Sand n’ Sin

“… you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by ca1ling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:11 (NLT)

(Note to readers: I am a teacher of two-year olds at a local preschool. This lesson was given to me through one of my students.)

I was helping one of my little girls wash off her face after we came in from outside today. No matter how much I pried her away from the sand pile, she kept going back to it, and her face was absolutely covered with dirt!

I’m standing here wiping off her face with a wet paper towel, and thoughts of the Father enter my mind. Just like this little girl had gotten all dirty after she had disobeyed me, we also get ourselves “dirty” when we disobey God and give in to sin. Just like I was wiping the dirt off this little girl’s face and wiping it clean to reveal her skin underneath the mess she had made, so our Father also wipes us of our sins to reveal who we are in Him. I could feel a glimpse of what the Father feels as he “wipes us clean of our sins” as I wiped off this little girl’s face.

And he, be ing the God of the universe, experiences this feeling infinitely more, because we are his children.


Jesus, thank you for choosing to reveal Truth to those with childlike faith. Thank you for dying so that we could be cleansed of our sins and live fully alive as your most treasured possession. In your precious name, Amen.

By Heather, Wisconson

The Small Things

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NASB)

A quarterback threw the winning touchdown in a game and during the interview afterwards he thanked God for giving him the grace to do that. As a Christian, my heart always leaps for joy when a Christian champion performs a great act of athleticism and then glorifies God. It shows how God’s grace can accomplish much. But what about the single parent who has to go to work, pay the bills, run the household, and still teaches her children to be godly? What about the person whose health is failing but who still goes to church and blesses people? What about the person born into poverty and abuse but grows up to be a minister or runs a soup kitchen? These are also all examples of how God’s grace can accomplish much. These are not the people on TV but are the people around us. They are our true inspirations. Most of us will never be a Christian celebrity but by His grace even those of us whose lives are more mundane can still be a tremendous blessing to others. Let us be content to be blessings where God has placed us and not yearn for those fleeting moments of greatness.

May I use Your grace to be faithful in the small things and so glorify You.
 By Bob (New Jersey, USA)

GLORIFYING GOD

SERMON BY CHARLES FINNEY

Text.--I Cor. 10:31: "Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

In this discussion, I design to show,

I. WHAT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD, BY THE GLORY OF GOD.

II. HOW WE MAY GLORIFY HIM.

III. TO WHAT EXTENT, WE ARE TO APPLY THIS RULE, IN PRACTICE.

IV. THE IMPORTANCE OF GLORIFYING GOD.

V. THAT WHATEVER IS SHORT OF THIS, IS ENMITY AGAINST GOD.

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Question about Salvation

Q. how can i keep my salvation?

A. Thank you for concern of eternal life. It is important to remember that salvation is a free gift from God made manifest through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. There is no way we can work our way to heaven. The real goal is to humble ourselves before God and submit fully to His will. Jesus illustrates in a passage from Matthew (16:24-28) that we must give up our old life in order to follow Him. The exciting news is that Jesus Christ loves us. We cannot be perfect, and our salvation does not hang in the balance with every poor decision. What is important is to sincerely seek forgiveness daily from Jesus in prayer and use His grace to grow from our mistakes. The Bible will provide further guidance in the search for God's will in our life. Although salvation is an intensely personal experience between you and Jesus, being involved in Bible study groups or having accountability partners can help you grow in the Spirit. The Bible mentions that as we grow in the spirit we will be given bigger tasks in the service of the Lord (I Col. 3:2). Your question points to this spiritual growth. Once we have received this free gift of salvation, we are expected to use it and share it with others. Jesus explains His desire that we use His grace for others in a parable in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable Jesus shows that those who do not share His grace with others will lose their own grace, but for those who expand the kingdom of the Lord heaven will be magnified. It is our humble prayer here a Mustard Seed Ministries, that you share your spiritual talents with others and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. I will lift you up in prayer that you will grow in the Lord.

Questions about Speaking in Tongues

Q. Is it Biblical for a Christian to speak in tounges, have a gift of Phrophecy and lay hands on the sick for a devine healing? I am Pentecostal and beleive in all above. Id like another Christian perspective on this backed by scripture. God Bless.

A. Dear Friend, First of all, thanks for your question. You need to know that I am not a Bible theologian but just a fellow Christian so with that, I will answer your question in the best way I can. The three gifts of the Spirit you mentioned were evident in the book of Acts and are further expanded on in 1 Cor 12 & 14 along with other gifts of the Spirit. I Cor 13 is devoted entirely to the one foundational gift of charity and very plainly states that all other gifts are nothing if not exercised with the motivation of charity. I do find it interesting that the three you picked out have tended to be the ones that are often used for personal gain (notoriety or financial or both) with sensational appeal and also those which have been used for issues of contention and division in the Church. One of my best friends from high school was a member of a Pentacostal church but these gifts were never used as a point of contention in our friendship. We just respected that we chose to worship the Lord differently. In conclusion, I would just ask you that you carefully examine the motives behind especially public arena use of these gifts. These are gifts which, in my opinion, should be exercised primarily within the privacy of the local body of believers only. Again, ask "what is the motive behind the use of this gift in this setting? First Cor 13 tells us that prophecies will fail, and tongues will cease but that love (charity) never fails (vs 8).

Who is the True God?

Q. Who is the true god?

A. Wow – that is a great question. Although, it is difficult to define God because He encompasses so many different, vast dimensions of the personal, physical, and spiritual realm/world. First of all I think we need to take in account or understand that God exists in the Holy Trinity – God (the Father), the Holy Spirit (which lives in us who have accepted Jesus), and Jesus (God’s Son – who is also our Savior and shed blood). “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” – Revelations 5:13 With that said, God’s name in English is Jehovah (in the original Hebrew it is Yahweh). This name for God is used more than sixty-eight hundred times in the entire Bible. The name means “to be.” This means that God is ever-lasting, self-existing. God is the God who always is. Secondly, God is the Provider (Jehovah-Jireh). Jireh means “he sees ahead.” God sees what you need before you even have a need, and He provides. One story in the Old Testament that references God as the Provider is in Gen. 22 when God asks Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. When Abraham was ready to take his boy up for the sacrifice, he said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Gen 22:5).

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Heaven: Eternal Life

Much of the difficulty man has with understanding heaven relates to his dependence on things that he can sense. What man can touch, hear & see have a powerful impact on what he believes. Heaven is described in the Bible (I Corinthians 2:9)as: "Things that eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him". It becomes obvious from this statement that man is incapable of really understanding the complete reality of heaven.

Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of life in heaven will be the absence of conflicting emotions. The absence of conflicting thoughts and emotions will promote a deep sense of well being that all is well, that all will be well forever. Nothing will disturb or change this paradise forever. When a million, billion, trillion years have passed this paradise will hardly have begun. Think of the stakes that are involved here. Consider seriously what this means to you and your future.

Another attribute will be freedom. Freedom from worry, from conflict, from self-doubt, from uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, from pain, from depression, from discouragement, from all sickness and ill health (whether physical or emotional) from guilt, from uncertainty, from rejection, from unloving attitudes, and the list goes on. The Lord will walk with us face to face. We will feel His deep love and acceptance of us. We will never doubt again that we are accepted, valuable, worthwhile, and deeply loved - our hearts will constantly overflow with these thoughts and feelings. The love and joy will so flood our hearts that no negative or conflicting emotion will have a chance to take root.

There will be no jealously there. Some wonder if the differences of rewards for earthly service will cause divisions. As we have stated before, each person will be filled to their capacity with blessedness, joy and love and there will be no room for anything else. We will all be filled to the top with the goodness of God. There will be no room for anything but joy, gratitude, and love. We will truly, without any reservations, wish each other well. We will know God in a way that we can only guess at here on earth. As we know Him, we will love Him with all our heart. We will have no reservations about Him for He is the type of person that is lovable to a degree we don't perceive on earth. To know Him and His unimaginable love for us will lead to a love that will fill us - it will leave no room for anything but love and allegiance to Him.

Some wonder if we will feel a loss because of those who have chosen not to follow God, and have entered the profound suffering of eternal death. His beautiful compelling spirit will so fill our hearts that there will be no room for such feelings of loss.

Some wonder if heaven will ever be boring. Remember the times when you were overwhelmed by joy, love or gratitude for something or someone in your life. Were you bored with the overwhelming feelings? I don't believe that you were, I think rather you wished that they could endure forever but life would eventually rob you of them. Nothing will rob you of them in heaven and of course they will be even more intense and wonderful. Besides this, there appears that there will be challenges (helping in some way in the kingdom of heaven). Consider the incredible stakes that are in involved here. Eternity is a long unending time. We live here less than 100 years on the average. What you do here in our relatively short stay will have a profound impact on your stay in eternity. For you own self-interest consider carefully your choices. Make sure that you live your life in a manner that will insure you a place in that incomparable kingdom. If not, your regrets will be inconsolable.