June 16, 2012

“Light Speaking”

Scripture:

 

1 Kings 17:24

Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you.” (NLT)

Observation:

We don’t have to produce spiritual miracles of healing the sick or raising the dead back to life in order to prove to the world that we belong to God—that we truly are His children. With the fallen state of darkness that this world is experiencing it’s never easy living in God’s Light, for we must function in a world that denies the Truth and hates the very Name of Jesus Christ. And no matter how great the desire or how hard we try to walk with God, it will always be a daily challenge until that day of our Lord’s return. Because of our sinful nature all people borne into this world become children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3) and without the saving power of God found only in the life and death of His Son we will die children of wrath as well. While the incarnate Jesus Christ lived on this earth He set the standard for all people to live by—standards that go against the very grain of the world’s self-centered standards. And as believers in God’s redemptive plan we can choose to speak the good fight and back up our words by living them, or we can speak the good fight to impress others and continue living as the world does.

Application:

With the power that Satan has over this world we have the ability to easily fool other people, but it is utterly impossible to fool the Creator because He knows what is in every heart He creates, and will surely put to test every believer (Proverbs 17:3) that will show the world (and the one tested) where they truly stand. You are either with God or against Him and being lukewarm is a dangerous game to play, my friends (Revelation 3:15-16). The surest way to draw others into the saving Light of Christ is by speaking the truth in love and then living in that Truth for others to see. And if you ever begin to slide back into the darkness of this world (which is easy to do), you can be sure that if your heart is right, the Lord will snatch you back into the Light where you belong. And knowing we will always fall short of God’s Glorious Standard until our sanctification is complete, we can trust that when we speak and live in the Truth, we have God as our Rock and the Son as our Hope. For when we live and love like Jesus our Lord, the world around us will not only watch and listen a bit more closely to the Truth that pours out from our lives, but miraculously we will see the most unlikely people drawn into God’s Light to be forever changed for the Glory of the Most High!

Prayer:

Thank You, O God, for showing us how to live right in a world that believes living wrong is right. Thank You for the Light that exposes the darkness of this world for what it truly is—disobedience to You, our perfectly righteous Creator who, because of Your Power and abundant mercy and grace and love for us made a way for anyone to defeat this world and live in Your Presence forever!

Amen

June 9, 2012

 “From Listener to Doer”

Scripture:

James 1:22
Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (NASB)

Observation:

We cannot not truly call ourselves “children of God” and expect to enjoy the many blessings that our salvation in Christ Jesus brings without actually doing the will of God, because thinking otherwise is not only foolish, but deadly as well. It is delusional and dangerous to think you can hear God’s Word, and then knowingly disobey it without retribution. It is written in Scripture that there is a price to be paid for those who claim to hear the Word of God but blindly go about their everyday lives in total disregard of what it says (Matthew 7:21).

Application:

The Church gatherings around the world are filled with people who listen to the sermons, but their lives never really change—and sadly, they spend their short lives here on the earth going about the business of this fallen world believing their salvation is in the bag. And how terrible it will be on the “Day of the Lord” when they hear Jesus say; “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22-23). It is impossible to understand the true meaning of God’s Word without the Holy Spirit as our Interpreter, who takes up residence in our hearts when we selflessly take up the Lord’s offer and live as God’s children should. Apart from ourselves, only God knows the motivation found in our heart, for we cannot hide in our darkness from Him. Our flawed human hearts are deceitful and malevolent in its fallen state (Jeremiah 17:9-10), especially when it comes to things which we know are righteous and godly—even when our conscience opposes our sinful behavior. We cannot win the battles against our sinful nature if we don’t apply the Word of God to our lives, and it is useless going into battle against the evil forces that rule this world without the armor of God and the Holy Spirit leading the way. If you truly believe in the Word of God and replace your own flawed will with the perfect will of the Father you will be changed from a listener to a doer, and in the process your life will experience a transformation that lasts forever—For one day you will hear Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” rather than, “I never knew you.”

Prayer:

Thank You, O God, for Your mercy and grace for forgiving my sins and giving me life. There are many voices calling for my allegiance to the world. But you have opened the eyes of my heart so Your Truth drowns them out. You are our only Hope in this decaying world—our eternal Hope!   Amen

June 2, 2012

 

 “Living Anew”

Scripture:

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the Eternal Living Word of God. (NLT)

Observation:

The Son of God tells us clearly in His own Words that in order for anyone to receive the gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of God they must be born again (John 3:3), and this rebirth comes not from this dying world but from the infinite Almighty God Himself (John 1:13). Experiencing true rebirthing means that you have been chosen by God the Father, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and renewed by the Holy Spirit, who does the good work of transforming our hearts and minds until our sanctification is completed to perfection and we are glorified—perfect in every way and in union with God forever.

Application:

I still find it so incredibly amazing that after all of my dysfunctional behaviors and many years of rebellion against God that He would cleanse my ugly past and give me a new beginning that has no end. Not long after my rebirth, as the Holy Spirit began to reveal the true meaning of life and what my new future held, did the thought of eternal life really hit me hard, for I had no problem accepting the renewing of my lost and troubled life in the here and now, but the thought of having to continually live forever appealed to me about as much as swimming with hungry sharks did. But as the Lord transformed my heart and my dysfunctional world view I began to see how wonderful and exciting this forever new life was going to be. And as I keep on learning and changing and realizing how infinitely big our God is, the more I look forward to living in His Presence for eternity. As God’s redeemed people we should all be excitedly awaiting that glorious day when Jesus physically returns to the Earth with His angles and saints to eradicate the evil forces that rule this world and establish His Kingdom on Earth for a millennium. And after His thousand year reign the Lord will restore His creation to perfection, bringing the New Jerusalem and the New Heaven down to Earth where His glorified people will reign with Him forever (Revelation 22:5). And this, my friends, is how all of God’s redeemed people will forever live—reigning with Christ in new glorified bodies, never bored, never sad or lonely, and never in pain—exploring the immensity of our infinite and sovereign God who has made it possible for us to, once again, physically live in His Presence forever!

Prayer:

Thank You, dear LORD, for this new life and bright future in Your Presence. Thank You for rescuing me from the fate of this fallen world to give me a clearer picture of who You are and who I am not. Life without knowing these things has a tragic end indeed.   Amen

May 26, 2012

 “Staying Alive”

Scripture:

John 15:4
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from Me. (NLT)

Observation:

It is absolutely essential for every Christian, no matter where they are in their walk with the Lord, to stay connected to God and His will by daily reading and meditating on every Word of God. For it is not only infallible in its truth, but it’s the heavenly food that nourishes our hearts, minds, and souls as we develop and share the kind of fruit which helps us remain as clean as freshly fallen snow and as white as wool even though our sins are as deep as crimson red (Isaiah 1:18).

Application

In order for our lives to grow and produce this heavenly fruit which is filled with the transforming power of God, we must have the Holy Spirit living in us to prune out that which is diseased and rotten and growing in the wrong direction, and to nourish our new growth with God’s life-giving food. Without this everyday spiritual nourishing the stems of our new life will weaken and the fruit which began to develop will soon shrivel up and die, dropping away from the Branch to lie rotting and useless. And it is there, back in the decaying world from which we came, that we await the burning (John 15:6). Without this nourishing power from Heaven helping us stay healthy and connected to the Branch, we are destined to fall away and return to the world to partake of its deadly poisonous food which kills and condemns our eternal life. Many hungry souls will taste of God’s Heavenly food only to feed upon it when it’s convenient or desperately needed, then sadly will return to the lust filling diet of the world when it’s not. Don’t be one of those who uses the Word of God to pacify their worldly feeding frenzy, because the Truth tells us that we would be better off never having tasted of God’s heavenly food in the first place (2 Peter 2:21-22). Instead, bathe in the glory of God’s goodness and mercy and grace and be nourished by His Word, which will keep you alive during this difficult life-journey. And one day you will partake in God’s true fruit from the Tree of Life that will be found in the new Heaven on the New Earth. Reject the addictive and poisonous food of this evil world ruled by Satan, my friends, and replace it with the Word of God. For if don’t you will surely die an unrepentant sinner’s death, which is far more deadly than the first death that is a reality for everyone living on this earth.

Prayer:

Thank You O God, for taking care of my every need. Now help me stay strong and committed to You and Your Way. And help me discern what is healthy for my soul and what is not, for when I know the difference I will remain connected to You and be able to stay alive!           Amen