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Monthly Archives: July 2013

Bond of Perfection

31 Jul

Bond of Perfection

James 2:14-18   Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup – where does that get you? 17 Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. (The Message)

The book of James is like the guidebook to the application side of Christianity. It tells you very plainly about the trials of life, and how to deal with them. It calls you to put your faith in action; to step out and live what you proclaim. Do you? Is there any evidences in your life six days a week, to what you proclaim on one? How does your language reflect the depth of the eternal gift you have been given? James asks the hard questions; James calls your faith into action no matter what circumstance God has placed in your path. He calls you to live out your faith, for “faith without works is dead faith.”

I saw this type of faith in action yesterday. It moved me in a powerful way. I reflected on it, and was blessed by it. People showing the love of Christ to those who deny Him; not projecting the hate that society tries to label the Christians with today. Christianity is becoming the minority in a society that is filled with equality; a society that believes all paths lead to God; a society that will not adhere to the Laws of God, and accountability found in them for the fear of offending. But the Christian that speaks out is labeled with hate, labeled in many ways that do not portray the love of Christ. Sadly in many circumstances, the Christians zeal has overtaken the love and peace that Christ proclaimed. Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Pray that God will do a mighty work in your heart to help you show the love of Christ to those that need Him. Pray that He will give you the compassion for your fellow man that needs the love of Him. Pray that He will open your eyes to the plight of those lost in their sin. Pray that He will show you a way, to show them the love that you possess; a love that surpasses understanding; a love that gives as only He can through you. It is in this type of love that a heart becomes inquisitive; and an inquisitive heart is a heart that God may be using you to draw them to Himself.

 
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Posted by on July 31, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fill it and experience it

29 Jul

Fill it and experience it

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17    But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Paul in the prior verses had just told the Thessalonians in this letter of the great falling away; the great apostasy of the church. He speaks of Satan at the peak of his limited power, and of how Christ will defeat him. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. All of works of Satan and the anti-christ will be over shadowed by the glorious return of Christ in that day. The Thessalonians must understand that they are chosen by God, and must live their lives in the security of their belief. They are to live with the assurance of that faith that lies within them.

This scripture ties the power of the Spirit that is living inside you, to the power of the Word that He has given you. The two are inseparable; they cannot work alone.  I love how my study Bible puts it: “The Spirit without the Word is mute, He has nothing to say. The Word without the Spirit is lifeless, is has no power to act. The work of the Spirit is always united with the work of the Word to convict the believer of the truth.” When you experience Salvation, His Spirit comes to live inside you. The Spirit opens your mind to the things of Christ; without Him you mind has a closed door to the Word. Christ told his disciples of the power that he will give to them when he ascended into heaven. This same Spirit is available to all believers today. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

There are so many roads to go down when you come to understand that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you upon your faith in Jesus Christ and his power to forgive sin. John 14:6 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. You are missing the boat and missing the greatest blessing in your life if you claim Christ, but do not spend time in His Word. Your life is but an empty jar, waiting to be filled. Your life will never be the same once you possess the Spirit that brings life to the words of the Living Word. You will begin to see things you have never seen before in the Bible. God’s glorious message will become revealed to you and awaken your soul for your time here. Open it, read it, experience it for yourself.

 
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Posted by on July 29, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Did I really say that?

28 Jul

Did I really say that?

2 Corinthians 10:10 “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”

I have written in my Bible beside this scripture, “ME. I write much better than I speak, and it bothers me……” I live the evidences of that statement. I live the evidences of the power of the tongue that James speaks about. James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Sometimes I cannot believe myself, the words that spring forth from myself. This untamable tongue must be from the pit of hell as James describes. How is it in our minds we think one thing, and say another? The words that come our of our mouths are disconnected from our thoughts; “that wasn’t really what or how I meant to say that”. There is a disconnect in my speech I personally know, and it bothers me. There is an unruly evil that lies there, and I pray that God will continue His sanctifying work there…….it bothers me.

Paul wrote so much of the New Testament, and his letters are the strongest in the New Testament. Therein lies great convictions of sin and calls to repentance by the work of the Holy Spirit in his writings. God laid all the words on Paul’s heart, and spoke through his personality and zeal to pen them. In them God works through the Spirit to speak to you and I, feeling these convictions, and calls to repentance of sin; to rest in the assurances of grace that Paul pens and preaches. The convictions of sin that come in Paul’s letters, also come with the edification of the promises of that grace that God provides. The building up of the church founded in grace, is the foundation of the Gospel that Paul writes and speaks of.

When you sit at God’s feet in prayer and His Word, He will speak to you through your heart. He will convict you of sins most likely first; this is a purification process necessary to hear more clearly from Him. How can we expect to sit before a Holy God with the realization of un-repented sin in our heart? When you sit down with Him, and those convictions come, repent and ask for the forgiveness that He gives. Continue to spend time in His presence, and you may find that His Word brings new life. You most likely will be granted and edified by His Word after your heart cleansing. That is His goal; to make you more like Christ. It is done in the power of the Word, the humble heart, and the grace He gives.

 
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Posted by on July 28, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Beatitude = Life Attitude

27 Jul

Beatitude = Life Attitude

Matthew 5:3-12    “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. 4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. 5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. 6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. 7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘carefull,’ you find yourselves cared for. 8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. 9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. 10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. 11 “Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. 12 You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble. (The Message)

Help me Lord,
I need to hear you speak,
Your words bring me comfort
When I am weak.

Your words bring comfort
To my troubled heart,
I cannot do life alone
From them I will not depart.

Satan brings chaos
He plays an evil game
In the mind or the world
He only seeks to lame.

He uses those closest
To get inside our heads
Many times bringing anger
Sometimes bringing dread.

Lord I seek you in the storm
I know you are the way,
You give me hope
That he cannot steal away.

 
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Posted by on July 27, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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How can I serve Him today?

26 Jul

How can I serve Him today?

Acts 11:25-26    Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

The book of Acts; faith in action, the verb of Christianity. The book of Acts rests between the Gospels, and the Epistles, and seemingly stands on it’s own. The book of Acts is the building of the early church, the acting out of the faith that those who believed proclaimed. It is a book of miracles, of great faith, of boldness, of visions and angels, of the giving of the Holy Spirit to all people. A book of examples of God’s Sovereign hand at work bringing all those that will hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts is captivating; it reads like a script of a Hollywood movie, it shows the power of God in the lives of those acting out their faith. It shows what it truly means to live a life of a disciple.

Christianity is not a noun. Christianity is meant to be a lifestyle that lasts for eternity; for the work during our time here in the preparation for our eternal reward thereafter. How hard are you willing to work for what you wish to attain? Sadly our society has moved to an entitlement attitude, and that attitude has infiltrated the church. God owes you nothing! You cannot claim the prize of Salvation, and return to living for this world and all the temporal sin pleasures found in it. A transformed heart is a heart that sees the need in love to sacrifice it’s life for the One whom gave it eternal life. A transformed heart is that of a disciple who truly puts Christ first in their lives, denying self, and seeking to serve Him with their life.

Luke 14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Are all of your daily efforts put into accomplishing the tasks at hand, the duties of the day, the things you must accomplish to get what you desire? Is Christianity to you for a couple hours on Sunday? Have you missed the opportunity to share you faith daily with those He places around you because you were too busy with the tasks that take your eyes off Christ? Are those tasks and mindset placed there by your enemy for that purpose……? Our daunting “to do” lists should have an unalterable priority; above the number one task. “How can I serve Him today?”

 
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Posted by on July 26, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Prayer Partners

25 Jul

Prayer Partners

2 Corinthians 4:7-10    But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed– 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

Oh how I wish this ministry was a journal sometimes; how I could pour out the details of my struggles here; but it is not to draw attention to me, it is to point you to God. In all of these trials I face, I only seek to show you that I am no different from you; I only seek to show you where my strength to endure them is found. Currently the enemy is in full assault; I am in physical pain, and being hammered with fear and doubt. I am struggling with prayer, and leaning on those close to me as intercessors for me to God. It is times like these that it is critical who you surround yourself with. Can you truly count on them to pray for you? Can they truly count on you to pray for them? When you struggle with words, you must possess and confide in friends that will lift you up to God; there is great power in those prayers.

I must borrow the commentary from my favorite study Bible on this scripture. “Hard pressed is translated ‘afflicted’ in 1:6. In the Greek text, and identical expression occurs in 7:5, where it is rendered ‘troubled on every side’. But in 7:5 Paul adds, ‘Outside were afflictions, inside were fears.’ Perplexed is derived from two Greek words: the word for no plus the word for way. Thus perplexed means ‘to be at a loss’. As believers, we will face trials. But we must remember that God controls trials and uses them to strengthen His people. God’s glory is manifested through broken vessels, through people who endure troubles by relying on His power.” If we were simply passing through life trouble free, where would we ever come to know God? It is in these times of trouble that we come to realize our need for Him.

It always bothers me when I struggle with prayer. Sometimes I just can’t seem to speak; the thoughts in my head get jumbled before they make it to my mouth. I stumble through repetitions that have no heart in them; they come from old habit. I am not an eloquent prayer person with all the “thou art” that seek to impress. I simply talk to God, and love talking to Him. I give Him the highest respect and reverent awe and fear that He deserves. I must know that in the times such as these trials, I have intercessors both as friends, and the Spirit living inside of me. He is with me, uttering the words when I cannot. Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Relying on faith and understand of God’s Sovereignty, and the knowledge of heavenly and earthy prayer partners is what brings us through the tough times in life.

 
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Posted by on July 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Threefold Cord of Obedience

24 Jul

Threefold Cord of Obedience

Romans 5:1-5    Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Do you understand that living your life as a Christian, in it’s simplest form, is living a life of obedience? Living a life in honor to the One who gave you eternal life? Obeying the things He places on your heart? It is not following a set of rules and regulations; obeying a lawbook becomes legalism, and legalism moves to a point that you feel you obtain salvation on your ability to follow the laws on your own merit. A truly transformed heart is one that is led to obey out of the love that it has for the One who came to live there. There is an eternal difference is the heart that obeys out of duty, rather than the heart that obeys out of love. A heart of duty becomes a hard heart that stiffens at those calls of obedience; it has the “okay, if I must” attitude towards the call. The loving heart is humbled and in awe of the tugs the Spirit leads them to; it is honored to express it’s love in obedience to those calls.

A week ago I responded to one of those such calls. I knew I must obey, but I did not move in that duty of obedience, I moved in the awe of it. God lays these big things before us, all to draw us closer to Him thru our obedience. Satan creeps in the thoughts and shadows of it, and begins his work. These are the tribulations that Paul speaks of; Satan means them for evil, God means them for good. I am in the midst of these tribulations; I expected these tribulations, and I prayed and knew that God could be glorified through them. James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Over and over again you will hear testimony of how God did his greatest work in a believers life when they faced their greatest trials of life. These trials may not be the life changers, but the seemingly endless barrage of enemy fire that comes daily. In all of them, look to God for strength in them.

A friend of mine told me the other day of how the devil was riding his back. In the next sentence he said of how Satan must still not realize that Christ has risen. He is risen indeed; Satan and sin were eternally defeated at the cross; Paul speaks above of how you stand justified before a holy God that will declare eternal judgement one day. But as a child of His, you can rest in the faith, hope, and peace as Paul speaks of. The trials of life are the cords that twist you tighter to Him. That hope cannot be taken away by the world once you grasp the certainty of it. Those tugs of obedience, the loving heart that responds, the twists of the tribulations, all tighten and strengthen your cord of life found in Him.

 
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Posted by on July 24, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not vanity

21 Jul

Not vanity

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11   The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

My work is very physically demanding; the hotter it gets the more I work. Friday a long day in the heat caught up to me; I suffered from dehydration all day Saturday. The results are extreme headaches and body fatigue, yet I also had to work again Saturday through it; the benefits of being self employed. Some days it really tugs on the mind, and this morning I thought of the book of Ecclesiastes after getting some more rest. This book of Solomon points to the vanity of life in so many ways; to those that pursue all the things in life, yet never think of the eternal life after this temporal one. At some point in your life you must realize the life after this; where you place your faith will determine your destiny.

The commentaries on the word vanity in Ecclesiastes are intriguing. There is much struggle to interpret the word correctly; many times it is referred to a vapor, which in a simple understanding is fleeting, or temporary. The word vanity is used 38 times in Ecclesiastes, and it is used in different nuances to describe what is being pursued. The book is a book of pursuit by the man who pursued knowledge; he found it as a gift from God, and came to realize it’s burden and loss. Ecclesiastes 1:16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

The American Dream is the pursuit of “stuff”. The dream of the Christian should be their life after with Christ, and their evangelical pursuit of this life for others to know of Him. The entire Bible points to Christ, and our need for Him. The more time you spend there, the more you come to understand the vanity of this life. The more you understand what Solomon tires to describe, the more you will invest your energies in the eternal. You come to understand the the highs and lows of life are vanity, the demands of life are vanity, the only thing that is not fleeting is the eternal promise of the Hope that lies within you. A hearts desire to spread that Good News is the heart of a disciple, and that is what He called us to be.

 
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Posted by on July 21, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fiery darts

19 Jul

Fiery darts

2 Timothy 4:5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (ESV)

The past couple days have been a whirlwind. God laid before me a huge act of obedience, a step of faith, a test for me. I have learned obedience from my best friend, whom now I call my adopted big brother. God places these tests of faith before us, to see where our heart lies with Him. He knows how we will respond, but it really is for our benefit, growth, and understanding of how He works in our lives. Each step requires that act of obedience, that is where the faith lies. Going out into the unknown is where Jesus is. Going out where we can’t accomplish it on our own. Satan leaps at these opportunities to draw us down the paths of sin, and provides all the distractions imaginable to turn us away from God. Yesterday brought attacks at multiple elevated levels that I was not prepared for. As the day wore on, the attacks grew. Stress has entered into the arena, the battle is on.

I thought of seemingly some of Paul’s last words to Timothy here. Paul knows he is about to die for his faith at the hands of the Roman government. His letter to Timothy is to present to Timothy what he must endure; to encourage him for his ministry, and the focus of his life as a minister of the faith. Paul pours his heart out in 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (ESV)

The war of good and evil is fought on a plain we cannot see. It is fought in the heavenly places; it is fought in our minds; and it is many times presented in situations that come before us. The circumstances that God allows; they either draw us closer to him, or take our eyes off him. You must come to the point in all of them, that you see God in all of them. The strains of life that Satan means for evil, God’s Sovereignty can mean for good. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. These acts of obedience, when you say yes to God, know that He knows what Satan already has in store for you. When the attacks come, draw closer to Him in His Word and prayer for the strength to endure, guide, and focus on Him. He brought you to it with the power to take you through it. In all of it, He is glorified.

 
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Posted by on July 19, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Early Hope

18 Jul

Early Hope

Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

The day has not yet dawned,
I arise early to seek You;
I move from slumber to your presence
You are here to meet me too.

The expectant heart tugs
Seeking my Lord every day;
In prayer and His Word
To find strength and the way.

The world teaches self
No time for Him only me;
He teaches selflessness
As disciples lives should be.

Where is your focus
What are your first thoughts?
The tasks for the day
Or the One whom you were bought?

You say you want change
From Him you want more;
A heart daily seeking Him
Finds what is in store.

Daily prayer and his Word
Should be priorities in your day;
To prepare and align your heart
Through them He shows the way.

Alone you will fail
Together you will succeed;
The Book of Life, God’s spoken words
Will meet your daily need.

My life forever changed
When I opened His book
Starting my every day in there
Eternal hope is what I took.

 
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Posted by on July 18, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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