WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. "

Hebrews 12:28-29 (NIV)

I am thankful for many things (my wife and children, friends, my job and co-workers to name a few), but my salvation and relationship with God must come first. God gives meaning to everything else. His love, forgiveness and grace are the cornerstone of the abundant life we are called to live. 

Father, we humbly thank you for all the many blessings you have provided. Thank you for our daily bread and for a place to call home. Praise be to you in us today!

YOU'RE WHERE?

"But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled  blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." Hebrews 12:22-24

When I was in my mid-twenties my younger brother (by a few years) went snow camping up a near by mountain in SoCal with a friend. It did snow some more and he didn't come home the day he was supposed to so my mom was of course worried and she called the park rangers. They said they couldn't search until morning. Then next morning while the rangers were setting up their search my brother walked into the parking lot toward his car and the rangers asked him if he was the lost camper. He replied, "I'm not lost."  

The world may wonder what we are doing. They will think we are clueless, foolish and in denial, weak, escaping reality and just plain stupid. But, we know whom we have believed. We know that everyone needs Jesus and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We know that Jesus is our mediator and his blood atones for our sins.  We have to the living God, the God of mercy, grace and forgiveness. We worship the Lord, who makes us, the unrighteous, righteous in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. The world thinks they know where they are, yet, sadly we know they are deceived. We know where we are, in the world and where we are going, heaven. 

Father, thank you that in Christ we can know whom we believe and where we are in you. Thank you that in Christ we are righteous and that you are making us new. Praise be to you in us today!

HOW TO LIVE IN PEACE

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one can will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Hebrews 12:14-15

I am not a marriage counselor and by no means do I have the perfect marriage. I have seen too many of my friends end up divorced and not because of unfaithfulness. The reason seems to me that one or both were unwilling to make every effort to live in peace. They made every effort to be right, every effort to stand up for themselves, every effort to do things their way, but not every effort to live in peace. 

More often than not, forgiveness and humility are necessary. If I don't forgive and remember that I need to be forgiven, I will just end up pushing to be right, standing my ground and allowing walls to be built up. That will end up being walls of bitterness. Bitterness eats away at the soul and weakens you. You don't get strong, you get brittle and weak. 

I  encourage you to take an honest look at how you deal with relationships. Are you making every effort to live in peace?

Father help us to remember the effort you put in to forgive us, even though we don't deserve it. Thank you! Praise be to you in us today!

HEAL DON'T DISABLE

"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." Hebrews 12:12-13

Derrick Rose, of the Chicago Bulls, injured his other knee and will likely be out a long time again. He just spent a year rehabilitating one knee. Without the use of his knee he can't do what he does and that is play basketball at a professional level.  Spiritually speaking when we are not strong in our faith we are spiritually disabled. Maybe we aren't professional athletes but we are full time Christians.

Why do we seek that Lord? Why seek to spend time with God on a daily basis? It is not to be righteous but to be strong, to be connected, to abide. Our strength is not in ourselves but in Christ. Jesus is our righteousness. 

You will have trials, troubles and conflict. But, connecting with God levels that path. You see, if I have an issue (self-inflicted or not) and the pathway is not level I need to seek the Lord. Sometimes just stoping to seek God helps me refocus on not continuing the conflict but makes me remember to not respond in anger. Sometimes I ask myself, "Am I making a way (to resolve things) or a wall (to avoid or punish)?" 

When I seek Christ and to be Christlike I realize how I act should be about healing. Where there is weakness, Christ wants to strengthen and heal us. He wants us to be part of that process by loving and forgiving. If I love others as Christ loved me I realize I don't deserve his love and forgiveness so who am I to think I can choose not to be loving and forgiving?

Connecting with Christ strengthens us and makes our paths straight because of his faithfulness, forgiveness and grace. 

Help us to strengthen ourselves and make our paths straight today. Praise be to you in us today!

POUR OUT YOUR SPIRIT...

"O God, you are my God,
     earnestly I seek you;
 my soul thirsts for you, 
     my body longs for you,
 in a dry and weary land 
     where there is no water."
 Psalm 63:1

Father, you are God and we seek you. Pour out your Spirit upon us and upon our land. The land has become dry and our so called leaders forget you. 

Reveal yourself and your greatness to your people. Bless us as we seek you in this dark and evil world. Protect us from those who deny you and yet blame you. 

Fulfill our desires with good things. Satisfy our thirst and revive us in you. 

Praise be to you in us today!

STRONG & LOVING

The truth for the day.

"One thing God has spoken,
     two things have I heard;
 that you, O God, are strong,
     and that you, O LORD, are loving. 
 Surely you will reward each person
     according to what he has done."
 Psalm 62:11-12

God is strong. God is strong enough to deal with any problem you have. God will give you the strength you need to deal with any problem you have.

God is loving. God is dealing with you in love, right now. Even his discipline is mixed with his love. The crucifiction of Christ was the ultimate demonstration of justice and mercy, love and grace. 

Father, help us to live by faith in the truth that you are stronger than any problem we have and that you are loving in all your dealings with us. Praise be to you in us today!

THE DISCIPLINE OF NO

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons...No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:7a, 11

When I was sixteen my dad told me, "If you want to drive, you can. You just have to pay for your own car and insurance." I was not to happy with that plan because it would mean I wouldn't be able to do sports or anything else. My dad knew that allowing me to get my drivers license would of been disastrous. We lived in Lake Arrowhead and every male under the age of 90 thought they were driving in the Lake Arrowhead Grand Prix. If I would of drove I am sure I would of killed myself or someone else. Literally everyone I knew who drove as a teenager totalled at least one car. When I finally got myself together and drove I at least was trying not to kill myself and dad even lent me a truck. 

Looking back I can see that it was probably one of the wisest things my dad ever did. It was hard for me at the time, but in the end it did keep me from doing something crazy. 

I think that the things that God doesn't allow us to do can be pretty frustrating at times. The discipline of "No" by God can be hard for us to understand, but, God's no's have probably saved us from more than we can imagine.

Father, help us to trust in you and trust you, even when you say, "No". Praise be to you in us today!

ENDURE THE OPPOSITION

"Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:3

Jesus is God. He is all powerful. He holds the universe together with the power of his word.  Yet, he endured opposition from sinful men. He died on the cross. He took the abuse, to save our souls.

Sometimes we just get tired. Sometimes we're just tired of the routine, the same old, same old. Trials and temptations can seem to just wear you down. But, like Christ, we need to stay disciplined and endure. The Father will reward us. 

So, whatever you are enduring, keep seeking to do what you know is right. If you stumble and fall. Get back up, seek Christ's grace and move on. Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us all unrighteousness. He will never leave us or forsake us. 

Endure.

Father, help us to consider Jesus and to endure. Praise be to you in us today!

LOOK HERE!

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

I am not sure why, but, it seems that we will try to look anywhere but Jesus. I'm not even talking about sinful things, necessarily. We'll look to our own righteousness. We'll try to pray more, read the Bible more, go to church more, serve more, anything but look to Jesus. Jesus told the religious people of his day, 

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40). 

Our salvation is about what Jesus did and what he is doing right now. He died for our sins. He died knowing we would sin, again. That does not condone sin. It only recognizes that reality of sin. But Jesus intercedes on our behalf. He doesn't just start our faith he completes it. He is the perfecter of our faith. Not us, him. 

He is at the right hand of the Father, interceded, perfecting our faith. Remember that your salvation is about his sacrifice, his faithfulness, his righteousness. 

Father, help us to fix our eyes upon Jesus. 

    Fix your eyes upon Jesus, 

    look full in his wonderful face, 

    and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, 

    in the light of his glory and grace... 

Praise be to you in us today!

JUST KEEP RUNNING

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

When I was around sixteen my grandfather was dying from cancer. I deeply respected my grandfather. When my mom would go visit him I would always ask her to tell him we love him and we're praying for him. After his last operation mom said that he came out and kept asking granny if she saw who was there. Granny said, "Yes, the doctors and the nurses." Grandpa, "Yes, and PT was there too." Granny tried to tell him I wasn't there but he insisted and told her I held his hand and said, "We love you grandpa and we're praying for you." There have been many times since grandpa and granny died that I think of them in heaven looking down on me. 

I know the trials that my grandparents went through. I know they weren't perfect, yet in the end, God saw them through. That encourages me to press on sometimes. 

In the same way, knowing that the people in the bible were real people who went through real and intense trials should encourage us press on. What is encouraging is that God was and is always faithful. We press on which often means we get back up, confess our sins, and keep walking by faith. Each time we learn that it is about Christ's faithfulness, not ours. Men and women of faith have faith in God, not themselves. 

So, keep running. Christ will get you there.

Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for you faithfulness and unfailing love. Help us to run with perseverance. Praise be to you in us today!

TRUST WHEN?

"Trust in him at all times, O people;
     pour out your hearts to him,
     for God is our refuge." 
 Psalm 62:8

What time is it? 
   It's time to trust in the Lord. 
   It's time to pour out your heart to the      Lord. 
   It's time to remember that God is your refuge.

I wish I had some great story. But, the truth is, you may just need to stop and remember these truths and act upon them. The truth is you may think you are seeking God and God is sort of waiting for you to get close enough for him to help you. But no, God is actually moving toward you and he is never too far away to reach out and help you. God is seeking you. If his Spirit wasn't moving in your life, you wouldn't even care. God is calling you...

CAUGHT BETWEEN AN ARMY AND AN OCEAN

"By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." Hebrews 11:29

Remember that the Israelites, who were humanly speaking defenseless, were being pursued by the Egyptian army.Their backs were up against an wall. I guess you could say they were caught between an army and an ocean. God made a way through the waters. It was a way that the Egyptians could not go. 

Sometimes God puts us in a place where we seemingly have no place to go. There is an enemy on one side and something we'll drown in on the other. In Psalm 23:4 David says,

"Even though I walk through the valley of death,     I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." 

So, if you feel caught between an army and an ocean, have faith in God. He will make a way. It may be away that someone who is not a Christian can understand. It may be a way we can not conceive. I am sure no Israelite was saying, "Just cut through the Red Sea Moses!" The Red Sea and the Egyptian army both spelled death for the Israelites. But, God turned death into life. 

Father, help us to call upon you. Make a way. Praise be to you in us today!

LONGING AHEAD

"Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:16

What are you longing for? What is preoccupying your thinking? 

As Christians we live in the here and now, but, with an eye to eternity. Our faith does not just save us from sins death on judgement day. Christ saves us even now. The Spirit of God is ever changing us into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord. There is abundant life right now, and there is eternity in His Presences in the future. 

We can live the abundant life, facing it's every challenge and opportunity, by faith because we know that God is Sovereign and he has unfailing love for us. Heaven awaits us...

Father, give us the faith and strength to live each day in light of you love and faithfulness to us. Praise be to you in us today! 

WHAT'S YOUR COUNTRY?

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own." Hebrews 11:13-14

What are you looking for?  Do you have a home country? 

Sometimes, perspective is everything. I'm a Dodger fan. It was a good year, better than the last, but, not a great year. If you're a Red Sox fan, it was a great year. I am still looking forward to a year when my Dodgers put it all together again. 

As a person of faith, I can have good years and bad years, but, I am still looking forward to "that day". My hope is on Christ and the paradise he has prepared for us. I am longing for the time he comes to take us all home with him in heaven. I am hoping to not go alone. 

My hope is in Christ, not myself, not anyone else. 

Father, thank you for giving us hope. Help us to welcome the hope from this distance of the present. Praise be to you in us today!

IN GOD ALONE

"My soul finds rest in God alone;
     my salvation comes from him.
 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
     he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
 Psalm 62:1-2

What are you going through right now? What are the battles of your life? As Christians we turn to God, no matter what they are or where we are. 

The only place to find rest is in God. Look someplace else and you won't find it. Not truthful rest. You see, because God is Sovereign and has unfailing love for you, you can rest in the truth that he will work all things (even your blunders) for the good. Our hope is not in a blind "things will work out" but, in God who works them out. 

Find rest in God, in him alone.

Father, thank you that we may find rest in you! Help us to trust in you. Praise be to you in us today! 

JUST LEAD. THEY'LL FOLLOW

"Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers." 

II Chronicles 11:16

The Levites led. The godly followed. As a husband, as a father and as a man I need to set my heart upon seeking the Lord. I need to be like the Levites and just go seek the Lord. Then my wife, my children and people around me will seek the Lord also. 

If you notice it doesn't describe some extraordinary act of faith by the Levites. The Bible just says that they went to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. They left their homes because Jeroboam had rejected God (and in turn the Levites) and worshiped idols. They Levites could of been passive and just stayed. No, they had to go and they knew they had to go. They had to serve God. They had to serve God, God's way.  

God is not expecting some extraordinary act of faith from you. He just wants you to seek him. Don't wait for your spouse to say, "Let's go to church." You lead. Don't wait for your children to ask you to  pray with them. You lead. Don't wait for someone else to do the right thing. You lead. 

Father, help us to be like the Levites and just go seek you. Praise be to you in us today!

WHAT PLEASES GOD

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

One of the many things I don't understand is liberal theologians. People who call themselves Christians but don't believe in the infallibility of Scripture. They don't believe in miracles or the supernatural. So, anything that has to do with God working in a way that seems miraculous or supernatural, they reject. You know, things like the flood, healings, the virgin birth of Christ and his resurrection. 

The author of Hebrews reminds us that believing in God, pleases God. To come to him, you must believe he really exists. Not only do you need to believe he exists, but believe that he will reward you when you earnestly seek him. I think the earnestly seeking is the action to the inner belief. You, in your heart, believe he exists. In your actions you seek him in anticipation of the rewards of faith.

God wants us to believe and anticipate his working in our lives. This pleases God. That is amazing...

Father, to think that you are pleased when we believe in you and earnestly seek you, is amazing! Thank you for your amazing grace to me! Praise be to you in us today! 

OK, YOU'RE HERE

"I long to dwell in your tent forever
     and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. 
          Selah
 For you have heard my vows, O God;
     you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name."
 Psalm 61:4-5

This past week or so was pretty tough for me. I don't know where I wanted to be, just not where I was. It took me awhile to remember where I needed to be and that was in the shelter of God's presence, which is a matter of faith. 

You know that point where you just sort of stop and think, "OK God, you got me where you want me. You are sovereign over everything. You have unfailing love for me. You are faithful, even when I am not. You said you would never leave me or forsake me. Here we are." 

Maybe you are in one of those spots where all you know is something's just not right. Maybe you know, but, at the moment you can't do much to change anything. Remember, God has you where he wants you. He has unfailing love for you. He is faithful, even when you are not. He said he would never forsake you and he won't. So here you are...

Father, here we are...

FROM WHERE YOU ARE AT

"From the ends of the earth I call to you,
     I call as my heart grows faint;
     lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 
 For you have been my refuge;
     a strong tower against the foe."
Psalm 61:2-3

Where are you right now? Not just physically, but spiritually, where are you?   

You may feel way out there and no GPS could possibly tell you where you are and what to do. But God knows. He hears your cry. 

You may feel like your strength is giving out. You may have failed and may be stumbling along just trying to find something to hold on to and right yourself. 

God is right here. God has unfailing love for you. God is Sovereign over everything. 

Father, help us to rest in you, even in the storms of life. Praise be to you in us today!

IT'S ABOUT GOD

"By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." Hebrews 11:4 

Sometimes I don't feel like my prayers are being heard. I don't feel like my confession is accepted. Frankly, it's not about me. It is about God's faithfulness. 

Cain just brought some of his stuff. Abel brought the fat portions from the firstborn of his flock. Abel sees the first thing his efforts produce and acknowledges it comes from God. I kind of get the picture that for Cain he just sort of grabs some stuff on the way to church as an afterthought. A little convicting. 

We need to remember, God gives us everything we have, even the ability to work, to produce and to provide for our families. For that I we should always be grateful.

Father, thank you for your faithfulness and graciousness. Praise be to you in us today!