Find Your Refuge

Have a blessed an fruitful day. Whatever is in store for you remember that God is with you. May the Lord guard you and rescue in the battle. May he keep you from as you seek his kilometers an his glory.

May Your Love Abound

How better to pray? for yourself, for you spouse, for you children, for your friends...

Lord, open our eyes to see your love in our lives. May our insight into the depth of your loves for us grow and grow. Grant us abounding knowledge of your work in our lives. Thank you and praise you for providing for us today. 

All Day, Every Day

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 

2 Thessalonians 1:3

I'm not much of a farmer and I don't have a green thumb, but, I do know that if I put a seeds for tomatoes in the ground I should see tomatoes, not lettuce, grow in that spot. What about our faith, what should I see as a result of my faith?

Well, there are a few things that faith may produce and one of them is love. Paul speaks of the Thessalonians observable love as the expected result of their growing faith. This is not a warm fuzzy, romantic love, rather it is a selfless, giving love. The demonstration of their love was lived out in what was not the easiest circumstances to be loving in. The Thessalonians were living out their faith in the midst of persecutions and trials. 

Sometimes God uses adverse circumstances to produce acts of faith that will bear eternal fruit. We are occasionally confronted with the choice to do something for someone else. That may "cost" us something we might like to have. It may be money, time or some thing we have. The Spirit of God will gently lead you in that moment to trust Him with the results. 

A long time ago I used to take the Blue Line Metro Rail to work. Every morning in between the station and my work a man would be sweeping his steps and the sidewalk in front of his home. As soon as he saw me he would begin to cuss me out like you wouldn't believe! "You *@#$ing, #@$%*, I'll kick your @##$%ing @#$*..."  He would continue yelling obscenities at me until I was at least out of earshot. One day I caught him just as he was looking up and I said, "Good morning, sir. How are you doing today?" He replied, "Good morning, how are you?" And every day after that he would say, "Good morning, how are you?" and I would reply, "Fine thanks, how are you?" Sometimes just being nice, which I believe is definitely godly, will produce the fruit of our faith. 

Opportunities to act in faith happen every day, all day long. Whatever you do, do in faith that God will use it to bring his kingdom into other peoples lives.  

It's All About Pleasing God

I guess that's the long and the short of it; it's all about pleasing God because he is our Rock and he is our Redeemer. We look to some many other things to please us and fulfill us yet, only God can heal our broken hearts and mend our minds. So, I pray that today we will please the Lord in all we think, say and do.

Get in the Word, Get Refreshed

The battle is rough. The world is fighting against God and seeking destroy all those who believe. That's you and me. But, when we get weary we seek the Lord. We seek the Lord in his Word. The Bible tells us the truth when we need it most, wether we want it or not. When the Word tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us when we may want to destroy our enemies and curse them. 

That's a hard pill to swallow sometimes. Maybe it's because God wants us to trust him with our battles. The great men and women of faith knew that the Lord was the one who fought their battles. We must be great men and women of faith and allow God to fight our battles as we seek him and serve others.

Help in the Battles

Lord, help us in the battles we face today. Grant us strength and courage get over the things that block and confront us. Praise be to you, our ever present help!

Good Things

Lord, open my eyes to see all that you provide for me each and everyday. Grant me a heart of thankfulness. Help me to serve others and be the blessing someone else needs. 

Take Refuge in the Lord

What are you going through? Where are you? Find your refuge in the Lord. Sometimes he takes us through a desert to get us alone with him...

Find Your Refuge

Lord, You alone know what we each battle. We call out to You to be our Refuge in this world. Be our Stronghold as we fight the good fight and seek to glorify you today.

Remember Who You Are

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 

1 Thessalonians 5:5 NIV 

The apostle John reminds us, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Each day we face the darkness of this world. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). How we value others, how we treat others and how we act even when no one is watching is guided by the light we find in Christ. 

Lord, open our hearts and minds to see the world in your light. Use us to shine your love to this dying and dark world today. Praise be to you in us today.

Come Rest Secure

I read this last night while studying for a Sunday School class I participate. It spoke to me and I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will comfort and encourage you with these words. 

Shield Up

Lord God Most High, be our shield today. Preserve and protect us as we seek to serve you in our homes, jobs and school. Praise be to you in us today.

Find Your Strength

David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:6

One of the things I like about David was his realness. You know, he was distressed because his men, his followers, were thinking of stoning him. I would be too. But what made David a man after God's own heart, different than Saul, was that in that moment of stress he found his strength in God. He still had to seek the Lord about what to do. There was still a battle to be fought. He would have to make some discussions that would not please everyone, but he found his strength in the Lord his God.

The lesson for us is that we can find strength in the Lord our God in the circumstances we are facing today. What is the battle you find yourself in the middle of? Maybe you just went through a trial and you've been hit with another crisis with no time to rest. Time to find your strength in the Lord your God. Like David you might find yourself the focal point of blame. Time to find your strength in the Lord your God. No matter why or how you find yourself in a trial, remember: find your strength in the Lord your God. Seek him and fight on in Jesus' Name.

Find Refuge

Lord, thank you for being our Refuge, Savior, and Deliverer. Be with us and protect us this week. Give us strength to fight the good fight. Remind us of your love for us. Praise be to you in us today!

Now, let me ask you this...

I went to college in the south. I'm from southern California, born and raised. One of the things that people from the south do is when they are going to ask you a question they often say, "Now let me ask you this, " before they actually ask you something.  I always wondered why they didn't just ask? It's just part of the southern culture. Asking questions is also how we naturally learn.

As I said yesterday I have been teaching a class on how to study the Bible using a plan I have used and been developing. When we read something or interact with information our minds naturally ask questions in order to understand what we are interacting with. Asking questions is what I like to focus on for the second step or second day of study. The point is not necessarily to ask and answer every question. The point is to use questions to help us understand what the author wants us to know. 

This week we are looking at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,^d that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

So, let me ask you a few questions:
Are you informed about those who sleep?
Is your belief system aligned with the Biblical teaching on death?
Are you encouraged by the truth that we will be with the Lord forever?

That Reminds Me Of...

I am having a great time teaching a study plan based upon  a combination of how I think we naturally learn and basic old school hermeneutical methods. My thought is that very few of us think like old school theologians. Not that I have a problem with what they come up with it's just that not many of us think that way. It's just like most educational systems are actually only designed for a very small group of people (in my opinion). The rest of us have to just sort of muddle our way through trying to figure out what we are supposed to learn and what the teacher/professor is trying to say and how they want us to communicate to them what we think we learned. 

That said, I have broken down a process that takes advantage of the way most people naturally learn. The first thing we do is connect to what ever we are reading. We are reminded of things we read, we did, or we heard about (or saw like a TV show or movie). For example last week we studied 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 

13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,^d that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

When I read these verses verse 17 Reminds me of John 14:2, My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. 

The whole section reminds me of the world today in that I have heard many different views about what happens to people when the die. From when you die you die and no longer exist to when you die you become one with the cosmos. 

But Paul wants us to know, to be assured that death, as a Christian, is more like falling asleep. In that we have hope because we will meet the Lord and those who have already fallen asleep in him. The truth that we will be with the Lord forever, with every tear wiped away and knowing fullness and completeness, being how we were created to be is real hope, real encouragement. 

Find Your Refuge

Lord, be our Refuge and spread your protection over us today as we battle the world in faith with love and hope. 

A Key to All Relationships...

If you've walked with the Lord for any length of time I am sure you know this. Just as the Lord forgave us, forgives us and will forgive us, we pass on that forgiveness. That my friends is a simple but deeply powerful truth. 

Control

"that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable" 1 Thessalonians 4:4

I haven't been posting as much lately because I have been heavily invested in teaching a Sunday School class at the church I am a member. It's been a lot of fun and taken much of my time. We've finally reached the point where we can put it all together and really enjoy applying the word of God to our lives. 

One of the tools we use on the first day is connecting to ideas we read in Scripture. Using the term, "that reminds me of" helps us connect to things we read. So, when I read this verse I was reminded of growing up and being taught that I had a choice in how I acted. That choice was usually framed in these words, "How would Jesus...?" 

In verse one of chapter four Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he had instructed them how to live in order to please God. Asking ourselves the question, "Does it please God?" can clarify a lot of issues. I don't want to throw out some guilt bombs to sound spiritual but not actually be meaningful. For example, I don't want to ask, "Does it please God for me to be here?" because I think that is a "gimme" question. We know there are obvious places that would not please God, but, what about going to the mall or to the movies? Too often things turn legalistic at this point. 

Sometimes it's not where you are but how you act once you're there. Buying something is not wrong, if it is within your budget, but, if you use credit are you trusting God (as in being content with what God has given you) or are you worshipping what I call the god-of-I-have-to-have-it-now? It's about trusting God no matter what anyone else is doing around you. Self control is obedience and faith working together to glorify God. The result is peace and power. 

Be at Peace