Making bad decisions

 by David Long

"Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west" (Acts 27:9-12).

If there was ever a classic example of how to make bad decisions in life, the resolve to keep sailing is it: ignore the advice of the godly; listen to "experts" more concerned about profit and pleasure than people and principles and go along with the majority. Sounds a lot like people today and the way they make decisions. 

Gotta take the bad with the good

 by David Long

"But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island" (Acts 27:21-26).

The Christian life is like Paul's trip to Rome, it's not all smooth sailing. There are hardships along the way.  It's not all sunshine and roses. We gotta take the bad with the good. The Christian who lives faithfully will make it to heaven but don't expect an easy ride there (Rev. 2:10). 

I believe God

 by David Long

"Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). Paul said, "I believe God." I like that. Paul didn't just believe in God, he believed God. When Paul got a message from God, he believed it. We have God's message today, its called the Bible. I believe it. I believe God will do exactly what He was spoken in His word. Do you? 

Have no fellowship with the works of darkness

 by David Long

"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour" (Acts 16:16-18). You would have thought that since the fortuneteller was telling the truth about Paul and Silas that Paul would let her join forces with him or at least let her go on saying what she was saying about them but no he didn't. He put a stop to it. Why? Because Christians don't have fellowship with darkness in any way shape or form (2 Cor. 6:14-18). 

God's order for the family

God's order for the family roles is as follows:

The husband is head of the house (Eph. 6:23).

The wife is in subjection to her husband (Eph. 6:22).

The children are to obey and honor their parents (Eph. 6:1-3). 

What kind of soil are you?

 by David Long

Read Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:14-20 and Luke 8:11-15. In those passages Jesus uses different kinds of soils to illustrate different kinds of hearts. There is the hard heart, the shallow heart, the crowded heart and the good and honest heart. Which one are you? 

Do you have an open heart?

 by David Long

"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us" (Acts 16:14-15).

How did the Lord open Lydia's heart? Through the message be presented. The phrase "she attended" means "to hold the mind towards; to pay attention." See what the word of God can do to a person who pays attention? Paul said she "heard us." An open heart will respond to the gospel in obedience. Is that you? 

life is not a selfie

 by David Long

What's a selfie? You taking a picture of yourself with your cellphone (and then add to that, post those pictures on your Facebook page or any other social media). What's wrong with a selfie? Nothing but then again it could be something. It could be sign of selfishness. It could be a sign of self-exaltation. It could be a sign of self-worship. It might be a sign of "For men shall be lovers of their own selves" (2 Tim. 3:2). We live in a selfish society. But when a person becomes a Christian they die to self and live for Christ (Lk. 9:23; Gal. 2:20). 

God knows who we really are

 by David Long

"O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether" (Psa. 139:1-4). Reputation is what others think we are. Character is what God knows we are. It is true that our reputation is sometimes worse than our real character. People may spread lies about us and give us a bad reputation. But it is also true that our reputation may be better than our character. If others knew what we do in the dark or when no one is watching, our reputations wouldn't be so good. But here's the deal: God knows exactly what kind of person I really am. Can't hide anything from God (Heb. 4:13).

want to

 by David Long

People do what they want to do. If we want to go to heaven, keeping God's commandments must become our want to. The rich young ruler wanted eternal life but when Jesus told him how to obtain it, he walked away (Mk. 10:21-22). His want to wasn't what Jesus wanted Him to do. Is yours? 

choose

 by David Long

God didn't create robots. He created us with free will. Adam and Eve had a choice (Gen. 2:16-17). Moses set before Israel a choice (Dt. 30:19). Joshua set before Israel a choice (Josh. 24:15). Jesus set before us a choice (Matt. 6:24). There are two roads before you, make your choice (Matt. 7:13-14). 

The way of Cain

 by David Long

"Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah" (Jude 11). What is the way of Cain? The way of Cain is doing your own thing. "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (1 John 3:12). Cain's works refers to his sacrifice (Gen. 4). "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh" (Heb. 11:4).

Does God care how we worship Him? If you don't think so you need to study the way of Cain. If you think God is pleased with any old way as long as we are sincere, you need to study the way of Cain. 

Eternal life

 by David Long

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:11-13). Eternal life is in Jesus, the Son of God. All spiritual blessings are in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Salvation is in Christ (2 Tim. 2:10). Here's the kicker: the only way to get in Christ is to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 6:3-4). 

Wrong people in authority

 by David Long

"Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!" (Eccl. 10:16-17). Sometimes the wrong people are in authority. You know you are in trouble when those in authority abuse their power and use their positions for self-serving purposes. You know something is wrong when our elected officials are getting rich while in office. 

How does the process work?

 by David Long

We have sinned but how did we get there? What is the process? How does it work? 

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:13-15).

See the process? See how it works? 

The devil

David Long

There are a lot of false ideas in the world about the devil or also called Satan. One of those ideas is that he rules in hell. The devil does not nor will he ever rule in hell. Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). He will suffer there for all eternity and if we follow him, we will be there with him. There are two roads before you, one leads to heaven and the other leads to hell (Matt. 7:13-14). Which road do you think the devil is on? Believe his lies and you will be on the same road he is on. 

We are just vapors

 by David Long

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that" (James 4:;13-15). The word "vapor" means "mist." It refers to something that disappears quickly, like the morning fog or steam coming off a hot spring; you see it for a little bit then it vanishes away. It's a sober reminder that life is short, real short, no matter if one lives to be a hundred. Here today and gone to tomorrow. Don't waste your time on things that don't matter. Let's prepare for eternity. Its coming and it will be here sooner than we think.