Stagger Not

Romans 4:20 “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God,”-

There were time in Abraham’s life that he did stagger, but ultimately he choose to put his faith in God to work out his life. There are times in our life that we face situations and think that we can handle them without consulting God or asking God for help. We put a lot of faith in our own ingenuity and cleaver planning. God did give us a thinker to use, but faith will reach out to God as we use the brain that God has given us. When it is all said and done, we give God all the credit and praise Him for what He has done. Faith is not some magic formula or power that will give us what we want. Faith is to believe God that He has all things in His hand and knows what is best for us. Even tho we cannot see it for ourselves, faith will carry us through. By faith, we can live victorious lives and stagger not at the promises of God.

Forever Interceding

Roman: 8 26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

He is forever interceding to God the Father. Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father, died and shed His blood that we now access to the mercy seat of God. The Holy Spirit, who is our comforter, knows what we are facing and knows our needs, takes our feeble words and make intercession for us to the Father. It amazes me to think that God cares enough to listen to a lone voice among the billions of people that live on the earth. He is God and the Holy Spirit is a God of omnipresence. He is everywhere and knows everything. We need not fear because there is always someone who is praying for us. Others may have moved on with their prayers, but the Holy Spirit is always interceding in our behalf. There is One who is always praying.

The Treasures of our Heart

Luke 12: 34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The passion of the heart can be found in what we treasure the most. To what do we give the most attention? What comes first in life? We live in a culture and society that values material wealth. Nice cars, big houses, fine clothes, expensive jewelry, and possessing things that will soon decay and fade away. The treasures of our heart reveals the depth of our love for God. What we seek first demonstrates what is most important to us. Jesus taught us to first be seekers of God and find our treasures in His will. Knowing God and His love is the greatest treasure one can have. When we come to know Him, He puts in our heart a desire to serve others, revealing His love through us. The things of this world become secondary, they are the things that God will add unto us as we seek Him first. May our treasure always be to know Him and love Him more each day. 

Passing the Torch

Psalm 78:6,7 “that the generation to come might know them, even the children who should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.

Passing the torch of God’s word and the way of holy living. The desire of every parent who is serving the Lord is to see their children follow God. We raise our children to listen to the voice of God, and to follow His commandments. Worldly influences are always going to be there for every generation. We all see the world differently and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Culture is always changing and how we simulate our faith within the culture must stand against God’s word. God’s word does not change, and His commandments are not suggestions based on how relative they are to the culture we live in. Sin is still sin. Passing the torch to our children in hopes that they see that God is holy, and Christ is the Savior who died to make us holy. Anything less than this means the torch has been dropped. Let us not forget the works of God. Keep the torch burning.

Words of Kindness

Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord God hath given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.”

Words of kindness does not take special talent to administer to other. There is the gift of helps, but speaking kind words to others is given to all who love Jesus. There is tough love that speaks to the truth of people’s behavior, but it is for the purpose of helping that person see themselves and make an effort to change. A person that loves God is always looking for opportunities to show kindness and speak encouragement to others. It may be words of appreciate, or words that uplift to help others enjoy their day. Even in times when we feel that we are being spited, we can “hep cups of cold water” to let them know that love and kindness can overcome evil. We live in world where we face trouble and circumstance that can be discouraging, Jesus came to bring good tidings and His desire is for those who follow Him to spread the news that God cares and He is the answer for those who are weary and heavy laden. 

Serving the Lord with Gladness

Psalm 100:2 “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing!”

Serving the Lord, following Him is not always easy. Everyone in life faces situations in life that are hard. Those who serve the Lord will often face undue persecution because we live in a world that despised anything that rebukes their sin and lifestyle. The world is no friend of God and any friend of God is an enemy of the world. But serving the Lord is not hard when you know that He is always with you, even when the road is difficult to travel. Gladness is an attitude that God gives us when life gives us a lemon. We know that God can take something that is bad and turn it into good. Entering into His presence, wherever that may be with a glad heart. Know that He is the giver of all good things. rejoice and sing unto the Lord for He is Good. He is love, and His love is everlasting. Serving the Lord is not a chore when Gladness fills the heart. 

Facing Temptation

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations,”

Temptation is common to all men. We all face temptation to choose to do right or choose to do wrong. Adam and Eve were tempted to partake of the forbidden fruit. Their faith in God and their commitment to trust God was tested. God tempts no man to do evil, but in every temptation He provides a way of escape. He does allow circumstances to come our way that will test the fiber of our faith in Him. Satan tempts us to do wrong for the soul purpose of destroying our soul. In the fiery trails of life when we are at the crossroad of making choices to trust God or give in to our desires, James says to rejoice and count in all joy. We have once again been given an opportunity to show our love to God when we choose to do what is right. Trails and temptation deepens our walk with God. Experiencing victory over temptation give us a level of spiritual maturity that will help us become stronger in the face of future attacks. In times of temptation, let us put on the mind of Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to choose that which is right and holy. 

Now I See

Luke: 24:14, 31 “But their eyes were held, that they should not know Him…And their eyes were opened and they knew Him…”

“I once was blind, but now I see” are words from the well know hymn, Amazing Grace. There are many things that can keep us from seeing the kingdom of God. Sin is probably the most common reason. Blinded by Satan and living in darkness, we are blinded to the spiritual world of the unseen. Heaven is a fairy tale, a myth handed down from generation to generation. Heaven is not real, but only the imagination of humanity. We also can be blinded by following false teaching and being led in a path of error and deceit. Blindness to knowing Him, also occurs when we have our eyes on the problem and forgetting who He is. To have our eyes open to see, we must take time with God. We must let His words burn within us and speak to us. Our eyes of understanding will be illuminated as we tarry before Him. 

Think on These Things

Philip 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.”-

bringing every thought into captivity, think on these things. Our minds speak when no one is watching, the things we allow our mind to think can be a powerful influence in the way we act. Satan uses our mind to tempt us in ways that is unseen by others. We must recognized that He desires to control our thoughts and what we think. Paul realizes that potential danger, and admonished us to focus our attention on things that are good. Don’t allow Satan to put thoughts in our mind that will draw us away from God. That is why we must discern what we put into our minds. The eye in the gateway to the mind and heart. What we allow ourselves to see and entertain can cause our minds to think thoughts that are unholy , unjust, and of a bad report. Let us be careful of what we see and read and listen to, recognize what is of God and what is not of God. 

Triumph in Christ

2 Corinth 2:14 “ Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ and who maketh manifest through us the savor of His knowledge in every place.”

To triumph is to achieve victory which causes us to shout with joy and satisfaction. The joy of victory is manifested by our spirit as others see that it is Christ who gives the victory. Success in life comes when we allow Christ to work through us and in us. The actions we manifest shows others that we have been with Christ. His life is lived through us and we smell of His fragrance in every place we go. The way we treat others, the kindness we show when we are treated wrongly. It is God that causes us to be sweet when the carnal self desires to lash out. Our behavior and actions speak louder than words. It is the true essence of who we really are. To be victorious, we allow Christ to be our savor in every situation and place we go.

The Comfort of God

2 Corinth 1:4 “who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.”

God gives that we may pass on the blessings He gives us. In times of difficulties and hard places, God Comforts us extending His love and care. His love reaches us and give us peace in times of trails and sadness. Life is filled with things that go wrong and we find ourselves alone with our problems. But God, who sees our despair and our heart ache comes to us in ways that are beyond comprehension. His desire is that we would extent this comfort to others in their pain and suffering. As part of the body of Christ, we reach out to each other and also reach out to those who need the Lord. Those who are going trough trouble waters and difficult times. Showing comfort to others is just often a kind word, financial aid, being there to led a ear, and of coarse, praying for them. God cares when we hurt and He care when other hurt. We live in a hurting world that needs the comfort of God.

Bread of Life

John 6:66 “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.”

Following Jesus will not make you rich of the things of this world. The earthly bread of this life will pass away and eating that bread will only bring temporary satisfaction. Following Jesus is to eat of the Bread of life that lives on beyond this life. Many serve God because they believe that God will give them the desires of their heart and fill their lives with the material things of this world. Known as the prosperity gospel, people are fooled into thinking that being a Christian means that we now have a right to ask anything in His name and He will give it to us. Many of those who followed Jesus, followed Him for the loafs and fishes. They were not willing to take up the cross and follow Him to death. There are those who come to the crossroad in their lives to give it all to God or keep living for self. Those who choose self only want the bread of this earth, Those who choose the cross want the bread of heaven. 

Walk in the Spirit

Gal. 5:16,25 “This I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh…If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

To walk in the Spirit is to live in the Vine. We fight temptation to gratify the flesh. The fleshly desires always puts self first. It looks, reaches, and takes to please the carnal self. As Christians, God forgives the sins of the flesh, but desires that we no longer live in our sins. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a life that will surrender self to God. Walking in the Spirit is to surrender our will to the will of the Father. He enables us to say “Not my will be done, but thy will be done” As long as we stay surrendered to God, He gives us the grace to resist the lust of the flesh. As we walk (obey) in the Spirit, we consecrate all that we our to Him. Holiness does not free us from being tempted to lust after the flesh, it empowers us to make the choices that keep us from falling. We can live a life free from the lust of the flesh as long as we walk in the Spirit and stay connected to the Vine.

A Lamp with Oil

Matt 25:3 “They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them”

A lamp without oil is useless. Religion without the presence of God is also useless. Being ready for the returning bridegroom is more than having a form of religion. Professing to be a Christian goes beyond the dressing of going to church or being raised to believe certain truths. The wise that have their lamps filled with oil are those who have trusted Christ for salvation and depend on the merit of the blood of Jesus to cleanse their heart from all unrighteousness. Being ready is to have your vessel (your heart) filled with God’s love and living in His presence in every situation and circumstance we find ourselves in. A lamp filled with oil is to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, leading us in our daily walk with God. “Fill my lamp Lord, and help me never to be without”. 

God's Love

1 John 4:19 “ We love Him, because He first loved us.”

God is love. The central message to man given by Jesus is that the Father loves sinners. Jesus, the Son of God, God in flesh demonstrated His love to us by giving His life on the cross, dying so that we no longer have to live in the darkness of sin. His love reached down to fallen man and brought him out of the miry clay of sin, restoring him back into the image of God. Because God loved us first, we now know how love works, and Jesus being our prime example came to show us how to love others. God is love, and He wants us to live each day with love in mind. Keeping His commandments is not grievous, for the love of God motivates and inspires us to please the one we love. “He loves me, He loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so”. And, the greatest of these is love. 

Giving Back

1 Chron 29:14, 17 “..For all things come from Thee, and from Thine own have we given Thee… As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things;..”

Hold loosely to the things of this world. We came into this world with nothing and we will leave it with nothing. From dust we came and to dust we will return. God has made us stewards of what we have. He has blessed us with life and strength to provide food and shelter. The things we have will fade away with time and only that done for Christ will last when this life fades away.  The things we have are given to us by God, He is our great provider. We take what He has provided and the desire of our hearts is to give all things back to Him. We consecrate our life to Him in full surrender to all we have. It is more than just giving back the temporal things of this world, but the greatest offer we can give Him is the offering of our life. He blesses us in many ways, and my heart is grateful and willing to give back to Him anything He desires. 

With A Great Heart

Mark 14:6, 8a  And Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on Me…She hath done what she could;…”

Everyone has limits on what they are able to do. We all have expectations of ourselves and others. We measure what can be done by our abilities and our willingness. God sees our willingness to serve and then gives us the help we need to fulfill His will. Our limitations are caused by many things that are beyond our control. God does not see what great things we have done, but the great heart we do it with. A great heart will give it their best and leave the rest to God. The attitude of a heart for God is to give all we have to Him. He will take what we give Him and multiply it hundred fold according to His will. Jesus desires that we just do what we can do, and then believe Him to tell the rest of the story.

God's Grace

Romans: 5:15 “But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.’-

Essential truth from the Bible is that we are all born in sin and need Jesus to forgive and save us from our sin. It is God’s grace, unmerited favor given to man that he might have eternal life. His grace reaches down to all humanity and this gift is offered to any who will take it. This truth is not renegotiable, not up for debate and cannot be interpreted in any other way. Sin keeps us from God, His grace, through Jesus redeems us back to God. “I was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in, He’s a wonderful Savior to me.” “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see” “Tho sin aboundeth in my heart, His grace aboundeth more” The song list can go on forevers. Thank God for His grace.

Light Afflictions

2 Corinth 4:17 “7 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”-

Trails, afflictions, hard times often seem like they never end. They seem to weigh heavy and sometimes we feel as tho they are crushing us to the ground. For the moment, it would seem that life is more than we can bare. Yes, we are trouble on every side. But it light of eternity, these afflictions are but a moment in time that will come to pass. How small and insignificant they will be when we look back and realize that they were but a vapor that came and went. When we consider that eternity is forever, and what we face today is but for a moment, we don’t need to despair. Hold on, keep the faith, keep believing, for we live not for this world, but for the world to come. 

The Silent Witness

1 Thess 1:8b “…but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad, so that we need not speak anything.”

The silent witness. Spreading the Gospel of the Word is more than just audibly speaking. The greatest witness we can have for Jesus is to be an imitator of Him. Our faith in God is seen in the way we show others the love of God by the way we treat our neighbors and by the things we do and don’t do. Others seeing how we live will see that there is more to serving God that just talking about it. We are the living Bible to many who know not Christ. When we claim the Name of Jesus as our Lord and Savior and walk contrary to His Word, it speaks of hypocrisy. Being a true witness for Christ must first be seen in the way we live. God opens doors for us to speak and the Holy Spirit is there to help us speak the truth of the Gospel, but the real witness we show the world need not speak anything. The silent witness speaks volumes. 

Work in Progress

Eph. 2:10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath beforehand ordained, that we should walk in them.-

We are a work in progress. He is the Potter we are the clay. The work continues daily and each day we become more like Jesus. We must be willing to submit our lives into the hand of God. He is the master of taking something that is worthless and making it valuable. Sin in our lives marred His work. He desires that we live spotless from the world and walk in good works. The works of Satan hinders the development of His workmanship. There are things in our lives that He wants to remove and change. He will show us the way to go and the way to walk. As a new creation in Christ, He changes our lives to reflect His image. It will change the way we think. Our lips will speak only what pleases Him, we abstain from that which is evil and unholy, we walk in holiness and our fruit of our lives is seen in the way we treat others. This is a work in progress, He is still working on me.

God Alone

Isaiah 37:20 “…You are the Lord, You alone.”-

There is only one God and He is Lord of all. God alone created heaven and earth, God alone took man from the clay of the earth and formed him into His image. God alone is all we need when life gets stressful and the worries of life load us down. When trouble comes are way, God alone is able to make a way through and help us walk the path before us. The problems we face are real and there are many who have fallen because they have failed to trust God alone. They have relied on their own strength or earthly means to help them. They failed to pray and seek God alone. In the dark times, when we cannot see our way through, we can turn to God who is Lord of all, and He alone will be there to meet our every need.