Bible Studies

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Smothered in the Works

Songs You Know by Heart

Cheeseburger in paradise (paradise)
Medium rare with mustard Õbe nice (paradise)
Heaven on earth with an onion slice (paradise)
IÕm just a cheeseburger in paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steerÉ

Jimmy Buffett 1978

Which way do I steer? For many people, that question is answered by situational ethics. Today, that mindset is clearly evident in American affairs of state. Politicians, guided by ever-changing poll numbers, swerve either left or right to align themselves with the feeling du jour. If we watch too much of their wavering on the evening news, we get see sick.
On a more personal level, we steer a course that we believe will satisfy our own needs or the needs of our family. Our decisions are usually based on personal feelings and economic factors. They are not based on what God wants Ð from our perspective Ð until we know God.
Born as an enemy of God, man usually goes the way he wants, with little regard for those he does not know. Man moves in a direction that pleases his senses, never stopping to seek the wisdom of the only true God.
However, Scripture says that though a man plans his course in his heart, the Lord determines his steps. Solomon wrote that a kingÕs heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like a mighty river, He turns it wherever He pleases. Until we receive mercy and become Christians, our hearts are totally turned to our own way, to seek that which is best for us or for those who are near us and give us some measure of pleasure. But now, God has given us new hearts to follow Him. As we grow in our Christian life, we realize that our own hearts are in the hand of the Lord, and it is He who is going to work out His good pleasure in us.
ItÕs His will that our life song, the one He knows by heart, is to serve Him by carrying out specific acts of kindness that are directed toward those around us. Those acts may be for the benefit of fellow Christians, or they may be for the benefit of those whom the Father is drawing to Christ. And, when we carry out those acts of mercy and grace, God blesses us by refreshing our souls. Providentially, others will see us smothered in the works of God, making us a slice of heaven on earth that will warm their hearts and change their world.

Mountain Time Moment

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 KJV

entire article with verse links in blue at:
http://home.comcast.net/~philemon25/Ephesians210.pdf

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