Thought for today - February 21 - A Tree Of Life !

Thought For Today - February 21 - -
A Tree of Life 
By: Robert A. Searles

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30.

We see a tree growing in the midst of other trees, and we can usually determine what kind of a tree it is by examining the fruit which it bears. How refreshing, and restoring it would be if we were travelers in the wilderness, and suddenly came upon a tree with fruit which we could eat.

The verse says: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life." Are we like a tree planted in the vineyard of our God? Are we one of those that be planted in the house of the Lord, and are we flourishing in the courts of our God? Are we a tree called "righteous"?

 Psalm 92: 12-14 says: "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing."  Righteous trees that are flourishing in the courts of God shall still bring forth fruit in old age. Is the fruit that we are bearing, life giving, and life sustaining to travelers who pass our way? The scripture says that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. Will someone live and be sustained, and grow because they have eaten of our fruit today? Are we truly a tree of life? Are we truly soul winners? He that winneth souls is wise.

Let us examine ourselves and see if we are indeed righteous, not that we are righteous in our selves, but ,that we have been made righteous by the finished work of Christ. And, let us examine ourselves and see if we are indeed planted and flourishing in the courts of our God. We cannot abide long as a branch unless our roots are firmly attached to the true vine, the Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of fruit are we bearing? Is it eatable to a hungry soul that may come our way today? Jesus said that a branch that bears no fruit is good for nothing and is cut off and thrown away, but even the branch that does bear fruit, the husbandman purgeth and pruneth it so that it might bear more fruit.

May it be said of us that we are righteous trees, growing in the courts of God, and that our fruit is a tree of life, and pray that we will still bring forth fruit in old age. - -

Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry

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https://sterlingsilvercollections.blogspot.com

Thought For Today - February 20 - The Strange Woman !

Thought For Today - February 28, 2024
The Strange Woman! 
By: Robert A. Searles

As well as warning us to beware of the folly of the lust of the flesh as it pertains to falling into the sin of adultery, the mention of the strange woman in scripture typifies , and speaks of anything that would draw us away from God. Adultery in scripture also has a twofold meaning, in that, not only does it pertain to the actual act of physical adultery, but , it also typifies and speaks of the act of turning away from our first love, who, for the Christian and child of God, is our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.


The command given to us that we should not commit adultery is a twofold command to warn us not to leave our physical mates for another, but, also , it is a warning to the bride of Christ for us not to become involved in any affair that would constitute our committing spiritual adultery against our first love. So, the mention of the strange woman in the scriptures speaks of any thing, or any one, that would draw us away from God, and his perfect will for us Speaking of the strange woman, Proverbs 5: 4 says: "her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword."

What are the results of yielding to those things that draw us away from God?
When we are drawn away from God and commit adultery with other Gods, we are cast about by every wind or doctrine. We are like the chaff that is blown about by the wind, according to Proverbs 5:6 an unstable life without foundation where it says -"Lest thou shouldest ponder the paths of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them".

What are some of the strange women in our lives with whom we commit adultery? Could it be an non-confessed sin that draws us out of fellowship with God? Could it be a grievance of the Holy Spirit because of something that we have not made right, perhaps a broken promise, or an non-kept vow? Could it be that there is some person, husband, wife, son or daughter, mother, father , or friend, that we desire their admiration, respect, and esteem so much that we would turn aside from God for them? Is the strange woman in our lives our material possessions, our house, our car, our business, bank accounts, our job? Is it our education? Is it our standing in the community?

Whatever it is that draws us away from God and causes us not to put God at the very pinnacle of our lives, and the seat of our conscious worship, is nothing but an adulterous whore, and we are warned to seek wisdom that we may be kept away from the strange woman which flattereth with her words.

Following the strange woman means ultimate destruction. God admonishes us not to be a wanderer away from God. Be true to your first love. Be true to the wife of your youth. Bride of Christ, be true to the one who has bought you and married you.

Thou shalt have no other Gods before thee. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. So shalt thou keep his commandments and live. - -

Thought For Today - February 19 - Why do I Love Jesus ?

Thought For Today - February 19
Why do I love Jesus? - -
Recently I was asked - why do you love Jesus?

Many good men and women of the past have told us why they loved Jesus, the psalmist being one of them, he said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. the Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: I said in my haste, all men are liars. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord." Psalm 116 

I can tell you that I, too, love Jesus for all the same reasons - but to be more specific as to my own personal testimony, let me say that I love the Lord Jesus Christ because he had chosen me before the foundation of the world, to give me faith to believe his word and be saved. I did not choose him, he chose me. According to Ephesians: 1: 3-5 which tells us - "Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

Unsaved friends, God has chosen for you to read these words and bring you within hearing of his gospel message. All whom God has allowed to hear the gospel message have been chosen to believe and be saved. 

Without faith it is impossible to please God and be saved. Faith is a gift from God. Ephesians 2: 8-9 tells us - ” For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

I love Jesus because he gave me faith to believe. Once I was dead to God in trespasses and sin, a natural man who could not understand the things of God according to 1 Cor 2:14 - "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned."

 Jesus awakened me from my natural state and gave me new life according to Ephesians 2: 1-3:- "And you hath he quickened ( or made alive ) who were dead in trespasses and sin: wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

 Therefore, I love Jesus because he chose me. I love Jesus because he gave me faith to believe. I love Jesus because once I was blind, but now I see: Once I was lost but now I am found. I love Jesus because he paid with his own blood all the debts I owe God. I love Jesus because he will keep me secure forever according to his promise of 1 John 5: 11-13 - "And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life. And this life is in his son. He that hath the son hath life and he that hath not the son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the son of God." - -

Telehelp Publications Chridtian Literature Ministry

https://telehelppublications.blogspot.com
https://sterlingslvercollections.blogspot.com

Thought For Today - February 18 - First Fruits Of Our Increase !

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Thought For Today - February 18 - -
First fruits of our increase! - -
"...But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6: 33
"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Proverbs 3: 9,10.
The first fruits of all our increase not only includes our money and material possessions, but it also includes our time, our health, and our youth, and the freshness, and soundness of our minds. When God awakens us from sleep each new day, he has increased our time upon earth. If we truly seek first the kingdom of God, then we will give to him the first fruits of this increase. The first moments ,or first hours of each new day ,ought to be spent in quiet prayer, and meditation ,and fellowship with God. Often we are content to give to God whatever happens to be left over after we have taken the best of the crop. Then we give to God the gleanings. After we have all the sleep we want, after we have eaten all the breakfast we want, after we have done all our work, and taken care of all the necessary things that have to be done for ourselves, then we will try to find time to fulfill our obligation to God. If it is an obligation that must be worked in somewhere in our time schedule, then we ought to forget it, because God wants our first fruits, brought to him with a willing heart, with love, and adoration ,and gratitude.
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5: 3 Morning implies newness, freshness, first things. Morning is the first fruits of each new day. How can any machine which depends upon an outside source of power, for its' energy, be expected to function if it is not first connected with its' source of power?
How can we, as humans who are dependent upon our creator's source of power and wisdom. function properly, if we are not connected to our source of life?
Our first act when we awake in the morning ought to be to call upon the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If we want to be safe in the arms of Jesus all day long, then we ought to call upon him the moment we awake from sleep.
Seeking first the kingdom of God means that we first want to live in God's presence and kingdom more than we want anything on earth. We ought to seek the kingdom of God early in the morning with the freshness of our minds, and our youth, and our health.
Don't you think that God is well pleased when his children arise early in the morning and offer to him with sincerity, gratitude, and love, the first fruits of the new day that he has given to them?
When we honor God by opening our eyes in the morning and calling upon the name of the Lord, and say: thank you Lord for this new day in my life, I want to walk and talk with you today, and have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in all that I do this day; this is well pleasing to the Lord. Each new day the Lord is knocking on the door of our hearts and lives the moment we awake in the morning.
Jesus said: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me." The door must be opened the first thing in the morning. If we wait until it is convenient for us to open the door, it may be that we will forget to open the door at all and we will miss a very important dinner guest. "As for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy. And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." Psalm 5:7
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5: 3
"Lead me O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face." Psalm 5:8. - -

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Thought For Today - February 17 - God's Will And Our Will !

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Thought For Today - February 17 - -
God's Will and Our will! - -

"I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee O Lord, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way, O when will thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." Psalm 101.
David declares his own will in the way that he shall live before God and men. His will is that his house and all that are in his house shall serve God. So ought we will the same. We speak of God's will in our lives, and that we want God's perfect will for ourselves and our loved ones, and rightly so, for God is sovereign, and his will is best for us; but what about our will toward God? God has given us a mind, and the ability to make decisions and to choose. God never forces us to go against our own will, but it certainly pleases him, and is for our benefit when our will is in conformity with his will. As the psalmist has said, we ought to determine that we will sing of God's mercy and judgment all the day long; that we will behave ourselves wisely in a perfect way; that we will set no wicked thing before our eyes; that we will not have close association with wicked persons ,and that we will put away from us all that is contrary to the glory and holiness of God. God has given us a free will. Let us give it back to him that we might be happy and joyful, and full of praise, and that our lives will bear fruit for him who has redeemed us, and given us so great salvation. - -

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Thought For Today - February 16 - Who Is In Authority?

Thought For Today - February 16 - -
Who is in authority? 
By: Robert A. Searles

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Proverbs 29:2.

When we listen to the news each day,it is very disturbing and disgusting to hear of all the alleged corruption and dishonesty going on in high places. We had better pray diligently for all of our government leaders. When it comes time to elect new leaders, if we want to keep our country free, with happy, prosperous people, we had better make sure that we ascertain whether the elected leaders are righteous or wicked. Our standard for righteousness and wickedness ought to be the inspired word of God.

"He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29: 1

 When God tells us over and over again to do something or not to do something, and we do not take heed, then there comes a time when God cuts us off without hope.

"In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know. Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath." Proverbs 29: 6-8

. Are we righteous? Do we sing unto the Lord and rejoice? Do we consider the cause of the poor and try to do something about it? Do we elect leaders whose standards for leadership are the laws and commandments of God? Who is in authority? 


Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry 


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Thought For Today - February 15 - Psalm 41: 1, 2, 3, 13

Thought For Today - February 15
Psalm 41: 1,2,3,  13 
By: Robert A. Searles

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen." Psalm 41: 1,2,3,13.

If we wish for God to answer our prayers and deliver us in the time of trouble, then we need to cease from complaining and being covetous, and realize that there are others who are far more needy than we, and we need to be willing to share our abundance with them that they might be helped.

When we meet the needs of others, we are investing in God's help for ourselves. He will preserve us and keep us alive and protect us from all our enemies. He will lengthen the span of our life, and strengthen us in our infirmities. - -

Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry 

https://telehelppublications.blogspot.com

https://sterlingsilvercollections.blogspot.com