Totally To God

Luke 16:10  

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful 

also in much: and he that is unjust in the 

least is unjust also in much" 

    A mans way of fulfilling a small task, is the best proof of his fitness or unfitness to be trusted with a bigger task. That is clearly true of earthly things. No man will be advanced to higher office until he has given proof of his honesty and ability in a smaller position. But Jesus extends the principle to eternity. He says, "Upon earth you are in charge of things which are not really yours. You cannot take them with you when you die. They are only lent to you. You are only a steward over them. They cannot, in the nature of things, be permanently yours." On the other hand, in heaven we will get what is really and eternally ours. And what we get in heaven depends on how we use the things on earth. What we will be given as our very own, will depend on how we use the things of which we are only stewards of in this world.

   The lesson here is, that material possessions, should be used to cement the friendships, where the real and permanent value of life lies. A man's true wealth would consist not in what he kept, but in what he gave away. Possessions are not in themselves a sin, but they are a great responsibility, and the man who uses them to help his friends has gone far to relieve that responsibility.  

   My Friends, Serving God can never be a part time job. Once a man chooses to serve God every moment of his time and every ounce of his energy belongs to God. God is the most exclusive of masters. We either belong to Him totally or not at all. I Choose Totally To God!     

Amen!

Reading: Luke 16:10-13

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

  

There Is Still Time

Luke 12:56-57

"Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; 

but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and 

why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" 

   When the Jews saw the clouds forming in the west, over the Mediterranean Sea, they knew rain was on the way. When the south wind blew from the desert they knew strong wind was coming. But those who were so wise to read the signs of the sky could not, or would not, read the signs of the times. If they had, they would have seen that the kingdom of God was on the way. Jesus used a very vivid illustration. He said, "When you are threatened with a law-suit, come to an agreement with your adversary before the matter comes to court, for if you do not you will have imprisonment to endure and a fine to pay." The assumption is that the defendant has a bad case which will inevitably go against him. "Every man," Jesus implied, "has a bad case in the presence of God; and if he is wise, he will make his peace with God while yet there is time."
   My Friends, Jesus and all his great servants have always been obsessed with the urgency of time. There are some things a man cannot afford to put off; above all, making his peace with God. "Now Is The Time; Make Peace With God." 

Amen!

Reading: Luke 12:54-59
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

How Will God Find Us?

Luke 12:20  

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night 

thy soul shall be required of thee: then

 whose shall those things be, which

thou hast provided?" 

   There is an old saying; "The more a man drinks the thirstier he becomes." And so long as a mans attitude is like that his desire will always be to get more, and that is not the Christian way. Now 

Jesus refused to be mixed up in anyones disputes about money. "And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me," (Luke 12:13).  But out of that request there came to Jesus an opportunity to lay down what His followers attitude to material things should be. He had something to say, both to those who had an abundant supply of material possessions and to those who did not have an abundant supply.  

   Here was a self centered person, " When this man had more than he needed of goods the one thing that never entered his head was to give any away and help others." His whole attitude was the very reverse of Christianity. Instead of denying himself he aggressively affirmed himself; instead of finding his happiness in giving, he wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.

   My Friends, No man can tell the day or the hour when eternity will invade time and our summons will come. How, then, would we like God to find us? We would like him to find us with our work completed. Life for so many of us is filled with loose ends. There are things undone and things half done; things put off and things not even attempted. However Good men and women have always had the sense of a task that is started must be finished.

Amen!

Reading: Luke: 12:13-21

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Reborn To A Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten 

us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead,"  

   This passage begins with the idea of rebirth; the Christian is a man who has been reborn; begotten again by God to a new kind of life. It means that, when a man becomes a Christian, there comes into his life a change so radical that the only thing that can be said is that life has begun all over again for him. This idea of rebirth runs all through the New Testament. Let us try to understand what it says about it. 

   The Christian rebirth happens by the will and by the act of God, "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13). Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." (1 James1:18) 
   It is not something which a man achieves any more than he achieves his physical birth. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Christian is called into a new relationship with God, in which the sins of the past are forgiven and he is pledged to obedience in the time to come. It is in the purpose of God that the Christian is called. It is by the work of the Holy Spirit that his life is made holy towards God. It is by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ that he is cleansed from past sin and dedicated to future obedience to God. 

   When a man is reborn, it is to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). The Christian characteristic is hope. That hope came from two things. The Christian felt that he had been born, not of corruptible, but of incorruptible seed, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (1 Peter 1:23). He has the very seed of God in him and, therefore, in him a life which neither time nor eternity could destroy.  

   My Friends, If you claim yourselves to be a Christian, Your rebirth came from the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3). And now you have forever beside you, even more, one with you "Jesus Christ" who had conquered even death and, therefore, there is no need to be lonely and afraid anymore.

Amen!

Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Beliefs Are Not Competitions

Luke 9:49  

"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting 

 out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, 

because he followeth not with us." 

   The conviction that our beliefs and our methods alone are correct has been the cause of more tragedy and distress in the church than almost any other thing. One thing we must remember is, none of us read and understand the Scriptures the same. The Gospel Of Jesus Christ is not a Battle Ground for Beliefs. 

  My Friends, There are many ways to God. He has His own secret stairway into every heart. He fulfills Himself in many ways; and no man or church has a monopoly of His truth. This is important our tolerance must be based not on indifference but on love. We ought to be tolerant not because we could not care less; but because we look at the other person with eyes of love.  

Amen!

Reading: Luke 9:49-50

               Mark 9:38-40

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

     

Christ' Decisive Step

Luke 9:33  

"And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, 

Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three

tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and 

one for Elias: not knowing what he said." 

   What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration we can never know, but we do know that something tremendous did happen. Jesus had gone there to seek the approval of God for the decisive step He was about to take. There Moses and Elijah appeared to Him. Moses was the great lawgiver of the people of Israel; Elijah was the greatest of the prophets.  

   Jesus could set out to Jerusalem now, certain that at least one little group of men knew who He was, certain that what He was doing was the consummation of all the life and thought and work of His nation, and certain that God approved of the step that He was taking.
   My Friends, Christ's transfiguration was a example of that glory in which He will come to judge the world; and was an encouragement to His disciples to suffer for Him. Prayer is a transfiguring, transforming duty, which makes a persons face shine. Our Lord Jesus, even in His transfiguration, was willing to speak concerning His death and sufferings. In our greatest glories on earth, let us remember, that life as we know it will not continue in this world. What need we have to pray to God for quickening grace. The disciples were witnesses of this sign from heaven, even though they sleep, when they became awake, they were able to give a full account of what happened. Christians, We must awake and do our duty and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ without ceasing.
Amen!

Reading: Luke: 9:28-36
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

   

Don't Get Shut Out

Luke 13:24  

"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, 

I say unto you, will seek to enter in, 

and shall not be able" 

   The parable tells us of the gospel of a second chance.  It is always Jesus' way to give a man chance after chance. Peter, Mark and Paul all gladly had witnessed to that. God is kind to the man who falls and rises again. 
   The parable also makes it quite clear that there is a final chance. If we refuse chance after chance, if God's appeal and challenge come again and again in vain, that day finally comes, not when God has shut us out, but when we by deliberate choice have shut ourselves out. God save us from that! 

   My Friends, There are those who think that just because they are members of a Church and call themselves Christians, all is well. But the man who lives in a Christian environment is not necessarily a Christian. He may be enjoying all its benefits; he certainly is living on the Christian benefits which others before him have built up; but that is no reason for sitting back content thinking that all is well. This challenges all of us, "What did you do to initiate all this? What have you done to preserve and develop it?" We cannot live on borrowed goodness. "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:" (Luke 13:25). 

Amen!

Reading: Luke 13:22-30

Ref:HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry