Have We Spoiled Them?

 “So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?”  – 2 Corinthians 12:15

Often is the case that the parent gives everything; time, money, and wisdom to his or her children, only to have that child disrespect and dishonor them.  We see it time and time again, where children seem to have a feeling of entitlement because they have been sheltered and provided for their whole life.  What do we gain by giving everything we have to our children if we are only creating an adult who expects others to give to them unjustly?

I can assure you, having raised 2 and still raising 3 children in our home, it can easily be said that we spoil our children.  As I think back over the years, I ask myself why I give and continue to give to my children.  I think the answer comes down to love.  Wait a minute.  That then implies that love can be bought, and certainly everyone knows that it cannot.  For the gifts will one day be abandoned and left to rust or decay.  Some might say that love is an emotional bond between individuals that is not valued in possessions and gifts but rather in actions, or perhaps it’s in the words shared between two people.

Certainly, if someone does something nice for another or compliments them, there is a feeling of worth associated to the kindness.  I do nice things for people I don’t even know, and I’m sure you do as well.  Does this imply that you love them or that you care for them?  The scriptures tell us that even the evildoers will do good things, but will not be accepted into heaven (Matthew 7:22-23).  Good works are just that good and kind and generous, but in and of themselves do not fully demonstrate the love of the Father.

Just as a parent will give a child financial means, clothing, shelter, food, knowledge, wisdom, and skills throughout their upbringing, only to have the child walk away unappreciative and feeling entitled, it is often that way with God.  Right where you sit at this very moment, look around you and take in all that has been provided to you.  Perhaps you are in your home and protected from the elements.  If you’re reading this, chances are you have electricity, a computer, and an internet connection.  You likely had a pillow under your head last night.  You probably have clothes on your back and food in your pantry.  You may not be rich in possessions, but you are provided for because you have been given talents and opportunities to create an income.  The Lord above gave you everything you have, not in that He purchased these things for you, but in that He created you and, in doing so, created your ability to think, work, and sustain your life, and through His word has taught you right from wrong.

Yet, each day we awake, get dressed, and eat breakfast; all the while taking for granted that God the Father provided these things for us.  If you are wealthy and of substantial means, it is not because of anything you have done.  It is only because you have used the skills, knowledge, and talents that God the Father gave to you.  He has given us everything we have, including the ultimate gift of eternal life.  How many of His children recognize everything He has done for them, yet still turn their back and refuse to accept His love and grace.  Billions, yes billions.  If you take a look around you today, recognize everything He has given to you and realize that indeed you are truly blessed.  His love for you is immutable and never changing; it cannot be more or less than it is at this very moment.  You are loved by the Creator of the universe.

Come Up Here

 Revelation 4:1-3..7

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”  At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.  And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.  

(John describes 4 living creatures within the Throne room ) …(7) and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, 
who was and is and is to come!”

When Jesus tells you to come here, you come.  It isn’t a question, it isn’t a maybe, it’s a command from the Sovereign Lord over all things.  

John is transformed into spirit form to enter into the Holy of Holies, the great Throne Room of God Almighty.  The human brain cannot comprehend the magnificence, the beauty, the indescribable opulence, and majesty of the King of Kings upon His throne.  John uses the best words he had to describe the beauty – “jasper stone and sardius” for the throne, a rainbow around the throne to describe the effervescent light emanating from His holiness, and later in the chapter, he describes the floor as if it were “a sea of glass, like crystal.”

We walk amongst beauty on this earth – architecture, historical monuments, lights, nature, mountains, rivers, and seas; but there is nothing in our world that will compare to the unbelievable glory of heaven, and especially God’s throne room.  From this throne room, much of the remaining verses of Revelation will be unveiled to John through Jesus Christ.  For Christ to bring John to the throne room, to see God, the Father seated upon His throne, with all authority of good and evil, right and wrong, eternal salvation or not.

Around the throne room were also 24 elders, dressed in white garments, and seated upon their thrones (v.4).  We don’t know who these elders are, but they possess some authority to be seated upon thrones alongside of God, the Father.  The white garments tell us that they are pure and holy, having met the standards to be elevated and seated with God.  Later in chapter 4, these elders are seen by John, lying their crowns at the feet of God’s throne, and crying out  - “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (v. 11). 

If these 24 elders are unworthy to be in the presence of God, the Father, who are we to believe we are “good enough”?  You see, even in your most perfect minute of life, you are still well short of God’s glory.  We strive each day to earn God’s love, His approval, His acceptance, when in reality, we can’t.  John was called up to the throne room as a guest of Jesus Christ.  He (John) was not worthy, but Jesus is.  Jesus is the intercessor for our transgressions and our iniquities.  He alone is worthy to stand before God the Father, because He is One with God.  

You and I will one day fall before God and tremble in awe of His great majesty and presence.  We will have no ability to hold onto our “crowns” of self-celebration and achievement, but be humbled to lay them down at the foot of God’s throne.  In heaven, we have no ego, no self-righteousness or grandiose celebrations; no, we will all fall before His glory and magnificence.  We pat ourselves on the back for our achievements in this world, for the good things we have done, for the kindness and sacrifice we have made.  We lift ourselves up as righteous, above others, and in doing so, we create a persona that we are worthy of God’s love.  

In reality, God provided Jesus Christ, through His life, death, and resurrection, as our only means to heaven.  If we count our good works as payment for entry into heaven, we can never accomplish enough.  But, only through Jesus’ covenant and promise, we are given eternal life; and thus, good works follow in line with His desires and not ours.  Realize that you cannot work your way to heaven, and accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and one day you too will be able to come up to God’s throne room, fall before Him, and call out “Worthy are You, our Lord and God”.  That will be a glorious day indeed.

Yes, God is Love

“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”   1 John 3:23

My thoughts:
Don’t you realize that I have done all of these wonderful things for others?  I have given to charities, worked at the food bank, taken in strangers from the street, and helped the widows and the orphans.  I have been to Haiti, Uganda and China to help those who are famished and dying.  I have loved everybody for who they are and accepted them without judgment and asked nothing from them in return.  I am peaceful, gentle, loving and merciful.  Do you mean to tell me that your God is going to send me to Hell, just because I don’t believe in Jesus?  Really?

This type of statement is all too common in today’s world.  Now some will say that the Bible itself is just a fable and therefore have no interest at all in God or an afterlife.  Based on their refusal of God, our belief; as Christians; is that on judgment day they will be cast into the lake of fire.  But then there are many, genuinely loving people, who do not know or refuse to accept Jesus Christ, as their Savior and Lord.  What they fail to realize is that even though they are loving, charitable and compassionate, they are still filled with sin.  Based on the fact that we are all direct decedents over 100’s of generations from Adam and Eve.  Therefore the blood that runs through our veins comes from their original sinful action and separates us from God’s eternal presence.

Because of our sinful nature, we must be reconciled to God’s perfect righteousness.  This requires some level of atonement, or sacrifice, as it was with the children of Israel in the Old Testament.  The spotless, perfect lamb was offered once a year as a sacrifice for the sins of their family.  Under the new covenant, God sent His own Son, whose blood was pure and righteous from the Father above, to be the final sacrifice for all of mankind.  He provided the only path of reconciliation and atonement of our sins, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Despite how perfectly loving and generous we believe we are living our lives, we cannot eliminate the sinful blood that runs through our body.  This sin prevents us from entering into God’s presence and therefore unless we know of another way to cleanse that from our lives and atone for every single sinful act we’ve ever committed, then accepting the gift that God, Himself provided in Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid an eternity in Hell.  Regardless of how good we think we are, or how many people have been helped through our generosity and love, without Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will end up in the lake of fire along-side of those that refuse to even acknowledge that God even exists. 

Be Blessed,

Rich

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An Act of Futility

January 12, 2015

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”– John 14:6

I get it.  I understand why so many people are anti-religious.  If it is perceived as a straight jacket discipline which requires perfect action, words and emotions; it would be most unappealing to all.  In reality though it’s not the requirement of being a Christian.  Sure, perfect holiness and righteousness is the requirement to enter into eternal heaven with God the Father, but this is impossible for mankind.

If we are keeping score (of righteousness vs. unrighteousness) the average person will perform no less than a few hundred unrighteous acts in a given 24 hour period.  Let’s face it through our thoughts, actions, and words we are seldom in a state of holy righteousness, and abiding in His holy word.  As hard as we try, we cannot will ourselves to stop these things from happening.  With this in mind, there must be a way to overcome our instinctive unrighteous behavior.

How many “good” righteous acts must one commit each day, each hour, each minute to overcome the plethora of unrighteousness that overwhelms us?  Is it a 1 for 1 trade off, or does it take more good to overcome each unrighteous act?  Does one extremely good thing overcome multiple unrighteous acts?  In a given lifetime, can we do enough good things for the world to balance the scales with the evil or unrighteous things?  The obvious answer is no, we cannot.

So, if holy righteousness is required to enter heaven, and we cannot achieve that on our own, despite how hard we attempt to control ourselves, how can we achieve it?  This is the reason Jesus Christ came to the earth and endured the wrath of God upon the cross.  His righteousness was pure, holy and perfect in every way.  He became the propitiation for your sins and my sins before we were even conceived.  Through his death and sacrifice on the cross we, who accept and believe in Him, are washed clean.  Our soul takes on the image of Christ forever more, and though our flesh continues to sin, our spirit is holy and righteous.

Have you ever looked into one of those funny mirrors at a State Fair or Carnival?  You know the ones that either make you look extremely tall and skinny, or very short and rotund regardless of how you actually look.  The image you see is definitely you, but it is altered, it is transposed into something different than reality.  I imagine standing before God on judgment day will be similar.  I will stand before His perfect holiness in rags of sin and unrighteousness from every act ever committed.  But, in my imagination, Jesus Christ is standing between me and the Father, and the Father sees me through the image of Jesus as perfectly holy and righteous.  My sins are covered by His holiness and thought I am guilty of transgressions, I am forgiven completely because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.

Without His coverage, I am left to stand before the Father to justify my actions good and bad, in an attempt to convince the Almighty that I am perfectly holy enough for heaven.  This indeed is an impossible task, and if you are running from religion because you see it as worthless to even attempt, than I fully understand your opinion.  You are correct in your assertion that it is impossible so why even try to achieve it.  What you need to realize is that there is a way, and only one way to overcome this reality.  That is through Jesus Christ. 


© Sondove Enterprises, 2015
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Fundamental Truth – He will Judge all Mankind

November 24, 2014

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” – John 5:22

If they don’t believe in Heaven and Hell, they certainly don’t believe they will be judged.  At one point in our history there was actually a fear of judgment day.  If you observe much of the news in these days though, it is easy to see that many are only living for the moment with no concern of a coming judgment day.  For if we were, would we not take more care about hurting others, minding the 10 Commandments:
            Thou Shalt not . . .
               Kill, Steal, Commit Adultery, Lie, Envy (covet)

These are broken in every city, every day by hundreds of people with no concern of reconciling with the Lord.

I believe there will be a day when Jesus Christ will return and take His children home as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” 
I believe that Jesus Christ will judge the righteous from the unrighteous as captured in Matthew 25:32-33 “"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” 

I believe that denying Jesus Christ will lead to an eternal separation from God the Father.

I believe that one cannot earn their way (through good works) to eternal salvation, that it is only through the belief in His Son.  Though many believe that they can be “good enough” it is a lie of the evil one.  For none of us can be “good enough” to be in the presence of God.  We must rely upon the sacrifice and redeeming blood of Jesus Christ to atone for our wickedness.

I believe that there will be many who believe they are saved, but will suffer on judgment day having been misled their entire life by the evil of this world. 

I believe many religions are loving, caring, peaceful and stand on good intentions, but it is my belief that if they do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God, Savior of the World and Lord; then they will be judged one day as wicked.

Many argue that I have no right to judge others and their beliefs and they are correct, I do not.  I am not the judge, nor do I even have any perspective on what is in another man’s heart and the truth of their relationship with Jesus Christ.  But, I do have the right to fear for them and to at least tell them what I believe, so they may make an informed decision.  For if I do not tell them of what I believe to be the truth, how am I any different than the wickedness of this world in condemning them on judgment day.  For you see, it is because I believe in Jesus Christ that I am called to spread His word to the corners of the earth.  It is because I believe that I am charged to share His love with others and do good works, in His name and for His glory.  I do not do good things to earn His love, but I do them because of His love for me.

I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.  I want to share this with you and I want you to share it with those you know.  By the definition of multiplicity, through the sharing of the word we can communicate these fundamental truths to the world through email, social media and your testimony.  I encourage each of you to share this with your contacts and in doing so share His gospel truth. 

In the love of the Lord, be blessed.


© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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The Pitfall of Despair

Make 2014 a year for sharing

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” – Matthew 6:13a

In 1972 author Hal Lindsey published a book called “Satan is alive and well on planet earth”  In it, he describes how people of this day and age (written over 40 years ago) have become complacent, and view Satan as more of a comic book villain than the Prince of Darkness, evil and unrighteousness.  So tell me, in the last forty years have we as a people gotten better or worse at fighting off the devil’s play.  I propose time may have elapsed but the conflict is as ripe as it was in the Garden of Eden.

Daily we will be tempted.  This will sometimes come in ways that are obvious and other times in ways that seem harmless.  There is an evil force in the world, inherent in each of us.  This force will occupy space in our hearts and minds when we are weak and vulnerable in our faith.  Jesus came to give us the truth about life, death and eternity.  The more we are in His word and leaning on His strength the less open space we have for the evil one to set up residency.  Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has been struggling with fending off evil. 

For centuries man has tried to do enough good things, say the right words and earn their way back into God’s grace and mercy through sacrifice and ritual.  God sent Jesus Christ as the final atonement for mankind’s sin.  God’s grace became available to all mankind through the blood and resurrection of His own Son, the perfect spotless sacrifice.  Therefore, it is only through Him that we might receive eternal life and forgiveness for our sinful nature, for He alone was perfect and sinless. You cannot earn your way into heaven through good works, righteous words or someone else’s faith.  It is dependent solely on your relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

As temptation arises today, look to Him for your strength to overcome.  Why, you might ask?  Because He is the only one to ever walk this earth flawless and defeat Satan in every way.  He knows the devil well and wants to help you avoid the pitfalls of despair.

Prayer:

Almighty God,

I lift Your name in praise and worship this morning, for You alone are God.   There are no others but You with the love, compassion and grace for eternity.  I am sorry Lord for my weakness and giving in to temptation, please forgive my transgressions.  Strengthen me Lord, that I might become an overcomer and resist the works of evil in my life.  Help me to be a beacon of hope to those who cannot see Your love through the chaos and confusion of worldly values.  In Your name we pray – Amen

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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You Want Control?

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“… and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." – Revelation 7:10

Do you really think you have control of your life?

There are so many things that happen in every 24 hour period (86,400 seconds) of each day, that you have zero control over.  Did you control your birth?  Did you choose to be created?  Do you control the creation of oxygen so you can breathe throughout the day?  Do you control the rise of the sun or moon, the gentle breeze or rain on a warm Spring day?  Sure, you can control where you live, what you eat, how you make a living, what you drive or how you love those around you.  But even those situations, your control is dependent upon someone else participating and making a choice to provide these things for you.  Let’s face it, you are reliant upon others whether you want to be or not.  When we put our faith in mankind to meet our needs, we are often times disappointed and troubled by the outcomes. 

God is the Creator and in ultimate control of your existence.  Do you control your eternal life or does the Creator and perfector of eternity control it?  What He has created for you in this life is designed to prepare you for eternity with Him.  Without His plan of salvation there is none.  We live, we die, we are buried and that’s it.  Our bodies decay and become nutrients for the earth.  In this mode of existence, what is the point of life here?  You may believe you have your life under control because of temporary success that you have demonstrated or achieved here.  You don’t control that drunk driver, or the thief, or murderer or any one of many natural disasters that can occur at any moment and take your life.  Then you must consider, who control’s what happens to your soul after this event. 

What is your eternal plan of salvation?  Are there enough good things to do on this earth to “earn” your way into heaven, and how will you know when that’s achieved?  We are on this earth but a very short time verse our eternity after death.  Life in that realm is only controlled by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  You could have done thousands of wonderful, charitable and gracious things on this earth and still fall well short of His requirement for eternity with Him.  You see, He has control over who does and does not enter into His Kingdom.  He and He only will judge each and every one of us, and He is not judging your works, He is judging your heart and whether you have given it over to Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  That decision you do have control over, and in making that choice you acknowledge that He is your salvation and only through Him are you accepted into eternity with God the Father.  Without this decision, you have established control of your eternal destiny as well, but it is absent of the Father, Son and glory of heaven.  Many have convinced themselves that their works on this earth will be good enough to get them into heaven, and it is my belief that they are seriously mistaken come judgment day if they have not professed Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Take control of your eternity, and then strengthen your relationship with God the Father and allow Him to control your footsteps to increase His Kingdom here.

             
© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Patientily Strong

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“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”   - Philippians 1:6

I for one have a really hard time with patience.  I watch the news at night and say to myself, “It can’t get any worse.”  and then it does.  In the last 30 years, yes I’m old enough to remember the 80’s, I have watched the world become more and more accepting and tolerant of the very unrighteousness that God warns us about continually throughout scripture.  People just seem to not care, or they do not want to get involved or rock the boat.  We have gradually become a society of complacent Christians, concerned solely about our own self righteousness.  The old story of how to boil a frog comes to mind, perhaps you’ve heard it before.

To boil a frog you must first catch one.  Place a pot of water on the stove, but do not light the burner yet.   Place the frog into the pot, and secure the lid (this is important because those little suckers like to jump).  You’ll find the frog relaxed in the water.  Light the burner and put it on a low temperature.  The water will begin to slowly get warm, turn the burner up to 50% after 10 minutes and let the water warm up again, then finally turn the burner up to 100% and bring the water to a boil.  The gradual warming of the water is unnoticed by the frog until such time that it is too late and his defenses are gone.

The rise and adoption of a worldly view in society has slowly and gradually removed the knowledge and understanding of what it means to serve God.  My fear is that we are drifting farther from the coast without any understanding that the tide is taking us out to sea, because it is so gradual.  If you have ever been to the ocean, you know what I mean.  There is an undercurrent, not visible to the swimmer or those on the beach.  The beachcomber sees the waves crashing in and perceives that all things will wash back to shore.  The swimmer who might be 50 feet off of the shoreline may have the same perspective as they frolic and play in the surf.  It doesn’t take long for one to realize, that while in the ocean you are actually being drawn away from the shore though.  Under the water’s surface is a current that results from the rolling waves, and this current will push an unaware swimmer down the beach and out to sea.  Suddenly, the swimmer is no longer 50 feet, but 75, then 100 and then the water begins to get deeper and it becomes harder to swim back against the current. 
 

We must remain diligent in our efforts and purpose in serving the Lord.  He has placed us on this earth for this very point in time, with the ability and the gifts to serve His Kingdom right where we are.  It requires patience and persistence though.  God does not work on our timetable and although there are times we wish Jesus would come back today, He realizes there is still much work to do.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6, that what God has started inside of us, will come to pass in due time.  He has not forsaken or forgotten us, and we need to be strong in staying the course, standing for His righteousness and glory, and spreading His love and message to those in need.  Do not allow the slow dulling of the world’s opinion influence the strength of yours.  You are an overcomer through Christ Jesus and you are destined for an eternity with the King.  Stand for His principles, His truth and refuse the tolerance of unrighteousness perpetrated by society.  For on that day, when He comes again, you will be in His glory and serving His Kingdom.


 

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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He Must be a Christian

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?  Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”   - Matthew 7:16-17

When the spotlight shines they are quick to point to the heavens, even kneel and bow their head as a representation of thanking God for their success.  You’ve all seen it, in the NFL, Baseball, NASCAR, Soccer (football), Cricket and even in the Entertainment Industry awards ceremonies.  The Christian observer immediately finds a bond with the individual and forms an alliance to defend the person.  There have been times when I did not care for an athlete because of a perceived inflated ego and questionable off field antics, yet found myself looking at them differently after observing this type of public display.  How much does the outward impression actually have to do with our acceptance of another individual in life?

We think of missionaries and immediately our mind stirs images of dedicated Christians going above and beyond to support those suffering in 3rd world countries and disaster torn countries.  Yet, who says that all missionaries are Christian?  The very term – Missionary implies that the person is there on a mission to spread the Word of God to all nations “The Great Commission”.  Does this therefore rule out the non-believing individual from going into a country and providing assistance and love to those that are in need and hurting?  Of course not.  The difference is that a “missionary” is also sharing their faith while helping those in need.  So by definition, the non-believer isn’t a Missionary, but we must agree that their help is still valuable to those that are suffering?
 
Even atheists, with no belief in God or any higher power at all, will roll up their sleeves and help others with a love and compassion for their fellow man.  The real question of the day is how can you look at two people standing side by side acting the same way towards outside audiences and determine if one is a Christian and one is not?  It is true that the works of a man can be deceiving when discerning a foundational belief structure, when those works are good.  Is it likewise true when those works are against the word of God and the beliefs of the Christian church? 

We are all sinful by nature and unworthy of the grace of God (Romans 3:23).  Is there any difference between the sin of a person who attends church and a person with the same sin who does not?  Is God’s grace sufficient to absolve the one of their sins, and not the other?  You see, by looking at an individual’s appearance and actions it is often times very difficult to discern their beliefs and relationship with the Son of God.  When someone claims to be a Christian we will instinctively watch them to see if they screw up, thereby proving that they aren’t.  Likewise when we see someone publically make an example of their faith before crowds, we likewise watch to see what they do outside of the limelight so we can criticize their faith. 

To understand Matthew’s scripture we must first identify “good fruit”.  Good fruit is that which expands God’s kingdom and calls glory to His name.  Good fruit stems from the Holy Spirit dwelling within the Christian.  Evil doers – “those who do not believe in Christ” cannot produce good fruit for they do not have the Holy Spirit within them.  Certainly, they can do good things, but that is very different than bearing good fruit for the Kingdom of God.  Likewise, a man convicted by the Holy Spirit, saved by grace and repentant of his transgressions cannot produce bad fruit (evil).  The scriptures tell us that the tree bringing forth “bad fruit” will be plucked from the earth and cast down.  Be of sound mind and body and let your witness and fruit bear only the “good fruit” of the Lord.  People are watching.


PRAYER:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your unwavering authority over good and evil.  Thank You for providing the Holy Spirit as a counselor within each of us to convict us of wrong doing and lead us toward Your righteousness.  Build within each of us a strong gathering of good fruit that might be shared with the world.  Help us to recognize Your will in our life and to follow the call upon our heart to bear good fruit when called upon.  We honor You in all things and bring You the glory. Amen

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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