Romans | Kristi's Morning Devotional

April 6, 2018

The Choice is Yours

Have you ever sat alone with your thoughts? Wondering how things are going to be in the future or what you could have done differently to change the past and shape your present?

Maybe you’ve been going over and over the dynamics of a relationship; your education or lack thereof; your financial situation or your health. Too often, you begin to follow rabbit trails in your mind and come to a place of discontentment or disaster.Before you know it you are angry or depressed.

You know how it goes, you have a bad dream where you fight with your spouse or a friend or a co-worker and when you wake up, you’re madder than blazes and it spoils your morning and maybe your day.

I know none of you have had experiences like that but some people have. Some people let their imaginings become real and they are hurt by them.

But what has any of this got to do with anything. Glad you asked because it takes me to this morning’s devotional thought.

“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV

One version of this verse tells us to cast down vain imaginations. That’s what I was talking about above. When those thoughts of failure, death, desertion, and humiliation come you need to take them captive or cast them down. But how?

“Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.” Romans 12:1-2 CEV

and how do you change the way you think…

“Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.” Philippians 4:8 ERV

The news you hear everyday is mostly bad; most of you have a tendency to run “the worst case scenario” when you think of doing something new. But that needs to change.

Yes, it’s that simple. If you don’t like the way the red shirt looks, you change to the blue. If you don’t like the brown boots you change to the red ones. If you don’t like the fishing lure you’re using you change to live bait.

Your thoughts are the data that you input to your mind’s hard drive. They dictate your prejudice, your approval, joy, and your sorrow. You can make wrong assumptions and be destroyed or you can choose to consider God’s word, his thoughts and live in victory.

“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.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Change – renew your mind to God’s way of thinking instead of your own. Think about what’s good, honorable, pure and true. When those bad thoughts and imaginings come, change them! Change them immediately! Replace them with what God has said about you and your situation.

When you do, the word of God will rule in your heart and God’s word brings peace and light!

Time for a change!!

April 2, 2018

Don’t Waste Your Mind

The Mind is a terrible thing to waste! Each day we are bombarded with so much information and it’s all competing for a place in our minds. We are the ones who decide what downloads we accept and we are the ones who decide what data to delete.

Think about this. What is the difference between the Apostle Paul and Hitler? Both spent a great deal of time destroying the Jews and Christians and feeling they were justified in doing so. Paul was a part of the first lynch mob, or stoning party, that destroyed the life of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. After that he did everything he could to track down the Christians, have them arrested and killed. Hitler rounded up the Jews and tried to annihilate them. The difference – repentance!

Paul’s message of God’s unconditional love and his understanding of grace were born out of his past. But what’s that got to do with your mind – plenty. Your mind has been telling you, you’re unworthy – God can’t or won’t love you; He won’t forgive you; He won’t use you! You’re a disgrace – if people knew who you were or what you did, they wouldn’t want anything to do with you. Such a waste!

“All the other apostles are greater than I am. I say this because I persecuted the church of God. That is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. 10 But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)” I Corinthians 15:9-10 ERV

Paul knows how it feels to deal with feelings of unworthiness but instead of wallowing in it he downloaded an overwhelming dose of God’s grace and stepped into the acceptance of God’s unconditional love.

“8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 ERV (written by Paul)

There is also a comparison that can be drawn between Peter and Judas. They both denied Christ. Peter repented. Judas was overwhelmed with guilt and shame and hung himself. Forgiveness and restoration were available to both of them but only one appropriated it.

Then there was a young man who lived a life of drunkenness, greed, self gratification and immoral living. He chose to walk a path that went against everything he had been raised to believe in. He had no concern on how this affected his family – he just didn’t care! But in desperation he returned home. He had run out of money, had no place to stay and there was a famine and recession going on.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ Luke 15:17-19 NKJV

Do you see where his mind was? “I’m not worthy”. The son underestimated the love of His father.

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:20-24 NJKV

Repentance -> forgiveness -> restoration = GRACE.

I heard this testimony of a pastor who is very well known in our nation. His wife was asked why she felt her husband had such a generous, giving heart. Her reply brought tears to his eyes. She said she felt it was because he had never lost sight of his salvation. He had lived a life much like that of the prodigal – sex, drugs. This pastor has always been “mind-filled” with God’s great love. God’s great gift have always been at the forefront in his thinking. He gives generously because he has been forgiven so much.

As I said at the beginning, a mind is a terrible thing to waste – so don’t! Don’t waste it looking at the unworthiness of your past, instead look at God’s grace and love and then touch the lives of others. Don’t let your past hold you in bondage but instead let God’s grace free you to love others.

I leave you with the words of Paul

“So, as a prisoner for the Lord, I beg you to live the way God’s people should live, because he chose you to be his. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. 3 You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue as you are, letting peace hold you together.” Ephesians 4:1-3 ERV

March 31, 2018

Left But Not Alone

I have a question for you parents this morning. Do you remember a time when you had to leave your child somewhere and it made your heart ache? Maybe it was the first day of kindergarten, maybe it was college or boot camp, it could have been at the door to the operating room in the hospital.

A sinking feeling for sure. Even now those times bring tears to your eyes and ache to your heart.

This morning I was reading I Samuel 1 about Hannah and how she longed so deeply for a child. The Lord heard and answered her prayer and as a response of devotion to Him she then took that little boy and gave him back to the Lord.

“When the boy was old enough to eat solid food, Hannah took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. She also took a bull that was three years old, 20 pounds of flour, and a bottle of wine.

25 They went before the Lord. Elkanah killed the bull as a sacrifice to the Lord as he usually did. Then Hannah gave the boy to Eli. 26 She said to him, “Pardon me, sir. I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord. I promise that I am telling the truth. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me this child. 28 And now I give this child to the Lord. He will serve the Lord all his life.”

Then Hannah left the boy there and worshiped the Lord.”
I Samuel 1:24-28 ERV

The story of Hannah and Samuel isn’t just a fable that makes a good read. It is the true story of a loving mother and godly woman. Imagine how she must of wrestled with her emotions as she made the decision to give Samuel to Eli, the priest, and leave him there.

Now imagine, if you will, another parent who was willing to give up their child. This time, however, the child was given as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ERV

Hannah gave her son to a loving God but God gave His Son to an unloving world. Hannah knew her son would be well cared for, God knew His Son would be hated and abused.

It’s important that we realize the great sacrifice that our heavenly Father made in giving His Son! We can’t take it lightly. He gave so that we can have life eternal.

He gave because of His great love for us!

“Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. 7 Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:6-8 ERV

God gave one Son to gain many. Once we accept the sacrifice of Jesus we are given the right to be called the sons of God.

“The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. ²Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.” I John 3:1-2 ERV

Maybe you’re going through a tough time right now. Maybe you feel that you have been abandon, left all alone – let me assure you that that isn’t true. Jesus told His disciples that even though He would go away He would send a Helper who would be with us until His return.

“But you are filled with sadness because I have told you all this. ⁷Let me assure you, it is better for you that I go away. I say this because when I go away I will send the Helper to you. But if I did not go, the Helper would not come.” John 16:6-7 CEV

God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our comforter. We are not alone. We have the someone who is constantly with us and gives us the strength we need for each and every day!

“I have told you these things while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.

²⁷I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” John 14:25-27 CEV

March 23, 2018March 23, 2018

Grace & a DQ Blizzard

The other night I was talking with my Mom about grace. I was surprised to learn that she still battles with the concept of God’s grace. You see she was raised in a traditional religious denomination that stressed works and good behavior.

If you didn’t read your Bible often enough, pray enough, and tithe regularly you weren’t pleasing God. He was unhappy with you and your relationship with Him was questionable.

God’s grace, on the other hand, is based entirely upon God and His unconditional love for us. We will never be able to do enough or be good enough to earn His love and acceptance. It all comes by grace.

“All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. ²⁴They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. ^25-26God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people’s sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26 ERV

None of us deserve God’s grace and that’s why grace is grace. God, our Father, gives it freely because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. It was all His plan.

I can hear you asking what’s a blizzard got to do with grace. Glad you asked. My mother loves blizzards and at 94 it’s one of her few true pleasures. That day, while we were out, Dave and I stopped and bought a blizzard for Mom. She hadn’t asked for it, though she often does, and so it was a real surprise treat.

We didn’t have to talk her into taking it. She didn’t stop and evaluate whether she had been “good enough” to receive it. She hadn’t really done anything to “earn” it, we gave it to her because we loved her and knew she would enjoy it.

I used that analogy with her as we talked about grace that evening. Receiving something given in love, something you don’t earn or deserve – it’s called grace! I then told her that I thought she had just given me a topic of my morning devotional and she smiled. She thought it was a good idea.

We all have times we battled with our performance versus God’s grace. That’s a trick of the enemy. We have days that we think we are better than others and so we expect a little more. But in God’s way of thinking each day is the same. He always sees us through what Jesus has done, our justification and relationship are not of our own making.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. ⁴In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. ⁵And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. ⁶And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.

⁷In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace. ⁸God gave us that grace fully and freely. With full wisdom and understanding ⁹he let us know his secret plan. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ.” Ephesians 1:3-9 ERV

The concept of God’s grace was almost incomprehensible to those in the Bible. The Apostle Paul repeated it again and again. Religion of that day stressed the importance of working to be worthy. Many sacrifices were made to prove devotion and dedication to the gods they served and those sacrifices had to be repeated.

Then Christ came and through His one sacrifice we were saved by God’s grace. That’s the gospel. The word gospel means good news, actually it means nearly too good to be true news. Grace.

“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. ” II Timothy 1:9 ERV

So the next time you are faced with thoughts of your unworthiness to receive God’s love remember the blizzard I gave my Mom. It can in no way compare to the grace that God but it can be a reminder.

“I pray that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give peace and love with faith to all the brothers and sisters there. ²⁴God’s grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love that never ends.” Ephesians 6:23-24 ERV

March 21, 2018

A Donkey’s Tale

Thousands of years ago a donkey and her colt were tied in a village near Jerusalem. The owner had left them there as he went about his business.

Two men came to the village looking for this particular pair. They were on a mission. A mission that would be memorable and quite possibly the most frightening thing this young colt would ever do.

Matthew 21 tells the story of Jesus instructing his disciples on where to find a donkey that He would ride into town.

The Pharisees and temple leaders were seeking to kill Jesus. The common folk who heard that he was coming went to out to find him. Strangers who didn’t know about Jesus were caught up in the excitement and joined in.

Jesus wasn’t going to hide from those who wanted to destroyed him. He came out in public to be recognized by all those who wanted to honor him and praise Him as God’s Son!

“The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees. 9 Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,
“Hooray for the Son of David! God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord. Hooray for God in heaven above!”
10 When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?” 11 The crowd answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:6-11 ERV

In all of the excitement, Jesus was the only one who really knew what was going to happen in the next few days. It was almost time for the Jewish feast of Passover, the commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt. Passover was a time when all the families in Israel offered a sacrifice of a spotless lamb as the substitute for the forgiveness of their sins.

And now here was Jesus. He would be offered as the sinless sacrifice, the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world. Jesus was and is the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb!

The Jews were looking for the Messiah and felt that he would come and save them from the political tyranny that was holding them down. The crowd came to the streets waving palm branches, shouting, throwing their coats to the ground in front of the donkey.

They were wanting someone to liberate them from Caesar and his rule but Jesus came for a much greater purpose – He came to set all men free from a life of separation from God the Father.

“The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death. 3 The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ’s body to condemn sin. 4 He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires.” Romans 8:2-4

Many overlook the natural circumstances of this event and focus on the spiritual. The young donkey would have been terribly frightened by all the noise and the coats and the palm branches. He would have been hesitant to go forward but Jesus urged him on with calm assurance. Jesus brought peace to a turbulent situation.

Have you been in a situation that made you want to turn around and run? You just didn’t want to go forward; the fight or flight instinct was weighing in heavily on the “flight”. Then take courage as our little donkey did. Trust the One who is leading you forward.

I don’t know if you see yourself as one of the disciples who went to retrieve the colt, a member of the crowd who was there to praise the Lord or the colt who was used to carry the Savior. All had their part in the celebration.

Palm Sunday is just a few days away. Join in. Cut down some palm branches, throw your coat before the King and lift up your hands and praise Him!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!!

March 20, 2018

Don’t Be a Victim of Identity Theft

I hope you have never been the victim of identity theft. I have some friends who have experienced this horrible violation and it has taken years to correct it. In fact, they still are dealing with issues as a result of it.

Do you know that as Christians many of us have fallen victim to identity theft as well? It’s far more detrimental than what millions experience through the theft of passwords, bank accounts, financial information and credit card fraud.

The Bible tells us that

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. ” II Corinthians 5:17 ERV

However, we spend a good deal of our time living in the past. We still deal with guilt over our failures and shortcomings. We fight to gain victory over our thoughts of unworthiness or self-loathing. We try to move past those things we are ashamed of but are drawn back by friends, well-intentioned loved ones (?) and our own memories.

Our identity, who we are in Christ, has been stolen.

Our most powerful adversary as believers is not the devil. He was defeated when Jesus rose from the dead and we have been given authority over him and all his evil works. However, our greatest adversary is also our greatest ally – it just depends on how we use it. I’m talking about our minds!

God doesn’t force us to do things against our will. He won’t force us to accept His wonderful gift of salvation, even if it means we will eventually go to hell, and He won’t force us to accept His blessings that He is giving us in this new life. We must willfully accept all of His provisions for them to work.

How do we move our mind from an adversary to an ally? The answer is simple; it’s by what we consider. Our mind is much like the computer I am using to message with right now. It can only produce on screen or in memory what I input.

It becomes our responsibility to input the correct information. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2

“With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”

We let God’s word be our input and then our minds will be renewed.

Consider what God says about us. We are more than conquerors, we are new beings, we are His own children. We’ve been adopted and made join-heirs to His kingdom. We’ve been called to be world overcomers filled with peace, joy and strength. And if that’s not enough then consider what life will be like in heaven and all that Jesus did to provide this for us – if that’s our focus, we won’t have time to be “considering” thoughts that are contrary to God’s way of thinking.

“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

It’s imperative that we guard our minds more than we guard our wallets. The damage caused by wrong thinking is more detrimental than loosing our cash. It’s spiritual identity theft.

Thinking like the world thinks will keep us from realizing all the wonderful blessings that God has provided.

So counteract the world’s influence today and live this

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

Regain what’s been stolen. Our life in Christ is our true identity!

March 19, 2018March 19, 2018

Facing Your Fears

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. ⁶With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

There is an age old conflict that we all face from time to time. I would like to say that once we’ve successfully conquered it, we never face the battle again but that’s just not true.

Discouragement!

“Why don’t things work out for me the way they do for others? Why am I going through this again and again? Why can’t I get the answers I need? Why do I feel so discourage?”

Discouragement comes when “WE” have been dealing with a particular situation for a prolonged period of time. Even the Scriptures say that “hope deferred makes the heart sick”. And sometimes we get heart sick – now how do we get well?

When King David was dis-couraged, he en-couraged himself in the Lord. It’s possible that after some of his trials, he was inspired to write Psalm 42.

“As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God. 2 In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God. When will I see your face? 3 Day and night my tears are my only food, as everyone keeps asking, “Where is your God?” 4 Sorrow floods my heart, when I remember leading the worshipers to your house. I can still hear them shout their joyful praises. 5 Why am I discouraged?
Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, 6 and you are my God. I am deeply discouraged as I think about you from where the Jordan begins at Mount Hermon
and from Mount Mizar. 7 Your vicious waves have swept over me
like an angry ocean or a roaring waterfall. 8 Every day, you are kind,
and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living LORD God. 9 You are my mighty rock. Why have you forgotten me? Why must enemies mistreat me and make me sad? 10 Even my bones are in pain, while all day long my enemies sneer and ask, “Where is your God?” 11 Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.” Psalm 42 CEV

King David asked all the questions of himself that we ask and his conclusion was this; I will praise YOU because YOU are my God.

Courage is the ability to stand strong under adverse and difficult circumstances.

Dis – courage means to take courage away. (Comes from looking at the hopelessness of a situation. Looking at our limited power and resources.)

En – courage is the ability to infuse with courage. (Comes from looking at our God who is infinitely bigger than our situation and His miraculous power and unlimited resources.)

Look at what the Apostle Paul says about adverse circumstances:
“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, 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

So face today as the deer who is thirsty – come looking for God.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 KJV

You will be filled! Filled with Courage. Filled to stand strong facing your greatest fears.

March 16, 2018March 17, 2018

I Do It Myself

“I do it myself”. Not good grammar but you get the point.

Now that our gardens our planted I wanted to go in a different direction. Make sure you water those seeds everyday and keep the weeds pulled. You’ll be harvesting the fruit very soon.

One of our children was a very independent learner. He didn’t want help, he wanted to “do it myself”. I would sit down on the floor to play with him and his sister. We had these puzzles that both kids loved to play with. But if I tried to help, sure enough you guessed it, he would go to something different, he refused my help.

We laugh and think – sure kids do that kind of stuff but what about us as adults. Do you ever find yourself saying, “I do it myself”? Men, you have a project around the house and your wife asks if you need help…you might as well find your best little kid voice, put your hands on your hips and say “I do it myself”.

Ladies, what about us? We have family or friends over for a dinner, we have pots on every burner and something in the oven and someone asks, can I help. What do you say? “No just go enjoy everyone, I can do it. I’ve got this.” And then when they leave we complain because no one helped.

Oh yes, we all do it. But let’s stop it here. It’s ok to say I need help.

“Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good. ¹¹See, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and troubled. Those who fight against you will be as nothing and will be lost. ¹²You will look for those who argue with you, but will not find them. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all. ¹³For I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’ ¹⁴Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you,” says the Lord. “The One Who bought you and sets you free is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:10-14 NLV

God makes Himself available to help us. Do we say, “I do it myself”? He desires to take our cares, our worries, our lack of wisdom, our weakness and replace it with His strength, peace, knowledge and joy.

“Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. ²⁹Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls. ³⁰For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not heavy.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLV

Yes, we are capable, maybe, of doing things our self but we miss out on spending time with our Father who loves us so dearly. Whether we see Him or not, He walks right with us so that He can run to our call or pick us up when we fail.

“Jesus did not come to help angels. Instead, He came to help men who are of Abraham’s family. ¹⁷So Jesus had to become like His brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our Religious Leader to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and He was faithful. He gave Himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. ¹⁸Because Jesus was tempted as we are and suffered as we do, He understands us and He is able to help us when we are tempted.” Hebrews 2:16-18 NLV

So the next time you are tempted to say “I do it myself” remember there is no reason to go it alone. There is strength in numbers, God and you are a majority in any situation.

“God has said, “I will never leave you or let you be alone.” Hebrews 13:5b NLV

“What can we say about all these things? Since God is for us, who can be against us? ³²God did not keep His own Son for Himself but gave Him for us all. Then with His Son, will He not give us all things? ” Romans 8:31 NLV

March 15, 2018

Seeds of Celebration

We ladies know what it’s like to “dream of our wedding day”. From the time we are little girls and go to our first wedding or see our first Disney Princess movie we are hooked.

But before you men completely discount this morning’s writing I want you to know you are included in this celebration too. For whether we are man or woman we are all joined with Christ as our husband.

The Scripture tells us that we have a loving husband. Jesus is the husband and we are His wife.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV

Christ loved us so much that He gave up his life for us. His shed blood completely removes any residue of sin and leaves us clean, no spot or wrinkle and glorious arrayed!

How many times have I heard people say, “if you only knew what I have done, you would know that God couldn’t love me”. It because of what we have done that God found a way to make us clean and acceptable. He has covered all our failures, our sins, our imperfections.

“Sin ruled by means of death. But God’s kindness now rules, and God has accepted us because of Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will have eternal life.” Romans 5:21 CEV

“God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus Christ. In His plan God wanted this done.

⁶We thank God for His loving-favor to us. He gave this loving-favor to us through His much-loved Son. ⁷Because of the blood of Christ, we are bought and made free from the punishment of sin. And because of His blood, our sins are forgiven. His loving-favor to us is so rich. ” Ephesians 1:5-7 NLV

We have seen the royal weddings on television, all the pomp and circumstance. The carriage, the beautiful gown, the groom dressed so regally, the flowers, the lace. The celebration!

But that is nothing compared to what the King of Kings has prepared for His bride.

“You are God, and you will rule forever as king. Your royal power brings about justice. You love justice and hate evil. And so, your God chose you and made you happier than any of your friends.
⁸The sweet aroma of the spices myrrh, aloes, and cassia, covers your royal robes. You enjoy the music of harps in palaces decorated
with ivory. ⁹Daughters of kings are here, and your bride stands at your right side, wearing a wedding gown trimmed with pure gold.” Psalm 45:7-9 CEV

Sometimes Christians are considered to be second class citizens, as if we need to apologize for our station in life. The opposite is true. We are joined to the King of Kings and our father, is God Almighty.

“But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say,

¹⁰“Once you were nobody. Now you are God’s people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.” I Peter 2:9-10 CEV

It’s important that we see ourselves as God sees us. We are His children and we are dearly loved. There was no expense too great to keep Him from bringing us into relationship with Him.

“I cried to the Lord in my trouble, and He answered me and put me in a good place. ⁶The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid of what man can do to me. ⁷The Lord is with me. He is my Helper. I will watch those lose who fight against me. ” Psalm 118:5-7 NLV

We have been dressed in royal splendor, our husband loves us dearly. It’s time to celebrate!!

March 8, 2018March 8, 2018

An Unending Harvest

I’m sure that I have mentioned before that Dave and I spent a number of years farming alfalfa for an absentee owner. We lived south of Phoenix, out in the desert half way between two very small towns, Buckeye and Gila Bend.

It was there that we really began to study God’s word. Each hour that we were on the farm equipment was another hour spent listening to cassette tapes and receiving faithful teachings. It was our Bible school and it was the place that I gained practical application of God’s word.

The area we farmed was rich, river loam soil. We had 900+ acres of alfalfa which was irrigated. The wells ran day and night providing the much needed moisture to the fields. We got 10 cuttings a year from that ground. In the peak of the summer, we were swathing alfalfa every 21 days. We would water twice, cut, rake and bale. We only stopped in the winter when the frost came and stunted the growth of the plants.

What I learned was that alfalfa was a perineal not an annual plant like cotton or maize, it was a perpetual seed that continued to produce for seven years before it needed replanting. Within one seed was multiplied potential for reproduction and harvest.

I applied that to the seed of God’s word. When planted the harvest potential is immeasurable.

“You have made your souls pure by obeying the truth through the Holy Spirit. This has given you a true love for the Christians. Let it be a true love from the heart. ²³You have been given a new birth. It was from a seed that cannot die. This new life is from the Word of God which lives forever. ²⁴All people are like grass. Their greatness is like the flowers. The grass dries up and the flowers fall off. ²⁵But the Word of the Lord will last forever. That Word is the Good News which was preached to you.” I Peter 1:22-25 NLV

God’s word is an incorruptible seed, it is a seed that never dies. What we are planting in our lives today will continue to grow and bring us a harvest beyond compare. It can be thwarted by weeds of worry, unbelief, anger, unforgiveness, strife, gossip, etc. but it will not die.

When we yield our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to plant seeds in our hearts that will bring a harvest of godly character.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, ²³being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

We have already planted some of these and today we are going to add one more from this group.

Love.

“”But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 CEV

“We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.” I John 4:16 NLV

“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. ⁵Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. ⁶Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. ⁷Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

⁸Love never comes to an end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 NLV

So let’s take these seeds and plant them in the soil of our heart today.

Imagine a lifetime of producing fruit from the seeds of love.