Tag: Jesus

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Give it over

I am an independent person. When I was a baby my aunt gave my mom the book How to Raise a Strong-Willed Child.  This is a true story.  I was that kind of kid.  I wasn’t mean, but I wanted my way & found ways to get it.  This can be a good trait to have in order to survive life, but it also can be a thorn in my side.

One of the hardest things I’ve learned as a Christian is that my way is not always the best way.  I must rely on God.  I’ve learned that the key to relying on Him is having a rich and fruitful prayer life.  Going to Him when I want to take care of something myself.  It is hard for me at times, I must admit.  But it is necessary.

I encourage you to try this the next time you want to take control of a situation.  Spend some time on your knees talking to & listening to Him.  Allow God to fight your battles and teach you how to handle situations His way.  You will see change in you & in those around you.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear friends!

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The tie that binds us

The world is filled with so many different people.  Different races, genders, nationalities, socioeconomic statuses, and lifestyles.  Our differences make this life interesting.

There is a good chance that, any given day, you will meet several people as you “do life” that are very different than you.  They think differently, want different things, have a different history in this world.  If you tried to sit down and find something similar, it may take you a little while.  You know what I mean??  You ever met someone like that?  Someone you don’t agree with in almost anything?  Seems like you have nothing in common, right?

Here’s the deal, no matter how different you and I may be, there is always going to be one thing that we have in common: we are a broken sinner in need of a Savior.  We are battered, hurting, broken people desperately in need of being put back together.  It is in our brokenness that find our connections.

I will raise my hand and wave it around in order to signify that I am one of the worst people when it comes to making snap judgements about someone.  Believing that I am somehow better than another person because their poor choice in actions doesn’t mirror my poor choice in actions is no excuse.  The connecting factor is that brokenness.  It is the fact that we are all hurting people that act out that hurt in destructive ways.  No, not just some of us, all of us.  That is what sin does to us.

What if we all understood that?  If we all gave people a little grace because we would want grace if the tables were turned.  How different would this world be?  I am going to suspect that this world would be drastically different if that type of kindness was prevelant.

John 3:30 says: “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” If we allow God to shine through us (if we are born again Christians who have the Spirit of the Lord inside us), do you think it would be easier to show more kindness?  Yes, absolutely. When we allow God to heal our brokenness in the secret places of our heart, we can start to gain understanding.

Allow God to start working out your brokenness and maybe you will start to see the relationships in your life change.  Start looking at people as someone who is as broken as you are and allow empathy to grow.  Because we are all a work in progress.

“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Count it all Joy

Life isn’t all great times.  I wish being a Christian meant all things worked out for me every time and all the things I wanted, I got.  It doesn’t work like that, though.  Life with Jesus has it’s ups, downs, and surprises.

My favorite verse of the Bible is James 1:2-4:

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

Paradoxical?  Yes.  But that is a major theme in the Kingdom.  Things aren’t as they seem.

So, when you a friendship ends, you face rejection from a position you want, you have money problems, the person you thought was “the one” walks out, or your family is acting crazier than usual – don’t get discouraged or depressed.  This is quite possibly a test of your faith.  You are being set up to grow.

Like a plant being pruned, we must allow God to set us up to bloom.  That may be painful, but it will be worth it in the end.  Let your endurance grow so you can finish this race.

Be blessed, my friends.  God has a plan & a purpose for you!


Definition of endurance: the ability to do something difficult for a long time

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Love Defined

I know you’ve probably heard the Easter story.  But do you understand it?  Do you know that it is a love story between us and God?

RomComs are filled with men standing up for their ladies.  It is heroic and beautiful.  It makes some women swoon.  Somehow, in most cases, the couple live happily ever after no matter what the man had to endure.

The story of Easter is different.  It isn’t a love story between a man and woman, but between the God and His creation.  A story about the lengths and depths the one true God of the universe will go to have full access to His beloveds after they (we) turned their (our) backs on Him.

A man, Jesus, fully God, perfect in all His ways (John 1:1; 1 Peter 2:22) bore our sins on the cross even though He had no sin (2 Cor. 5:21).  That is unconditional, undeserved, mind-blowingly amazing love!  Take a moment to really absorb that fact – that a sinless God died for us (all of us) so that we may spend eternity with Him.  So that we might have eternal life (John 3:16).

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Remember that Easter isn’t about candy, bunnies, or outfits.  It is about the love God has for you.  Don’t let this season go by without truly understanding how loved you really are.

Be blessed, dear readers!

  

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Currency of the Kingdom

I wish I could tell you I am always good and never make a mistake.  I wish.  Reality is that I fail daily.  Yep, daily.  It’s terrible.  No matter how good I am, there is always some bad in me.

Part of being human is understanding the bad parts of ourselves.  Understanding that we will fail.  No matter how hard I try to deny that I do bad things (which I do too often), I will always have to eventually admit that there are parts of me that are awful.

Don’t get me wrong, this blog isn’t all about how awful we can be.  There are parts of me (and parts of you) that are amazing.  There are attributes to us that God put in us – that God loves about us, that make us incredible creatures.  We are God’s precious creation, one He is proud of.

But if we do not admit to ourselves and be brutally honest to ourselves and to God how awful we can be, then we cannot accomplish what we need to accomplish in this life. If we allow these sins, discretions, or mishaps to go on without working on them/correcting them – it can actually derail us.  I don’t want to walk through life allowing pride to defeat me.  What about you?

How do you and I defeat this foe called us?  We use humility.  We go to God and ask Him to not only forgive us, but to help us turn from our awful ways to become better people.  If we live our lives on a culture of humility, very few things can get is down.

Paradoxical?  Wouldn’t it be better if we were our own constant cheerleaders no matter what we do? In the world, maybe.  But in the Kingdom, putting others first and allowing yourself to learn from your mistakes so you can grow is vital.

Don’t let your failures and sins get you so down you can’t get up.  But don’t allow yourself to take those mistakes so lightly that you decide not to acknowledge them.  Repentance and humility are the best road!

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:17‬ ‭NLT

Be blessed, dear readers!

 

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There is Purpose in the Scars

Have you ever dropped a glass and it shatter?  After it shatters, does it serve a purpose anymore?  No, not really.  It’s pretty much ruined.  My next step after it drops on the ground is sweeping up the mess and throwing it away.

When we sinned in Eden and ate from the fruit (and every time we sinned after that), we were like that glass hitting the floor – broken and shattered.  Our ability to serve the purpose we were put on this earth to do became questionable.  We could have easily been swept up and thrown out.  But God didn’t do that.  He decided that, even though we were broken, we were worth keeping around.

In fact, He sent His only Son to earth so that we might be saved and made whole again (John 3:16).  It would be the equivalent of us trying to glue the 1,000 tiny pieces of the glass that shattered on the floor.  That is a special kind of Love!

The rub is, though, no matter what we do, we would always see the glue marks on the glass we are trying to glue together.  Our glue marks are our scars.  These scars serve a purpose.  If we were made whole again, without those scars, how would we be able to be a walking testimony for our Lord?  It would be hard to show people where we once were if there was no evidence. Even Christ kept His scars so that others would understand what He endured.  (John 20:27)

Luke 14:27 declares that we must take up our Cross and follow Christ in order to be His disciple.  Part of that Cross is our bearing those scars.  It is turning from those ways and helping those who are walking in the valleys you once were walking in.  Part of the reason we need to remain marked up until we reach Heaven is because those scars share what our God can do.  It is for His glory.

Even though scars indicate that we have sinned, it also means that we have been put back together.  It means that what once were wounds are now healed.  Thus we are a walking testimony of the Grace of God.  Next time the enemy tries to shame you for a scar, for something God has forgiven you from, remind him that these scars are there to glorify God and show how great He is!  Have faith that God knows what he is doing.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬

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It’s how you see it

My current job is in insurance.  I take policies and ensure they are completed accurately following the laws and regulations before booking and then in the actual paper policy that is sent to the insured.  Sounds fun, huh?  

It’s not all that bad.  The one part that is the most stressful is a checking system set up to grade our quality.  This process ensures that everything set up either in the pricing or in the paper has no error.  If one is found, then you get a bad score.  You can only get 10% incorrect.  That’s not a lot when some policies are 200+ pages.  We strive for perfection, but even my company knows that humans cannot be perfect – we will fail at some point.

When we fail, there are two choices we make at how we deal with the failure.  We either choose to look at it from a conviction standpoint or a condemnation standpoint.  One is of God and one is of the Devil.  

I just completed reading the book – Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick.  Great book about how our thought patterns can really get messed up and how we can fix that problem.  Pastor Steven spends some time talking about the difference between condemnation versus conviction.  I’d like to share with you what I learned.

 Let’s look at two people who both made the same mistake: Peter and Judas.  Both were Jesus’ disciples and both betrayed Jesus.  One chose to deal with this failure through condemnation and the other through conviction.

Judas betrayed Jesus by working with the Pharisees to get Jesus killed.   (Luke 22:3-6)  For 30 pieces of silver, Christ was betrayed.  After his eyes were opened to the severity of the situation, Judas gave the money back and hung himself. (Matthew 27:5)

Peter’s betrayal did not send Christ to his death, but it was hurtful for another reason.  Peter was essentially Jesus’ best friend, His closest friend among the 12.  When Christ told Peter that he would deny Him, Peter refused to believe it (Mark 14:26-31).  But, in the heat of the moment, Christ’s prediction was fulfilled and Peter denied that he knew Christ three times as Jesus was on trial.  After he realizes what he did, Peter ran off and wept. (Matthew‬ ‭26:69-75‬) After Christ’s resurrection, Peter ended up leading the early Christian church in it’s infancy. 

You see the difference?  Where one desided he no longer was good and ended his life, the other was able to step into his purpose.  Was it because Jesus loved Peter more?  Personally, I don’t think so.  I believe it is because Judas saw his betrayal through condemnation (you are no longer good) and Peter saw his betrayal through conviction (you are better than that).  

God operates in conviction- showing us our mistakes and telling us we are too good to do what we did and should hold ourselves to a higher standard.  The Devil uses condemnation to tell us we are no longer good and therefore no longer worthy, keeping us locked up in personal disdain.  

I encourage you to recognize the difference next time you mess up.  Know that, regardless of the sin, God loves you and still has a plan for you.  Don’t ever give up.  

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear readers!!  Remember whose you are.

  

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Seen vs Unseen

Remember that our lives are eternal and our God has it all worked out.  Never allow your temporary circumstances to cause you to be in despair about your long term future.

  

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Climb that tree

I grew up in Sunday School.  Our church had the children all go to Sunday School in the morning service and then we were in the Sanctuary in the evening service.  One of my favorite time during Sunday School was when we sang: Jesus Loves Me, Let It Shine, Father Abraham, and of course Zacchaeous Was A Wee Man.

I identified with Zacchaeous because I’ve always been short (and I am still short).  I sang that song all the time.  But as a child, I didn’t understand the implication of his story in the Bible.  

Zacchaeous was a sleazy guy – at least that is the implication I get from the word.  Tax collectors often  took more money than required from the citizens and lived off the money they stole from hard working people.  As a whole, they were despised.

The day Christ Jesus came into Jericho, out of curiosity and anticipation, Zacchaeous climbed up in a Sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus.  This got Christ’s attention and He decided to go to Zacchaeous’ house to eat a meal with his family.  That was a great honor.  An honor bestowed on someone greatly despised by most.  In the end, Zacchaeous’ heart was changed because His encounter with Christ.

This story gives a great picture of how God responds to us.  How we can live terrible lives and then, when He moves our hearts, we respond.  Seeing that we respond moves God.  

Dear reader, you can be someone who has a pedigree of sin, but if an encounter with God moves you to change, God recognizes and respects that.  He seeks the broken and those who are bound in sin.  He loves it when those who were lost are found.

It doesn’t matter what happens, God loves you and waiting until you are 100% His.  You are not too far gone.  You are deeply and dearly loved.

If you find yourself in the same situation that Zacchaeous found himself – not only a sinner, but someone who is despised by those around them because of their sin, do what he did and change your position to see Jesus better.  Reach out to the Christ, the one who bore all sins, including yours. 

Pray this with me: Lord, I am a sinner in need of a savior.  I have sin in my heart and I confess it to you now.  Whether I have known you for a long time or just meeting you, help me know you and understand you more.  I want to walk close with you.  Help me give up my sins in order to live a better life.  I love you, Jesus.  Thank you for all you do.  In you’re name, amen

 “Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19:1-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear reader.

  

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Hold on

Have you ever been put in front of a situation that seemed impossible?  You have no idea how it is going to work out for your good?  That failure is the only solution because there is no logical way out?

Yeah, we’ve all felt like that.  We have all been in dark places where we have no clue how to get out.  It feels like you are carrying too great of weight to even take the next step.  If we only rely on our own selves, there is no solution.  We can’t do it on our own.

When Israel was faced with a giant threatening to take down the entire army, they were too scared to do anything, not knowing how it was going to work out.  Then David walked in.  The army only thought of what they could do.  But David knew what God could do.

““Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!””

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17:32-37‬ ‭NLT‬

When we face things with God, all things are possible.  We have to trust Him and know that He has it all worked out.  What seems impossible to overcome will be so simple to take care of if we do it God’s way and not our own.

David stepped up and did it God’s way. The giant fell only after a few stones were slung. This was the moment that he took the step in faith that set the promise of God in place so that one day he would be the king God called him to be.  It wasn’t just about the anointing, but David’s belief in His God’s ability.

I encourage you, dear reader, that it isn’t over even if it seems like it is.    No matter the situation, no matter if someone hurt you, if you sinned, if you are isolated, if your entire life has crumbled – trust God.  His Son didn’t die on the Cross for you to waste away in failure.

Trust His way, trust that with Him all things are possible and will work out for your good!  His promises will come to pass.  Hold onto HIM!!!  Don’t let go, no matter what.  Sometimes God wants to see if we will take that step of faith.

Be blessed, dear reader.  It isn’t over until God declares it is.