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His Spirit, his Word, his saints

26 Apr

His Spirit, his Word, his saints

Galatians 5:16-17 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
The battle of good and evil is portrayed, evident, and real in all our lives and in every part of our lives. It is a battle from within, and a battle that plays out in front of us every day. This battle has been around since the Fall of Man at the Garden of Eden; sin came into this world and paradise was lost until Jesus Christ returns to eternally restore his creation. There is no one of us that does not struggle with sin every, single, day. There is no lofty pastor in any pulpit that does not struggle; even the great apostle Paul wondered why he did the things he did; he wrote in Romans 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. There is so much to unpack in this chapter, but Paul is speaking about the struggle of good and evil, the struggle that all of us face, one that even himself battles from within. Paul goes on to explain how sin has such a hold over us, that he really can’t explain. My study Bible puts it like this, “Being fleshly, sold over to sin, involves a conflict that mystifies Paul and other believers. Paul feels he does not understand himself. He finds himself defeated, not doing what he wants to do, and doing what he hates to do. the conflict indicates that there is a battle between two identities in the believer. First there is something that acknowledges that the law is good. Second there is something within, called sin, which produces evil.” The battle of good and evil inside of us.

God uses his Spirit, his Word (the Bible), and his saints to convict us of sin. He uses the Spirit to put that tug in our conscious, the same Spirit that tugs at our conscious when we read our Bible, and his saints (pastors and friends) to bring those convictions to us. Are we listening, or are we wrapped up in the temporal pleasures of it? I am no different; sin creates many temporal pleasures for me too; the convictions sting and produce great pains. I would be much more scared if I didn’t feel convicted of sin. Can you imagine the realization that one day you did not feel any inward pain related to sin? Romans 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. One of the best sermons I have ever heard was from Dr. Adrian Rogers on when God gave up on us and let us die in sin; conviction and reverent fear does not do that message justice.

You are going to fail, but you can be eternally forgiven. You are never going to be sinless, and the battle of good and evil will always be present until you die. You can only seek with your heart to draw closer to God today than you were yesterday, and to seek him for the strength to resist sin. There is just as much power of God in the conviction of sin as there is in the hope of the Gospel. Paul puts that promise on the heels of Romans seven. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Just take life with an eternal view; rest in your Salvation and seek to work out your salvation by abiding each day with Him. The more you seek him with your heart, the closer you draw to him, and the more sin will sting and produce a cleansing effect on your soul. All of this work is accomplished by his Spirit, his Word, and his Saints.

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2015 in Daily Devotions

 

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Daily pride repentance

28 Jan

Daily pride repentance

Philippians 2:5-8

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be made equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

I have been stuck in this chair after surgery for a week now. I have found myself even going to some of the Christian broadcasting channels, only to get aggravated with what I saw. It worries me sometimes for the people that follow this media and TV personalities, but I must remember that one of my friends testimony began with one of its smiling stars. He now is a missionary in a distant land, living his life as a disciple, spreading the gospel to people who have not heard. The Holy Spirit does a work we cannot do, nor question his ways in accomplishing God’s will. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” says the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

My struggle yesterday was a reply to a very good question. “How much pride do we have to have to be considered proud before God?” The answers were very weak, and almost seemed afraid to step on people’s toes. To me it was obvious that the panel of pastors sat on pedestals of their own pride. All throughout the Bible is the evidence of God exemplifying a humble spirit before him. The root of all evil is pride and and can be traced back to Satan being cast out of heaven for wanting to be like God. At 3 AM this morning I found myself in Philippians 2 with the evidence of the love that God has for you; the condescension of Christ, when God became man to die for your sins. Grasping just a small portion of that condescension will stir your heart to a level of humbleness that no pride can attain. How many proofs are in the Bible that the lonely will be elevated in heaven?

Sadly as Christians we all struggle with pride, sometimes even unknowingly in our judging other people. This is an entire message within itself. As Christians this is proof of another requirement of daily repentance. Daily repentance brings us to the feet of Jesus, humbly asking for forgiveness of our daily sins. The daily sin of pride alone should prod us to daily repentance alone. Repent and believe and draw closer to Him today than you were yesterday.

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2015 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hydration = Lower Anxiety

23 Apr

Hydration = Lower Anxiety

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I really wonder how many roads I could go down with this passage; how many roads of our lives could this passage minister to each of us? Should not this scripture be on the dashboard of our cars, on the screensaver of our phones, on a post-it note on our computers? We need to be daily reminded of this scripture, for all of this world takes us in the opposite direction. I am entering into what will likely be the most difficult summer of my life; the air conditioning business is brutal in the summer and now I have the load as a pastor also, and still all the load as a husband and dad. Already in these few early weeks I am seeing the stresses and anxieties it is going to place on me; I think I need to figure out a way to place this scripture as my screensaver.

I read a book called “Out of Control” a few years back; I really need to find it and re-read it to be honest. It spoke greatly to me of how God did not create us for this 4G world we live in. He did not create us for living our lives in constant communication and constant stimulation. Our world and the demands of it are moving us away from God. Sunday’s are becoming just part of our calendars, making time for God on them. That moves us one step closer to religiosity, and one step farther away from God. He created us for a relationship born out of love; not mindless worship and motions that we feel obligated to perform on Sundays. Religion teaches and kills, for it teaches that we are saved in it; nothing you can do earns you favor with God except the humble heart that realizes Grace. Only in that realization are you saved through his Son. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Even in my early hours out here with God, I never want it to be of duties call. There was a point in this ministry that it became a call of duty, and God showed me that clearly. I only want early mornings to be about spending time with One I love and expecting to hear from Him. Those days such as this when I struggle to arise, my heart pulls me from bed to seek my alone time with him before the pressures of the day demand my attention. I have always leaned on 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. When we all go out and about into our day, the pressures of the world are that dry and thirsty land is our world is. It daily points to our need of the “Living Water” that Christ nourishes us with; that living water that we should seek early each day to prepare for the day. A properly hydrated soul will be a soul that faces the day with the strength found in Philippians 4.

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Bottom of the pool

21 Jan

Bottom of the pool

Romans 6:3-4   Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Let me lay out a scenario for you if you will. A child raised in a Christian home with regular church attendance. Followed routine church practices and requirements including infant baptism (sprinkling); later in life, they truly come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior; do they need to be baptized again? There are much bigger questions that can lie here that are deep in the religiosity of the particular sects of religion they practice. Some believe that in an infant baptism that produces salvation; some believe that any baptism produces salvation; some believe all their religiosity wrapped up in together produces it; but does any of it? NO! Only through a humble repentant heart that desires to be forgiven through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid on the Cross will be saved. Only through the understanding that Grace is what saves you; no act or work or deed of your own merit will ever get you into heaven; none except you swallowing your pride and accepting that fact. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Let me probe a little deeper. That later in life is you that came to know Christ, but you don’t feel as though it is necessary to be baptized (submerged), for you were sprinkled as a child. Necessary is a difficult answer, but why would you not do it anyway as a public profession of your new life in Christ? Are you ashamed to publicly profess Christ? Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. What reason other than embarrassment could there possibly be for not being water baptized? Do you think God is going to be mad at you for doing it twice? Would He not be glorified in it both times? What about the day that you stand before Him and he asks you why you did NOT follow that tug on your heart to be baptized? Is there truly any answer that will suffice?

Do you know what the word baptize means? I found this online; “It comes from a Greek word which means “to submerge in water.” Therefore, baptism by sprinkling or by pouring is an oxymoron, something that self-contradictory. So then a baptism by sprinkling would mean “submerging someone in water by sprinkling water on them.” Baptism, by its inherent definition, must be an act of immersion in water.” There is no point in your life, no age in your life, no reason in your life if you know Christ as your Savior to not be baptized by submersion. How glorious it will be to be at his feet and tell him you were proud to identify with his death, burial, and resurrection. You are leaving your old life on bottom of the pool, and arising to a new life in Him.

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Thinking of you (PFY)

14 Jan

Thinking of you (PFY)

Philippians 1:3-5    I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

Can you gather from this scripture how much the believers and the Philippian church was on Paul’s mind? He thanked God every time he thought of them; every time he prayed, he prayed for them, he considered it great joy to have them on his mind at all times it seemed. He considered them his family in the faith, and from the opening verses of this epistle, they were obviously very close to his heart. He labels Timothy and himself a servant to them through Christ Jesus for their sakes. Paul is writing this letter from prison and could have used it to ask for anything, but the central theme of this letter is joy and encouragement. Paul wants to express his love for them as his family of faith, and encourage them to live out their lives as believers in Jesus Christ. They were very close to Paul’s heart.

Do you ever have God just lay someone on your heart out of the blue? What do you do with that thought? It truly is a great time to pray for them. It may be God giving you a supernatural glimpse into their lives, and their need for prayer right at that time. The closer you are to them, the more you may know how to pray for them. Some of my closest friends and I will send a text “PFY” to each other; Prayed For You. It may be known why on both parties, but it is always an encouragement to the party receiving the text and knowledge they are being prayed for at that time. Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. I have “PFY” wrote beside this scripture in my Bible.

We have all heard tale of the intuition of people when tragedy strikes. When God lays someone on your heart, pray for them, contact them, tell them God laid them on your heart. It will at a minimum encourage them to hear from you, and hopefully grab a glimpse of the supernatural power of God in both of your lives. It hopefully will be a glimpse of the Sovereignty of God in both of your lives. These become little acts of obedience in our lives, little acts of becoming that “bondservant” of Christ that Paul describes in the opening verses of this epistle. God must trust us with the little things, before he trusts us with much.

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Full of supplies

30 Dec

Full of supplies

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I have been up since about 3am. I woke up with church on my mind; well, a lot on my mind about yesterday to be honest. I have spent time in the Word reading the book of Philippians this morning, for I am hoping to do a series on it soon. I have also been reading a book I cannot put down called Knowing God, by JI Packer. This morning I read a chapter on the Holy Spirit, and sadly how as Christians we seem to pass Him over. Of how we concentrate our ministries on Christ, but miss Who Christ gave us personally till He returns. “The Spirit testified to the apostles by revealing to them all truth and inspiring them to communicate it with all truthfulness. Hence the gospel, and hence the New Testament. But the world would have neither without the Holy Spirit. Nor is this all. In the second place, without the Holy Spirit there would be no faith and no new birth – in short no Christians.”

In the book of Philippians, Paul is thanking them for the gifts that they have sent him while he was imprisoned in Rome. They have supplied more than his need, and the commentaries state that they have given much more over and above what was needed; made themselves poor per say. Paul is encouraging them greatly, telling them they cannot out-give God; they have a credit on their account.17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. They were giving from a cheerful heart, out of their love for God and Paul. Paul has expressed contentment where he finds himself now; he knows that even if he is in chains, the gospel is being spread. He sees the Holy Spirit working through him to even strengthen and encourage the faith of the Roman guards in his presence. He knows in all things in his life that God is at work.

I could not help but reflect on Phil. 4:19 in the context of the gift of the Holy Spirit this morning. “Supplying all our needs” as the great comforter, teacher, helper. John 14:16 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. My prayer is that this small ministry has and will encourage you to spend daily time with God; to get into God’s Word and prayer and see how your life is transformed. The Holy Spirit that dwells inside of you as a believer in Christ, is who opens the truths of God’s Word to you. 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 is One who will supply all your spiritual needs if you will only seek Him every day.

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Big things

05 Dec

Big things

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. (NIV)

We have entered the month of the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s birth. The holiday season if you will; the point in which all of time centers around. There is no point of which to argue that our time stamp revolves around the birth of Christ no matter your belief; there is a marker set in history of BC (before Christ), and AD (after death). Even with that historical marker some argue who and what Christ was and is. Such a big deal…..that He divided time. My heart this week has been wrapped up in big picture things in my life; at the church, at my business, in my life, and in my study of the Word. So many big things with so many levels of cause and effect. These things are likened to these divisions Paul speaks of here; the opposite of unity. I cannot begin to open the roads my mind is going down, but I have included a passage that I pray the Holy Spirit will speak to you. It is one of of unity, of the centrality in Christ, in the One who divided the time that our world revolves around.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (ESV)

 
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Posted by on December 5, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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It

15 Nov

It

2 Corinthians 4:5-7    For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 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. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

It ain’t about you.
It is all about Him.
It is the power over sin.
It is what you cannot accomplish.
It is what He did accomplish.
It is the perfect sacrifice.
It is an Atonement.
It is your bail money to get out of Hell.
It is the Light in a very dark world.
It is a free gift from God.
It is the grace of God.
It is the mercy of God.
It is unimaginable sacrifice.
It is the answer to the Law.
It is what you can never attain through the Law.
It is being elected by God.
It is that tug that you feel from deep within.
It is how you respond when you feel that tug.
It is from an eternal well from which you will never thirst again.
It quenches the fire from which the lost only want a drop to cool their tongue.
It requires humble repentance, not works based penance.
It makes you go against what the world teaches.
It teaches selflessness and sacrifice, not pride.
It makes you a new person on the inside, for those on the outside to see.
It readjusts your priorities in life.
It makes you see what truly matters in life.
It makes you want to share what you have with everyone.
It presses you to a life of service to the One whom gave you life.
It will give you a hope that the world does not have.
It will give you a hope the world cannot steal away.
It will keep you “up”, when the world tries to knock you “down”.
It is an endless list of what it can do in your life that you nor nothing else can ever do.
It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It…..is eternal.

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Basic Training

11 Nov

Basic Training

2 Timothy 2:1-4    You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 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.

The apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy is one of encouragement; one that is likely Paul’s last words to his protege, his son in the faith who had been by his side from Paul’s second missionary trip on. Paul had poured his heart into Timothy, he had stretched the boundaries of what Timothy thought he could do at a young age. Paul knew he had the upbringing and the capability of being a great leader in the church for Christ. Paul knew Timothy would make a good soldier for Christ. Here he reminds him of those struggles that will come to face a soldier for Christ. He is not only telling him to teach, and to delegate, but to remain focused. Soldiers must have a keen eye or focus on the mission at hand; Timothy’s mission was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all that he encountered. Satan in the spiritual warfare that is the Christian life, brings all that he can to distract one’s eye from the mission at hand. Paul was consistently urging believers to remain focused on the eternal; he wrote in Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Timothy understood these things for he had been with Paul and known first hand the troubles that came as a soldier of Christ.

Today is Veterans Day; the day we salute those who have served our country in the military forces. Many have paid the ultimate price for their service with their lives. One thing is assured; very early in all of their basic training is instilled the necessity of a focused mind. Seeing the goal of the mission at hand; doing whatever it takes to accomplish the mission, no matter what the difficulties or the cost. A well trained soldier is like a machine with only the ability to accomplish the tasks at hand. Is that your mindset when it comes to your faith? Do you waiver when the going gets tough and see the distraction in front of you? Are you able to keep the mindset of a soldier and endure the distraction and press onward and upwards towards the goal? Being a soldier for Christ means you will suffer with him. Listen how Paul points to the promises to those that remain focused: 2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful–for he cannot deny himself. (ESV) When the going gets tough, remember your basic training; focus on the eternal.

 
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Posted by on November 11, 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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