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Well this is what Christ did for me……

02 May

Well this is what Christ did for me……

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Looking back on yesterday I had the opportunity to share my faith 4 times running service calls. Four different situations, yet the result was a time of sharing faith, and sharing testimonies. We all have a story, or a testament of our life, and how Christ has worked in it. If you have received Christ into your heart, simply put your life before and after Salvation is your testimony. You have now become a testament to the power of God to save a lost soul, and the story of your life before Him, and now the changes as a result of accepting Him into your heart. Your testament should not glorify you or the past sins, but point to the power of the Cross to forgive the sinner.

Everything that has happened in your life is for a reason, and everything that has happened can be used to glorify God. Your testimony can relate to someone who stands before you on common ground, sharing the same struggles you once did. God has allowed you to go through these things to attest to the power of Him to deliver you from them. They can see the difference in you as in 1 Corinthians 1:6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. You are now living your life as ‘before’ and ‘after’ Christ. The after is the hope and faith that resides in you that God wants you to share with those around you. They see something that makes you different, and the Spirit inside you wants you to share. Don’t be afraid to share your story, for your story is unique and written by God to share that hope that lies within you of the healing power of the blood of Jesus Christ for all sin.

 
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Posted by on May 2, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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What size is your faith?

30 Apr

What size is your faith?

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

This morning the word Faith was heavy on my mind. We had a kids production at church last night founded on the faith of Abraham, the patriarch of great faith. What is the definition of faith? “Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust.” Faith is at the core of any belief, yet faith in Christ as the Risen Savior and Redeemer is essential in the Christian faith along with the understanding that God is in control. Abraham was told to simply “GO” and he had the faith to follow God’s direction. His blessing and descendants have outnumbered the stars as a result of his great faith in God. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

You are what you believe. You are defined by what you place your faith in. Where your faith resides will shape many of the decisions you make every day and your thoughts for the next. If you place your faith in yourself and believe that you can do all things, pride will destroy you for an eternity. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Faith is the realization that you are not in control, therefore God is, and the faith and peace that come from that realization is where you can reside. Great faith comes with a peace that surpasses worldly comprehension, and the world will challenge your faith. The greater the challenge, the greater your faith, the greater your God. Let go and let God grow your faith that has come as a result of accepting the gifts of Grace He has given, and will continue to provide in the means He designs.

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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My defense

23 Apr

My defense

1 Peter 3:15-16 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

All of this reflecting upon my life recently in the preparation of updating my testimony, has me in a bigger picture of self analysis now. And in my time this morning I come upon the verse above – God’s perfect timing again. Why do I share with you my life, my hurts, my healing’s, my views of what God is showing me? It is for you to possess that same hope that I have in an eternal paradise with the Creator and Savior of this world. This world we live in only creates at best temporal pleasure, but assured consistent disappointments. You have a yearning inside you for a hope that is beyond this world that God placed there, but the question is what do you do with that desire? When you humble yourself and accept Christ, that hope blossoms with His Spirit living inside you. Colossians 1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.

The Gospel of Christ is also known as the Good News. This Good News is the placing of that hope in you through the acceptance of Salvation, the free gift from God. There is nothing you can do to earn it, but you can humble yourself and accept it, and rest in that hope for your temporal time here on earth. Romans chapter 5 speaks much of that hope, and especially verse 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Faith in your God will begin to strengthen that hope daily. That faith and hope you will possess will allow you to see past the disappointments that your time here will bring to you almost daily. You will begin to see those fears that you have as attacks from Satan, and you will now possess the power through God to resist those fears that once held 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.  My defense simply put is the Peace that has come to me in a world out of control around me. A Peace that surpasses all understanding, but is available to all who accept Christ as the only way to have eternal hope. He has changed me from the inside out, as only He can. The rest of my life I hope to life as a bondservant to Him, glorifying Him as a humble gratitude for what He did for me. He saved me; He will save you. The choice is yours also.

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Grow w/o Food?

22 Apr

Grow w/o Food?

1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

How does anything grow? Food & water right? Taking that principle into mind, we therefore must be fed to grow closer to God. If we are desiring to live a better life, and to develop more than a surface relationship with God, then we must spend time in His Word. We cannot grow without the nourishment that the Word of God brings into our lives, and as a result of it, we will become the better person we desired to be to start with. Regeneration and Purification are brought by Christ into your life upon Salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.  

The more time you spend in God’s Word, the closer you draw to Him. The Spirit will begin to reveal and convict you of sin, and will provide the way to escape. God desires you to be like Christ, and He accomplishes this through the power of the Spirit living inside you, and the conviction and power of His Word. John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Matthew Henry states it so well in his commentary on 2 Peter, “The word of God is the great instrument of a sinner’s purification: Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth. The gospel is called truth, in opposition to types and shadows, to error and falsehood. This truth is effectual to purify the soul, if it be obeyed, Jn. 17:17 . Many hear the truth, but are never purified by it, because they will not submit to it nor obey it. The Spirit of God is the great agent in the purification of man’s soul. The Spirit convinces the soul of its impurities, furnishes those virtues and graces that both adorn and purify, such as faith (Acts. 15:9 ), hope (1 Jn. 3:3 ), the fear of God (Ps. 34:9 ), and the love of Jesus Christ. The Spirit excites our endeavours, and makes them successful.”

Your life will never be the same if you pursue God through daily time with Him and His Word. I can promise you that, for that is my testimony. It all started to change, when I started to spend time with Him every day. My “big brother” / best friend told me once, “If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting.” Try if for 30 days, and then see if you can stop feeding on the Word of God.

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Chief of sinners – Forgiven!

21 Apr

Chief of sinners – Forgiven!

1 Peter 1:13-16   Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

I love how God works. I am giving my testimony this coming week, and the time I have been spending with God over these last couple of days has put me in 1 Peter where he is speaking of all the trials of life. How we were before Christ, and then how we are to conduct ourselves now upon Salvation and Christ dwelling in us. Of how the persecutions and difficulties will come on both mental and physical plains, but these realizations of being children of God will provoke a reverent holy fear of God. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Once you begin to grasp the understanding of who God is, and what He has done for you, that reverent fear comes as a strong emotion deep within your soul.

As I look back as part of reflecting for testimony preparation, I feel as Paul said in 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. It is so humbling realizing what Christ has done for all of us, even those who still hate Him. Now on this side of Salvation I strive to be a better person, to live a life honoring the One whom gave His life for me and you. I lean on the time in His Word and prayer and the pursuit of the renewing of my mind as in Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. This is a daily pursuit, every day asking for forgiveness, and asking for guidance to help me along the way. I beg you to reflect on your life and understand there is nothing you have done that you cannot be forgiven for through repentance and acceptance of Christ into your heart. It is never too late, until it is.

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Trojan Horse

20 Apr

Trojan Horse

1 Peter 2:11-12     Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The draws of sin are ever present, and the tugs of sin can become overpowering if you do not pursue a strength through the Holy Spirit to abstain from them. We all have the battle between good and evil that rages inside us as a result of the falling away in the Garden of Eden. Even after Salvation the inner war rages on inside us in a Spiritual realm that we all feel on a daily basis. Salvation does not bring perfection and the freedom from that war, but it brings the eternal freedom from the punishment of sin when Christ has paid our eternal debt on the Cross at Calvary. In  Romans 7  Paul speaks of the battle of good and evil inside us; that even the great apostle wonders why he does the things he really does not want to do.

Even in my early morning hours when I arise to spend my time with God, I will awake sometimes to a battle within my mind I was not even aware of while I slept. Anxieties, pressures of life, worry, doubt, and lusts can enter into our thoughts at the beginning of the day even before we are awake.  But we must pursue the time spent with God to fight that battle, and to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 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. This pursuit and strength that come from time spent with God, is the necessary weapons that you need to fight these battles. Do not let pride creep in with the thoughts of conquering this war alone. Pride is the Trojan horse of Satan and will destroy you from within.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Seeing the Son through the clouds

19 Apr

Seeing the Son through the clouds

1 Peter 1:6-9   In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith–the salvation of your souls.

I have found myself in the book of James again this morning, and I have been there a lot through the recent years. This book is an epistle that speaks much of the trials of life, and facing them as Christians. This book is a great place to lean on God when you are facing the trials of life that will come. In the second sentence we are told to “count it all joy” (James 1:2) when we fall into these trials. Joy….Really? Satan’s plans in these trials are to draw us away from God through sin, and God’s plans are to draw us closer to Him through Grace. Matthew Henry’s commentary says, “The devil endeavors by sufferings and crosses to draw men to sin and to deter them from duty, or unfit them for it; but, as our afflictions are in God’s hand, they are intended for the trial and improvement of our graces. The gold is put into the furnace, that it may be purified.” Even gold  must pass through the fire to become pure as we may also.

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Matthew Henry’s commentary is very strong in bringing light to this book of James. “Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption.” God is in control of all things, and all things work for His glory when we are children of His (Romans 8:28). I know from my life, I can attest to the times I was the closest to God, were the times when I faced the biggest trials. You either will fall away into sin as James says, or you will place yourself in His hands to allow Him to carry you through. All we tend to see when we face the storm is the clouds above us, yet we must live in the faith that the Son is above them all along shining down upon us.

 
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Posted by on April 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Roller-coaster

12 Apr

Roller-coaster

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

The roller-coaster ride of the thing we call life. It really does seem to be the perfect analogy with all of the ups and downs, the constant direction changes, the going in circles, or even when we feel as though we are going crazy like a corkscrew. We set our plans in motion and a unexpected drop or turn is thrown into our path. We begin to climb the ladder of worldly success and upon reaching the pinnacle, the world falls out from under us. There could be countless analogies that we all could insert our stories into that ride. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and he understood that from his own success and failures of it. I strongly encourage you to read the book of Ecclesiastes for it is so relevant for today. Ecclesiastes 3: 2-8 is a great description of that roller-coaster of life.

In Ecclesiastes 3: 2-15, my Bible commentary puts it; “Solomon teaches that all events are in the hand of God, who makes everything happen in the time He judges appropriate.” It is so hard for our prideful, sin filled hearts to ever accept the idea that we are not in control of our lives. But all that comes to us, or leaves from us, passes through the hands of God either by His design or allowance. Matthew Henry puts it;  “That every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably fixed and determined by a supreme power; and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is appointed for us.” His commentary is so strong that I have includes a link below to it. With the understanding that God is in control comes a Peace that this world cannot provide. We are assured of how He can work any situation ultimately for good in Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Once you have accepted Christ unto Salvation, there is nothing this roller-coaster of life can throw at you that will ever leave you in fear of leaving the tracks, for God designed the ride.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/ecclesiastes/3.html

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Don’t Go

10 Apr

I have been asked about my testimony recently, and the reflections of my 44 years have been flooding my mind. A life full of sin, a poster child for many great sins, for I even sinned to the best of my ability I presume. But now it sickens me and I strive to live a better life, to walk in the Light as He is in the Light (1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.)  This has become a daily pursuit, a life seeking to abide in Christ. It does not come from Sunday’s alone, but from putting God first in all things. It means that Satan is making my life real hard trying to steer me off God’s path. But it means that I also have the power and plan of God to use these trials of life for His glory and my understanding of that. His Will be done, not mine.

Don’t go

Romans 13:11-12    And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

You have accepted Christ and the gift of Salvation, and you are back to work on Monday morning. Life goes on and you wonder what is next on the to do list. You know something has changed inside you, but yet the world leaps out at you and presents all those old sins that seem much more enticing than before. Satan seems to have wrapped them up as gifts and hopes to draw you away from your new found life. That is a spiritual battle that you now have entered but you have the assurance through Christ you are playing in a game that is already won through Him. He defeated Satan and sin at the cross for eternity, but Satan wants to convince you otherwise. You must seek God and His Word for the His strength to fight this battle. Galatians 5:16-17  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Your old life and your old sins will try to tempt you to come back to them. Satan is the author of all that temptation for God will never tempt you to sin and God will provide you a means of escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. That means of escape can simply be a conscious move on your part to remove yourself from the possibility of the sin. Remove yourself from that person or place where that sin has a opening to your soul.. Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Escaping from that sin can be very simple for there is a place where the sin takes place. Do not go there.

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Marching Orders

09 Apr

Marching Orders

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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.

In the days after Christ’s Resurrection, He was appearing (and disappearing) to those whom He loved. He was encouraging them and preparing them for the ministries that they would spend the rest of their lives pursuing in His name. All of these appearances were to solidify His returning from the dead, even appearing to over 500 as in 1 Corinthians 15:6. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Then just before He ascended into Heaven, He gave them their marching orders known as The Great Commission above in Matthew. To spread His name, to live righteously, and to have the assurance He would never leave them.

Do you follow Christ’s marching orders? Do you not only try to live right, but try to share what He has done for you? We are all called to become disciples putting Him first in all things. Luke 14:33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. When we began to truly realize what Christ did for us it begins to stir our soul. The Spirit inside us begins to prompt us to share what we possess. Do we deny the Spirit and those promptings never to share our faith with those He puts before us? When those opportunities arise, they are designed by Christ for you to encourage them through the guidance and strength He provides. Moses was scared to death when God called him to speak. But through God He delivered a nation. Exodus 4:12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” The Holy Spirit that resides inside you upon Salvation is that same voice that will lead  you in times of sharing your faith with others. Be ready, willing, and able through the strength that lies within to share what you possess following Christ’s marching orders to you also.

 
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Posted by on April 9, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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