No Losers

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:14-17, NIV

My sister and I are part of a group of six friends that try to get together one night a month. Of the six; four of us have known one another since early childhood. Another lady we have known since high school and the last (and youngest) of our group we have known for many years.

It would be impossible to tell you everything we have in common with one another (after all, we have been friends for many years) but the most important thing we share is a personal relationship in Christ Jesus. It is a wonderful thing to get together and enjoy the company of friends; it is an even greater pleasure to share company with fellow believers.

When we get together we pray, we eat (no surprise there) we laugh, we talk, and we play some sort of game: cards, dominos, etc. We typically behave in ways that would appall and embarrass our children; in short, we act silly—did I mention five out of the six are over fifty? We laugh and tease one another and from time to time we have been known to make the “L” sign with our fingers and use the word “loser”.

One morning this week after my time of prayer and Bible study I was reminiscing about our little group’s behavior at our last get together, especially the “loser” business and I began to think, in God’s kingdom—among God’s children there are no losers; NONE! Yet how many people are there in the world today feeling broken-hearted; beaten down and rejected; how many people are there feeling as though they are losers?

I cannot tell you how many throughout this world feel defeated, but I can tell you in Christ, there is hope—through Christ, there are no losers. God loved us so much that He sent His Son into the world to take all our sins upon Him—to die upon the cross—to defeat the enemy—to conquer death—to rise victoriously from the grave on the third day—that through Him, those that believe may have eternal life.

When you accept Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, you too become a child of God, “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,” (v.17). There are no losers in the kingdom of God—only winners.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31, NIV

God Bless!

What Does God Expect?

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 10:12, NIV

Moses tells Israel what God expects of them. He does this by giving the people an abbreviated version of the law, telling them they are to: fear God, obey God, love God, and serve God. No less is expected of us today. Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy when He says the first and greatest commandment is to love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, (Matthew 22:37).

If we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind then it naturally follows that we revere, honor, and respect the Lord; in others words, we fear the Lord. Also, love and obedience go hand-in-hand and service is a natural response to love.

Let us commit ourselves not only to the knowledge of this truth but also commit ourselves to the practice of that which we know to be true; not just briefly on Sundays, but all day long every day. Let us be ambassadors for Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let us be to God the sweet aroma of Christ to others, (2 Corinthians 2:15).

From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, (Matthew 12:34). So then let us go and proclaim the name of Jesus boldly while walking worthy, (Colossians 1:10), while living expectantly and intentionally for God. Let us pray each day to be filled anew and afresh with the Holy Spirit that we may be prepared and empowered to walk in His way; according to His word and His commandments; to live in the way the Lord requires of us; to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him, (Micah 6:8).

LORD we praise you!

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11, NIV

God Bless!

Beautiful Feet

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15, NIV

I was in Georgia last week attending an Operation Christmas Child Connect Conference. Our theme, “Go”, was based upon Romans 10:14-15 with emphasis on, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” What a privilege to carry the good news of Jesus Christ to others, proclaiming peace, good tidings, salvation; sharing with others the knowledge, “Our God Reigns", (Isaiah 52:7). 

Do you have beautiful feet? Are you carrying the good news of Christ to a lost and dying world? As disciples of Christ, we are to go and make disciples of others; we are to obey the commands of Jesus and we are to teach others to obey His commands, (Matthew 28:19-20). 

Duty demands we be serious about evangelism for those who ignore salvation face eternal separation from God. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 explains that as disciples we are co-workers in the service of God, each with a task to complete—some plow, some plant and some water, but it is God that gives the increase. You see, you are not alone; other disciples are working also. And most importantly, God is supplying us with the grace and wisdom needed to accomplish the task.

I will declare Your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise You. Psalm 22:22, NIV

May God richly bless your beautiful feet!

Remember the Lord Your God

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God… You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth… Deuteronomy 8:11-14a; 17-18a, NIV

We sometimes forget our ability comes from the Lord. We fall so easily into sinful pride, believing in ourselves and our own power and strength instead of trusting fully in our great and awesome God. 

A few years ago I applied for a job that was a big promotion for me. I prayed about taking the position, but the bottom line was, I wanted the job. I knew I had the ability to do the job and I wanted the prestige of the higher-level position and I wanted the extra money. 

God allowed me to have what I thought I wanted in order to chasten me, Proverbs 3:12. You see, I had fallen into a wrong way of thinking. I am so thankful we serve a God who loves us enough to seek us out when we have gone astray. 

The job was the terrible! It was the first time I had ever worked in an environment in which I felt completely ill at ease. It was frightening. (When we walk in obedience to God, He places a hedge around us, Job 1:10.) 

I left the position after a little more than two years. Before taking that job I had always worked for supervisors who were Christians and I had always worked with fellow Christians. But because of my lust for money, I foolishly, sinfully, chose a position for myself where I no longer enjoyed an environment with fellow believers. 

As I began to recover from this situation and regain my focus I was reminded of many things of which I had lost sight. As Christians, we are to always remember our God is gracious and loving, Romans 5:8; we are to fear God, Proverbs 1:7; we are to walk in His ways; we are to love Him above all else, Matthew 22:37; we are to obey Him; and we are to serve Him—not half-heartedly but fully, Deuteronomy 10:12. God blesses us when we observe these things. 

Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:13-14, NKJV, AMEN!

 God Bless!

A Child of the King

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17, NIV

Constantly fearful—that is how I describe my life before trusting Christ. The fear was an overshadowing, foreboding, consuming fear that enveloped and surrounded me; it followed me everywhere. Once I trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, the fear disappeared. I remember feeling as though the burden of the world had been lifted from my young shoulders; I suddenly felt so light. I especially remember the quickening in my heart of the presence of the Holy Spirit! I often think, I didn’t ask Christ to come into my heart—I begged Him to come into my heart!

My family had become very sporadic in our church attendance. But when a new pastor and his family came to minister at a church near our home, my sister became friends with one of the pastor’s daughters. My sister began to attend church regularly and I followed her lead.

The summer I came to know Christ I was 15 years old. My sister and I were attending a church camp in East Texas. Even though many years have passed, the memory of that hot July night still burns brightly in my mind. I was so deeply convicted of sin; my pastor’s wife stood at the end of the bunk bed where I lay, praying with me.

When I gave my life to Christ, the peace that passes all understanding came into my life to guard my heart and my mind, (Philippians 4:7). I have found that while your life may appear to be in total chaos, you can still feel the peace and joy that comes from knowing Christ personally.

My life is filled with blessings. I cannot imagine my life without Christ. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit constantly—teaching me, guiding me, providing me with needed counsel. I see the work of God in my life daily; through answered prayers and what I call every-day-miracles; through various life events and circumstances, and most of all I see presence of the Lord through the study of His word. I am truly blessed to be a child of the King

You Can Only Walk on Water If You Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:25-31, NIV

Peter lost his focus and stumbled just like we lose focus and stumble. And what should always be the object of our focus—Jesus. Our eyes should be firmly fixed upon Jesus. Without Him we can do nothing but in Him we can do all things for it is Christ that supplies our strength (Philippians 4:13).

In order to live a victorious Christian life we must keep our focus upon Christ. We are to seek Christ above all and before all else. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus speaking, we are told to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

We are to keep our focus upon Christ; we are to seek Him deliberately, with determination, and with desperation. When you hunger for Christ that is exactly the manner in which you will seek Him. In Matthew 5:6, NIV, again Jesus speaking, tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Those who seek Christ will be satisfied for Christ is our righteousness: “It is because of Him (God the Father) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption,” 1 Corinthians 1:30, NIV.

By seeking Christ preeminently and passionately we are able to obtain wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Seek Christ. Seek Him first and foremost; seek Him passionately and seek Him while He may be found, (Isaiah 55:6).

The writer of Hebrews tells us that by fixing our eyes upon Jesus we can run with endurance the race that is set before us and not grow weary or lose heart—we run to win the race, not to place, (Hebrews 12:1-3). In other words, when we fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher or our faith and we too can walk on water.

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, by Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

God Bless!

Hello, My Name is Martha

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

This could just as well be the story of me and my sister. My sister is also my best friend and I’m always coming up with ideas and executing them or volunteering for jobs and then dragging her into the middle of the action too. I am high-strung and emotional; my sister is laid-back and calm. I rush around caught up in the details while my sister is the one with the ability to put a positive spin on chaos, saying quietly, "Let's, pray about this."

My biggest problem as a Martha is that I have a tendency to try to get ahead of God and His plans for me. Too often, we Martha’s have predetermined ideas about how God is going to work in our lives. While we see only the present, God’s sees things from an eternal perspective and we need to be reminded His ways are always best. Fortunately, we have a Helper in the Holy Spirit, who whispers in our ears, “Wait; slow down; be still.” 

Too often I forget the futility of rushing ahead, relying upon myself, instead of relying upon God and His power, His strength, and His wisdom. Happily the Holy Spirit teaches us, guides us, counsels us, and empowers us to carry out the will of the God in His perfect timing. God always blesses us when we are obedient to what He calls us to do. When we wait upon Him, He then allows us the opportunity to watch Him work in mighty ways. 

Charles Stanley has written, “The Christian life is this: Christ living His life in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit of the living God.” AMEN! 

God Bless!