Category: Romans

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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!!

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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.

“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

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!

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Facing Your Fears

“ Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With 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.

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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. 11 See, 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. 12 You 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. 13 For I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’ 14 Do 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. 29 Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls. 30 For 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. 17 So 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. 18 Because 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? 32 God 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

 

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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, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so 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.

6 We thank God for His loving-favor to us. He gave this loving-favor to us through His much-loved Son. 7 Because 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.
8 The sweet aroma of the spices myrrh, aloes, and cassia, covers your royal robes. You enjoy the music of harps in palaces decorated
 with ivory. 9 Daughters 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. 6 The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid of what man can do to me. 7 The 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!!

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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. 23 You 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. 24 All people are like grass. Their greatness is like the flowers. The grass dries up and the flowers fall off. 25 But 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, 23 being 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. 5 Love 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. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

8 Love 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.

 

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No Place for Tantrums

We’ve all been there; we’ve either experienced it or we’ve been there to observe it.

You’re out in public. Your child wants something and you’ve said no. Then the begging begins and still the answer is no. The tears start, the voice raises, the feet stomp and the fist pounds. Yes, a full on tantrum – loss of self-control.

It’s one thing when this happens in a child but entirely another when it happens with an adult in a business meeting or between a couple. It can have devastating results.

Society is filled with self-centered folks who want something and want it NOW! If they don’t get what they want when they want it, they claim it’s their right – they’re owed it and take offense when told no. Many of the ills in our culture stem from selfishness or lack of self-control.

We need to get some temperance planted in our gardens. It might even require a double planting since it is so lacking in many lives. Temperance is another word for self-control. But we know that self-control is really Holy Spirit, God-directed control. It’s the strength to hold your tongue when everything on the inside is saying “let ’em have it”. Self-control is what Jesus showed when Pilot asked him for a defense in the judgment hall and it says

“ But Jesus did not say anything, and the governor was greatly amazed.” Matthew 27:14 CEV

Solomon, our teacher of wisdom, gave us this instruction.

“ A gentle answer makes anger disappear, but a rough answer makes it grow.”
Proverbs 15:1 ERV

Temperance is a quality  of those who have matured in life. Knowing when to speak and how to act so that it will be effective and not fall on deaf ears or a hard heart is a skill gained through experience.

“If a nation is not guided by God, the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.” Proverbs 29:18

WOW! what a mandate for us as a nation!

“If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” Romans 8:6

Life and Peace – what a blessing!

“Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God;  to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love.  If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:5-8

In the verses above Peter says we will produce fruit and be useful to God. Sign me up!

I want God to be honored by my life and if you are reading this each day, I know you do too! So as we plant these seeds in our garden today the work isn’t over. We still have to water them daily with prayer and let the “Son” shine on them as they grow. We also have to keep the weeds out (cares, anxieties and distractions) and fertilize them (the testimony of others or from God’s word).

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.” Galatians 5:22-23 ERV

I love what Paul says at the end of listing the fruit of the Spirit, “against such there is no law.” When these traits are working in our lives we will be fulfilling the law of love, God’s love!

Happy Gardening.

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What Are You Going to Plant

What is it that you’re wanting to grow in your garden? At our house, we seem to focus on a “salsa garden”, that means that we grow was is needed to make a good salsa – cilantro, peppers, tomatoes and onions.

So it would only be natural that we would buy pepper, tomato and cilantro starts and that we would plant onion seeds of bulbs, right? You certainly wouldn’t expect to plant zucchini seeds and get onions or carrot seeds and get peppers. It just doesn’t work that way.

“ You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. ” Galatians 6:7-8 CEV

In life, if we plant seeds of criticism, anger, selfishness, resentment and strife we are going to see those same things grow up and produce a harvest in our lives. Isn’t it better to sow seeds of understanding, love, encouragement, kindness, and joy?  We might not understand exactly how the germination and growing process work but we can be certain of this, we will only harvest what we plant.

“Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27 The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.” Mark 4:26-29 ERV

This morning let’s plant seeds of faith. The important thing to remember about faith is that it’s not based on us but on God. Faith is simply believing that God is who He says He is and that He can do what He said He could do.

God gives us all “the measure of faith” at salvation. Some people don’t get a larger portion while others get a tiny bit. Paul says in Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Jesus had much to say about faith while he was here on earth. But I guess a good place to start is to know that “without faith it is impossible to please God.”  Hebrews 11:6 and that “faith works by love” Galatians 5:6 If we want a good crop of faith then we must fertilize it with love.

We get born again by our faith in the grace of God and that’s the same faith that we should apply to every other area of our lives. Our faith is in God’s grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9

The Apostle Paul tells us that our daily walk with the Lord should be just like our salvation.

“ As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. 7 Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.”  Colossians 2:6-7 NLV

The choice is ours, we can plant seeds of worry or seeds of faith. Worry is faith that the wrong things will happen but true faith is confidence that God is bringing about good things in our lives.

“Think about how the wildflowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 28 If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? That’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

29 “So don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about it.” Luke 12:27-29 ERV

Plant these seeds and then watch your faith grow. It’s amazing! Start by trusting God will small things and as your “faith” seeds grow you will find you are trusting Him with the larger things of your life as well.

Remember the adage: Don’t spend time telling God how big your problem is; tell your problem how big your God is!

Good harvest!

 

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Sign Here!

We’ve all done it – you know, ordered those items on line and then waited for the delivery source to bring them to your door. You know the waiting, you hear the truck arrive, the back door rolls up and here comes the delivery man up the front walk. They present you with the package and sometimes you even have to sign for it.

Is it everything you expected? It isn’t broken, is it? It’s what you paid for and it’s yours!

Now consider this. You are going about your own business, maybe doing the laundry, cleaning or working out in the yard. You hear the delivery truck stop in front of your house. The driver opens the back of the truck, brings out a package and starts up your walk. You don’t remember ordering anything, maybe your husband did. What could it be? On the side of the box you see the “gift” tag. Now you’re intrigued.

The driver tells you that this box has a signature required and you must sign before he can leave it. You don’t recognize the store or the return address. It’s addressed to you…but from whom. Now let’s see what you do next. Do you go inside, put the box on a chair or table and just stare at it or do you open it, excited to see what’s inside and hopefully find out who sent it?

You open it, right? It’s the most beautiful gift you’ve ever seen! How could they know that it’s exactly what you wanted. You’ve never had anyone give you such an expensive gift. Oh my goodness!! You’re overcome with emotion. Tears stream down your face, words can’t express the gratitude. You are overwhelmed and now you pick up the phone and call the giver of this precious gift and say, “I’m sorry I can’t receive this. I don’t deserve it and I’ll be sending it back.” Really? No, not at all. You call and express your gratitude and love, or at least that’s what I would do.

Do you know that this is exactly what has been done for us by God? Let me show you.

“But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. 5 Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. 6 God raised us up from death when He raised up Christ Jesus. He has given us a place with Christ in the heavens. 7 He did this to show us through all the time to come the great riches of His loving-favor. He has shown us His kindness through Christ Jesus.

8 For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God. 9 It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud. 10 We are His work. He has made us to belong to Christ Jesus so we can work for Him. He planned that we should do this.” Ephesians 2:4-10

God’s great grace, loving-kindness, gave us something we didn’t deserve. Something we won’t ever earn, something we will never be able to pay for. It’s a gift! It’s a gift of love that comes straight from the Father’s heart. The gift is new life, a relationship with God the Father, saved from the punishment of sin. Jesus took the punishment for us! Why? To show us through all the time to come that He loves us.

The most amazing gift was given freely to us, but it cost Jesus his all! Our part in receiving this wonderful gift –  just accept it.

“All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They 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. 25-26 God 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

By this devotional I have delivered the gift. I can only hope that if this is the first time a delivery attempt has been made that you will take it. Say “thank you Father for this wonderful and precious gift. I receive it.”

Sign here!

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The Eternal Love of God

Have you ever had a hard time believing that you are loved? I have!

If that’s where you are today or where you have been I want to share some verses on God’s love with you. I know I have shared some of these before but we can never have too much love. Agree?

“Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ERV

Do you see that – NOTHING! Nothing now or in the future can separate us from the God’s love. Absolutely nothing.

“We were weak and could not help ourselves. Then Christ came at the right time and gave His life for all sinners. 7 No one is willing to die for another person, but for a good man someone might be willing to die. 8 But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 NLV

You might think that the things in your past or even in your present make you unlovable but God sees more than our actions and our failures and He sees someone He loves. He has loved us at our worst and He loves us just the same at our best. His love is unconditional!

“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. 5 Love 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. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

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

Love was and still is God’s plan. It’s who He is. Love isn’t a emotion that comes and goes. Love isn’t goose bumps and tingles. Love is God!

“The person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God. 16 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 4:15-16 NLV

God desires to always be here for us, providing us with comfort and encouragement, He gives us hope. He isn’t out to condemn us!

“Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. 17 May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.” II Thessalonians 2:16-17 NLV

When we accept His wonderful gift, Jesus Christ, as our Savior we receive a new life free of condemnation. We’ve talked about this in days past God chooses to forget our sins and put them as far as the east is from the west. We are forgiven.

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 ERV

It is impossible to pen the words that can adequately express the love that God has for us. It is written in every book of the Bible – in fact, the Bible is God’s love letter to us. So I will end with a prayer that Apostle Paul recorded – it was his prayer us and it is my prayer for you.

“I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. “ Ephesians 3:17-20 ERV

God loves you and so do I!

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