God Loves You, He Really Does!

Romans 8:28  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Our God is a sovereign God.  He has control over everything that comes into the life of the believer.  He has a perfect purpose for everything that happens to us.  The blessings that come into our life serve the purpose of creating within us a thankful heart.  The trials that come into our life are used to instruct, correct and lead us into the path and purpose that God has for us.  The Bible teaches us that in our weakness God's strength is made perfect.  God will allow us to come to the end of our self in order that we might realize our total reliance upon Him.  Are there any trials or burdens in your life today?  Remember that God has purpose for them.  Pray that God will reveal His reason for permitting the trial.

A Jealous God

Exodus 20:3  "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Mankind does a wonderful job of creating gods for themselves.  You could go to the remotest village in the farthest part of the jungle and you would find that the villagers there would be worshiping something.  Man will invariably create something to worship.  There is within man a desire to worship something.  Man usually doesn't have far to look when creating a false god to worship.  More often than not man will create a god in his image.  We are very adept as sitting ourselves up as the god of our life.  Making sure that everything we do fulfills our selfish needs.  We want the world to revolve around our wants, needs and concerns.  We get more interested in what we want than what God wants.  God made it abundantly clear to the Israelites when He gave His law to Moses.  God declared that man is to have no other Gods than He.  He is the real God.  He is the one that is altogether worthy of our honor and reverence.  How are you doing today?  Who's really in charge of your life, you or God?

A Time to Every Purpose

Ecclesiastes 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:2  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

If we live a hundred years upon this earth it will seem, but a fleeting moment.  Time races past and we're old far too quickly.  Our lives are broken down into seasons and times.  The Bible teaches that there is a purpose for every one of these seasons and times.  God has different lessons for us along the way from the cradle to the grave.  As we walk with Him we have the wonderful opportunity to learn from Him.  We learn from the the Living Word of God.  We learn from the experiences that God allows us to pass through.  Have you ever noticed that you can read the same passage of Scripture at different times and it speaks to you differently each time.  The Word of God is truly alive.  It meets the need that we have at the moment that we read its pages.  Are you enjoying the seasons and times of your life?  Walk with God, learn of Him and be blessed!

Lean not unto Thine Understanding

Proverbs 3:5  "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

There is a certain feeling of satisfaction that comes with being self-sufficient.  When we get our first driver's license and are no longer restricted to riding with others it definitely brings a sense of relief and happiness.  We like our independence and the ability to do things on our own without relying on others.  We like to think that we've lived long enough to have acquired a certain amount of wisdom.  We know how to do things.  We know how to handle different situations that we might have to face.  The Bible warns us not to become too self-sufficient.  The Bible teaches us that it is far better to lean upon and trust the Lord's understanding instead of our understanding.  We can fully trust God with everything in our life.  Our understanding isn't capable of handling everything that life brings.  We have to lean upon One who is able to handle everything that we will ever face.  He is our guide through life.  He is the one that can set us upon the right path and lead us to the best that life has to offer.  Quit trusting in your self and trust God!  He is able!

All Things Were Made by Him

My Soul has Desired Thee!

Isaiah 26:9  "With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. "

Is there a longing within your heart for fellowship with your heavenly Father?  When dusk falls and the night draws nigh does your heart cry out to God?  Do you long to spend time in His Word allowing Him to speak to you?  When the first rays of the sun break on the horizon does your heart leap for joy at the thought of spending time with God?  Do you wonder at the wonderful prospects that the day may hold?  Our heart should be filled with a longing to spend time with God in sweet fellowship.  Time in a quiet place alone with the Word of God, praying and meditating on the words of the Scriptures.  We know that there is a day of righteousness coming when the Lord of all the universe will set up His throne in Jerusalem and the world will learn righteousness.  Is your heart longing for that day?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent!

Acts 2:38  "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

     Peter was addressing all of the people that were gathered together in Jerusalem.  Peter preached on the day of Pentecost to above 3000 souls.  Peter preached in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Peter preached the message that had been entrusted to him.  The message was one of repentance.  The message is the same today in the year 2013.  We must first repent of our sins.  We need to see our sins for what they are.  Our sins are an affront to a Holy God.  They have created a separation between us and God.  Jesus came and died for our sin that we could be reconciled to God the Father.  First we repent, then we accept Christ by faith believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  This is salvation!  At the very second of salvation the Holy Spirit of God indwells us as believers.  Our bodies literally become the temple of the Holy Spirit.  God dwells within us as his children.  After salvation we are to follow the Lord's example by being baptized.  Jesus was baptized to set the example for us.  When we are baptized we are symbolizing Christ's death, burial and resurrection.  

     The problem in modern society is that everyone wants to simply add on Jesus to their life and then continue in their sin.  They want salvation with no repentance, no turning away from their sin.  They want to claim the name of Christ on Sunday morning and live like the devil the rest of the week.  Without true repentance there is no salvation.  We have to agree with God that our sin is sin.

     Where are you today?  Have you recognized that your sin has caused a separation between you and a holy God?  The only way to an eternity in Heaven is by repentance and faith.  Come to Christ today!

Love is of God

1John 4:7  "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."

The greatest love that has ever been demonstrated to mankind was when God the Father sent His own dear son to die at Calvary for the sins of all mankind.  God demonstrated what true love is.  It is a selfless, giving love.  A love that is poured out for others.  A love that flows from the depths of our being out of gratitude for what our God did for us.  We are to love as God loves.  We are to demonstrate love to the lovely and the unlovely.  The Bible teaches that when we do this, it's a demonstration of the result of our salvation.  When we are able to love those that no one else loves it demonstrates our Christ-likeness.  Have you reached out in love to someone today?  Have you demonstrated love toward those that seem to be unlovely?  Love like Christ, reach out and be a blessing to someone today.

A Light Unto My Path

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

I remember going on a camping trip once in the foothills of western North Carolina.  My friend and I pitched our tent while it was still daylight and remembered some things we had forgot to bring with us on our camping trip.  We left the camp site and headed back into town to get supplies.  By the time we returned to the campsite it was pitch black outside.  The only problem was that we had left our flashlights in the tent at the campsite.  We had to stumble across logs and through briers constantly concerned that we would step on a copperhead snake winding its way through the darkness.  I had never felt better than when I heard my friend cry out, "I found it."  He had finally stumbled his way back into our campsite.  A light to find our way would have been incredibly helpful.

God has provided us with a light to find our way through a world filled with darkness.  That light provided by God is His Holy Word.  The bible declares to us that God's Word is a lamp unto our feet.  A lamp shines a light that illuminates our path for just a little ways.  God's Word provides light to guide us today.  The Bible also likens God's Word to a light unto my path.  That is a light that is stronger, a light that will shine farther down the path.  God's Word will illuminate us today, but it will also guide us in the weeks, months and years to come.  Thank God for the blessed light of His Holy Word.

Pray Without Ceasing!

1Thessalonians 5:17  "Pray without ceasing."

How much time have you spent in prayer today?  The Bible teaches us to pray without ceasing.  We are to be in a constant attitude of prayer.  As we go through our day we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God.  There are prayer needs all around us.  It might be a prayer for a co-worker that is going through a difficult time.  It may be a neighbor that has lost a loved one and needs someone to pray with and for them to comfort their hearts during their time of grieving.  We are surrounded with myriad needs every single day.  How many times do we just walk past and ignore the needs around us as we focus on ourselves.  We gain strength as we pray in faith believing that God will work in the need.  Prayer should be a first resort, not a last resort.  God is concerned about everything in the life of the believer.  There is no prayer request so small that God is unconcerned about it.  Take time to pray today.  Our God is able to help in every area that we need help in.  Pray and ask Him for help!

The Beginning of Knowledge

Proverbs 1:7  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

We can't even begin to know knowledge or wisdom until we fully understand and appreciate the LORD.  When we reject the LORD and refuse to accept Him as our god the bible declares that we are fools.  We despise wisdom and instruction.  We don't know the source of all of Wisdom, the LORD.  We refuse the instruction that is able to make us wise unto salvation.  In order to become wise we must see the LORD for whom He is.  He is the LORD that loved us enough to die for us.  He died that we might have eternal life and know the knowledge and wisdom that is available through Him!

By His Stripes We are Healed!

I Peter 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

As Jesus Christ was beaten and nailed to the cross He was absolutely innocent.  He had lived an impeccable life, perfectly sinless.  He willingly died on the cross not for anything that He had done, but for everything that we had done.  He was the perfect, spotless lamb of God without blemish that came to give His life as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, past, present and future.  When He died on the cross, He died for every sin that we would ever commit.  His sacrifice, on our behalf, was acceptable unto God the Father.  It is by Christ's atoning death that the way of healing has been opened unto us.  We can accept the gift of eternal life that is offered to us by faith in Christ.  We no longer have to live a life that is in bondage to sin.  We can knowing the healing that comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can live a life that is holy unto God, a life characterized by faith and belief in Him.  Have you accepted the gift of eternal life?

Crucifixion Jesus is nailed to the cross. Church of St. John Nepomucen in Brenna

Teaching our Children to Love God's Word

Deuteronomy 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deuteronomy 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

In the Scriptures we are given a sacred obligation.  That obligation is to teach the Word of God to our children.  We share God's Word from the Scriptures that we have stored in our heart.  We share the impact that God's Word has had as we have faced life.  To teach the Scriptures is to actively and purposefully instruct our children in God's Word.  It's not just the job of the pastor or the church to instruct our children in the things of God.  It is our sacred responsibility.  We are to talk of the Scriptures when we're sitting in our house.  Our homes are the primary place of instruction to teach God's Word to our children.  When we are walking along the way God's Word should be continually on our lips.  We are to use real life to apply practical application to God's Word.  Our children need to see that God's Word is there to meet every need of life.  When we lay down for the night God's Word should be on our mind.  We need to commit our rest and protection to God.  When we rise in the morning we need to focus upon the Word of God and allow it to direct our day.

Are you teaching your children the Word of God?  Is your focus on leaving a godly heritage to your children.  If not, there's still time!

No One Likes a Complainer!

Philippians 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Philippians 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

No one loves a complainer.  A negative spirit is contagious to all those around it.  What are we really doing when we complain?  We are telling God we're not happy with our life or our circumstances.  We're admitting that we really don't accept the fact that God is in control of our life.  The Bible teaches us that we are to do all things without murmurings and disputings.  "All things" covers a lot of territory.  The least favorite thing that we have to do is included.  God wants us to learn that other people are watching us closely.  If we claim the name of Christ there are others watching our behavior to see if our religion is real.  Murmuring and complaining doesn't reflect well on Christ.  God wants us to shine forth as lights in the world.  We do this by living our lives like Christ.  When Jesus was wrongly accused He responded with not a Word.  He didn't murmur and complain, but He accepted the Father's will for His life.  Are you being a light to the rest of the world or are you murmuring and disputing bringing reproach upon the name of our Lord?

Secret to Getting that Promotion!

James 4:10  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

We live in a world that is obsessed with self-promotion.  If you look in the bookstore you will find volume after volume telling you how to do this better, how to do that better, how to be the best you, you can be!  We fall into the trap of thinking that if we don't promote ourselves then we will never be promoted.  The Bible teaches that the opposite is true.  We can't get ahead through self promotion.  The Bible says that we are to Humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord.  That word "Humble" means to be meek and lowly, to recognize our unworthiness apart from the Lord.  If we learn to totally rely upon God then He will lift us up.  Promotion comes from the Lord according to Psalm 75:6-7.  He will exalt whom he chooses to exalt.  He will abase whom He chooses to abase.  Trust God today to lift you up in His perfect timing.

Our Refuge and Fortress

Psalm 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Where do we run when the dark clouds of trouble begin to form on the horizon of our life?  There is a place of peace and safety in the midst of the storm.  That safe haven is in the secret place of the most high.  We can draw close to God when trouble comes.  There is safety in His shadow.  The LORD is our refuge and our fortress.  He keeps us safe in when the battle rages all around.  Who is strong enough to invade the fortress of our all-powerful God?  We can trust in the safety that He extends to His children.  When the forces of the enemy seek to assail us we can laugh them to derision because we are safe in His keeping!

My Light and Salvation

Psalm 27:1  "A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

The same David that had killed a lion, a bear and a Philistine champion named Goliath penned the words in the first verse of the 27th Psalm.  David had learned that he had a God that he could rely upon.  His God was a God of deliverance.  David declares some of the other wonderful attributes of God in the verse above.  He declares that God is his light.  God illuminates our path day by day.  God desires to guide us in the right path if we simply yield our self to him.  David states that The Lord is his salvation.  Not only in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual sense.  God delivered David from the lion, the bear and Goliath, but God would also deliver him from eternal separation from God.  David knew that as a child of God he didn't have to live a life that was controlled by fear.  He knew the source of his strength.  He knew that his inability was God's ability.  His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  David could face any obstacle that life threw at him because he fully understood where his strength originated and that was in the Lord.

How is your life today?  Is it characterized by fear?  If we serve the true and living God we don't have to be controlled or dominated by fear.  We can courageously say with David, "The LORD is the strength of my life;  of whom shall I be afraid?"

Worthy of this Calling

2Thessalonians 1:11  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
2Thessalonians 1:12  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul was reminding the Christians at Thessalonica of his prayer for them.  The desire and prayer of Paul's heart toward the brethren was that they be counted worthy of their calling.  Their calling was the mission of being entrusted with the Gospel of Christ and carrying that precious message unto all the world.  The same calling that we as believers have today in 2013.  Paul's desire was that they would step us and answer the challenge that had been entrusted to them as a body of believers.  The message of the Gospel is a message of Good News.  It is a message of God's goodness toward sinful man.  We should never shun the opportunity to share the message with others.  As we share the message of the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit the result is a work of faith in those that hear.  God is glorified when we share what he has done for all mankind.  He has created the solitary way for sinful man to be reconciled to a Holy God.  How is your life today?  Can God count you worthy of His calling in your life?

The Apostle Paul by Rembrandt

Asleep in the Garden

Mark 14:38  "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."

Jesus had taken Peter, James and John with him into the garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus had came to the garden to pray because he knew that the greatest hour of his life grew near.  Christ left Peter, James and John with a request for them to watch and pray and went a little farther into the garden to pay.  Christ returned and found the three men sleeping.  Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray that they stay away from temptation.  Jesus understood that the flesh is weak.  The flesh leads to failure and disappointment, but the spirit if ready.  The disciples were operating in the power of the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit.  Jesus knew their frame.  He knew that they were weak because of the presence of the flesh.  Watch and pray to avoid temptation.  This prescription still stands valid for our lives today.