Remember His Wonderful Acts

Lord, thank you for being our strength. Thank you that you have done wonderful acts on our behalf and in our lives. Thank you for giving me the strength and wisdom I needed last week! Praise and glory be to you in and through all our lives!

Stirred, not Shaken

Waking up this morning you're probably, like me, started thinking about all the things you want to do and have to do today. But, one thing we absolutely need is to find rest for our souls in God alone. 

Today, while you are taking care of the needs of your family know that God is your rock, your mighty rock and no matter what may happen, in him, you will not be shaken. 

Be stirred to trust in Christ to be your rock and don't be shaken by the trials of the day!

Look to the Lord, Your Rock.

Thank you, Lord, because you are the Rock that is higher than us!

Whenever David found himself in trouble, which apparently was quite often, he would look to his Rock, the Lord God Jehovah, and trust in him. 

Whatever the trouble you have found yourself in, look to the Rock because he is above it all and he will hear your prayer.

Proclaim the Righteousness of God in Christ!

Are You Letting Your Hands Be Strong?

As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

Zechariah 8:13

If you channel surf you will definitely come across some fitness coach promising that if you use their system you will lose weight and feel better. Self-help programs can aid you to lose some weight and feel better about yourself to some degree. But, they all share the same weakness. Self. 

That is what makes the grace of God so powerful. Grace is built upon the Sovereignty and faithfulness of the Almighty God. His promise is to save us and make us a blessing.  If you lift weights you should have a partner who acts as your spotter. Sometimes when you need just a little help they will pull up on the bar just a bit to help you finish the set. 

The grace of God is where he does a lot more than pull us up a little bit to bring us through. Because we know that we can let our hands be strong, we can act in faith without fear. You see, having a spotter allows you to try as hard as you can without fear that you will be halfway through a lift and your arms will give out and the weights will fall back on you. Let your hands be strong. Don't be afraid to fail. Be a blessing. Be strong in the Lord!

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!

BIG COURAGE

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
     do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
 I will strengthen you and help you;
     I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
 Isaiah 41:10

When I think of people I have know who have shown courage in their faith I am always reminded of a little lady from Uganda I met while attending Capernwray Bible School in England. She seemed so small and so fragile but, after talking to her I was blown away by her courage and faith.

She told me that while she, her husband and her sons were attend a home bible study the notoriously brutal Idi Amin's (Uganda) men barged into the house and told everyone to lay face down on the ground. They were warned to not look up or be shot! After 20-30 minutes someone finally looked up and said they were gone. All the men and boys were gone! Although she searched for them she never saw her husband or sons again. 

I asked her how she was able to move on from that. She told me that she did not know how, she only knew that God gave her the strength each day to make it through that day.  

Father, help us to courageously hold on to you by faith. Thank you for giving us the strength we need for today. Praise be to you in us today!

JUST SAY "NO"/ Titus 2:11-14

"For the grace that bring salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14

The Bible often puts things very simply. Just say "No". Notice it doesn't talk about how you will feel or what you might think, it just says to say "No". It reminds me of when my students sometimes want to "discuss" anything with me when they have been given a task. I will just repeat, "Get on task." Our sinful nature wants to do anything but be godly because godliness involves dying to self. 

The grace of God teaches us to rely upon the righteousness of Christ in us. We are righteous because Jesus died on the cross in place of our unrighteousness, our sin. When it comes to being tempted, and we will, we just have to learn to say "No". When opportunities for ungodliness and worldly passions arise, and they will, we need to learn to say "No". 

The mission for today: Say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions.

Father, teaches us to say "No". Praise be to you in us today!

FEEL NEED? SEEK GOD: Psalm 40:17

"Yet I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
 You are my help and my deliverer;
    O my God, do not delay." Psalm 40:17

How you feeling? Do you feel poor and needy? Didn't Jesus say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"? Yes, he did. I know this isn't usually what we want to hear, but, sometimes it is good to feel poor and needy. A few days ago, something happened to me and I was very upset. I called out to God. I felt very poor and needy. God answered my prayer. Thank you, Lord. 

Frankly, it is good to seek God. It is good to seek God when things are well. It is good to seek God when things are not well. Just seek God. God is our help. God is our deliverer. 

Father, thank you that we can seek you whatever the circumstances. Praise be to you in us today!

IT'S NOT ABOUT WARM FUZZIES: II Timothy 3:16-17

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."        

II Timothy 3:16-17

You know what the problem with most idea's about having a daily devotional time is? In my opinion the problem is that most people are just looking for a warm fuzzy. You just want to read a verse or two, feel good about yourself and go on with your day.

The problem with all that is that sometimes a life of faith is spent enduring trials, hardships and persecution.  Sometimes we are simply blowing it, we are in sin. There are times when I wake up in the morning and I need the Bible to rebuke me and to correct me otherwise I am going to step into some serious problems. 

Last night I watched a bit of Sports Center on ESPN before I went to bed. Mano Ginobli of the San Antonio Spurs was talking about why they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies. He basically say they played poorly. He didn't sugar coat it and he said that if they didn't improve they would lose again. I think that is one of the reasons the Spurs are always good, they look at themselves honestly. Spiritually we need to look at ourselves honestly. Because sometimes the issue is we just are not obeying Christ. 

Seeking God on a daily basis is a start. Knowing that it is not always about just feeling good is a mature thing. Submitting to the discipline of the Spirit as we read the Scriptures is where growth happens.

Father, help us to not just read the Scriptures to feel good but to listen honestly and grow. Praise be to you in us today!

HE'S COMING TO TAKE US HOME! I Thessalonians 4:14-18

"We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him...After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." I Thessalonians 4:14,17-18

There are at least two times that Jesus comes into your life and changes things altogether. The first time is when you realize is died for your sins and you accept him as your Savior and Lord. There will come another time when he comes to take us home. 

Sometimes in the here and now we forget the eternal nature of the salvation we have been given. Circumstances, at the present time, may not seem to be working out for the good. The trials just keep coming and there seems to be no end in sight. These things will happen. The truth still stands that Jesus will come again. He will catch us up to meet with him. I don't know the time, I don't know the hour. I just know his word says he will. 

All that happens now is only temporary. Our salvation is eternal. There will be many times that Christ will touch your life between the first day you realize he is your Savior and Lord and the day he comes to take you home. Trials will come, trials will go. One day, it will all end and we will be with the Lord forever. That is good news. 

Father, thank you that you sent your Son to die for my sins. Thank you that He will come again to bring us home. Thank you for so great a salvation! Praise be to you in us today!

LOVE MORE, BE STRONG! I Thessalonians 3:12-13

Paul the Apostle kind of reminds me of a coach sometimes. I have a friend of mine who calls his team together during a game and says, "Your guys are doing great! Now just..." and then he tells them what he wants them to do. Think about the Thessalonians. They are going through trials and persecution. Things aren't easy but they are hanging in there! So Paul emphasizes a few things he wants them to keep doing.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy  in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."                   I Thessalonians 3:12-13

The first thing Paul reminds them to keep doing is loving. Don't just love a little or just enough to get by but, love more than you think is enough. Remember, we love because Christ love us! Our aim is to have a love for others that grows and overflows. That is God working in and through your life. Look to love. 

The second thing Paul stresses is that God would strengthen their hearts. We need to look to God. Isn't that what we are doing right now? Seeking God to strengthen us so that we might, as Paul encourages the Thessalonians, be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 

God is our source of love and strength. The reality is you don't know the love of God is really in you until you love someone else. You don't know the strength of God in you until you need to be blameless and holy. At some point today I will need the love of God to deal with someone. I will need the strength of God to be blameless and holy in my actions. He will provide.

Father, we look to you for love that increases and overflows. We call upon you to strengthen us to stand the tests we will face today! Praise be to you in us today! Thanks you, Lord!

IT'S A TRIAL, DEAL WITH IT. I Thessalonians 3:2-3

Every now and then we need a little slap in the face to get us back on track. My wife was in the hospital once for an operation and we weren't quite sure what the problem was. I was very concerned. My pastor at the time happened to be there for something and we spoke for a moment. He didn't tell me everything would be OK. He told me to get it together, trust God, go encourage my wife because she needed me to be strong. That was exactly what I needed. I think  that is what Paul is doing here.

"We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials." I Thessalonians 3:2-3 

Whatever you are going through, be strengthen in Christ. Look to him. Know he is Sovereign Lord over all things. Trust in him, not yourself, not your job, not your spouse, not the government. Be strengthen in Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Whatever you are going through, be encouraged in Christ. Let your faith be in Christ. I am not asking you to see the end from the beginning, you can't, but Christ does. Christ is faithful to complete the work he began in you. He will. 

Trials come. Trials go. You and I may be surprised and feel overwhelmed but God is neither surprised or overwhelmed. Look to God, he will take you through. When Paul was first saved Ananias was sent to tell him how much he would suffer for Christ's name (Acts 9:15-16). Trails will come, trails will go, but God will never leave you. 

Father, give us the strength to be stand in the trials we face. Strengthen us and encourage us in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!