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Today is Thursday July 29, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapters 5-8. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-july-29

Today's Message: It's About A Vow

As Christians we are representatives of Christ, a representative is a person who is serving to represent or stand for another. In other words, we are to do the work of Christ in His place. “After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves....And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” - Luke 10:1-3,9. It is not easy representing Christ as many will reject you, but we are called to heal the sick (teach them the Gospel). It is amazing just how many people will tell you that they are a Christian, yet do not know Christ, never go to church, read the Bible, or pray. While going to church, reading the Bible, or praying does not get one to heaven, it is needed if one wants to truly be a representative of Christ. The only way we can be a representative of Christ is to know Christ as our personal Savior, otherwise no good deed will amount to anything. So, what is the importance of doing all these other things if we only need to know Christ to get to heaven? It's about a vow. A vow is a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment by one person to another.

When we accepted Christ as our personal Savior we said a prayer, similar to this:
Dear God,
I confess that I am a sinner, I believe with all of my heart that Your Son, Jesus died for me and paid the wages for my sin debt. Please forgive me for all of my sins and allow me the salvation that you have graciously given to those who accept You. I have complete trust in Him and from this moment on I will depend on Him for my salvation. Amen.

This is a vow, a personal commitment that one makes with God to trust in Jesus for his salvation. If one never does anything beyond getting saved he will never be the representative of Christ that He needs to get others saved. If we all stopped teaching the Gospel to people right now no one will be getting saved or know just how prosperous life can be by allowing Christ to truly be Lord of our lives. Through the Holy Spirit King Solomon warns us, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” - Ecclesiastes 5:1-5. Solomon acknowledged that he as well as others have attended church offering insincere prayers, seeking forgiveness, and making vows that they never keep and concluded that it is better for a person to not commit to God at all than say they are and lie about it. This is known as hypocrisy, someone giving of the appearance of living the Christian life, yet are deceiving people. You will hear so many people say that Christians are hypocrites, this is usually people who are the hypocrites. True Christians will not pretend to live the life of a Christian when everyone is watching and go back to their worldly lives when they think no one is watching. Little do they realize that God is always watching. Hypocrisy is an insult to God, as well as spiritually self-destructive.

While the course of life seems to run smoothly, the sinner begins to imagine that God is indifferent to human conduct and God, after all, can be ignored. Even Christians, ignorant of God's Word, are staggered by the delay of Divine justice to inflict penalty for the wicked sins of mankind. But the judgment which God's Law attaches to sin is not an empty threat. “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” - Ecclesiastes 8:8-13. The oppression of the defenseless and the prosperity of the wicked is a great puzzle until you read all the Bible.

Often God does not immediately interfere or bring His judgment. Not only during life, but even in death itself, the wicked are often praised and buried with all the inappropriate recognition of their popularity. Yet, with all the flare, visibility, and demonstrations of these external appearances which are carried on even to the grave, they failed to deceive either God or a person who has spiritual and biblical knowledge.

If one truly allows Christ to be Lord or their lives he will see just how rewarding it is to be His representative. “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people....I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.” - Psalm 116:13,14,17,18. Vowing to live your life for Christ means not being ashamed to let others know you believe in Him, even if it creates conflicts. God will take care of all His people. “It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.” - Ecclesiastes 9:18. Praise God! If you have not, take a vow and be the true representative of Christ that God has called you to be.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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