Verse(s) For the Week of Jan 22 – 28, 2008

Hold Fast to Your Faith

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)” Hebrews 10:23

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

“Without wavering” means do not doubt. Whatever you do, keep your faith and don’t doubt God. Do not doubt whether He exists. He does exist, He is true, and He never fails. He is faithful to us. Believe that He is and that He is with you always. Don’t lose your faith.

Sometimes in the trials and troubles of this world, it could be easy to doubt God. It could be very easy to lose faith in Him and your beliefs. Many times it seems as if Satan is winning and that we are wasting our time believing in someone we cannot see. Dear Reader, that is what makes it faith! It is very easy to believe in things you can see, touch, smell, and taste. It is much harder to believe in something or someone that you know exists only by your heart and spirit.

Don’t let your mind fool you. A preacher said once that there are only 18 inches between the head and the heart and yet that is the longest 18 inches he ever saw. He said that because many times our minds want to take over and tell us what to believe. When it comes to God, we have to let our hearts rule and convince us that God is real, He is true, and He is faithful. He also expects us to be faithful and not doubt Him. So, hold fast to your faith. Do NOT doubt! GOD IS REAL!

Until next time,
Linda Sedrick Pearson

Verse for Week of Jan 1 - 7, 2008

Welcome to the first weekly verse of January 2008.
The verse to study for this week is:
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24, King James Version).

God does not live (dwell) in earthly temples (temples made with hands). He is God of the universe and lives in the heaven above. God made the world and everything in it. This includes each and every one of us. We were created by God. He lovingly shaped each and every one of us.

Since God does not live in earthly temples, this means that He is available to us everywhere. We don't have to go to a particular building in order to speak with Him. We can visit with Him wherever we are. This means even at work or school we have access to our God and Lord.

I thank God that I don't have to go to a particular place to have a conversation with Him, or to praise Him. He is always available to me whenever I need Him and His door is never locked. All I have to do is knock and He opens it for me.

Thank you, Lord for being everywhere I need you to be. Thank you for being patient with me and for leading me. Thank you for not having locked doors and having an "open door" policy.

Until next time my beloved readers,
Linda Sedrick Pearson

By Any Means

Romans 11:14-15
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them, for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

If by any means – whatever it takes

Provoke - provide the needed stimulus for (http://wordreference.com/definition/provoke)

Emulation - effort to equal or surpass another; to imitate (http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=Emulation&goquery=Find+it!&Language=ENG)

Whatever it takes for me to provide the needed stimulus for my family members to put forth an effort towards salvation, it might save some of them. If I cast them away to reconcile the world to Jesus Christ, receiving them into the family of God will be welcoming them from death to life.

By any means must be done within reason. I could not hold a gun to their head and tell them “Now, accept Jesus Christ or I will kill you.” God does not want someone to come to Him in that manner. He doesn’t want anyone to accept Him by force. He could force us all to accept Him and then run around as if we are little robots.

God wants your love and acceptance because you choose to give them to Him. Freedom of choice. That is what God has given us. He did that by any means….He sent His Son Jesus Christ to take on all our sins and pay the ultimate price – His life. However, when God received His Son back up into glory, He received Jesus alive from the dead!

Without the death, there is no salvation. Without the resurrection there is no salvation. Without God receiving us through the payment by His Son Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.

God provoked us – He provided the needed stimulus – Jesus Christ. He did that so that we might emulate – put forth an effort to equal (or accept) the Lord Jesus Christ.

By an means, I want my family saved. I can only hope that I can provide the provocation (can provoke them) into at least thinking about what Jesus Christ did for them. I hope they will accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior before it is too late for them.

I pray the same for you. I pray that you will accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. What would it take for you to accept?

Until next time,
Linda Sedrick Pearson

Pulling Them Out of the Fire

Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Sometimes it takes fear to cause a person to turn to God and ask Jesus Christ into his heart. The Bible says it is better to scare them into salvation ("And others save with fear"), than it is for them to end up in the fire ("pulling them out of the fire").

I have at least two close members in my family that it doesn't seem to matter what you say to them about God, they don't want to hear it. They want to go their own way and do their own thing.

One of the above mentioned, whenever I mention God or say how that would not have worked out if God hadn't had His hand on it, he refuses to admit that is the truth about the situation. He grunts and scratches his head, and refuses to look me in the eye. I have been praying for this individual to accept the Lord for several years. Yet, he refuses. He had to have open heart surgery and bypass a couple of years ago. Do you think this guy gave God the glory for him coming through this surgery able to work? NO!

I am not giving up on these two people in my family. I refuse to give up until they (or I) have drawn the last breath. I will do what I can to convince them and pray that God will not give up on them either. I will do whatever I can to "pull them out of the fire."

Until next time

Linda Sedrick Pearson