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You don’t need book smarts

You don’t need book smarts

1 Corinthians 2:1-5    And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

When I look back at my life, well what I can remember of it, I was never studious. I usually did only what it took to get by, and my mind always seemed to be elsewhere. I now look back and wonder if the recognized problem that haunts me today, haunted me in childhood; I can never retain what I read. I can understand complexities, but I cannot recount them after the fact. I now find myself in school again, loving the learning, but deeply struggling with the requirements. I have somewhat jokingly said that I live in the “present tense”. It does keep a hunger in me now for God in a childlike way; seemingly finding what I am looking for in God’s Word brings great joy. When I need it most, and the Holy Spirit brings it to remembrance, most do not understand the inner joy I receive in that blessing.

Paul was a highly educated man. He likely knew how to persuade a crowd with his speech down any path he might want. He could have easily impressed with eloquent words and the proof of the wisdom he had gained in his earlier years. He chose to draw glory to God, and not himself, in the simplifying of his preaching. He preached only Christ and Him crucified alone. It is in that power of the gospel that Salvation is found. It is in that simplicity that Grace is found. We have continued to put our works into our faith, and works does not save us; faith produces works, but works to not produce faith. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

You can do this; you can share your faith with anyone and everyone. You can share the peace, hope, and love, that you have found in the security of your Salvation. You can share the bad news that everyone will have to stand before God one day and give an answer for their lives. We all are sinners and fall short of the requirements of a Holy God. UNLESS, we have been covered by the blood of the Atonement that Christ gave us at the Cross. All one must do is to repent of their sins to be saved. It is answering that tug on their heart that God places there. It is not becoming a better person first; it is coming to Him to become a better person. That Gospel is available to all, and preach-able by all without any necessary edjumication.

 
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Posted by on August 18, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Who’s on First?

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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The word of our testimony

The word of our testimony

Psalm 51:13-14 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

David had poured out to God his heart in a plea for God’s grace and forgiveness. He wanted to be a changed man and live for God. He wanted God’s grace to ease the pain, to lift the burden, to find rest in that forgiveness and salvation. I found it in study as this, “David calls sinners to salvation in this verse. He vows that he will use his experience of God’s grace as a renewed motivation to bring others into the knowledge of the love and mercy of God. David desires to be forgiven for several reasons: (1)for his own peace, (2)for the message of hope that he could communicate to others, (3)for the praise he would be able to give in the community of the faithful.” This was Davids story of forgiveness, or David’s testimony of God’s grace on him.

If you proclaim Christ, you have a testimony. You are not the same person as before. You cannot be; for He produces change from the inside out. Your testimony is the evidence of God working in your life through the blood of Christ to forgive sin and change lives. Have you ever thought about that change and tried to summarize it? It may have many avenues of change and most likely is a work in progress, but the evidence of that change God uses to reach others. He uses you as a tool to reach and encourage the lost around you, and many times your testimony is exactly what they need to hear. 1 Corinthians 1:5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.

Don’t ever be scared to share you faith and your story of how Christ changed your life. That fear that creeps in is Satan at work to try and stop the work of God through you. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Your struggles and God’s healing all make up a beautiful story of power, love, forgiveness, and change. A powerful new worship song has the lyric, “We will overcome, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of all honor and glory.” Share your testimony, no, live it.

 
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Posted by on July 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Where is your Zeal?

Where is your Zeal?
Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;

Zeal is not a word commonly used today. If it was it would probably be in the context of material possessions, or a personal drive towards a goal. Zeal is defined as:: eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something : fervor. I think simply stated your zeal is what drives you. As I head out today to enjoy time on a dirt bike, I realize it is where my zeal was for many years. It was how you defined me. It was my everything, and what my life pursuit consisted of; it was my idol. It is now a huge part of my testimony of God’s work in my life, and the delivery from that idol. What do you pursue with zeal, forsaking many things focused on that pursuit, now realizing it has become an idol?

Romans 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Paul was speaking of Israel and their hearts for God, but yet their understanding was wrong. They believed they could earn their way into heaven. This problem still consists today in our self-righteous world, but that is not the Gospel of Christ who has come to save the world.

Having your focus on God and the pursuit of the things of God is where your zeal must lie. It is summarized in two incredible scriptures in Revelation of how to live a zealous life for Christ and the rewards that follow. Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Christ is not promising an easy road in a life focused on Him, for He is telling us He will correct and punish us for our sin. But He is pursuing you, and offering an eternal life with Him as a result of answering His knock and the repentance and forgiveness of sin. A zeal for God will drive you like nothing else.  For a heart for God sees none other that can promise anything but temporal pleasure in a fleeting world; yet a zealous heart for Him reaps eternal reward.

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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