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Finding God
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The best way to start the day is with Jesus. Read the Bible so you can know Him. (If you don’t know where to start I suggest the New Testament) Ask God to speak the words into your heart so you will know what they mean and how to live. You will find true freedom and also joy. Tell Jesus that you love Him and thank Him for loving you. He proved His love for us for while we were still sinners He died for us. Thank Him and invite Him to come into your heart and forgive your sins. Then respond to His love by doing what pleases Him. From the first thought of the morning to the last before sleeping our emphasis is to be on God and not on ourselves. This will give freedom from the self-centered life. Everyone knows someone who is so bound-up in themselves that they make others miserable who have to endure their company. Instead of adoring ones self, start adoring the only good One. God. This turns our attention to be God and not on ourselves. Admiring Him and delighting in the Lord blesses Him and us. When we take our eyes off ourselves and give childlike dependence to the Lord we find His peace. Cinging to the Invisible One who is ultimate Reality. Don’t worship a statue of Jesus or any statue of a “saint.” Worship the Invisible Lord Jesus and He will become more real than what you can touch. | ||
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Freedom from Seperation
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Are you a Christian who sometimes doubts your sins are forgiven? Well join the crowd. Seperation from God is a reality before we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way to the Father and heaven is faith in what Jesus did for us when He died and rose again. When you bellieve Jesus died for your sins and invited Him to come into your heart something wonderful happened. Jesus actually came into your heart, and He will never leave you alone again. Your sins are forgiven and you will go to heaven when you die. This is the new birth, and is known as being “born again.” Also the Holy Spirit came into your heart and you become a new person. You are litterally born agian. An interest in the Bible and desire to learn about the Lord is given, and you begin to think diferently. Your relationship to God is also different. He is your Father and one day He will call you home. The Lord will never leave you, but if we allow unconfessed sins to stay in our heart doubt will take over. As long as we live here on earth old habits of sin may creep back in. Remember to confess your sins and rest in the assurance that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sins. When the Lord reveals that you have done wrong it is never to condemn. He is very gentle when He points our “bad habits” are really sin. His kindness gives us courage to ask forgiveness. He does two things: forgives and washes us clean. | ||
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Abiding
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The way we thought and acted before we became a Christian is like “grave clothes” that we must put off. Our attitude toward our old way of life will change as we learn about God by reading and studying the Bible. In it we get to know Him and recognize sin in our life. That is a good thing because we confess our sins to Him and are made clean. “Blessed is the one whose transgressions is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is not deceit.” ( The rest of Psalm 32 describes more of sweet relief when we confess our sins. Read it and be blessed) The old feelings of separation from God may creep back into our life. We know our weakness and failure to be a “good” Christian. The harder we try to change ourself the more we fail. We are changed by faith in the Lord. Believing what God has said in the Bible makes us different. Therefore the need for serious time in the Bible. It is “soul food” that nourishes us and makes us strong Christians. The closest physical picture of our union with the Lord is Siamese twins. Maybe that is why He allows their unusual birth! We need familliar examples to help us understand invisible reality. Doctors now have the knowledge to sparate most of these twins. Those joined to the Lord will never be separated form Him! We are two persons in one body. We don’t become Him and He doesn’t become us. The Lord Jesus lives in your body with you if you have believed He died for your sin and have asked Him to forgive you and come into your heart. We never become sinless so we must confess to our Lord when we are aware we have done wrong . Then we will experience the abiding presence of the Lord. | ||
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Mysteries
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Do you ever wonder why the Lord allowed His temple in Jerusalem to be destoryed? And why it was never rebuilt? In the New Testament Jesus gives the reason. In fact He predicted that the temple would be destroyed. The first permenant temple where the presence of the Lord dwelt was build by King Solomon in Jerusalem. People went there to worship God. That temple was destroyed and rebuilt only to be destroyed again in Israel’s wars. It was permenantly destroyed by the Romans, 70 years after Jesus died. This was done so men would never again seek God in a physical place. During His life on earth Jesus indentified His body as the Temple. Also He taught that when a person becomes a Christian He would come and live in them thus making our body His temple. We should be careful what we allow to enter our body wheather it comes in through our eyes or our mouth. Mental images that are not pure can corrupt our thoughts just bad food or drink can make our bodies sick. The Holy Spirit is given to all who truely trust Jesus as their Savior. When He comes into our heart through faith in the death of Jesus Christ we become a brand new person. We are born again and the Lord lives with us in our body. God living in our bodies makes us His temple. “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the house of God, and that the Spirit of God lives among you in His house.... For God’s home is holy and clean, and you are that home” (I Cor. 3:16 TLB). And again Paul writes, “Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that He lives within you? “ Our body does not belong exclusive to us because God has bought us with a great price, the death of His Son. Therefore we should use every part of our body to give glory back to God. He owns us. (I Cor. 6:19,20) | ||
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Trust
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“Have faith in God” was a command of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t allow doubt to rob you of the reality of Jesus living in your heart. The greatest hinderance to realizing His presence is unconfessed sin. We all sin and I mean Christians too. There is still enough of our old life living in us that we want what we should not want and do what we regreat. The good news is the Lord will forgive us if we quite making excuses and admit we sinned. After confession we need to ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We can’t “be good” unless we allow Him to control our life. Don’t be afraid to turn your life over to Him. God is good and He is only good. Trust Him to guide and direct your life. | ||
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Knowing God
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We can understand what our Lord Jesus Christ thinks because we read His Word, the Bible. All we need to know about heaven and hell and how to live is record in the Bible. When we read the Bible the Holy Spirit helps us understand if we ask. We know the truth about God and our self because “for Bible tells me so.” We know the life of Christ is always flowing in and through us because Jesus gave us the illustration of the vine and branches to show how close our connection is to Him. Just like the sap of a vine flows through the branches and produce fruit, Jesus life filling ours gives up the abilaty to “produce fruit.” (that is behave ourself in the way that pleases the Lord) We don’t need to keep asking for what we already have! Instead of singing “I need Thee every hour,” sing “I have Thee every hour.” Never waste time asking the Lord to be near you. If you are a born again Christian He is already within you, joined to you in such a union that He described us as “one spirit” with Him. “Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb. 11:6b). | ||
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Prayer
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Father, of the Lord Jesus Christ, help me to come to you with deep reverence because you are holy and beyond the grasp of my understanding. But you are not beyond my love and neither am I beyond your love. Thank you for loving me, even me, and delivering me from the penalty and power of my sins through faith in your Son, my Savior. Thank you, Father, that Jesus became a man and lived here on earth and died for me. He knows and understands what its like. Praise and thanks for giving Him to us to atone for our sins so you could accept us and make us clean in your sight. I am never so much mine as when I am completly yours, or so much lost to myself until lost in Jesus, ’then I find my true person hood. Let Jesus’ love warm my heart so I can love you , Father, as I ought to love. And give grace that I will love the people who are in my life. Cause Christ’s love to fill me so I can love others with unconditional love. Please let Jesus’ love lighten my burden and be my heaven, even while still here on earth. May His love be revealed to me. Influence my love to Him so it will be fervent. Let the tide of His everlasting love cover the rocks of my sin and cares so that my spirit will float above these things which could wreck my life. Make me fruitful by living in Jesus’ love so my character will reflect Him and the world will see you. O Lord Jesus, fill me with Thyself, O Holy Spirit, rest upon me. O Holy Father, look on me in mercy for the sake of the Well-Beloved. | ||
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Pray for others
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All of us have friends or family who have great problems and need our prayers. Paul wrote these instructions: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproach of those who reproached you fell on me.’” (Romans 15:1-3) In another of Paul’s letters he said, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Most everyone gets discouraged and “down” at times. The clouds of gloom can sap our energy and cause depression. “In this world you will have trouble” so don’t be embarrassed to ask your Christian friends to pray for you. If a friend comes to mind let it be a reminder to pray our Father will help them solve their problems and know what to do. Remember to pray for one another asking the Father to help them live a life that pleases Him.
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Loving Others
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How do we put up with people who aggravate us? I’m glad you asked! Paul wrote instructions on getting along with others: “I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all gentleness and humility, with patience bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 And in another place he wrote these instructions: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all these also put on love, which binds everything together is perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:12,13 Remember how much the Lord has forgiven us for then you will not have trouble following Paul’s advice. | ||
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Problems
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Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your situation? At one time or another we all have big questions and problems that we need His help and advice. Everything from ‘how do I get out of this mess?’ or ‘I need help,’ or ‘What’s the right thing to do.” So, I am giving you Paul’s advice that is still the last word on handling our problems. It is another set of “threes” in Scripture. These three outline how to do God’s will no matter what we are facing. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thess. 5:17). What if you really aren’t thankful for your troubles? Give thanks anyway trusting the Lord to work out the problems. And if you feel more like complaining than rejoicing do it anyway. It is not a suggestion. It is a command. The key, or “peanut butter,” that makes rejoicing and giving thanks is praying all the time. You can pray anywhere and anytime for God knows our thoughts. You don’t have to get on your knees and fold your hands or close your eyes. If you are driving in bad traffic please don’t shut your eyes to ask the Lord for help and safety! You can “cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you.” Isn’t that wonderful? We don’t have to be under the pile of problems. Our Father loves us and will hear and answer our prayers. But there is one big hindrance to His doing so. We must admit and confess our sins to Him. The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from ALL sin. | ||
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Give Thanks
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| Give thanks is a command in the Bible. The Lord God of all the earth is the one we thank. If you are breathing and reading this then obey. What should you thank God for? “Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). This verse covers our responsibility to thank the Lord for everything. What about the bad things that happen? We can give thanks even then for He has said, “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” They may not look good to us while we are in the midst of troubles but the promise is they will work together for our good. So trust the Lord. After all He is Almighty and can turn things around so they ultimately work for our good. Be obedient. Give thanks with a grateful heart. and trust our Father to make things turn out right in the long run. | ||
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Thanksgiving
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| Consider the word thanksgiving. It is made up of two words: thanks and giving. For what are we thankful? And to whom do we give thanks? There are many people in our life we should thank. Today I thanked the repair man who came to fix a broken appliance. He seemed surprised. So many people are paid to serve us but they still need kind words of appreciation. The most important person who should be thanked is the Lord God. “This is my Father’s world.” He created the earth and everything in it including you and me and even the aggravating people who bug us. They need our prayers too, but the most important Person who should be thanked is the Great Creator who became our Savior. Therefore, “in everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.“ You will always be doing the right thing if you remember and practice this verse of Scripture. | ||
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Give Thanks
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Thanksgiving Day is a day set apart to thank God for our blessings. Most of us just stuff ourselves like we were the turkey, and forget our Lord. We are so busy preparing for the day and so tired when we sit down to eat that we forget our ultimate Provider. Thanksgiving Day was started as a day “a public celebration of divine goodness; also a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.) I’m afraid we have strayed far from this original purpose. It has become a day of feasting and shopping! Will you join me in giving thanks to the Lord because it is written that He “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17b). All things are from Him and to Him. He is the Almighty and those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ to save them from the consequences of their sin can give thanks for everything because the Lord makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. Now that is something to celebrate and give continually thanks for.
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Abiding
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Rest in the Lord Oh! Is there was anything that is permanent! Something I can trust that will last forever! Do you ever feel this way? Most people do so don’t worry. Everyone needs a safe place. Home should be that place where one can shut out troubles and rest, but often it is not so. We all get weary tired. Our body requires rest and sleep. Also our soul must find a resting place. A song that you may have sung in church describes this place. “My faith has found a resting place, not is device or creed. I trust the ever living One….” That is the answer – trust the Lord. Faith in Him and trust in His care are bedrock to built our life on. “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (Isa. 7:9). The Lord said this to one of the greatest prophets, and we would do well to take it to heart. No one likes a “wishy washy” person who is blown about with every fad that comes along. Stand firm in faith! Trust the Lord in spite of what is going on in your life. He will see you through all you problems.
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