What Type of House Do You Have?

Have you ever read "The Three Little Pigs" or have you read the story lately?  Just to refresh your memories.  It is about three little pigs who went into the world to make their own living.  As they were leaving their mother's home, the three little pigs departed from one another.  The first little pig found a man with a wheelbarrow of hay.  He bought the hay and decided to make his home out of hay.  Once he was completed, he had a home to live in.  One day, a wolf came by and wanted to capture the pig.  The pig escaped into his home.  The wolf said, "Let me in."  The pig said, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."  So, the wolf huff and puff and blew the house down.  The pig end up being captured.

For the second pig, he found a man with a wheelbarrow of sticks.  He bought the sticks and made his home out of sticks.  The same wolf came by and said, "Let me in."  The second pig said, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."  So, the wolf huff and puff and blew the house down.  The second pig end up being captured.

For the third pig, he found a man with a wheelbarrow of bricks.  He bought the bricks and made his home out of bricks.  The same wolf came by and said, "Let me in."  The third pig said, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."  So, the wolf huff and puff and couldn't blow the house down.  He then tried again.  He huff and he puff and couldn't blow the house down.  He couldn't believe it!  The house was still standing.  The wolf walked around the house and was looking for a way in.  He finally noticed the chimney.  He decided to climb down the chimney.  The third pig noticed what the wolf was trying to do so he put a large pot of boiling water in the fireplace.  As the wolf climbed down the chimney, he fell into the hot boiling water.  He freaked out and climbed right out the chimney and never came back.

So, what is the point of this story and how does it relate to our Christian walk?  In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is a like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (NIV)."

As the pig left their mother's home, they were probably taught what to do.  The first two pigs built their homes out hay and sticks that can never protect them.  They did not plan well and did not think about their own safety.  They wanted something simple that does not require much work.  They did not put the time and effort to knowing God and putting God's word into practice.  In the end, the wolf, who can be considered the devil, came and destroyed their lives.  The first two pigs have nothing to stand on because their their home was built on sand (not listening to the teaching of God's word).  This allowed a huge opening for the devil to destroy their lives. 

For the third pig, he labored to build his home.  Building a home made out of bricks require much work.  He had to use cement to secure the bricks in place.  This process can be long, but the outcome is worth it.  Just like us getting into the word and building a strong relationship with Jesus.  The process may be hard because we are fighting against our flesh, but if we press through for the high calling of God, we will succeed in life.  When the devil comes, he cannot break through the brick wall which was built on the rock of God's word.  When he finds a crack, he will try to get in.  As the pig noticed how the wolf was coming in, he new exactly what to do.  As Christians, when we practice God's word, we can discern where the devil is trying to enter into our lives.  We need to quench that opening by putting that hot boiling water (the Word of God) on the devil.  Make the devil wish he never tries to mess with you.  Let him know who you are in Christ and make him run for his dear life by using the Word of God as your weapon to pulling down strongholds.  Know that God is with you at all time and continue to meditate and build your relationship with Him through prayer and talking to Him.  Remember, it is very important that we Christians continue to listen to God and put His word into practice, so that when a storm comes, we are prepared and know that in the end we will still be standing in the house that we built on the rock.

Laid at His Feet

In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (NKJV and NIV)"

I have read this scripture and confess it many times, but I never actually looked in depth into the meaning of what Jesus meant by heavy laden.  When I studied the word "heavy," I found out that Webster defined it as borne down with something, oppressive, and something that holds you back from being free.  It is a bondage of some sort.  So burden is not restricted to something major occurring in our lives (i.e. financial difficulty or a death in the family), but burden can be a minor occurrences that we don't even think it is hindering us from walking in the fullness of God.  For example, if we are dealing with fear that affects us from doing simple tasks in our lives, we have allowed the devil to have a stronghold in our lives.  If we are walking in fear, we are putting our trust in that fear rather than putting our trust in the Lord.  So in the scripture above, Jesus is saying that we can make a trade with Him.  He has opened a door for us to walk through and for us to leave our burden at the door and never to pick it up again.  His yoke is light, which means, Jesus can carry any load of burden on Himself.  He is asking us to leave it to Him and He will take care of it.  Jesus is saying to cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).  So, enter His gates with thanksgiving and trust in the Lord that He has everything in hand.  All we have to do is continue to thank Him that our "heavy laden" has been taken care of and that we are delivered from any wrong spirit holding us back from walking in the fulness of God.  

As you meditate on the above scripture, see it this way.  Jesus can open the door for us to enter into His kingdom of promises, but we are ultimately responsible for walking through that door and resisting the urge to pick up our burden again.  We can't enter His gates and have peace as well if we pick up our burden and not trust in the Lord.

Forgiveness

Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of our Lord Jesus Christ resurrection.  I pray that you had a great day worshipping the Lord and remembering what He has done for us.  

As we evaluate the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus not only went to the cross for our salvation, but He mended the broken bridge between God and mankind.  When Adam and Eve lived in the garden, they lived a perfect life.  They had a direct link to God with no need for a mediator. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, the bridge that connected God and them crumbled.  So, when Jesus went to the cross, He became the mediator between us and God.  Once we received salvation, by accepting Jesus in our heart, we have a direct link to God because He now sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ.  What makes this more amazing is that the ultimate sacrifice not only gave us a way back to God, but it produced so much  more.

I would like to focus on one of those benefits that Jesus has given us.

There was a story that I recently read.  It was about a song titled, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around an Old Oak Tree."  It is about a man who will be freed from prison and he had a letter written to his wife.  In the letter, he asks her for forgiveness and if she still wants him, tie a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree.  This will let him know that he has been forgiven and there is still a family waiting for him.  As he was riding on the bus, thoughts and pain crept into his mind of not seeing that yellow ribbon tied around the old oak tree.  He was in fear that he would not be forgiven for all the things he have done wrong.  He couldn't face this fear so he asked the bus driver to look for him.  Nevertheless, he finally took the courage to look for that yellow ribbon as he got closer to his destination.  To his amazement, he not only saw one yellow ribbon tied around the old oak tree, but hundreds of them!

If we take this story in the context of the Bible, there were many people who felt like they couldn't be forgiven.  Two example is Peter and Judas (Jesus' disciples).  During the time that Jesus was captured, Peter denied Jesus three times when people recognized him to be a disciple of Jesus and Judas betrayed Jesus by turning Him over to the authority and accepting the money given to him for this act.  Due to these two men's action, Peter felt shamed and troubled for what he has done.  After Jesus was crucified, Peter felt the shame and guilt of his action and maybe thought that he lost his chance of asking for forgiveness, while Judas couldn't bare what he has done and hung himself.  Judas committed suicide because he felt condemned. With Peter, he suffered for three days with his shame and guilt, but when he heard that Jesus was resurrected, he rejoiced and seek the Lord.  He asked for forgiveness and devoted his entire life to serving Jesus.  

What Judas didn't realize is that forgiveness was already his.  Jesus has forgiven us for all of our transgressions.  All we have to do is repent and ask Jesus to forgive us.  Like the man in the song, he was afraid to face what was ahead.  Not only that, he was hoping to just see one yellow ribbon around that old oak tree.  He was believing for a small hope.  When he saw hundreds of yellow ribbons, he was overwhelmed with what he saw.  Like him, we may think that Jesus will not forgive us because it seems that what we did can never be forgiven, but I tell you today, your transgressions have been laid at the foot of Jesus and all we have to do is receive in faith that we are washed in the blood and made white as snow.  That one single yellow ribbon only represented our small hope of being forgiven, but the hundreds of yellow ribbons represented not only forgiveness, but the ultimate love that God has for us.  Jesus not only forgave us, but He loves us unconditionally!  The vastness of God's love for us exceeds our own expectation of what we deserve.

Readers, if you have not received Christ in your heart and would like to take this opportunity to accept Him, please pray the following prayer out loud.

Dear God,

I come to you in the name of Jesus.  Your word says, "Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  And if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9)." You said my salvation would be the result of Your Holy Spirit giving me a new birth by coming to live in me (John 3:5-6, 15-16; Romans 8:9-11) and that if I would ask, You would fill me with Your Spirit and give me the ability to speak with other tongues (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:4).

I take You at Your Word.  I confess that Jesus is Lord.  And I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead.  Thank You for coming into my heart, for giving me Your Holy Spirit as You have promised, and for being Lord over my life. 

Amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, please contact us and let us know of your decision.  We would love to send you a free Salvation Package to help you begin your new life in Jesus!  Please go to our church contact page and email us your contact information and write Salvation Package under the Subject.  Congratulations!  We like to welcome you into God's marvelous kingdom!

There is a song that we would like you to listen to.  It is called, "Sweetly Broken."

Looking for Jesus

In the book, The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread, written by Richard Booker, there is a wonderful poem mentioned.  I would like to share that poem with you.

"I find my Lord in the Bible

Wherever I chance to look,

He is the theme of the Bible

The center and heart of the Book:

He is the Rose of Sharon

He is the Lily fair,

Wherever I open my Bible

The Lord of the Book is there.

He, at the Book's beginning,

Gave to the earth its form,

He is the Ark of shelter

Bearing the brunt of the storm,

The Burning Bush of the desert,

The budding of Aaron's Rod,

Wherever I look in the Bible

I see the Son of God.

The Ram upon Mt. Moriah,

The Ladder from earth to sky,

The Scarlet Cord in the window,

And the Serpent lifted high,

The Smitten Rock in the desert,

The Shepherd with staff and crook,

The face of my Lord I discover

Where I open the Book.

He is the Seed of the Woman,

The Savior Virgin-born;

He is the Son of David,

Whom men rejected with scorn,

His garments of grace and beauty

The stately Aaron deck,

Yet He is a Priest forever,

For He is Melchizedek.

Lord of eternal glory

Whom John, the Apostle, saw;

Light of the Golden City,

Lamb without spot or flaw,

Bridegroom coming at midnight,

For whom the Virgins look.

Wherever I open my Bible,

I find my Lord in the Book.

(Booker, pgs. 19-20)"

By Anonymous

God is so wonderful.  He has inspired man to compile all the books of the Bible into one masterpiece where we can immerse ourselves in God's word.  When we really study the Bible and not just read the word, God will open the doors for us to see how Jesus is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation.  

As we read and study God's word, we will find His enduring promises to us.  He loves us so much that He created us in His image.  He wants us to live a life of ultimate peace, joy, and abundantly supplied in all aspects of our life.  When we believe and continue to build a strong relationship with Christ, we can have His enduring promises on earth.  We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to have what God wants us to obtain.  Faith is in the now.  So, saturate yourself in the word of God and see the changes that He will make in your life.  What God has done for the people in the Bible, He can do the same for you.  The Bible is our beacon of light leading us closer to God, so that we can see how amazing He is and nothing is impossible for him that believes.

Also, we have the comfort that Jesus will always be with us not only in the Bible, but when we build a relationship with Christ, He is within us through the Holy Spirit guiding and leading us in all His truth.  When we face circumstances that seem to have no end, remember that Jesus is with us and He will carry us through the storm.  Continue to praise Him and cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you (First Peter 5:7).  Remember, stay in His rest and allow God's perfect timing to work in your life.