Who Will Stand Up For You In Time of Need?

Plead My Cause Oh Lord

Have you ever been in a situation where you had no idea of what to say or do?  Or perhaps you did know what to say or do, but no one would listen or pay attention.  What you need is a barrister, an orator of supreme skill and cunning, to speak up on your behalf.  Someone skilled in diplomacy and tact combined with an uncanny ability to get the job done in the clients favor.  It would be nice to invite such a barrister to all the family get assemblies where you wind up looking like an idiot for one reason or another.  Or, to the meetings at work, or to the lunch breaks where everyone makes jokes about someone – usually you.  A Christian has such a Barrister.  It is Jesus Christ.  He will plead your cause with those who strive against you. 

To take full advantage of your Barrister, your Orator, your Counselor, you need to do a few things yourself.

First, figure out who is the main adversary you face on a daily basis.  Who strives against you the most, and keeps you from achieving what you want to achieve?

 

The answer is ‘yourself’.  Like the Apostle Paul, most Christians can say, ‘What I want to do I don’t do; and, what I don’t want to do – that I do.’  It is frustrating.  Fortunately, Christ will plead your cause with you yourself.  He is the one who will help you overcome the doubts, fears, and worries in your life.  There is a line from an old hymn that says, ‘When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living word of God I shall prevail,’  When your mind is assaulted with the howling storms of doubt and fear, or with simple  boredom and impatience, then is the time to pray.  Pray, ‘Plead my cause Oh Lord with them that strive against me – even if the one striving against me is me myself.’ 

 

Your second adversary is the world.  We live in a fearsome land.  Truly we are strangers in a strange land.  The people that we love can be those who strive against us.  The people with whom we work can be those who strive against us.  How can you strive against those you love?  You are hurt when they don’t understand what you are trying to do.  You are hurt when they don’t try to help you.  They may even hinder you.  Yet, how can you strive against those you love?  It is God who can help you.  He can plead your cause much more eloquently than you personally are able. 

 

In the world you will have tribulation, but in Jesus we can have peace.  There is a rising tide of hatred toward Christians.  We cannot turn the tide.  We can only speak the truth of Jesus Christ.  If you want to impact the world for Christ, the just proclaim the truth.  Jesus Saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves.  And for telling the truth there are many who will strive against you.  For them pray, ‘Plead my cause oh Lord with them that strive against me.

 Your third adversary is the devil and his followers.  They will take advantage of all the others who strive against you, and seek to put a knife through your heart when you are the weakest.  Pray, ’Oh Prince of Peace, plead my cause with them that strive against me.’  Christ has the power to rebuke the evil ones who are seeking to destroy you. 

 I am tired today.  I need the Lord to plead my cause.  I am just too tired to plead or reason with anyone.  Honestly, my family and my life are in good standing at this moment – thanks to the wonderful goodness of my God.  But the world hates me because I am a Christian.  The devil hates me because I belong to the Lord.  I pray, ‘Plead my cause oh Lord.  You do it for me today and always.  I will never be strong enough or smart enough to plead my own cause.’

How about you?  Are you weary?  Are you tired of pleading your own cause?  The Lord will plead for you.  We know that He will stand for our defense on judgment day, but he will also plead our cause today.  He will plead for you right now.  He loves you.  He is pleading with you to put your burdens on his shoulders and let Him plead your cause.  What Christians need to do is to turn our hearts to do the things that please Him.  Let Him handle the outcome of our efforts.  Let him plead for you.  He will do it.

My Pet Died - Did It Go to Heaven?

My Pet Died - Will I See Him in Heaven

                  
Recently one friend almost lost a pet to a snake bite, and another friend lost a cat to liver cancer.  People who own pets all face loss of a pet eventually.  Because the animal has become such a part of their lives, the loss is tremendous.  And, Christians especially want to be comforted knowing that they will see their pet again in heaven.  So – will they or won’t they?

 To answer that question, we need to be on the same page regarding exactly what and where heaven is.  So, let’s start with first defining heaven.  According to the Bible, heaven is the home of God Almighty, the God of creation, the God who wrote the Bible.  It is a specific place.  It is a perfect place. 

 Second, what people will be in heaven?  Jesus clearly says no one gets to God the Father except through Jesus Christ the Son.  Some people find this offensive.  They feel that God should make a number of ways into heaven.  God did make ONE very expensive way into heaven. 

If you chose heaven through Jesus Christ, then you know exactly where you are going. 

And through Jesus Christ you get to

enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through the front door,

go up the throne of God Himself,

and you will be a joint heir with Jesus Christ. 

Also, one way into heaven is sufficient. 

Everyone gets an invitation – Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.  Everyone gets the same first class invitation.  

No one is invited to enter in through the back door and spend eternity working as kitchen help.

 In order to get to heaven, an individual must make a specific choice to accept Jesus Christ.  That guarantees that person entrance into heaven.  The heaven of the God of the Bible is the place I mean when I talk about heaven.  It is important that if you want to see a pet in ‘heaven’ that you first make sure YOU personally are going to heaven.

 Mankind is different than the animals. 

God formed man with His own hands. 

 Man was created for more than the animals. 

Christ did not die for animals. 

He died for human beings.  He died for you and me. 

But, does God have a plan for the animals?  I believe He does.  The important things is that animals are just that – animals.  They wouldn’t have to do anything to enter heaven.  (People enter heaven through grace by faith, not of works.  They just have to make the choice to go through Jesus Christ.)

 Here are some reasons I believe animals will be in heaven.

 When animals were first created they did not die.  When Adam and Eve sinned, death entered in.

 Noah built an ark.  Noah and his family chose to obey God and go into the ark.  They had to make a conscience decision to follow God or not. God sent the animals into the ark.

 Animals will be in the Millennium Kingdom.

 Another way to look at it is, ‘Why wouldn’t animals be in heaven?’ 

 In today’s world, families are smaller and more fragmented than ever before.  People often don’t have many or even any family to show them love that is unconditional and unselfish.  In a way, that is what they get from pets.  Pets give unselfish and unconditional affection to their owners.  They are interested in everything the owner does.  In the absence of family and friends showing the love of God to others, God can use even an animal to show love. 

A pet can be used by God to fill a gap for a human being.

 People may have a view of God corresponding to their view of their own father, or parents, or someone with a strong influence during their upbringing.  If their father or father figure was harsh, they may view God as harsh.  If he was a pushover, then they may view God as a pushover.  If he was absent, then they may view God as absent and uncaring.   But, in a pet there is a creature that just loves its owner.  (For a correct view of God, go to the Bible and study it.  Even people with godly loving parents will see the perfect Father through learning about the God of the Bible.)

 The loss of a pet can also cause people to consider heaven and what happens when they personally die. They want to know they personally can be sure they will go to heaven.  What would be the point of your pet going to heaven if you personally went somewhere else?  Pets can be an evangelism tool!

 When I think of heaven I think of my sister, my dad, my granddad, and other family members and dear friends.  There are people who have no such happy thoughts or reunions to which they look forward.  No one will be lonely in heaven, but knowing some of the people you will see there does it make for wonderful anticipation that those without people in heaven may not have.  I also think of pets, but I don't think of them first.  Although I must confess when looking forward to seeing them again, I often picture them with a specific pet.

 We don’t know exactly what we will be like in heaven.  1 John 3

¹Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

²Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Based on these verses, it seems to me that if we can't even know what we will be like, we can't really understand what animals will be like either.  Surely they had a larger capacity for everything before the fall.

 We don’t exactly what heaven will be like.  1 Corinthians 2:9 tells us, ‘ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’   So, based on the word of God, we can know that heaven will be wonderful.  It is so wonderful, that it is beyond our capacity to understand just how wonderful it is.

The truth is we can't prove it either way from the bible. anything we say is speculation.  we can only have a strong opinion.  We can be positive that animals have no requirement to trust Jesus Christ.  They have capacity to understand anything about how to be saved
 They were mot created with the same capacity as human beings. they don't have the same capacities as human beings 

 As Christians, we trust our eternal destination to Jesus Christ. 

It is definite that we can trust Him with the animals of creation as well. 

God will do what is right.

Strength to Go On

The Reason Why - At Thy Word

Barbara Henderson
 
What gives some people the strength to go on when others faint in the way? 

Having fished all night, but caught no fishes, Peter let down the nets one more time at the world of the Lord.  Luke 5:5

 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 

 Don’t you imagine Peter was dreadfully weary?  He probably just wanted to go home, sleep all day, and not think about the bills he needed to pay.  Instead, at the Word of the Lord, he worked a little longer.  Christians often it necessary to work a little longer at hard or difficult tasks than they had originally planned.  It is the Lord who strengthens them to keep working.

Lazarus came forth out of the grave at the word of the Lord.

John 11:43

 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

 Lazarus was dead four days when the Lord called him out of the grave.  We don’t know what he was doing when the Lord called him forth.  But after four days, don’t you think Lazarus was already getting used to the next life?  He had experienced at least four days of no pain or suffering, seen heaven, probably visited with Abraham, and got a very good taste of the good things in the next life.  It is possible he didn’t even want to get his body out of the earthly grave.  Yet he did just that at the word of the Lord. 

 This is just an aside here, but the things Lazarus could have told us about the afterlife are not written down anywhere.  Also, the Bible tells of ‘graves opening up’ at the crucifixion. 

50.  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51.  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52.  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,  
53.  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

 At any other time in history, either of these events would have been the subject of extensive writing and explanation and conjecture by the scholars for centuries.  Yet they are barely footnotes in the Bible itself, and to my knowledge, these events are not really written about anywhere.  So important was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that even events as powerful as these two events were overshadowed to the point of almost obscurity.  The reason ‘why’ was/is Jesus Christ.  The Lord proved He had power over the death of others and over His own death.  That makes His words worth heeding, and His instructions worth following.

 How does a young man (or person) chose a clean path? 

Psalm 119:9

‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.’

 Why was the young man cleansed of leprosy?

2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

3.  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

 Why did the demons leave the man?  They did it at the word of the Lord.  (Mark chapter 5)

 Things done at the word of the Lord will always work for the best. 

Things not done because the Lord tells us not to do them will always be for our good.

 The instructions are in the Bible.  The draw back for many people is that the Bible actually must be read, or listened to, in order to get the good out of it.  There is no other way to keep the lamp that lights your path burning brightly.

 There are often decisions we make that have no exact instructions in the Bible. 

The procedure in making decisions in such cases, is to go over the things the Bible does make clear.  Honor God, love God, no other God’s before God, no idols, honor parents, no murder, no jealousy, no adultery, no lying, no thieving, and treat others the way you want to be treated.  Does your decision break any of the rules?  If it breaks any of the rules, then you can’t do it.  Well, you can do it, but you won’t like the results.  If it doesn’t break any of the rules, it is free choice.  Whatever choice you make will send you on a different path, and give you different experiences, or cause you to meet different people, and things like that.  But God does give you choices within set boundaries.  In every case it is imperative, of the utmost importance, and really important that you stay within the boundaries and guidelines of the Lord’s written word.

 At Thy Word’ – referring to the Lord Jesus Christ of course – should be the thought in every Christian’s mind continually.  What does the Lord have to say about any matter?  Is He for it or against it?

At Thy word – I will do this.

At Thy word – I will not do that.

 Draw a line in your mind.  Make those important decisions in advance. 

Why should I do right when it appear that everyone around me is doing wrong?  The reason why is Jesus Christ.  You are the one who will face Him one day.  You will answer for your own actions, not the actions of the ones around you.  You will also be the one who is blessed today by following the instructions given to us in the Holy Bible.  It has the words of life.  It has ‘Wonderful Words of Life’.

Why should you keep on going when you are tired and weary?  Has the Lord given you permission to stop in well doing.  Remember Galatians 6:9 which says, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’

 At the Word of the Lord, stay on the path where He is leading, and keep your eyes on the prize.  There is a ‘due season’ coming.  I don’t know if you will reap a net full of fishes or some other prize.  But, I do KNOW that in due season you will reap if you don’t faint.

                                                                                                  

Wonderful Words of Life

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/o/wondword.htm

Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life,

 Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;

 Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.

Refrain

Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life,

 Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

Christ, the blessèd One, gives to all wonderful words of life;

 Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life;

 All so freely given, wooing us to heaven.

Refrain

Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life;

 Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life;

 Jesus, only Savior, sanctify us forever.

Refrain

AND

Just for good measure, or in case you are being tossed by storms in your life, remember this song also

The Haven of Rest

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/a/v/havenres.htm

My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,

 So burdened with sin and distressed,

 Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,

 “Make Me your choice”;

 And I entered the “Haven of Rest”!

Refrain

I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”

 I’ll sail the wide seas no more;

 The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,

 In Jesus I’m safe evermore.

I yielded myself to His tender embrace,

 In faith taking hold of the Word,

 My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;

 The “Haven of Rest” is my Lord.

Refrain

The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,

 Has been the old story so blest,

 Of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have

 A home in the “Haven of Rest.”

Refrain

How precious the thought that we all may recline,

 Like John, the belovèd so blest,

 On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,

 Secure in the “Haven of Rest.”

Refrain

O come to the Savior, He patiently waits

 To save by His power divine;

 Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,”

 And say, “My Belovèd is mine.”

Refrain