The Wicked – Who are they?

 

Dictionary.com gives the following definitions for the word wicked: 

1. evil or morally bad in principle or practice; sinful; iniquitous:

wicked people; wicked habits.

2. mischievous or playfully malicious:

These wicked kittens upset everything.

3.distressingly severe, as a storm, wound, or cold:

a wicked winter.

4. unjustifiable; dreadful; beastly:

wicked prices; a wicked exam.

5. having a bad disposition; ill-natured; mean:

a wicked horse.

6. spiteful; malevolent; vicious:

a wicked tongue.

7. extremely troublesome or dangerous:

wicked roads.

8. unpleasant; foul:

a wicked odor.

9. Slang. wonderful; great; masterful; deeply satisfying:

He blows a wicked trumpet.

10. Slang. very; really; totally:

That shirt is wicked cool.

But what does the Bible tell us about wicked people? 

Psalm 119:53 describes the wicked as those who have forsaken the law of God.  Psalm 119:155 describes them as those who do not seek out God’s decrees.  In Psalm 141, David describes them as those who are evildoers.  Acts 2:23 tells us that Jesus was put to death on the cross as God’s plan and with the help of wicked men.  And in Acts 3:26, we read about Peter preaching that God “raised up His servant” in order to “bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

 

To put it simply, the wicked are those who do not obey God, those who choose to ignore Him.  We are being wicked if we choose to not spend time with the Lord, but we have plenty of time for watching television or going shopping or spending time with friends.  We’re being wicked when we choose to stay in bed on Sunday instead of going and worshipping with other believers as the Bible tells us to do in Hebrews 10:25.  Ignoring God sums up the word wicked.

 

Ignoring God sums up the word wicked.

 

Look up the word wicked in your own concordance and see how God feels about “the wicked.”  If you’ve been ignoring God, seek Him out and ask for forgiveness, ask Him to give you a stronger desire for His presence, and begin today to turn from being one of the wicked.  God wants a relationship with you. He loves you.

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A Speeding Ticket Lesson

A Speeding Ticket Lesson

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often?
When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand.

Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket. A cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow.

Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he’d never seen in uniform.

“Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this.”

“Hello, Jack.” No smile.

“Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Bob seemed uncertain. Good.

“I’ve seen some long days at the office lately. I’m afraid I bent the rules a bit – just this once.”

Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. “Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct.” Ouch. This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics.

“What’d you clock me at?”

“Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?”

“Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as I saw you. I was barely nudging 65.” The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.

“Please, Jack, in the car”

Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window.

The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad.

Why hadn’t he asked for a driver’s license?

Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a folded paper in hand. Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.

“Thanks.” Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.

Bob returned to his police car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost?

Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke?

Certainly not a ticket. Jack began to read:

“Dear Jack,

Once upon a time, I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it – a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters, all three of them. I had only one, and I’m going to have to wait until Heaven before I can ever hug her again.

A thousand times I’ve tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray for me. And be careful, Jack, my son is all I have left.

-Bob”

Jack turned around in time to see Bob’s car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.

~ Author Unknown ~

Seek Him FIRST – not last

We all know the verse… we’ve heard it so many times.  But…. are we really letting the meaning sink into our hearts and living it out?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34 

Seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness!  This is where we often miss the mark…. we seek everything else first, THEN see if there’s time left over for Jesus. However, the Bible tells us this just won’t do…. not anymore than it would for us. Jesus should come first for us and everything else come in at second. After all, that’s what He gave us when He lived a sinless life for us then was willing to die so we could be forgiven for our sins. He put us and our needs first. 

We are called His bride and surely a bride wouldn’t look at her groom and think… “Yeah, I’ll get to you later… first I need to watch this tv show.”  Or think, “Yeah maybe after I work then I’ll try to see if I feel like spending some time with you.”   No, a bride would never do this to her groom that she loves.  So, why is it that we think it’s okay to do this with Jesus Christ, our Savior?   This is something that is so NOT okay.  Yet it happens all over the world every single day by millions, billions, of people that, if asked, would claim that they are a Christian and love Jesus.  That just should not be so.

Jesus lived a perfect life and died FOR US.  Surely, we can give Him attention and seek Him first in our daily lives.

Christianity: It May Not Be What You Think

 

There’s a big problem in the world today and it seems to be an outright epidemic here in the United States.  Christianity has become more of a hobby than a serious way of living every single day of life.  Church has become a social club full of entertainment for the masses.  This is a far cry from what our Bible tells us life should look like when following Christ.  This whole situation scares me, to be honest.  I cannot fathom a worse nightmare than to die and find myself facing Jesus, the King of Kings, and hear Him say to me, “Away from me, you evildoer!”

(“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of m Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘ I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’  Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  Matthew 7:21-24)    

Can you just imagine standing there and having Jesus say that to you?  I simply cannot handle the thought of that.  Yet, so many will experience exactly that.  They don’t have to… and they’ve been told by Jesus Himself that it can happen and what to do to prevent it, but still… it’s not getting through to people. I used to be one of those people who didn’t understand this very simple thing.  I went to church with my dad as a kid and heard all the same church sayings many others hear – still today even. And I believed it all. Hook, line, and sinker. I thought…. surely THAT many people must have it right after all! Regardless of the fact that the very Word of God tells us that FEW will find the narrow gate…..

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

I got uncomfortable when that passage crossed my path and it would send me running straight back to my excuse bag, or my feel better about myself bag, or my great big ole bag of Christian lies – a gift from Satan himself given to all who will take it.

—  “Yeah but alllllllll those people can’t be wrong and besides…. God is a loving God and Jesus died for my sins and I believe in Him so yeah…. relax…. it’s not about what I do… cause that would be works and didn’t Sue and George say that we can’t ‘work’ for our own salvation anyway?  Yes, they sure did and yeah they can’t all be wrong so I’m good… I mean I was baptized  when I was 12!  So yeah… Surely, it’s all good?  Oh yes, I’m a good person too…  I help people and besides…  have you heard what Johnny did last week?  I would NEVER do THAT so yeah… I’m good.  And we go to church too, especially at Easter and Christmas cause that’s the important days anyway.  You know how churches today are… full of hypocrites and besides… a lot of times I’m just too busy, but Jesus loves me and it’s not about what I do!  Remember?!!!  I have a personal relationship with Jesus and I read my Bible (well sometimes… but sometimes I do get so sleepy when I try and it’s hard to understand…. you know?) and just last week I prayed for everyone I know!  But that ‘organized religion’ stuff just isn’t for me cause I’ve been hurt by church.  People that go to church just look down on you anyway.  They judge you and decide who you are before they even know you cause you know…. they’re just hypocrites n all.  They sin too anyway, just differently than I do – we all live in sin and can’t help it.  We just can’t help it.”  —

Sound familiar????  Heard any of those nifty little sayings/excuses?  Said a few of them yourself perhaps?  I spent years with all that mess and then some! I’ll never forget the day that God, in all His loving kindness, nudged me and said, ‘There’s more to it.”

I was in our laundry room, ironing my husbands pants, and thinking about the whole ‘being saved’ thing.  I was going round and round in my mind with the whole idea of  a person being able to pray a little prayer one day and then go on back to living life any ole way they wanted to, making up excuses for living in continual sin,  and how that just did not seem even close to being right.  I talked with a few people (who were basically in the same position as me) and they all tried to convince me that, of course, that’s the way it works cause well…. you know…  Jesus died for our sins and did all the work for us etc… and so on.  Still…. something about it all was bothering me.  I prayed and asked God to please show me the TRUTH.  HIS TRUTH.  Not what I wanted to hear, but the real truth – even if that meant big ole hard changes in my life.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

I started seeking and He helped me to find Him.  He keeps His promises!  I cannot begin to say how much has changed in my life.  He has turned everything upside in my life, in my husband’s life, and in my children’s lives.  I am not saying that life has become some awesome easy every day is great type of life.  Not hardly!  In fact, I would say that in some ways things are harder.  Harder based on the world’s standards and harder based on choosing Him over sin.  But is it worth it?  Ohhhh most definitely!!!  All of this here on earth that we think is going to bring us happiness – won’t and can’t.  Only Jesus will bring you permanent happiness.  His joy lasts regardless of your circumstances!  His joy is eternal without end.  His joy is worth everything and then some more!

Don’t settle for some version of nominal Christianity.  Truly seek and find Him and begin to live for Him the way the Word tells us to.  Best thing I’ve ever done.  Best thing you’ll ever do too.

You won’t regret it!

Is there anything that could possibly be more important in life than seeking and knowing the Lord and His forever kind of joy?

If you are interested in knowing more about Jesus, please feel free to contact me!  I would love to talk to you and introduce you to a life changing love with Jesus Christ! 

 

Would You Die for Him?

It’s heartbreaking to me seeing all the posts and listening to people talk about how they’d die for their faith in Christ, yet…. they choose sin over Jesus every day in the way they talk, treat people, what they watch on tv, read in books, post on Facebook, the jokes they enjoy, and the way they spend their time (“I’m too busy to read my Bible or pray or spread the Gospel… that Candy Crush Saga is so time consuming ya know!”).

As John McArthur wrote – “True repentance and faith in Christ denies the usual depraved longings of the human will.”
Or go straight to our Savior, Jesus Christ Himself, and see what He has to say…

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”  Jesus in Matthew 10:34-39 NASB

Folks… He is pretty clear on what He expects of us.  Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by false teachers and there are plenty of them out there!  Nothing is more important.  Nothing.

I share this because there was a time when I thought (was just positive) that I was in the “good” with Jesus, but I wasn’t taking up a stick for Him, never mind a cross.  I was living in sin, doing what I pleased while saying I loved Him.  I was lying to myself and Satan was loving it.  It’s Satan’s goal to keep us deceived.  Some of Satan’s greatest weapons are preachers and people that sit in churches each week thinking they’re okay and leaving the impression with others that they’re okay.  The Bible clearly states to KNOW FOR YOURSELF. Once you’ve heard the gospel message, you will be held accountable.

Please.  Get this right.

We never know what tomorrow will bring, or if we’ll get another chance.   Don’t break His heart by not taking His gift and living for Him.

Are You Breaking God’s Heart?

Did you know that sin breaks God’s heart?  Jesus dying for our sins did not make sin acceptable to God.  Actually, continuing in known sin, like it’s nothing – not a big deal, after having accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and accepting His death and blood on the cross as payment for your sins, is like stomping all over His cross and saying it was worth little, maybe even nothing to you.

 

You may say, “But D… it’s just so hard on me cause I love to (insert watch that tv show, listen to that music, read that kind of book, talk like that and so on…)______________!!!!!  I just don’t know if I can quit!!!”   God’s Word says differently.  We’re told in 1 Corinthians 10:13  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.  ❤

 

Choosing your sin over the Lord Jesus breaks His heart.  It’s really that simple.  Jesus Himself tells us in John 14:15 “If you love Me, obey my commandments.”   And in 1 John 5:21 we’re warned – “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”  Choose Him instead of the world’s sin.  Choose life.

In need of prayers please!

My little girl, Chloe, was hospitalized Friday/Sat morning to the hospital.  They have ran all sorts of tests, but aren’t sure what’s going on.  Friday night they did everything from cat scans, brain scans, to a spinal tap and tons of blood work etc… but still can’t pin down the problem.  They’re now treating her heavily with antibiotics and her fever is down, but she’s still a sick little girl.  We would really appreciate any and all prayers.

Gently Lead Us – By Octavius Winslow

Gently Lead Us

Gently, Lord, oh, gently lead us
Through vale of tears,
Though thou’st decreed us,
Till our last great change appears.

As temptation’s darts assail us,
Or in devious paths we stray
Let thy goodness never fail us,
Lead us in thy perfect way

In the hour of pain and anguish,
In the hour when death draws near
Suffer not our hearts to languish,
Suffer not our souls to fear.

As this mortal life is ended,
Bid us in thine arms to rest,
Till, by angel bands attended,
We awake among the blest.

Then, oh, crown us with thy blessing,
Through the triumphs of thy grace;
Then shall praises never ceasing
Echo through thy dwelling-place.

~Octavius Winslow

How has it changed you?

In Acts 9:22 we’re told – “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.” 

So, how exactly did Saul (Paul) go about “proving” that Jesus is the Messiah?   Ever wonder about that?   I did and what I discovered was that it wasn’t proven by him simply because he was highly educated, brilliant scholar, though indeed he was.  No, it was more than that.

His relationship with Jesus changed who he was completely and people could see this.  They could clearly see the evidence that Jesus was indeed the Messiah because Saul’s life changed and he backed up everything he said with how he lived.  This is something that should happen to all Christians.

Following Christ makes you totally different in ways you can’t begin to imagine until you’re living it.  The people around you should be taking notice.  Often times, it’s not something they really like either.  Being a true follower of Jesus isn’t always popular with friends and family, but it will bring you to a new place unlike any other.  It’s amazing.

How has being a Christ Follower changed your life?

Backsliding

Backsliding.  We’ve all heard the term.  The dictionary defines it as: to relapse into bad habits, sinful behavior, or undesirable activities.

Bad habits, sinful behavior, undesirable activities….  doesn’t sound so bad really, does it?

The Bible, however, has a different attitude towards it.  Hebrews 2:1-3 tells us that backsliding is indeed VERY SERIOUS and not to be taken lightly, in the least.

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?  Hebrews 2:1-3

In 2 Peter2:20,21 it’s addressed this way – If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.  It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 

I don’t know about you, but these two verses alone give me such a different view of “backsliding” and a good healthy respect for how truly serious backsliding really is.