ClydeStyle

Category: God

  • Why do you worship God?

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    Worshipping is woven into the fabric of our very being. Without instruction we will worship anything. Some are worshipping people, animals and things.

    It’s not hard to understand exactly why we were given the intellect and the ability to worship. Worship is paying homage to a worthy object of affection. It is an expression of the gratitude we feel for that object based on our understanding.

    God, then, would be worshipped because of what we understand about him. Our father’s grace, mercy, longsuffering, love, faithfulness and forgiveness are just a few things in a long list of attributes that should stimulate our desire to show our gratitude and worship him.

    True worship, then, would be worshipping God in spirit (that’s your spirit) and in truth (the revealed understanding of who he is). I can attempt to worship God in my flesh. This is when I respond to God based on my senses. So if it stimulates me, I will use it to worship him. Worship before Christ was done this way. There were things to touch, taste, smell, hear and see in worship. The burnt offerings, use of incense and the shewbread were all a part of the ceremonial worship. I can also attempt to worship him mentally which would be based on my own understanding — it will appear zealous, but not according to knowledge. I can attempt to worship him based on my emotions. The philosophy is that it makes me feel good so it should make God feel good.
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    Today, God calls us to a much higher worship. One that requires the use of my intellect and understanding of who he is. It requires the submission of the heart of the person worshipping and the sole use of things God created and nothing we created with our own hands.

    God now wants the sacrifice of praise, which the bible defines as the fruit of our lips praising him. Christ left us a feast to participate in and unconditional love is to be shared throughout. God wants us to have a consuming worship that pays homage to him and stimulates his love between us. It is also the start of a week that should be filled with the true worshippers offering themselves as a living sacrifice for him all week until we are united again together on the first day of the week. We are the lively stones that come together to form a spiritual house where he joins us.

    Simple, natural and authorized. God should dictate how you worship if your worship is about honoring him. The father is seeking such to worship him — now what about your worship?

  • Spread love

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    There is something that this world needs more than anything and that is love.

    There is not enough love being spread throughout our world.  Clearly we are too angry, sad, bitter, envious and covetous to allow love to even come out. The bible tells us that love never fails, but instead of failing it hopes all things; endures all things; and believes all things. Now that’s an interesting combination!

    To hope in something is not merely a wish, but it’s a great expectation that something will be a reality. So, if someone fails you, you could demonstrate love toward them that would make them successful. The hope then is not based on their ability to perform, but your ability to unconditionally love.

    Love also endures and this endurance gets stronger as time goes on, not wary. This endurance imitates God’s long suffering towards us. Therefore, love not only powers the victory, but it grants patience to those on the sidelines so that they may bear it.
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    Then, finally, love believes all things. Our failure or final attempt is always the result of disbelief. What makes a person not try again? You guessed it, disbelief! Love always says — try again because victory is coming! Love believes that any situation can be turned around. Love believes victory is always an option.

    So my friend, as the song by Take 6 says, “spread love instead of telling lies. Spread love because the truth needs no disguise.”

  • My God is not a buffet!

    When you live in a country as great as ours, it’s easy to take for granted our bounty. We are used to having things done our way. We live in a “now” society that gives us any and everything we can afford. Our carnal selves actually feed off this abundance and as long as the carnal body has nourishment like this, it will be strong and difficult for us to handle.

    A Chinese buffet restaurant in the United Stat...
    A Chinese buffet restaurant in the United States of America (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    There must be a separation of our spiritual and carnal selves. It was first explained to us in Romans 6 that when we were baptized we put to death the “old man” and that we live anew in Christ. It seems as though we keep nursing the old man back to health. You see, when we take God’s principles to heart, we bear fruit. According to Rom. 6:17 we are to obey from the heart that form of doctrine delivered to us. We can not take the things God offers like we take food from a buffet. At a buffet, you do not have to eat everything — although some people try. At the buffet you can have whatever you like and leave what you don’t like.

    God is quite different.

    God did not send his only son to die for the sins of the world only to see us commit partially to him. God wants us to surrender all and as much as he loves us, he expects us to honor him with our whole lives. There should be none of this “I’ll submit to the things that I like and I’m a work in progress for the rest”. We are to love because God loves us; we are to forgive because God forgave us; we are to treat others with respect because it honors the God we serve.

    So many claim to be children of God, but treat him like a buffet. I was counseling a young lady who was having difficulty potty training her son. This kid was so smart that he would potty on himself and then bring a diaper to his mother so she could change him. Clearly, if this kid could bring the diaper then he could certainly make his deposit into the toilet like anyone else. At the time that we can acknowledge our sin, we need to cut it out. Simply acknowledging our sin is like the boy who brings his mother a diaper for him to be changed. We need to do better than that!

  • Living with honor

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    Honor is like a little battery placed on your shoulder that has to stay there as you walk. And then while you’re walking, someone is constantly trying to knock it off.

    Or honor is like a glass of water filled to the brim and someone is trying to get you to spill it.

    Whatever the case, as Christians we are challenged daily and judged by a world which is against us. To be the light in a dark place is not an easy task, but it is the challenge give by the savior. He said to let our lights so shine that others would see our good works and glorify our father in heaven. That sounds easy enough, but have you ever really tried it?

    The Christian must act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God and positive effects are inevitable. We must live our lives with honor remembering that we are citizens of another place and this place we live in is temporal.

    So live with honor that others will find the path. Live with honor to make your calling and election sure. And live with honor so that God will honor you in the end.

  • Parable of purity

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    Once upon a time a father baked a beautiful cake. He decorated it with the finest icing, and he  added extra icing to it because his cake was so sweet.

    He took his cake and placed it in a display case for safe keeping until the right person came to purchase.

    Each evening, unbeknownst to the father, some guy would reach up and take a bite out of his cake. In fact, by the time he noticed, there were more than 11 bites out of his cake.

    The father was sadden and although he still cared deeply about the cake, he wondered if the bites would hinder quality sales of the cake. The father also remembered when he used to sneak bites of cake and it saddened him more. “No one should be trying to taste cake before purchasing it!” He exclaimed.

    The interpretation of this parable is this: The cake is this man’s daughter and every bite out of it represents the daughter’s sexual experiences. The purchasers are men who would be great candidates for marriage.

    Moral of the story: No one wants to purchase a community cake. Or as the Apostle Paul wrote: “Marriage is honorable by all and the bed is undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

  • Respect for all things

    imagesCA6M5MVVSometimes the simplest lessons get past us. We don’t think anything of killing an ant, squashing a pesky fly or any other bug.

    We live in a violent society. We rage war, buy weapons and loose control. We seek revenge and we allow our anger to get the best of us. In the midst of it all we treat cows, chickens and pigs horribly, but will send a man to jail over dog fighting. We will hunt and kill for sport and even allow certain species to become extinct.

    We would have more respect for each other, I believe, if we practiced respecting the things God gave us dominion over first.

    It takes nothing from our character to respect all the things God created, rather it enhances who we are. Gen. 24 tells the story of Rebecca and the fact that she passed the “camel test”. Basically she not only showed kindness to a traveler by giving him water, she also made sure his camels had their fill of water too. The point is that her respect for all things did not go unnoticed and for that she became the promised child’s bride.

    You see, if just a little respect goes a long way, then what would our country be like if everyone practiced it?

    As children of God we should respect what he respects, love what he loves and forgive like he does. Only then will we have true inner peace.

  • My hope is built on nothing less . . .

     

    You ever wonder how a person can respect someone when they constantly treat people bad or hurt people’s feelings? How is it that people who run around with a sense of entitlement get placed in these positions of power only to be self serving and not look out for the best interest of the people that serve them?

    Romans 13:1-2 says, “1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God:  the powers that be are ordained of God.  2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation (KJV).”

    There is a valuable lesson in authority. Whether the person with the authority acknowledges God or not, the source of his power is God. The person who is in authority has a responsibility to God in using their power, whether they want to acknowledge God or not.p_a-2

    We, the subjects of these authoritarians, have a responsibility to power and authority. I can disagree with a higher power, but I still have the responsibility to respect that power because it is God given.

    Respect and obedience are two different things even though the outcomes may look the same. I can have a boss who perceives me as a threat and mistreats me because of his feelings. Someone looking from the outside might see my submission to my boss despite the way he treats me and ask, “why are you so obedient to him?”

    Obedience is a reaction. Respect is an action. A person can choose respect, but obedience is a reaction — normally to fear. Nowhere in Romans 13:1-2 does it use the word fear. It gives a statement of fact and then behavior that should follow. I want to honor God in everything that I do and I have learned that God places me in positions where I get the honor of showing him how much I want to honor him. That may come in the form of a challenging boss, estranged relationship, dealing with a stranger or challenges within myself. In all cases God has placed me in a situation that I can demonstrate who I belong to and more importantly who I serve.

    As a result, I am not a slave to circumstances because I know he is in control of them. I am not oppressed by authority as someone who has no hope and I bow down to no man.

    God is supreme and still in control. I am now to live free because I believe this to be true. And how about you dear reader? Are you living this truth or are you a enslaved. Is your hope built on the power of the creator of the universe or are you still trying to sit in that seat yourself? Choose this day who you will serve!

  • Gratitude vs. Thanks

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    I was unaware of the symbol for gratitude. Of course, Eastern culture exhibits the symbol as much a we see stop signs here.

    Gratefulness and thankfulness each have its purpose, but have you ever viewed these words as levels of maturity? What I mean is a child will mimic what you say to him, but there will be no emotion behind it and that’s because there is not much intellect behind it. Imitation is what children do and it seems that some people never grow past mimicking.

    We are taught by our parents to say thank you when someone does something for us. We say thank you as a sign of respect. We do it because it’s the “right” thing to do.

    We grow up and understand thankfulness in the context that we learned it as a child. Thankful means to be glad or relieved that someone did something for us. That is a great thing to understand — when you are a kid.

    Gratitude seems to be the next level because it means that you understand what has been done for you and you want to express an inward feeling outwardly. You want to do something because you are moved by what someone else has done for you.

    Wow! That is different!

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    So ultimately our faith must do better than rest at thankfulness because faith without works is dead. So if we understand what God has done for us, then our actions should speak for us.

    So if I am grateful for God’s unconditional love then I will give it to someone else. If I am grateful that God has forgiven me, then there is no way I don’t forgive. If I am grateful that God’s grace saves me from a state where I could not save myself, then why would I not be so grateful as to learn of him and shout from the roof top telling others about him?

    Thankful appreciates. Grateful expresses the appreciation. Thankful shines with a smile. Grateful is a call to action.

    Therefore, I need to be grateful instead of thankful. I need to be more of a doer and not just a hearer that my faith and trust in God may be displayed before the world.

    I give God my thanks regularly, but I need to let him and everyone else know that I am grateful.

  • How we are saved

    20130614-230636.jpgHave you ever wondered exactly how the gospel saves? I mean we say it all the time and it is a staple in Christian circles. However, is the “how” ever addressed? We definitely get the “who” the “what” and the “where”, but it seems the “how” is the black sheep of this family.

    Well, please allow me to share the “how” and open your heart to the rightly-divided word. The facts of the gospel are contained in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Paul writes that Jesus died according to the scriptures and he was buried and he rose on the third day according to the scriptures. So the death, burial and resurrection are the simple facts.

    In Romans 5:10, Paul says that in His death we were reconciled back to God. With Jesus’ death we have a new relationship with God. The bible says that we are but filthy rags before him. The blood of Jesus reconnects us. This is the soul purpose of his death — that those who die with Him get the benefit of being united with God.

    The resurrection is this new life that we, who believe, live in. Rom. 5:10 says that we are “saved” by His life. How? You see, for those who are in Christ, it is His life that we walk in, not our own. His life is the light. And that life is the light of men (John 1:4). And if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). So there is only light and darkness. We walk in the light by faith. We have been called to walk by faith, not live perfect lives. As a child of God who has been reconciled to God and saved by His life, I have eternal security as long as I “walk by faith” (a.k.a. Stay in the light).

    The death and resurrection are tied together by the burial just like our reconciliation and life in Christ are tied together by baptism. Rom. 6:4 says, “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

    This makes baptism as essential to salvation as the burial is to the gospel. No wonder Jesus said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved …”(Mark 16:16).

    I hope that I have brought clarity to this topic and please don’t hesitate to comment on this blog with questions.

    In Christian love,

    Clyde

  • Yes, no and not now (Part 3 of 3)

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    So you want your prayers to be in step with the will of God do you? I don’t blame you, too often we ask God as a last resort and we’re still struggling with what things we should pray for.

    Remember, prayer is designed to be a comfort to us. It’s like being able to talk to the king of the land and having favor with him. It’s a privilege to be in a covenant relationship where he has requested that when you’re going through rough times you talk to him about it.

    Prayer is not a wishing well or a Jeanie in a bottle. It is not a set up where if God likes you, he will give you what you ask. Prayer is not a way to gain material things that we want and it is vain to pray for things God has already granted.

    For example, for you to pray to God because some poor person needs food and you already have a house full of food is vain. God doesn’t expect you to rid the world of hunger. He just expects you to take care of the situations you know about. I have a family and let’s say I lose my job. God knows what I need before I ask. Well in a covenant relationship, I need to thank him for the job I know he has purposed for me. Why? Because the Bible says if a man does not work, he doesn’t eat. And a man that doesn’t take care of his family is less than an infidel. So, I can be assured that God has prepared a way for me to take care of the family he gave me so no panicking! Just simply be relentless in search of that job because faith tells you it’s there.

    When someone is deathly ill and we pray for them, our prayer should be one that is honest, vulnerable and direct. There is no way to know if it is time for the sick person to die. All we know is that death is common to man and therefore all must die. My prayer would be to let God know how I feel and then let him know that I trust his decision and that he knows best. There is nothing wrong with asking God to heal someone, what makes it bad is when God has revealed his will and we don’t accept it.

    God is still GOD when things turn bad, when death visits our house and when we are at our lowest point. He still works things out for our betterment. If we really understand this, then all of our prayers will be of faith. And remember faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.