My Redeemer Lives

Job 19:25 “ For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;”-

Lost and without hope we were once children of light, but sin blinded us. We now live in darkness, in slaved by darkness and Satan. By creation we were children of God, but Satan tempted man to forsake the laws of God and satisfy their own selfish desires. The wages of sin is death. We are all sinners in need of someone to save us from hell and darkness. God in His love for humanity and desire to fellowship with His creation, provided a way of escape. He sent His Son to redeem us and regain possession of His creation. Jesus Christ, came to die for our sins, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life. He is our Redeemer! “Redeemed and how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” It is the message we shout out to the world, Christ is the answer to all that is wrong in this world. He wants to redeem those who are lost and living in sin. We are no longer children of darkness living a life of sin, but now we belong to Christ who gave us the Holy Spirit that we may walk in light. We are redeemed and set free from sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us. Because my Redeemer lives we can live free from sin, knowing that He shall stand in our place giving us access to the throne of God.

The Mercy of the Lord

Gen. 19:16 :And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth and set him outside the city.“-

 The mercy of the Lord is beyond understanding. Even in our resistance and lingering, God continues to provide ways of escape from our lot. Our pride is self destructive, it does not realize the danger that sin can cause. When God’s laws have been violated, there are consequences. The sin(s) of Sodom and Gomorrah reached a place where the conscientiousness of God’s truth had been seared. Lot’s family had become accustom to sin and did not see or believe that God would destroy the city. Even though they did not participate in the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, they became complacent. But, God in His mercy sent His angels to rescue lot’s family. The people who lived in this wicked city had harden themselves to God’s truth and call evil good and good evil. They had become reprobates to God’s truth, twisting what God said to fulfill the lust of their own flesh. That is the day in which we live. We cannot afford to become immune to the life style of sin. We need the mercy and grace of the Lord to keep us spotless in this present world. The day will come when God will judge this world, we must listen to the voice of God when He calls. Be ready to flee into His presence.

Working Third Shift

Psalm 134:1 “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord.”- 

Doing third shift is tough if you are not a night owl. The third shift can get lonely and can sometime be difficult to stay alert and watchful. Third shifters are gap fillers, they carry on the duties, reaching out in places where it seem insignificant. There are many who are working in isolated places doing the work of the Kingdom. At times it may seem that they are all alone. They labor at “night” where no one is watching. They continue to do what is right in spite of the circumstances. They keep the worship doors open in case someone is wandering in the darkness of sin needs a place to find help.  Standing in the house of the Lord at night may mean carrying most of the financial load and being faithful to the house of God even when there may be only two or three. God has promised that He will bless those who are working the third shift. He has promise that He will be with them, even in the night. 

Preach Jesus

Act. 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”- 

There are a lot of things that we can say to the world that would be right and Biblical, but in the end, the goal is to show them Jesus. We live in a world that is bent to sin and our current culture has thrown out the Bible as it’s moral compass and guide. The Supreme Court of the US just legalize the marriage of same sex couples, this just proves to show that we have forsaken the laws of God and burned within us the lust of our flesh as a country. The only real answer to the moral decline of our county is to show them Jesus. When He comes into the heart’s of men and women, a desire to live in His light begins to grow. The habits of sin may take time to break, but the Holy Spirit will lead those out of sin if they walk in the Spirit. I believe we need to stand for what is Biblically right and not compromise the truth of God’s word. A Christian cannot condone sin of any kind, but neither can a Christian be unkind and hold back God’s love to all who need it. There is a lot of preaching that can be found in the scriptures, especially to the Christian teaching them how to live in Christ, but to the world, our preaching needs to focus on the one who died for sin and rose again to give new life to all who will come to Him. 

Walking on Water

Mat 14:29 “And He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.“- 

One of the greatest fears to overcome is failure. Most of us are afraid to step out on the water because past experience had shown us that we will sink. We look at the situation and know that stepping out of our comfort zone will surely cause us misfortune. What will people think? When we step out for God, it may not be the popular thing to do. We need to come out of the boat and step out in faith and start believing God to do the impossible. Peter started out in faith, but started to look around and became afraid. It is not uncommon for our faith to start to falter when we see that things are looking bad. The mist that is blowing in front of us obscures our vision of Jesus and we begin to lose focus. Peter did the right things and called out to Jesus when he began to feel his feet plunge beneath the water. God wants our faith to grow, but it is not able to grow unless we take the first step to trust God. In the human, we may succumb to failures and setbacks, but we can’t let the winds and waves around us keep us from calling out to God. He is ready to reach down and pick up right back up. In the sinking waters, He will lift me up, and cause me to walk on water. With God, all things are possible.

Enmity To God

Gen.3:15 “ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”- 

Sin and Satan are oppose to anything that is holy and right. Satan will do everything he can to destroy that which is good and wholesome. Living a holy life for God is incongruent with the carnal heart. It is in opposition to the will of God, and is not compatible to a Holy Spirit filled life. God sent His son in the form of a man to be the Seed that would bruise and defeat the plan of Satan. Satan thought he had destroyed the Seed when Jesus was nailed to the cross and put to death, but it was His death that crushed the head of Satan and provided a way for mankind to be saved from the destruction of sin and Satan. In order to live in harmony to the will of God, sin must be eliminated from our hearts. Yes, we were all born in sin and from birth are sinners, but the Seed of the women, Jesus dealt the death blow to sin, making it possible for us to live a life without sin. Not by our own righteousness, but by the grace of God that changes our life. We were once sinners, but now we have been redeemed, no longer sinners, but children of the most high God. Once (past tense) we were sinners, but now we have been set free from the bondage of sin. Our hearts are no longer in enmity to God, but made holy and subject to the will of God.  

On His Shoulders

Luke 15: “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing.”-

 Often when am in a large crowd where there are thousands of people, I ask myself, “Does God really care about every single person on this earth?” History has recorded tens of millions of people have come and gone from this world, and to think that God took interest in each one of them. Humanity born into this world lost in sin are like sheep who have gone astray to do their own thing. Christ came to seek all who are lost in sin, to bring them into the kingdom of God. It matters not who you are or how insignificant you may feel, Jesus cares about your life and the problems you face. He desires to pick you up and carry you on His shoulders and bring you safely home. 

There are times as Christians that we need Jesus to take special notice of our situation, and we may wonder if this is just “life” and like everyone else we need to deal with it. We start to look at our circumstances and wonder how we will find our way out. Everyone has problems, and what makes us so special that God will take the time to rescue us. But, Jesus who is omnipresent and all knowing reaches down into our little world and carries us on His shoulders. On His shoulders, we can rejoice that He loves and cares for us individually and knows exactly what we need. Yes, it may seem at times that we are all alone and no one around to help, but I’m so glad we serve a God who take special note of our needs and He rejoices when we call on Him for help. Thank God, He carries us on His shoulders. 

Putting on Christ

Num. 15:38, 40 “Put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue....that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God”- 

God does not want us to forget who brought us out of sin. Keeping Christ at the center and focus of our life will help us to remember who saved us from sin and that He desires that we follow Him and do His commandments. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we put on Christ it is our badge of identity. It reminds people who we are and who we belong to. Living a life of sin and putting on Christ are not compatible. We cannot say that Christ is living in us and through us when we live contrary to His commandments. When we are tempted to live in the flesh and fulfill the lust of the flesh, He is faithful and willing to deliver us. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us...” Being holy unto God is to be set apart and ready to be used by Him. To be holy does not mean that we live a perfect life without error, it means that our heart’s desires more to be like Jesus. Having put on Christ, we are reminded that in everything we do in life, it is done knowing that Christ is the center, and doing His will is the only things that really matters. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Roman 13:14

Failing God

John 18:25 “And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, “Art not thou also one of his disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”-

Failure is tough to deal with. The pressure to meet expectations are sometimes too demanding. We are so human oriented in our efforts to accomplish our goals and aspirations. Peter had every intention when he started out to follow Jesus, and stand with Him all the way. But, Peter could not deal with the fear of man and dropped the ball. Jesus knew that Peter had a heart that desired to serve, but also knew that Peter had a weakness that needed to be dealt with. Failure is not a necessary competent of the Christian life, but without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the experience of full surrender to the will of God, failure is inevitable. But, failure does not have to be fatal. God is a God of second, and third chances. To the heart that is sincere, God will not fail. He loves us too much to let us stay down. He reaches down to where we are, forgiving us, and bringing us out of our despair. It is not God’s plan that we fail Him, He wants to help us to be overcomers and have victory in our life everyday. After Peter experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Peter was never the same. He put his full trust in God and was able to cast all his cares on Him. God is able to use the fallibility of  man like Peter, and give him the power of God to live holy and righteous all the days of his life.

Restraining our Lips

Prov. 10:19 “In the multitude of words there lacketh not sin, but he that restraineth his lips is wise”- 

The tongue and lips are just two of the many parts of the body that helps us function and survive. They are small members that perform great task. There are many things we do with them that bring pleasure and blessings, but they also can bring destruction. What we do with these small members is one of choice. We can choose to taste the good things of God, or we can choose to taste of the sinful pleasures of sin. We have the choice to speak truth, or speak lies. James also speaks of the tongue, and how dangerous it can be. “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire from hell.” The things we say can be cutting or they can be kind. As Christian, who live in the Vine, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. We are to manifest the fruits of the Spirit and use our body to glorify God. “In whatsoever we do, do to the glory of God” The words we speak with our tongue and through are lips are a manifestation of what is in our heart. “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”. So, it is not the tongue or lips that sin, but the heart the proceeds it. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us control what we say and how we say it. The spirit in which we speak the truth is as important as the truth we speak. It may be true, but speaking it may not be the right things to do. Let us guard our heart that we always speak words of kindness and truth in the Spirit of love and understanding that people need grace, not condemnation. 

Anchor of the Soul

Heb. 6:19.20 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, where the Forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, who is made a high priest forever...”- 

The future is so uncertain. Things change from one day to the next and sometimes those changes can be big. But in the midst of change, we serve a God who does not change. His promises are forever true and He stands by His word. We can anchor our trust in the One who is steadfast and dependable. Jesus, the one that is constant and true, He changes not, He is the same today, yesterday, and forevermore. When the circumstances around us swift and change with the blowing wind, His love and care is consistent. He will not let us become shipwreck in the storm of change. “Our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus Christ and His righteousness.” “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast, and sure as the billows roll.” He is unchangeable, He is our hope when all else fails. Yes, the world seems to be headed toward self destruction, leaving God out of it’s plans, but for those who have anchor in Him, we can believe that there is a better tomorrow. Because He lives and is the anchor of our soul, we can look to the future and know that God will be there every step of the way.

My Help Cometh from the Lord

Psalm 121:1,2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help! My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”- 

Problems are just part of life and it is so human to focus on earthly matters. By nature, we are often driven by how we feel, the mood we are in. Our emotions most often dictate how we make decisions. In times of desperations, we look around us to find a way out, or for someone to come to our aid. We forget that we serve a great God, who knows all about us, He knows the problems we face and desires to help us. We just need to readjust our eyes upward, and get them off the circumstances around us. Our God is a awesome God who created the universe and knows the numbers of hairs on our head. Help awaits us if we can only lift our eyes heavenward and trust God to solve our problems. There is no problem too hard for God, that He is not able to solve. In time of weakness, in times when there seems to be no solution, we can lift our eyes to Him and trust Him to help us in our time of need.

What is that to Thee?

John 21:22 Jesus said unto him, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me.”-
Is it really any of our business? We often get caught up in what other people are doing or not doing. We measure ourselves by what others are accomplishing, or not accomplishing. On either side of the spectrum, we can find ourselves becoming discourage because we don’t seem to be doing much for God, or thinking that we are ok because we are doing more than others. We are not to compare ourselves with one another, the standard by which we are measured is what God says in His word, and by listening to what God would have us to do. The burden and load to see God’s work advance can get heavy and it is wonderful when everyone involved is willing to give of their time and resources to help, but there may be times when being called to service is needful regardless if anyone else is concern. Our concern is that we follow Him and do His bidding. What other people do, we leave it with God and trust that God will use them for His glory. Do you love Him? If you say yes, then don’t be surprise if He ask you to serve by giving of your time and resources. Our love is often tested by our willingness to “feed the sheep”, to reach out around us and be willing to serve others, even when it seems like we are doing it alone. 

Sowing To The Spirit

Gal. 6:8 “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”- 

Sowing is something we do out of choice. It is the actions that we demonstrate by what we do, say, or think. The principle of sowing is what you plant is what you will get. If you do things that will please the flesh and and satisfy its appetites, then you will reap the ill effects of that choice. If you do that what is right and do all things to the glory of God, then the rewards will bring rejoicing and fruits that will last for eternity. So, if we see someone who has fallen, sowing to the Spirit is to pray for the restoring of them, and not one of judgment. No one can make it to heaven on their own, we all need help from God and each other, we all need the Word to help us make it through the rough times. If we think that we can make it on our own (sowing to the flesh) then we are deceived. God’s Word is true and His Word will prove to be the final say. Let those who sow to the Spirit teach the Word with love and grace to strengthen those in the household of faith who have fallen. Let us bare one another’s burdens and sow acts of kindness, fulfilling the law of Christ.

Stand Still

Ex 14: 13,14 “...Fear ye not. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today...The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”- 

The Israelites where very upset about their situation. Their anger toward Moses was caused by the fear that they would be left dead in the wilderness. Fear comes when we fail to put our trust in God. We look at the situation and question if God is able to take care of it. Doubt starts to filter into our thinking and we start to look to our own means and understanding to solve the problem. When a solution is not found, we despair and give up. Our faith is made ship wreck. But, the call from heaven is to fear not. Stand still and see what God can do. Quit trying to figure it all out, and let God take control of the problem. Stand still and watch God calm the storming sea in your life. He desires to give us peace in the time of storm and trouble waters. He does not expect us to fight this battle on our own, He will go before us and make the way. If we could only learn to stand still and have faith in the God of our salvation.

The Wisdom of the World

1 Corinth 1:27 “ But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty”- 

In the eyes of humanistic thinking, people who believe in God are foolish. The world’s viewpoint of life puts God in a box and keeps Him there until a need arises that they can’t handle. Much of the world will say they believe their is a God, but it is foolish to make Him the centrality of your life. They say it is foolish to think that God requires humanity to live a life that is sinless. It is foolish to dedicate your life to serving someone who requires full surrender. The foolish things of this world are Christians who darn to believe that God’s word is true and that someday He will return and life on earth will be judged. The wisdom of this world may consider God as part of the solution, but will never promote that He and He alone is the answers. The world’s wisdom relies on man’s knowledge and abilities to meet our human needs, but fail to meet the need of man’s soul. We may look foolish to the world when we stand up for truth and take a stand for what is right, but God has chosen us for this day to let our light shine. It is not in our ability to be persuasive, but our wisdom come from God and His ability to make things happen. When God begins to move, the world will be confounded and be left speechless. The mighty of this world is no match for those who dare to step out and trust in God to take down those who oppose the God's righteousness. 

Forget Not

Debt. 8:14 “then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God, who brought thee forth out...”

 There are somethings that we need to forget. The sins that we confessed to God are all in the past, never to be remember any longer. God has put them in the sea of forgetfulness. We don’t want to forget who it was that made it possible to live a life without sin. Let us not forget who brought us out of sin and who it is that helps us each day to live victorious. As we become educated in the word of God, and learn how to walk with God, it is easy to start relying on our own ability and knowledge to bring us through. God does desire for us to go deeper in the word, but the Holy Spirit must led us into the truth of His word. It is His Spirit that fills us with the strength we need to live the Christian life. Living for Christ is not following a set of rules and commandments, living for Christ is knowing Christ and not forgetting that it is He who we live for and not ourselves. Everyday we arise and call on God to give us our daily bread and not forget the God who gives us the strength to be who we ought to be. It is His power and His grace that makes it all possible.

Anxious and Troubled

Luke 10:41 “And Jesus answered and said unto her, “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things.”-

 Anxiety will not only robs us of enjoying life, but cause us to get our eyes of what really matters in life. We worry about many things that are really meaningless when it come to eternal matters. We become troubled about many things in life that make us wonder if God even really cares about us. Living life  has many emotions and there are times that those emotions don’t feel good. We want things to go without any problems and obstacles. We have expectations of ourselves and others and they often fall short. We worry how things will get done when no one seems to care. The temptation is to either complain or just give up. It was not in the serving that Martha was rebuked, but in her attitude toward her burden and Mary. I believe if Martha would had taken the attitude that she was serving to please the Lord and rejoices that Jesus was in her home to serve, that her worry about Mary would have been just a passing thought. Worrying about many things keeps us from drawing close to God. Jesus wants us to cast away our worries and live life knowing that He can take care of all the “stress” and “why?” in our life. We serve Him not to be seen of others, but because we love Him, and desire to know Him in His fullness. As we serve, we need to stop and listen to what He is saying, and rejoice that He speaks to us. 

Fix My Eyes On Him

Phil 3:13 “...but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before”-

 To keep Christ the focus of our attention, we must always be looking straight ahead to what is before us. Keeping our eyes on Jesus and making Him the centrality of who we are. We really don’t have time to look back on those things that divert our attention. The past is under the blood and it has been forgiven by God. The sins that brought us guilt and condemnation have been covered by the blood, never to be remember again. The failures of our past can haunt us and keep us from being all that God wants us to be. We are not to ignore our failures, for they teach us valuable lessons, but neither can we let them hinder us from going forward. By all means, we must not let life’s circumstances stand in our way of following Christ and knowing the life that He can give us. 

The Body of Christ

Eph 2:18 “for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father”- 

All who are in Christ Jesus make up the body of Christ. This is the true church. It matter not your station in life or your genetic roots, Christ came to unity all people under His banner of love. The institution of the church has been a vehicle that God has used to strengthen and organized His work, but it has also been a hinderance to all who call themselves Christian and truly desire to live for God. Many bonds of fellowship have been broken because the “church” they associate with cannot accept the practices of others. We sometime behave as if we are the only ones that will make it to heaven. I believe God is please with any “church” that will choose to make Christ the head and sincerely follow the footsteps of Jesus. We both who desire to live for Christ have access by His Spirit. The Father looks down and sees the blood of Christ applied to the heart and gathers all who live consciously in His word, and calls them His Church. The bride of Christ. 

God Is There

Psalm 139:10 “even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.”- 

No matter what we may be going through, or where we are in life, God is there. Even there, God desires to guide us and lead us. There is no situation in life that is able to hide the love of God from us. Yes, there are some places that God does not want us to go because they could lead us into darkness, but even then, He is there with His Spirit convicting and speaking. “Come back my Child”. Any heart that desire to hear from God, He will not hold Himself back. As insignificant as we are in this vast universe, God desires to have a relationship with His creation. He will go out of His way to seek us out, but we must be willing to go where He leads. When He leads us there, He will not leave us or forsake us.