Thursday, October 21, 2010

Knowing and Using the Scriptures

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:13, 17

Matthew 4:1-11 records the temptation of Jesus by Satan. In rebuffing Satan’s attacks, Jesus quoted scripture. Look at Matthew 4:4, 4:7 and 4:10 to see Jesus’ use of “the sword of the Spirit”:
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
Verse 11 is the victory statement of this passage and tells us, “Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.

Satan is put-off by the word of God, not by phrases which impress and dazzle the common listener. Are you studying the scriptures and using the power and authority within them? How many scripture verses do you have committed to memory…enough to defend yourself effectively? If not, begin today to memorize the scripture. By studying the scripture and committing verses to memory you will be preparing yourself for the battles to come and increasing in Christ-likeness along the way.

God bless!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Always Looking Ahead--Never Back


God created us out of love; He pursues us out of love; and He draws us to Himself out of love. There is nothing we can do to “deserve” this—it is a gift of God. Our time on earth allows time for us to be drawn, to believe, to accept in faith the gift freely offered, and to learn of and become acquainted with Christ. It is character-developing time—time for us to grow more Christ-like.

Compared to eternity, our time on earth is but a moment. The brevity of the moment gives us cause to only look forward; we should not waste any time looking back into the past. Never allow your past to control, shape, or limit your future. Like Paul, our attitude, our goal should be one thing:
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b-14
The Apostle Paul had a past of which he was not proud. This is true of many. There are also those who are filled with anger and bitterness because of hurt and damage suffered at the hands of others. Fact—if we hold fast to the tyranny of our past it will grow into the oppression and destruction of our future. Anything we hold close to our breast and nurture will grow—whether it is good or bad.

It is imperative, that we as Christians let go of the past and hand it over to God. We are not big enough or capable enough to handle the hurts and disappointments of the past but our God is and our God will! What is impossible with man is more than possible with God. (Matthew 19:26)
“Your life as a child of God ought to be shaped by the future (what you will ultimately be),” (Experiencing God, 2008, p. 90).
Leave the past where it belongs—in the past. Allowing yourself to be shaped and controlled by your past not only hurts those close to you but also limits you; constrains you; stunts your growth—while on the other hand—being shaped by your future in Christ Jesus sets you free.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
“Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8: 31b-32, 36
God Bless!

Monday, October 18, 2010

An Everlasting Love

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jeremiah 31:3, NIV
Jeremiah was not popular with his countrymen. He was not popular because, as a prophet, the message God had Jeremiah deliver to his countrymen was not a happy one. Israel and Judah had sinned grievously against the Lord and they were going to be punished. They would be taken into captivity in Babylon for seventy years.

However, the news wasn’t all bad. Why? Because in Jeremiah, chapter 31, the Lord tells Jeremiah about what would take place in the future—in fact, verse 17 records: ““So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land.””

This serves to remind us, as children of an all-powerful, all-mighty God, there is always love, mercy, forgiveness, and hope waiting for the repentant child. Why? Because we are loved with an everlasting love, an uncommon love, a supernatural love…a Godly love. Praise God!
"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty; great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.” Jeremiah 32:17, 18b, 19a
God Bless!

Friday, October 15, 2010

LOVE

“How great You are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like You, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our own ears.”- 2 Samuel 7:22
O Sovereign LORD; the Creator, Maker of heaven and earth; there is no God but You; King of kings; LORD of Lords; Name above all names; how great is our God? Mere words cannot express the Wonder that is our God.

Nor can words express the love with which God loves us. “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16); “the world”—that’s us—from the beginning of time until the present and onward until the end of time! “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).

Without God there is no love, “because God is love” (1 John 4:5). God is the inventor of—the author of—LOVE. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us…” (1 John 4:10). Mankind’s only capacity for love is through God. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19) and “whoever does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:5).

In the “love chapter” of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, verses 1-3, we are told, without love we are nothing. Verses 4-7 describe love as patient, kind, without pride, rejoicing in truth, protective, trustful, hopeful, and persevering. Verse 8 tells us that love never fails. Verses 9-12 tells us when love is made perfect (through Christ)—when perfection comes—we shall know fully, even as we are known, (v. 12). The crescendo of the chapter is verse 13, “faith, hope and love—but the greatest of these is love”.

The Bible is a book of redemption because of God’s love for us. He gave His Son for us that we might believe in Him and live. The Bible is the story of Jesus. In the Old Testament He is predicted; in the Gospels, He is revealed; in the Acts, He is preached; in the Epistles, He is explained, and in the Revelation, He is expected. (Alistair Begg, http://www.truthforlife.org/)

We are to love because we are loved by God AND we are to love others with the same love by which we are loved! Jesus told His followers in Matthew 22:37-39, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

In John 13:34-35, Jesus told His disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." And further, in John 14:21, Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him."

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). AMEN!

God Bless!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Love Relationship

This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:9-10; 19, NIV
God loves us and desires us to have a personal, loving relationship with Him. He sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that those that accept and believe in His Son may have eternal life. Make no mistake. This is not because we are worthy or deserving in any way; this was done because God first loved us.

Last night I was reading in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry & Richard Blackaby and Claude King; first published in 1990 but revised and expanded in 2008. This is a great book and chapter 7 is entitled: “God Pursues a Love Relationship with You”. This chapter tells us we were created to have a love relationship with God and if we are not living our lives in the overflow of God’s love for us and ours for Him, then we are not living the Christian life as it was intended.

However, the paragraph that really caught my attention was this one:
“When you love God, He promises to respond with His blessings. You and your children will live under His favor. By trusting in Jesus, you have eternal life. God’s Spirit will reside within you. He will make you more than a conqueror over every difficulty you face. Nothing will separate you from God’s love.” 
This is so true! Not only do I claim this but I feel and experience this truth in my own life; in fact, I celebrate in the knowledge of this promise. Deuteronomy 30 verses 19 and 20 contain this promise: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life.”

You too can have and enjoy this promise. How? Jesus said: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” Amen.

God Bless!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Pleasing Him in Every Way

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14, NIV
Never be satisfied with just being saved. This is the thought Paul is presenting to the Colossians in the opening of the letter to the faithful at Colosse. Paul tells them they have been redeemed, forgiven of their sins, rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Christ as joint heirs. As such, they should now be about their Father’s business.

Paul prays they be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and they be given spiritual wisdom and understanding. Why? Not so they can grow fat, satisfied, and lazy but so they can spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The same is true of us today. God blesses us so that we may, in our turn, be a blessing to others.

We do not keep good news to ourselves! We go and tell so that others may share “in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”. We are to live a life “worthy of the Lord” and please Him by bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) and growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

We are to be actively learning, growing, and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. As we work for the Father, our prayer is that He will strengthen us with His power and give us endurance and patience, all the while giving Him thanks for His unspeakable grace, mercy, and love. Share the joy!! Amen!

God Bless!

Monday, October 4, 2010

One Thing

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14, NIV
What is the one thing of which the Apostle Paul spoke; what is the one thing upon which we should direct our attention? Our focus—our energy—our lives are to be used to worship, adore, exalt, venerate and praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

Paul knew he had not yet reached perfection, but was pressing on toward the goal; never looking to the rear but always moving forward and heavenward.

Are you gaining ground or losing ground? Perhaps you need a spiritual realignment. Go to God in heartfelt prayer—He is always there; confess and repent, then seek His divine providence in living the Christ-centered life He desires of you.

God Bless!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Empty Words

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor His ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden His face from you,
so that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2
Israel wondered why God was not answering their prayers. Isaiah told them in no uncertain terms God would not answer their prayers as long as they continued in their wicked ways.

How quickly we put the blame on God when our prayers seemingly go unanswered. However, many times the reason our prayers seem to fall on “deaf” ears is because we harbor unconfessed sin in our lives. We seem to be so willing to place the blame everywhere but where it should be—on ourselves.

God always answers prayers with at least a yes, no, or wait. We tend to think God has not answered our prayers when we don’t get the answer we want or we don’t get the answer we want immediately.

The content of the prayer is of no importance when considering the content of the character offering the prayer. Just as we turn away when we see something completely disturbing, God is sickened by sin. God cannot tolerate sin and therefore must always punish sin. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.” Habakkuk 1:13

If we want God to consider our prayers we must align ourselves to Him. To many times we try attempting to align God to what we want. That thought seems ridiculously silly but stop and think how many times we do attempt that very thing. Jesus says in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

The next time you pray, remember to give more consideration to the content of your character than the content of your prayer. God wants to communicate with you. He is not interested in vain repetitions or flowery words. He is interested in you; He wants a close, personal relationship with you.

If you find praying difficult I encourage you to use the ACTS method of prayer: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and then supplication. The arm of the Lord is never to short too save or His ears too dull to hear.

God Bless!