Love Is A Fixer

Good Morning, Have A Safe And Blessed 4TH. of July!!! Of course, we're not always lovable. Does love, then, require a blind eye? Do we pretend not to see the sin? Paul argues that what's required of love is not ignorance but a greater insight. Love perceives what is not apparent to the casual observer.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,..—Philippians 1:9 (NKJV)

Think of someone that has hurt you, lied to you, cheated you or cheated on you,...now remember that God loves them,...that He gave up His Son, for them. Imagine for a moment that God is waiting for them to come to themselves and return home,...like the prodigal son. Seeing others, as the children of God, should allow you to see them in a better light,...the Light of Jesus.

Love declares: it is so good that you exist,...that you are in my life. More; love actively seeks the other's welfare.

Christians above all others, should know, and believe;

that love really does concur all.

No one needs love more than the un-lovable. 

"We show our faith better with our life, than we do with our lips."

God's Character

Good Morning!! It's been said that; the only thing constant in this world, is change. Fashions change; people change; governments change,...even the earth's topography changes over time. But God does not change,...He is immutable. Although He is a person, He reminds us that He is not a human, and therefore does not change His mind,...as humans do. (Numbers 23:19) It's this unique attribute of God that inspired David to compare God to a rock (mountain),...He is stable, solid, reliable, firm, immovable. David asks the rhetorical question, "Who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?" (2 Samuel 22:32).

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.—James 1:17 (NIV)

It's also this remarkable, eternally-the-same nature of God, which God Himself showcases in the proper name by which He describes Himself to Moses: "I am that I am."(Exodus 3:14). God has always been,...is now,...and will always be,...the same. Therefore He is the great "I AM",...not "I was" or "I will be",...but from eternity past, to eternity future, God simply Is. James points us to this invariableness of God, in order to comfort and encourage us. The God Who never changes will always make good on His promises. This includes the wonderful work of salvation that He has begun in you,...the believer! He that has begun a good work in you will continue it to the end. (Philippians 1:6)

Knowing of God, is not the same as knowing God,...but it's a start.

Father God, we thank You, for Your unchanging character,...and for Your desire for us to learn of You, that we may better know You. Amen.

"We show our faith better with our life, than we do with our lips."

Humble Faith

Good Morning!! The centurion, from Matthew, knew authority when he saw it.  As he stated; he himself commanded one hundred men, and he had witnessed countless examples of power and authority within the ranks of the Roman army,...and he knew Jesus had it. As a result, the centurion didn't come pleading his worth (although the Jews made the mistake of pleading on his merit to Jesus). He knew that there was no claim he could make upon Jesus' power,...if Jesus healed, it would because He wished to heal, not because the centurion deserved the favor. The centurion had such confidence in Jesus' authority that he knew Jesus could do, what had not even been seen, or done yet. Up until now, Jesus had only healed in person,...but the centurion knew that anyone who could heal personally, could also heal from a distance if he wanted to. "Speak the word only" was all that Jesus had to do, and he knew his servant would be healed.

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed".—Matthew 8:8 (NIV)

Jesus' reply to the centurion, was just as remarkable as the centurion's statement. Jesus exclaimed, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (v.10). This is quite a compliment, coming from anyone. For Jesus himself to marvel at the centurion's faith, tells us it's certainly something to emulate ourselves. When you come to God in prayer, do you see yourself as deserving His favor or do you realize that you are not even worthy to come before Him in the first place? No matter what displays of power, or answered prayer you have seen in the past,...do you have faith that He is able to do even more than you have witnessed?

Faith in a living, active God, does the impossible.

Lord, You know us far better than we know ourselves. 

Today, we will strive to serve You and to obey Your commandments.

Let our words and deeds be pleasing to You this day and every day.

Amen.

 

We show our faith better with our life, than we do with our lips."

 

Comfort In The Word

Good Morning!! God comforts us in His Word,...the Bible. When we read His messages of love, we discover His character. When we unwrap His promises, we receive the great comfort that is meant just for us. We are reminded that God is good, and that God is sovereign. And we are told that His sovereign goodness is at work in this universe on behalf of all believers. God comforts us with His Spirit too. In fact, the Spirit of God is called our Comforter. When no human can understand, when no words can relieve,...the Spirit of God is still able to minister to our soul. By pointing us to the finished work of Christ, and drawing us to the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit sets our feet on solid ground,...even when our world looks to be falling apart around us.

who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:4 (NIV)

And there is still another way, Paul tells us, in which God comforts us,...the very trials and consolations we have experienced, will be used to help others through their personal pains. God's Word brings comfort to others, as we share with others, the scriptures that have helped us. The Spirit of God brings comfort as we testify of the sufficiency of Christ,...even in the midst of our personal agonizing. Through the very comfort that we ourselves have received, others receive comfort; this, in turn, consoles us that our trial has not been in vain.

We are blessed, that others may be blessed,
...and we are tested, that others may see us go through,
...and they themselves, may have hope of over-coming.

 

Holy Spirit, help us today,...not just for ourselves, but that others may be comforted. Amen.

 

Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke,...Be Mindful!" 

What Should Come Before The Will Of God?

Good Morning!! What drives you? What motivates you?...What sustains you? Jesus revealed to His disciples, when they could not understand His passing up a meal,...that His driving motivation was the will of His Heavenly Father. Notice that it is does not satisfy Jesus' appetite; to simply know the will of God, or to study His works. Jesus says His fulfillment, is found in actively engaging in the work of God,...and persevering until it is completed.

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.—John 4:34 (NIV)

Too often people think of Christianity as a set of rules or beliefs only. But following Christ invariably means hungering to know the Will of God, and being satisfied only when we are fully engaged in it. Nothing else can substitute for active obedience,...and yet, Jesus takes it a step further than obedience; His mission statement includes completion, of the work that God has for Him to do. Jesus is not just trying to salve His conscience,...or make a show of obedience,...His satisfaction only comes in the achievement, of God's purpose for Him here on earth. 

The Will of God,...know it,...and don't fill up on anything else.

Lord we want to hear the Word, eat the Word, and most of all we want to live the Word,...help us today, Father. Amen.

"Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke,...Be Mindful!" 

Armed With The Word

Good Morning!! Jesus could have called down twelve legions of angels to assist Him at any time,...yet, He chooses to face the temptations of the devil in the wilderness with nothing but the Word of God,...which by the way, is the same, and only, weapon that we have, against Satan's temptations. It is as if Jesus is showing us just how powerful, just how effective, God's Word is in the midst of spiritual battle. So that we will trust It's strength, for our own struggles. Jesus faces Satan's three temptations, by quoting the Bible. What other tool could we hope for than the very one Jesus Himself wielded,...in times of personal temptation?

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.—Matthew 4:10 (NIV)


But these verses do not just magically appear to our minds in the moment that we need them. We must be reading, memorizing, listening to, absorbing God's Word in every way we possible can. We must be people of the Book,...Bible-steeped soldiers of the Kingdom of Christ. Jesus knew the right answer, from God's Word, at the right time for the right temptation,...we must strive to know, and do the same. It is only then that we will be able to, with authority and conviction, repel the approaches of Satan effectively.

There Is Power in the Word,...learn to use It!

Lord help us today, to wrap ourselves in Your Word. Allow it to become our first language, so that in times of need, we can respond as Christ did. We have all we need, at any time when we have a Spoken Word from the Bible. Amen.

"Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke,...Be Mindful!" 

The Countdown

Good Morning!! Many believers of the world's three great religions...Christianity, Judaism, and Islam... are expecting the coming of the Messiah soon. There is a sense that we could be living in the countdown to God's wrap-up of human history... the personal return of Jesus Christ. No one can predict the coming.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.—1 Thessalonians 5:2 (KJV)

That's only for an unbelieving world,...but because of the signs in the Bible, those Christians alive at the time should be able to feel its approach.  Thessalonians 5:4-6, says "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others: but let us watch and be sober." I'm not a prophecy specialist,...but since Jesus was here, there has never been an Israel... until now. There's never been the prophesied return of the Jews to their land, from all over the world... until now. There's never been the technology for an antichrist to identify and regulate the commerce of every person on earth with the mark of the beast... until now. There's never been in modern times the possibility of the prophesied temple to be rebuilt... until now.

Don't be afraid,...be aware.

"For the Christian, the return of Christ is not a riddle to be solved, or a code to be broken,

...but rather a day to be anticipated."

(Grace for the Moment, Max Lucado, p. 292) 

 "Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke,...Be Mindful!"