RSS

Ultimate Design

06 Aug

Ultimate Design

Jeremiah 29:11-13   For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

This passage is some of the most comforting words in the Bible in my humble opinion. God spoke to, and through, the prophet Jeremiah when the leaders and people of Judah were being exiled and held captive. They, in truth, were suffering the punishment from God for their idolatry; they had bowed before idols in good times and bad. Jeremiah had told them of this coming 70 years they must suffer. But in the midst of it, was a promise in it; God was with them and would bless them in their exile if they would seek Him. They were told to keep their eyes on God and to make the best of a bad situation; a situation that was designed by God. God’s Sovereignty is shown all throughout Jeremiah’s prophecies in this book.

Can you see and feel the comfort of this passage to all of us? Can you see how much of the power of God’s design and heart for you that is wrapped up in these words of Jeremiah to those that understand He is in control; to those that seek him and his will for their lives in all of it? When you are in the middle of the trial, your eyes may become blurred from the pain and tears of it; but in it is His Will for your life. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Grasping a small bit of the understanding of his sovereignty, allows you to grasp a portion of that peace of which He describes. I can’t help but think of the disciples in the boat during the great storm at sea, the fear they had for their lives, their lack of faith. Mark 4:37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

When you get to the other side of His design, you are able to look back at it, and see where he was in it all along. He will take you down roads you would not dare to travel. He will take you through pains to mold you in ways you would not take at any cost. He will alter your life’s path that you had desired, all to put you on the path he desired. When you come to understand this, peace comes in the fire. Cool waters fill your heart in the midst of the heat of the storm. When you look back and learn, carry that knowledge in your heart for the next trial that He brings your way. You will be stronger, your faith will be greater, and your relationship with your Father will be closer; which is His ultimate design.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 6, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Not the thief you thought

05 Aug

Not the thief you thought

John 10:1-10    “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good – a sheep rustler! 2 The shepherd walks right up to the gate. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.” 6 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. 7 So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. 8 All those others are up to no good – sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for – will freely go in and out, and find pasture. 10 A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (The Message)

The Message translation of the Bible is almost a commentary. Full of plain English, with adjectives, emphasis, and context that many times we can understand. In the King James version of this, John 10 starts out with, 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold , but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There is great emphasis with the Verily, Verily that Christ speaks here. Matthew Henry’s commentary emphasizes the importance; “The preface to this discourse is solemn: Verily, verily, I say unto you,—Amen, amen. This vehement asseveration intimates the certainty and weight of what he said; we find amen doubled in the church’s praises and prayers, Ps. 41:13 Ps. 72:19 Ps. 89:52 . If we would have our amens accepted in heaven, let Christ’s amens be prevailing on earth; his repeated amens.” Therefore, there is great weight in the analogy of The Good Shepard.

Christ is in Jerusalem, and much of this is directed at the religious leaders of the day, the Scribes and Pharisee’s. They had been leading people into many false belief systems, many times elevating themselves and of religious works that earned their ways into heaven. Christ had come to condemn their religious teachings and show that He was the true way. John 10:10 is taken out of context many times, but it was directed at the religious leaders of the day. Christ was pointing his finger at them as thieves and robbers; “”The scribes, and Pharisees, and chief priests, all, even as many as have come before me, that have endeavoured to forestal my interest, and to prevent my gaining any room in the minds of people, by prepossessing them with prejudices against me, they are thieves and robbers, and steal those hearts which they have no title to, defrauding the right owner of his property.’’ (Matthew Henry commentary). The parable of the Good Shepard demands much study.

Satan is just as applicable to the context of the scripture of John 10:10. Satan is a thief and a robber that comes to steal your joy you find in Christ. But scripture must be studied and understood in the context it is written, for you can make anything say what you wish out of context. Christ was speaking of those that were elevating themselves in their religiosity; He was condemning their practices of religion and the leading astray of His flock. The thief was the one in the pulpit at that time. Anything or anyone who elevates themselves, or their system of religion is not of Christ, period.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 5, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Peace is victorious over Pride & Worry

03 Aug

Peace is victorious over Pride & Worry

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

I think things to death. It is not really the problem with making a decision, I just seem to think through all the options, all the variables, look at all the outcomes, before making those decisions. Much of that is the DNA that God wired me with; much of that comes from running a service business for so many years. It is funny how even in my years of rebellion against God, I still lived for the moment; seeking the pleasure of the moment. Then God got ahold of my heart and placed eternity there, and I saw things through a different lens. I saw and felt what lie before me; it did not bring worry about tomorrow, but peace and security about it. I did not need to worry about it, for I was secure in it, and I could concentrate on today.

Christ taught directly on all these worries that take our peace away in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.(ESV) Satan will still come at you with the anxieties; he is here to steal, kill, and destroy all that you are with Christ; but he cannot! When those attacks come, and they will, go to God’s Word and prayer, for seeking Him and the strength found in them for the day. Concentrate on the day, for many times worry is centered around future events of which you have no control. But that peace is found in know HE is in control!

James spoke to the opposing side of worry, pride. Those times when in your power you make your plans, that may not be God’s plans for you. All throughout the Bible there are warnings about how much God hates the pride of life. James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 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. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.  So if we are not to worry, and we are not to be prideful in our planning, what are we to do? Concentrate on living this day in the center of God’s Will for you life just for the day. A heart that seeks Him, will find him, and understand the meaning of a daily life with him. It can start today when you spend time with him in prayer and his Word.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on August 3, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

The Way

02 Aug

The Way

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Your like is but a journey
Your time is limited here;
After this comes eternity
With Christ there lies no fear.

For the love the Father has for you
Through his grace He bestowed;
His Son was sacrificed to pay a debt
His blood covered the debt that was owed.

For your short time here
God has want one thing to do;
To conform you to His image
He wants to see Christ in you.

The closer you become like Him
The more you will obtain;
The ability to hear from God
You life will never be the same.

As Christ ascended into heaven
What would be the last words he would speak?
A call of self sacrifice to discipleship
A call not for the weak.

Would you forsake all for Him
Just as He did for you?
Would you put Him at the top of your list
Is there anything you wouldn’t do?

Discipleship is a journey
Sanctification is the key;
A heart that truly seeks him
Is the way it must be.

What an honor it will be one day
To bow at His feet and hear Him say;
Well done good and faithful servant
You truly understood the way.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 2, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

How far we are

01 Aug

How far we are

James Chapter 4

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”– 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Everything in the Bible should be taken in the context it is written. You can take anything that you want out of context, and make it say anything that you want. When you read James chapter four, what does the Spirit say to you? Most likely, He steps on your toes, just like mine. This chapter speaks into the society that God has placed me in; it speaks to those that live for this world and the pleasures found in it, and will pay for those mistakes eternally. I lived by the motto, “He who dies with the most toys wins” for most of my life. The T-shirt should have printed on the back, “He still dies”. When we live for whatever material gain, for whatever lustful pleasure, for the pursuit of wealth, for the countless ideals that turn into idols, we miss the simple joy of living our lives in the center of God’s Will, for relentless pursuit of them. We miss the pleasures of the day, for we are focused on the worry of tomorrow, or the pursuit of the stuff that takes our eyes off God today. We rest in our pride when we gained the new house, the car, the toy, the trophy, the accolade that feeds pride and temporal pleasure. Then we want more, for it never satisfies the soul. James even speaks to how we are as adulterers to God in our prayers for these selfish gains. As a society we need to repent, and mourn, and weep for hour far we have removed ourselves from God in these worldly pursuits.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 1, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

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.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 31, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

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.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 29, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

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.

 
Leave a comment

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.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 27, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags: , , , , ,

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?”

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 26, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

Tags:

← Older posts
Newer posts →