Does Your God Look Like This?

How many times do we go to God when we are having financial problems or we are sick and we need help or just want something? Maybe you want a new car or boat. Is God like a heavenly Santa Claus to you? "Give me, give me, give me." We turn to Him whenever we are in trouble. Have you ever been that way are known someone like that. Then God answers and we forget all the promises we made to Him and perhaps even forget to praise Him for all that He does in our lives. How do we feel when our own children or friends treat us that way. Or maybe we just plain don't like His answer.

1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Did you notice that, this is His will concerning you. Our heavenly Father knows just the right time to answer us and sometimes His answer is not yet, or no. Would you buy your son a sports car when you knew he was not mature enough to handle the consequences of his misuse? God has to answer in the same way. He loves us enough to say no sometimes or not yet, because He knows what lies ahead for each of our lives and He protects us from things we cannot see. He also knows what might draw us away from Him. Hallelujah!

James1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

God wants to meet our every need, but sometimes He withholds something for our good.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

IS THIS YOUR GOD?

1Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

God never said it was wrong to have material possessions. Many of those we admire in the Bible were rich in fact. Solomon, Abraham, Job and Isaac were some of the richest men in their day. God's doesn't have a problem with us having things. His problem is when those things become our god and the possessions become the center of our lives rather than Him. When anything takes us away from God as our focus of worship then that thing becomes our idol.

John Wesley had a three-fold philosophy about money. He said, "Make all you can; Keep all you can; and give all you can."

Many times we give the Lord our leftovers. One of the hardest things for some is to give of their money. The tithe belongs to the Lord and if we use it for ourselves then we rob God.

Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Does God need our money? No, everything already belongs to HIM! We show our love and trust in God by giving back a portion of that which He has given to us. We must remember that it is God that has given us the ability to earn and invest. We are only stewards of what God has given to us and He expects us to be frugal with our spending on ourselves.

John 3:27 ….. A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Many of us spend everything we have and then some on things. How often have you heard the statement, "You can't take it with you." Why do you not labor for that which you can take with you for an eternity!

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We show our love and trust of God by giving back a portion of that which He has given to us. Quite often I hear someone say, "There just isn't enough for me to tithe". No, and there never will be. We don't trust God.

Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

Does God care if we have needs?

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

God never forces anyone to give, He wants us to give out of love.

2Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

God also has a principle for receiving.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

2Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

In other words if we want more material things we must first be willing to give to those in need.

1Jo 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

HE WANTS OUR TIME!

God wants to spend time with us. He deserves our time. He is our Creator and we the created. We cannot know God without spending time with Him. He wants to be your best friend, your Father. He is a husband or wife to those who are alone. He wants to hear your praise and for you to worship Him. He wants us to set a little time aside each day to commune with us. He wants to be included in all that we do. He asks us to set aside one day a week to be totally with Him. That day being His Holy Sabbath. It is one of His commandments and He asks us to remember this day in honor of creation.

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The Sabbath is a day of physical and spiritual renewel. It is a gift to man because after working all the week we need that rest. Time spent with Christ will last an eternity! Leave a legacy of faith and time spent with God.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive us when we withhold from You, whether it is our money our time or ourselves. Give us a generous heart that gives back to You what is rightfully Yours. Give us the faith we need to always trust You in all our ways. Help us to realize You won't be found in the obvious places but rather in the still small voice that says, "Be still and know that I am God." How could You love us so, these unworthy creatures that we are? Thank you for that love and forgive us for ever doubting you. May we praise You each and every day for the price You paid for us. Amen

The Sabbath

Is it for born-again Christians or has it been nailed to the cross?
When I was 34 years old, I first heard the gospel message that Jesus died for me. I responded with baptism. The spiritual changes I had gone through up to this time were common to people growing up in the 60s. I was raised a Catholic and attended parochial school. After graduation I moved through agnosticism, deism and finally atheism. I did a lot of reading about Zen and other philosophies of life. From this state, through the grace of God, I responded to His call and was born-again. The question of the seventh-day Sabbath was posed to me within the first year. At first I dismissed it. But my recent conversion and the knowledge that I had deceived myself for so many years about God and His love, made me wonder if I was being honest and open to God's leading with this issue. As I prayed, I let go of my preconceived ideas and asked God to open my eyes to His word. I promised to act on whatever he revealed to me. Here is a summery of some of the things I learned in studying the Scriptures on this subject. I am using the New American Standard Bible.
In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Since it was made, it must have had a beginning. When I thought of the Sabbath, I thought of Exodus 20, the 10 commandments. But that was not its origin. In fact the fourth commandment begins by asking us to "Remember…" Exodus 20:8. The origin of the Sabbath is found in Genesis 2:2,3. Here we learn that God did three things that first Sabbath:
RESTED - Ceased from creative activity.

BLESSED THE DAY - There is a blessing to be received on this day.

SANCTIFIED THE DAY - made the day sacred. Set the day apart for holy use.

I had also been told that the Sabbath was made for the Jews. The Jews are the descendants of Abraham. How many Jews were living on the earth when the Sabbath was made? Not one! Only Adam and Eve, the parents of the human race. Perhaps that is why Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man…"
But wasn't the Sabbath nailed to the cross? This idea comes from Colossians 2:14,16,17. Here we learn that certain "ordinances," "Holy days," and "sabbath days" were "nailed to the cross" "Which are a shadow of things to come…" In other words these ordinances, holy days, and sabbath days, were a type, an object lesson pointing to a future reality. In the light of the cross these shadows were no longer needed.

Sabbath days were mentioned as being "a shadow" fulfilled by Christ. Lets look at Leviticus chapter 23. Here we find 7 annual Sabbaths: the beginning and ending of the feast of Unleavened Bread; Passover; Trumpets; the Day of Atonement and the beginning and ending of the feast of Tabernacles. Notice verse 38 - "besides the Sabbaths of the Lord…" There is a distinction made between these annual sabbaths, which fell on different days of the week, and the seventh-day Sabbath. Another distinction is that, only the seventh-day Sabbath is part of the 10 commandments, written by the finger of God on stone tablets and placed inside the Ark (Deuteronomy 10:5). While the 7 annual ceremonial sabbaths were written by Moses in a book and placed beside the Ark (Deuteronomy 31:24-26).
Let's examine one of these sabbaths, the Passover, and look for symbolism, shadowy types of Christ's atoning sacrifice.
EXODUS 12 - SYMBOLISM

Verse 5 - unblemished lamb - Jesus is "the Lamb of God"

Verse 5 - unblemished lamb - Jesus was without sin.

Verse 6 - sacrifice the lamb - Jesus was "slain for our transgressions."

Verse 7 - application of the blood - His shed blood cleanses us.

Verse 7 - application of the blood - We must accept His atonement personally.

Verse 8 - unleavened bread - Leaven is a symbol of sin. Jesus was without sin.

Verse 8 - unleavened bread - Jesus is the bread of life.
Is the Passover a type of Christ's sacrifice? Does it point forward to His redemptive work? All Christians agree that this is so. That is why Christians need not celebrate the Passover. Christ fulfilled it, "nailed it to the cross" with the reality of his sacrifice. We study the Passover to gain insight into the plan of salvation.
Now, let's examine, in the same way, the seventh-day Sabbath as recorded in Exodus 20:8-11.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."
Is the seventh-day Sabbath a type of Christ's sacrifice? Does it point forward to His redemptive work? Are there any symbols such as shed blood, to connect it to the atonement? I think an honest answer is No! I don't find any symbols of Jesus as our sacrifice here. What I do find is that those who observe the seventh-day Sabbath acknowledge God as their Creator and rightful sovereign. We are the works of His hands and the subjects of His authority. What a rebuke to evolution this is. No one who keeps the Sabbath could possibly believe in evolution. This Sabbath is a memorial of creation, and not a type of Christ's sacrifice. Therefore it could not have been fulfilled at the cross. In fact, when it was instituted, Adam and Eve had not yet sinned. It is interesting to note that marriage and the Sabbath are two things our first parents were allowed to take with them from their Eden home.
Some say that every day should be a Sabbath day. But this is not possible; "in it you shall not do any work…" and "Six days you shall labor and do all your work…" Others say that it doesn't matter which day you choose as long as you keep one in seven. But the Bible doesn't say one day in seven. It says, "the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God…" Now someone will say "how can we know when the seventh-day is? Hasn't the calendar been changed?" Even though the calendar has been changed over the centuries, the weekday cycle has never altered. The seventh-day today is the same as when Jesus walked the earth. Most Christians have no problem accepting Sunday as the first day of the week, the same day that Jesus rose from the dead. Our Jewish neighbors still keep Saturday as the seventh-day Sabbath. And they have been keeping tract of it for centuries. God made sure the Israelites new which day was the Sabbath by the miracle of manna falling on every day of the week, except the Sabbath, for 40 years. See Exodus 16:4-30.
A HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH
Created before sin entered - Genesis 2. The Sabbath was instituted before Adam and Eve fell into sin, so it could not be a type or shadow of Christ's redemption.

Exodus 16:26 - The Sabbath existed before Sinai. A month before He would give the Sabbath commandment, God rebuked the people for breaking the Sabbath, Exodus 16:28.

Mark 2:28 - Christ is "Lord of the Sabbath" Why? John 1:3, 10; Hebrews 1:2; and 1 Corinthians 8:6 tells us that Jesus was the one who rested that first Sabbath day. He created the Sabbath. That is why He is "Lord of the Sabbath."

Luke 4:16 - "as was His custom…" Jesus kept the Sabbath.

Luke 23:56 - "and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." The disciples obviously didn't know anything about a change at this point.

Acts 17:2 - "according to Paul's custom…" Acts 13:14; Acts 16:13; Acts 18:4 (for one and a half years at Corinth) Paul kept the Sabbath!

Matthew 24:20 Christ expected His followers to be observing the Sabbath at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, 40 years after Christ's resurrection.

Isaiah 66:22-23 - "New heavens and new earth" The Sabbath will be celebrated in the future when sin is done away with and God establishes the new heaven and new earth. This is because it is not a symbol of Redemption, but a memorial of Creation.

Some say that the forth commandment is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament. We have just mentioned several texts in the New Testament but here is another one. Hebrews 4:4, 5 "For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day, "AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS"; and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST."
The law can't save anyone! That is not its purpose! James 1:23-25 describes the law as a mirror. It shows us where we fail. It reveals our need of a savior. Romans 7:7,12 - Paul's sin became utterly sinful because of the law.
Ezekiel 36:26,27 - "A new heart" This is the born-again experience. "I will cause you to…walk in my statutes…" Jeremiah 31:31,33 - "Write the law on their hearts" "new covenant" The law of God is not done away with under the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit writes it on our hearts. God's people will delight to do His will, as revealed in His law.
THE PROPER MOTIVE IN SABBATH KEEPING IS LOVE.
John 14:15,21 - "If you love me, keep my commandments."

John 15:10,11 - "Joy made full" in keeping God's commandments.
It may seem strange to some, to talk about commandment keeping and faith in the same sentence. But that is just what God's Word does. Rev. 14:12 - "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." When you enter into God's rest, you cease relying on your own works to gain salvation and trust in the work that only God can perform. Your creator is your redeemer.

I have been keeping the seventh-day Sabbath for over 17 years now. It is truly the best day of the week. I put aside all my concerns about business and things needing to be done around the house. I have divine permission to take a break and spend special time with God, my family and others. What a blessing it is when the TV gets turned off, the newspaper is put away. A peace comes over my home. My family has special things that we do on Friday evening like having ice cream and reading a spiritual book to each other. We have prayer and share spiritual thoughts when the Sabbath ends Saturday at sundown. When my checkbook is low, the Sabbath reminds me that God is in charge. I pray that this little examination will prompt you to dig deeper with the Holy Spirit's leading. If you set the day apart for holy use, you will receive the blessing that Jesus put on His special day.