devoBlog

Move in to Action

2007-04-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

Luke 14:12-14 (ESV) - He said also to the man who had invited him, "When yougive a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

How many times do our motives drive our actions? There are many times that I will do something for someone knowing they have done something for me or that they might be able to do something to help me in the future. How many of our actions are riding the waves of selfish desire?

Take the time today to do something for someone who cannot repay you and then sit back and take note of what true joy is. It is our job to go to the hurting, broken, the mis treated, hungry, and undeserved. Make it your prayer today that God will move you in to action.

What's Your Score?

2007-03-22T15:01:00.001-07:00

We keep track of many things in life: finances, weight, goals, our favorite basketball team (go Kansas). And with all of these we can tell if we are doing well or if we are falling behind. Well how do we keep track on how we are doing with our faith? A lot of people will say Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, but are these the true scoreboard to our faith.

The Biblical author, James, give us the way to tell us how to track our progress in our faith.

"What good is it, dear brothers and sisters. if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions?... faith by itself isn't good enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now some may argue, 'Some may have faith; others have good deeds.' But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."

So what is your score? When was the last time you helped someone who couldn't help themselves (James 1:27), or gave to someone in need out of your abundance. Our God is a God of the oppressed and His church is His hands to extend love.

Look at today like a child.

2007-03-01T06:51:00.001-08:00

Mark 10:15 (ESV) - "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

My niece was with me a couple of days ago and she was asking
questions about everything at our house. What is this? What's that?
What does that do? She was curious. I loved it because she was
discovering new things and was excited about the new things she was
finding.

A lot of times we lose the desire to discover. The kingdom of God is
something that is discovered by faith, but only by those who go
looking for it. One gospel writer compares finding the kingdom to
finding the pearl of great price.

The kingdom of God is here, but it is only seen by those who look at
it with the eyes of a child.

2007-02-06T08:09:00.001-08:00

"But the God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10.

Have you taken the time since we last spoke to digest the request that Peter was making of God on our behalf? We saw that two of his desires were that we would:

#1- be made perfect

#2- that we would be established

We now want to look at the other two desires that Peter had for us. He continued with lifting us up before the Lord and asking Him to:

#3- "strengthen" us.

Peter is not speaking of strictly human strength here. Even though Paul informed us in 1 Timothy 4:8 (msg) that "Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever." Physical strength can take us only so far, but Peters thoughts were on our spiritual strength. He should know a little about that. He is the one who lost all spiritual stamina when the pressure was on and he denied the Lord. Jesus Himself told Peter; "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. Peter is taking the command of Jesus seriously as he prays that we would be strengthen. Our spiritual strength comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enables us to live our lives victoriously, and to develop those spiritual muscles. God wants to strengthen those who are weak that their faith would not fail.

In Spurgeon's understanding of this verse he is quoted as saying: "that God would strengthen their souls, and the work of his grace in them, their faith, hope, and love; and strengthen them to perform their duties, to withstand temptations, oppose their own corruptions, bear the cross, reproaches, and persecutions, and do their generations work."

We need not to trust in our own strength for it will always let us down. We need to lean on the almighty because He never grows weary and He will never wear down. God wants to strengthen us so that we can be effective in warfare and the pulling down of strong holds that the enemy has placed in our lives and the lives of others. He does not want weak, anemic Christians, but mighty warriors for the kingdom of God.

Peter makes one last request of God. That He would:

#4- settle you

Have you ever seen a house after it has been built a while? The walls will begin to settle. A box of cereal settles during shipment and the contents become compacted, filling every little space of air that was once there. That is what God wants to do in us. To push out every area of our lives that is nothing but space. He wants us to become settled not on the foundation of the world which is sinking sand, but on His sure foundation and the truth of His Word. He wants us to become rooted and grounded in the love of God, to become grounded and settled in the faith and surety of the Gospel; to enjoy the fellowship of Christ and his body here on earth and to know with all confidence that you will eventually enter into heaven to dwell with him forever.

God wants our lives to become settled to the point that we will never again be subject to wavering, instability, and inconstancy in our devotion to him. God wants to settle us so that we would not waver in our calling or place our trust in anything but His eternal grace. He has given us the person of the Holy Spirit. Do you remember when you were a child and you were afraid. Your mom would pull you close to herself and whisper in your ear those words of comfort. Remember how the fear faded away and in its place came that confidence of peace and safety. That is what the Holy Spirit will do in your heart. When you feel fear, doubt, insecurity and a sense of wavering, He will draw you into the presence of God and if we listen we can hear His voice whispering to our hearts words that will settle us.

May the God of all grace make you perfect, established, strengthen, and settled. May you be perfectly formed and fitted into the image of His dear, beloved Son.

2007-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

"But the God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10.

What a tremendous request made to God on our behalf by the Apostle Peter. While I would love to get into the idea that all of us as Christians must suffer at times and that by that suffering, if we allow God to, He is able to refine, shape and beautify our lives; I will refrain. Notice the request though of Peter. He asked God to do 4 things in our lives: Perfect us, establish us, strengthen us and settle us. We are going to break this down into 2 entries. We will look at the first two request of God by Peter and see what it is that He is praying for.

#1- Perfect us. The Apostle prays that God will make us perfect.

To "make us perfect" implies a progress towards perfection. Most of us would say that we are not there yet. The word perfect here has a meaning of: To put you in complete joint as the timbers of a building. Peter told us earlier in chapter 2 that we are "as living stones, being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." God's purpose in your life is to "perfect" you into the image of His beloved Son. He will use every means possible (Peter here mentions suffering) to hewn, sharpen, sand and bring your life into perfection. To fit you as it were as a perfectly formed timber into His Body and form you into the image of Jesus.

Spurgeon once said: "If there could be such a thing as a man in whom sanctification began but in whom God the Spirit ceased to work, if there could be a being so unhappy as to be called by grace and to be deserted before he was perfected"… "How bad would it be for God to give a man grace at all, if that grace did not carry him to the end?"

Have you ever seen an artist begin to paint a scene of grandeur on a canvas and stop in the middle? Have you seen a sculptor begin to chisel out of marble a form and then lay down his chisel before the completion? God has begun to work in us, perfecting us in His marvelous wisdom and He will not quit until we ultimately arrive at perfection even if it means some pain in the process.

#2- The Greek word: "stablish" means to set fast; to fix firmly; to render immovable.

The idea is to remove our inconsistencies. We are already as people of God safe and established in Gods arms of steadiness and in the hands of Christ. Our salvation is sure and we have an unchangeable covenant of grace made possible by Jesus. We are built on the rock of ages and are secure in our hope of Him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus and yet so often we are unstable in our hearts, our devotion and our calling. We seem to be "tossed to and fro" in our walk with Him. We are in need of being "stablished" Our hearts can find themselves lukewarm and our faith wavering. May we claim the prayer made for us by Peter that God would make us strong, established, firm and immovable in our relationship with Him and that we would come to the full maturity in God. We need to be sure of our adoption and confident in our faith. Our hope is not in ourselves or our own strength, but our "steadfastness" needs to be in the person of Jesus Christ.

Adam Clarke made the observation in his commentary that "All these phrases used by Peter in this verse are architectural". What a great concept that Peter is trying to convey. That we are to be made evenly, firmly founded, complete, supported, and strengthened. He is praying for us. His request is that God will make us perfect and established. We need to lay a hold of that request and claim it as our own. We need to understand that God has our best interest at heart even though at times we may wonder what it is He is doing. He is about the business of doing a great work in our lives. Our part is simply to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and allow the Master of our souls to do His work.

We will look at the other two requests in our next entry. These first two should give us great assurance and confidence in our "God of all Grace."

2007-01-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

Rom 1: 7b-…Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you ever noticed that Paul uses this salutation often when addressing the various churches? Why is that?

The word “Grace” was a very common greeting among the Greeks. When you passed someone on the street you would say to them “Grace to you” in the same way we might say “hello”, or ask “how are you?” The word “Peace” was a very common greeting among the Hebrews. If you were to travel to Israel today, many of the Jews there would greet you with the term “shalom”, which among other things means Peace. It was and still is a standard greeting.

The word grace in the Greek society spoke of beauty and favor. Grace takes on an even more significant meaning when you put it into the Christian context.

Grace and Peace. These two words are called the “Siamese twins” of the New Testament because they are almost always coupled together. The interesting thing is that they are always in the order in which we see them here. Never do you find them in the reverse order of peace and grace.

I do not believe that you can really know the peace of God until you have known and experienced and understood the Grace of God. There are a great deal of Christians today that do not fully understand the grace of God and because of that they truly do not have the peace of God in their daily walk with Him. Many people today are striving to somehow please God by their devotion to Him. We seek to gain the acceptance of God by working to stir up fervor, passion and zeal thus somehow proving our dedication to Him. The more devotion to Him we can gain, the more pleased by God we become, is the thinking of the day.

Fasting, spending great quantity of time in prayer (regardless of the quality), reading Gods word through yearly without fail, never missing a service, serving in and on everything we can squeeze into our already busy lives, keeping our list of rules that we feel are sin and striving in our own effort to be a good Christian will surly gain us Gods approval. The problem is, the more we strive to do, the more aware of our failures and shortcoming we become. We seem to always fall short of our goals. We’re always setting new ones. We’re always feeling guilty because we come up short in our attempts for zeal and dedication to our God. We fail to keep our list of rules. We make more vows then fall short again. Sound familiar? This type of life will rob us of any type of real peace of God. Why, because we do not understand the real grace of God.

We’re trying to gain His approval of the basis of our own goodness. We are trying to prove our worth to Him through our obedience, our dedication, our works and our own efforts. Do you see a pattern here? It is “our” commitment to Him, when we should be resting in His commitment to us.

The greatest day in our Christian walk with God is when somehow we grasp the GRACE of God. They day we are able to fully rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ in our life. The day that we can cease from our own labor, and our own effort and our own attempt with pleasing God and trying to become acceptable to Him and we can grasp the GRACE of God that He has given to us. His complete acceptance of us and the work in our lives that has been granted to us through the effort of what His Son, Jesus has done for us. The gift of GRACE! It is not what we can do for God; it is what He has already done for us.

You have to know His grace before you can have His peace. Grace and peace to you by God the Father and Christ Jesus. Not by works of righteousness that we have done. It’s Gods great work in me, not my feeble little effort for Him that counts.

Do we quit serving God? Do we stop praying, do we stop reading His Word? Absolutely not……God forbid! But we do it now out of a heart of love and gratitude of God. We rest in God’s grace and pleasure over our lives and we enjoy His love of us. My prayer for all of us today is that this greeting from Paul of grace and peace will become more than words on a page, but that they become the practical experience of our Christian life.

2007-01-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

Rom. 1:3-4-Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 20:28- Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

We now completed two entries that have looked at the meanings behind what Paul says in Rom.1:3-4. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and His ancestry traces back to that of King David. Yet Paul also declares Him to “be the Son of God”. You have the flesh, the human nature of Jesus through the seed of David and born of Mary and yet you have as well, Deity; the “Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness”.

As you can see, I have added another verse to our discussion. I feel that it ties in nicely with the thought that I would like for us to think about today. Going back to my previous entry we discovered that when the female egg is fertilized, a complete cell structure is formed, totaling 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. What I did not mention is that the father is the one who determines the baby’s blood. We know that God, the Father implanted His seed, His life, His 23 chromosomes and genetic code into the other half of Mary’s cell through the power of the Holy Spirit, thus determining Jesus blood.

That is what makes the blood of Jesus capable of providing atonement for all of mankind. If I were to be crucified, my blood would be nothing more than human blood. It would have nothing within it that could provide help or salvation even for me, let alone others. Yet the blood of Jesus is divine. It is the blood of God. One drop of His blood that spilt on Calvary is capable of providing salvation and the removal of sins of every last person that has been or will ever be born. .

Heb 9:12-13- He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

The redemption of man was purchased with the sacrifice and the blood of Jesus. We have been bought with a price. Not a price of temporal things such as silver and gold, but the most treasured and valuable commodity in the universe. The blood of our blessed redeemer.

One last thought concerning the topic before us. Notice that Acts 20:28 informs us that the “church of God has been purchased with His own blood”. I would say that it was purchased with the blood of Jesus through the suffering of the cross as well as that of His Father who determined His blood through the seed implanted into the womb of Mary.

What can wash away my sins? What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2007-01-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

In our last entry we used as our discussion verse 3 that was written by the Apostle Paul. We understand what Paul was saying when he mentions here that Jesus was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh”. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and His ancestry line traces back to that of King David.

Now we want to take a look at verse 4. We will discover that Paul makes it clear that Jesus is also declared to be the “Son of God”. In meditating on these two verses, we are going to see a dichotomy mentioned here. What do I mean by that? One of the definitions of dichotomy by Webster is “branching of an ancestral line into two equal diverging branches”. Paul declares Jesus to be of the flesh and yet he also declares Him to be the Son of God.

Jesus was “born of the flesh” and is fully human and yet He is fully God. Thus what we find is a man-God dichotomy when we look at Jesus. You have the flesh, the human nature of Jesus through the seed of David and born of Mary and yet you have as well, Deity; the “Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness”.

Mary questioned the angel and asks how it is that she could become the mother of this Messiah without knowing a man? The angel responded and said, “the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the POWER of the most high will overshadow you so that HOLY thing that shall be born of you will be called the SON OF GOD!

He was completely human and completely divine. The God-man. The seed of David and the seed of God.

In our human body and our cell structure, we find 46 chromosomes. Within these chromosomes, there are these little genes with all of their pre-codes for life built into them. We are truly and wonderfully made. A full cell structure contains these 46 chromosomes. In the male sperm and the female ovum, you will find only 23 chromosomes in each cell. When the egg is fertilized, it will complete the cell structure again totaling 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. Remember that within those chromosomes you have 23 genetic codes that come from the father and 23 genetic codes that come from the mother, and when they join together they recreate to form one complete cell structure.

Now because each cell has a different set of chromosomes from each parent, you can have brothers and sisters that are completely different in looks, eye color, and genetic make up. That is why even paternal twins (which are two eggs being fertilized at the same time) can be so very different from one other. In the case of identical twins, you’ll find a different situation. That is the same cell (not two eggs) that become divided, thus is identical to the other. I digress, let us move back to Verse four.

Mary conceived from the power of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of holiness) coming upon her, enabling a virgin birth to bring forth this baby boy. There were 23 chromosomes supplied by Mary that made up half of the cell. But remember, God implanted His seed, His life, His 23 chromosomes and genetic code into the other half of the cell. Jesus is indeed fully man and fully God. Deity took on the form and likeness of a human body. That is why Paul can say with confidence within these two verses that “Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness….

By the way, I have decided to take one last look at another thought that needs to be brought out in our next entry. I believe, with the help of the Holy Spirit that it will be the most powerful of the three.

2007-01-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

Romans 1: 3-4a- Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness...

We are going to look at these verses in two parts and in this first entry we will only discuss verse 3. Paul makes it clear in this verse that Jesus was born, or his heritage came from that of King David. God promises David on several occasions that he would have an heir that would sit on the “throne of David” forever. The scriptures also make it clear that the Messiah would come from the seed of David and that His rule as King was eternal.

When you look at the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, you will discover they both list the genealogy of Jesus. They both trace the lineage of Jesus all the way back to King David. His lineage actually traces all the way back to Abraham, but that is another discussion.

Why is it that the genealogy in Luke's gospel is different from the genealogy in Matthew, and yet they both trace back to David?

Very interesting, isn’t it? A closer examination will help us understand the reasoning of the Holy Spirit to list it differently. Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus, while Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph. Why would Matthew do that since Joseph was not Jesus father? Let’s look back in Matthew and see if we can determine why.

Matthew 1:6- and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

Then we skip down to verse 11 and find something very interesting. (Matthew 1:11) Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. Keep this verse in mind as we travel on.

Matthew is following the Kingly linage from David through Solomon and all the way down the line to Joseph. Solomon was the son of David who God placed on the throne after the death of his father. Solomon had the “Actual” right to sit on the throne because he was chosen by God as David’s successor.

If you look back in the Book of Jeremiah though, God speaks prophetically through Jeremiah and He says something extremely significant.

Jeremiah 22: 30- "Thus says the LORD, Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper

Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.”

Who was God speaking about? If you look back at verse 24, you will see that God looked down through time and was speaking about Jeconiah. The same Jeconiah that is listed in the lineage of Solomon in Matthew 1:11. God placed an eternal curse on him and declared that none of his descendents would ever sit on the throne of David. Joseph came from this line, thus eliminating any actual seed from Joseph to ever sit on the throne. Joseph was not the blood father of Jesus, he simply adopted Jesus as his own son, thus by-passing the curse placed on Jeconiah, enabling Jesus to sit on the throne, by way of Joseph.

With that in mind, look back to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:31) and you will again discover a different branch of heritage from King David listed.

...the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

Luke follows the line of Nathan who is the older brother of Solomon. As the older brother, Nathan actually had the legal right to the throne of David more than did his younger brother Solomon. God placed Solomon on the throne, but in legal terms, Nathan had the legal president.

Mary, the blood mother of Jesus comes from the line of Nathan, the elder son of David. Luke traces Jesus, being born from the virgin birth of Mary, back to David through the older brother Nathan. That is why God, by the Spirit, places both lines of heritage in the scriptures. To show you that Jesus had the "actual" right to sit on the throne of David through the Kingly line of Solomon, and the "legal" right to sit on the throne, through the legal line of the older brother Nathan.

God is so incredibly wise and sure……None of this was some haphazard plan, thrown together at the last minute. In the foreknowledge and wisdom of God, we have Jesus “born of the seed of David according to the flesh”.

2006-12-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

May we strive with all excellency to live up to Jonathan Edwards resolutions this coming New Year. May the Grace of God be given to us all.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week:

1. Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence.

2. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

3. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

4. Resolved, To live with all my might, while I do live.

5. Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

6. Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.

7. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

8. Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

9. Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.

10. Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

11. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

12. Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

13. Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.

14. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

From the Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1

2006-12-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Matthew 1: 18, 21, 23- This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit…. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins…

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us."

Mary let out one more deep, long moan, followed by one last push, and there He was, a beautiful, slippery, wrinkly, screaming baby boy. Mary cried, Joseph cried and the baby cried. Joseph gently wrapping up the baby and handing him to Mary, took a deep, reverent breath and said in a hushed- almost whisper…. His name is Jesus

Mary and Joseph couldn’t take their eyes off of Him. He was beautiful. He was so tiny, so helpless, and so dependent on them. It was amazing. Up until that moment, they didn’t know what to expect. What would He be like? Would He arrive to the sounds of trumpets and be born in a majestic manner- the way that you would imagine “Royalty” arriving. Yet, it certainly didn’t happen that way. No silk, no ivory, no hype, no party, no hoopla, just a baby born in a stable. But this was not an ordinary baby, and this was not an ordinary place of birth. In fact, a more lowly place of birth could not exist. The realization of it all was coming alive to them both. They had been given the awesome responsibility to raise and protect this precious child that was given to them by God so that he can grow and mature to fulfill his ultimate destiny. To be the Savior of the World.

Immanuel: God with us. In an instant God entered the world as a baby. He who was larger than the universe, became an embryo. The all powerful made himself breakable. He who had been Spirit, became pierceable. He who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as a fetus. Holiness, sleeping in a womb. The creator of all life, being created. God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys and a spleen. He came, not as an unapproachable conqueror, but as a newborn baby, whose first cries were heard by a teenage girl and a young carpenter. He wore the costliest of clothes- a human body. He was completely human and completely divine. As the city came to life that morning, they were simply unaware that as they slept, divinity had entered the world. The innkeeper had no idea that in the business of that evening that he had sent God out into the cold. As the heavens watched in splendor, Mary changed God's diaper.

To think of Jesus in such a light seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do: it’s uncomfortable: it’s hard to understand! We would rather not think of Him in human terms. By keeping Him divine, we can keep Him at a distant. But He’s not distant. He is here with us. John 1:14- And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. He walked among people- He didn’t look different than others. He was touchable, approachable, reachable. And what’s more, He was ordinary. He felt everything that we feel. He felt weak, He grew weary, He got cold, He got tired, He got hurt. He sneezed, He coughed, He blew His nose- He was a man, but He was also God. He was skin layered on Spirit. He was all-powerful with hair, toenails, knuckles, molars, and kneecaps. When God chose to reveal Himself, He did so through a human body. He was born a baby, He became a teen, He grew into a man, He performed many miracles and touched many lives. He revealed the love of the Father to the world.

Since it is the Christmas season, we often only think of Jesus as a baby. We might even remember that He grew and performed many miracles, but we usually stop there. But Jesus life continued from there. Remember God had a plan. Most of the world did not recognize Him for who He truly was. He faced trials, was mocked, envied and misunderstood. There were those who revered Him and those who hated Him. He was oppressed and afflicted, He was beaten and crushed. He laid down His life as a ransom for many. He was buried and it looked as if God’s plan was defeated, but 3 days later, He was raised from the dead. Through the cross, and the resurrection, God has provided a way that we can be in a eternal relationship with Him. It His gift to the world.

Why would God choose to allow His Son to be born in a stable? Where else would the Lamb of God be born?

2006-12-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us."

Why would God choose to allow His Son to be born in a stable? Where else would the Lamb of God be born?

2006-12-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

I Corinthians 3:1-4- I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ....

The Bible categorizes every man in one of these three categories: natural, spiritual and carnal. Everyone falls into one of these three categories. Let's look at these 3 positions of man.

The natural man: This describes the way that every person comes into the world. We are all born of the flesh and we remain in this category unless the "new birth" takes place within our lives. While we are in this position, we are ruled and governed by our flesh and all of its desires. We are the servant of sin and according to Eph. 2:1-3: "we walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air". The natural man doesn't understand the love of God nor does he see the need for redemption. Paul said that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him. The apostle said that "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." (I Corinthians 1:18). The things of God are foreign to the natural man. The Word of God is an enigma to him. He doesn't understand the things of the Spirit, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. This type of person needs the work of the Holy Spirit in their life to open their understanding and their hearts so that the redemptive work of cross can be received.

The spiritual man: The spiritual man is one whose spirit has come alive through faith in Jesus Christ. His mind and life are no longer governed by the flesh and the desires of the flesh, but they are now governed by the Spirit of God. It is amazing to me that what was once a mystery and unattainable in ones self can by the Spirit of God become understandable and receivable. The good news, the gospel of God has taken root within our lives and we become aware of our great need of Him. By surrendering our lives to the control of God, we leave the natural realm of man behind and we are transformed or "birth" into the spiritual realm. Again Eph. tells us that we are quickened or "made alive" and removed from our trespasses and sins.

The carnal man: We see Paul mention this type of man in our verse for today. The "carnal Christian" is the man who has been awakened by the Spirit of God to his need of Jesus Christ and has received Jesus into his life as his Saviour - but he has never submitted his life to the Lordship of Jesus. Thus, he is one who believes in Jesus Christ as his Saviour but is still ruled by his flesh. Paul said, I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for you have not been able to receive it before, neither are you able now." The carnal Christian has never grown beyond the crib or beyond the bottle. He is still in the infancy state in regards to his walk with the Lord. There is no depth of spiritual comprehension. This type of person may have become a Christian years ago but they are still in the spiritual crib, gumming baby food and soiling their spiritual diapers. God wants his children to develop and to become mature in our walk with Him. He is, by the work of the Spirit wanting us to reflect the image of His dear Son.

There are those who would argue that if you're carnal then you can't be a Christian, and if you're a Christian then you can't be carnal." But Paul refers to them as both "carnal" and as "babes in Christ." They are in Christ - yet tragically they are still babes. Paul again instructs us that we "henceforth be no more as babes, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into that complete man in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 4:13-15). I pray that God helps each of us to get beyond the infancy stage and that we "grow up" into the men and women of God that He has destined us to become.

2006-12-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 5: 18: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit

The verse found here in Ephesians is a unique verse. There are five verbs found in the New Testament that have to do with the Holy Spirit. Out of those five verbs, four of them are singular type verbs and are a once only activity that happens in your life. The fifth verb is a repetitive verb and it is the verb that is found here in Ephesians 5:18.

Here are the four singular verbs that we find:

#1- John 3:6- That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Being born of the Spirit into the family of God is a singular event, just as being born in the natural is a singular event. When you truly repent of your sins and you ask Jesus to come into your heart, when you have fully and totally surrendered your life to Him, then you are adopted (or born again) into the family of God by the adoptive work of the Holy Spirit.

#2- 1 corth 12:13- For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

When that singular, adoptive work of the Spirit has taken place in your life, you are immersed through spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ. Once you have become a son or a daughter by accepting the redemptive work of the cross and making it your own, you have died to your own body through spiritual baptism and you have come alive to His body. There is only one body of Christ made up of those who have the Spirit of adoption given to them by the Holy Spirit.

#3- 1st Corth: 3:16- Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

Another singular work of the Spirit is the fact that when you have been baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells you. He moves inside of you. We become the dwelling place of the Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is living within you, guiding you, directing your life, empowering you, bringing you to full maturity in Christ. I know that it is hard to believe that the third person of the God Head, the Trinity, has taken up residence within your life, but it is one of the profound truths of Gods Word.

#4- Ephesians 1:13-14- And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

The fourth singular activity of the Holy Spirit is that you are sealed by Him unto redemption and that the person of the Holy Spirit is your permanent inheritance. He is your earnest or pledge of full redemption. He is the guarantee of your resurrection and complete deliverance from sin, and the eternal salvation acquired for us by Christ. The Holy Spirit is your down payment of Heaven and the full and final restoration that will be yours.

#5- The 5th verb used in the N.T. regarding the Holy Spirit is a repetitive verb and we are commanded to do this over and over. It is not a singular, one time event.

Eph. 5:18 says to "be filled with the Spirit". It actually means to "continue being", or to be "repetitive with that filling" of the Holy Spirit. The infilling of the Spirit should occur daily in your walk with Him. Many believe that the Holy Spirit moves inside of you at the moment of salvation, but sadly, many do not believe in the baptism or overflowing dimension of the Spirit. This further dimension of the Holy Spirit moves you from simply being a container of the Holy Spirit to that of being a river, or channel by which the Holy Spirit is flowing from. John 7: 38 tells us that "from our innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' You can call it the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Being baptized with the Holy Spirit, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit, the over flowing of the Holy Spirit, BEING EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, and you would be correct in all of them. These are all different ways of saying the same thing. It is that continual, repetitive act of being filled with the Spirit.

May we respond to His Word, claim His promise, and fulfill His command that was given to us in this verse.

2006-11-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

Acts 4:13- When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus

You will need to read the entire account that takes place in the 4th chapter of the book of Acts to gain the background needed for my comments. Go ahead, I'll wait. I see that you're back. It is a great story isn't it? I see 4 mistakes that were made by those that were questioning Peter and John.

1- They considered Peter and John ignorant men…….

Although it was true that these men were rough neck fishermen and they were not considered intelligent, formally trained scholars with regards to the intricacies of the law, they were far from spiritually ignorant. They had an education unequal to all others. They had sat at the feet of the Master for over 3 years and been trained by the greatest teacher of all.

2- They came to the conclusion that these me HAD been with Jesus....

Although the compassion and love and the teachings of Jesus could not have helped but influenced their lives, Jesus was not simply in their past. Through the person of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus was still with them every step of the way, guiding their every word and deed.

3- They came to the conclusion that they could silence them with threats....

The early church and it's leaders had one thing in common. They couldn't be stopped. These early church leaders were tough on the outside and tender on the inside. They were unbending, strong, determined, disciplined and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They were people who didn't know what it meant to quit and had an unconquerable sense of power. Yet they were Tender before God. They had an immediate awareness of His presence and they were sensitive to God's voice. They were passionate and unswerving in their dedication to God. They stood alone and knelt often. How could you ever silence these men with simple threats?

4- They should have never arrested them in the first place.......

In their feeble attempt to quite these men, they arrested them. This did nothing but draw more attention to the miracle that God had performed in the life of the lame man and the resurrection of Jesus they so feared. You can arrest the messenger, but the message will live on. Acts 4:4- But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand

When people of the world look at our lives, what is it they see? Unfortunately, many times in todays situations we are just the opposite of what these men were. We tend to be fragile on the outside and stubborn and tough on the inside. The slightest thing can derail us. When we are criticize, or something doesn't go well, maybe no one will help us, or it takes to much effort, possibly the cost is too great then we end up in the corner some where licking our wounds out of self pity. God then tries to speak to us in that condition and we are so stubborn that we refuse to hear Him. We tend to be to concerned with public opinion or what others might think more than what God is saying to us. If someone of the world would look at your life, would they take note of your compassion and love and say to themselves that you have been with Jesus?

May we be people who sit at His feet, learn of His ways and His heart, be emboldened by the Spirit, and be tough without and tender within. I pray that people are astonished by our lives and that they take note and recognize that we resemble our Father.

2006-11-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation that follows is taken from the collection of Lincoln's papers in the Library of America series, Vol II, pp. 520-521.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

Abraham Lincoln

2006-11-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Acts 2:38- Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

To repent of something to most people simply means to "feel sorry" for a particular act, but in the Greek the word "Repent" is made up of two words-

a- “to turn” around

b- “mind”

It actually means to turn your mind around. It more closely means to change your view. This is always then followed by an action of changing your behavior. I believe that there are a lot of worldly repented sinners around who feel sorry every Sunday morning regarding their actions of Saturday night. The problem is that feeling sorry does not mean that they have “scripturally repented unto salvation” Peter has just preached a powerful message proclaiming that Jesus is the true Messiah. He then tells them to repent and change their view about the one whom they have crucified…. Acts 2:37 tells us that "they were cut or pierced to the heart". They came under a Godly conviction.

Heb 4:12- For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Following the conviction of their heart, Peter instructs them in verse 38 to: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins

The word “and” in the middle is a descriptive word. It is describing a process. Change your mind and your view about Christ (repent) and then publicly testify of your new faith or view by being baptized in water. Notice also the word “for” the forgiveness of sins…. FOR means, either as a means to, for the purpose of, being forgiven, or as a direct result of being forgiven. It does not indicate that the act of water baptism can somehow provide you with forgiveness of sins. A.T. Robertson is quoted as saying: "I understand Peter to be urging baptism on each of them who had already turned and repented and for baptism to be done on the basis of that forgiveness, which they had already received". A perfect example of this would be found by going back to the 1800's. If you were to find yourself in a post office back then, you would have seen a sign that read "wanted for robbery"- Jessie James. The sign did not mean that they wanted Jessie James in order for him to commit a robbery, the sign meant that they wanted Jessie James for the robbery which had already been committed. This is true as well for this verse. The instructions were for them to be baptized “for the forgiveness of your sins” Not that you can have forgiveness by being baptized, but because you have been forgiven already, you are to be baptized. Baptism is simply an outward sign or symbol of a declaration of the work of the Holy Spirit that has been done within your heart already.

We are then promised that through conviction and repentance, by proclaiming what Jesus has done in our hearts by the act of water baptism that we will also then receive the wonderful gift of the person of the Holy Spirit. What an incredible promise made to all who will receive.

2006-11-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Ps. 130: 4- But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

Are we to fear the Lord? Why would forgiveness cause us to fear? Why would such a lovingly Heavenly Father want us to fear Him? Are we to walk around with trepidation and dread, trembling with fear when we think of our God? Yes and No. Over and over again in scripture when people came into contact with the presence of God, one of their responses was fear. When the mountain was ablaze with the might and power of God, He told Moses to bring the people close to Him and they were terrified. When John was on the island of Patmos and he saw the glorified Christ, he fell at His feet as a dead man. Jesus instructed him to "fear not". Psalms 103:14 tells us that "we are but dust" and mortal man within himself can not encounter the almighty, creator of all things and stand undaunted and unafraid in His holy presence.

Yet is that how God would wish us to view Him as we think about Him? Is this the persona that God would have us to present to the world? Again, yes and no. I believe that it is healthy and rational for us to have this understanding of God and to make clear to an unbelieving world that this Holy God will judge all things and that his power and might is beyond all reaches of our comprehension, and yet His compassion and mercy, His love and forgiveness is greater still. A hardened prisoner, condemned to death may not respond to the certainty of judgment and the dread of punishment and yet will no doubt be overcome with tears of gratitude with a unexpected and unmerited pardon.

Thomas Adams once said, "One would think that punishment should procure fear, and forgiveness love; but no man more truly loves God than he that is most fearful to offend him". Again he says, "We fear thee for thy justice, and love thee for thy mercy; yea, fear thee for thy mercy, and love thee for thy justice; for thou art infinitely good in both".

Robert Rollock is quoted as saying; This only is forcible to allure the sinner: for all the judgments of God, and curses of the law, will never allure him....Even so is it with the sinner; it is not terrors and threatenings that chiefly will move him to come to God, but the consideration of his manifold and great mercies.

Our fear of God should come to us as we realize the unbelievable truth that we are forgiven. Our fear should be that we may some how offend such a loving and generous God. Fear of not pleasing him, fear of not receiving His ultimate kindness, fear of the withdrawal of His presence. Fear of worldliness creeping into our lives. C.H. Spurgeon wrote: "None fear the Lord like those who have experienced his forgiving love. Gratitude for pardon produces far more fear and reverence of God than all the dread which is inspired by punishment." May we be overcome with fear as the forgiveness of God finds its way to us today.

2006-11-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

Ps. 125:2- As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.

As the sun is coming up every morning, the people of Jerusalem get up from their beds and go outside their homes and look around to see the mountains encircling their land. It is normal and natural for them to be surrounded by the mountains. It is common place. It is all they know. It would be an unnatural event, or some kind of catastrophe if they were to walk outside their home only to find that the mountains were no longer there. When the sun goes down and the moon is lighting up their night sky, the outline of the mountains make up their sky line in the distance. The mountains can be a safe haven as they surround them. They have a sense of security and strength knowing that the mountains are there.

That is the way it should be with our lives as a Christian. Our lives are to be surrounded by the presence of the Lord. When we rise up in the morning and we step out of our beds, we should have a sense of the presence of the Lord. It should be as sure as the mountains that are surrounding Jerusalem. It should be common place in our lives. It should be unnatural not to know that God is there with us and is surrounding our lives. When we go to bed and the sun has went down, we should be aware that the presence of God is encircling our homes. There should always be this faint sense within our spirits that the sky line of our life is surrounded by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. His strong hand is a safe haven, security and strength for our lives.

The wonderful part of that verse is that the Presence of the Lord has always been around us (even before we knew Him and His great love for us) and will continue forever throughout eternity. The mountains will eventually be destroyed and this world will pass away (it doesn't say that the mountains will always be), but God will always and forever be with us. We can walk in great confidence, knowing that the Holy Spirit is all around us as sure as the mountains are around the city of Jerusalem.

May the breath and the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit be strong upon your life today. May He draw you close to Himself throughout your day.

2006-10-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 10:19-20- Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body....

Jesus, by his precious and wonderful blood made a way that we can enter into the heavenly Holy Place, which is the presence of our Father. We do not have to enter a tabernacle made by hands. We do not have to go behind a man made veil that is inside an earthly tent and offer the blood of a dead carcass and hope to somehow gain a moment with the Father. No, Jesus our beloved made a "new" way, not based on some old covenant of works, but one made by His own body and his own blood.

The blood offered from a animal for sacrificial purposes had to be blood that was warm and fluid. It could not be blood that had grown cold and coagulated. It had lost it's power or validity to somehow cover our sin if it had become old so the blood was to be offered as soon as it was shed. The word "new" used in this verse is used no where else in the New Testament. It means slain or killed, but it means so much more than that. It literally means "FRESHLY" slain, or recently or newly killed.

When you approach the Father and attempt to draw yourself into His presence, when you go to Him with sin and ask for forgiveness, it's as if He sees His Son being offered for you and His blood being "freshly" sprinkled to your heart at that very moment. He is not looking back to some event 2,000 years ago and remembering it. Jesus' blood as it were, is always warm and it is as if it is being "freshly" and recently shed. It is as a "fountain" that is always flowing. As if His veins are at this very moment being pierced and the Father is seeing His Son's blood beginning to flow at this very moment for you. It is as if it is happening NOW! You are standing at the foot of the cross and the blood that is flowing forth from His body is being splashed down upon you, wiping away all of your sins.

His blood is "new" and living. It is current. Jesus is alive and at the same time, His sacrificial blood is being poured out for you from the cross today in the eyes of the Father. You can go to Him right now and know with confidence that you are walking under a "freshly slain, currently flowing, fountain of warm and sprinkled blood" that is being shed for you at this very moment. Jesus body is the veil that has been torn and is also being offered at this moment to the Father on your behalf. That is why He is the past, the present and the future all wrapped up into one. Our ability of gaining access to the presence of God has come at a great price. May we never take it for granted. Enter today into the heavenly Holy Place and sit with Him.

2006-10-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Rev. 19: 9b- "These are the true words of God!"

Is there any thing in this life that you can truly count on? Is there any thing that you can know for sure? Can you fully trust the words of someone, or is there anyone that is fully trust worthy? The words of a man may or may not be true. Even those you have full confidence in and deeply love can tell you something that finds itself to be a deceit. Not so with the words of God. God is truth, and cannot lie, therefore He can always be depended upon. If God speaks it, it can be treated as steadfast and sure. It is unmovable and solemn. It is never in need of doubt. Gods words are divine words. They are infallible, inspired, unquestionable and according to this verse, "the sayings of God Himself". In reality, Gods words are the same as God Himself. There is no difference in the character and nature and essence of God and the words that He utters. If God was to lie, He would cease to be God, because there is no untruth in Him. What could you possible use as a guide for your life if the words of God were not the standard to judge all other words?

In the book of Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham and swore the oath by Himself to uphold it's conditions. He did so because there is no greater or higher authority than God Himself. His words were guaranteed by His being and His name sake. When all else fails in life, when there is no solid ground to stand on, when you are unsure as to what to trust or who to turn, you can always receive the words of God with assurance. They will produce confidence within you and rest for the heart. There is majesty and power, marvelous omniscience in the Words of God. Never in life is there one to be fully trusted more than that of God. Abandon yourself in His Words. Know with confidence that you can fully submit, commit, and proclaim with boldness all that God says because they truly "are the words of God".

2006-10-16T05:01:00.000-07:00

Ps. 149:4- For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.

Why would the Lord delight in us? What is it about us that would cause Him Pleasure? Is there anything in us of our own, which he can take pleasure or delight in? No! It is not for our sake, but for his own sake; for his name's sake, that he takes delight in us. When the Lord sees us, He sees His own eternal plan being brought forth in us. The Lord has purchased us with His blood, renewed us by His Spirit, and redeemed us by His own power. We are to be brought forth to the maturity of Christ and thus be the image of Christ. When He looks at us, He sees reflections of His own image. The work that He is doing in us brings glory and honor to His name. So it is not our own lives that brings the pleasure to Him, but we are simply but the crown of His redemptive and sanctifying eternal plan. When the Father sees us, He sees the fruit of His Sons suffering, and the fulfilment of His redemptive nature.

We also bring delight to His heart because we are simply responding to what He has already done for us. It is even His own handiwork, by the Spirit of God that enables us to exercise the faith to respond. We trust His Words, we rely on His salvation, we put our hope and confidence in Him. The pleasure is out of our benefiting from His own work. Even our feeble attempts to please Him is our effort in response to the Love that He has enable us to feel for Him. We are God's handwork, we are reflections of His eternal plan and the "delight" that He has for us is the glory of His nature that He sees in us.

2006-10-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

2nd Corth 12: 9b- ......for my power is made perfect in weakness.........

Have you ever thought to yourself , "God would never want to use me"? He only uses the Pastors or leaders, the most gifted, the
most beautiful, the most talented. God only responds to those who have great faith, or are super spiritual.

I am reminded of an baby elephant that is raised in a circus. When they are small they have a chain placed around their foot with the other end of the chain staked deep into the ground. As they grow, they continually try to pull themselves free with no success. As they become larger and stronger, they are convinced in their minds that they will never be able to gain their freedom, so they stop trying. I am sure we have all seen these mighty creatures in the circus tents that have a small rope around their foot as they stand there making no effort to free themselves. They have limited themselves to the length of the rope even though with one small pull, they would be free.

What is your limitation? What is you weakness? Education, background, finances, age, fear, hurts, sin, wrong thinking? Call out to Him. Submit yourself to Him and cry, " help me, break me, mold me, shape me, change me". Your weakness is God's opportunity. Pull your foot free from the enemies chain and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through your limitations. His power is made perfect in your weakness.

2006-10-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the man at gate beautiful in Acts 3 who was sitting, begging for alms? What makes this gate so significant to the story is that beyond this gate was also the court of the treasury. There were 7 big bronze trumpet shaped collectors that sat in this court. Here people would come into the temple and place their tithes and offerings unto the Lord. We see Jesus in Mark 12 watching people coming in to this court area giving their money into the treasury and you'll recall the story of the window's mites.

So it is appropriate for this man to hang out here because people were coming in with their money ready to give to the Lord. The great part of the story is that this man who had been this way for 40 years was only looking for temporal money. But God in Eph 3:2 says- "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" had something greater in mind. This man limited God and it never even entered his mind to ask God for his what he truly needed. What a GREAT, incredible kind and generous God that we serve. He received more than he even asked or imagined.

May we all go leaping and shouting and praising God at the very least in our hearts today as we ponder the generosity of our God.

2006-10-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ps. 119:41- "May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; "

The love of our God is something that is beyond all explanation. His love is without limits and without merit. It can not be earned and yet it can not be lost. His love for us is unfailing. We can fail the Lord and yet His love for us is consistent. It is the foundation and the basis for all of the universe. We were created in the heart of God and birthed in the womb of His love. His love is a full, mature, unselfish love while our love for Him, is at best, immature. Our love for Him is often guarded and comes with strings attached and He simply abandons Himself in unrestricted and unrestrained love for us. May you rest in the confidence and certainty of God's great love for you.