Andrew Golden's Blog, page 30

No Matter What, I Choose God

Daniel 3:17-18

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

What if God does not answer your prayers? What if God does not come to your aid? Will you still serve him? Will you still claim that he is your God? The answer had better be yes. The answer had better be that no matter what you will still bow down to God and proclaim his glory. The three Hebrew children knew this. They knew that even if God did not come to their rescue, they would still bow to only him. It is time we decide that no matter what we will serve God. It is time that we decide that even if we lose everything, we will still serve God. No matter what is thrown at you, no matter what you are threatened with, and no matter what you are facing continue to stand strong on the word of God and refuse to bow before anything else.

Greater Than Temptation

John 14:12

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Matthew 4:1

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

It is common used to say that we can perform all the miracles Christ did. I am not disagreeing with you, but what I want to point out is what Christ went through in the wilderness. He was tempted and he overcame it. So, if he said that we are to do greater than he did, why do we say we are overcome with temptation? It is because Christians are forgetting that Jesus made us greater than the temptation that we face. So, stop thinking it is greater than you. Stop thinking that it is hard to overcome it. Remember Jesus over came the temptation in the wilderness, so you can overcome what tempts you.

A Good Name

Romans 14:16-17

16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost

If you saw your preacher screaming and cursing at people would you ever listen to him again? If you saw your pastor walk up and start fighting people for no reason, you would be hesitant about going back to his church. If you saw you pastor cheating on his spouse, you would never look at him the same again. So, why is he any different than you? Yes he is called to preach, but all of us have to make sure that our names and lives are held to a high regard. If we do this, we do not have to worry about people running our name in the ground. This helps us when we preach, teach, and testify. So, learn to keep your name clean the best you can.

Fisher Of Men

Matthew 4:19

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Everytime I read this verse, I think of fishing with my brothers and dad. We set on the lake all day, laugh, and spend some time together. We pick at each other the entire time, but we all get excited when the other catches a fish. It makes me think of what if we treated winning souls to Jesus this way? What if when someone tells us they had a soul saved at their church, we celebrated as if they had caught the biggest bass ever? After all we are supposed to be fishers of men. We are supposed to help people to Jesus. We are supposed to be the one on the boat helping people into it. You have to be to the point that you would rather see your brothers and sister bring people to Christ than to ever catch another fish.

Rewarded

Philippians 1:21

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Galatians 6:9 

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Today a friend and I where asked a question l, “how come we are so excited at the thought of meeting Jesus?” The young man could not understand how we were so good with when our time came we gladly close our eyes and go onto heaven. He said he wanted to see his kids grow and live a long life. My friend pointed out how it is not about what we are losing here but what we gain. If the world ended today, don’t think of it as the end but the beginning of eternity. Children will never be sick, our bodies will never break down, and we get to see Jesus face to face. We will not look at death as a punishment but as the reward of our journey. It is an amazing thought. However, we both explained to him that while we are here, we have a work to do.

Stop. Just Think Of God

Colossians 3:2

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth

Today I kept thinking about the word theology and what it means because after all people who devote their lives to scripture are called theologians. So I looked it up. It means the study of religion and God, but one source said it means “thinking of God”. That made me smile. Because as Christians we spend so much time thinking of bills, work, the news, and a million other things. We should stop and just think on God. I’m not saying to try and understand God because you never will. I am simply saying stop and think about him. Thank him for what he has done. Stop and look what he has created. Just take 5 minutes and think of your heavenly Father. Think of how great and wonderful our God is. I promise if you do this, your days will be much better.

The Lamb Of God

Leviticus 1:2-3

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

John 1:29

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

The Levitical law required man to sacrifice an animal to absolve him of his sins. It wasn’t easy either. A perfect offering had to be presented. It could not have spot nor blemish. It had to be virtually perfect. Then something changed. A truly perfect lamb was born. It had no spot, no blemish, and never gave into the sin of the world. The lamb was not an it, it was a who. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. He knowingly came from heaven to take on the sin of the world in order to be the ultimate sacrifice. He was no mindless animal that we raised and then chose out of a heard. He himself chose the path he took. He did not have to be held down for a sacrificed, he did so willingly. Jesus did this with no second though. He did this because he loved us and wanted to pave our way to paradise. So, the question remains, if the sacrifice has been made and all you have to do is accept him, why haven’t you done so?

Head Of The House

Ephesians 5:25-26

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Everyone agrees that if someone is breaking into your home, the husband should be the one to protect the house. Everyone says the man is the protector of his family. We men stand guard and dare someone to mess with our family. So why are you not being the spiritual protector of your family? There is a spiritual enemy waging war on your wife and children. The enemy is trying to keep them from Jesus. The enemy is attacking them so that your family falls apart. So men, why are you not being the one hitting your knees when the enemy attacks and praying to God for guidance? Why are you not telling the enemy to get out of your house? Why are you only being the physical head and not the spiritual head of your home? It is time men that we step up. It is time we stand strong for the intruder. We need to be prayed up and ready to fight the enemy out of our home. It is time we chase him away from our children. If we men would stand up as men of God again, our families would come together again.

What Are You Chasing After?

1 Timothy 6:10

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Many people will sacrifice everything for a career. They chase after a slight raise and will step on people they care about to achieve it. They push their families on the back burner and then forget about them while they climb the ladder. They seek power, respect, and money. Is it all worth it? The Bible says this pursuit is what causes us to fall and forget our faith. They begun to look more toward money to fix their problem instead of God. They think if they can achieve the next promotion, then they can have what they want. It is not that simple. The thing is when you chase money, what you get is never enough. You have to realize that if you stop chasing a career and instead begin to chase after God, then he will give you what you need. He will give you a greater pursuit to chase after. That pursuit is to be closer to him then climbing the ladder at work by stepping on people and pushing your faith and family aside. He will lead you the right way.

God Is My Strength

Numbers 13:30-31

30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

A lot of people are stronger than me. A lot of people have more power and influence than me. A whole lot of people can fight better than I can. If every moring I looked at life as if I was the one going against the day, I would be like the Israelites and lay back down and not even try it. I would accept defeat and give up. However, I know God is my strength. When you take a look at the people and things standing in your way, know that God is fighting for you. If he tells you that you can have something, then it is yours. Stop worrying about people and things that can stop you. God is greater then everything and everyone. So, take your blessing that God has for you. All you have to do is know God is greater then everything.