December 25th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Baby Jesus
I remember vividly what it felt like to hold my daughter… then my son… for the first time. The amazing deep love, like I had never known before, overwhelmed. As I admired their face… as I counted their fingers… their toes… as I kissed their face and experienced their wonderful smell for the first time. I remember the emotion. I remember the capture of my heart and the sense of responsibility I felt in that instant. All these memories have rushed back in as I thought about what it must have felt like to hold baby Jesus for the first time. To not only love him, as we all love our children, but to know that he was the son of God! To feel the pure love that was given to only him! To know that he came to save every soul… that ever was or ever will be! To know that he was as pure, as pure can be, and would stay that way! To know that he would sacrifice himself, as the lamb of God, to save his very mother… his father… to save you… to save me… To reconcile the world to God, as all of our sin rested on his tiny shoulders. To simply be in his presence and know that he is God, he is the Savior and he is the Holy Spirit . I weep as I think of what that must have been like for Mary… for Joseph… Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
He said, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?” But they had no idea what he was talking about.So he went back to Nazareth with them, and lived obediently with them. His mother held these things dearly, deep within herself. And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.21How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son,Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
December 24th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Lesson Of The Manger!
I thought I got it! Every Christmas, I look at and read about the nativity scene but the true deep reality of it never fully came clear. In that time a stable was simply a lien-to and perhaps the most disgusting structure in town. Under its’ roof the dirtiest place would have been the manger. Full of animal saliva… worms… and the stench of uneaten moldy food. God could have chosen anywhere for his son to be born. A palace. A suite at the inn. In the middle of the synagogue. Why a manger? He wanted to choose the lowliest, most disgusting, vile place, to show us how his love works. I have watched churches turn away people because they do not fit in. I have watched as people shun those they consider disgusting. We live in a world where it is believed you should act a certain way, dress a certain way, and talk a certain way. The manger says – I came for everyone! I was born to love the most disgusting, dirty, vile person you can think of. Sometimes God hides lessons in the most obvious place. For me, this one brought a multitude of tears and time on my knees. The manger teaches humility. The manger teaches unconditional love. Isn’t it time we all practice that each day in our churches and on the street?Happy Birthday Jesus!
While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.An Event for EveryoneThere were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:Glory to God in the heavenly heights,Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me.
The Lord does not delay andis not tardy orslow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
December 13th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day
Reconciling Sin
The love our God has for us is so immense that words can not explain. He created us in his image and shared with each of us a portion of his spirit. He wanted nothing more than for us to love him back. For us to be devoted to him. Pure love is free choice. He soon saw that our love would falter. Our love would fail. Because of his intense compassion for the people he created he had to find a way to reconcile our sin with his love. Enter Mary!! A simple girl… young… normal… and well thought of by some. Because of her dedication she found favor with God . Still a normal everyday girl with sin just like yours. Just like mine. God knew by placing his son in a normal girl he would create a way to take our sin… her sin… and cancel it once and for all. Gods son, our Savior, sinless and perfect, had to be made one with a normal sinful soul in order for sin to be defeated. He had to be born of a sinful human… in a humble nature… in order for the pain of the cross to cancel all sin once and for all. There was no announcement. No parade. No headlines. The birth was not even noticed by many. However it changed all our lives forever. Our God… our Savior… did that for us. They did that for you. They did that for me. What an amazing God!
Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
A Virgin Conceives In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:Good morning!You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,Beautiful inside and out!God be with you.She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.He will be great,be called ‘Son of the Highest.’The Lord God will give himthe throne of his father David;He will rule Jacob’s house forever—no end, ever, to his kingdom.”Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”The angel answered,The Holy Spirit will come upon you,the power of the Highest hover over you;Therefore, the child you bring to birthwill be called Holy, Son of God.“And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”And Mary said,Yes, I see it all now:I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.Let it be with mejust as you say.Then the angel left her.
December 6th 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
My Daily Prayer!
FatherAs I learn… as I grow… you reveal your spirit to me. As I look into your eyes I have a heart that can not keep. My greatest of fears is that you will leave me here. Drowning in this water so deep, when I want nothing more than to walk with you. I’m just a common man with common fears. I don’t like the doubt… I don’t like the lack of trust, as satan tries to lead me in the wrong direction. As I pray I want to become one with you. I want to show the world your love… your heart… your grace. Father, come into every part of my spirit and use me until you can’t use me anymore. I give up my very soul, along with all of my heart, my mind. Take my life to your service. Allow me to get out of the way, so the world sees only you. Give me a faith that is so rock solid that nothing of this world can shake it. Allow my life to speak of you to others. Father, my whole life is in your hands. Mold me, as the potter molds the clay. Turn me into a vessel for your love.In your great name – AMEN!
That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
“‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’
“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.
Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
November 29th 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Love Ripples!
I watch the ripples a rock makes in the water. I ponder how each of us affects the other. Like ripples in the water our lives and the way we live it affects the next, then the next, then the next. As they argued satan took over his thoughts and convinced him to kill her. She was the past wife and children’s mother, of someone close to me. Her boyfriends actions caused pain and despair to one person… then the next… then the next… all the way to me. I mourn, because the one I love, mourns.When we are hateful to someone it flows down the line. When we cut someone off in traffic it causes them to be rude to the next. When we ignore the person in our path, it causes loneliness and in turn makes them ignore the next . But when we are kind, when we love, that light shines thru the person in front of us on to the next, then the next, then the next. When we plant seeds… seeds of hope… seeds of love… seeds of kindness… they grow. They grow and at some point they provide love and hope to many more. Like ripples in the water the kindness and love we display to others spreads out in even circles and produces infinite joy. Look what the life of our Savior did and that was 2000 years ago. Let’s see how many love ripples we can make per day.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Worry weighs us down;a cheerful word picks us up.
So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self.Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.Love doesn’t strut,Doesn’t have a swelled head,Doesn’t force itself on others,Isn’t always “me first,”Doesn’t fly off the handle,Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,Puts up with anything,Trusts God always,Always looks for the best,Never looks back,But keeps going to the end.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
November 22nd, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Give Thanks Away!
He is fully human. He is fully God. He embraces the spirit, as the three live in each other. This is a Savior who through the Trinity climbs into our lives and makes beauty out of our mess… out of our pain… out of our sin. This is a God who can take the ugliest, most evil, torture device ever invented and use it to save us. My God, out of a deep unwavering love for us, not only used the cross to reconcile our sin but he turned it into an instrument of beauty. An emblem we use to proclaim our love for him. He takes our brokenness, no matter how tragic, and turns it around to bring good to our lives. As our Savior hung on the cross his cry was “My God why have you forsaken me?”. The pain was so intense that he could not feel the love of his father. There are times in our lives when the pain is so intense that we can not feel his love. But we have a God who climbs into that pain… because he loves us that much. There is nothing you can do that will make God love you less. Out of his love he will take the worst part of you and make it good. Out of the pain, out of the sin, out of the brokenness he will make beauty. No matter your circumstance GIVE THANKS! He is using it for good!
Give thanks to God—he is goodand his love never quits.Say, “Save us, Savior God,round us up and get us out of these godless places,So we can give thanks to your holy Name,and bask in your life of praise.”Blessed be God, the God of Israel,from everlasting to everlasting.Then everybody said, “Yes! Amen!” and “Praise God!”
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
November 15th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
WHY?
I grieve… I mourn… I sometimes cry uncontrollably…Gandhi. Dr King. Kennedy. Lincoln. Lennon. Evers. Our Savior Jesus Christ… all killed simply because they stood for peace… for love! I have great trouble understanding why? Understanding the struggle between Gods’ children. Why do we use skin color. Race. Differences in opinion. Nationality… as an excuse for such hatred and such violence? I see friends and loved ones not speaking simply because they disagree. I see churches terminating leaders because they are not perfect. Scripture tells me that we are all his children and made in his image. So why do we abuse and treat each other as we do? Why do we judge based on color, based on opinions, based on differences in lifestyle? Are we not ALL made in his image and filled with his spirit? From that spirit we inherit the knowledge that anything, other than love, for others, is wrong. Stop letting the evil one direct your actions and look solely to the spirit that lives in you. The spirit of the God who made you. The spirit that says I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or what you did, you deserve my love… my respect… my compassion! Oh to live in that world!!
So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance:Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;I’ll sing to your name!And this one:Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!And again:People of all nations, celebrate God!All colors and races, give hearty praise!And Isaiah’s word:There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
God Is Love7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.11-12My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!13-16This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.To Love, to Be Loved17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.20-21If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.30Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.31-32Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.
Hatred starts fights,but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
November 8th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Bone Deep Love
As we all sit in a circle the question was “what do you get from your spouse”? After listening to all the desires, all the wants, from the others, I simply answered “I expect nothing from Lorna except to love me”. Love is free choice. As the two of us are soulmates our love does not demand or expect performance. We simply do for each other out of a place of deep love. Unconditional love produces a desire to please… to serve… to cherish. So it is, with our love and relationship with Christ. As we accept his deep unconditional love it forms in us a desire to please him. Not out of fear… not out of a desire to earn… but out of respect and love. Unconditional love never demands performance. Never demands compliance. Never demands rules. If love is truly unconditional there is no need for rules, because everything is done from a place in the heart. Our Savior does not demand that we do things a certain way, act a certain way or follow a given set of rules. If he did, then what was the cross for? He simply and unconditionally asked that we love him in return… the way he loves us. From a place of love that goes bone deep… and includes all of who we are!!
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear1My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.2-3Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!4-6My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.God Is Love7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.11-12My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!13-16This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.To Love, to Be Loved17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.20-21If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
Father, I want those you gave meTo be with me, right where I am,So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,Having loved meLong before there ever was a world.Righteous Father, the world has never known you,But I have known you, and these disciples knowThat you sent me on this mission.I have made your very being known to them—Who you are and what you do—And continue to make it known,So that your love for meMight be in themExactly as I am in them.
It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.
November 1st, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Love Is All That Matters
Matthew Chapter 22.During times like these when anxiety fills the air We must remember that we are all more alike than different… Christ would love first. During times like these when there is so much division the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers… Jesus would love first. As we are all his children, we simply have to run not walk toward each other with arms open wide….. in love. It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong… it’s about what brings glory to God. It’s not about who’s ideas are best and who’s are not… it’s about how can we all be one people. It’s not about mistakes made or triumphs won… it’s about giving the praise to the one who rules over all.I see so much hatred… turmoil… pride… so much resentment and I know in my heart that is saddens our Savior. According to Jesus the two most important things is loving him and loving others. He didn’t say only if they agree with you. He didn’t say only if they look like you or if they behave like you. He said love everyone just like you love me. Next to that… nothing else matters.
Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
God Is Love My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. To Love, to Be Loved God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher. “It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!
Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting, Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! the honor! the power! You created it all; It was created because you wanted it.
“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
October 25th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
I Am Broke
As I met him for the first time he had questions. How long have you owned this company? How many employees are there? It appears you have money. My reply caught him by surprise… “I do not own the company, I have no assets and as for money… I was broke when I was born, I currently don’t have a thing and I will die without a dollar to my name”. Honesty brings the realization that all we see, all we take comfort in, all we claim we own… belongs to God. He commented “but you built this company from the ground up. You had the wisdom to do what was needed.” “But who gave me that wisdom? Who opened the doors for me?” God!! Do you take pride in your accomplishments? God gave you that talent. Do you measure your success by the people you know? He puts people in your path. How about the size of your bank account? He trusted you with his money. Everything we have… every talent we possess… every accomplishment… belongs to God and must be used to his glory. It’s not about us. It’s about using what he blesses us with to glorify him and love others. The next time you have a chance to use your talents, money, or possessions to love others. Do it in his name. His love will come back to you… ten fold.
Some people say, quite rightly, that idols have no actual existence, that there’s nothing to them, that there is no God other than our one God, that no matter how many of these so-called gods are named and worshiped they still don’t add up to anything but a tall story. They say—again, quite rightly—that there is only one God the Father, that everything comes from him, and that he wants us to live for him. Also, they say that there is only one Master—Jesus the Messiah—and that everything is for his sake, including us. Yes. It’s true.
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.
Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
October 18th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Whatever It Takes
As I sat at my desk a call came thru the intercom. There is someone in the parking lot looking in cars and trying doors. As everyone rushed outside I caught a glimpse of the young man. Homeless… simply looking for a way to get a dollar. As I stood there watching him walk away the thought weighed heavy on my heart. Why were we more concerned with our material possessions than the life of this homeless young man? Why were we so quick to think of running him off then to care for him and pray for his well being? As Jesus spoke from the mountain, he taught of the need to minister to ones such as this. To be more concerned with each other than with this world. To love those that persecute you. Love those that steal from you as much, as if not more, than those that love you in return. I went back to see if I could help… but he was gone. As a child of God I should minister to him. If it means giving him everything I have in order to bring him to Christ and show him the love of our Savior then I should be willing to do that. “If he steals your shirt, give him your coat also”! From the mountain… and the mouth… of our Lord.
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. When We Practice Real Love My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.
Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
“If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
October 11th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
What’s On Your Screen?
As we all spend so much time on our phones. As I watch so many spend endless time looking at a screen. As I observe people on FB and so much social media… God put the following thought on my heart! “What if I had made you with a screen on your chest that showed the thoughts in your mind and the desires of your heart?” Scary thought? Would others see Jesus is first in your life or money? Would they see that family takes center stage or our Savior. Would your friends be the most important or God? How about your hobby, your job? Would those be at the front of your screen or would it be covered up by Jesus? Could the world see your thoughts and still accept you or would you run in shame. Would they see a heart of Jesus or a heart of stone? Would they see judgement or compassion? Love or hatred? There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us. I pray daily that my screen would show unending love for everyone surrounded by Jesus, Jesus, and more Jesus. Don’t know if I will ever get there… but I’m trying. Lest we forget… God sees it all as if we have a screen. I for one am so thankful for the grace of our Savior.
So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
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. 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.
If we had forgotten to pray to our God or made fools of ourselves with store-bought gods,Wouldn’t God have figured this out? We can’t hide things from him. No, you decided to make us martyrs,lambs assigned for sacrifice each day.
The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.
“Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
October 4th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day
Eighteen Inches
Eighteen inches! Such a short distance… but a long journey. Does your walk with God start in your head or your heart? It’s eighteen inches from one to the other. Christ didn’t spend time telling people what they did wrong. He didn’t spend time telling of his wisdom. He didn’t make a list of all the things they needed, to gain his approval. He simply loved. He simply forgave. He simply made them feel special. When it came time to love he didn’t analyze why they were caught in the situation they were in… he simply helped. He didn’t worry about where they came from… he simply helped. When you run across a homeless person do you judge or do you pray and help. When you encounter a person with a hardened past do you shy away and judge or do you pray and help. Why are we so quick to see differences when Christ doesn’t? If your walk with God is in your head. If your walk with our Savior is all about one scripture after another. Take time to let it travel the eighteen inches he intended for it to. It’s the only way we will change this world for him. It’s not about how many verses you can remember. It’s about how much love you can show. He is counting on our hearts to be the door he walks through.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.Whoever wants to embrace lifeand see the day fill up with good,Here’s what you do:Say nothing evil or hurtful;Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth.God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked;But he turns his backon those who do evil things.
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we’ll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad.
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
September 27th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Drinking From Their Cup
“Samaritans? Half-breeds! Who would think of associating with them? They must stay in their village and they are not welcome here. We must keep them in their place and their place is certainly not with us.” He knew the unwritten rules. Jews simply did not talk to samaritans. But she was there. He was there. He could tell she needed a kind word and a loving heart. Jesus had been traveling so you know he had his chalice with him. But he asked her to dip him some water with HER cup. Why? I believe he wanted to show compassion… empathy… by drinking from her cup. He wanted to know what it felt like to be a samaritan. He wanted her to know he was not afraid to be in her life… in her world. Should we not do the same? I have no idea what it feels like to be black. What it feels like to be born in Iran. I am clueless to the struggles of the homeless but I should try to learn. Christ showed compassion to this samaritan woman by stepping into her shoes, if only for a moment. We should pray for the empathy and compassion to do the same with the people around us. If we call ourselves Christ followers then let us follow.
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good,Here’s what you do:Say nothing evil or hurtful;Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth.God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked;But he turns his back on those who do evil things.
If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
September 20th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
The Way You Wonder
The way you wonder is the way you choose! Do you dwell on the heavenly things Paul talked about in Romans or do you dwell on the fear and anxiety that Satan is using the world to throw at you. I pause as I see us living our life inside our heads. We fill ourselves with anxiety… pride… selfish thoughts. I’m told for most people 70% of our thoughts are negative in nature. Will I get sick? Will I suffer at the hands of another? Will I or someone I love die today? Have you ever noticed in the word ANXIETY, the I is in the middle? The word PRIDE, the I is in the middle? When we live lives of pride and selfish behavior anxiety and fear control our thoughts. We dwell in a place of what is best for us. When we turn our minds and hearts to Christ. Completely and fully to Jesus… then the holy spirit fills our minds with the fruits that come from HIM. He fills our minds with positive thoughts about his love and grace. Fear takes a back seat to confidence in his salvation. Anxiety is washed away by assurance in his love. Pride is replaced with caring for others. Pray daily for the courage to walk away from the deception that Satan throws at you. Dwell in the place of love that can only come from our Savior. If he cries over the falling of a sparrow then how much more will he watch over you?
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
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. 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.
The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.
September 13th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Standing With Jesus!
Daily I watch as people judge… people hate… people treat those different than them with dis-respect. I listen as they blame the condition of the world on everyone else, but themselves. “You don’t believe the way I do, so you have to be wrong.” “You’re liberal and I’m conservative so you’re wrong.” “You don’t follow the rules. You hang out with the wrong people. You eat with them and laugh with them. You allow them to call you friend and you parade around with them as if they were family. You’ve been seen talking to thieves, to prostitutes, to liars, cheaters and adulterers. How can I ever associate with you.” As I watch the hatred… the judging… as I listen to the blaming… our Savior lays on my heart. Did not the conservatives of his time say these things of him? Did not those with status treat him as a sinner. Didn’t he get looks from the religious leaders because of the people he helped… the people he called his friend. Our Savior loved unconditionally. God sent his son to show us how to love… how to live… how to treat others. Because of his behavior they crucified him. I would rather be judged for my love of people, along with my Lord, then to be accepted by those of this world. We should think about that next time we find ourselves placing blame.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.”
Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.Whoever wants to embrace lifeand see the day fill up with good,Here’s what you do:Say nothing evil or hurtful;Snub evil and cultivate good;run after peace for all you’re worth.God looks on all this with approval,listening and responding well to what he’s asked;But he turns his backon those who do evil things.
Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.
Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”
September 6th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Why Me?
I watch through the tears as he struggles to talk. As he struggles to walk. As he struggles to sit still. Twenty three, and a disease that is inherited, with no cure in sight. My love for him runs deep… and my heart hurts… and my prayers are hard. I then watch as this little girl lives in a place of darkness because brain tumors have taken her sight. Her illnesses are many but her spirit is huge. Her picture is something I see daily and her story is special to my heart. And it hurts… I pray to take their pain away. I pray to make them whole. I pray to bless them and give them favor. My thoughts then turn to “why me and not them?” Each day he blesses me to overflowing. He gives me strength. He gives me health. He gives me resources I don’t deserve. So why does he shower me with blessings? “to those that are given much… much will be expected” If you have health… if you have wealth… if you have blessings untold do not for one minute think it is for you. Every blessing in your life. Every talent you possess. Every resource at your disposal was given by God to help others to his glory. These young people inspire me with their energy. It is up to me to spread his love and resources, in return. I would gladly trade all these blessings for their health.
“The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!
Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,He throws caution to the winds,giving to the needy in reckless abandon.His right-living, right-giving waysnever run out, never wear out.This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!
The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;those who help others are helped.Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!Blessings on all who play fair and square!
I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.
Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
August 30th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Where Do You Live?
Do you live in the house of fear or the house of love? Christ calls us to unbridled love for all those around us. Love of not only the people that are easy but the people that are hard. Do you have love in your heart for the terrorist you see on the news? Do you have love for the person that persecutes you? Christ did! Do you pray blessings on the very people that threaten your way of life? Your Savior does! Every Soul – Good or Bad – Rich or Poor – Black or White – is a soul made in Gods image and loved deeply by him. Each one created with purpose. If we live in a house of fear then we see differences and we foster hatred. We allow satan to sit with us and cloud our judgement. However if we live in the house of love… with the Lord as our father… we will come to dwell in compassion for all mankind. I’m not fully there yet. I struggle daily but our Savior has answered many of my prayers and brought me into the entryway of his house. He puts me in the path of people and allows me to minister to them and show them compassion. My prayer for all of us is that we strive to become the human family instead of the human race. With Jesus as our father it can be done. But it has to start with us.
Give Away Your Life
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.What you have is all you’ll ever get.And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.Your self will not satisfy you for long.And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.“I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.”
Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook? ”Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”
August 23rd, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
God Is Not Religious!
As he met God for the first time it took him by surprise. God was not what he imagined and certainly not what he spent his life thinking. As God hugged him he couldn’t help but proclaim. “You’re not what I expected” To which God replied “What were you looking for?” He said “Someone more religious, someone older and with a long beard!” The answer from God was very surprising. “Religious? I’m not religious! I never wanted all this division. Certainly not among my children. Catholic, Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, how could you ever know what to do and where to go? What matters is being my child. Loving me with all your heart… your soul… your mind…. Oh and make sure you love everyone else just like you love me! It’s that simple. Don’t get caught up on rules… on ceremonies… on who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s not about that. You can’t earn your way to my arms by following rules. You can’t come into my kingdom by belonging to a certain religion. It’s much simpler than that. Love me so much that nothing else in your life can come between us. Then love others, and I mean everyone, that much as well. Do that… teach that… and the rest will follow. I love you more than you know. Now give me another hug my good and faithful servant!”
If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
August 16th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
My Hearts Prayer
My eyes have not beheld what my heart so clearly sees. Daily I reach for you… knowing that your hand will be there to guide me. To welcome me. I rest in the comfort that your light will shine… to lead… where my life must follow. That your love will bring freedom to my soul, as it longs to soar to your waiting arms. My life… given in service to you… and all your children… as I desire to mirror your love. To be the hands… and feet… of your glory to all those I encounter. I fall prostrate to the ground as I behold your grace… your majesty… I try, with all my strength, to follow your truth… your life… your way. I ask for wisdom, for guidance, to love all your children without forethought or motive. To allow you to guide me in your ways and in your plan for me. That my life may be nothing more than a tribute to you. That the breath you have given me will not be in vain but will be in service and dedication to you. Come… Father come… and fill my soul with your presence. That others may see the glory of you… through me.
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”
By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back from living by your righteous order.
John 14:16-17;
“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing:To live with him in his house my whole life long.I’ll contemplate his beauty;I’ll study at his feet.
My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
August 9th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Jesus Is Weeping!
Jesus wept! It’s hard to think of Jesus crying. We cry… We cry over loved ones lost. We cry because our lack of faith brings doubt about if we all see them again. But Jesus wept! Jesus knew the outcome. Jesus knew the power he had. Jesus knew he would bring his friend Lazarus back to life. So weeping? Why? Disappointment! Frustration! After all the miracles his friends had seen him do. After all the times they witnessed his power, they still had doubt. They still did not believe he could bring his friend out of the tomb. I truly believe his friends… the people he loved the most… and their lack of faith brought deep sadness to our Savior. That gives me pause! How many times do I bring tears to my Saviors eyes when I doubt his power. How many times do I cause him to cry because my faith is weak. As I try to deal with life, instead of trusting him to care for me, does it cause a tear to stream down his cheek? Do you struggle daily with your faith? Do you fear or worry instead of trusting his love… his power? You… I… and those around us bring sadness to our Savior as we struggle with our faith. Jesus Wept! Might be better to say Jesus is weeping. I am going to pray for strength to stop those tears. I hope you will join me.
Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.
God’s a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times.The moment you arrive, you relax; you’re never sorry you knocked.
We have a strong city, Salvation City, built and fortified with salvation.Throw wide the gates so good and true people can enter.People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole,Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”
If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.
So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.
By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.Glory to God in the church!Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!Glory down all the generations!Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!
August 2nd, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
The Heart of Jesus!
Do you ever feel burdened by something that you know burdens Christ? Does your heart hurt for things that you know hurt Jesus’ heart? We had stopped in an ice cream store to celebrate a blessing God had given. He came in the front door. A young man… slender… attractive… but with ragged clothes, and that look that comes from the streets. I watched as he wondered around the store, talking to himself. As always God put on my heart to visit with him. Didn’t take long to realize that his mind was lost… as he was. I bought him a couple of sodas and some popcorn. I then told Joel about Christ and asked if I could pray with him. Even now the tears come as I think of the lost future, the lost potential, the lost life. Do you find yourself weeping over the misplaced soul? Do you find yourself troubled at the one who has lost his way? Does sadness overcome you as you witness those that look for guidance in a bottle or pill. As the Holy Spirit becomes more a part of who you are then it is only natural that you will feel the same burdens that Christ feels. As children of the living God we should have heavy hearts for the things that our Lord has a heavy heart for. It is through those burdens we will start to see the heart of Jesus!
God’s Spirit is on me;he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners andrecovery of sight to the blind,To set the burdened and battered free,to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”
Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.
July 26th,2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Jesus’ Eyes!
To have him look at me!!
Can you feel him look at you? Do you feel the penetrating love of those eyes? Matthew had seen him from afar. He had watched and heard miracles. As a tax collector he wanted to know more of this man Peter called Jesus. Then it happened! Christ stopped and looked at Matthew with his eyes of pure love. Eyes that do not judge… but love. Eyes that do not condemn… but forgive. Do you feel the same look that Matthew did? Maybe you long for Christ to look upon you? Many days I can feel his look. On those days humility will often bring me to my knees. To find peace that can only come from the eyes of Jesus. To know that he loves me. That the Savior of the world… the son of the living God… the creator of life… the maker of heaven and earth… the author of ALL I see… the very one that rose from the dead… LOVES ME!! Through all my trials, thru all my sin, thru all my weakness, thru every good and every bad… HE LOVES ME AND HE LOVES YOU! If you haven’t felt his look… seek it out. It is a look that will touch the very center of your soul and bring you to your knees. When you find it… you will never want to let it go. You will long for the day when you will see his eyes right in front of you.
Jesus looked her in the eye. “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
But God told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”
Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him,the ones who are looking for his love.He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times;in lean times he keeps body and soul together.
“The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”
The question keeps coming up regarding meat that has been offered up to an idol: Should you attend meals where such meat is served, or not? We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.
July 19th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Just Ask!
Thirty seven times. Thirty Seven!! H2O became wine. Evil spirits ran in fear. Fish jumped into nets at his calling. Leprosy vanished with a touch. Small fish and simple bread fed thousands with a thought. Walking on water – no problem. Blindness vanished with a little spit and mud. Even a simple touch of his garment brought healing. Simple words and death’s sting was gone. Thirty seven times in three years Jesus used the power from his father to heal… to save… to change lives. Thirty seven times he proved to us that the power of God was present in his spirit. Why then do we struggle to believe that he will take care of us. Three hundred and sixty five times in his word he whispers “DO NOT FEAR” but yet we spend our days full of anxiety for one thing or another. Does not the Holy Spirit live within us? Does not the Holy Spirit… His Spirit… reside in our hearts… in our souls? I know its hard to comprehend but the same power that performed thirty seven miracles lives in each of us. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available simply for the asking. So ask!! When you fear, ask for courage. When you doubt, ask for confidence. When you are filled with anxiety ask for peace. His power will fill you to overflowing. Just ask!
But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!
July 12th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day
God’s Child
Oh how I love being your child! Each morning I am offered a new day to love and praise you. A new day to talk to you. To marvel at your love. The world and it’s parade tries to still our time. Hurry from here to there. This phone call and that meeting. All the while wishing it could be just me and you. I spend my day looking for signs of you. Looking for you to show me another example of your love. I talk as much as I can, because I know you always listen. I know you always care. I know you always love. I wait for the chance to talk about you to others. Many times you place others in front that need to hear of you, and other times I have to look for the reason. How I love to talk about you. To share your love with others. There seems to be so many that need to know you. That need to feel the experience of being your child. Of resting in your love. I ask that you use me daily until you can’t use me any longer. This life has so many trials and still so many opportunities. I want nothing more than to be your child. To show your love to others. It is the greatest honor of my life. Oh how I love being your child.
But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,A sight to take your breath away!Grand processions of peopletelling all the good things of God!But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones.
Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.
What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that
The Life-Light was the real thing:Every person entering Lifehe brings into Light.He was in the world,the world was there through him,and yet the world didn’t even notice.He came to his own people,but they didn’t want him.But whoever did want him,who believed he was who he claimedand would do what he said,He made to be their true selves,their child-of-God selves.These are the God-begotten,not blood-begotten,not flesh-begotten,not sex-begotten.
In the course of listening to Paul, a great many Corinthians believed and were baptized. One night the Master spoke to Paul in a dream: “Keep it up, and don’t let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I’m with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you. You have no idea how many people I have on my side in this city.” That was all he needed to stick it out. He stayed another year and a half, faithfully teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians.
July 5th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Love Is The Question And The Answer
I am so tired! My heart tells me that God is tired too! Tired of all the hatred. Tired of all the lies. Tired of all the judging. Tired of all the selfishness. Since the time of scripture… since the time of Adam and Eve… we have spent lifetimes worried about what is best for us. Spending year, after year, consumed with looking out for ourselves instead of concentrating on what pleases our Savor. We hate the person that cuts us off in traffic, instead of praying for them. We run to be first in line, instead of allowing others to be. We spend countless amounts of money to make sure that our way of life remains the same with very little regard for other parts of the world. I’m tired… of a world where trivial things, that do not matter to our Savior, are more important than a hungry child. Our father has given us everything we need to make our world work. He has given us all the directions we need to have a joyful life. We simply need to follow the instructions found in his word. Love him with all we have and love others as much as we love him. Follow that… teach that… live that… and don’t make it harder than he intended for it to be.
If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
Looking at it one way, you could say, “Anything goes. Because of God’s immense generosity and grace, we don’t have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster.” But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.
A New Life Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Difficult Times AheadDon’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.
Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.
June 28, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Hear His Whisper!
Take a moment… Close your eyes… Relax your spirit… Can you hear him? Can you feel his presence? Can you hear his whisper? Come with me! Daily he whispers. Come with me! He wants to show us pure joy that can’t be found without him. He wants to show us a peace that can’t be understood outside of him. He wants to show you faith over fear. He longs to show you love like can’t be found in this worldly place. A love you will wonder how you ever lived without. Once you experience it you will never let it go. He longs to be with you… to hear you whisper back. He wants to hear you say his name… he wants to spend the day with you. To show you wonders and amazement. He longs to know your worries… your concerns. He wants to break the chains that hold you captive and set you free. Take a moment and whisper his name “Jesus”. He’s listening… leaning in… waiting for you… Let him wake you up as only he can do. Jesus!
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not even see Him now, you believe and trust in Him and you greatly rejoice and delight with inexpressible and glorious joy
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.
God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.
June 21st, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
TRUST = LOVE
Do you ever think what is the greatest way to show love to someone? Is it thru gifts? Is it thru words? Is it thru actions or simply by noticing? Then my thoughts turn to how do I show my deepest love to the God who made me and watches over me? Trust!! When you trust our God you show him the unconditional love he so desires from you. During times of your life that all hope seems lost… you must trust. During times in your life when fear is your greatest enemy… you must trust. During times when the answers don’t seem to come… you must trust. During times when control is out of reach… you must trust. When you have deep abiding trust in God it is the greatest way to show your love. At that moment you are telling him. I believe, without a doubt, everything you have promised. I believe without a doubt, that you are here, you are watching, you want what is best for me. Isn’t that what a child does with a parent to show love for them? Children trust mom unconditionally. If you can’t truly trust the maker of the universe and the giver of life. Then true love has not found its way into your heart.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.
So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
June 12th, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
The City I Am Looking For!
Disappointment filled our hearts as we realized that trips would be canceled. That the promise to show New York City to our children would have to wait. My wife and I travel a lot. We love our time together and we love the sights and sounds of the city or the beauty of the mountains. We love to see the people. The amazing buildings and experience the different foods. As I sit and ponder when we can complete the next trip I realize that no matter where I go… and what city I see… It will not be the city that i’m looking for. I long for the city where our father resides. I long for the city where I will walk with my Savior. I will feel his warm embrace and see his loving eyes. I’m told the streets are paved in gold and the place he has prepared for me is like none other. Most of all that city will be filled with his love. With his peace and with his glory. New York will have to wait for now. Trips to other cities will have to wait for now. But when the time comes I will walk the streets of New York. I will see the sights. I will hear the sounds. I will visit with the people and taste the food. As I do I will be thinking of the city that I long to see. The city of heaven where our Jesus lives.
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.
“Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
May 31, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Chasing Your Giant!
God is God and I am not. He was so big! Muscles the size of melons. His armor… it glimmered in the sun. His spear alone weighed more than I do. I would be afraid if it not for the living God who stands beside me. The living God will give me victory. The living God who takes my fear away and replaces it with rock solid faith. And so he did. One small boy… one slingshot… one smooth stone… a dead giant!! What is your fear today? Your giant? Your mountain to climb? I see people daily that live in fear of so many things. Fear of so many situations. OH! to have the faith of David! Why do I think I could ever do anything on my own? I simply can not see the whole picture. David saw the picture with faith. David knew in his heart… in his soul… that he could do nothing without God. By that faith he killed the giant. By that same faith you can overcome your fear. Your giant. Pick up your stones and your slingshot, ask for Gods help and run toward your fear. God will stand beside you and help… as you slay the giant.
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.
Take my side, God—I’m getting kicked around, stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up. When I get really afraid I come to you in trust. I’m proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God. What can mere mortals do?
That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.
That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.
Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”
One day, Jesse told David his son, “Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they’re doing—Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley.”
May 24, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
Never Enough!
All the love in this world. All the worship that can be done… will never be enough for me. I speak with him nonstop on those days. I marvel at his love. At his blessings. At his never ending grace. I worship his amazing creation. I see… and smell… and feel… all the wonders of his love. I want more of him with each passing moment. I long for his look. I long for time in his presence. I want nothing more from this life than to be his. To be his hands… his feet… his window and door. I want others to see him in me and to experience the amazing love and grace of our Savior. I hold my breath… I don’t want this moment to vanish. In those times he sets off a dream in me of days when I can spread his word and demonstrate his love. Moments that he will be able to use all of me, to his glory. I want it to echo through the rest of my life until he calls me home. There are times I stumble and fall, but his love is there to pick me up. I then think of the day when he has used me fully. We will walk hand in hand and I will hear those words I long for. “Good job my faithful servant”.
Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.
God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.
Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad.
May 17, 2020
Happy Jesus Day!
PRAYING HARD!
How hard do you pray? She struggled to come into this world. After being late she had a rough birth and time in the neonatal intensive care unit was a must. Our daughter was born with complications. Holding her meant a fight with wires, with machines, with gowns, with masks. As I got home alone… the stress, the strain, the fear, overtook me. As I hit my knees, weeping, I had but one prayer. TAKE ME! God if you need a soul. If you need a life, then take mine… I had never prayed that hard in my life!! God sees our needs before we ask. He sees our hearts. Maybe sometimes he wants to see how bad we want it. Maybe he wants to see if we have a strong enough faith to surrender to him and allow him to do what he does best. LOVE US! When life takes a bad turn. When you simply don’t know which way to go… look up and pray. Show him how much it matters to you. Then sit back and watch him work. He did for me. The next day she was better. And the next, and the next. That night he taught me the power of prayer. He taught me the power of his love. By the way, she is the apple of my eye. Rest assured I would pray that prayer again… if need be.
“Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
A little later Jesus found him in the Temple and said, “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.”15-16The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus—because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
MAY 10, 2020
THE TRUE SHIBBOLETH!
Faith is the true shibboleth to determine the people of God. Shibboleth was a Hebrew term used as a password to determine if you were an Israelite in the book of Judges. I see so little faith during this season of our lives. I worry about those that claim to be people of God who’s faith is so weak that fear has overcome them to the point that they can not move on. The storm was worse than the apostles had ever seen. The boat was being tossed violently and they feared for their lives. One of them remembered that Jesus was asleep in the bow and so they woke him. “Where is your faith” were his words after he calmed the wind and the waves. My heart has been burdened wondering how many of his people will he say that too when we get past this time in history. Faith is paramount in our service to God. Faith is the cornerstone of showing the rest of the world the joy and confidence that comes from Christ. When others see you do they see the shibboleth that points to Jesus or do they see the fear that comes from the world?
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.”
“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan at the crossing to Ephraim. If an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask, “Are you an Ephraimite?” and he would say, “No.” And they would say, “Say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he would always say, “Sibboleth”—he couldn’t say it right. Then they would grab him and kill him there at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two Ephraimite divisions were killed on that occasion.
MAY 3, 2020
UNCERTAINTY – I Think Not!
Uncertainty is not a word that should be part of our thoughts. I keep hearing commercials… people talking… ads that claim this is an uncertain time. That we must face the future with new normals… with new focus… Uncertainty? God is still on his throne. Christ is still sitting to his right. The holy spirit is still beside us watching… protecting… Our Savior still hears our prayers. He still loves us. He still forgives… he still protects… he still wants what is best for us. In my life, I have never known a time of certainty, outside of my God and his Son. Each day you leave home with no certainty of your return. You plan, you save, with no certainty of your future. You exercise, take vitamins, and eat right but health is on the edge of a cliff. People look for stability in their spouse… in their children… in their finances… in their job. That could vanish tomorrow like smoke in the wind. God is still on his thrown. Christ is still sitting to his right and the holy spirit is within you. Uncertainty, I think not. Our Savior is still alive and listening! Be still and know that he is God!
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.”
And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.