For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Yesterday I added a “Ministry Links” tab to my blog. On it I am going to link to the websites of various Christian Ministries which I support to one degree or another. Yesterday I mentioned the congregation I attend and of which I am a member. Today I would like to mention a ministry which does wonderful work in Honduras and elsewhere: MAMA Project

    Let us rejoice when others demonstrate wisdom, when they speak up in favor of doing what is right. Let us seek the approval only of those who do likewise.

    When we reject God He will reject us. He will allow our defenses to be overrun and our enemies to triumph over us. However, even as He does this, He has raised a banner for those who fear Him, a rallying point in the battle. In the midst of the battle going on around us will we stand by the banner of God, in the face of attack and ridicule will we let everyone know which side we fight for? Or will we seek to flee the battlefield unnoticed? I have read enough accounts of battle and war to know that those who fail to rally to their commander’s side are doomed. All may seem lost, but I will rally to God’s banner because I know that, in the end, He will be victorious.

    We cannot attain righteousness by following rules and laws. No matter how carefully crafted, the law cannot address the correct action for every situation. It is only by accepting God’s grace and allowing His Spirit to guide us that we can live a righteous life. We need to die to the law, so that we can live in Christ. We do not, and will not, receive the Holy Spirit because we do the right thing and follow the law (no matter what set of rules we make our law). It is only by dying to the law, by no longer trying to follow a set of static rules, that we can receive God’s Spirit. When we accept the Holy Spirit and allow Christ to live in us, and through us, only then will we do the right thing. Let us die to our selves and allow Christ to live in and through us.

    Even in the day of trouble, all too many people will still depend on the things which have already failed them. They will build up their defenses and bring out their weapons, but they will not turn to God and ask for His help. I look at the society around me, God is calling us to weep and mourn in remorse for our sins. Instead, our society feasts and parties, “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” The scary part is that I have seen people echo that exact line without once realizing that it was stated in condemnation. God is calling on us to repent of our sins and turn to Him. Instead, even as things get worse, people are living as if there is no tomorrow. There is still time, if we turn to God today, He will turn aside the judgement that is coming, but time is running out.