Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Mouths And Hearts

There are a lot of Christians in this world that say all the right things. They know the right verses to quote, they say "Amen" when appropriate, they praise God with cliches and songs. But what they're saying doesn't reflect what their heart is doing.

Too many times I have seen even church leaders say one thing on Sunday and then do just the opposite on Monday and work on hurting people's lives. People can get up in the morning and read a passage of Scripture that tells them to live a certain way; by the afternoon, they are doing just the opposite.

Isaiah noted this problem among the followers of God in Isaiah 29:13 when the Israelites were doing their best to put on a good front for people. However, their faith was superficial. Centuries later, Jesus quoted this verse from Isaiah in Mark 7:6-7 when He saw people in His time doing the same things.

We have this same problem today. With all of the distractions around us, we can get sidetracked from what's right. A person may have every translation of the Bible in their house and a commentary on each but not look at them and not learn from them. A church can say that God comes first but through decorations or TV's or service broadcasts, they can lose the focus of the ministry, of a true worship of God.

As we continue through this year, let's not just say things that sound good. Let's do things that ARE good. Let's not just honor God with our lips but honor Him with our lives! Let's get the focus off of all the materialism of this world and get back to the faith we hold so strongly in Jesus.

Before any new project that I take on with the ministries whether it be a new CD, website addition, multimedia for the concerts, or anything else, I always pray and ask God if this is what He wants. I look to see if each will be a distraction to the message of Christ or a help to getting His message heard. You can do the same in your life with everything you do. Will this task be glorifying to Christ or am I just telling people it will be?

That's a part of living life for the glory of God! Enjoy life!


In His Grip!





www.maackministries.com

Monday, February 13, 2006

The Old/New Testaments

Have you ever wondered the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament or how they easily work together? I got this a while ago and thought it was a great and simple explanation of how the Bible works together.

The New Testament is CONTAINED in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is EXPLAINED in the New Testament.

The New Testament is CONCEALED in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is REVEALED in the New Testament.

The New Testament AUTHENTICATES the Old Testament.

The Old Testament ANTICIPATES the New Testament.

The New Testament LIES HIDDEN in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament LIES OPEN in the New Testament.

The Old Testament PREDICTS a Person.

The New Testament PRESENTS that Person.1

--------------------------------------------------------

Here’s what was written about the Bible in
2 Timothy 3:16-17 as paraphrased by The Message:
Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.


1 From Food for Thought by Roy Gustafson


In His Grip!





www.maackministries.com