dickbraswell

Word for Today:  January 3

Truth in the head is not enough.

Truth in the Church is not enough.  Truth in the world is not enough.

Truth must be in the heart and our entire being is to be motivated, instructed, guided and led by it.

We can stuff our heads with instruction.  We can train our brains with right things to do.  We can even be sincere.  When Truth reigns in our heart,  God’s power can flow through us.

• We can be clean on the outside and be dead.
• We can be correct and be dead.
• We can be religious and be dead.
• We can be sincere and be dead.
• We can be right and be dead.
• We can even have faith and be dead.
• We can be in the right place at the right time in the right manner and be dead.
• We can make all the right confessions and be dead.

And we know whether we are dead or alive!

The Scribes and Pharisees were right, religious, dedicated, obedient, faithful, consistent, committed, and unashamed.   Jesus said our “righteousness” would have to exceed theirs or we would not make it to heaven. They needed a Heart Experience instead of a head experience.

They were shallow, external, legalistic, arrogant, and self-centered.  They were “clean” on the outside but Jesus said they were full of dead men’s bones.  They looked good, but Jesus said they were dead and filled with corruption.

If they were around today, they would be sitting on the front row (or the platform) of the church.  They would be the loudest prayers, and the biggest givers.  They would be seen and heard and admired and recognized.  They would have a “form of godliness” but they would be dead inside.

For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1Sa 16:7

Word for Today:  January 2

The very essence of increasing knowledge is research.

There is a constant digging, probing, searching, excavating, inquiring, researching, studying, exploring, that pushes us to the limits of our knowledge regarding the things that are natural.

From this “unrest” comes new understanding.  New discoveries.  Increased knowledge.  This is science and this is progress.  Millions of dollars and tens of millions of man-hours are invested in this.  They are exploring the seas, excavating ancient habitats, probing outer space, pushing into the fringes of science… working and researching the beginnings, genetics, the chemistry of human life… all because we need to KNOW.

The more we KNOW the more we can LIVE.  The more we KNOW the greater the quality of life.  The more we KNOW the more we can accomplish.  This is how it is in the natural system of the world.

The same is necessary in the world of the Spirit. We must KNOW all that we can KNOW about GOD, about JESUS, about the HOLY GHOST, about the WORD, about SALVATION.  Research is necessary.  Study is a must.  Understanding is tough to come by.  But it is essential to Spiritual Maturity.  This is the reason for intensive study.   This quest for Spiritual Knowledge and Bible Understanding will enable us to fulfill our very PURPOSE for being.   God has Plans, Grand Plans, for you and me.  God has Adequate and Sufficient Provisions for you and me.  God has a Purpose and an Eternal Blue Print for you and me.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer. 29:11

Dig in.  Dig deep.

Word for Today:  January 1

Stay on course

As we enter this New Year, STAY on COURSE.

We cannot afford to deviate.  Even a little bit off course at the beginning will calculate to a huge error at the destination.  It will make us miss our Mark.   There must be constant corrections and adjustments along the way.  The course must be updated and upgraded constantly.

The limits are set.  The boundaries are there.  The way is plain.  It is the Narrow and it is the Straight.  As we stay tuned to the Word and as we remain in the presence of God, we will stay on course.  When we listen to men and go by our opinions and lean on our feelings, we will get off course.  When we get lazy and lukewarm… when we become entangled with the World, we get off course.  When we take our Eyes off the Prize we lose ground and veer off course.  When we take on added and unnecessary baggage, and fool around with flesh we are hindered and held back in our pursuit of the Prize.

Here’s what will keep you On Course:

• Stay in the Word and live by the Word
• Function daily in an aggressive faith position
• Let Love be your motivation for everything you do
• Live to give and not to get
• Hunker down in the Secret Place and stay under the Shadow of the Almighty
• “Attempt great things for God and Expect great things from God” (William Carey)

Stay on course