Thought for the Day: "Now Samuel said to all Israel: 'Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Who have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you. And they said, 'You have not defrauded us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand. Then he said to them, 'The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.' And they answered, 'He is witness.' And Samuel said to the people, 'It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers. ... Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." (I Samuel 12: 1-7, 23-24)
In I Samuel 12: 3, Samuel asks of the people when did he take that which wasn't his to take, when did he bribe another or take one, when was he dishonest, and in verse 4, the people declare he has not been guilty. The people agree the Lord is his witness.
Dr. Derek Thomas, who spoke frequently at the Cedar Falls Bible Conference this past week, said as a Christian, people may reject you and what you say, but your actions defend you, thereby giving honor, integrity to you. They see the sincerity of your actions, your ways, even if they disagree.
By our works we shall be known.
The works we do will bear witness to our beliefs. If we are truly one with the Lord, all we do will be honest, will show our integrity. In private or in public we are the same.
But when we step away from Jesus and settle our minds on outside influences, there is no oneness. What you were is not what you are.
By our works we shall be known.
Not by our former works, not by what we once were, but by what we are NOW.
Jesus Christ died for us. He gave His life to bring us eternal life. He showed us and continues to show us the way and we act like its no big deal?!
We are to proclaim the word of God, the truth of God. If it is in the Bible, it is true. There is no error found in the Bible - if you think there is, then you are not abiding in close fellowship with the Lord. You have stepped away, you are outside His boundary. You have moved into the realm of sin.
You can not be a believer of this, but not of that. You cannot chose one part of the Bible and not all. If you do, you are not living totally for God. You have fallen away from God's truths and have settled for lies. The Bible is true because God said so.
We are to pray continually, without ceasing, serve the Lord with all our heart. Not half-heartedly, not when it appeals to you.
Verse 24 tells us to consider ALL He has done, remember ALL He has done, count your blessings.
He saved me, He washed me, He cleansed me, He protects me, He guides me, He enables me, He teaches me, He loves me ...
What about you?
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