As I look around these days, I can’t help but see all the suffering going on. There also seems to be a lot of unrest and confusion in the world today. I know to some extent it’s always been there, but lately it seems everything is escalating out of control. To read the newspaper you’d have to be blind not to see this world is rapidly falling apart.
Even in my own extended family I see division, disharmony and pain. Many are aging and becoming ill. Sometimes it all seems too much for me to handle.
That’s when I step back and remember I don’t have to handle it! I recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 when He says “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” God gives us many promises in The Bible. Over and over He has proven Himself worthy. God is not like man. He cannot lie. That is why when He says something we know we can believe it!
We’re never going to find peace in the things of this world. It doesn’t matter where we look. It’s not in more money, not in more friends, not in more anything! The Bible tells us peace on this earth isn’t going to happen until Jesus the Prince of Peace comes. That’s when He will take control of our messed up Government and give this world an order like we have never known before. Hallelujah!!!!
Until that glorious day, God has given us His Holy Spirit to be our Comforter. He knows we will go through trials and tribulations so He tells us to rely on Him and He will get us through them. If we trust in Him, we’ll be stronger and better equipped to handle whatever may be coming next.
So often we become wrapped up with our lives and all the stress that goes with it. We try to handle everything our way, fixing our problems the way we think they need to be fixed, and all along God is there saying Come to me, come to me, I can give you rest, I have the peace you’re looking for, not the world!
Why not try to see our problems as His concerns and not ours. The God who created us knows what we are going through every moment of our lives. He is there and is as close to us as we allow Him to be. Let’s press into Him!
Find a quite spot each day. Open up His word and meditate on His promises for you.
Then most importantly believe on those promises! That is where true peace can be found.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God! Psalm 42:11
June 15, 2010
WHAT IS OUR EXCUSE?
If we take a look outside, it is apparent how God has revealed Himself to us. What a magnificent world with all it’s beauty! We are all without excuse! God has made Himself known to each and everyone of us.
Why is it then that so many refuse His offer to have a relationship with Him?
By choosing a life without God the truth becomes blurred and right from wrong a bit foggy. When a person continues to walk in his desires, sin is easily brushed aside and all too soon becomes out of control.
Out of the emptiness of a person’s heart they’ll try in vain to fill the gap with worldly pleasures that satisfy only momentarily, leaving them feeling emptier still.
Everyday all around us we see hurting people trying desperately to grab a hold of something that will give them lasting satisfaction.
Many tend to make idols out of careers, money, spouses or children. All those things can be wonderful and enjoyable but God warns us about worshipping idols, and that’s exactly what we’re doing when all our focus is wrapped up in something other than God.
It’s as if we are worshipping the creation instead of the creator.
Use this analogy: An artist paints a lovely portrait but instead of being accredited for his hard work, people only care about the painting.
They totally ignore the fact that behind the beautiful piece of work is a creator who deserves the credit for what he has done.
I believe that is what many of us are doing to God.
He has given us so much, but instead of giving Him the worship and devotion He deserves, we direct it towards the things He has given us out of the abundance of His heart.
Don’t put off accepting Gods invitation to have a relationship with Him.
The consequences of rejecting Him are far too dangerous and the benefits of saying yes are beyond what you can imagine.
In the Bible, in the book of Joshua, we read the story of how God instructed Joshua to bring down the walls of Jericho. After 40 years in the wilderness it was time to claim the Promised Land, but the Israelites had to go up against a group of people who posed as a real threat.
Gods unconventional strategy of having the soldiers march around the city day after day may have confused the men, but out of obedience to God they did it and the walls of the city came down.
The same principles apply to us in tearing down our own emotional walls, walls that may have taken years to construct. Walls built up with pain, heartache and pride.
Just as those soldiers marching around Jericho had to trust God, we too need to trust Him, if we want to see a break through in our lives. Many of us have grown so comfortable living with our walls that the thought of removing them leaves us feeling vulnerable and afraid. That could never be Gods plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
If fear is what keeps you from changing you can be sure it is coming from the enemy. For God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 1Timothy 1:7.
Some of Gods commandments don’t make a whole lot of sense from our human perspective. How can I love my enemies, forgive my brother or love the unlovable? Does God really know what I’m facing here? Can’t we just trust that the one who hung the stars in the sky, the one who chose us before the creation of time would know what is best for us?
Why not begin today to make a commitment to follow Gods instructions? Then you can watch as the wall begins to chip away, all the while turning a hardened, cold and bitter heart into a warm and loving one that will bring a supernatural peace almost like the weight of the world has been lifted from you.
Break the pattern! Until we realize there are no perfect people, we can’t release those who have hurt us.
Do you know where you’re going when you leave this world?
Our lives last an average 70 years, but eternity is never ending.
With that in mind maybe it’s time we gave some thought to the matter.
The Bible tells us God has created us with “eternity in our hearts”. That means we know deep down that there is more in store for us than what we are living right now.
Think about it, we’re born, we grow, we love, we suffer, and eventually we will die. That is pretty much the pattern we all go through. Our lives can be pretty exciting and wonderful but when our time is up it’s up.
Now I’m not trying to sound depressing or anything. On the contrary, I want to share the wonderful hope of something far better than this life could ever hold.
I know there are many who believe there is a heaven and hope someday to be there, but for now they just don’t want to give it a whole lot of thought. Maybe it’s because they’re afraid or maybe just too busy with life, or they’re thinking “I‘m young I’ve got time”. Let me tell you that’s a bad plan.
The absolute most important decision you need to make has to be made now! The Bible tells us WE have to choose where we spend eternity. It specifically tells us we will go to one of two places after we die- Heaven, where God is or Hell - where God is not.
Before sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, God was able to live among men. Things were beautiful beyond our wildest imagination. Heaven is like that because it’s a place where sin cannot exist. Therefore it is a place of only good and wonderful things.
Hell, on the other hand is a place for those who reject God. A place so terrible I tremble reading what the Bible says about it. Let me just say no one will have a single moment when they’ll be free of pain or utter anguish for all of eternity.
Many people say “Well I’m not concerned with Hell”. “A loving God would never send me there”. “After all I haven’t done anything that bad.”
That’s a serious misconception many people have. God does NOT send people to Hell. People who willfully reject Him are actually sending themselves to Hell.
You see a perfect and Holy God can not be in the presence of sin of any kind and the Bible says we all have sinned. God sent Jesus, the only perfect one to die in our place as an offering for our sin.
So you see people we have a choice to make and here it is: Do we accept what Jesus did on the Cross for the penalty of our sins, believing that He is the only way to God? Or, do we turn our backs on the one who suffered and died on that Cross so we could live out eternity in peace and not in torment?
We make the choice. We MUST make the choice.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before you knowing because of my sin I am not worthy to join you in Heaven. But because your son Jesus died on the cross in my place I realize there now is a way for me. Lord today I am choosing that way. I repent of my sins and from this day forward I will follow Jesus in great anticipation of what a glorious place Heaven will be.
What’s the purpose of life? This old cliché has been around since the days King Solomon ruled Israel back in 930 BC. Even Solomon himself struggled with this very thing- as you can read for yourself in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Now if the wisest man who ever lived had trouble figuring it out wouldn’t it make sense we might do the same?
Usually it starts as we begin to approach middle age or so. When we’ve been around long enough to notice our lives seem to resemble a pattern. Day after day, week after week, year after year it goes – been there, done that. We try new things to spice things up a bit, but after awhile we’re left with that same empty feeling.
Why is it that “things” in themselves never seem to satisfy us? Even some of the wealthiest people in the world continue searching to fill the void in their hearts. And people, well, they seem to always let us down sooner or later.
I wonder if it ever occurred to those searching that maybe they’ve been looking in the wrong place.
In The Bible, Solomon say’s “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.” The term “under the sun” seems to be the key factor here. We’re looking for our answers under the sun when God says we’ll find them by looking to His son.
It is by turning to Jesus that things begin to make sense. Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life…” When we focus on God and what He wants for us, all the puzzle pieces fall into place. If we continue to look at our lives through the eyes of the world we become limited, because the world itself is limited. It’s as if we are in a box trying to find the answers. We need to focus our attention outside of the box. When we look to our creator, the one who made all things we start to find what our hearts are searching for.
Verse 3:11 of Ecclesiastes says “God has put eternity in our hearts.” That means we know there’s more than our 70 something years on this planet and until we begin to look to the source of all things we will just keep coming up empty.
Our days on earth are only the beginning for the believer in Jesus Christ. An eternity with our Lord awaits us. If we live each day in preparation for that, we can find complete fulfillment in whatever it is God would have us do.†
February 10, 2010
HOW MUCH HE LOVES US
I think if our minds could really comprehend the love of Christ, we would never be the same. Things like going to church, reading our Bible or praying would be forever altered. If we could only grasp the significance of God’s love, it would just blow us away.
I think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night He was to be handed over to the Roman soldiers. He asked His disciples to keep watch and pray, but they couldn’t stay awake. In the three years of being with Jesus, they saw Him heal the sick, even raise the dead. Maybe they thought Jesus was capable of handling any problem Himself and they simply gave in to the temptation of falling asleep. What they didn’t know was that Jesus was about to go through something far worse than anyone could imagine. It wasn’t just the fact that He was to be beaten unrecognizable and crucified on a cross. Don’t forget, many people during that time were also hung to die on crosses. Even most of those very disciples would suffer unspeakably tormented deaths.
What made the murder of Jesus far worse and brought Him to His knees in the Garden that night wasn’t just the fact that He would be beaten and crucified on a cross. It was that as He hung on that cross, He would be carrying all the sins of this world. Is it any wonder why He asked the disciples to pray? Think of it for a moment. All the sins you’ve ever done, are doing, or ever will do, times all the people who have ever lived, are living, and will ever live; those sins rested on the shoulders of Jesus. If God can’t look at any sin, it makes sense why Jesus said in His anguish “Lord, Lord why have you forsaken me?” For the first time ever, He was alone without God the Father.
This was God’s plan for redemption. Jesus had to do this, so when God would look at us He would see His Son and not our sin. Jesus became our sacrificial lamb. Hallelujah
So my friend, the next time you’re thinking “Oh, I have to go to church or I have to read my Bible and pray. Why not think of it this way. My God loves me so much, that he sent His son to die for me, so I could be saved from Hell. All I have to do is to ADMIT I’m a sinner, BELIEVE on the one He sent, then CONFESS and turn from my sins… Well, I can’t imagine any other way I’d rather spend my time than in His presence.†
January 18, 2010
FORGIVENESS
So you’ve messed up again. Whatever it was; you know it was wrong and it’s time to ask God for His forgiveness. The Bible does say in 1John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But there is more to this forgiveness thing than just: I’m sorry God; please forgive me, Amen, and you’re in right standing with God again.
God says He won’t forgive us unless we forgive others. Remember the Lords Prayer? Forgive us our trespasses as weforgive those who have trespassed against us. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 6:14 & 15- “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Ouch! Now it becomes a bit more difficult. You may be saying that it’s easy to forgive some people, but what do you do about say; the cheating spouse, the business partner who robbed you blind, that close friend who betrayed you or what about the person who murders a loved one? God certainly can’t mean we need to forgive those people. Well, yes He does. You see forgiveness never means justifying what the perpetrator has done. It means that you are following a commandment of God. It doesn’t matter that you don’t “feel” like it or that you really don’t think you can do it. God promises we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That means forgiving the one you think is not worthy of forgiveness.
Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense, but once you do it you immediately feel the weight of the world lifted from you and you’re back in the will of God. Remember; God loved us while we were still sinners and He is constantly giving us another chance. Try to look at the person who has hurt you through the eyes of Christ, and as a mother would see her child. Suddenly it gets easier to love and to say; “you are forgiven.”†
December 17, 2009
MEANING FROM MYSTERY
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
We hear this passage from Scripture every Christmas , but do we really ever ponder it’s meaning? I’ve been given a fresh revelation this Christmas that I’d like to share with you.
When we look out on the night sky away from the city lights, we can see close to 5,000 stars. Pretty incredible! In 1995, the Hubble space probe concluded that there are billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. Many of these stars make our own sun look like a mere dot on a piece of paper. Try to picture this: By one estimate, there are more than 10 stars in the universe for every grain of sand on the earth. Wow! It’s hard for my mind to even go there!
Now, go back and read Isaiah 9:6 again. The very God who created all the stars in all the galaxies came down to our little planet as a baby. Why? He did it for us. “God so loved the world that He gave His only son" John 3:16. How else could a sinful man dwell with such a holy God? We needed a perfect, sinless offering to give to God and God knew the only offering that would work would be Himself. So the God who made the Universe and everything in it became a humble baby, born to a virgin, to live and die for us. That is an amazing concept to think about this Christmas.
God’s gift to mankind is Jesus, who provides a way for us to live a perfect eternity with God. But there is one thing we need to do before the gift becomes ours, and that is, we actually have to accept it.
Now if you have yet to receive this precious gift and all of God’s promises, take a moment and ask that same Jesus who died for you, to become all the more real to you. Tell Him you’re tired of trying to live your life by your own accomplishments. Tell Him you’re ready to relinquish everything to Him; all of your troubles, all of your fears and concerns. Tell Him you're sorry about all the times you’ve messed up your life because of your own selfishness. Then tell Him you want the peace that comes from having an intimate relationship with the God of the universe. Revelation 3:20 says, “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."
Why not ask Jesus for more this Christmas? Not more in material wealth. That will all be gone someday. But more of Him!
May His wonderful mysteries unfold in your life now and forever.†
November 30, 2009
FEAR
OF GOD
Abraham had a fear of God. Now there’s a
difference between having a fear of God and being afraid of God.
Abraham’s fear was based on the awesome wonder of who God is. He
wasn’t afraid of God, as some may be if they have something to
hide from Him. On the contrary Abraham was quite open with God. They
had a very intimate relationship. God even called Abraham His friend.
When God was going to destroy the city of Sodom, He
consulted with Abraham, and Abraham said what if you could find 50
righteous people, would you then save the city? God said yes, but upon
reading further in Genesis 18 we find sadly, there was only one
righteous (saved) in all the land. That was Abraham’s nephew Lot.
Lot had no idea how close he was to being annihilated. He was living
among sinful people and was not spending time with God, therefore he
did not hear from God. It took Abraham’s warning to spare Lots
very life.
When we have a reverential fear for God we want to be
with Him. And when we spend time with Him through reading His word and
in prayer, we hear from God. That is such an awesome experience, to
have a close and intimate relationship with the God who made us. †
October 30, 2009
ONLY ONE WAY
I can never understand how
Christians can be called intolerant or judgmental by others for
believing their way is the only way. True
Christians believe in the Bible as Gods word written through the Holy
Spirit.
"For
assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one
tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." I like the translation from the
Message Bible, "Don't
suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—
either God's Law or the Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to
complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a
vast panorama. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the
sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth
wears out, God's Law will be alive and working."
Now
if Jesus is telling us all of scripture is true why would Christians
believe otherwise? He even says in John 18:36-38 the very reason He has
come is to testify to that truth. "Pilate
therefore
said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered,
“You say rightly
that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have
come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone
who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Jesus
very plainly tells us in scripture that He is the only way to God. No other way is going get us to heaven. “
I am the way the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but by
me.” John 14:6. That means to see God and go to Heaven we need to believe
Jesus paid the price with His blood as the sacrificial lamb for us. Why on earth should we be named intolerant or
judgmental for believing what our Lord says? Only
one way can be true, right? If
Buddhists say it’s their way, and Scientologists, say their way,
Hindus
their way and so on and so on which is the way? You can’t have
more
than one truth.
The Bible is
plain. There is no hidden agenda with God. Only one
way, it’s Jesus and I believe it! †
September
29, 2009
HOW
YOU CAN HAVE VICTORY
To have victory in your life you first must recognize your need for
deliverance.
Something is holding you back and you have
to be set free from that bondage.
Bondage is any condition that you cannot
control (fear, guilt, hate, depression, worry)
Here is what God says will lead us into
bondage:
Pride – Bitterness – Strife & Lying – Lust &
Evil Desires – Unforgiveness – Occult – Astrology and
Witchcraft.
Each of these things is listed in the Bible
as ways to open the doors to oppression. Take some time and
examine them. Do you find one or more present in your life right
now? Be honest with yourself. If you really want to be set
free it’s time to recognize these things as sin that will hold
you back from receiving victory. Many people have been in bondage
so long they find themselves comfortable with that way of life.
It’s almost like they have given up on anything better.
Jesus said in 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.” Satan is here to rob us of all Gods
promises. The Bible tells us because we are flesh and blood we
cannot stand against the enemy of our souls. We can try to fight
our addictions on our own, but that only leaves us feeling depressed
and frustrated when we can’t get results.
Jesus will help us defeat our greatest
obstacles. When we stop trying to fight our battles alone and
humble ourselves before God, (admit to God we need Him) then He is free
to work on bringing us victory. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.” He wants us to give Him all the weight we are
carrying.
Here are some steps to bring you Victory:
*You must be born again- John 3:3
Get honest with God. Tell Him you want to change but don’t
know how.
Admit
you’re a sinner who needs to be saved then give Him permission to
take over your life. Jesus says in John 14:14 ”If you ask
anything in My name, I will do it.”
*Get to know God by reading and studying the Bible. - Psalm 119:15,16
Learn all the promises He has for you.
*Know your enemy.
The Bible tells us ways to protect ourselves from Satan’s
attacks. - Ephesians 6:10-18.
*Trust Jesus to do all that He says He will.
Proverbs 3:5,6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
Him and He shall direct your paths.Ӡ
August 12th, 2009
GETTING CLOSE TO GOD
Sometimes the thought of being close to God seems
unfathomable to
me. After all He is God! He created the Universe and
everything in it. He made our whole world, the majestic
mountains, the roaring seas. How can a God so big could be interested
in little, unimportant, insignificant me? Yet my Bible tells me
He is. God’s word says things like:
*He knows the number of hairs on my head. Matthew 10:30
*He knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13
*He considers me His friend. John 15:15
*He listens to me when I talk. Psalm 69:33
Pretty wild,
don’t you think?
Why is it then that some people seem to be closer to God than
others? Well let’s think about it. You have friends
you consider closer than others don’t you? What’s the
difference? Your close friends are more involved with your life;
you spend more time with them than the others. By doing that you
come to know them better, trust them more, and grow to love them
deeper. That’s the same thing with God. It’s that
simple. Take time each day and read Gods word. Ask Him to
help you understand what you are reading so you can apply it to your
life. Then of course pray. Prayer is the way you can talk
to God. After prayer be still and listen to what He is saying to you.
Remember: The closer you are to God the closer He’ll be to
you.
"Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In
My Father’s house are many mansions;if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and
the way you know.
Thomas
said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how
can we know the way?"
Jesussaid to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me.""
Wow! what beautiful and comforting words.
Right now Our Lord is preparing a dwelling place for us with Him and
promising to return for us when He is ready. When will He be
ready? No one knows for sure. But all around we can feel
the birth pangs of something about to happen. What an exciting
time to be a Christian! God does not want us to worry about
anything. He wants us to trust Him. And He tells us how to
come directly to Him for our concerns and needs. It’s
through Jesus. No other way is possible. Prayers to any thing or
anyone else are all in vain. Only Jesus can lead us to God and to
our mansion, which He is now preparing for us.
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the truth in
your word. Thank you that you have given us a way to you through
Jesus, your Son. In these unsettled times we pray that we remember to
turn to you and nowhere else for all our needs. In Jesus name
"The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance."
Have you ever wondered why Jesus has not returned yet? Sometimes
I look at our newspaper and think, “How much worse is this world
going to get?” I find myself more and more homesick for my real
home with Jesus. I’ll start to pray “Lord please come
and rescue us from this place.”
Jesus will come that is for sure but we need to take into consideration
if He came right now there would be many souls yet unsaved. We
all have loved ones, friends and neighbors who would be left behind.
So the next time we’re ready to throw in the towel, lets thank
God for His mercy and pray more for those unsaved souls. Soon
enough His mercy will turn to wrath and it will be too late for many.
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Lord, though I anxiously wait your return, please
give me a deeper concern for the unsaved. Help me to pray more
and do more so that they can hear your word and receive your grace. In
Jesus name
Amen. †
May 19, 2009
SCRIPTURE TO PONDER:
"Therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility,
meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one
another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ
forgave you, so you also must do."
Do you have unforgiveness in your heart today? Maybe you think your
okay in this area of your life and you really don’t need to
concern yourself with that. Or could it be your thinking
“I’m alright except for that one thing so and so
did.” “It was pretty bad, still I really don’t let it
get to me anymore.” We need to look deep into ourselves and
do an “engine check” every once in awhile. You see if
there’s a foreign object such as the sin of unforgiveness in our
heart nothing will “run” right in our lives. Did you
know you can forgive someone even when they are not the least bit
remorseful? Forgiveness comes from God. He gives us the
power we need to release that hold someone has on us. We
don’t have to ”feel” like doing it. It may even
seem completely against the” natural” way. Forgiving is an
act of will not an emotion. If you are a child of God
you’ve been infused with the same power that God worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead. (Ephesians1: 2) Think about
that! By Gods enabling power you can forgive others with the same
grace and forgiveness you’ve received from God for your
sins. So don’t harbor bitterness another day. Choose
to forgive. Then experience all the freedom God will pour out
into you by this one act of obedience.
PRAYER TO OFFER: Dear Lord, I don’t have the strength to
forgive on my own. I know you have experienced betrayal and pain
deeper than we could even imagine and yet your forgiveness holds no
boundaries. Please Lord give me the power I need to forgive those
who’ve hurt me deeply. In Jesus holy name I Pray.
There’s a wonderful story about the love of God. It goes like
this:
A pastor introduced a visiting speaker, an elderly preacher walked up
to the pulpit and told this story: “A father, his son, and
his son’s friend were sailing off the Pacific coast when a storm
overturned their boat sweeping all of them into the ocean.
Grabbing a rescue line, in a split second the father had to make the
most excruciating decision of his life-which boy to throw the other end
to and which one to sacrifice. He knew his son had accepted
Christ and his friend hadn’t. Anguished, the father
yelled, “I love you son,” and threw the rope to his
son’s friend. By the time he’d pulled the boy back to
the capsized boat his son had disappeared beneath the waves. His
body was never recovered. The father knew his son would step into
eternity with Jesus and couldn’t bear the thought of his friend
facing eternity without Christ.”
At the end of the service a teenage boy approached the old man and
said, “That’s a nice story, but what father in his
right mind would sacrifice his son’s life in hopes that the other
boy would become a Christian? “You’ve got the
point,” the old preacher replied, “It’s not
realistic. But I’m standing here today to tell you that
story gives me a glimpse into what it must have been like for God to
sacrifice His only Son for us. You see…I was that father,
and your pastor was my son’s friend.”
The Pharisees who watched Christ die said, “He saved other;
himself he cannot save.” And they were right; He
couldn’t do both, so He chose to save you. Today will you
accept His offer of salvation? †
May
3, 2009
SCRIPTURE
TO PONDER:
"Do not be afraid
nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not
yours but God’s."
As Christians we can go through some pretty tough times. Life
seems to weigh us down so hard we can barely breathe. Things will
be going along fine and then - Boom! We find ourselves feeling defeated
and crying out “God I can’t do this anymore!”
It reminds me of childbirth. When a woman is in labor for the
first time and the pain gets so intense she just screams out “I
QUIT! This is harder than I thought it would be! I’ve changed my
mind!” Nice try but that’s not how it works, is it?
Once you give your life over to Jesus there’s no turning
back. We can try and dismiss God when things get too hard.
But all that does is intensify our anguish and frustration. You
see unless we walk in Gods plan for us we will never be at peace with
ourselves.
The good news is God promises He will never leave us or forsake
us. If we press through we’ll come out smarter and stronger
than before.
Trust God to get you through every problem in your life and remember
–Quitting is NOT an option.
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to see that although things look pretty
bleak at times, your right here with me. Lord, please give me
your strength for I know this battle is yours and as your word says
“all things work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
"This
Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to
all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success."
READ THE BIBLE
– FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS - HAVE SUCCESS!
Here we have one of the many promises made by God. God is saying if we
study His word and do what He says we can have prosperity and
success. Who wouldn’t want that? The word
success means favorable or desired outcome. Sounds good to me!
How many times
though do we jump ahead and do something without reading the
instruction manual? It happens to me a lot. I am too impatient for
reading, I just want to get right in and try to figure it out myself.
What a mess we can make of things by not taking some time for
directions.
It’s pretty foolish then to think we can handle our lives
without following the instructions of our creator. God’s
rules are for our own benefit so we can succeed and not get hurt in the
process. That little extra time each day in the word could
save us a whole lot of trouble.
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Father, please
forgive us for thinking we’ve got it all under
control. Help us to humble ourselves and see our desperate
need for your guidance. I pray Dear Lord that you give us a
deep desire for your word and that you will make clear the direction we
should take.
What God has in
store for us, as believers will be
so worth all the pain this sinful world has to offer. Right
now
the whole created universe is suffering from the consequences of human
sin. But there will come a time when all that will change. We are going
to see glory unimaginable, unspeakable, incomprehensible. God
gives us that wonderful hope and with that hope we are able to
persevere.
As pain and struggles arise in our lives let’s hold on to the
truth of Gods promises and look ahead to when all we are going through
cannot compare to that wonderful glory.
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Dear Lord, Life
can be so painful at times. I
pray that you keep us strong and enable us to withstand the trials of
the day. Father we thank you for revealing to us in your word such
undeniable joy and hope.
Looking back over my life I cringe at the thought of the unkind words
I’ve said, things I’ve done or even thought about
doing.
Before giving our lives over to Jesus we can all attest to
things that we are pretty ashamed of. Thank God He is faithful to forgive us
and we can forgive ourselves.
After our Salvation, when the Holy Spirit takes up residence
in
our heart we become a new creation. All the bad things that
were
so easy to say and do are now convicting us and causing a change in our
character. This is the work of the Holy Spirit and not of us.
If
we are truly born again, we will never be the same.
Those who feel they will turn to Jesus after they “clean
up” their life a little don’t have to
wait. For one
you can never be clean enough and two that’s what Jesus is
for. He died and shed His precious blood so that we could say
“take me as I am, I am yours.” Then with our
commitment to
Him we can be ready to face God.
My friend Jesus is calling you right now. Please don’t think
only
good people are His followers. You see we are all
sinners.
It’s just that the ones who humble themselves and admit they
want
to change are the ones who are forgiven. Once you do that you can see
the miracle of a new life transformed.
PRAYER
TO OFFER:
I come before you
Heavenly Father, sorry for all the
wrong I’ve done. I admit that there is nothing I can ever do
on
my own to be good enough. I ask Dear Jesus, that you come
into my
heart right now and change me to be the one you created me to
be.
Help me Holy Spirit to turn from sins temptation and to follow you from
this day forward.
"Stand
therefore in Liberty by which
Christ has made us free and do not
be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. " Gal.5:1
THOUGHT TO SHARE:
Freedom—I
love that word! One of the
greatest
revelations to me is how Jesus died so we could be set free!
We don’t have to be in bondage! I can picture
myself right now running barefoot in an open meadow my chiffon dress
moving gracefully in the wind, arms outstretched to the sky, twirling
and dancing. Sorry, I’m getting carried away, but I
can’t help it. It’s just so exciting! You
see before I knew Jesus I was a prisoner to sin. It left me
with feelings of shame and depression. But WOW! What a
release when you take all that “junk”
you’d been carrying around and lay it down on the
altar. Don’t let the enemy feed you lies, as a
child of God you are entitled to the promises He gave. Why not walk in
that Freedom Christ purchased for you and experience that joy yourself?
PRAYER TO OFFER:
Dear Lord, I know
as human beings we try to
complicate life and make
everything harder than it has to be. But I’m
trusting in you to take away my sins. I repent and turn from all the
wrong I’ve done. Now Lord I ask that you take this
burden from me. It says in Psalm 103:12 that you’ll
forgive me and remove my sins as far as the East is from the West. Now
that is true forgiveness. Thank you Lord for your wonderful freedom.
