This night thy soul shall be required of thee

Luke 12:15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

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?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

We wake up, make our beds, brush our teeth, grab some breakfast and run out the door.  Off to our busy lives, working, shopping, playing, cleaning, whatever it may be that find ourselves caught up with.  If The Most High required you to appear before Him this night, would you be proud of the way you have spent your time??


Matthew 16:25 - For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Colossians 3:3-4For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.⁴ When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Changing your life is about the decisions you make every day! Know that breaking bad habits is not easy but possible.

 Luke 1:37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.

What have you been sowing???

How does your life look? Are you experiencing all the things that you desire in your life?  Do you experience the fruits of the spirit on a daily basis?

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

If the answer is no you must ask yourself what have you been sowing?  Have you been sowing the things you hope to receive?

You don't plant zucchini seeds to grow tomatoes. You can't sow seeds of deceit and manipulation and expect to receive blessings. Your actions determine your path. Even no action is a decision. The Most High didn't send you to this earth to do nothing.  You have a unique purpose that you were put on this earth to accomplish.

If you are feeling lost and without purpose, you must ask yourself, why? What has caused you to fall from your first love? What has made you compromise the values you once had? Why have you been living the life you've been living? Where is your passion?

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” 

If you are feeling lost or like your directions or sense of purpose is out of whack it's time to get into prayer.

Surround yourself with people who can teach you about the Most High and his purposes for you. Seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Grow! And soon you will find that what you have been sowing is entirely different. Then you will be reaping blessings instead of trials!


Matthew 21:22 - And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Matthew 6:33 & Luke 12:31- But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

 
Philippians 4:6 - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Jeremiah 29:13 - And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7-12 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  (Read More...)

Psalms 27:8 - [When thou saidst], Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Overcoming adversity

Ecclesiasticus 11:14“Prosperity and adversity, life and death, poverty and riches, come of the Lord.”

 

No matter where you are at in life you will face adversity. You will find as even the best days of your life pass there will be something that you find challenging. Remember this is a good thing. How might you ask?  Without adversity, you will never grow.  You have to be put in a place where your thoughts and actions are questioned. Without it, you will never know if what you are spending your time effort and energy on is worth it. Adversity teaches you about you. It will let you know if are really being true to your beliefs and the direction you have chosen to walk. The word teaches us that only a wicked person believes they will never face adversity.

Psalms 10:³For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. ⁴The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. ⁵His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. ⁶He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

Psalms 34:19 - Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Ecclesiasticus 2:5“For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.” 

Proverbs 24:10“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”
 

Ecclesiasticus 12:8“A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.” 

 Who do you surround yourself with? Do you have people around you who will never call you out? Do you keep yourself surrounded by only people who will tell you what will make you feel good? When you are confronted with opposition how do you handle it? DO you run? Do you stand up for yourself? DO you stand until the issue has been resolved? Do you take the conflict into consideration and work to improve?

 2 Chronicles 15:7 - Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

1 Peter 4:12-13 - Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:   (Read More...)

1 Peter 5:10 - But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].

Can you overcome adversity? When it comes in the form of criticism or accusation?  What about when it threatens to shake the very foundations of your life?   

 

 

Verses for further study and edification Romans 12:2, James 1:12,2 Corinthians 1:4,James 1:2-4,Proverbs 3:4-6,Romans 8:28,2 Corinthians 4:8-9,Philippians 4:12-13,2 Corinthians 12:9

Spiritual rottenness

Are you suffering from spiritual rottenness? Do you have Unholy entanglements? Are you getting caught up in the things of this world rather than the things concerning the kingdom of the Most High??

Luke 11:44“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.”

Haggai 2: 11Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.


2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.


Hypocrisy, Disobedience, self-serving worshipping rules, or self-righteousness over obedience to The Most High are all causes of spiritual rottenness. At word Conformity without inner reality. Looking the part without truly experiencing the transformation within. We need to remember that the opinion of The Most High matters, not man. When you are more concerned with the opinions of  The Most High than the feelings or opinions of the people that you are involved with on a daily basis, that is when you will be on the path to righteous living.



Luke 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.


2 Corinthians 4:4 - In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.


Galatians 5:1“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” 

2 Peter 2:20“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”
 

2 Timothy 2:4“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

 

Break free and be cleansed from all Spiritual Rottenness!

Living a Holy Life

Leviticus 18-27

Living a Holy life takes focus. You must first learn what are the expectations? With careful study and understanding, you will see that the Holy word contains instructions for every area of your life. There are standards for living for The Most High.  We begin our study in Lev 18.  Interestingly enough Leviticus 18 addresses sexual sin. The Father knew this would be a problem for his people.

1 John 2:16“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Leviticus 18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

 

  As the Israelites traveled to there final destination with The Most High he knew the temptations that were going to be headed their way. They were entering a land full of other people who saw no issue with these practices. Sound familiar???
Chapter 19 deals with Holiness in personal conduct. So often we forget that others are watching how we conduct ourselves.   If we are focused on our personal conduct then we will be able to be the influence,rather than becoming influenced. Often conducting yourself as a person of The Most High and not as those around you requires great personal discipline.  It will also require you to sacrifice your personal opinion of how others choose to conduct themselves. You can very easily fall into the pharasitical spirit of self-righteousness.  Being a person of holiness means you allow the Most High to be the Judge while never compromising your personal integrity.

Matthew 5:20“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Luke 15:7“I say unto you, that likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

As we travel on through Leviticus, chapter 23 begins to teach us about the feasts and festivals that we are to observe in Honor and remembrance of The Most High.  The final chapters inform us of the blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience.  For every Action, there is a consequence.  Righteous or wicked we will receive our wages in the end.

 Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

If you choose to begin this walk and live a holy life you must be prepared. There will be trials and challenges. The god of Peace will lead you, guide you, and sustain you if you will just become obedient.

Luke 11:28“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Feelings

Facts

Faith 

Feelings that order!!  When you are functioning on your feelings you are wide open for the devil to infiltrate your life. Feelings can hinder obedience. They can tell you that you should step one way that will be opposite of the direction that The Most High was desiring to take you in. 

Proverbs 21:2 - Every way of a man [is] right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Mark 7:21-23 - For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ²²Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: ²³All these evil things come from within, and defile the man

Right actions can lead to right feelings. People will give you a chance to act better then you feel. That is a choice! When we feed negative thoughts and emotions they grow. You have to become GRATEFUL and focused on the positive. 

Romans 12:19-21 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Don't confuse feelings with leading of the Holy Spirit. If the direction that you are being led in is not able to be backed up by scripture then you are more likely being led by your feelings then the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-1815 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Remember the flesh wars against the spirit. Gain control of the

battlefield one thought at a time! You ARE in control of you! Don't allow the devil to manipulate you into anything less then what the Father has taught you to be! We are working towards perfection!!

Are you a stumbling block ??

1 Corinthians 8:9 -13 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

Romans 14:13“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.”

 Genesis 22-Abrahams sacrifice. Obedience may mean having to give something up. Doing the right thing doesn't mean doing what you feel like doing all the time.  You must decide do you want to be an influence on others versus being influenced by others. Bad company corrupts good morals. It's been taught many ways that the

bad apple will cause the others in the bushel to rot. A righteous one affects others for good. This means you must have a strength of character to separate yourself from someone who has no interest in bettering themselves or their life. Children will follow their parent's example. They learn what they live not what they are told. 

2 Kings 15:3“And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;”

 
 Rising above the influence of poor role models can be done but you must purge your mind of the negativity. Many will follow your good example. Choosing to teach others will require you to live to a higher standard. Remember believers, as well as nonbelievers, will be watching.

 

Ezra 7:10“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

 Titus 2:7“In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,”⁸Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

 Does your example make it easier for others to believe?

 Hebrews 12:11-13 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

1 Timothy 4:12 - Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.