Thursday, September 07, 2006

ARE YOU SEEING CLEARLY?


In this day and age we live in many of us get DISTRACTED from the purposes of God and make things priorities that ought not to be.

Today’s devotion will deal with this issue, and prayerfully, help us to refocus our spiritual eyes so that we will see clearly.

Our society (and often our carnal minds) teaches us to want (even lust after) the nice car, big home, big paying job, etc. These things can be nice and SOMETIMES God blesses us with them. But if your mind is occupied with these things as a priority in your life, your spiritual vision is VERY BLURRED. In my own life, I have had to learn to NOT give THINGS too much importance.

In America, as well as in many other parts of the world, success is measured by what type of job you have (i.e. how much you make), by the home you own, the car you drive, etc. But this is NOT how God measures success!

Success in God’s eyes is based on our OBEDIENCE to Him and in our seeking to make an eternal difference.

Our eyes MUST be on the things of God, not on the temporal things of this world.

I‘ve shared my heart above, now let’s look at these things from God's heart through His Word:

3 Things That Blur our Vision:

1 - THE DECEPTION OF THE LUKEWARM CHURCH (I.E. LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN)
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write...........thou art lukewarm........BECAUSE THOU SAYEST, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that THOU MAYEST SEE". - Revelation 3:14, 16-18

"Because thou sayest." What a difference between their thoughts of themselves, and the thoughts Christ had of them! .......There are many in hell, who once thought themselves far in the way to heaven......They were poor; really poor, when they said and thought they were rich. They could not see their state, nor their way, nor their danger, yet they thought they saw it….. Some things must be parted with, but nothing valuable; and it is only to make room for receiving true riches. Part with sin and self-confidence, that you may be filled with his hidden treasure….. Let us examine ourselves by the rule of his word, and pray earnestly for the teaching of his Holy Spirit, to take away our pride, prejudices, and worldly lusts".
- Matthew Henry Commentary


2 - THE COVETOUSNESS OF MAN IS NOT RICH TOWARD GOD

“And he said unto them, Take heed, and BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, his night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is NOT RICH TOWARD GOD”. - Luke 12:15-21

“Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul.…..If we value the beauty of holiness, we shall not crave the luxuries of life”. - Matthew Henry Commentary

3 - CONCERNS OVER THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD (ANXIETIES, RICHES, AND LUSTS) WILL CHOKE OUT THE WORD IN YOUR LIFE

Jesus spoke this parable about a sower sowing seed and the outcome of those seeds sown. Someday, I hope to look in more depth into that entire passage; but for today’s devotion, let’s just look at a small portion of Mark Chapter 4.

“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow....And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up,and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.......And these are they which are sown among ......thorns; such as hear the word, and THE CARES OF THIS WORLD, AND THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES, AND THE LUSTS OF OTHER THING entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful”. - Mark 4:3, 7, 18, 19

3 things are mentioned in this passage that will choke out the Word of God in our lives:

1.Cares of this World - Always worrying and being anxious about the things of life will absolutely cause us to have blurred vision spiritually.

2. Deceitfulness of Riches - Don't buy into the lie that money is success and happiness. This results in blurred spiritual vision.

3. Lust for other things - This would include all lust or "over-desires" in reference to OTHER THINGS not already mentioned that are NOT from God. This, too, will result in blurred spiritual vision.

SCRIPTURE CLARITY COMES BY:

1 – PUTTING (SEEKING) THE THINGS OF GOD FIRST IN OUR LIFE. IT IS THEN THAT GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE LITTLE EARTHLY THINGS OF OUR LIFE.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.... Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; and all these things shall be added unto you”. - Matthew 6:24, 31-33

“Worldly-mindedness is a common and fatal symptom of hypocrisy, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold on the soul, under the cloak of a profession of religion [Christianity] …..Christ counsels to make our best things the joys and glories of the OTHER world, those things not seen which are eternal, and to place our happiness in them. There are treasures in heaven. … A man may do some service to two masters, but he can devote himself to the service of no more than one. GOD REQUIRES THE WHOLE HEART, AND WILL NOT SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD. When two masters oppose each other, no man can serve both. He who holds to the world and loves it, must despise God; he who loves God, must give up the friendship of the world. THERE IS SCARCELY ANY SIN AGAINST WHICH OUR LORD JESUS MORE WARNS HIS DISCIPLES, THAN DISQUIETING, DISTRACTING, DISTRUSTFUL CARES ABOUT THE THINGS OF THIS LIFE. This often insnares the poor as much as the love of wealth does the rich….. If we take care about our souls and for eternity, which are more than the body and its life, we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which are less. Improve this as an encouragement to trust in God….. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND MAKE RELIGION [CHRISTIANITY] YOUR BUSINESS: SAY NOT THAT THIS IS THE WAY TO STARVE; NO, IT IS THE WAY TO BE WELL PROVIDED FOR, EVEN IN THIS WORLD”. - Matthew Henry Commentary

2 - OUR AFFECTION (MIND) MUST BE ON THE THINGS ABOVE.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”. - Colossians 3:2

God tells us to set our affection (i.e. mind) on the things above. Lightfoot puts it this way in regard to this passage, You must not only SEEK heaven; you must also THINK heaven”.

Though the things of this earth are not necessarily bad, our mind, thoughts and attention needs to be on those things that are eternal. In other words, DON’T GET WRAPPED UP IN ALL THIS EARTHLY TEMPORAL STUFF!

Seek God above all else, and set you mind, thoughts first and foremost focused on the Word of God and the things of God, and you will see as God meant you to – CLEARLY!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to get my eyes off those things which are temporal and not of any value to your Eternal purposes. I come to you right now and ask you to help me SEE with Your eyes, and to truly have Eternal priorities. I ask this in Jesus’ Name! AMEN!


In His Service,
Jim (Jim@Biblefood.ORG)

INDIA - Needs Jesus - Do YOU Care! Part 2 of 2


Today I want to share a little more about India as I am excited that the LORD has opened a door for me to go to India and preach the Gospel in November.

Scriptures on WORLD MISSIONS (please read)
Romans 10:14,15
Matthew 28:19,20
Acts 1:8


The challenge (especially to AMERICANS) is to look beyond our immediate surroundings and acquaintances and to see the WHOLE WORLD as our field of labor.

Here are some statistics specifically about India:

Christians in India, Indonesia and Pakistan run the HIGHEST RISK OF LOSING THEIR LIVES. Persecution Ranking worldwide: 26th

In India, Christians only make up 2.43% of the population!

On November 9th - 23rd - I (Jim Mazzulla)have been invited to be daily guest speaker at a ministers conference (a minister to ministers), and to also speak in churches, villages and orpanage in Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh), India.

Actual e-mail from Pastor Babu (who recieves BibleFood Devotionals) dated 6/24/06:

Dear Brother Rev.Jim,
Thank you so much for your kind reply.Really I was blessed to having fellowship with you to grown up in spiritual life to reach the goal. HOLY SPIRIT TELLING ME THAT YOU ARE RIGHT PERSON TO PREACH AND TO TEACH OUR PEOPLE IN INDIA TO FEED SPIRITUALLY FOR THEIR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. My soul encoraging me to invite you to our midst to teach and preach.I have visited your websites and inspired mostly. We are praying the Lord to provide you finances to meet your needs for the outreach work.Our God is trustworthy. Prayerfully and hopefully waiting for your visit to India.We have a Seminar for ministers and pastors during November 14,15,16,17-2006...God Bless you very richly and abundantly.
With Prayers,
Pastor Babu

SEE RECENT LETTER/FLYER:
http://www.goproclaim.com/youth__gospel__crusade.htm

This is an opportunity to minister to an estimated 500 pastors, ministers and church elders for this conference. TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO FORTH AND WIN INDIA FOR CHRIST.

Also check out: http://www.goproclaim.com/india.htm

Recent news about persecution in Andhra Pradesh:
March 2006:
Andhra Pradesh saw relatively few attacks against Christians in 2005, despite the murders of pastors K. Daniel and Isaac Raju. However, 2006 has already seen a number of violent atrocities against Christians.

June 2006
Post:Titled "Missionaries Beaten". This is a story about a Gospel for Asia missionary team that was showing a film to a village in Andhra Pradesh, India and some men showed up and beat them and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
Link: http://inspirationalkorner.blogspot.com/2006/06/missionaries-beaten.html

June 2006
The body of 67-year old Pastor Prem Kumar, a 67-year-old preacher from the Church of South India, was found Thursday, June 8th in a forest in the Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh state. Pastor Kumar was contacted by a young man requesting that Kumar lead a prayer service in the village of Rampur Thanda. Pastor Kumar was attacked with stones and boulders and his head was crushed beyond recognition.

August (2006) from the Hindustan Times,
The state government has ... introduced legislation that would ban the propagation of any faith other than Hinduism in the area. If the legislation is passed, those preaching any other religion could face imprisonment and fines... Those attempting to convert people to religions other than Hinduism could be imprisoned for two years.

Sept. 2006
Several Indian states have recently imposed so-called ‘anti-conversion’ laws to limit the spread of Christianity and discourage missionaries and church leaders of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians, church groups say (Source BosNewsLife Research Sept 2006)

In the midst of persecution more than 100 million Indians have viewed the "JESUS FILM."

I personally believe a "persecuted church" is a growing church. Both numerically and spiritually.I'm excited about this opportunity to minister in India. We need your prayers and financial support!!!

Please let me know if you, or your prayer group, or your church is praying for me - It will be a blessing in paving the way for my trip to India and will encourage my heart.

Also, if you can help financially, it is much needed! Please help! THIS MINISTRY IS NOT ABOUT MONEY. NEVER HAS BEEN, NEVER WILL BE. YOUR HELP (IN PRAYER/FINANCES) FOR OUR MINISTRY INTO INDIA IS NEEDED.

If you choose to support me financially as I participate in this missionary trip to India, please make your check payable to: Go Proclaim Ministries. In the memo write: India Trip.

Please pray about the part God would have you to play in this trip, and may He bless you for your prayers and support.

Our Mailing Address is:
Go Proclaim Ministries
Attn: BibleFood
Box 676
Kane, PA 16735

Go Proclaim Ministries is a 501c3 organization and all contributions are tax deductible.

For your convenience you may also give by credit card by going to www.goproclaim.com/donate.htm

Visit:
www.goproclaim.com/india.htm
www.goproclaim.com/support.htm

Please forward to EVERYONE that you feel would want to be involved by prayer and support for my trip to India.

In His Service,
Jim
E-mail: jim@biblefood.org

INDIA - Needs Jesus - Do YOU Care! Part 1 of 2


Scriptures on WORLD MISSIONS:

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and HOW SHALLTHEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER? And how shall they preach, except they BE SENT? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:14,15


"GO YE therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:19,20

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and YE SHALL BE WITNESSES unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, AND UNTO THE UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH." Acts 1:8


There is only ONE mission of the Church: to bring GLORY TO GOD by proclaiming the Gospel and reaping the HARVEST OF SOULS which willworship and delight in God forever.

The challenge is to look beyond our immediate surroundings and acquaintances and to see the WHOLE WORLD as our field of labor.

Now I would like to specifically share about INDIA, which is in what is called the 10/40 Window.

10/40 window means the section of the world located between latitudes 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the equator.

It covers the Middle East, North Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and holds two-thirds of the world's population.

Only about one and a quarter percent (1.25%) of Christian mission giving is going to missions work in the 10/40 Window.

Here are some statistics specifically about India:

Christians in India, Indonesia and Pakistan run the highest risk of losing their lives. - June 27, 2006 Persecution Ranking: 26th

The average annual income in India is $370 ($30.83 per month).

I've been told by a Christian who lived there. It is even worse for a Christian (basically treated as outcasts) at around $240 ($20 per month and lower).

In India, Christians only make up 2.43% of the population!

Well I have good news:
November 9th - 23rd - I (Jim Mazzulla)have been invited to be daily guest speaker at a ministers conference (a minister to ministers), and to also speak in churches, villages and orpanage in Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh), India.


We need your prayers and financial support!!!

Please let me know if you, or your prayer group, or your church is praying for me - It will be a blessing in paving the way for my trip to India and will encourage my heart.

Also, if you can help financially, it is much needed! Please help! THIS MINISTRY IS NOT ABOUT MONEY. NEVER HAS BEEN, NEVER WILL BE. YOUR HELP (IN PRAYER/FINANCES) FOR OUR MINISTRY INTO INDIA IS NEEDED.

If you choose to support me financially as I participate in this missionary trip to India, please make your check payable to: Go Proclaim Ministries. In the memo write: India Trip.

Please pray about the part God would have you to play in this trip, and
may He bless you for your prayers and support.

Our Mailing Address is:
Go Proclaim Ministries
Attn: BibleFood
Box 676
Kane, PA 16735

Go Proclaim Ministries is a 501c3 organization and all contributions are tax deductible.

For your convenience you may also give by credit card by going to
www.goproclaim.com/donate.htm

Visit:
www.goproclaim.com/india.htm
www.goproclaim.com/support.htm

Please forward to EVERYONE that you feel would want to be involved by prayer and support for my trip to India.

In His Service,

Jim
E-mail: jim@biblefood.org