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We have forgotten God

Dr. James Merritt

Dr. James Merritt once quipped, “If we’ve learned anything from history it’s that we haven’t learned anything from history.”

Idols

It used to be that only some off-the-wall religions and pagans worshipped idols. But look at us now. We make idols out of almost anything that satisfies our worldly lusts. Shiny cars, football players and teams, movie stars, singers and music groups, clothes, our cell phones, (yes we do) money, shopping, crystals, astrology, success, personal image, . . .an idol is anything in our lives that we consider more important than God.

Sexual Immorality

We have completely forgotten what God said about marriage, dating back to Genesis

“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24…Genesis 1 and 2 indicate that God created marriage as an institution for the purpose of man and woman to fulfill God’s purposes for man–procreation.

That means at the end of the day homosexual couples are and will always live outside God’s law and His purpose for man. Gay couples can not procreate, that will always render them shy of God’s original and eternal purpose. But God’s love is for all people and those living in sin will always have the freedom to repent and follow God’s law.

But homosexuality is only the tip of the sexuality immorality iceberg in our society. All you have to do is look) around to get a dose of every kind of immorality. Examples of immorality prevalent in our society: incest, adultery, prostitution (all pornography is merely glorified prostitution), fornication–having sex outside marriage, rape…abuse of women or children, lust after sex, cars, alcohol, drugs, riches, food, covetousness, lewdness. . .and the list goes on.

We have forgotten what God thinks about all this sexual immorality. Much of this disobedience has become commonplace and accepted as normal to many in our society today. Some turn away and claim just not to care or be moved by the behavior or beliefs of another. They claim it’s none of their business what others do.

“If it feels good” they rationalize, “do it” with no regard for who gets hurt.

Iniquity

And we’ve forgotten all about iniquity and how our heavenly Father feels when He sees it in us.

But sin is sin and ours has to be dealt with. We know from John 3:16 that Jesus died on the cross to pay the sin debt for all of us we owed: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. But when we’re saved by the blood of Jesus, the rest of our lives we have to make choices every day about how we’re going to live. We will choose to make choices that glorify God or choices that glorify us. Choices that glorify Holy God come with rewards and a heaven full of grace and blessings or those choices that live for us. Those choices lead to disappointments, costly outcomes, unnecessary suffering and regret–never fulfillment.

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3 steps to end hatred

advice, behavior, change, choices, God, God's Will, Grace / Mercy, Truth

What is your EQ–Your expectation quotient?

advice, attitude, behavior, conversation, God

Hump day humor/Midweek madness

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Bill Gates rules for life and living

A Personal Relationship With God, abiding in Christ, acceptance, advice, Christian community, God, God's purpose, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Grace, Grace / Mercy, Identity In Christ, knowing God, peace of God, Righteousness, sanctification, The Church, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Truth

Target stores pander to LGBTs; and the bride’s wearing soiled undies.

A Personal Relationship With God, advice, behavior, choices, finding your way, God, God's omnipotence, God's Power, God's purpose, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Grace, How God Loves Us, isolation, Loving God, patience, rescuing, trusting God, Truth

Spit before you dig

adapting to change, advice, change, God, Grace, Guest Blogger, knowing God, sanctification, Service, Serving others, showing love

Life is lived for a purpose

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Shoe boxes of sawdust

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A Simple Song With A Powerful Promise

advice, attitude, Biblical Principals, choices, God, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Grace, Identity In Christ, Jesus, Lessons learned, Love, Peace, Praise and Worship, sharing, Worship

Deep Water

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Two Tongue Tamers

advice, attitude, choices, God, God alone, God's omnipotence, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Grace, Grace / Mercy, Love, The Gospel, Truth

Civil Disobedience? I Don’t Think So.

A Personal Relationship With God, advice, attitude, behavior, Biblical Principals, choices, God, God alone, God's love, Grace, Jesus, Lessons learned, Loving God, Personal, The Gospel, Truth

Soup?! A Bowl Of Soup?!

A Personal Relationship With God, advice, choices, finding your way, God, God's love, God's Will, God's Word, Obedience, The Holy Spirit, Truth, Worship

An Amazing, Precious Promise

advice, choices, God, God's purpose, Guest Blogger

Time Management

A Personal Relationship With God, advice, choices, coaches, God, God's Word, Stewardship

What Time Is It?

By Dr. John Ed Mathison
Executive Director
John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministriesjohn ed

Someone has put together the following scenario.  What if you had an account at a bank that would credit your account each morning with $86,400?  It would not carry over a balance to the next day because it deletes whatever part of the balance you didn’t use that day.  I expect we all would try to draw out every cent before the sun set.

There is such a bank – it is called TIME.  Each morning it gives you 86,400 seconds.  Each night it writes off everything that you did not invest for a good purpose.  It never carries a balance.  It allows no overdraft.  Each day it opens a new account for you.You can’t borrow from yesterday’s account.  You can’t put aside a little of that time for tomorrow’s account.  You have to live on today’s deposits.  That makes it awfully important to invest wisely how we spend every second.

We invest in a lot of scientific research on keeping time accurately.  It was just released in April 2015, that we have a new atomic clock that is so accurate that it will not gain or lose one second in the next 15 billion years!  Now that is accurate!  No worry about correct time.  The important thing is how well do we use our time, even if we might today be keeping it inaccurately.

I am not good with technology.  Every six months we have to change our clocks involving Daylight Savings Time.  I never can remember how to change the clock in my car.  My brother George has the same challenge.  He told me not to worry about it because he said, “John Ed, at least, your clock in your car will be accurate six months out of the year.”How we use each second is oftentimes the difference in doing something significant, or missing out.

Sometimes it is the difference in finishing first or second.  Alabama is famous in the NASCAR world for the running of the Talladega 500.  That is big in our state.  Do you realize how close those races are?  They drive those cars for 500 miles, and the difference in first and second place is less than one second.

In 2011, the margin of victory for Jimmie Johnson at Talladega was .002 seconds.  Now a second is very short.  This is not a tenth of a second, nor a hundredth of a second, but one thousandth of a second.  That is a close margin. In 2010, Kevin Harvick finished first by a margin of .011.  That is less than a tenth of a second.  In 2002, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won in .060.

Time is valuable.  You have as much time today as anybody else.  Don’t waste it or use it unwisely today. Time is a real treasure you have. Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift.  That is why it is called “the Present.”

Some phrases we use are “killing time” – “spending time” – “passing time.”  I think the best phrase could be “investing time.”  Ephesians 5:15 says, “Be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise making the most of time.”

What time is it?  It’s time to be wise with our time!

John Ed’s blog posts appear each week in For His Glory.
Contact: JAM Executive Suite 4,4131 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106 Phone: 334-270-2149 Email:info@johnedmathison.org

advice, behavior, choices, finding your way, Forgiveness, God, God's love, God's purpose, Grace, Guest Blogger, helping

The Cycle Of Abuse

advice, Bible Study, Biblical Principals, God, helping, Personal, The Solution, Truth

Read Any “Self” Help Books Lately?

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Cap Gun Caper

A Personal Relationship With God, advice, choices, Forgiveness, God, God's love, Grace / Mercy, Peace, Truth

Secrets

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Rock Paper Scissors