Category: Romans

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Circle the Wagons

Did you watch the old westerns on television like I did? Those shows like Wagon Train with settlers coming West, looking for a new and better life really drew me in. There was always an element of danger, the unknown. Would they be attacked by Indians, find dry watering holes or be overcome by inclement weather?

The one thing we could count on was some time in the show we would hear the wagon master give the order “circle the wagons”.

With the wagons in a circle the pioneers could fight off attacks from all sides. They worked together as one, they had too for their own survival. Or with the wagons circled, a fire could be built in the center and the warmth would fill the camp. A camp of circled wagons kept out unwanted late-night predators and brought a sense of peace and comfort to the weary travelers.

At the start of this new week you may feel like circling the wagons. You know some of last week’s problems are still hanging around; so are some of last week’s predators, the enemies who would like to see you destroyed. Start your week like King David, he started his morning with this prayer.

“I have a lot of enemies, Lord. Many fight against 2 me and say, “God won’t rescue you!” 3 But you are my shield, and you give me victory and great honor. 4 I pray to you, and you answer from your sacred hill.

5 I sleep and wake up refreshed because you, Lord,  protect me. 6 Ten thousand enemies attack from every side, but I am not afraid. 7 Come and save me, Lord God!
Break my enemies’ jaws and shatter their teeth, 8 because you protect and bless your people.” Psalm 3 CEV

David was starting a new day and he saw that his enemies were many, however, he committed his life, his thoughts, his heart to God. God was his shield of protection against his enemies; God was his glory and the one who put him in the place of leadership as king. God was the lifter of his head; the one who reminded him to look up and find help.

David wouldn’t have been king if God hadn’t of chosen him. We wouldn’t be in relationship with God, the Father, if HE had chosen us. David said, as he remembered all of this, he was able to lay down and sleep and wake up sustained because his hope was in God.

The Apostle Paul gave us a similar encouragement when he was writing to the Romans.

“What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34 Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side,[a] speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? 36 It is exactly as the Scriptures say,

‘For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.’

37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:31-39 CEV

If God is for us, and we know that He is because He gave Jesus to die for us, who can be against us? In all these things we have been made more than conquerors through Him that loves us.

Our loving God and Father is better than any wagon master. He has encompassed us with this love and protection. Now we can go out and take new land – let’s get those wagons rolling!

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Keep Looking Up

Hope and excitement. Child like expectation!

There are days that we lose that hope because of what we see happening in the world around us. What should we do?

Keep looking up!

This is the instruction we receive from Jesus, King David and the Apostle Paul.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Do you see that? Keep thinking about heaven…so, let’s do just that. Think about heaven for just a minute or two. Close your eyes right now, see Jesus sitting at the right side of our heavenly Father. They have prepared this perfect place for us. The Holy Spirit is praying for us – constantly. It’s what He does.

“In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[a] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,” Romans 8:26-28 CEV

This is such an encouragement.

King David knew what it was like to live in perilous and godless times. He constantly faced physical battles and also emotional ones. He kept looking up – he found his hope and victory in turning his eyes upward.

“Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 8 Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier. He is the Lord, the war hero. 9 Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 10 Who is the glorious King? The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King. Selah” Psalm 24:7-10 ERV

Lift up our heads – no, that doesn’t mean to turn our head up but it is an attitude of the heart. Turn our focus heavenward. Looking up is looking beyond ourselves and looking to someone higher, looking to God the Father. “ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.” Psalm 24:8-10

Are you looking up today? Are you looking beyond yourself and finding God’s directive on how you should function today? It’s easy to get discouraged and even depressed with all the world’s happenings and Jesus knew that these days and times we are living in would be taxing to our mental peace and could make us heart sick. He gave us this command.

“There will be special things to look for in the sun and moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be troubled and will not know what to do. They will be troubled at the angry sea and waves. 26 The hearts of men will give up because of being afraid of what is coming on the earth. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and much greatness. 28 When these things begin to happen, lift up your heads because you have been bought by the blood of Christ and will soon be free.” Luke 21:25-28

Don’t let your heart fail or become fearful – keep looking up. Lift up your head for your Redeemer is near!

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Move Your But

I am fascinated by the English language. If I knew any other languages I would probably be intrigued by them as well. Mrs. Morgan was my eighth grade English teacher. She was the one who taught us parts of speech, sentence composition and how to diagram those sentences.

The word “but” is a conjunction, a connecting word that ties one thought to another. However, it is also a word that conveys contradiction. Take this sentence for example. I like red BUT blue is my favorite color. The two thoughts are connected and yet contradictive.

Once we begin to look for it, we will find this type of sentence construction in Scripture. This morning I noticed two different instances that I would like you to look at with me.

“They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It does flow with milk and honey. This is its fruit. 28 But the people who live in the land are strong. The cities have walls and are very large. And we saw the children of Anak there. 29 Amalek is living in the land of the Negev. The Hittites and Jebusites and Amorites are living in the hill country. And the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

30 Then Caleb told the people in front of Moses to be quiet. And he said, “Let us go up at once and take the land. For we are well able to take it in battle.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go against the people. They are too strong for us.” Numbers 13:27-31 ERV

Moses had sent twelve men into Canaan to asses the land and its residents. When they came back they brought a bunch of grapes so large that two men had to carry it on a pole. The land God promised them was the most fertile and productive crop land around. However, there were also giants in the land. Instead of seeing the blessings in the land they pointed out the obstacles. There “but’s” stopped them from seeing God’s best.

The second example I saw came from the New Testament.

“When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?” 6 He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered, “Don’t you know that it would take almost a year’s wages[a just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?”

8 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said, 9 “There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?” John 6:5-9 CEV

Once again, “but” got in the way. Jesus disciples were looking at their circumstances and not at the miracle-worker who changed circumstances. Before we become to critical of the Israelites and the disciples we have to admit that many times our “but’s” get us in trouble too.

It’s time to move our but and let God have greater control.

“No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger.” Romans 5:7-9 CEV

What do you think would have happened if the men who went in to Canaan had come back and said “there are giants in the land BUT it’s a great land with wonderful crops and God said it’s ours”? I can tell you, they would not have wandered in the wilderness for forty years. They would have gone in and conquered the land the way God said.

Or perhaps Philip might have said “Lord, there are a whole lot of people BUT if you want us to feed them, tell us how”. (The Scripture says that Jesus knew what he was going to do.) It would have changed the narrative. God is looking to change the narrative in our lives. We have to move our but.

I don’t know what I’m going to do BUT I can do all things through Christ who give me the strength.

I’m not sure how I will handle this problem BUT God says if I ask for wisdom He will give it to me.

“In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn’t obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you.” Ephesians 2:1-5 CEV

When we let God replace the but’s of life with His power and mercy we will see a much better outcome!

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Don’t Lose Hope

Hope. Do you have hope? 

Situations and circumstances of life come crashing in some days and any “normal” person would get depressed or, at the very least, stressed out! But…a very important but. When we place our hope in God we can see the victory and not be a victim. We can have hope when everyone else says it’s hopeless; we can have peace in the midst of a storm.

“Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.” Psalm 43:5 NLV

Hope in God…HOPE in God… Hope in GOD!

King David wrote this after he had experienced many trials. Because He kept his hope in God he also experienced many victories . When he went out to face Goliath as a young man, King Saul was concerned for his safety but David’s response was “The Lord delivered me from the lion and the bear, so who is this uncircumcised Philistine?”  His hope was in God’s strength, not his own.

When a problem comes that seems too big for us to handle, that’s a good thing. It means God will show up to fight it for us. If the things we face in life are only small and insignificant we won’t gain any strength or character.

Now don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not saying that we should run around looking for trouble – not at all; it will come sure enough but when it does come, look up to Jesus, your source of help – don’t lose hope!

“I look to the hills! Where will I find help? 2 It will come from the Lord, who created the heavens and the earth. 3 The Lord is your protector, and he won’t go to sleep or let you stumble.” Psalm 121: 1-3 CEV

Hope is the stabilizing force in our lives. It will anchor our emotions and calm our fears much like a boat in rough waters.

“These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he says something, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath.

So these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety. They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours. 19 This hope is like an anchor for us. It is strong and sure and keeps us safe.” Hebrews 6:18-19a ERV

The last few days I have been sharing a variety of verses in this morning blog. A number of them have dealt with safety and protection; others have covered God’s love and forgiveness. Each of those verses is a promise – a promise that God will not break. When we attach our hope to those promises they anchor us. They keep us from being tossed about in life’s storms. They keep us from crashing on the rocks of life.

So let’s look again at those situations and circumstances that have come crashing in like a storm surge. Let’s compare them to God and His mighty power. There is nothing that is to hard for God. We must put our hope in Him.

“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 ERV

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So Much Love

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and so many are thinking of love. I’m still mulling over the significance of Jesus becoming our sacrifice; He willingly laid down His life to save ours! Now that’s true love.

Amazing.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the following statement: God, the Father, loves Jesus Christ, His Son. Nope, no argument at all. But what about this one? Think hard before you answer. God, the Father, loves me as much as He loves Jesus!

Does that one take you back? Does it cause you some hesitation? If so, you haven’t really understood how much God loves you. Jesus was praying in the Garden before He was taken to be crucified and this was part of His prayer.

“’I pray not only for these followers but also for those who will believe in me because of their teaching. 21 Father, I pray that all who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, just as you and I are one. 23 I will be in them, and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.” John 17:20-23 ERV

…that you loved them just as you loved me. Think about that – recall all the different ways that God showed His love to Jesus and then see yourself being loved by God in the same way. Jesus was praying this prayer not just for the disciples that he was leaving on the earth at that time but for all who would believe in Him because of their teaching. I’m one of those who believed in Jesus as my Saviour because of their teaching and if you have accepted Christ as your Saviour then you have believed too and this verse is written to you.

Paul says in Romans that when we believe, we become the children of God, heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. (Romans 8). As parents, we’ve all had our kids accuse us of having a favorite, preferring one child over the other; but as parents, we all know that’s not true. We don’t love one child more than the other. We love each child as the unique individual that they are.

“For the Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells our spirit that we are children of God. 17 If we are children of God, we will receive everything He has promised us. We will share with Christ all the things God has given to Him. But we must share His suffering if we are to share His shining-greatness.” Romans 8:16-18 NLV

We saw how Jesus suffered in the Garden when he prayed. If there was any other way possible for God’s plan of salvation to be fulfilled Jesus asked Him to do it. But if not, Jesus put His own will and desire aside to do the Father’s will. We will have times of suffering as we lay aside our desires to do what God desires for us to do. There is some real struggling in making selfless decisions.

For a time Jesus was referred to as God’s only Son but after His death on the cross and God’s plan of redemption was complete He is called the first born of many brethren. We are now one of God’s chosen, dearly loved children.

There is no greater love than this!

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Come Down or Rise Up

The last couple of days I have been reading about the arrest, phony trial and crucifixion of Jesus from the book of Mark.

Jesus knew that he would soon be crucified and he was trying to prepare his disciples for this horrific event. He wanted to keep them close, pray with them and teach them up the last moment.

They went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus asked them to pray with Him. He knew what type of death he would experience. He knew how excurciating it would be! He needed more strength that he had ever had before. His humanity was facing the greatest struggle of his life and his deity was facing its greatest victory.

When Jesus prayed his humanity was asking God the Father if there was any other way our salvation, our reconciliation, could take place.

“Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, “Sit here while I pray.”

33 Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and 34 told them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”

35-36 Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don’t let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not
what I want.” Mark 14:32-36 ERV

The anguish in His heart was great; the desire to accomplish the Father’s plan was greater!

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:2-3 ERV

While Jesus was in the garden the soldiers came to arrest Him. He was tried on trumped up charges, his accusers lied, he was beaten and whipped. He was nailed to a cross and still he was taunted. People stood at the foot of His cross and challenged his deity.

“The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! 32 If he is really the Messiah, the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross now. When we see this, then we will believe in him.” The criminals on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.” Mark 15:31-32 ERV

This was a very fitting temptation. Jesus knew He was the Messiah, He knew he was God’s son. So, why not prove it to them – prove it to them all? One word, love! If Jesus had come down from the cross there would be no other atonement for sin. He was the only one who could be the sinless sacrifice. If He didn’t complete the plan, we would have no hope of reconciliation. Jesus loved the Father so much that he willingly gave up his life for us. He loved us so much that He provided a way for us to have an unhindered relationship with His Father.

“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. ” Romans 5:8-10 CEV

If Jesus had come down from the cross He wouldn’t have been able to rise up defeating Satan, death, hell and the grave.

“God saved us and chose us to be his holy people, but not because of anything we ourselves did. God saved us and made us his people because that was what he wanted and because of his grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began. 10 And now it has been shown to us in the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus. He destroyed death and showed us the way to have life. Yes, through the Good News Jesus showed us the way to have life that cannot be destroyed.” II Timothy 1:9-10 ERV

Before Jesus submitted to the cross He had already crucified his instinct of self-preservation. There in the garden he faced death and won. He committed all He was to the Father.

I am so grateful that Jesus made the hard choice; He didn’t come down but He chose to rise up! How can anyone deny such love?

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Big Announcement – Great News

This is the best news you will ever receive. God loves you and He’s on your side!!

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:31-32 ERV

In my reading this morning the Israelites were crying out to the Lord because they were being treated so badly by the Egyptians. God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people He had heard their cry and was sending him, Moses, to bring their deliverance.

Great News!

God is in the Good News business. When Jesus birth was announced by the angels they said this was “good tidings of great joy” – good news. Jesus even said that he came to bring good news to the people.

“… ‘We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.’” Mark 1:38 CEV

The good news that Jesus brought to every town was healing the sick, delivering those who were demon possessed and forgiving sin. Jesus came to establish a reconciliation between man and God. Very good news!

You can imagine how excited I got when I started reading these verses in Colossians. I know this is a lot of reading and I don’t normally give lengthy Scriptures for you to read but this is really GREAT NEWS!

“I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. 10 Then your lives will please the Lord. You will do every kind of good work, and you will know more about God. 11 I pray that God’s great power will make you strong, and that you will have joy as you wait and do not give up. 12 I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. 13 God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. 14 We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.

15 Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. 16 Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. 17 Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. 18 Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. 19 God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. 20 Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace. 21 At one time you were strangers to God and your minds were at war with Him. Your thoughts and actions were wrong. 22 But Christ has brought you back to God by His death on the cross. In this way, Christ can bring you to God, holy and pure and without blame. 23 This is for you if you keep the faith. You must not change from what you believe now. You must not leave the hope of the Good News you received. The Good News was preached to you and to all the world. And I, Paul, am one of Christ’s missionaries.” Colossians 1:9-23 NLV

God desires that we know His strength, experience His power and be filled with His joy. Christ came to make the relationship between us and God perfect. By his death on the cross we have peace with God. God, the Father, isn’t mad at us; He loves us!

Great News!

Because of his death on the cross, Jesus brought us to the Father cleansed, holy and pure, without blame. God sees us pure because of Jesus. Christ made everything perfect and made a way for us to come to the Father. Our sins are forgiven.

Great News!

Extra, Extra read all about it! God loves us and He’s on our side!!!



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Thrill of Victory

My day didn’t start out as I had planned. I actually slept in this morning and had no real motivation to get moving. Dave asked if I had written my blog yet and I told him no, but I knew before the day was out the Lord would give me something to share.

Here it is!

We’ve spent several days this week with Joshua. The Lord told him to be courageous and strong. He had a big task before him. His first triumph was at Jericho. All that marching and trumpet blowing brought success.

But then…

This is what happened to the children of Israel after they defeated Jericho. The Lord told them all of the spoils they took when they defeated Jericho were His. Achan, one of the men, took some gold, silver and a fine robe and hid them in his tent.

A few days after Jericho, Joshua got the army together and they went to battle to defeat the next city which was Ai. Ai was a smaller city than Jericho and they were riding high from their victory only to be defeated.

“Joshua sent about three thousand soldiers to attack Ai. But the men of Ai fought back and chased the Israelite soldiers away from the town gate and down the hill to the stone quarries. Thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed, and the Israelite army felt discouraged.” Joshua 7:4-5 CEV

Now Joshua goes to the Lord and he’s upset. He tells the Lord how all his enemies will hear about this defeat and they will be emboldened to fight the Israelites. They, their enemies, will feel that God isn’t fighting for them or with them any more.

Disobedient -> Defeated -> Discouraged. Have you ever been there? Joshua couldn’t understand how God could abandon them like this.

God showed Joshua who had stolen items that were supposed to be destroyed. Achan was brought before Joshua and he admitted his disobedience and his deception. Achan was killed for stealing what God said should have been destroyed.

Joshua has to pick up from there and go on. Back to Ai – and this is what the Lord says.

“The Lord told Joshua:
Don’t be afraid, and don’t be discouraged by what happened at the town of Ai. Take the army and attack again. But first, have part of the army set up an ambush on the other side of the town. I will help you defeat the king of Ai and his army, and you will capture the town and the land around it. Destroy Ai and kill its king as you did at Jericho. But you may keep the livestock and everything else you want.” Joshua 8:1-2 CEV

God reminds Joshua of the original command; don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged. Stand strong, be courageous. So they go against Ai again and this time they are victorious!

When we face defeat because of our own disobedience God wants us to deal with our disobedience and listen to Him. When we do we can go back and defeat the enemy. It would have been easy for Joshua to pick another city to fight against to gain the land but the Lord sent him back to the same city, the same king but this time the results were different.

“Finally, the Lord told Joshua, “Point your sword at the town of Ai, because now I am going to help you defeat it!” Joshua 8:18 CEV

Joshua met an angel before the battle at Jericho and asked the angel of the Lord whose side he was on – his answer rang clear. I’m not for you or for your enemy, I’m on the Lord’s side.

“One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, “Are you on our side or on our enemies’ side?”

14 “Neither,” he answered. “I am here because I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” Joshua 5:13-14 CEV

The instruction is plain; be obedient, fight the battle, win the victory!

“What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?” Romans 8:31-32 CEV

Get up -> Go forward -> Get the victory!

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Always On My Mind

It’s nice to let people know you are thinking of them. Just a note that says “thinking of you” will brighten anyone’s day. Today, I was asked to send this note along to you.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11-12 NKJV

God, our Father, is thinking about you. He is planning good things to fill your day.

“O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.” Psalm 40:5 NLV

I woke up this morning singing a song that we sang Sunday in the worship service. (I wasn’t able to attend a regular service but did participate in worship through a service that was streamed live.)

Chorus: Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope…

Songwriters: Phil Wickham, Brian Mark Johnson Living Hope lyrics © ESSENTIAL MUSIC PUBLISHING, BETHEL MUSIC PUBLISHING

As those words kept going over and over in my mind I got more and more excited. God, Almighty God, has provided a way for me to be freed from sins penalty. Everything that had enslaved me in the past or would try to capture me in the future has had it’s power broken because of Jesus, my living hope!

Those promises aren’t for me because I’m special. No, they are for all of us. Everything that God provided and Jesus has accomplished is for anyone who will receive His provision. He’s been thinking about us for all eternity and He has made great plans for us.

“God has said that all men have broken His Law. But He will show loving-kindness on all of them. 33 God’s riches are so great! The things He knows and His wisdom are so deep! No one can understand His thoughts. No one can understand His ways.” Romans 11:32-33 NLV

When I get up each morning and open my Bible I read it like a letter. I read about the things that are important to God; things that He wants me to know. Things He has done and things He’s going to do. The Bible is my “thinking of you” letter each day. It says “I want to share My life with you, I want you to know that I love you and want to be a part of what you’re doing today. My thoughts are filled with ways to bless you in ways that you really don’t understand”.

I have a friend that I share emails with each morning. She tells me all about her day; where she went, who she saw, the trivial and the monumental. I love reading those emails because I love her. It makes me feel apart of her day although we live hundreds of miles apart. If we can have this kind of relationship on the human level think of how much greater it is with God.

“The Lord answered, “Could a mother forget a child who nurses at her breast?
Could she fail to love an infant who came from her own body? Even if a mother could forget, I will never forget you. 16 A picture of your city is drawn on my hand. You are always in my thoughts!” Isaiah 49:15-16 CEV

I hope this gives you as much comfort as it gives me knowing that God is thinking about us today. His thoughts toward us are innumerable. We are always on His mind!


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Ham It Up

We were having dinner with friends last night and talking about old wives tales that carry forward as fact. I was reminded of a story I heard about a young bride. It was her first Easter with her new husband. She had purchased a ham for their Easter dinner. She took the ham and cut off the ends before putting it in her roasting pan.

Her husband asked her why she cut off the ends. After much prodding, she replied “I’m not sure. My mom always did it that way.” At her husband’s encouragement she called her mother and asked “why did you always cut the ends off the ham before you put it in the pan?” Her mother was silent for a moment and then replied “because your grandmother always cut the ends off her ham”.

With this answer sitting hard in her thoughts, and at the prompting of her husband, she called Grandma. “Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off the ham before putting it in the roaster?” Grandma replied “Oh dearie, that’s simple. My pan was too short so I had to trim the ends to make it fit.”

The young bride and her husband laughed heartedly. For years three women had been cutting the ends off the ham because at one point the roasting pan was too short.

“So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have, which you pass on to others. And you do many things like that.” Mark 7:13 ERV

How many things do we do religiously that have nothing to do with God’s truth but are fashioned by man’s tradition? We say that God can’t love us if we go to certain places or don’t give up certain habits. We are told that if we don’t spend so many days during the week in church or hours in prayer that God will be unhappy with us. He won’t love us.

Maybe you have been told that God won’t love you because of what you have done. You’ve been too bad or you’ve had too many failures or one too many divorces. All of these things are traditions. It is the traditions of men that make the Word of God of no effect.

As long as people are feeling condemned for not being good enough for God they will run from God instead of to Him. Jesus heard this criticism often. This was His response.

“When some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such bad people, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.” Mark 2:16-17 ERV

We will never be good enough to be acceptable to God outside of our relationship with Jesus. We can’t do enough good works. Our own efforts can’t buy us salvation. There is only one way that we can be saved.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV

We don’t clean up to take a shower and we don’t try to keep enough rules to be accepted by God.

I don’t know what religious laws you are trying to keep. I do know the ones I thought were right but I never succeed in keeping them. We have to come to a point where we give up on religious tradition and accept God’s grace at face value.

“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. ” Romans 5:8-9 CEV

God has so much more for us than we are experiencing. Religious traditions keep us from receiving all God has in store.

It’s time we quit cutting off the ends of the ham and enjoy the whole thing. God’s blessings are so much greater than we imagined.

“I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 CEV

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