What is right and wrong?

This past Sunday my pastor said somthing that really got my attention. He mentioned that he had heard this from one of his mentors, "Sin is ignoring what is right." This brings up the question, what is right and wrong?

I bring two passages to you hoping to clarify what right and wrong is on a little less general scale. The first is James 4:17, it reads, "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.".....WOW!!

To know what you ought to do and not do it. How many times have we let somthing slip that we knew we should have done or at least tried to do? Have you ever had a friend do somthing that you knew was wrong, but did nothing to stop them? And then what they did had a negative impact in their life. Have you ever told yourself that you were going to change and keep your sights on God, and then right after you said it, you looked back at everything that you were leaving behind?

I think that the key word in this verse is "ought." We "ought" to keep our sights on God and His word. James tells us in this verse that it is a sin "not" to do something. That may sound funny to some people. Isn't sin doing something wrong? Well in turn, not doing something when you know you should is a sin as well.

The second passage I bring to you is Hebrews 10:26, it reads, "Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sining after we have recieved knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins."

So here, we know that we are sinning, yet we continue to sin. The "truth" that the author was talking about was Jesus (John 14:6). Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins. We as Christians should have repented of our sins and turned away from that sinful nature. But how much worse is it when we know we are sinning and continue to do it? This can range from using profanity, having pre-marital sex, or just being greedy. The text tells us that if we reject Jesus, there is no way you can be saved, for Jesus gave his life so that we could live (John 3:16).

Again, how do we know what is right and wrong? In the Bible we have to remember at certain points in time and in certain areas of the world, the teachings of Jesus could not reach everyone. So how could those people be saved? Well the sense of right and wrong must have been instilled in them somehow. I believe that God gave us the sense of right and wrong. It is the choices we make to do right and wrong or what we ought and ought not to do that will make us better Christians.

Think about what is going on in your life today. Are you doing the things that you "ought" to do in order to stay close to Jesus? Recal our first text, it is just as much a sin if we do nothing than if we do someting that we know is wrong.

Remember, its not that we know whats right from wrong, because we should all have some theory, but its our actions when we get put into situations where you know somthing is wrong.

Pray for patience and guidence to do all the right things. God Bless!

P.U.S.H.

Praying is somthing that our parents taught us when we were young. We would get on our knees, put our hands together, bow our heads and pray to God for our puppies to grow strong and for the girl in our 1st grade class to like you. Well we are all grown up now. Prayer is really a way to communicate with God.

Matthew 6:8
"...your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"
It goes on in Matthew 6:25-34 that we need not worry. Matthew 6:25 says "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food, drink and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?"

So many days we worry about what will happen next. Prayer is the only way to ask for things. P.U.S.H. is an accronym for Pray Until Somthing Happens. God answers prayers in 3 ways; Yes, No, and NOT NOW. I believe that we may get alot more of the "Not Now" answers, but that is because of what we are asking for. We tend to pray for things that are of not great concern. For example: Praying for a new car when the one you have is getting you back and forth no problem. I highlighted in bold the word need in the text above. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it, all we have to do is ask.

Lets go back to P.U.S.H. This doesn't mean keep praying for a new XBOX 360 because that is not a need. Pray for your friend that may be going through hard times because they may forget to pray for themselves. Pray that God will keep providing for you, whether it be that there will be just enough gas to get you to the next station or for enough money to pay your bills.

I recently have gone through some tough times monitarily and I prayed everyday that I had complete faith in God and I knew that He would provide. I believe that because of those prayers He answered me and provided me with what I needed.

Prayer is a very powerful tool and it not only can help us, but it shows that we have faith in God and know that he will take care of us. If you believe this wholely with your heart, things will happen.

So I ask you to pray this out loud:
"Lord thank you for this day. I pray lord that you will be my strength through the day and my guiding light. I know that all things are done according to Your will. I pray for patience to wait for all that is good to come of me. Thank you for this life that you have provided me. I love you lord. Amen."

As I close, I pray for all who may read this, that you will have some understanding of how important communication with God is. There is no right way to pray, just ask with all your heart and "all things shall be added unto you." God Bless.

Smile!

How many days go by when you feel that nothing goes your way? Maybe its not even days, it feels like weeks or months. Well there is a saying I have used with my friends and family; it goes a little somthing like this, "When you are feeling down, just look up to the sky and smile and know that God is smiling back." It says in the Bible that God will never give us things we can't handle. I believe that every situation and circumstance is given to us for a reason. Somtimes it may be for building character or somtimes it might be that God is testing your faith. He appreciates when you take the time to thank Him for what you have instead of dwelling on what we may think is going bad in our lives. I challenge you to make a list of the things you feel you want change in or that you feel is wrong or bad in your life. Then, make a list of what you are thankful for. I guarantee that there is much more that you are thankful for.

When you give thanks for what you have, it will take your mind off of anything that you feel is wrong. It relieves you of the fact that there are bad things in our lives. Remember its for a reason that you go through a thing. My Pastor always says that "preparation leads to purpose." Whatever you are going through, understand that God is getting you ready for something bigger. Don't get caught up on the little things for that will impede your progress. Keep your eye on the bigger picture. If you are working through a job that you don't feel is right for you, it may be because God is preparing you for another position.

All in all, just look up and smile. There is always someone who may be worse off than you and you should be thankful for that. Again I challenge you, make a list of what you are thankful for and you will see that life isn't that bad. Pray for strength, pray for guidance and always be thankful. God bless.

Welcome

Thank you for stopping by. This is my first blog ever. I have great expectations for myself. I hope I will be able to reach many people and touch many lives. My inspirations come from a man whom I greatly look up to, my Pastor C.J. Jackson. Many of my posts may stem from his messages that he gives at our church. I will specify if this is the case because I hope that with his help I will be able to send messages of good will to all. Please check back for the beggining of a long line of inspirational posts. Thanks again.

Pat