Christian – Teaching the Good and Right Way

Weep with them.

Published on February 26, 2016February 26, 2016 by TroseLeave a comment

Romans 12 is a popular chapter because of the first two verses. As we continue reading we come to an important group of verses. Verses 9-21 gives us “Characteristics of a Christian.” They are short straightforward identification marks that can be seen in a Christian.

I want to focus on one of those identification marks found in verse 15, we are to weep with them that weep. This is a very convicting verse because it shows how little we weep for others. We may say that we are praying for someone to be saved, but when was the last time we have wept for them. We may say that we are praying for revival in our country, but when was the last time we have wept for our country.

Weeping is mentioned forty-four times in forty-one verses. It means to wail or to sob. It is something that will happen when we get close to someone and their situation. The absence of tears should reveal to us that when someone is hurting we distance ourselves from them. We must invest ourselves in the lives of others.

Jesus wept. He is our example. I believe that He wept because He felt the grief from the family and friends of Lazarus. Jesus also rejoiced when He was at the marriage feast in Cana. We enjoy that part, but we should not neglect the latter part of the verse.

There are many things that is missing from modern day Christianity. One of those things that is missing is tears. It also shows that we are not carrying a burden for and with others as we should. I want you to consider the word, “BURDEN” as we meditate on Romans 12:15. As we consider the word, “BURDEN” there will be some thoughts will help us as we help others and thoughts that will help us with our burdens.

Burden Bearer: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 We are to be burden bearers. We must not distance ourselves from others, but we must invest our lives into the lives of others. This means that we will be moved emotionally.

Unbearable: There are many things that we will encounter that will be greater than us, but never greater than Jesus.

Real: Do not make light of the burdens others are carrying, nor of the ones you are carrying. What do I mean by that. Is it true that if you were close to God you would not carry any burdens. No. In fact the closer you get to them the more burdens you may end up facing. When we get to the letter “E” we will talk more about this.

Discouraging: David faced discouragement. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Psalm 56:3 We like the second part of that verse, but do not ignore the first part. The man after God’s own heart faced fear. That is discouraging. Instead of focusing on His fears he trust God. The sin is not in being discouraged, but it is in not trusting God with our discouragement and our burdens.

Endure with God’s help: The book of 1 Peter can be entitled, “A Call to Faithfulness.” Peter was helping a church that was facing difficult trials. 1 Peter 5:6-7 gives us some help in this matter. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. This church had real burdens. Peter did not make light of them. He just told them something that helped him in his personal life. He said humble yourselves, then cast your burdens. Why was humility mentioned? Because we think we can handle it. We believe our silence is strength. It will not be long before we have to much to handle and become overwhelmed. What we need to do instead of carry we need to cast. We will not cast our burdens to Jesus until we humble ourselves.

Not in Heaven: We can debate all we want about the fact that the Lord will dry all of our eyes when we are in Heaven. The fact is when we enter Heaven’s gates we will deposit all of the burdens we have now. We can look forward to Heaven because we know we will have no more burdens. Until then we are to be burden bearers. Until then we must be moved to tears with those who are broken and battered by life. May God help us see that we must weep with them that weep.

The Will of God

Published on September 20, 2013September 20, 2013 by Trose1 Comment

One of the major topics of concern with many believers is the will of God. What does God want me to do? I have come to think that we misunderstand the will of God. We approach it this way. We devise a plan and we pray that God will bless us as we launch out. All though it is admirable to launch out into the deep, it is foolish to launch out into something God never intended for us.

I am trying to change the way I think by asking myself one or two questions. First, where is God working? Second, what is God doing? We need to get in on His plan for this world instead of us trying to convince Him to get involved in our plans. If we do this we are submitting to what He wants.

Christian, are you struggling in knowing what the Lord has for you? I challenge you to immerse yourself in the Scriptures for the simple fact that we all need to know God better. Develop a relationship with Him. From there look for where He is working in your church, in your community, or maybe even in another location completely foreign from where you are.

We are living in the last of the last days. These days are the most exciting days to serve God. Get in on it.

The Lord Loves Righteousness

Published on July 11, 2012July 11, 2012 by TroseLeave a comment

Psa 146:8
8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind:
the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down:
the Lord loveth the righteous:

There is no doubt in my mind the God loves righteousness. I know our text says, “the righteous.” The righteous could be the saved. We all know saved people who do not love righteousness. I am not saying in any way, shape, or form that God does not love people. I do believe that when we love our “guilty pleasures” (sin) that God is not pleased with that. We are predestined to be like Him. We cannot be like Him if we are hanging on to our sinful ways.

Consider the first part of the verse, “The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind…” Do you remember when the Holy Spirit convicted you of your sins? We were blind. We did not know our sins separated us from a Holy God. We did not know we were enemies of God.

We were blind to the fact that our sin carried a penalty that is impossible to pay off. That penalty is death in Hell. That is the reason I got saved. I did not want to go to Hell. Scripture opened our eyes to the fact that Hell is a real place.

We were blind until one day someone pointed out from the Bible how that we can know for sure that when we died we could go to Heaven instead of Hell. I remember that day my eyes were opened and I saw what God saw, a sinner who deserved Hell.

The question is a simple question. The question is a direct question. If we were blind, why do we close them? We know what God says about sin, and about living a righteous life. We know that we are to put no wicked things before our eyes. Yet, we do. We are comfortable in our sin. Some may be even comfortable in the chastisement of that sin. Our country is hurting because our churches are hurting. Our churches are hurting because Christians are not Christians.

The term Christians was given to people who lived like Christ. The first Christians did not give themselves that name. The world gave them that name. They were not given that name because they lived like the world. They loved righteousness and it showed.

Believer, we must wake up and determine to be a Christian. God opened our eyes at salvation. We must keep them opened.