A FEW THOUGHTS ON TODAYS READING...
Do we accept God's Word as the final and absolute truth, and do we base our lives on this belief? It is one thing to know truth intellectually, but have we allowed it to travel the 18 inches from our head to our hearts and actually made it the core of who we are? The majority of those who actually encountered Jesus, heard Him speak, saw His miracles did not act on this belief and chose to walk away. We read in Hebrews 3:7-9, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years." The Israelites saw the majesty and power of God in the plagues, in the Red Sea, in His provisions, in His presence in Mount Sinai. Yet despite all of this evidence, they made a choice to not believe. With this in mind the author warns the Jewish believers in 3:12, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;".
So, what is our standard of truth? What is it that we cling to and choose to believe? Are we willing to act on that belief? We were never called to be prosecuting or defense attorneys for God, and we certainly were never asked to be a judge. No, we were asked to be witnesses, plain and simple, as in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will shall be my witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Like a witness in a court proceeding, we are simply asked to be able to say: "I swear by Almighty God that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Armed with this truth and our testimony, that is all that is needed to reach others for the truth. We cannot make anyone believe, but should deliver this message of truth everywhere. If Jesus, the prophets, miracles, etc. could not convince many individuals, neither will we. But we care about the one. The one who we can reach for the gospel truth. It is not about a success rate, but about remaining true to our mission and our unwavering belief in who He is. May we be those who say what we mean, and mean what we say.
THIS WEEKS MEMORY VERSE
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ~Hebrews 4:12

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
My brethren, let me say, be like Christ at all times. Imitate Him in “public”. Most of us live in some sort of public capacity — many of us are called to work before our fellow-men every day. We are watched; our words are caught; our lives are examined — taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do, and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christ in public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master, and not ourselves — so that we can say, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.”
— C. H. Spurgeon (1834 – 1892)








"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
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