An Accountable Life...

Okay, bear with me, as I study the scriptures. :) If you have any input at all, in the least, if it be Bible-based, please leave your comments and feedback.

Today my focus verse is Hebrews 13:17.

Hebrews 13:17 (King James Version) "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

I have provided several translations for the ease of understanding:

Hebrews 13:17 (Amplified Bible) "Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either]."

Hebrews 13:17 (The Message) "Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?"

I find in the scripture, that we are individually responsible for our actions, and will answer for our every action AND every idle word that comes out of our mouth. This means the things we say in anger, in fear, in secret.... not just the things we shout to the world for all to hear. We are responsible and held accountable for the things we say that brings offense to our Brother/Sister's heart. We're responsible for anything we might say that causes a fellow believer (or non believer) to stumble in their walk or their coming to God. We will answer to the Lord for everything we speak!

Matthew 12:35-37 (King James Version) "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Romans 14:11-13 (King James Version) "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."

Although we are solely responsible for our own actions, the Lord issued a challenge to our pastors. Our leadership. Our watchmen. They are to watch and warn the congregation of the coming enemy attacks - warn of sin that we should not fall prey to. We find this in the scripture Ezekiel 3.

Ezekiel 3:17-21 (King James Version) "17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."

And for a breakdown in the Old English,

Ezekiel 3:17-21 (Amplified Bible) "17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me. 18 If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not give him warning or speak to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand. 19 Yet if you warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself. 20 Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right doing and right standing with God) and some gift or providence which I lay before him he perverts into an occasion to sin and he commits iniquity, he shall die; because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood will I require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned; also you have delivered yourself from guilt."

As we see here, the Lord has placed our Pastor to guide us, as a gentle shepherd - However, He is free of guilt and condemnation when He speaks what the Lord would have us to hear. He is required, at all costs of condemnation of the world, to speak exactly what the Lord requires him to speak! We are solely responsible for obeying the voice of the Lord as our Pastor delivers it. That brings me back to focus scripture, as it is stated in the Message translation: "Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?"

As Christians, we HAVE to be responsive to the Word of the Lord as the Pastor delivers it. We have to RESPOND to the Word he imparts. We much listen and take action. Our Pastor stands with his hand on the pulse of the Lord. We need to take what our Pastor delivers and act on it with JOY.

I don't want my Pastor to view pastoring me as a drudgery. If I constantly do not heed the word he pours out of his heart through the Spirit, that's a drudgery! I don't want to make delivering the Word of the Lord harder for my Pastor. I want him to have joy in his heart, knowing that he has a congregation that takes JOY in the word of the Lord - a congregation that listens and responds positively to the Word the Lord gives. Why make the work of our Pastor harder than it is? Let's ASSIST him in reaching for souls around us. We must live an accountable life, and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Leadership, grasping for the outstretched hands of the unbelievers.

So be it.

Falling in Love... With the WORD

Amazing how the Lord works, is it not? After such an amazing weekend in God's presence, hearing reminder after reminder that we need to fall in love with the WORD of GOD, I opened a devotion book this morning to read just that very thing. I would like to share a small exert from the book:

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"Diamonds for Dusty Roads" by Joy Haney

"How well do you know and love the author of the good book - the Bible?" Does it thrill you, or is it boring? Does it bring light to you, or is it dull and uninteresting? The key is falling in love with the author.

President Herbert Hoover said "The whole of the inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the Prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life."

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LORD, I pray that I fall madly in love with You, your WORD!

Matthew 22:29 states "You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor God's power."

I don't want this to be me! I want to know the Words of the Lord, I want them to be a Living Water, springing up from my innermost being.

Romans 15:4 tells us that "For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope.

This tells me that no matter what circumstances come my way, the Word of the LORD was penned for my encouragement to bring me hope when I feel there is none.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 says it all too well: "But as for you, continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you learned [them], And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the [a]leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Word is Alive!! If brings salvation, understanding, knowledge, power, wisdom, goodness... Through HIS WORD we have the training needed to live holy - it completes us and equips us for anything we could possibly face in this world!!

If you aren't feeling quite complete... if something feels off. If you feel like you're missing something...... check the location of your Bible. Have you read it today? Have you ate from the LORD's table? He's prepared a huge feast for your Spirit Man - and it all lays between the covers of your Bible. Let your Spirit Man eat and become strong.

Thank You Lord for your Word! Let us not settle for being a half christian! YOUR WORD completes us! YOUR WORD is what keeps us! YOUR WORD gives anointed power!

I've got my Hammer (Sword/Bible) in my hand... coupled with my Nail (Holy Ghost/Spirit), no Sisera (enemy) can stand in the way of VICTORY!!! Amen?!?!?!

Have a Blessed Day!!

"Forgiven and Appointed"

Follow with me on my journey through the Word today... (All scripture inserts are from the Amplified Bible.)

Let's begin in Micah 7:7-9, 15-20

• 7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
• 8 Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.
• 9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteous deliverance.
• 15 As in the days of your coming forth from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.
• 16 The nations shall see [God's deliverance] and be ashamed of all their might [which cannot be compared to His]. They shall lay their hands upon their mouths in consternation; their ears shall be deaf.
• 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their strongholds and close places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our God and shall be afraid and stand in awe because of You [O Lord].
• 18 Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.
• 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
• 20 You will show Your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Wow, right? Now lets turn to Isaiah 6:5-8

• 5 Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!
• 6 Then flew one of the seraphim [heavenly beings] to me, having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with tongs from off the altar;
• 7 And with it he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity and guilt are taken away, and your sin is completely atoned for and forgiven.
• 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Which brings me to Jeremiah 1:4-10, 12

• 4 Then the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah], saying,
• 5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
• 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am only a youth.
• 7 But the Lord said to me, Say not, I am only a youth; for you shall go to all to whom I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
• 8 Be not afraid of them [their faces], for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.
• 9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
• 10 See, I have this day appointed you to the oversight of the nations and of the kingdoms to root out and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
• 12 Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.

Again.. Wow, right?? The LORD has not only forgiven our iniquities, but has covered us with His Mercy! The enemy CANNOT rejoice over us, because we WILL ARISE! Our sin has been forgiven, the LORD has placed it in the sea of forgetfulness. HE will bring us into the fullness of HIS light!

The flesh is always at enmity with the LORD - our carnal lips are unclean... but the LORD has purged them with a coal from the Brazen Altar, where we slaughter and sacrifice our will in the courts of the tabernacle. It is here that we are reconciled with our Manufacturer!! We have a marvelous word to do - and it will not be done unless we willingly say, Here am I, Lord, send me.

The LORD has placed HIS word in the mouths of HIS children - and He WATCHES OVER HIS WORD... TO PERFORM IT! Our LORD is incapable of lying! He simply cannot lie! His word is yea and amen! We CANNOT be afraid of the faces of this world. They are just to intimidate the work the LORD has destined for our lives. Isn't it amazing, that we can boldly, and with confidence, stand on the WORD of God and say - "GOD's GOT THIS!!"??!!

Take my heart, LORD, take my life as a living sacrifice. All my dreams, all my plans, I place them in your hands. Use me, Lord. Send me. Here am I. Use me for YOUR Glory.

For the want of a Nail

‎"For want of a nail, the horseshoe was lost. For want of a horseshoe, the steed was lost. For want of a steed, the message was not delivered. For want of an undelivered message, the war was lost."

Ever get to a place in life where you begin to wonder if the little things even matter? Don't ever think your convictions and commitments are small and insignificant. One slip leads to the next step and before you know it, you're out in left field, not knowing which way to turn and run.

Examples...
You miss your daily devotion once, and a next, by the third time, its so easy just to completely disregard the drawing in your spirit as your spirit man slowly withers and dies.
You sleep in one service, you're sick the next, you are busy the third, and by the time the 4th one rolls around, its not a priority to you anymore.
Personal convictions.... is it really a heaven or hell issue? You let things slide, making all kinds of excuses to pardon your reasonings and shut up your conscience... any slight twinge of conviction you silence with more excuses until your spirit is so burnt by the burn of constant excuses any and all nerve receptacles are shut off from the voice of the Lord.

We must stand firm, and not take shortcuts. If you've self inflicted 3rd degree burns to your spirit man, step up and lettge Lord scrub away the burn layers so that He can renew the skin beneath and let growth and restoration take place.

This war that rages CANNOT be taken lightly and CANNOT be lost - for the want of a nail.