Category: February2021

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Winners!

Yesterday a lot of people watched two teams of athletes compete in a football game. To be honest, I only watched a little bit. I’m not a fan but I do know the rules of the game. I also know the rules to the game of life.

“Athletes in a race must obey all the rules to win. ” II Timothy 2:5 CEV

The Apostle Paul compared an athlete to the Christians he instructed. They were familiar with the Olympic games. They had been schooled in athletic achievements in the same way that they had learned the writings of Homer, Socrates, and Aristotle. These converts were unfamiliar with the writings of Moses, King David, Isaiah and the prophets so the Apostle Paul needed to reach them in a relatable way. Athletics was a good choice.

Like the soldier from yesterday’s blog, an athlete also had to be thoroughly trained and disciplined.

Our family has some runners. Their dedication amazes me. They begin training months in advance of a competition. Their conditioning is progressive. They start with short training runs and gradually increase their distance. This builds muscle and develops stamina.

They are also conscious of what they eat and drink. Plenty of water and foods that the body can use to build muscle and burn fat. Days off are few and far between when they are training. In one word, they are dedicated…

I remember when our oldest daughter was competing in her first Ironman 70.3. We were there to cheer her on. The competition started with a 2.2-mile open water swim, followed by a 55-mile bike ride in the hills of her community and ended with a 13.1-mile run. When she passed us at one checkpoint during the bike portion, we could tell she was struggling. Her Dad called to her “We don’t quit. Keep going. You have got this”. She said those were the words she heard in her head for the next 30 miles as she peddled along. She had mechanical problems and some physical issues that she had to battle through but battle through she did. We were all there as she crossed the finish line. She was exhausted but exhilarated. She had finished the race!

We are also surrounded by a great cheering squad, it’s those who have died and are waiting in heaven. They cheer us on as we run this race called the Christian life.

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we are in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Hebrews 12:1-3 MSG

Our example is Jesus.

He experienced all the temptations and trials that we do. He did this so He could identify with us and show us that with God’s help we can be victorious like He was. He ran the race He was called to run. He was able to endure life’s hardships because He could see the finish line and the celebration there.

His life is our example and inspiration. The Holy Spirit is our trainer and coach. The heavenly Father is waiting to award us the Crown of Life and we will hear Him say “Well done” when we cross the finish line.

We are winners! Don’t Quit!

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What To Wear

Have you ever had one of those days when you got up and just didn’t know what to wear? For a soldier that’s never a question. They are issued a uniform when they are inducted into service, it’s standard issue.

The Apostle Paul says that we also have a uniform and each piece is specifically designed for our purpose and protection.

“To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.

14 So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.

19 Also pray for me—that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth about the Good News without fear.” Ephesians 6:10-19 ERV

The first thing I would like you to see is that this armor has been tested. This is God’s armor and it will withstand any attack launched against us. When the battle is over, we win. We are still standing – we are overcomers and more than conquerors.

Our armor belt is the belt of truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, so our waist or midsection is protected by Jesus, himself.

Our chest is protected by the righteousness that we have in Christ. Our vital organs are covered by our right standing with God.

Our feet are not vulnerable, we are wearing the shoes of the Good News of peace. We can stand and fight because we are established on the solid foundation of God’s Word. We will not run, we’ll stand firm.

We have an impenetrable shield to protect us from incoming artillery. It is the Shield of Faith. Just like the centurion who heard the words Jesus spoke and believed, we hear and believe the words Jesus speaks to us. Jesus said that heaven and earth would pass away but God’s Word would never be destroyed.

Our head is under our helmet of salvation. There is only one name given under heaven by which we can be saved, that is the name of Jesus. Jesus, who is the head of this body of Christ, has us covered.

With a shield in one hand we are free to wield a sword with the other. Our sword is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The book of Hebrews says the Word is sharper than any other two-edged sword.

Our last piece of armor is prayer. When we pray in the Spirit we are edified, built up and strengthened in our faith.

Every piece of armor that we are issued comes with instruction from God’s Word. This armor is not just given to the elite forces, but it comes as standard issue to every believer. The Commander-in-Chief has made us all victorious in Christ.

It’s time to get dressed – put on the full armor of God!

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Basic Training

Over the past several weeks I have shared with you teachings on who we are in Christ. The lessons we learn are like a spiritual “boot camp”.

“You have often heard me teach. Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others. 3 As a good soldier of Christ Jesus you must endure your share of suffering. 4 A soldier wants to please his commanding officer, so he does not spend any time on activities that are not a part of his duty.” II Timothy 2:2-4 CEV

There are two major characteristics of a good soldier, discipline and obedience. The skills of marksmanship, navigation, physical endurance, and technical savvy can all be learned but without discipline and obedience those skills will fail.

A good soldier learns to follow orders as soon as they get to boot camp. This is the foundation for all their other training. A soldier must be willing to listen and obey or they could lose their life or the lives of their squadron.

Life for a recruit centers on discipline. They are told when to get up and go to bed, when to eat and what to eat, when to run and how far. It is a time of training. The orders are just that, they aren’t suggestions, recommendations, or choices. This is training!

Jesus was approached by a Roman officer, a soldier, who asked for his servant be healed. This story is an example for us to follow.

“When Jesus was going into the town of Capernaum, an army officer came up to him and said, 6 ‘Lord, my servant is at home in such terrible pain that he can’t even move.’

7 ‘I will go and heal him,’ Jesus replied.

8 But the officer said, ‘Lord, I’m not good enough for you to come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 9 I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.’

10 When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised…13 Then Jesus said to the officer, ‘You may go home now. Your faith has made it happen.’ Right then his servant was healed.” Matthew 8:5-13 CEV

Jesus was amazed by this officer’s understanding of orders. He recognized that Jesus had authority over sickness and all He needed to do was speak the command and it would be done. This Roman captain of the guard had complete faith in the authority of a directive issued by the Son of God.

We have a book filled with the “words of God”. The Bible was written for our benefit. It provides us with all we need to thoroughly furnished for every good work. (IITimothy 3:17)

Good soldiers obey the words spoken by their commanding officer. We should obediently follow the words Jesus has given us to live by.

“You have words that give life that lasts forever. 69 We believe and know You are the Christ. You are the Son of the Living God.” John 6:68-69 NLV

The discipline and training we receive from God’s word are for our good.

“God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

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Strong and Healthy

Today I want to share a few more thoughts with you on being a part of the body of Christ…

Although, we are all the body of Christ, we do not all have the same function. Some are fingers, toes, arms, and legs but we are all necessary for the proper functioning of the body. We are all needed to make the body complete. By working in harmony, we bring glory to the One who has placed His name on this body.

“A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5 That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.” Romans 12:4-5 CEV

“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” I Corinthians 12:27 NLT

If our little finger gets smashed or our arm gets broken the rest of our body works together to protect the part that’s hurting. When disease strikes, the blood cells work overtime to produce what it needs and then fights to remove the infection. In the physical body strife and stress weaken our immunity and make us susceptible to physical illness.

Sad to say, but the same thing happens in the body of Christ. Criticism, gossip, selfishness, greed, and pride are germs that infect the body of Christ and weaken our effectiveness. We need to protect and nurture the parts of this body, not amputate them, so that the message of Christ doesn’t lose its effectiveness.

We are mutually dependent on one another. I need you and you need me. We might not agree on everything but without each other neither of us will operate fully and the whole body will suffer.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

If we pull away from each other, criticizing and condemning one another, we’ll be tossed around like a cork in the ocean. But when we receive good teaching we will grow to be more like Christ with each passing day. We’ll take on a maturity that brings glory to Him.

Let’s all work together to help the broken and hurting parts “so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Christ wants us all functioning together in love!

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Brand New

For the next couple of days we’ll be looking at the “new creation” that God has designed us to be. I have been asked a number of times “How can God love me and want to have a relationship with me after all I’ve done?”. The answer is simple. God sees us as new. He has chosen to forget our past and has given us a brand new life.

The Apostle Paul knew this was a hard truth to comprehend so he made it the central message in his writings. We are brand new – part of the body of Christ – and even if we are the skin on the bottom of the little toe we are still part of the body and that gives us relationship and authority…

“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” Ephesians 1:21-23 NLT

The head is the authority, the decision making or ruling part of the body. The power manifested through the decisions made by the head are valid for the whole body. Jesus took authority over principalities and powers and placed them under His feet. He defeated them when he died and rose again. If we are in the body, His body, then those powers are placed under our feet.

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.  So, he is first in everything.19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” Colossians 1:18-20 NLT

Christ, as the head, rules or directs the members of the body. The head makes the decisions that protect and provide for its wellbeing. Wisdom, spiritual insight, knowledge, and understanding come from the head.

“I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!” Ephesians 1:17-19 MSG

Take time to look at the example of Jesus’ life on earth.

How did He act; what did He do? It was all done through His body. The attributes that made Jesus, who He was, are available to us. He had victory over sin, sickness, emotional distress, and spiritual attacks. He moved in total obedience to God’s word; as His body we should be striving for this same commitment of pleasing the Father.

Our life in Christ is not about us doing something good enough to measure up, it’s about us allowing Him to lead, guide and gives us the strength! Christ invested His life to make us Brand New!

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New Identity

Have you ever wished you could go somewhere and start over? Go someplace where no one knows your past and its failures? A new identity offers a new start…

Let me tell you a story.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to help some friends prepare for a horse sale. The animals were delivered on a Sunday afternoon and were to be sold the following Saturday at an auction. Forty-three horses arrived but one in particular caught my eye. They were all frightened and unsettled from the fifteen-hundred-mile trip. Most were unfamiliar with human contact.

Up to this time, I had very little experience working with unbroke animals; in fact, I had none. On Tuesday morning, we began by bringing the yearlings out of their pens. This was the first time most of them had ever been on lead ropes or tied to a hitching rail. This one little colt was standing there shaking as I approached him; he was so scared.

I was a little nervous myself, so I began praying for him and myself. My prayers brought peace to both of us. I asked the Lord to help him understand that I wasn’t going to hurt him. As I brushed his coat and combed his mane and tail, he began to relax and his fear diminished.

Over the next few days, I worked with him and the other horses daily. There were six of us working those forty-three beauties but this one was my favorite. By the time sale day came he looked elegant. He was bathed and groomed that morning and ended up being the high price yearling of the sale.

He had a new identity and value.

As I watched him change and develop the Lord reminded me of the change that takes place in the life of a believer as we grow in Him. He’s ever changing us into His likeness. He wants us to look like Him, after all, we are called the Body of Christ.

Only God could take a sinful creature and completely birth us into someone new who becomes a part of the body of Christ. We are new, old things are dead.

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

When we become new creatures in Christ God takes one sinful person, covers our sins with the blood of Jesus and we begin a whole new life.

A new identity.

Jesus is the head and we are His body. When believers first started going out in the world and telling the Good News of Jesus, they were called Christians because they were behaving like “little Christ-like ones”. They were acting in the same way they had seen Christ act. They had a new identity.

“And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.” Colossians 2:10 ERV

When we come to Christ our past is removed, we become part of the body of Christ and our new identity is in Him. Don’t let your past rule your life – in Him everything is new!

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Made in Heaven

The last couple of days I have taken our morning thoughts from Ephesians, chapter 5. This is the Apostle Paul’s teaching on marriage. The marriage union is God’s idea; He wanted each of us to experience the joy of companionshipship and sacrifical love.

However, we find that Paul is using our earthly marriage as an example of the relationship that Christ desires to have with us.

A match made in heaven!

“In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares* for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.” Ephesians 5:28-30 NLT (*cherishes)

Christ loves for us is deeper than we can imagine!

It’s amazing when we realize that Jesus took on our sin to give us His righteousness. He made us completely new creatures; we are given a new life because He was willing to die for us.

“But if you join yourself to the Lord, you are one with Him in spirit.” I Corinthians 6:17 NLV

Cherish is a word that means to hold dear, to protect, to cling to. Jesus cherishes us, we are His wife. This truth can and will dispel every feeling of depression and inferiority that we encounter.

We are the chosen wife of Jesus Christ.

“As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” Verses 31-32 NLT

Marriage is a two-way street.

Jesus left His Father to come to earth and oversee all the marriage arrangements. His number one priority was to see that his new wife would be abundantly provided for in every area of her life. We, as His wife, give up any past attachments that would distract us and keep us from being completely committed to Him.

This is God’s plan concerning Christ and the church.

Jesus is our loving husband. He has done all to fill our lives with His love. He desires to provide the absolute best for us, He will overlook our short comings, and forgive us when we fail. He won’t remind us of our past but instead provides us with a glorious future. He sees us as His bride.

“Bride of the king, listen carefully to me. Forget your own people and your father’s family. 11 The king is your husband, so do what he desires…Your bride, my king, has inward beauty, and her wedding gown is woven with threads of gold. 14 Wearing the finest garments, she is brought to you, followed by her young friends, the bridesmaids. 15 Everyone is excited, as they follow you to the royal palace.”  Psalm 45:10-15 CEV

Christ came to earth to declare His love for us. He gave His all to provide us with a new and better life. His love is unconditional and eternal. Our part is to accept His proposal of new life and be joined to Him.

Truly, a match made in heaven!

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Me & Jesus

Years back there was a song, “Me & Jesus Got A Good Thing Going”, that drew attention to just how much Jesus wants to have a personal, one-on-one relationship with us. We need that because sometimes we read the Bible (or don’t read it) thinking that it was written for people who lived a long time ago and it doesn’t have a relevance for us today.

This thinking is so far from the truth. The Bible is practical; filled with wisdom and good instruction for daily life and relationships. There’s no better teaching on marriage and true love than the Bible. Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday…

“For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22 NLT

The word submit means to be subject or to adapt. It is a life style of loving expression.

Ladies, remember when we first realized that our husband was the one for us. We wanted to know all his likes and dislikes. It was our goal to know his favorites. We wanted to make him happy. That’s what love does – it wants the best for the other person!

We need to be just as diligent in learning what pleases our Heavenly Husband.

This submission or adapting is valid for men also. It should be your desire toward Jesus. He has provided us with a glorious love letter; we need to read it constantly so we are aware of what brings Him pleasure and what causes Him sadness or heartache.

“For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” Verse 23-24 NLT

These two verses explain the importance of having someone as the head of the home. Paul says Christ is our head. He is the one Who should lead our lives. All too often we, as the wife of Christ, try to tell Him what to do. This can cause confusion and unhappiness. We can always trust that Christ has our best interest at heart.

Marriage isn’t a dictatorship but someone needs to lead. Wives, let’s be submissive to Jesus, our Husband, and follow His guidance and instruction. After all, He’s never made a mistake, none of the rest of us can make that claim.  

We can trust His judgement!

“For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” Verses 25-27 NLT

Christ loves us so much He gave Himself for us. He was willing to die for us so we could be reconciled with the Father. It should never be hard for us to be submissive to a husband who is willing to give all He has for us, to protect us with His life.

To some marriage has become cliche, old-fashioned, out of style. There is nothing so wonderful as a life-time, unconditional, selfless love! It’s available to all of us through our relationship with Jesus.

Me and Jesus got a good thing going!

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