God does not approve of you

 by David Long

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matt. 7:21-27).

There are a lot of people who think they have God's approve for what they are doing. But come Judgement Day they will find out otherwise. 

Pick your companions wisely

 by David Long

"And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves" (Judges 3:6-7). That was in direct violation of God's word (Ex. 34:12-16). 1 Cor. 15:33 is still true and always will be. We can think that we are above it but we will only be falling for the lies of the devil. 

God doesn't settle for second place

 by David Long

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). God doesn't settle for second place. If we are not putting the kingdom of God and His righteousness first in our lives then we aren't putting them in our lives at all. "And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Lk. 9:57-62).

Jesus ran them off

 by David Long

Did you know that Jesus ran people off? At one point Jesus fed 5000 people (John 6:10). That same group of people came seeking Jesus (John 6:22-25). Jesus told them that the only reason they were following Him was because of the food He provided for them (John 6:26). Then Jesus taught them some hard truths (John 6:27-65). How did they respond? "From that time many of his disciples when back, and walked no more with Him" (John 6:66). Jesus ran them off. Why? Because the reason why people followed Him mattered to Him and it still does today!!

The promise of eternal life

 by David Long

In Jesus Christ eternal life is given (1 John 5:11; John 10:28) but it is given in promise (1 John 2:25; Titus 1:2). Will God be true to His promise? Absolutely but it's based on our obedience to Jesus (Heb. 5:8-9). If we will be faithful unto death then we will receive that life (Rev. 2:10). Refuse to keep God's commandments and you will know God's breach of promise (Num. 14:34). 

build it according to the pattern

 by David Long

"Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount" (Heb. 8:5). See also Exodus 25:9, 40. 

God gave Moses a pattern to build the tabernacle and Moses was to build it according to the pattern. The same is true of the church that Jesus built (Matt. 16:18-19). If you are a member of a church that is not built according to the New Testament pattern then you need to get out. Can't worship God according to the doctrines and commandments of men and worship according to God's pattern (Matt. 15:9). 

You can't have it both ways

 by David Long

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24).

"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad" (Matt. 12:30).