Andrew Golden's Blog, page 13

Witness

3 John 1:5-6

5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

It is one thing for people outside of the body of Christ to try and find faults in Christians. It is something way worse when Christians do it to each other. Someone can do something out of the kindness of their heart, and yet people will still try to talk about the bad they have done. We as Christians need to stop doing this. When someone does something wonderful, be happy for them. Don’t let the enemy trick you into being someone who gossips. Instead, be the witness of their deeds. Be the one who tells of the change in their life that you have witnessed.

Broken Pieces

Colossians 2:2

2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

Psalms 147:3
3 He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds.

There is this picture of someone handing Jesus a broken heart and saying it is all they have to give him. He kindly takes the pieces and tell them that it is all he wants from them. You see, it has become a trend of sinners, thinking they need to fix themselves before they come to God. He wants you as you are. He knows your heart is broken, and he is the only one who can fix it. He can put every piece back in place. He will be the glue that holds it together. He does not ignore the broken-hearted. He wants to help them and fix them. So, pick up all the pieces of your heart and hand them to Jesus.

The Majority

Proverbs 1:15

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood

The majority is saying that we need to change. The majority claims that things need to be taken out of the bible. The majority believe that they are right all because they are the majority. They claim that you should join them to fit in. Well, Christians do not fit in with the majority. The minority that follows the true word of God are the ones who are right. The ones who stand against sin no matter whose feeling they hurt. That is the group that I call Christians.

Spiritual Workout

Philippians 4:6
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God

2 Timothy 2:15 – Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This morning, I was at the gym, and I began to think of how when I used to get in the gym every day, like clock work. The workout was easier. I didn’t get tired as quickly. I didn’t make excuses of reason not to go. Then it hit me. This is how our praying and studying the word of God works. The more we pray, the easier it becomes to pray. We will wake up, ready to talk to God. We will be excited to hit our knees and speak to our heavenly Father. We will find ourselves spending more time praying than what we intended to. When we start studying, the word becomes alive to us. We are excited to read and spend time in the word. Our spiritual walk is like a muscle. The more we work at it, the better and stronger it becomes. So, treat it that way. Get stronger in the Lord, so your spiritual workout becomes easier.

Healed

Isaiah 53:5

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The profit foretold of a messiah. The one who would set us free. He would take on all the punishment sin had brought to us. His name was Jesus Christ. With his stripes, we received our healing. Death lost its sting. He fulfilled the prophecies, and now all you have to do is accept him and his sacrifice. Then you can be healed and set free.

Yep, The World Hates Us

1 John 3:13

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you

This is no secret. The world hates Christians. I am not saying people hate Christians. It’s the world as a collective. The enemy in its whole would love to see us just go away. This is because we show freedom from sin. We show a path to eternal life. We are blessed, no matter what the world throws at us. We don’t have to carry our burdens. We just give them to God. The enemy has no power over us because our saviour has already beat him. So, the world hates Christians. You know what you do with that, you keep following Christ and pray for the lost.

A Christians Desire

Romans 10:1

1Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

As a Christian, your hearts desire should not be to gain fame and money. Your hearts desire should be to win the lost souls to Christ. You should feel a yearning in your heart to pray for the sinner. We can’t force them to the alter, but if enough Christians would get a desire in their hearts to pray for the sinner, God can draw them in.

The Burden

Malachi 1:1

1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

Why is it called the burden of the Lord? God’s word sets men free, it heals the sick, and claims victory over the enemy. So, why is it called a burden? Well Malachi did something that needed to be done, he told Israel what they had become and called them out on their transgressions. I encourage you to read the book of Malachi and you will see what I am talking about. You see he had to deliver this message no matter who he upset, or no matter whose feelings he hurt. He did what many preachers today are afraid to do. He carried that burden and did what God called him to do. You may have to carry that burden one day. God may send you to a family member or a friend to tell them the truth of their life. You may have to stand before a congregation and preach scripture that many will get upset over. Carry that burden as a badge of honor, because you did not choose that burden. God gave it to you, because he knew you could do it. He called you to it because you was the one for the job.

Beyond Our Understanding

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 3:19

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

I overheard a conversation where someone stated that someone was too far gone to be saved and that you cant save them all. It was someone who claims christ who made the statement. It bothered me because God loved us enough to send his only begotten Son to die for our sins. If you think that the things someone has done make them beyond salvation, then you have not read your Bible. God loved Noah. He got drunk. God loved David. He killed a man after taking his wife. God loved Saul and changed his name to Paul. He was trying to kill all of the Christians. The Bible says only one sin is unforgivable, to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. All the others, no matter how bad, are all forgivable. We can not understand how God can forgive them, but that is not up to us. You can not understand how God gave his son, and you can not understand how Christ gave his life out of love, but that love is way beyond our understanding.

In A World Of Instant Gratification

Isaiah 40:31

31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

We live in a now generation. People do not want to wait for anything. We have fast food, direct deposit, and instant messaging. When we cook at home, we mainly use the microwave. It’s convenient, but this is not how God works. The Bible even tells us it is in his time for our prayers to be answered, but Christians have become a group of instant gratification. It is better to wait. Think of waiting for a home cooked meal. It may take longer and involves more work, but it tastes so much better than fast food or anything you lull out of a microwave. Sometimes, as a Christian, you will put in the work, become so tired, and feel like you can’t go on. Read this verse and know that your patience is about to pay off. Because you waited, God is about to give you strength and boldness. He will bless you in ways you can not imagine. And all this is because you waited with patience and did not seek the instant gratification the world seeks.