means you memorize it. And ultimately it means that it affects your thinking, your living, and everything you do. We need to approach God’s Word this way.

[Boaz]

Really good post Pine Baron . Given his word to guide and the living example of Christ we can be pleasing to him from which all good things flow .

[Pine Baron]

Thursday, September 17, 2020
What Legacy Will You Leave? - Greg Laurie

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
—2 Timothy 4:7
There was a man who had the unique opportunity of reading his own obituary. One day over his morning toast, he opened the paper and saw his name in the obituary column. Obviously it had been printed by mistake, but what really distressed him was the fact that he was remembered as the man who created dynamite.

He thought, “Of all of the things I’ll be remembered for, it will be my creation of something that is used for mass destruction.” So he decided to make some dramatic changes in his life. The man’s name was Alfred Nobel, and he went on to create the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2 Timothy 4, the apostle Paul stated his legacy. His turbulent life was coming to an end, but he had truly made a difference. Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (verses 7–8 NKJV).

Notice that Paul didn’t say, “I ran the race.” Rather, he said, “I finished the race.” It is not enough to start well. We need to finish well. It is not enough to run fast. We need to run fast and long. The goal is to make it across the finish line and have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God (see 2 Peter 1:11).

You are running a race. Keep running. If you have slowed down, it’s time to move forward, because you will leave a legacy. What will you be known for? Your life can make a difference if you’re on the right course.

[Blackwater]

Great post, PB. We all have a bit bugaboo that prevents so many of us from coming into complete communion and contact with the Lord, and that's OUR will, almost always superceded that of our Lord. Our desires are strong indeed, and our willingness to subjugate that to God's will is very weak. We can say, "I'll do that tomorrow," but by tomorrow it's forgotten or out of reach. We can pretend we never thought of God's will, but we all know that's not true. We can do all sorts of things to put God's will second to our own. But God's will always leads us to satisfaction and joy, whereas our will never seems to quite achieve what we originally wanted. As Shakespeare said so long ago now, "What fools these mortals be!"

[Wayne Smith]

"May those who come behind us find us faithful" - I remember singing the song and being impressed with it but don't remember the rest. But the sentiment is clear, to be found faithful to the end is a challenge for all of us. May my grandchildren find me faithful.

[USMC87]

Amen and thank you for spreading Gods word!

[Pine Baron]

Friday, September 18, 2020 - Greg Laurie
No Forwarding Address

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.”
—Hebrews 11:8

I think sometimes we’d like God to give us a detailed blueprint of our lives. We want to know whom we’ll marry, where we’ll live, what our profession will be, and how many children and grandchildren we will have.

But God leads us one step at a time. We need to take that step before He will reveal the next one. A world changer named Abraham was called by God to leave his homeland, leave his relatives, and go to an unknown destination. Abraham lived in a super pagan culture. His family worshipped false gods, and he probably was an idol worshipper himself. Despite this, God handpicked Abraham. God came to him and said, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1 NLT).

God didn’t tell Abraham what that land was. He didn’t tell Abraham where that land was. He didn’t even tell Abraham where he and his wife Sarah would live. But Abraham listened to God. He packed up his bags and left no forwarding address. Ultimately he was headed toward a heavenly destination.

The Bible tells us that “it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NLT).

Abraham had an eternal perspective, and he changed his world. We need people who will change their world today. America so desperately needs God. America so desperately needs to hear the gospel. But for a moment, let’s just talk about your world and your sphere of influence where you can make an impact like Abraham did. Do you want to change the world? Start by changing your world.

[Boaz]

Good thoughts . Faith is the word . Thank you .

[smoked turkey]

In Psalms the writer says "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path". As was pointed out sometimes we want a search light to light the way, but in truth all we humans can handle is a light for our immediate path. It takes more faith to walk the path when it is dimly lighted. The Lord has promised He will never leave us or forsake us. We can be sure that he will be there to show us the way.

[Txcowboy52]

Great post Pine Baron !!!

[Pine Baron]

Saturday, September 19, 2020 - Greg Laurie
The Greatest Step of Obedience

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
—John 3:16

In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have a beautiful picture of what happened at the cross of Calvary. Here we see a father who was willing to take the greatest step of obedience to God. We also see what happened when Jesus died on the cross for us. The father was willing to sacrifice his son, and the son was willing to be sacrificed.

Most Bible commentators believe that at this particular time, Isaac was about 18 to 20 years old. Some think he may have been around age 33. The Jewish historian Josephus thought he was 25. Whatever age Isaac was, one thing is clear: he didn’t have to do this if he didn’t want to, but he willingly went. Is that not a perfect picture of what happened at the cross? The Father who loved His Son so much offered Him up. And His Son, knowing what was about to happen, willingly went.

Our children are a gift to us from God. We don’t own them. They belong to Him. Our objective is to lead them to the Lord. In the same way, everything that we have acquired in life—every possession, every skill, every ability, every talent—has been given to us by God. I think it’s always a good thing to present these things back to God and say, “Lord, You gave these to me, and I give them back to You.” Are you willing to do that? Abraham was.

We all have our Isaacs in life, so to speak, something or someone that we love so dearly. These are good to present to the Lord, because there is no safer place for them to be than in the hands of God. World changers give everything back to God because everything is from God.

On a personal note. I have always struggled with the story of Abraham and Isaac. To give everything you love to God is the ultimate surrender to His will.
Go in peace.

[Blackwater]

PB, this has been a great post and lucid and eloquent commentary. Thank you. We need more of this.

[Pine Baron]

Monday, September 21, 2020 - Pastor Greg Laurie
Keep Moving Forward

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
—Ephesians 6:10

During a call-in segment of a radio program I was doing, a man asked, “Does there come a point in the Christian life where somehow you just don’t get tempted to think evil thoughts anymore?”

“Yes, it’s funny you should ask that,” I told him, “because I just reached that point yesterday. It’s great.”

I was kidding, of course. In reality, this doesn’t ever happen in the life of a Christian. Some believers are surprised to discover that the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. It isn’t easy being a Christian, because immediately we discover that we have an adversary, the Devil, who wants to bring us down. The spiritual battle is raging every single day.

As I have often said, the Christian life is a constant process of moving forward. And the moment we stop moving forward, we will start moving backward. We need to put our spiritual armor on. We need to suit up. As we are told in Ephesians 6, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (verses 11–12 NLT).

And you know what? This wrestling match won’t end until we are safe in the arms of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be great to think that as a Christian, you somehow could reach a plateau at a certain moment in your life where you would be above it all and no longer be vulnerable? This spiritual fight will rage on until the final day. So keep your armor on. Be aware and alert. And constantly move forward.

[Boaz]

Good thoughts . Satan is ever trying to distract and work against us...and GOD .

[Pine Baron]

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Pastor Greg Laurie
Get Up and Keep Running

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!”
—1 Corinthians 9:24
When I was in high school, I went out for the track. I was a pretty good runner in the short-distance events. But I got killed on long-distance runs. I would take off at the beginning of the race and leave everyone in my dust. I would be ahead of the crowd and feeling good. But then I would start getting a little fatigued. And pretty soon people started passing me.

I think the apostle Paul must have been something of a sports fan, because he used athletic analogies quite often, especially the analogy of running a race. Writing to the church in Corinth he said, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24–25 NLT).

And in Philippians 3:14 Paul wrote, “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (NLT). Paul was saying in effect, “I’m like a runner in the last stretch, and it hurts. But I’m going to make it. I’m determined.”

A lot of Christians start out their spiritual race with a bang, much like the way I started my races in high school. They are so excited about the Lord. They take off running and leave everyone else in their dust. Then they collapse and fall.

The Christian life is a race, but it isn’t a sprint. It’s a long-distance run. There will be times when we collapse and fall. And all we can do is get up again and keep running until we cross the finish line.

And to quote my friend Boaz "No turning back..."

[Pine Baron]

Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - Pastor Greg Laurie
Cross the Finish Line

“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?”
—Galatians 5:7

The Bible is filled with the stories of so many people who had tremendous potential but crashed and burned in the spiritual race. There was King Saul, the namesake of Saul who later became the apostle Paul. King Saul was handsome, tall, brave, and anointed by God to be the king of Israel. He even prophesied. Saul had incredible potential, but he disobeyed God repeatedly. He allowed pride into his life, giving way to paranoia and jealousy, which ultimately consumed him. He met a tragic end on the battlefield. What a wasted life.

Then there was Samson. Talk about power. He had an incredible ability to vanquish his enemies. He would kill them left and right on the battlefield. On one occasion Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Yet Samson went down in flames. Because he played around with sin, sin ultimately played around with him, and it culminated in his own death.

There was Gideon, who had such humble beginnings and was mightily used by God to defeat his enemies. But as Gideon’s life came to an end, he lowered his standards and fell into immorality and pride.

All of these men started well, but they didn’t finish well. They ran fast in the beginning, but they didn’t get across the finish line as they should have.

The apostle Paul, however, wanted to be in the company of those who finished the race, joining the ranks of those who did so in God’s winners’ circle—men like Caleb and Joshua who finished well. He said, “I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7 NLT).

If your life were to end today, would you be able to say, like Paul, “I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful”?