Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice"
We often think of Joy as something we experience when things go well...this verse says that it is something we choose.
Paul is telling the Philippians that attitude matters, and attitude is a choice.
In this world everyone has struggles. Some, more than others, but each morning there is a list of blessings...and a list of things that break your heart...you have to choose the list on which you focus.
This verse ... twice....says to choose joy...and tells you where to find it.
If you set your gaze on Christ, joy happens. If you wake up every morning amazed that God loves you, and redeemed you, joy will be your default emotion. Don't confuse joy with happiness...Joy is deeper, stronger, and does not depend on circumstances. Joy is present even in seasons of sadness.
Rejoicing is important because it is where we, as Christians, get power. "...the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10). It can transform you from a weak tentative christian, into a powerful soldier of Christ...and the transformation begins when you choose to rejoice in the Lord.
Change your focus.
Reject self pity... choose joy...immerse yourself in the love of your Father...let your heart soak in the implications of being a child of God. Take your eyes off the storm, and gaze intently into the eyes of the Creator.
He loves you so much, He gave His Son to save you...and he will not abandon what He paid so high a price to redeem. Stand on that fact, and choose joy.
"Joy is the serious business of Heaven."
- C. S. Lewis
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
James 1:22-24 1/24/2017*
James 1:22-24 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."
If you go to the gym and talk to your trainer, then go home, ...will there be any improvement in your physical health?... of course not.
The same is true spiritually. You can go to church, or read your bible everyday, but if you think just listening will change you - you are deceiving yourself.
You are like someone who looks in a mirror but doesn't fix anything. You walk away and nothing changes ... you haven't combed your hair or fixed your face - and once you're gone you don't even remember what needs to be done.
The phrase "deceives yourselves" is not a reprimand, it shows pity for the one deceived ... not so much a hypocrite, but someone who mistakenly thinks they're improving.
When you read scripture, look closely. Fix what needs to be fixed. Take action based on what you see. Make changes in your life predicated on what the Word of God says needs to change.
Sometimes we walk a rough road and it feels like we are not progressing ... but our aim has to be growth and improvement. In a world of empty promises, this is the one thing you can count on ... The Word of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit can change you ... truly permanently change you.
There are days we will stumble, and there is blood on a cross to cover that ...but it must be our goal to walk in the light of God's Word, let it impact us, and make us a little more like Him each day.
This week read the Word ... but read it slowly ... study it ... create a plan to implement it ... and then do what it says.
“Philosophy without action is the ruin of the soul. One brave deed is worth a hundred books, a thousand theories, a million words"
― Edward Abbey
If you go to the gym and talk to your trainer, then go home, ...will there be any improvement in your physical health?... of course not.
The same is true spiritually. You can go to church, or read your bible everyday, but if you think just listening will change you - you are deceiving yourself.
You are like someone who looks in a mirror but doesn't fix anything. You walk away and nothing changes ... you haven't combed your hair or fixed your face - and once you're gone you don't even remember what needs to be done.
The phrase "deceives yourselves" is not a reprimand, it shows pity for the one deceived ... not so much a hypocrite, but someone who mistakenly thinks they're improving.
When you read scripture, look closely. Fix what needs to be fixed. Take action based on what you see. Make changes in your life predicated on what the Word of God says needs to change.
Sometimes we walk a rough road and it feels like we are not progressing ... but our aim has to be growth and improvement. In a world of empty promises, this is the one thing you can count on ... The Word of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit can change you ... truly permanently change you.
There are days we will stumble, and there is blood on a cross to cover that ...but it must be our goal to walk in the light of God's Word, let it impact us, and make us a little more like Him each day.
This week read the Word ... but read it slowly ... study it ... create a plan to implement it ... and then do what it says.
“Philosophy without action is the ruin of the soul. One brave deed is worth a hundred books, a thousand theories, a million words"
― Edward Abbey
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
1 Timothy 4:16 1/17/2017*
"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers"
People don't usually mind talking about Jesus until you start talking about what He said.
The fact that He said He was God. The fact that He called much of what some people think is acceptable, today "Sin". The fact that He said we will perish for eternity without His sacrifice.
..That is where the rub begins, and that is called Doctrine.
This verse says doctrine matters.
Yes, as Christians we will be identified by our love. But love is not always easy. Sometimes you have to love enough to offend.
If you won't speak the truth because it is offensive - you have become a doctor with a life saving injection who refuse to injure the patient with the needle. Those who hear you will be very comforted as they continue down their path of destruction.
Speak the truth in love. But if it's not the truth, it can't be love.
This scripture says that doctrine saves you...and those who hear you. Make sure you get it right...and make sure you live a life that makes your words substantial enough to be heard. Persevere in these two areas. You won't accidentally get them right.
Commit to knowing the Word, and commit to speaking, and walking in it's truth...it will impact your life, and the life of anyone who listens to you.
"Christ's riches are unsearchable, and the doctrine of the gospel is the field this treasure is hidden in." - Thomas Goodwin
People don't usually mind talking about Jesus until you start talking about what He said.
The fact that He said He was God. The fact that He called much of what some people think is acceptable, today "Sin". The fact that He said we will perish for eternity without His sacrifice.
..That is where the rub begins, and that is called Doctrine.
This verse says doctrine matters.
Yes, as Christians we will be identified by our love. But love is not always easy. Sometimes you have to love enough to offend.
If you won't speak the truth because it is offensive - you have become a doctor with a life saving injection who refuse to injure the patient with the needle. Those who hear you will be very comforted as they continue down their path of destruction.
Speak the truth in love. But if it's not the truth, it can't be love.
This scripture says that doctrine saves you...and those who hear you. Make sure you get it right...and make sure you live a life that makes your words substantial enough to be heard. Persevere in these two areas. You won't accidentally get them right.
Commit to knowing the Word, and commit to speaking, and walking in it's truth...it will impact your life, and the life of anyone who listens to you.
"Christ's riches are unsearchable, and the doctrine of the gospel is the field this treasure is hidden in." - Thomas Goodwin
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Matthew 6:9 1/10/2017*
"Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"
When is the last time you began a prayer by focusing on how "hallowed" God's name is?
Hallowed means holy, sacred, blessed, divine, revered.
Jesus says we should approach our Father with those words in mind.
Next we need to realize that God knows what needs to happen in our situation. And our desire must be to want what He wants.
In other words we acknowledge who He is, and trust Him completely
Sometimes our prayers sound like we are talking to a short order cook. We rattle off our list of demands as we run out the door to start the day. We tell Him what we want as though He works for us... and the only time we remember our prayers is, if we think He didn't answer them.
According to Jesus that is not how we are supposed to pray...no wonder our prayer life is anemic...
We are doing it wrong.
This week let's do it right.
Make prayer a priority. Many times the disciples had to go find Jesus because He had slipped away to pray. Find a time and a place to be alone and still before God.
Begin your prayer with the realization that you have the honor of entering the presence of The Almighty. Acknowledge that you need His wisdom and direction... and then like a child who is speaking to his father, make your request known.
Keep in mind that God loves you beyond your ability to understand. And because of that, the middle of His will, is the safest place you can be.
He has told us to pray, and He has said that prayer changes things. So since Jesus took the time to give us a "prayer pattern"...let's follow it, and be amazed at what He does.
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."
Martin Luther
When is the last time you began a prayer by focusing on how "hallowed" God's name is?
Hallowed means holy, sacred, blessed, divine, revered.
Jesus says we should approach our Father with those words in mind.
Next we need to realize that God knows what needs to happen in our situation. And our desire must be to want what He wants.
In other words we acknowledge who He is, and trust Him completely
Sometimes our prayers sound like we are talking to a short order cook. We rattle off our list of demands as we run out the door to start the day. We tell Him what we want as though He works for us... and the only time we remember our prayers is, if we think He didn't answer them.
According to Jesus that is not how we are supposed to pray...no wonder our prayer life is anemic...
We are doing it wrong.
This week let's do it right.
Make prayer a priority. Many times the disciples had to go find Jesus because He had slipped away to pray. Find a time and a place to be alone and still before God.
Begin your prayer with the realization that you have the honor of entering the presence of The Almighty. Acknowledge that you need His wisdom and direction... and then like a child who is speaking to his father, make your request known.
Keep in mind that God loves you beyond your ability to understand. And because of that, the middle of His will, is the safest place you can be.
He has told us to pray, and He has said that prayer changes things. So since Jesus took the time to give us a "prayer pattern"...let's follow it, and be amazed at what He does.
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."
Martin Luther
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Matthew 5:44 1/3/2017*
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven"
Who do you think of when you read the word "enemies"?
Can you imagine the freedom that would come in loving them? Not just forgiving them, not just ceasing to be angry, but actually loving them. Imagine the garbage that would be flushed from your heart if you really prayed for them...Prayer purifies...you can't lie to God... You will feel the sludge of animosity breaking free in your heart if you honestly pray.
This is not a proverb, or a illustration...it is a command straight from the mouth of Christ. Do we take it seriously?
"Love your enemy"...it's not about church attendance, how much you give, the length of your quiet times...."LOVE YOUR ENEMY". That is what we have to do if we want to look like our Dad ... after all that is what He did for us.
So who came to mind as an enemy?....What are you going to do about it?
Decide to obey.
Choose to love them. Get on your knees today and pray for them. Do something nice for them ... call them ... but whatever you have against them - forget it. Do what God did for you and wipe their slate clean and see them through His eyes, as valuable and lovable.
Aren't you tired of carrying the load of anger and bitterness ... Empathize with them. Find a way to care about their story.
Loving them will set you free...set them free...and it will create in you a family resemblance that allows the world to recognize you as a Christian.
.. And that will draw more to Christ than the finest sermon.
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
Abraham Lincoln
Who do you think of when you read the word "enemies"?
Can you imagine the freedom that would come in loving them? Not just forgiving them, not just ceasing to be angry, but actually loving them. Imagine the garbage that would be flushed from your heart if you really prayed for them...Prayer purifies...you can't lie to God... You will feel the sludge of animosity breaking free in your heart if you honestly pray.
This is not a proverb, or a illustration...it is a command straight from the mouth of Christ. Do we take it seriously?
"Love your enemy"...it's not about church attendance, how much you give, the length of your quiet times...."LOVE YOUR ENEMY". That is what we have to do if we want to look like our Dad ... after all that is what He did for us.
So who came to mind as an enemy?....What are you going to do about it?
Decide to obey.
Choose to love them. Get on your knees today and pray for them. Do something nice for them ... call them ... but whatever you have against them - forget it. Do what God did for you and wipe their slate clean and see them through His eyes, as valuable and lovable.
Aren't you tired of carrying the load of anger and bitterness ... Empathize with them. Find a way to care about their story.
Loving them will set you free...set them free...and it will create in you a family resemblance that allows the world to recognize you as a Christian.
.. And that will draw more to Christ than the finest sermon.
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
Abraham Lincoln
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