IS DOCTRINE IMPORTANT?

Is Doctrine important to you? There a lot of folks out there that concider Doctrine
not import........

Doctrine is important because Jesus thought it was important. Jesus said
John7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

What He is saying is that we who truly seek God's will understand that Jesus' teachings are from God and that it is important to understand this because that is the way of life for a child of God.Also in John 8:31,32 Jesus said

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
This is His doctrine-His teachings-His instructions to abide in.

Doctrine is very important, our faith is based upon hearing it
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We place our faith on the teachings of scripture, the gospel which is found in scripture.

John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

We come to the father through doctrine, through scripture. The studying of doctrine is so important. We need to study and make sure everything we believe lines up with scripture. We do not want to be lead astray. Doctrine is important because it will guide how you live your life

Matt.15:17
Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies

Folks,what do you believe ? Do you believe the scripture or do you believe the opinions and traditions of men. When you believe a lie it will lead you astray. But believing the truth and acting on it will bring one to eternity. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

GOD IS LISTENING

When God doesn't appear to hear our cries: God's name is a sure stronghold for all who flee to enter into it God has promised to hear us before we open our mouth The answer is - - God is responding in His own manner - - and His ways are above ours.... It is certain that before we call upon God He is willing and ready to help us because - - where comes the desire to pray? Does it not come from the Holy Spirit? For a man would never of his own mind resort to God. Even though God does not appear to hear our prayers - we must continue to call upon Him. We should never cease to pray - - in times of prosperity or in times of distress. We must wait patiently; for His promises are true; We will see in the end that He has not forgotten us, nor ceased to hear us. Consider this - if we are patient and able to continue to pray - - that, in and of itself, is a token that God has heard already and has given you this grace to continue to turn to Him.... John Calvin

THE MORE WE LOATHE OURSELVES--THE MORE WE LOVE YOU!

The more we loathe ourselves--the more we love You! I think of struggles of sin in my life and the more I look at myself the more I loathe what I see. When you stop and really examine your life, I mean REALLY examine your life, face up to the big sins and the little sins you realize how loathsome you really are. We think the little sins are not anything important, but they are and they add up. A little lie, a hateful thought towards someone, jealousy-not being content with what the Lord has provided, gossip etc. All of these sins keep us from a stronger relation with our Lord. Sometimes we can be so blinded from our fallen nature, sure we are children of the Almighty but we are still in the flesh and it is a daily battle. We don't hate sin enough otherwise we would not practice it so much. We forget sometimes Your omniscient eye see it all.We can not hide from your presences, your here right in our faces and yet we sometimes have the nerve to think we can hide our sin from you. How arrogant of us, how arrogant of me Oh Lord! Where is the meekness we can find in you? You have stamped out our sins by the blood you shed for our righteousness and yet we still don't hate sin enough, we don't hate what we see in ourselves enough otherwise we would be down on our knees crying out too you more often. God forgive me. You have blotted out every sin and covered it with your blood, that does not give us the right to going on sinning, it gives us the right to glorify you in all we do, it gives us the right and honor to be a God given child of the Almighty, chosen to be a light to a dieing world.

As you spend more days examining yourself and seeing the sins that you struggle with you can not help but hate what you see. When you spend more time away from the word of God and away from His people you are distancing yourself away from the one that loves you most.

The more we loathe ourselves--the more we love You!


Be still my my soul Lord

PEACE

Psa 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Mark 4:36-39 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38 And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. (NAS)

If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble -- THOMAS WATSON

I believe only a child of God can find true peace in times of trouble. God is our strength and He promises us peace in time of trouble and for those that trust in His word find that peace. I remember the day I found out I had a brain tumor, the doctor called and told me that the headaches I had been suffering were cause by a Brain Tumor and that I would have to have it removed. The initial shock caused some tears and worry but a few minutes after that I found a calmness within. It was the Lord letting my know all is well and that He would ride the storm with me. In the months ahead I had MRIs done and they found that it was a slow growing tumor and not malignant. They did not want to remove it until it grew to bigger. Well I still have it and it has only grown a bit in the past 10 years and I praise God.

Why I am sharing this is because in all situations in our lives we can find peace in putting our faith in God. My sister is going through a trial in her life right now, she is having problems with her heart and she is only 55, she has always taken real good care of herself but she is now having health issues that are scaring her. I have tried and tried to share the gospel with her and how she can find strength that will hold her up but she still rejects it or says you have your way of believing and I have mine. My sister is a lovely girl with a kind heart but she needs Christ. I hear the worry in her words each time I talk to her and it makes me realise how blessed I am to have the Lord. I don't know how many times I face problems and as I read His word or pray I find calmness set in and am reminded, I am never alone.

As a mother comforts her child—so will I comfort you." Isaiah 66:13

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the strength of my salvation, my stronghold!" (Psalm 18:2)

The world around us is in calamity and yet we as a child of God can find calmness because we have a Savior that will give us joy in tribulation, give us love when we feel no love around us, give us comfort when we are in pain, supply our needs when we are at our poorest, be a friend when we feel we are friendless.

We are NEVER, EVER alone and we can always find peace as we become still and listen to these words "My groaning is not hidden from You." You water the seed of your prayer with tears—God bottles every tear! "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book!" Psalm 56:8

Thank you Lord for your word and for prayer and mostly for peace found only in you.

The Lord is my Sheperd, I shall not want..........