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Spring storms in Winter?

This morning it seems amazing how God has led me around the bible learning of the weather. I could not believe I ended up in Job. I personally believe that all this weather craziness that has been escalating the last couple years is a sign from God. The weather is an undeniable event that affects everyone, every day. If He uses it to raise awareness, then it brings Him glory and draws those of us closer to Him. I would urge you to let God speak to you in these chapters below I have listed. Spend this rainy day in the best book, and the only book that can change your life for an eternity, before you miss the signs laid before you.

 

 

Spring storms in Winter?

Job 37:11-12    Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds. And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth.

Can even the lost soul deny the weather, the seasons, seem to be changing? Tornado’s all winter; spring storms in winter; the lack of a winter? The events are happening out of sync with what the calendar would project? Weather is unavoidable, it affects us all. Read the chapter of Job 37 entirely for an awesome description of God’s power, “God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.” Matthew Henry spoke of  “it is not for us to know, no, not that concerning the times and seasons.” The undeniable truth is that they are changing, and many speak of that as a sign from God for the end of time.

Matthew 24 is Christ’s discourse of the coming end of times. He was speaking to his disciples, and their curiosity of what to look for to prepare. I urge you to spend time in this chapter.  Matthew 24: 6-8 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. All over the world, these things are happening. All over the world there are signs being set before us for the coming days. In Matthew 16 Christ stood before those religious leaders speaking of who He was standing before them. Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. I hope and pray that you will see all these signs set before you to prepare you for what is to come. There will come a time, when you will look back and be glad the signs were given, or a day you will regret you denied the signs for an eternity.

 
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Posted by on March 3, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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You can’t understand

You can’t understand.

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

You can’t understand

This morning I am still in thought about the things facing me at registering for school, and the daunting tasks that lie ahead. The title of this post easily describes me.

 

 

You can’t understand

John 18:4     Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

“Knowing all things”, outside the traps of time, outside our finite minds, we simply cannot grasp the Omnipotence of God. Webster’s dictionary description is an ‘almighty or infinite in power, as God’. There is none other than our heavenly Father that can carry such a title. In the garden that night Christ knew the fate that faced Him. He knew all the sufferings that He was about to endure, and He approached the Roman detail in peace. He had hidden when early in His ministry  the Jews sought to make Him a king (John 6:15), yet at this time of suffering He stepped forward to meet His fate as He understood was the plan laid out by His Father.

Matthew Henry says of our suffering “it will do us good to expect suffering in general, so that when they come we can say, It is what we looked for, the cost we sat down and counted upon.” God limits our ability to understand, therefore that is where our faith and our reliability of His omnipotence comes in and grows. If we understood many of these things, would we face them as Christ, or take another path that would lead us away from Him? Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Rely and rest in the power and design of the plans He has laid out for you. You cannot and will not understand what you may face today or tomorrow, but you can rest if you are a child of His that as Romans 8:28 says 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. It is in these things I rest, and describe my walk as Peace.

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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In every place

In every place.

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

In every place

This morning I was in 1 Thessalonians, which lead me over to John indirectly. I kept thinking of Ed’s sermon last night, and seeing afflictions through the lens of the gospel. How all that affects us especially in tough times, should be viewed through the lens of Gods redemptive work in the world we live in. These are tough things to wrap our minds around, but our actions and reactions can affect how others view Christ. We can simply tear down foundations that have been built by reacting as the world reacts, and not through the lens of the gospel. In Thessalonica Paul was encouraging them for enduring the persecutions and telling them of how they were reaching places they did not even realize with how they were handling what they were enduring. Every day in every situation, look at it through the lens of the gospel, and God’s work through you, in the world.

 

 

In every place

1 Thessalonians 1:6 -8   And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

Those that surround you every day are watching you. If you profess yourself a Christian, the world and those around you hold you in judgement constantly. Your words and your actions are viewed not only by our Lord above, but on an earthly plain, and that is how you reflect Christ. How we endure the stresses of life can either glorify Christ, or damage our testimony as a Christian. Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians that their walk and the preaching of the gospel was reaching those they did not even know of, “in every place.” They were in a busy port city and all their actions were being viewed by others and taken to different places in the world. Their actions was being used to spread the glory of the gospel of Christ.

Corinthians 2:14-16 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. We are called only to pursue a life that emulates Christ, and through that we will spread His glory to those whom will listen. Those that choose to hear will receive the eternal life spoken of here. There are also those that will not hear, and the word of Truth will bring the conviction of death. Even in the life of Christ, with the signs of God being performed before them, many rejected what laid before their eyes. Their hearts were truly blind to what they saw before their eyes. John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Let your every day be a day that you share the Light that lies within you, that someone who finds themselves in the dark of this age, sees that Light, hears His voice, and is drawn to Him, through what they see in you.

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Good works

Good works.

 
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Posted by on February 29, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Good works

I can speak of my industry (HVAC) as corrupt. I have been doing this for 20 years and this is the worst I have seen it. With the downturn of the economy, and industry mandates, the fuel for price gouging fed on fear and outright dishonesty are going to affect every home. The industry is playing on the fear card on both sides, and trying to take advantage through dishonest tactics to make the largest profit in our industry in these tough economic times. I could easily write a paper on this. But the book of Titus speaks just as true today, as it did thousands of years ago.

 

 

Good works

Titus 3:4-6     But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

Paul was writing this letter to Titus to exhort the young leader of the church in Crete where Titus was trying to lead a church in a very hostile environment. The Cretans were living a life of excess, and known as liars, whom in their world I am sure would do anything to make a deal. Crete was a huge business hub, and the people believed in themselves, not God. But yet here Paul and Timothy were preaching of maintaining good works, going against what in their society was the norm. I am sure this was a very unpopular teaching in a society of excess and “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” verse 12.

Paul and Timothy had brought the gospel of Christ to Crete and told them as in Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. This would go against all the culture in saying that you cannot earn your way into heaven. If we feel as though all our good works, our good deeds, our prosperity will earn Gods grace, we are mislead. It is by the humble acceptance of Christ as the only Way, and the good works that come as a result of the regeneration of ourselves, bring glory to God. Titus 8: This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. You don’t earn it, but you do reveal it in all you do every day to those around you.

 
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Posted by on February 29, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The Fog

The Fog.

 
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Posted by on February 28, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

The Fog

This morning I was watching the weather and all the talk of the dense fog, and how it would burn off in a couple of hours with the coming sun. I could not help but think of how those statements were parallel with what we read in the Bible. Our time here is temporary, and we do not know when we will fade as the morning fog, but we are guaranteed a pathway into the next life through the Son, into eternal paradise. Are you ready?

 

The Fog

James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Today you will arise, go throughout your day for probably close to 16 hours, called to the duties of the day. You will follow the order of things, you will tackle the obstacles that arise, and in your mind you hope to overcome all that is set before you today. But what if today was your last? What if today, your life faded as the fog of this morning in just a few hours? How would today be different? Are you ready to face eternity in either Heaven or Hell?

Proverbs 27:1  Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.  We simply have no idea of when our time here is up. The tragedies of life have struck, and will strike, many of us that forever change us. But they must direct us to life’s futility, and the importance of our limited time, and our preparation for the life thereafter. We are assured of few things, but death of our flesh, and the assurance of a pathway of our souls into eternal paradise are guaranteed. Christ has provided the Way through the security of Salvation to not worry about what tomorrow or today might bring. The apostle Paul saw his time here, and even his death, all as an opportunity to glorify Christ. Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. How could today be different for you?

 
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Posted by on February 28, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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But God…..

But God…...

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2012 in Daily Devotions