HE HAS NEVER FAILED ME!

JESUS TAKES UPSET DOWN HOUSES AND PUTS THEM ON A SURE FOUNDATION.


GOOD MORNING! My name is Charlotte and I am writing to help us give our first thoughts to the Lord.


We have been looking at some things that this week that the young should learn from the old not just young/old in years but young/old in walking with the Lord. There are no short cuts, unfortunately, and that is what I wanted to write about today.

In Galatians 3:13 Paul writes CHRIST REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, HAVING BECOME A CURSE FOR US - FOR IT IS WRITTEN, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"-

In Deuteronomy the 28th chapter it gets right down to it enumerating the blessings and the cursing of the law. So, if Jesus became the curse for us when He died on Calvary, then we are due the blessings. Remember the song THE BLESSINGS OF ABRAHAM ARE MINE ALL MINE. Well, that is very true.

This scripture starts out by saying NOW IT SHALL BE, IF YOU DILIGENTLY OBEY THE LORD YOUR GOD, BEING CAREFUL TO DO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS WHICH I COMMAND YOU TODAY, THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL SET YOU HIGH ABOVE ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. ALL THESE BLESSING WILL COME UPON YOU AND OVERTAKE YOU IF YOU OBEY THE LORD YOUR GOD.

When I was going to UCA, I used to walk the track some. UCA had a track and Hendrix had a track. UCA's track you had to count the number of times you went around to know how far you had walked. On the other hand, Hendrix's track was a progressive track in that when you started on the outside and ended up on the inside, you had walked a mile.

At UCA you would have to remind yourself - one more time around the track.... The blessing of the Lord is the same way. This scripture says that the blessings of the Lord will COME UPON YOU AND OVERTAKE YOU. In other words, you can't be standing still or just sitting on a church pew. To come upon you and overtake you have to be going somewhere. You have to be moving to be overtaken.

In a race you see the other runners giving it all they have in the last lap in order to overtake the person who is in the lead.

Many times God sends us lessons to learn and we don't see the light in what He is trying to teach us. It is at those times that He says 'One more time around the track, child.' You see many people who sit on a church pew for years on end and never grow anywhere and unless they get to actively walking with God, they will be going around and around and around never knowing when they have walked a mile.

As we walk with the Lord, not because of what we do, but because of Jesus, the blessings enumerated in Deuteronomy 28 will come upon us and overtake us. Under the law, it was what they did. Under grace, it is what Jesus did. However, walking with the Lord qualifies us as we do our best to obey what the Word of God instructs us to do and be.

I heard a sermon one time by a wonderful Godly preacher who I love and respect very much. His sermon said that tithing bridged the gap between man and God so that the blessing of God could come upon us. It was a wonderful sermon and I went away all enthused, however, the more I pondered on that message, the more I knew that that was not true.

Jesus is the one who bridged that gap for us so that the blessing of God could come upon us and overtake us. Jesus is the One who brings us healing. Jesus is the one who bridged the gap so that we can be prosperous. There is no work that is mighty enough to bridge the gap between God and man. That is the reason that God sent Jesus to the earth - to brige the gap between God and man....to reconcile God and man. Only Jesus could do that work.

This is all in Deuteronomy the 28th chapter, and it is because Jesus died on Calvary and became the curse of the law for us so that we can be blessed and prosperous as we walk with Him.

Now tithing or not tithing is a part of serving God, but it is not primary.

Primary is our faith in Jesus Christ and His work on Calvary.

In Bible times people were rewarded for the amount of money they gave in the offering. A trumpet was blown to let everyone know what they had done....the good work they had accomplished. When Jesus saw the little woman put a penny in (no trumpet blew), He said she was blessed more than any of the others because God looks at the attitude by which we do our good works and the intent of our heart rather than the outside appearance of what we are doing.

The blessings of the Lord include

being blessed in the city,

being blessed in our work (store),

blessed when you come in,

blessed when you go out,

our enemies will be defeated before our face,

they will come out before you one way and flee before you seven ways,

He will bless everything you put your hand to,

He will make you the the head and not the tail,

above only and not beneath.

All of these and more and why? because of Jesus and His work on Calvary according to Galatians 3:13.

How many times in my life have I said 'Now, God, You said that you would bless everything I put my hand to so make this cooking taste good.'

How many times in my life have I prayed 'God, in this awful situation make me the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath.'

I am standing here today after serving God for many years to tell you that God has never failed me.

When we put God in control, things happen that would not happen ordinarily, and knowing that, makes us know how blessed we are to have such a wonderful Lord.

Bill and I are fixing to move into a new house. It is by far the nicest house I have ever lived in. We are so excited, but in years past I could never have dreamed of living in such a wonderful house. I have been researching curtains but have to restrain myself from buying anything until I get more details about the house and my colors etc. It is so much fun and we are all excited about it. I told Bill last night, I think everybody should be as excited about this as we are, but when it all boils down, we are the ones excited.

To see the blessings of the Lord come to me is something you might not be able to understand, but believe me, it has been a long time coming.

But (there's the but) I want you to understand that the blessings are not what is important, it is the journey.....the journey of walking with God - day in, day out, year in, year out, trusting in Him, leaning on Him, always knowing that He is my source and my strength in all situations. And again, HE HAS NEVER FAILED ME.

It is worth it all to trust in the Lord and to walk with Him.

Thank you, Lord, for your blessings. Thank you, Lord, for the journey. You have made my life complete and have taught me to be content in whatever state I am in. Thank you, Lord.

Have a great day!

Ms. Charlotte