The Holy Bible - The Word of God

The Hidden Enemy of Our Soul

 

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Thought for Today - September 4, 2023

 The Hidden Enemy Of Our Soul  

By: Robert A. Searles

There is an invisible, unseen enemy that is ever present with us in the world today, and is the destroyer of individuals, families, and nations, and if allowed to go unchecked will bring each of us down to the lowest hell, disgrace, and degradation. It is one of the besetting sins which is inherent in each and every one of us from our birth and remains with us through our unregenerate natural state. It is the root cause of most of the misery, wars, bloodshed and turmoil that we encounter in our present day world.

This diabolical enemy is very subtitle, and can assume many different identities. It was present in the heart of Lucifer, God's created angel of light, when he became jealous of God and was expelled from Heaven because of his EVIL AMBITION.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”Isaiah 14: 12-15

 
It was found also in the heart and mind of Eve when she was beguiled by the serpent in the garden of Eden.
“And when the women saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was PLEASANT TO THE EYES, and a tree to be DESIRED to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her and he did eat.” Gen. 3: 6.

The same enemy overwhelmed David in an unguarded moment, and enticed him to seek after and commit adultery with Bathsheba and eventually murder her husband, which later caused him grief and the death of his son, Absalom.

“And it came to pass in an eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the King's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK UPON. And David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.” 2 Samuel 11: 2-5

 
Something beautiful to look upon awakened the enemy of David's soul, an unlawful SEXUAL DESIRE for that which was morally off limits to him.

This enemy of our soul is always at work, to some degree, in all of us, and most of the time we do not recognize it as we should, as the origin of sin. It may be known as a passionate, overmastering desire or appetite, an excessive longing or desire for objects or situations for which we have no right to desire or expect, or a craving for power, or an enviable lifestyle, evil ambition, strong overwhelming sexual desire. Whatever we may call it, God our Father calls it by its' rightful name, the sin of the flesh – LUST.

We are warned in the scriptures to be aware of, and to flee from our enemy - the lust of the flesh which bringeth forth death.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin,: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1: 12-15

 
“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2: 22.
Let us all henceforth, take heed to God's warning and be aware of and flee from our enemy -  THE LUST OF THE FLESH

Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry

                                   Psalm 26:7

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Our Rec0rd is in Heaven Our Record is in Heaven

 

Thought For Today - August 17, 2023

Our Record Is In Heaven.

By Robert A. Searles

 

      “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from 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." Psalm 7; 1,2

 

      . Who is he that would persecute me, and tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces? He that the scripture says goeth about as a lion seeking whom he may devour: Satan and his evil demons.

 

      "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end: but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." Psalm 7: 9

 

      When our enemy and accuser, Satan goes before God to accuse us and persecute us as he did with Job of old, can we confidently say that God trieth our hearts, and finds us right and justified with him? Can we have the assurance that our record  in heaven is clean, and that our defense is of God? This can only be so when we have believed in our heart and confessed with our mouth that Jesus Christ is the virgin born son of the living God, that he voluntarily went to the cross and was crucified, died, was buried and rose again the third day to pay the penalty for our sin.

 

      Believe on the Lord  Jesus Christ, confess your sins, ask him for forgiveness, and God's Word tells us that when we believe and trust Christ we are justified before God and we have a clean record in heaven, and "no weapon formed against us will prosper" 

 

     "My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death, he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." Psalm 7:10-13

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Come Worship the Lord With Me

 

Thought for Today - June 7, 2024

Come, Worship The Lord With Me 

  By Robert A. Searles

 Come, worship the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Worshiping the Lord ought to be our first order of business each and every day. Let us begin our day by reverencing, adoring, loving, and admiring him with our whole heart. Let us be grateful for his loving kindness and tender mercies that he bestows upon us momentarily.

 "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." 1Chronicles 16: 29. 

. "O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker." Psalm 95: 6

. True worship of the Lord is not to be found in rituals or ceremonies, but is an act of the will, and the heart. We must worship in spirit and in truth. True worship of our Lord is to reverence, adore, love, and admire, and be grateful from the depths of our heart.

 "God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4: 24 

. Before we can expect God to answer our prayers, we must first worship him. 

 "While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshiped him saying, my daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live. And Jesus arose and followed him, and so did his disciples." Matthew 9: 18, 19. 

. This man, before he asked Jesus to raise his daughter, came and worshiped him. 

 "And behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: for she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment I shall be whole." Mathew 9: 20, 22 

. The very first thought that this woman had in her mind that if she could just touch his garment she would be healed was an act of worship in her spirit. Jesus rewarded her for her faith. 

 "But Jesus turned him about and when he saw her he said: daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole, and the woman was made whole from that hour." Matthew 9: 22.

 We are told in scripture that one way of personal worship is by singing songs of praise and worship quietly to God and ourselves in our heart all through the day. 

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 Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry 

                          Psalm 26:7 

A Tree of Life

 

Thought for Today - August 1, 2023
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”?

   “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”. Psalm 92: 12-14 (KJV).

     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 we are  firmly attached to the root which is 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. 

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                     Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry 

                                                          Psalm 26:7

Righteousness Exalteth A Nation

 

   Thought for Today - September 25, 2023

 Righteousness Exalteth A Nation 

 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. 

 How do we define “the righteous” and “righteousness”? The holy word of God ( the Holy Bible) says that there is none righteous.

 “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no not one.” Romans 3: 10 - 12

 If, according to God's word there be none righteous, who then can be deemed righteous enough to be placed in positions of authority to rule over us in the every day affairs of government? 

After the coming elections are over, and a new president and his or her cabinet take office, will we have cause for mourning or will we be rejoicing? Perfect righteousness can be found only in the person of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten son. Only those who have believed and received him as Lord and Savior, and strive to be obedient to him, have had his righteousness imputed to them, and are looked upon by God as being righteous and qualified, according to God's word, to rule.

 We had better pray diligently for our government leaders, and 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 when we cast our vote, we ascertain whether they are righteous or wicked, and are standing for righteousness, or if they have no regard for the inspired Word of God. 

 “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.” Proverbs 25:4,5

 If we do not wake up and take heed to what God tells us in his word, someday it will be too late. “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 it Proverbs 29: 6,7 

 Are we righteous? Do we sing and rejoice? Do we consider the cause of the poor and the downcast and try to do something about it?                                                   

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                Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry

                                                      Psalm 26:7

Choose Righteousness!

 

 Thought for Today - June 5, 2024

 Choose Righteousness! 

 By: Robert A. Searles

 If we must make a choice between riches and righteousness, if we must choose between mammon and Christ, then Christ and his righteousness must be our choice if we are truly the “born again” children of God. 

“Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.” Proverbs 11: 4-8

If we must live wickedly to obtain riches, then we are fools because wicked living leads to death; but righteous living in Christ leads to the true riches, that is: to be joint heirs with Christ forever and enjoy the riches of our father's house forever. We do not have to do wicked works to live wickedly. We are wicked from the beginning. We were born with a wicked nature to do evil. Righteousness is imputed to us when we by faith receive Christ as our Lord and Savior.

 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in he house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4                                         

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Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry

                            Psalm 26: 7