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A passage that stands out

11 Jul

A passage that stands out

 Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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.

There are times in the Bible that you wish were more than even the words of Christ that may be highlighted in red. The scriptures that stand alone; key passages that give you key points of how to live your life as a Christian; Romans 12 is one of those passages. You must “get it” to learn to live how God desires you to live. I love how The Message translation describes this passage:
Romans 12:1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Anytime that you see a “therefore” in a passage, you must read the prior scriptures to understand it’s meaning. Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.  Amen. Paul summed it up in 11:36, but my ESV commentary points out that the Therefore is really pointing to all of Paul’s argument thus presented in Romans. Christ speaks to John in the Book of Revelation with that same summary that Paul speaks of in 11:36. Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” You must come to a point in your life that you truly begin to grasp how great God is; how great is his mercy for not giving you what you deserve; how great is his grace in giving you what you do not. How great he is as the Sovereign Ruler of the universe; the Creator and the Sustainer. Only in this understanding will come a life that desires to life as a Romans 12 Christian. You must grasp Paul’s argument in the book of Romans prior, to move to that level of sacrifice He desires that Paul speaks of in Romans 12.

The New Living Translation puts it like this: Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. I have given you three different translations for this scripture, but I cannot speak to your heart. Prayerfully seek God in this scripture on your own; ask him to set you back in reverent awe of him, to produce in you that life that He desires you to live found in this passage.

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Peace in an out of control world

10 Jul

Peace in an out of control world

Romans 11:33-36    Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Yesterday I had a great conversation with another contractor who uses his business as a ministry. We stood out in the parking lot and shared our faith. He asked what one word I would use to encourage someone; His one word was obey, my one word was peace. All throughout the Bible we are shown and must come to understand the Sovereignty of God. Sovereignty is simply defined as a supreme power; God is the definition of THE supreme power. When you read the Bible as a whole, you come to understand the complexity of God’s plan; but at the same time the centrality and simplicity of His plan to offer Salvation to all, and to draw all to Him for eternal paradise. In that understanding comes the peace that my one word describes.

Romans 11 is the apostle Paul’s detailed description of how Israel fits into God’s ultimate plan to save all the world. Paul goes into detail of God continues to offer grace to His beloved people time and time again; His plans even come to use their rebellion to offer Salvation to the rest of the world. Everything that Israel has ever done, and will ever do, all falls under the Sovereignty of God’s design. He either designed it, or allowed it, but it all will work for his purpose. Our simple minds cannot grasp a speck of the mind of God. But when we come to grasp that understanding, their is a release of our burdens to Him; for we know that He is in control of it ALL.

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. This passage is one that we as Christians must lean on in difficult situations in life. This is Sovereignty defined; “all things word together”; we cannot understand how the difficult situations in life can possible be for our, or work out for our good. We only see the present tumults or pain in them; we don’t see past them. But with the heart of understanding comes the peace in them. He has a purpose “for good to those who love God” in every situation in our lives. If you pursue Him with all your heart, He will open your eyes to that Peace I am trying to describe.

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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How will they know?

09 Jul

How will they know?

Romans 10:13-15    For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Paul has been presenting that what was once thought only available to the Jews, is now available to all. The Lord God that all had known the Jews worshipped, had come to give Himself up for those not of Jewish decent too. The saving grace found in Him carried no ruse of exclusivity any longer; all could come to know Him and worship Him for what He freely gave to them. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. This was no private party with a God all throughout the Old Testament that those opposing the Jews had feared; Paul preached a God of love who had came and paid the ultimate price for all to have forgiveness and access to Him. The doors were opened, and all needed to hear; Paul preached the Gospel with urgency.

I love this set of rhetorical questions that Paul presents here; the “how thens”. You say that you believe in Him, but how then did you come to believe? You at some point must have heard of Him, to come to a point of belief in Him. Someone, somewhere, somehow, presented the Good News of Jesus Christ to you. It may have been received with a hardened heart at the time it was presented; it may have fallen on your seemingly deaf ears; it may have nestled in a corner of your soul until God was ready to humble you to remind you of your need of Him. Paul is stressing the importance of spreading the Good News here, to live your life on mission. And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? Have, or more directly, is your life on mission? Do those around you know of Who you place your faith and hope in? How can they share in your joy if they have not heard of Him?

So much over the past couple of weeks of my life has been centered on missions. God has been putting people in my life that have true hearts for missions; for spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth; with hearts like Paul. I have spent some time with a modern day Paul; he is just encouraging to be in his presence; sold out for Christ and spreading the Good News in a country far away from God. I have friends with true mission hearts such as Paul, I saw and experienced the evidences of it and Him greatly as we gathered to prayerfully send off the next team. The presence of the Holy Spirit was great in that home that evening; He was there, and we were blessed because 15b”How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” My heart is full of joy for those that God has put in my circle to influence me; to encourage me to press on, to feel the love they have for Him and the hearts they have for sharing Him with others. How else will they ever come to know Him?

 
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Posted by on July 9, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Priceless treasure

06 Jul

Priceless treasure

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

I have always been very open about my struggles with memory. Some mornings I use a website to search for a word on my heart. That search many mornings leads to quality time in my favorite Bible. Some mornings I simply park, and read, and study in it. My Bible is full of highlighted passages, notes, and my own words that God has shown me while spending time there. I have had this Bible for over five years, and there is nothing that can compare to the special place it holds in my heart. I left it at church one time, and almost had a panic attack fearing I had lost it forever. Even in my struggles with my memory, it just always seems that I can find what I need when I need it most there. It is truly like there is a direct connection with God in this Book, because there is; He lives between those pages and He knows my love for him and his word. This particular Bible is beyond special to me, it is a part of me.

John is speaking to the Holy Spirit that dwells in us; that Spirit gives us discernment to spiritual things. John was speaking of the anti-christ and the deceivers that are working in the world. There are many that preach a false gospels today in many varieties. Today they seem to be luring people away with the promises of an easy and blessed life, but not preaching the power of the convictions of sin. John is urging you to use the discernment that is given you to see this as a lie; to practice the truths that are found in His Word; to steer away from false teachers; to abide in the Spirit and dwell in His presence in His Word and truth. John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 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.

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. Christ was speaking to the disciples before he was to suffer for all of mankind at the Cross. He told them of the coming blessing of the Holy Spirit that will be given to all believers in Him. That is Christ’s Sprit that comes to live inside you; he comes to bless you beyond description for your time here. He comes to open up His Word to you like never before. He will take your Bible and communicate to your mind through your heart. You will begin to see Him as never before and be drawn back into His Word daily for another word from Him. You will be drawn to share with others what He has shown you. You will begin to look back at your own Bible and all the notes and highlights in it where He has spoken to you. It will become a priceless treasure to you too.

 
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Posted by on July 6, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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The Inevitable Penalty (borrowed)

02 Jul

The Inevitable Penalty (borrowed)
Matthew 5:26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
As I sat down this morning I saw the opened devotional from yesterday; one that struck a deep chord inside me. Mr. Chambers spoke of the power of the conviction of sin through the Spirit; he spoke of giving our lives up for Christ completely; he spoke of the desire of God to make us more like his Son at all costs. So much that is being preached in the pulpits today is lush Christianity; lost is the work of the Holy Spirit in the convictions of sin and all that come with it through a repentant heart. You cannot claim the promises of heaven and continue to live in sin today. An assurance of Salvation is a heart that desires to flee from that sin that ensnared us for so long. What do you believe? Are you submitting to those convictions, or are you denying that wrenching inside you to continue in that temporal pleasure of sin that has eternal consequence? Mr. Chambers wrote:
“There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and] . . . you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.”
God’s goal is to make you more like Christ; period. All that He places on your heart requires that action that Mr. Chambers speaks of; the knowledge of knowing what we should or should not do. That response will determine your walk with God; that obedience either draws you closer to him, or lets you drift away if you deny it. Let the Spirit do His work in you. Respond with pleas for strength to fight the temptations of sin, the heart of forgiveness, the heart of compassion for others who struggle too. Let go and let God do his work in you. Your life will never be the same.

 
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Posted by on July 2, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Do you believe?

01 Jul

Do you believe?

John 12:44-47    Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

I heard a really good sermon yesterday on Christ’s deity; of how manifested as God in the flesh. Of how He is a part of the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We simply cannot wrap our minds around this concept, but yet do we believe this concept? Is not faith’s foundation in believing what we cannot see, or even possibly understand? Is the pride of our lives so great, that if we cannot explain it, we will not believe it? That is a deadly pride, the root of all sin, the basis on which there is a separation of heaven and hell. You cannot profess to believe in Christ and not understand that he walked this earth that He created in human form. He humbled himself and came to earth to pay your debt that you could not afford. He died for you to live eternally, with Him, in paradise.

Christ was entering into Jerusalem in this passage; he was coming into town with the knowledge he as going to die the most excruciating death imaginable. He was coming into town to the praise and worship of men; those same men that would soon turn on him and crucify him in very short time. He boldly claims his deity; he understands what this means to those that do not believe. But he also tells them they must believe to be saved; for He will return and judge the world when He comes the second time. John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. Are you prepared to kneel before God on that day of judgement? Are you living your life now in preparation for that day? Your sins, past, present, and future can be forgiven by the One who came to save the world; you must believe and grasp that understanding of Him as your Lord and your God.

I guess I don’t get it how someone doesn’t believe. I, even at my worst and greatest sin stages of my life believed in Christ. I chose to run from God and pursue the temporal pleasures of sin, denying the eternal price I would pay for those decisions. I blatantly lived my life against all that I knew to be true. I was captured by the enemy, deep behind enemy lines. How could I say that I believed, and continue to live in sin? I didn’t really believe I guess. For if I had understood what awaited me in hell as a result of my life, I would have stopped and pled for it immediately. Please understand you are not guaranteed tomorrow, but you are guaranteed forgiveness today. It is never to late……until it is.

 
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Posted by on July 1, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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About my magnet

28 Jun

About my magnet

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.

I had a talk yesterday with one of my best friends, and the Godliest man I know. He always encourages me, and I always know God is using him to do so. His discernment is incredible; we were talking about God’s calling on our lives and the different calls, but all called to preach. This morning in a favorite devotional, it spoke of being apprehended by God. “We are not here to work for God because we have chose to do so, but because God has apprehended us….What you preach is determined by God, not by your own natural inclinations.” (Oswald Chambers). When God gets that grip on your heart like never before, you come to realize He has you at this moment right were He wants you. As a child of His, Free Will may allow you to wonder from that center line of your life for Him, but the magnetism of His Sovereignty draws you right back to center.

I live in the present tense; my memory and lack of it trouble me deeply. It comes as a result of genetics, abuses, and stresses in my life. It has gotten much worse in recent years. My mornings out here are many times seeking the things I should remember. I felt that pain in our conversation yesterday in speaking of Old Testament stories. I struggle much more than I can ever reveal, but in it I have also seen God renew that desire for the new each day. I cannot rely on any supposed wisdom, for I cannot remember it. That hearts desire for the new word from Him keeps me seeking Him every day. I only want you to see Christ in me, just as Paul says above. I am a “unedjumicated” man; I am enrolled in seminary, but I am far from scholarly. I only seek to know more of God, and the things of God found in deeper study of Him.

There is nothing special about me; all have have, and all I lack, is all God’s Will for my life. My life is found in the pursuit of Him now. My hearts desire is to encourage you to do the same. My life changed when I simply began to read my Bible every day. That act will change you too, for you cannot be unchanged by the Word of God. All that you desire in life is found in that book. All that you desire in life will change in that book. You do not have to go to seminary to become a disciple; you do not have to be educated to preach the Word of God. You only must live your life as found in Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. That hearts desire is the opposite polar magnet that will align you with the magnetism of His Will for your life.

 
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Posted by on June 28, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Mirror First

25 Jun

Mirror First

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

I have so much on my mind. I sometimes wonder if all that is on my mind is the distractions of the world, or ways that God draws me closer to Him. In all of it do I stress out with the worry of it, or in it, am I drawn to God through it? Does He allow all of this to keep me seeking Him continually; not to feel as though I can do life on my own? Could I become so comfortable that I don’t see the need for God? This morning in prayer I asked God to help me see my life as He does. To be on the outside looking in at all of my struggles and things that I stress about. I thought of the Brandon Heath song, “Give Me Your Eyes”. It speaks so clearly of the compassion the Lord has for the lost and broken; what we seem to miss so many times stuck in our own worlds of selfish focus on our struggles.

I spent time in Proverbs and came to the passage above. The study of it led to Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Reverent fear of the Lord will produce a life that leads to righteousness. That life with it’s pursuit of righteousness will lead to a deeper understanding of how He sees the world. It will strengthen you from the inside out; feeding and nourishing your soul for what the body needs. It will not feed it with worldly “stuff” that blurs our vision from the things as God sees them. The junk that this world seeks to penetrate our minds numbs us to the things of Christ. You know of what I speak; you surely have your own battles just as I. The level of reverent fear of the Lord is directly related to your struggle with those evils.

In the continued study of that passage it led to a parable that Christ spoke of in Luke 18:10-14. It was about a self-righteous man and a tax collector who went to the temple and prayed. The self-righteous man elevated himself, but the tax collector humbled himself and asked God for forgiveness of his sin. Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” When we want to see things as God sees them, we have to be brave enough for the mirror. A reverent fear of the Lord is knowing how He sees ourselves; knowing that in our hearts are we pursuing righteousness or living for the world? If we are in humble pursuit of righteousness, that we are getting glimpses of His eyes. Those glimpses typically start in the mirror.

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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You are special too

23 Jun

You are special too

Galatians 1:11-24     For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.(ESV)

You can’t unpack Paul’s story in a OneMinuteMinistry. There is something grand to see and understand in this passage; Paul understood that he was chosen by God, even chosen before birth (vs15). So much of Paul’s early life was a life a faith by works, earning his salvation by his intellect and his deeds; he felt he was earning his way into heaven. He led even unto persecution those that did not believe what he did. His world changed when Christ came to him on the Damascus road. Christ told him of how he would be called to preach to those he had been persecuting, of how he must suffer for His name. Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Paul understood that all of his life before Christ, all that he had experienced and performed, could now be drawn to glorify Christ. God had let him walk down that road of life to ultimately show the grace of God, and the glory of God in Paul’s life.

God can and will forgive all of your great sins you have ever committed. You can never repay or work out a penance plan for the repayment of sin. On God’s grace alone are you provided through Christ the payment of sin; it was all settled at the cross. Paul understood the err of his ways, he understood that God had chosen him, not that he had chosen God. With that tug in your heart that comes an incredible understanding that God wants you. Can you really deny that One who is asking for your heart? All it takes is a humble repentant plea asking for forgiveness by the only Way to obtain it. John 14:6 I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me.

Today is not meant for deep theological debate on Election. It is meant in the simplicity of the understanding that you have never sinned so greatly, as not to obtain grace. It is meant in the simplicity of how a humble, repentant heart is all it takes to receive that grace found in Christ. That question, that tug in your heart, is God pursuing you. You are a chosen one. You are able to obtain forgiveness; all of your past life can be used to show God’s grace too. He is knocking at the door of your heart, will you open the door?

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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His Word – not mine

22 Jun

His Word – not mine

Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (ESV)

Oh how I wish I could tell you how much this scripture encouraged me this morning. Of how God gave me the exact words I needed to hear upon opening his Word. Of how I prayed for that encouraging word from Him; and he directly spoke to me with his reply. Thank you Jesus! The self-inflicted pressures of this ministry have been great recently. They come as a result of the demands of the world, and they come as the result of the demands I put upon myself. This ministry is my heartbeat, but whom is it beating for? After a year and a half of this daily diligence, I am my own worst critic. I feel a failure when it does not happen….and pride creeps in. God knows my heart, he knows my load, he gives the means for it’s birth every day.

Paul got it; he never made his ministry about anything but Christ. He could have easily elevated himself with his background and education, but he only sought to remain humble and elevate only Christ. Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.(ESV) Pride has creeped in and destroyed many a great ministries. They began to feel that they either made it all, or they feel the tug to please men in it all; they seek approval through it. Paul only sought to point others to Christ in it. It is all about Him; it is never about the messenger, it is about the message.

The experiences I have out here every morning are the reason I am out here every morning. How God has changed my heart in recent years all after that conscious effort to start reading my Bible every day. Of how He transformed a life steep in sin, headed down hells highway, to a life with only the goal of pleasing Him and sharing with others the hope I have found in Him. He gave me this ministry and this forgiven heart; I am forever thankful for them both. All I want to do is to encourage you to spend time every day seeking Him on your own. Never let this ministry substitute for time in His Word alone. Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. I am a living proof of how your life will change when you start to read your Bible every day. Make today that day.

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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