Friday, March 9, 2012

What Do You Mean?

I looked up in the dictionary to see what word or words mean. There are so many definitions that I am just going to write a couple of them down. They are a brief expression; a remark; as, a word of advice. A speech sound or series of them, having meaning and used as a unit of language: words may consist of a single morpheme or of combinations of morphemes. I really think it takes more than these two definitions to explain what word or words mean but I am sure you all know what they mean.


When you say something do you really know and mean what you are saying or is it just a group of words put together? I think we have all said things that we don't really mean but we have said them and there is no taking it back.

I hear people say "oh God" or "oh Jesus", I wonder if they are calling on the Lord for something or is it that they need an expression and they have chosen these words to say. Have you ever said these words? If you have, what did you mean by saying them?

God and the Deity are holy, righteous, just, loving, forgiving, compassionate, and many more wonderful things; they should be treated as such, that means their names also.

So, if someone says "oh God" or "oh Jesus" and they aren't calling upon the Lord for a reason, isn't this slang or using their names in vain? I use to say "oh God" but I believe I was using it as slang or it could have been in vain, it doesn't make any difference how I was using God's name it was in the wrong way. Isn't one of the Ten Commandments "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain"? God's name should be hallowed, honored, and respected as extremely sacred, and it may be used only in a holy manner. By using it in the manner of "oh God" or "oh Jesus" and we are not calling on the Lord for a reason we are not giving respect or treating the names as sacred.

Exodus 20:7; "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain". If we use the Lord's name in the wrong way we will be held accountable for it.

In so many things we say we want to speak the truth, like when we tell someone that we love them we do love them or we wouldn't say it. But there are times when we so freely use the name of the Lord in away that we don't really mean and we should not be using it in that manner.

Have you said or heard someone say "I swear to heaven"? Well, this is something we should not say either. Heaven is God's throne and should also be treated as such. Matthew 5:34; "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne":

Matthew 5:35; "Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King". The earth belongs to God, it is His footstool and we should take care in the words we use when saying anything about heaven or earth.

When we speak we should always choose our words wisely. I don't believe any Christian wants to use words in the wrong way; we just don't want to offend our precious Lord in any way.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

We As Christians

As Christians we believe God created the heaven and earth and man, animals, and all things. He wanted the earth replenished so He created male and female and told them to go out and multiply. (I am paraphrasing to make the story shorter.) Not only was this for man and woman to multiply but also everything He made.


We, as Christians, also believe in the Deity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe the Son, Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem us and that the Holy Spirit lives within us. We believe God is love and that He cares for each one of us. He does not like the sins we commit but He still loves us. He is a holy, righteous, just, loving, caring, and forgiving God and He will never leave nor forsake us.

As we grow in the Lord we become more and more aware of why we need to read, study, and apply ourselves to the Word. The Bible is really important for us to know so that we are able to do what the Lord wants us to do. It also tells us things that we should be aware of and be on the lookout for to help us throughout our life.

There is not one person, not even Jesus himself that knows when the Lord will return. This means we should be ready to receive Him at all times. If we knew when He was coming we would do everything just right but He wants us to do everything that is right even though we have no idea when He will come.

II Peter 2:1; "BUT THERE were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." The Word of God helps us to be ready for this great coming of the Lord by telling us the things that will happen. If we know what God tells us about Himself and what He has planned for us we will be more ready to know and understand the things that are here or that is coming.

In Matthew 24:24 it says "...if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect"  So we really do need to know everything possible that God wants us to know.

We, as Christians, know that we are to love everyone and not just those whom we choose to love. We also, because of our love for people, want everyone to know and love our Lord and we should be willing to tell others about Him and what He has done for us. Just because someone chooses not to believe doesn't mean we should hate them or want them dead, we need to pray for them. By reading and studying the Word we will know what we should be doing; I pray you have been reading and studying the Word diligently.

I have been reading in the media where some 'Christians' are wanting to unite with another religion. If this is true I want nothing to do with this group and I pray for anyone that gets involved with it. The two religions are not compatible with each other; their beliefs are entirely different from one another.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!