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Is there a Before & After?

19 Oct

Is there a Before & After?

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (ESV)

The Apostle Paul was writing to refute the Judiazers, and their teaching that everyone had to become Jewish and adhere to the law to be saved. This went directly against what Christ had fulfilled in the law, and God’s saving grace to all people alike. There is no special sect, but God’s saving grace, (giving us what we do not deserve) is openly available to all who will believe. Paul was writing a strong letter revealing his testimony and conversion through Christ. Paul was a former persecutor of those who followed Christ, and was held in high regard as a Jew with his education and zeal. Christ grabbed ahold of his heart, and that zeal led him to become one of the greatest apostles and writer of the much of the New Testament.

I prepared and gave a long version of my testimony recently. It forced me to reflect of my life before Christ, and that reflection brought about the humbling realization of many and great sins. I fell away from the church in my late teens, and lived for all the temporal pleasures of the world in many areas, far from, and headlong against God. I can’t even look back and call any of it gain; like Paul, I count it as loss. There is a true before and after Christ in my life. Do you have that line in the sand? Can you look back and see change in your life after you came to claim Him? There must be a conversion with change, or it is not true conversion. There must be a Before & After.

There is no sin that you cannot be forgiven for with a humble repentant heart. Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Paul was murdering Christians and through God’s grace he was forgiven. 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  God’s mercy can be defined as not giving us what we deserve. God’s grace can be defined as giving us what we do not deserve. When we become followers of Christ, the realization of Mercy and Grace should impact our heart. It should move us to a focus on Christ and not the things of this world. It should move us to the After and pursuit of growing our lives as disciples of His. We should feel so pressed to share with those that are in our circle of influence Mercy and Grace. All else should be left in the Before of our lives as loss.

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Humility breeds wisdom

18 Oct

Humility breeds wisdom

Isaiah 55:8-9  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

I think things to death. I try to look at every angle, which results in every possibility, before making decisions. This sometimes takes only seconds, sometimes days. Anyone that has ever been in a leadership role must possess this quality as a leader, for the effects of those decisions have a ripple effect in the wake behind them. The pressures of these thoughts and processes can put a weight upon the leader that they cannot bear. I cannot begin to describe how tough leadership can be, and how leaders must have a crutch to lean on themselves. Hopefully that crutch is prayer and the Word of God.

God does not operate on the same plain as we do. How could He as the Creator and ruler of all? Isaiah points us to His divine, sovereign, wisdom in these scriptures. Everything the Apostle Paul did was to point the lost to the power of God through the saving grace He provided through Jesus Christ. So many of his day fell into two categories: works and wisdom. The Jews felt they earned their faith through works, the Greeks felt they earned their faith through their wisdom. Paul plead with them; “5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:5). No seminary degree is required to gain the wisdom that may be found in the Bible. God has given you everything you need to grow in your faith and knowledge of Him there. A humble heart that prays for His revelation before reading it is a heart that will be opened to it.

Isaiah’s scripture above can speak to our lack of understanding in the circumstances of our lives. God has laid out intricate details of our lives even with the ability of free will intertwined. We begin to question the paths and struggles we are facing, yet we have not the ability to see the outcome He has planned for us. He thinks outside our box. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. The more time you spend in God’s Word, the more reverent awe of Him you become. A desire develops that continues to draw you there, to plea for Him to reveal more of Himself, to open your eyes through your heart. Your heart changes; your mind changes; He changes you from the inside out with His Word. This produces a behavior that draws the lost to Him through you. James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. Humility through His Word breeds wisdom.

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Discipline

17 Oct

Discipline

Hebrews 12:9-10  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

As a parent it pains me when I see my words of discipline move my boys to tears. They are both strong willed like their parents, and many times it takes a strong tone to grab their attention to understanding they are wrong. “Yelling” might be the best term that it elevates to sometimes. Typically I am the one who feels the worst, and an apology and explanation of the discipline are given. That is where the true lessons are learned. I thank God for the early work He did in me on my temper from early in my walk with Him. I would not have wanted to carry that rage the world brings, as a dad, without the peace as a child of God I have now.

We all have heard, and most likely have all felt like God was punishing us at times. We may have known exactly what it was for, as it came on the heels of sin. We may wonder why we are enduring extended correction, and we may have lost what He pressed on us was wrong earlier. Was the sin so deeply hidden, that denial has taken place? Was the sin of the past ever confessed? Was there a plea and acceptance of forgiveness? If God keeps stirring in your heart that sin, take it before God. That conviction of sin is an assurance of Salvation. That inner pain that you feel is a discipline of itself. 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. If you can knowingly sin and not feel the weight of that sin press down on you; you have a much bigger problem of eternal consequence at hand.

We all sin. We all were born into sin as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. Yes, you ultimately lie in their genealogy, and as their descendants live in the consequence of their action. God will punish you for your sin as your father for your time here. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” All these corrections are to mold us into the image of His Son, and to draw us near to Him. Just as we discipline our children to show them the err of their ways; and to help them avoid the pain in the future. If you question God’s discipline, go before Him in prayer for clarity, confession, and forgiveness of your sin He brings before you.

 
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Posted by on October 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Play your part

16 Oct

Play your part

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

Peter, James, John, and Andrew sat down with Jesus on the Mount of Olives and questioned Him privately about His return, and the signs to know of its coming. Mark in chapter 13 begins to speak about Christ revealing the signs of His return. There will be persecutions, deceptions, waring between nations, earthquakes, and famines. The times will be tough, but it all will be used as a tool to spread the Good News of Christ. The scripture above speaks to the importance of the spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Christ’s last words before He ascended were found in Matthew 28:9 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.

Missionaries called by God have been living their lives as disciples and going into the remoteness of the earth spreading the Good News to all that will hear. The internet has brought about the gospel in a new age to all those that will hear. The news of Christ is being spread to all nations, and this should be a sign of things to come. I am not a prophet, but surely you too can see the world and the sin in the world that surrounds you. A world far from God that He had created as a Garden of Eden. How much longer will He let Satan tug away with the power of sin? Does He have a target number? 1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

What are you doing today that will let those in your circle of influence know that you are a Christian? Do they see Christ in you by your works? If you live your life as an example of Christ’s saving grace in your life; people are drawn to you. You are different from the self-centered world that surrounds you. Your testimony is your life before Christ; your deliverance from sin through Christ; and your life as the result after Christ. God has prepared your testimony uniquely to help draw another to Him. But you play a part in that roll of God’s work in your daily walk and word. When someone wants to know what, or why; share with them your story. You may have played your part in Christ’s return for the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. You may have put us one step closer with God’s work in that one person of whom you just shared Grace with. You played your part in eternity.

 
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Posted by on October 16, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fight for what you believe

15 Oct

Fight for what you believe

2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Yesterday was a roller-coaster of emotions at church. God has been placing before me people getting lots of new stuff, and at the same time placing a growing burden on my soul for those lost in their sin, and those lost in their idolatry. Dr. Gravely closed out a series on the Ten Commandments in a powerful way with a sermon on “God is Enough”. A short meeting followed the service disclosing the poor financial state of the church due to the extended downturn of tithing in this awful economy. People simply are not giving to church with the honoring of what God has entrusted them to financially. This discussion poured into our smallgroup meeting afterwards. The spiritual warfare was recognized in all of this, and heartfelt pleas for prayer for our church were spoken of.

What do you have, that you do not need? What do you have that God gave you the money to purchase, and yet you did not give any back to God to honor that provision? James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. You have nothing in your possession that you have not been entrusted to. Satan has steered your eyes towards the material possessions and joys of this time here; yet taken your eyes off the prize of eternal glory. Satan is the ultimate deceiver and has only placed these desires in your head to rob you. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. It pains me to see the wealth of the community I live in, and a church struggling financially. Pastor Jack shared the testimony of a lady in India who gave half of her TWO ROOM house to become a community church. In the only other room lay her son bedridden in disease. She will have a mansion on a hill in heaven.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. What have you done to prepare and provide for the spiritual world that surrounds you every day? Have you invested in your pastors; the generals in your army? Have you prayed for their welfare as the leaders of your battalion? Have you prepared yourself as a good soldier in understanding how to use the weapons you have been provided with? (the Bible). 2 Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Wherever you may find yourself, you must prepare yourself by spending time in prayer and God’s Word daily. This ain’t no joke, eternal souls are at stake. Put on your armor, drop down on your knees, and pray for your leaders, yourself, and those whom you influence to see your heart for God.

 
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Posted by on October 15, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

14 Oct

He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

I watched the custom bike get detailed a week ago. I watched the new car detailed this weekend. I thought to myself of my life before Christ and of how that was my life. God has been putting before me lots of people who are getting new “stuff”. The list would be long and personal, but God has been showing me these things, opening my eyes and putting anguish in my heart. I lived for so long with the idea of “he who dies with the most toys wins.” My culture that surrounds me here in Charlotte is sliding down the road to hell in the pursuit of material possessions. They have so many idols that are placed before their relationship with Christ if they even know Him. Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

There is nothing wrong with “stuff” and the joys of life. There is a problem with the “stuff” when it comes your pursuit in life. Do you wish to have a new toy more than anything else in the world? Does that new car mean so much to you that you work long hours sacrificing all else around you to get it? Do you not tithe at church where you are every Sunday to feel good about yourself? You are stealing from God! Malachi 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. I have watched my pastor give heartfelt pleas to his flock where the facts are dismal of those that give weekly back to God what God gave to them. How will you answer to Him, if you see Him, of how He entrusted you with the money He gave you?

There was another popular cliche, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.” That sentence has eternal meaning and truth embedded in it. Get it. There is nothing that you attain in life that you will be able to take with you. There is nothing in life that will not perish after you are gone. The only things that matter are the lives you invest in, and Christ that you share with them. The pursuit of your life here should be in the light of the life after. Even a hundred years here in material wealth, cannot compare to one day in heaven; much less it will be eternal. There comes a point in your Christian life you must get it. You must understand Christ is calling you to put Him first in every detail of your life. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. I plea that you will see that new toy as rust, and invest in eternal riches. Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Get it.

 
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Posted by on October 14, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Night of Worship

13 Oct

Night of Worship

Revelation 22:8-9   Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

I have just completed a class that included three weeks in the study of the book of Revelation. The last book in the bible is a book of prophecy from the Apostle John who was granted a vision by God into the future events when God pours out His judgement on earth. An angel escorted John through the vision, and John was so humbled he was led to fall at the angels feet and worship him. The angel quickly told John of his error and pointed him back to God; they both were brothers in the faith, lovers of Christ, and worshipped only God.

The book of Revelation is for our benefit for this glimpse into the future. It is a complex book full of symbolism, but it speaks of the return of Christ as a central theme. Revelation may be full of war and pain to the lost and those that do not turn to God; but Revelation is also full of the hope and glimpse into heaven we receive as believers in chapters 21. Revelation 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. So magnificent that it’s doorway is a pearl; do you grasp that ideas of natures rare specks of sand creating small pearls; yet the Creator makes the gateway of His (and yours) future home with them, and paves the street in pure gold. Interested?

We had an awesome night of worship last evening at CCC where the majority were fully engaged in the praise and worship of our God. It is so moving to see all the hands in the air, and many tears on the cheeks where the realization and impact of some song stirs your heart. You realize your sin; you realize Christ died to save you from it; you realize your life without or before Him, you realize your future with Him. You are moved to raise your hands in praise for thanksgiving for the grace you did not deserve. You are thankful for the promises of the book of Revelation, and not the fear of Revelation. Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

 
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Posted by on October 13, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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I got rest; even with little sleep

12 Oct

I got rest; even with little sleep

Hebrews 4:1-2   Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

Almost like clockwork as expected, I wrote about the pressures of the world yesterday; and so they set in on me last night. Little sleep, morning headache, and the daunting lists of tasks presses on my mind as I lay awake. Mine are just as yours; age and responsibility brings demands on us that press on us all. These headaches I can do without. Our team in India has really been on my mind as they reach out to the lost there. Of how they are teaching pastors, equipment them for ministry. Of how they are taking Christ into the streets into places where Satan and pain are thriving; and bringing the Good News of Christ to a dying world. They are bringing the word of life that no matter how bad it is now; it gets better for an eternity.

Hebrews 4:1-13 speaks about the promise of God’s rest. The content of this passage is questioned to whether it is written for the entirely present or the entirely future. The commentary states it is best understood if read in the context of already started, yet not consummated. Once you believe, your soul rests in Him. There is a peace about you that the world cannot steal. If I were to describe my faith in one word it would be peace. Satan and his angels try to steal your rest or peace on a daily basis. They are fighting a battle already won for your soul by Christ on the Cross. You have rest today that will last for eternity in paradise with Him.

The author of Hebrews points to the importance of that day you hear the good news and the promise of that rest in Him. He quotes Psalm 95: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” It is critical time when you hear these messages and feel God stirring in your heart. You cannot deny Him but for so long. How many times will He knock at your door and you refuse to answer? The decisions you make today will have eternal consequences. What if tomorrow never comes; and you denied opening the door to your heart today? I would plea that you surrender your sins to the One who died to forgive them and place your faith in Him for the rest He provides for eternity. It is never too late, until it is.

 
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Posted by on October 12, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Give your cares away

11 Oct

Give your cares away

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Are you stressed out? Are the pressures of life and the decisions of life bearing down on your mind to the point of effecting you physically? It can be the demands of the world for our time;(of which there never seems to be enough of). It can be the questions and decisions in life that there never seem to be the answers to. It can become a pressure on our minds that begins to reflect in our outward selves. We may snap easily; we may not feel well; we may loose sleep; we may not remember……where was I going with this? I can give you multiple examples for each and many more of these. The difference in the pressures of life is how you cope. Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.

If you cope by running away you will eventually run head on into what you are running from. If you cope with some sort of substance to numb the pain, you are creating a new problem that will ultimately destroy you. If you are releasing, (maybe venting would be a better word), your pains on those around you, then you are destroying those around you. You can release your pain to God and the opposite happens; you strengthen your relationship. Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You find this rest in the time you spend in prayer and God’s Word. These are the two things in life that God has given you to provide you a means of peace when you are with Him. The more time you spend doing both, the better you are able to handle the stresses of life.

God gave me a HUGE encouraging word this morning while researching this passage. Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. It is so hard to articulate my mornings with God. This ministry that He has put on my heart is so very humbling, yet gives me strength to face each day. Satan comes at me with both fists, but yet I know how to hand those strains over to God; and Satan’s ploys backfire because I draw nearer instead of coping as in the past. I am nothing special, I just have a heart for God and I live as in Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Wouldn’t you love for today to be the day that you gave your cares away?

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Who’s on First?

10 Oct

Who’s on First?

Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

“Yea, I need to get back involved at church; but I need to __________; or I know I should be reading my Bible but I am so busy; or my work requires so much of me that I just don’t have anything left; or the kids have a game and ______________.” I have said and done them all. I have put everything you have before Christ and finally came to the realization of it. God started showing me all these things when He showed me the true idol I had in my life as a motorcycle. It was my God; where I poured everything, what my life focus was on. It is one of the first steps of my testimony of God’s life transforming power. It is now a recreation I still enjoy, but it is not an idol any longer. My idol is my God; my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When God could stand the evil of the world no longer, He spoke to Noah to prepare and save His elected few. We all know the story of the flood; but what about those who were left to perish? They too may must have been busy with life; even the possibility of a desire to change, but it was too late when God moved. Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. These are the words of Christ of His return and the warning of it. Matthew 24 is a powerful description of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ with a warning the must be heeded.

It is never too late until it is. Do your excuses merit the ticket for the boat, or the perils of the flood in the days of Moses? Anything that you have in your life that you put before your relationship with Christ is an idol. The first of the 10 Commandments is, You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3) It is so serious that is it #1 on the list. Pray for God to reveal your idols to you; it will come with a sting, but that sting is the conviction of the Holy Spirit of that sin. A repentance of that sin and the desire to move your relationship closer is the beginning of a changed heart. Make God first in your life, not down the list after everything else as a leftover. The day is coming when we have to answer for our priorities for eternity.

He came. He died. He arose. He ascended. He is coming back.

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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