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Monthly Archives: September 2013

It Really is Good News!!!!!

20 Sep

It Really is Good News!!!!!

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

 

 

Wait – do you mean to tell me I don’t have to get my life right before I can get to God? Do you mean to tell me that He is offering me something for FREE that I do not have to earn? The understanding of God’s grace puts an entire new light on the Gospel. The understanding of God’s grace makes it very easy and exciting to share the Good News. Gospel defined is Good News; this good news is available to all. This erases all the works based faith systems out there. All other religions point to the duties of one’s self to get you right before any of their Gods. The understanding of the Gospel points to the Free Gift through humble, repentant hearts that is available to all. It does not require, nor does it accept, any works based faith system to God. 

 

This gives us incredible news to share with all those who God puts around us. It should be a burning desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ to whom we can. There is nothing required but answering that tug that God places on your heart when you hear this good news. Being a disciple gives you the ability to share and experience the work Christ did for you, and he can do the same for them. This alone allows us easily to step into discipleship.

 

We have been ingrained all our lives, the importance of our last words as we leave this earth as we know it. Hollywood has made millions on movies that close with those famous last lines. There is weight in one’s last words. I ask you today, what where Christ’s last words before he ascended into heaven to sit at his fathers right hand after accomplishing his work at the Cross? Matthew 28:19-20   Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Wow! His last words to us were to go and make disciples. Not to sign a card, pray a prayer, but to make disciples. We must be a disciple first, before we can make one. You cannot be a teacher until you are taught. We are to live our lives with the evidence of the power of Christ in our lives every single day. The evidence of our love for Him and the redeemed and eternally secure life we live, allows him to use us to witness for Him and draw others to him. How you live you life seven days a week is the measure of your discipleship. If integrity is what you do when nobody is looking, discipleship is how you live when everybody is looking. Do they see Christ in you?

 

 
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Posted by on September 20, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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How do you get to heaven?

19 Sep

How do you get to heaven?

Galatians 2:15-21   We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (ESV)

True or False: You get to heaven by being a good person and following the rules of Christianity.

How you answer that question determines your eternity. If the “law” is that set of rules that you try so hard to follow, you are relying on your own power to get right, or be justified before God. You may understand that you are a sinner, and you may think you understand Christ, but it has gotten twisted somewhere in your basis of belief on following the rules to get your key to paradise. I grew up thinking that going to church got me into heaven; as a part of that belief was inter-twined that system of following the rules. I mean, there could be no way I did not have to do something to pay my way, right? There had to be some rule about prayer, forgiveness, hard work, changed ways, repentance; at least being better than that bad person I know right? Maybe it is as simple as on God’s scales of justification, that my good deeds outweigh my bad. I think I can pull this off; live my life to the fullest for a few years, and then spend my remaining years righting all the wrongs I had done……..plenty of time…….in that statement is the works based faith that condemns, and you pay eternally for that mistake……that was me for most of my life.

Salvation is not found in a church pew, following all the rules, or even the mis-conception of anything called God’s scales weighing out your life. There is only ONE way to heaven, and it is by the free grace that God gave you through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Grace is defined as unmerited favor; giving us something we do not deserve. The Gospel is this good news; that God gave us this grace in Christ; the forgiveness of sins through His blood on the Cross. All it takes is a humble, repentant heart, seeking that grace upon which he gave. To come to that understanding that we can never achieve it, only humbly accept it. Upon it, your life will never be the same, from here into eternity. #thankyouJesus

 
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Posted by on September 19, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not at the top of your lungs

17 Sep

Not at the top of your lungs

2 Timothy 2:24-26    And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (ESV)

This past week has been a whirlwind. So much has happened, so much has changed in my life, but through all of it, I am at peace with it, in God. God will never take us where he has not prepared the way for us. These roads will most likely be difficult in some way; we have the natural bend to take the easy routes. We may say that we learned our lesson the hard way, but we will not willingly take that hard way to learn a lesson. In our minds their must be an easier route with the same end result, surely we can find and pursue it; even to delay the straighter, quicker, more direct path that will produce the result that God intends, not what is out supposed will. In your growth as a Christian, you must come to that understanding of God’s Will in your life. With that understanding comes the peace inside you the world cannot understand. You have that peace, hope, and love that the situations that tear others down, build you up in Christ. When others see how you deal with these situations, their inquisitive natures want to know the why and how you deal with it differently.

As I read this passage in 2nd Timothy, I thought of the work God has, and is still doing in my life regarding my temper. He has done great things inside me to defeat that demon of anger and rage. I had a short fuse, and my speech was my fists. My words could tear down; it hurts indescribably when I see them still surface every now and then, especially in the discipline of my boys. I have, and continue to pray for God’s hand in the Sanctification of that demon I battle. When you face those situations that stir you up, and you remain calm in the Spirit, others are amazed at your ability to do so. This is the perfect time to share the hope that lies within you, the work that Christ has done inside you, the peace that you possess. 1 Peter 3:15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. God may be opening their hearts through their eyes in witnessing the power of a calm Spirit that is living inside of you. He may be using you, to draw others to himself in the midst of a confrontation. Their lives may never be the same as a result of you not loosing your temper in the first place.

Think of this passage in the context of which it was used to Timothy. Paul was charging Timothy to preach the truth; to correct and convict those in their error. He was not to do this in battle, but in a loving spirit. One of my favorite pastors, Adrian Rogers once said, “Preach not with anger, but anguish.” Your heart should hurt for those lost souls. You can never save someone yourself, but you can show them the way to Salvation, and the err of their ways. This does not have to be at the top of our lungs, but with a gentle Spirit in which the love of Christ is shown. Paul knew the battles that Timothy would face as a preacher of the truth, and he did not want Timothy to become silent as a result of  the opposition he would face.

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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When YOU are ready

15 Sep

When YOU are ready

Hebrews 11:1-2     Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

Helloooo…..is there anybody up there????? God, are you hearing my prayers? I have been praying to you about this, but you don’t answerrrrrr me. Why don’t you answer me? We all have made those statements; those statements show our level of faith in them. Not receiving an answer, or maybe even receiving one we don’t like, so we continue to pray hoping to change God’s mind. Thank you God for so many unanswered prayers. It is in our little minds that we lack that understanding of how God operates out of the confines of time; He created time, rules time, and is not bound by time. When I stress out over the things that don’t happen on my timetable with God, the Holy Spirit always seems to whisper this scripture to me: 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Can you look at the entire Bible in the light of that scripture? In God’s eyes, it has only been a couple of days since Christ payed for our sin debt due. Look at how our world has run from God again; we are just like the stubborn, stiff-necked Israelites of the Old Testament. We see the proof of God, and then turn our backs on him, over and over again.

Hebrews 11 is the place to go for the proof of those patriarchs of faith. Those people that had such great faith in God, they put their lives entirely in his hands. It was by this faith, that verse two shows that God considered them righteous by their faith. Hebrews 11 is the chapter on which one’s faith is proven by the action that is taken. The level of our faith can be found in the understanding of the sunrise we see every day. The simple beauty and incredible complexity of all creation, right down to us as His greatest creation. Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (ESV) If God can breath a star into existence, the details of my life are a breeze. The level of your faith will determine how you live your life. “You are what you believe”, a best friend, and the Godliest man I know once told me. Your faith is found in that statement and self-analysis. It will guide your every decision in the background of your mind. When you are wondering the “whys” of your life, and or your prayer life, consider that God is testing your faith in delayed responses in and to them. Keep drawing near to God and He will answer you, when YOU are ready.

 
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Posted by on September 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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At 300mph

14 Sep

At 300mph

Zephaniah 1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Zephaniah was a prophet; he was bringing the word of judgement that was coming from the Lord on Judah. He was proclaiming that Israel must pay for their grievous sins against God; they had come to worship other Gods, and committed countless sins and forsaken Him. Zephaniah was preaching a call to repentance and return to their Lord. The good news was that some listened; their was a revival of faith, and we are told that under the king Josiah, Israel returned to their faith in the God that had told them they were His people, and had delivered them from slavery and performed countless miracles for them. Sadly God’s judgement was only delayed; Israel returned to their sinful ways and God passed judgement on them when Judah was overthrown.

In this scripture, Zephaniah speaks to those that sit ideally by; they believe in God, but don’t believe He will do anything; they believe He is inactive himself. The Bible commentary compares them to undisturbed wine; they are the sediment that falls to the bottom. Christ spoke directly to those that sit ideally in the book of Revelations, to the church of Laodecia. Rev. 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Christ hates complacency; it is very clear that he either prefers you to not have the faith, or to be zealous in it. You are never to be stagnant in your faith; you are either pursing him or you are backsliding. Think of your faith as a down escalator that you are walking up. It takes a true effort to get to the top, but if your heart is zealous for God, you will keep seeking him. If you stop your pursuit, your travel away from him quickly.

My church small-group is starting the Radical study with David Platt. His teaching is core understanding of actively seeking God. His teaching is living our lives in that pursuit. His calls to discipleship are strong; he teaches that our love for God outweighs all others to the point that it looks as hate. I remember God opening my eyes in reading his book in that regard. If you truly come to know and understand who, and what, God is, and what he has done for you through his Son, your life will never be the same. You will never be able to sit ideally by and claim Christianity; you will be driven by a humble heart that desires to be closer to him every, single, day.

 
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Posted by on September 14, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Rise & Shine

13 Sep

Rise & Shine

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.

I awoke this morning as usual, with no alarm. I laid there thinking my phone battery was dead, for it never went off; almost comical on Friday the 13th. Yet there is this inner tug inside of me that is my alarm, my wake up call. There is a desire in me that outweighs all reasons to stay in bed, a desire to meet God every day at this time. My life truly changed when I changed my mornings to begin reading my Bible and praying daily. That change has grown into this ministry, and that change has bred a heart for encouraging others to do the same. There is nothing special about me, I am only a ol’ country boy with a heart for God.

What drives you; what is that tug inside of you that gets you up every day? Is it the demands of work, the pursuit of success by worldly standards? Is it the pursuit of all that this life will bring? How many times have we seen those who pour themselves into their careers all their lives, only to die shortly after retirement; only to die in the middle of the stress of it all in that pursuit? Their is nothing that you can gain that will carry into eternity, except the kingdom work that you invest in those around you. The evidence of the depth of your relationship with your Savior, is proof of the kingdom work in those you encounter daily. All throughout the apostle Paul’s epistles we find the evidence of his heart for those in, and out of the faith. His heart burned for sharing the hope that lied within him. It drove him to face each day and all that the day brought. As he shared of all the trials that Christ told him he must suffer for His name’s sake, he closed with this. 2 Corinthians 11:28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. His deep concern was was for all those souls that God put before him; his deep concern was sharing the hope that he had found in Christ. He had been extended the Grace offering by the hand of God, as he walked down that Damascus road in a murderous pursuit of Christians.

You may try and rest in the false security of Salvation found in church pews on Sunday, or you make take up your cross daily and become a disciple for Him (Mark 10:21). You can pray a prayer of moving your life to a servant of His and the pursuit of it; your life will never be the same as a result of it. You can rise and shine the Light that lies within you each day to a dark world that needs Him (John 8:12). You will hear from Him like you never had before, as a result of that daily pursuit. Your heart will begin to burn just as Paul’s for those in and out of the faith. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13), and that strength is a measure of that daily time with Him.

 
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Posted by on September 13, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hillclimbs

12 Sep

Hillclimbs

2 Timothy 2:3-7    You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

How many roads can we go down with the scripture of verse 3 alone? How many times have we wondered the “why” of the situations that we find ourselves in? God will take us down the paths we would never travel, he will let us sit with unanswered questions for seeming eternities, he will let us take the hard roads for the lessons learned there. How appropriate are the ways of God that seemingly fit the phrase, “I learned it the hard way”. He does his greatest work in these times, and it is on the other side of the trial that we see his purpose in them, if we continued to seek him through them. If we abandon Him in them, his purposes for our lives are not revealed.

When you look at this passage in it’s context, Paul is trying to encourage Timothy for the hard times that will surely come. The summary of this text could easily be two words: Remain focused. Paul uses the example of soldiers, farmers, and athletes; he shows their focus and their rewards. We are to possess that eternal focus ourselves; we are not to become distracted from the trials or pleasures that this world presents. We are to remain focused on Christ and the Gospel of grace that He has given us. Paul pours out his heart to Timothy; he shows him of the pains he has for those in, and outside of the faith. (The Message) 9 It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now – but God’s Word isn’t in jail! 10 That’s why I stick it out here – so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. 11 This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him; 12 If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; 13 If we give up on him, he does not give up – for there’s no way he can be false to himself. Paul is pressing into Timothy the need of a life focused on Christ, and the promises found in Him.

Do you seek Him every day? Do you seek Him only when the going gets rough, or do you seek Him even when it is a path of ease? Those easy days prepare us for the rough ones. The days that we sit in His presence, with praise of the place he has us for the day, strengthen our hearts for the trials to come. Become awestruck in the revelations found in scripture daily; place them in your heart for strength when you need them most. Cultivate a daily prayer time so that it becomes a natural response to the trials that come. You will find yourself resting on the promises that you have found in the Word; you will find yourself focusing on the eternal, and not so much the temporary.  A focused life sees the top of the mountain and it’s beauty; not the climb to get there.

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Humbled

11 Sep

Humbled

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

As I sit in this chair with you this morn
My body is tired from the day;
For it was filled with emotions
You came calling that way.

I have followed that tug
That you placed on my heart;
From your Word every day
I do not depart.

I seek you early each day
I am humbled by your response;
It all started that day
When I opened my Bible once.

Help me Lord to share
Help me Lord to teach;
To show the the way to you
Help me Lord to preach.

Paul wrote to us in Romans
Of spreading the Good News;
Of sharing the hope that lies within us
There is no way I could refuse.

I have felt the stronger tug
Of hearing your call to preach;
I know my strength lies in you
From your Word I will teach.

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

 
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Posted by on September 11, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Don’t be bashful

09 Sep

Don’t be bashful

Colossians 1:1-8    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

Paul was in prison writing this letter to the Colossian church. It is believed that on his third missionary journey to Ephesus, a person named Epaphras was converted and returned home to Colosse to begin evangelizing his hometown. We are told that the church was composed mainly of Gentiles, and just like many early churches it had it’s problems. There were many that were leading others astray, preaching and teaching different ways to heaven; mixing the Jewish beliefs and forms of mysticisms that placed Jesus at a higher plain, but not as Deity, not as God. Paul starts out his letter to the Colossians to refute those false teachings. Paul begins speaking of their faith, hope, and love.

Do you see this as the prayer that it is? Do you see how Paul was praying for those that had just come to faith in Christ? He was interceding for them, he was going before God and praying for His strength for them. Paul knew that when they came to know Christ, they were going against the world. They needed other believers to pray for them. They needed the strength to endure the trials, the discernment from the Holy Spirit to recognize the false teachings; the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. They must take that which He gives them, and spread the hope that lies within them. When we pray for, and are prayed for, God grants us wisdom through His Word and our prayer.

Do you have that faith? Do you have that hope, and that love? If you do have genuine faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, there will be a natural outpouring of love, spreading that hope that lies within you. The book of James puts it bluntly; 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Is there evidence in your life of that faith? Epaphras had heard the Gospel, and returned home to tell everyone, He had sought to share that hope that lied within him, for others to have what he now possessed. Don’t be bashful, tell someone the difference Christ made in your life today, the same thing He can do for them.

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Light for the dark road

08 Sep

Light for the dark road

2 Corinthians 12:9-10    And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul had seemingly gone down the road of boasting to prove himself to others; yet he had taken the road not of his intellect and accomplishments, he had taken the roadof his struggles and weakness to glorify God. He had showed how he needed God in all of it, and how God was there through it. 2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. Paul saw all these hardships as a way to glorify God; he was suffering for Christ and he knew that he was drawing that much closer to Christ as a result of these tribulations. Paul understood that being a Christian, a disciple, an apostle, would mean that this life would not be a life of ease. He expressed great joy to join Christ in these tribulations for the eternal reward.

So many churches now preach the love of God, and not the trials of God. When we come to know Christ, we through him, threaten the kingdom of darkness. When we live for this world, and all comes easy, we are of no threat to hell. When the power of Christ comes to live within us, we are another tool that God uses to reach other people. Our light, is His light, that has come into the world. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The light that shines from us makes the world stand against us; we show the truth that is shadowed by the darkness that is hiding from the light. Therefore the world is against us.

Becoming a Christian is the easiest thing to do; answer that call on your heart that God has placed there; repent of your sins and accept Christ as the only way you will ever get to heaven. That promise that you gain is eternal, now you are called to become a disciple and live your life remaining here for Him. You are not to go on living in sin, you are to flee it. You are to share the hope that lies within you, your light is to bring light to those living in darkness. Satan is gonna be mad, try to make your life difficult, and you should expect it to be, you switched to the other team. Boast in all that you struggle in just like Paul; show the power of the glory of God to help you in all that you struggle with. That help is the light that others need in their life too.

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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