“The Key”

Scripture:

Psalm 119:7
When I learn Your righteous laws,
I will thank You by living as I should! (NLT)

Observation:

It is highly unlikely that a small child could figure out how to please their father unless they knew what would please him. This same analogy holds true for God’s children. We must first learn who the Father is and what we, His children, must do in order to please Him.

Application:

When we learn how to obey and follow His Way our lives will bring much delight to our Father in Heaven, and when God is delighted, He blesses our lives in return (Proverbs 8:32, 35). It is by learning and understanding God’s Truth that we gain the right knowledge, and that knowledge is what motivates us to obey and practice what we learn. And we accomplish this by the way we live our lives. But we must first have the desire to learn the Word of God and His will for our lives, because He will not force these things upon anyone. We must seek daily the knowledge of God (Jeremiah 29:13); for by seeking and learning what He demands of us, we might remember; by remembering, we might believe; by believing, we might take delight; by delighting, we might admire; by admiring, we might take heed; by taking heed, we might practice, and by practicing, we might continue on in the ways of God to find life at its best. And as we journey through this life, learning God’s statutes, we acquire the correct knowledge to make the right choices that not only please God, but will bring about a life that is worth living—a life that is worth passing on to our children, our family, our friends, and all those with whom we share this life with. You will never experience the peace of God and the fullness of life until you know what path to follow and what rules to keep. Without the proper knowledge from God our Creator, our life-journey’s become nightmares that have no end. There are many ways in which we can offer God our thanksgiving for all He has done, but I believe there is no better way of thanksgiving than offering God your life lived in thankful obedience to Him (Acts 17:28).

Prayer:

Thank You, O LORD, for the key that has opened the door to the knowledge of Your Wisdom. Now all I ask is that you guide me through this life-journey, helping me stay on the path that leads to life. Help me to have the courage to live by it and share it with this wayward world.

Amen

“All Things Good”

Scripture:

Proverbs 13:14
The advice of the wise is like a life-giving fountain;
those who accept it avoid the snares of death. (NLT)

Observation:

All true wisdom comes from the God of the Bible. Every word found in the Scriptures is a God breathed word (2 Timothy 3:16). Although the actual words written were formed by human hands, they were all inspired and directed by the Lord God Himself. Our Lord and Creator, Jesus Christ, the Word of God has been our connection to God and the heavenly realms since the beginning of mankind over 6,000 years ago (John 1:1-4). The wisdom that pours out from the pages of God’s Word are designed for a purpose—to give all peoples the truth about life and death—to give us hope and understanding—so we would be able to live a life that is honorable and rewarding and worth living.

Application:

I believe that one of the most important truths’ we discover in reading the many Word’s of God is the fact that all things good come from above, and all things bad come from the depths of hell. All things that come down from heaven are God directed and good for us, while all things from this fallen world are Satan directed and dangerous for us. The wisdom from Heaven is pure and holy and leads to life (Matthew 4:4). The wisdom from Hell is pure evil and deadly, directing the wisdom of man which is foolishness disguised as truth. Manmade wisdom is flawed and false and only leads to confusion and eventually eternal separation from all things good. Don’t be fooled with the world’s wisdom on life and death, my friends, because it is pure Satanism and has dire consequences that are costly. Instead, discover the Absolute Truth that can only be found in the authority, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency of Scripture—God’s infallible Word—words that bring us life.

Prayer:

Thank You Lord, for sharing Your words of truth and for helping me understand the way to everlasting life. Without Your Truth we would all be deceived into believing the lies of this fallen world and its ruler, Satan that would eventually lead us to our death and destruction. What an awesome God You are, dear Lord, awesome indeed!

Amen

“To Persevere”

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:23-25
Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to out-bursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near. (NLT)

Observation:

In these final days of so much deception and unspeakable evil that our sin-filled and wayward world is facing, let us never withhold from anyone that saving Light which our Lord and God, Jesus Christ has so graciously shinned into our own once darkened lives (Psalm 27:1). Now, more than ever before, is the time to both warn and encourage all peoples with the truth about this fast-tracked, end-time prophecy that is being played out before our very eyes.

Application:

The time has come for the Church to truly gather as one and share the only Hope we have in Christ—Hope that not only brings the peace of God into our lives, but the strength to persevere the onslaught of trouble that will continue to plague this world until the Lord comes again to defeat all those who stand against Him; putting an end to the injustice that has ruled far too long. People are not strong enough to stand alone against the powers of hell, but when we unite together with Christ, as one righteous body, we then have the greater power. Just as we need God’s sovereign grace to continue to exist physically, so too, is our need for the Holy Spirit’s truth and strength so we can escape the coming judgment that will befall mankind’s sinful rebellion and all those held in its grasp. Our loving and gracious God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked and rebellious, but desires that all peoples would repent of their sinfulness against Him and learn how to live lives that would not only bring honor to themselves, but also bring glory to the Living God who created us (Ezekiel 33:11). Christ Jesus has commissioned His Church to proclaim and show the Way to the lost and hopeless so they, too, can know and experience the Truth of God and receive the Lord’s special favor (Hebrews 12:15) that is poured out on all those who believe and trust in the Son of God; the only One that has the power to save and restore the decadence of this dying world. There are many false gods who are competing for your soul and every one of them are followers of Satan, the father of deceit and all evilness. It is so very critical, dear brothers and sisters, for God’s chosen people to encourage and lift each other up so we can continue to spread the “Good News” throughout the world; that God is always in control and always searching for ways to reach those who are lost and without hope. He is the One and only God who has the power to yank us free from the deadly grasp of the Enemy’s clutches and set our feet on solid Holy Ground where we can remain safe and secure in His Presence until that Great Day of the Lord is upon us!

Prayer:

All the honor and glory belongs to You, O Lord, for it is only by Your holy grace and sovereign mercy that we can escape the Coming Night of Your Final Wrath against all enemies of God. Thank You Jesus, for the deadly sacrifice you experienced for mankind’s salvation.

Amen

“Lesser than Greater”

Scripture:

John 3:30-31
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth,
and my understanding is limited to the things of earth, but He has come from heaven. (NLT)

Observation:

In order to understand the things of God we must first get over ourselves and put life into the proper perspective, most importantly, when it comes to whom the Creator is and who we the created are. The creator is always greater than that which he has created; much like the potter’s creative power over his creation (Isaiah 64:8). This simple analogy developed by our great Designer holds absolutely true, especially when it comes to describing the relationship between God and people and our life-journey on this earth (Isaiah 45:18).

Application:

Until we put our Creator, the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, above ourselves and make it a priority to know and understand how this life was designed to work, we will continue to pursue our own greatness which leaves little or no room at all for the One with whom all things were created by and for. If we are to experience the fullness and richness of life we must first understand the how and why of our existence and then believe it, for it is only by believing our greater God’s love for His creation and the mercy and grace He has for His people that anyone borne of this world has the opportunity to rise above our fallen human status to live blameless and godly lives in the eyes of the living and Holy God of all creation. When you stop focusing only on yourself and what this created world can do for you and humbly nail to the cross of Christ your past rebellion and ignorance of the creator—createe relationship, He will completely forgive you and begin to bless you with true understanding about this difficult life and the heavenly eternal life that is yet to come for everyone who believes. Our God is greater and bigger and more powerful than the entire created universe (Psalm 147:5). And even though we are incredibly small and seemingly insignificant in the vastness of God’s immense universe, He has chosen us, His redeemed people, to share in the greatness of His Eternal Kingdom. It is not a bad thing, my friend, to consider yourself less than, for when you do you will be able to rise above the deceiving greatness of this fallen world and meet our amazing God the Creator face to Face; just as He designed for you to do.

Prayer:

Please help me, O Lord, to put into the proper perspective, your awesome power to save Your people. For when I truly understand my place in Your creation, only then I can live my life as it was designed to live—a life that brings glory to Your Name.

Amen

“Be at Peace”

Scripture:

2 Peter 3:13-14
But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised;
A world where everyone is right with God. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting
for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life.
And be at peace with God. (NLT)

Observation:

There can be little doubt that storm clouds are gathering over this world, signaling the Coming of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ (James 5:8). The new millennium we are living in today will be a short one indeed, for each day we discover more and more proof of God’s prophecy being fulfilled throughout the world, which cannot survive another 988 years of mankind’s ruling.

Application:

Just through human reasoning alone will confirm the reality of this truth. The human race has excelled more quickly in scientific knowledge over the past 100 years than it has since man was created by God, and is now trying to surpass and even trump the sovereignty and providence of God’s plan for His creation. And with the population of the world growing more rapidly than it ever has, man will never succeed in solving the massive problem of feeding and housing everyone; that is, short of genocide. Which, by the way, the Godless people of America have managed the erase an entire generation through the killing of millions of innocent unborn children. So many people are living in denial and fear of the inevitable and are hoping there will be some kind of miraculous intervention by a human savior that will solve our dilemma so life on this dying planet will get fixed and everyone can be happy. Others deny the existence of God and eternal life and don’t really care about anyone or anything but themselves, choosing to live as they please until they die, thinking they will sleep forever in a dreamless state while their body decays in the ground. And then sadly, we have those who believe in a god but have manufactured a god of their own liking who will make living in this hard and difficult life right for everyone, regardless of how they live or what they do. The truth is, my friends, time is running out for mankind and all his gods, for the LORD our God and Savior will not allow the total decadence of His creation to annihilate itself without interceding. Jesus will intercede, my friends, and soon (Revelation 22:7), to set up His Holy and Righteous Kingdom so He can reign throughout the last millennium of this earth. And at the end of this final age, every warning and promise from God will be fulfilled. Knowing and believing in this truth will either cause you to be at peace with God and His perfect sovereign plan, or hopefully cause you enough healthy fear that you will repent and change (Titus2:12, 13), or unfortunately you will blow it off as utter foolishness and hope it’s not true.

Prayer:

Thank You for the Truth, dear God, for without it we would never experience Your peace in this hard and difficult world we live in, for without Your peace, dear Lord we would have no joy in living.

Amen

“Paid in Full”

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from
the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.
And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver.
He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ,
the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (NLT)

Observation:

We can never know the full extent of the ransom that our Lord paid to save the life of our eternal souls, because He is not only God, but the One who became the very ransom that was paid.

Application:

For those of us who believe and accept that Jesus was the final sacrificial Lamb of God who received the full penalty for every sin committed (past, present, and future), our lives are no longer our own to do whatever we want with them (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The debt we owe the Lord is so far above our understanding that even if we wanted to repay Him in full it would be humanly impossible for us to do (Psalm 49:8-9). But once you begin to look deep into the whole matter of God’s redemptive plan for His creation and then contemplate the true meaning of it all you will truly desire (with all your heart) to give him back the very life that He paid so dearly to save. And once you sincerely make that decision, He will slowly begin to transform you so your new life lived will bring honor and glory to the deity of God, and in due time He will honor and glorify you in return. It is important to understand that God did not have to save anyone or for any particular reason. He saved you because He wanted to give you hope. He saved you so that you would have a really good reason to live in this difficult and demanding life that in the end would be well worth all the hardship and struggles we had to go through. Bottom line; He saved you because He loves you. He saved you because He is God and that is what He does (Titus 3:7). What a merciful and loving God we have, my dear friends, and what an awesome blessing it is to know that even though we always fall short of God’s glorious standard this side of heaven, we have a Redeemer, Christ Jesus, who has taken upon Himself the terrible wrath we all deserve so that we can escape the decadence that sin brings to those who try to stand on their own merit. We owe the God of creation all that we are and can be, and so very much more!

Prayer:

Thank You, O God, for the price You paid for my salvation. Having accepted Your forgiveness I can now live with Your peace in my heart knowing that You have made it possible for me to stand in Your Presence, free from guilt and shame of my past, knowing that this world can do nothing to ever separate You from me again.

Amen