Grace for your spirit October 31, 2008

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. I Peter 1:3-4

Jesus came that we might have an abundant life. We can be born again for the abundant life now and eternal glory with Him in heaven. That inheritance is guaranteed and will not fade away. It’s all in His last will and testament, found in the pages of the Bible. Many people have a unread copy of God’s will in their homes. Everything needed for life and godliness is found in those pages. The will of God could give them a joyous life today and a wonderful hope for tomorrow. What a shame to live in poverty and depression, when His will would change everything. Help someone open it today.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 30, 2008

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail to be more with glory? II Corinthians 3:7-8

When Moses appeared before God and brought back the Law and God’s words to the people, his face was always shining. Moses wore a veil for two reasons. First, to shade the glory of his face, and to not let Israel see that the shine would always fade. It was a picture of the Old Covenant. It was veiled and destined to fade and stop. In the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, there is no veil. The glory is unlimited and it never fades away. Enjoy the shine.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 29, 2008

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, II Corinthians 4:1

Twice in this chapter the statement is made that we do not lose heart. The reason we don’t, and won’t, is because of the two big M’s; Ministry and Mercy. As disciples we always have meaningful work to do, and we know that God is going to give us strength and bless us another day. Then when our work on earth is done, with His grace and mercy, we have an eternal glory to enjoy in heaven. God is blessing us today and for eternity. When we are aware of that kind of encouragement, we do not get discouraged, and we do not lose heart. Help us to remember this, and praise the Lord

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 28, 2008

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: II Cor 3:1-2

Do we need a letter from someone to prove that we are a disciple of Christ? Do we require a letter from a church to prove we are members? Paul proclaimed that their changed lives proved their ministry. He went on to say that the people they had converted and discipled were additional proof of his own discipleship. Our life is actually an open letter for everyone to read. When they are finished, do they see Jesus, a faithful disciple, and an actual church member? When they do, no one will need a letter on paper.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 27, 2008

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18

Have we picked a date for our retirement? People try to get their financial situation lined out for stopping work at some point. The way the economy is today, some are changing their plans. Unfortunately, some people also look at a time when they will retire from church work. When we are old and gray it seems nice to "kick back" and take it easy. Here the Psalmist has a different hope for the future. He asked the Lord’s continuing help until he has declared God’s power to the next generation, and to all who would come after. We seem to be having a problem with that task that far overshadows our financial downturns. May I suggest we adjust our prayers for retirement, to prayers of renewed effort in His kingdom until our job is done.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 24, 2008

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17

Most of us are very concerned about keeping our money. We worry about someone taking advantage of us, and think very carefully before we loan money or give it away. We become suspicious when the needs of poor people are presented to us, and find any excuse possible to avoid getting involved. The Lord makes a very interesting promise here. When we help the poor, we are making a loan to the Lord, and providing on His behalf. Can we trust the Lord to repay us in full? Can we depend on Him to make repayment in full with interest? He says we can trust Him, and I believe it. The world may tell us to stay away, but in the Lord’s economy, we can invest with confidence.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 23, 2008

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. John 4:4

Our world is not that much difference from the world in Bible times. There is a constant struggle in our lives between good and evil. Children of God have His word and His spirit in us. Also, children of God are surrounded by the influence of the devil in the world. The power of the devil around us is strong, but the power of God in us is greater. It is our responsibility to keep the influence of God strong in us, so the power of the devil won’t overcome us. God is always greater. When we keep Him close keeping the devil out, we will overcome false teachers too.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 22, 2008

And asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Acts 9:2

Several times in the New Testament, the disciples of Christ are referred to as those of “the way”. When Saul took off for Damascus to arrest and persecute Christians, he was looking for those belonging to “the way”. I wonder what he thought about that title. Saul didn’t considered them to be “the way”, rather he thought of them as being “in the way”. In the way of his religious supremacy and domination. Christians actually do represent “the way” of salvation in Christ. World religions actually are the ones that are in the way. From the Pharisees of Christ’s day, to the Pharisees of today, some things never change. Let’s choose to be disciples of “the way”, Christ’s way.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 21, 2008

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. Proverbs 23:4-5

When Jesus directed us to "lay up our treasures in heaven" watching our money fly away is not what He had in mind. Jesus wanted to focus on eternal things and have interest in spiritual wealth that would never fly away. Too many of us have trouble focusing on eternal things because our eyes are directed to worldly wealth. Lately, many have been watching that wealth fly away, and it is ruining many lives. Everything we have will eventually fly away, and the only thing left will be what we can take to heaven. Treasure those things.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 20, 2008

But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. Psalm 22:6

There are times in everyone’s life when we feel more like a worm than a man. We may have fallen short in some way from what God wants, of what we want, or what others expect of us. King David had many times when he felt that way with good cause. He also looked forward to the coming of Christ, realizing that even Jesus would be a reproach of men and despised by the people. Do we feel like worms? We need to remember is that a worm can end up as fish bait or transform into a beautiful butterfly. There used to be a song about Christ dying for such a worm as I. Did He? Yes, but even as a worm we can be beautifully transformed by Him.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 17, 2008

Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. II Peter 1:5-7

We are struggling for answers to cure our nations ills. Will it be more money? New leaders? More sacrifices? Does anyone have the answers? Yes, God does. May I suggest we start with Him. Faith in Christ, always doing what it right, learning the truth, controlling ourselves, being patient, practicing godly living, being kind to one another, and interacting with a giving love. With these abiding graces from the White House to the outhouse, from Wall Street to Main Street, God has a blessing waiting for us all. We had this once upon a time. We need it again. While we are waiting for all of this to trickle down, let it be our guiding principles starting today.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 16, 2008

Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? II Corinthians 11:28-29

The apostle Paul had many reasons to be beaten down. He had more problems that we could possibly imagine. Through it all, he had a great concern for every church, every soul, every weak Christian, and every sinner. Sometimes people think ministers and church leaders invite and encourage people to worship so they will have a larger attendance and more money in the collection plate. They think that more money and more people will help them with their problems. The true shepherd sacrifices his life for the flock, and trusts the Lord for his provisions. This kind of shepherd feels the pain for everyone who is weak, who sins, and then falls way. Pray the Lord will bless us all with these kind of shepherds

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 15, 2008

'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, Revelation 3:17

The Devil wants us to be spiritually blind. He is happiest when we are walking in darkness. It is his goal to blind our eyes so we won’t see the truth and obey it. The ultimate spiritual blindness is when we think everyone is blind too. We think we can keep on talking about how well we are, when in fact it is obvious that we are in deep trouble. God knows it, our brethren know it, even the worldly know it. We will never be drawn to repentance when we think we need nothing. God wants to enlighten our eyes so we can see our wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked selves. Then we will see His light and find true happiness.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 14, 2008

For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Gen 37:7-8

Joseph’s dreams got him in a lot of trouble. They were a prophecy of the future and his brothers didn’t like them one bit. As the favorite son of Jacob, the dreams brought about jealousy and hatred that eventually got him sold into slavery. How’s our attitude? When someone has a dream, a vision, or an idea, and we’re not in the middle of the glory, are we angry? Life is not always about us. We are not destined to be in the center of everything. In fact, the proper position is last. God will exalt us when the time is right, and when we are right.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 13, 2008

There is no umpire between us, who may lay his hand upon us both. Job 9:33

A baseball runner slides into home plate just as the ball arrives. There is a cloud of dust and a collision. One side yells, "safe". The other team screams, "out". The umpire says, "It’s nothing until I say what it is". Job was in such a contest. The cloud at the plate was being interpreted by others. Was he a sinner? Was it all his fault for the troubles? Some yelled "yes", Job screamed, "no". God was going to be his umpire and would have the last word. It wasn’t anything until God said so. So it is in our lives. The world may judge us, and at times we may be unsure ourselves. Like Job, we need an umpire to step in and make the call. With Christ as our shepherd, the call can always be "safe".

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 10, 2008

But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.) And he arose and went. Acts 8:26-27

When I think of Philip the evangelist, I see availability, a sense of responsibility, and personal initiative. He answered this call from the Lord, and as a result had the opportunity to baptize an Ethiopia noblemen. That conversion would send the gospel to Africa. He had already made himself available to serve the needy in the Jerusalem church, and spread the gospel to the lost souls of Samaria. Finally, we see him opening his home to the traveling apostle Paul. He had four daughters who were prophetesses. Here is a servant who made himself available to the Lord and answered the bell when it rang. Does availability, responsibility, and initiative describe our life for the Lord? I hear a bell ringing.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 9, 2008

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." James 4:13

Real faith produces dependence on God in us. True faith reminds us that that God is in charge, not us. When we start making all our plans like we are in charge, we need to take another look at life. We have no way of knowing what we are going to do, and the best path in life is put the future in the hands of that one that does know. That is God. Remember when everyone in the church used to say, "Lord willing". Those two words take the boast out of our life, and puts our trust where it belongs. As I recall, when people use to say "Lord willing", everyone seemed to be a lot happier. Let’s try that again.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 6, 2008

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." Josh 5:13-14

It was a fair question. "Are we for us or against us with that big sword?" Joshua was new in town and he had a big responsibility with the walls of Jericho in his sights, and all of Israel behind him. The answer is interesting. "Neither" the captain said, "I’m here for God." The message that followed was clear. God was going to be on the side of the ones that obeyed Him. The difference was not who’s side was God on, but who was on God’s side? God is sovereign and He doesn’t need to pick sides. We need to choose carefully, Our future depends on it.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 8, 2008

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26

I drove through a construction zone today. At least it had all the signs of construction, except for one thing. There was no work. Signs are up, detours are in place, machinery is present, supplies have arrived, but where are the workers. There is an important job to be done, but everyone is on a break. I saw a diamond shaped warning sign in front of a church one day that simply said, "God Working". He’s always working, but what about us? We can have the faith, the signs, the supplies, the people, but if everyone is on a permanent break, where is the working? Is there a faith that does not work? Yes, dead faith. The break needs to be over, or take the signs down.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 7, 2008

She said to her mistress, "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy." II Kings 5:3

These are the words of a little girl who had been taken captive by her enemies, and was working as a slave. Her master was Naaman, her captor, who had leprosy. At the end of this story Naaman meets the prophet Elisha and receives healing from the dreaded disease. The one detail of the story I like the best is the connection created by this little girl. Even though her life may have been much less than perfect, she loved her enemies and had faith in her God. That bridge of love and faith, built a bridge that brought about healing in the lives of her enemies. What have we ever done that would equal that? Most of the time we are only concerned about when God is going to do something for us. Let the little child lead us.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 4, 2008

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." Josh 5:13-14

It was a fair question. "Are we for us or against us with that big sword?" Joshua was new in town and he had a big responsibility with the walls of Jericho in his sights, and all of Israel behind him. The answer is interesting. "Neither" the captain said, "I’m here for God." The message that followed was clear. God was going to be on the side of the ones that obeyed Him. The difference was not who’s side was God on, but who was on God’s side? God is sovereign and He doesn’t need to pick sides. We need to choose carefully, Our future depends on it.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 3, 2008

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, Heb 6:19

As Christians we have a sure and steadfast hope in this life and the life to come. An anchor to hold us, encourage us, and give us refuge in the storms of life. The verses just before this one tells us that hope is created by two things. First of all, God’s purpose never changes, and God never lies. What we hear from Him is will always be true and never changing. Hope is created by what we know. We have to study, learn, and know, and then hope develops. With these two things we know about God, let’s go learn some more about all He has for us.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 2, 2008

Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. Romans 3:20-21

People are often uncomfortable talking about sin and righteousness. If we live by the Law, we have the knowledge of sin, and that makes us feel guilty. If we understand that God sent His righteousness to us as a free gift, and that free gift makes us righteous, we know we are forgiven. No one wants to talk about the things that condemn them. Maybe that’s the reason why so many don’t understand why the gospel is good news. Good news does not leave us guilty, but to give us the freedom of God’s righteousness. That is really good news. Enjoy the forgiveness and share the good news with someone today.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23

Grace for your spirit October 1, 2008

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; Philippians 3:10

Paul thought he knew everything as a Pharisee, but he found out he was willing to trade it all for knowing Jesus Christ. There are hundreds of things listed in the New Testament that He wants us to know. Let’s search the scriptures, find out what He wants us to know, and be ready to give an answer of the knowledge He has given us. It won’t be very long until someone greets us by saying, "What d’ya know?" Then we won’t have to say "nuttin’" or "it’s all on me, and I’m not telling." We will recognize that this is a perfect opening to share what we know about Jesus. Let’s quit looking stupid, and start looking like a disciple of Christ.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23