Thought For Today -March 17
 Guard Your House!
By: Robert A. Searles

    "Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude." Luke 22: 3-6.

    Judas was used by Satan. Judas was available for Satan to enter his house, or his body. Our physical bodies are the houses or tabernacles in which the real us, our spirits dwell while here on earth. If the Holy Spirit is not a permanent resident, along with our spirit in our earthly house, or tabernacle, then our house has a vacant room, as it were, where Satan, as an intruder, can enter, and bring his demons with him, and set up his headquarters, and perform his diabolical schemes through us.

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Help!

 Thought For Today - March 12
 Help!
By: Robert A. Searles
    "Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily." Psalm 86: 1,2,3.
    God will not help the person who is self sufficient, or thinks he is: we who have no need for anything or anyone. We must recognize our depravity and poverty before we receive God's help and blessing.
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Jesus Loves the Little Children

  Jesus Loves the Little Children..

 Jesus loves little children and desires that they come to him.   "And they brought young children to him that he should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them:: suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein. and he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." Mark 10; 13-16.

    Teachers, we ought to consider it a high calling of God, and an honor, that God would send those children that he loves to us to be taught of him. What an awesome responsibility we have to keep ourselves in tune with him, and to keep our lives pure and be a good example to them.

God chooses whom he will to do his work. When God wanted to speak and reveal himself to Cornelius, he specifically chose Peter whom he would send to instruct him in the word. Of all the other disciples God could have sent to Cornelius , he sent him to Peter. According to Acts 10: 1-6 

    Peter did not take this responsibility on himself, he was chosen by God; likewise we do not assume the responsibility for teaching God's children on our own. If we sense a strong calling of the Holy Spirit, and desire in our heart to teach the word of God, especially to the children, then we were appointed for this task, and approached and asked by God through his instruments, the Pastor, the church and other people.   We need to: "Study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.". 2 Tim 2:15

    May we be faithful as Peter was faithful in the task that God has called us to do..

How Do We Approach God's Word?

  Thought For Today - March 9
  How do We Approach God's Word?
By: Robert A. Searles

    With what attitude do we approach God's word, the bible? Is it a chore to read it, and are we bored with it, and find it dull reading? Or, do we approach God's word with excitement and anticipation, expecting to see miracles performed before our eyes?While reading and studying God's word, do we hear the voice of God speaking to us, giving us direction for our lives? When God, through his word, shows us the experience of other men of past ages, some who rebelled against God and his word, and some who honored God and his word, do we profit from it?

  If we have the first attitude that reading God's word is a chore and not interesting, then it may be that we are just drawing near to God with our lips, but our heart may be far from him, and the only reason we bother with God at all is because we have been taught by parents or teachers that we ought to honor God, and this is not truly the conviction of our own heart.

 If we don't really have a deep love for God, and the things of God down deep in our heart, and if our worship and service is only with our mouth ,and hands, and not with our whole heart, then the bible will be a sealed book to us, because the bible is the only book in existence which must have its' author present when read in order to be understood. When the heart of man is not really yielded to God, then the spirit is not present to teach the meaning of God's word. 

    The bible is the most profound book ever written, yet there is no college or university in existence which can give you enough education to understand it. On the other hand, it is revealed by the Holy Spirit to small children, and the simplest of men whose hearts are in tune with God's Holy Spirit.

If we approach God's word with the attitude of boredom or lack of interest, we ought to give our hearts some careful examination to determine if we are saved, and have been truly "born again" and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

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Recognizing Our Enemy!

 Thought For Today - March 8
  Recognizing Our Enemy!
By: Robert A. Searles

    Who is the enemy of our soul? Who is it that tries to rob us of our peace, our joy, and our happiness? Who is it that searches us out to find a weak spot in our faith and character, so that he can take advantage of us and weaken us still further? Who is it that constantly tries to hold our sins and our faults before us, and accuse us before God and all the Holy angels? Who is it that goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour?

    Our enemy is none other than God's enemy, Satan. Our true enemies are not those who can destroy the body, but those who can destroy the mind and soul as well as the body.  We must beware of our enemy and be acquainted with his tactics. Satan will accuse God's children before him. He will show us our past sins, mistakes, and failures, and try to convince us that nothing has changed, that we are the same persons that we ever were before we were saved. He will try to persuade us that God is not concerned with us. He will try to divide husband and wife, son and daughter, and every family member. If Satan can divide families, he has gained an important foothold, because family unity is the foundation of strength and a fortress against infidelity.

    Satan does not want you to be happy while serving God, so he causes depression, he brings morbid thoughts to the mind, and he wants us to believe that serving God is a drag, and that we are missing out on the joys of living. He would like for us to believe that the only way we can be truly happy is if we are pursuing the things of the world., so, he tries to get our minds off God and focused on the things of the world.  As children of God, we must be aware of him and his tactics, and put our trust in God. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 7:1 -  " O Lord my God in thee do I put my trust; save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver"

 Who is it that persecute us and tear our soul like a lion other than the emissaries of darkness.? When we know that Satan is afflicting us we can call out to the Lord as the Psalmist did in Psalm 7:6 -  "Arise O Lord, in thine anger; lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies; and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded." Psalm 7:8 says - "The Lord shall judge the peoples; judge me O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me."

    Our defense against Satan and his demons is in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I claim none of my own righteousness because I have none, except that which I have received from Christ by his grace. 

Psalm 7: 9 says -  "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just, for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins ." verse 10 says - "My defense is with God which saveth the upright in heart."

    Other scripture says: "resist the devil and he will flee from you." Whenever Satan tries to plague us and destroy us, sing praises in your heart to God, and remind yourselves that you are a child of God, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, ask the Lord to rebuke Satan and cause him to flee away from you. Then you will have victory, and peace and joy and happiness will return to you.

That Most Wonderful Name!

 Thought For Today - March 6
  That Most Wonderful Name!
By: Robert A. Searles


    Who is the person that is most talked about in the world today in a derogatory way? Everywhere you go, you cannot escape it, wherever you go today you will hear most everyone from all walks of life, talking about this person, yet they speak of him in blasphemous and dishonoring terms, and use his name in vain, and drag his name through the mud, and trample his love gift under foot. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Yet ,we Christians who claim to be born again, the recreated children of God, shy away from talking directly about the Lord Jesus Christ.  In our daily conversation with other Christians, how often are we actually talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, and sharing with our friends how wonderful he is. We talk about our church, our pastors, we talk about our Sunday School class, we talk about all kinds of activities and programs and service, but it seems to me that the person of the Lord Jesus Christ himself is grossly neglected. Jesus never intended for us to separate the sacred from the secular. He wants to be involved in everything we do.

    Sometimes we tend to put the Lord Jesus Christ in a glass case, if you will, and put him on the shelf and talk about things that pertain to him, but this is not his proper place. He does not want to be an object of conversation, he wants to be involved in it. When we are sitting in our living room, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ should be as common in our conversation as any one else there. He wants to be part of our family group, he wants to be our guest for dinner everyday.

    Oh! how we ought to really love the Lord Jesus Christ, after all he has done for us, and we ought to praise his name and exalt him in all our doings. Even when we are eating an apple, we can love Jesus because he made the apple. He made all things, and sustains all things, and freely gives us all things to enjoy.

    So many times the church, the activities, and the service , and programs which we are involved in ,take the place of our actual personal relationship with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. All these programs are good and should not be neglected, but these should come about as the result of out deep love ,and gratitude ,and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, not as a substitute for it.

What a wonderful person the Lord Jesus Christ is! How he loves us, and how we ought to love him in return!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 

 God did not send the church to die for us, he did not send angels, he did not send pastors, he did not send activities, he did not send services. No, he sent the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us and to be raised again for our justification. He alone is worthy of our praise and worship. He alone is the object of our love. He ought to be the center of our life and conversation.

    Do not say: I am happy, but say rather, the Lord Jesus Christ makes me happy. Don't say - this is a good day, but rather say -  the Lord Jesus Christ has given us another beautiful day. Don't say I have a new dress, or new clothes. Don't say I have a new car or house or things, but rather say -  because he loves me, the Lord Jesus Christ has showered me with all these blessings to enjoy. 

Don't avoid calling him by name by just saying in a vague way, Lord;The Lord; or God; or the man upstairs; or the creator; or the divinity. These are all proper names for him , to be sure, but he wants to be known in a familiar way ,and known and proclaimed as The Lord Jesus Christ whom we know and love as our own personal Savior.

We sing: "Oh, how I love Jesus," but much of the time he is grossly neglected and ignored from our conversation and activities, and from being actually involved in our practical lives.

    No one can proclaim with honesty the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal savior -  Lord , and acquaintance, and the object of his love unless he has been born again. Jesus said: "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3: 3. 

 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven." Math 7:21. 

And what is the will of the father? To love the Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul. No man calleth Jesus Lord, except he be led and taught of the Holy Spirit.

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Thought For Today -March 5
 Wise Children Maketh a Glad Father!
By: Robert A. Searles

    "A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." Proverbs 10:1

God compares our relationship to him as a father and son relationship. When we do wisely as his children, we please him, and make him glad. Walking in our own ways, and doing our own thing, and storing up treasures for the pleasure of the flesh will profit us nothing; but giving ourselves completely to God and living righteously delivereth from death.
 
    When we give God less than our best, whether it be our time, or our money, or our abilities, or our very selves, we become poor. Proverbs 10:4 says: "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich."

    If we want to make our heavenly father glad, as verse one says that a wise son should do,. and if we our selves want to be enriched, then we ought to be willing to go to work in our father's vineyard while it is yet summer, and we have the opportunity to do so. Verse 5 says: "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son, but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." "The labor of the righteous tendeth to life; the fruit of the wicked is sin." Proverbs 10:16

    Jesus said in John 4: 35-38 "Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And here is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that on which ye bestowed no labor; other men labored and ye are entered into their labors."

    Babies cannot work in the fields, they must remain behind in the nurseries and be breast fed, and nursed with the milk of the word; but, we are grown children, and no longer feed on milk alone, but we ought to be able to eat and digest meat of the word and gain the strength we need to go to work in the fields. If not we are retarded children.

 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Heb 5:12-14

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