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Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please
people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” ~NRSV One of our biggest obstacles in maintaining obedience is our desire to hold onto how other people may feel about us. How we look to others often takes over the feelings or concern toward how we look in God’s eyes. Think about it, when we get into a confrontation with someone, (be it verbal or physical), we don’t want to appear weak to them or others around us. We automatically forget about what God would want us to do in that same situation and take matters in our own hands. Sometimes in our faith, we shy away from talking about Jesus or what God has done in our lives, because others may make fun of what we believe. Especially when their faith is not as strong. We live our lives focused on ‘man’s’ view of us when that point of view is not important at all. Often we fail to think about God’s approval because we cannot see Him. So in life, what we ‘see’ always takes priority over what we ‘don’t see’. In other words, the reality of the world tries to take away our belief by stepping in and attempting to separate us from God. Even though our trials may be similar, our endurance through those trails are unique. But our uniqueness is not experienced when we try and go through our trials without God. Those of us who go through our trials without God experience exposure to the world and its pressure. We blame, we argue, we fight, and we allow other’s perspectives to dictate our actions. But when we go through our trials with God, we allow Him to teach us how to use those unique gifts He’s blessed us with. The unique gifts that He created in us to endure and become stronger in our trials. We no longer see the distractions of the world and its people because we are so focused on listening to God and satisfying Him as our Teacher. With God all things are possible because He created everything we need to succeed in this world. When we switch our focus off people and what they think about us, and turn on our focus in pleasing God, our lives become a whole lot better. He has shown us His mercy in spite of what we have done. That kind of love deserves all of our attention. To be the best servants of Christ we must seek God’s approval alone. And let His light shine in us so that others will only see Him. And when they see Him, they will ‘seek’ Him and have the desire to serve Him as well. May God continue to bless and keep you under His umbrella of love and protection in Jesus’ name. Amen
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Romans 12:1 “Brothers and sisters, God has shown you His mercy. So I am asking you to offer up your bodies to Him while you are still alive. Your bodies are a holy sacrifice that is pleasing to God. When you offer your bodies to God, you are worshiping Him in the right way.” ~NIRV
Going to church every Sunday and reading the Word of God every now and then is a scratch at the surface in being a Christian. Although these are needed and required, there is another step to be taken toward becoming more godly in our walk in Christ. We have to embrace and practice living our lives in complete ‘sacrifice’, in order to begin the process of allowing God to fully use us on our journey. Let us take the steps to get to that point in our lives. One way to discipline ourselves in the practice of sacrifice is learning how to train ourselves in ignoring the desires of our flesh. A great way to accomplish this is by adapting a healthy lifestyle. But hold on a second. Instead of looking at this way of accomplishment as a ‘diet’, let us look at it like we are training ourselves to say ‘NO’ to the crying and wants of the flesh. Crying and wants we do not need. For instance, if our doctor tells us to cut back on sugar, we train ourselves and allow the spirit inside of us to help us say ‘NO’ to some of those sugary foods. And we adapt some other healthy replacements of nurishment for our bodies to get its daily supplements. If our doctor tells us that we need to lose some weight so that we can maintain a healthier lifestyle, then we learn to say ‘NO’ to lying around at the house all day everyday. We learn to say ‘NO’ when eating in between meals that we do not need. We can find things to do that exercise our bodies and minds. We can try reading more books and watching less television or even eliminating that 'scroll time' on our phones when it comes to social media. We can also keep ourselves busy by planting a garden and growing healthier foods for our bodies. This will allow us to stay busy tending to our gardens and less lying around the house. Just saying ‘NO’ to idle time and ‘YES’ to mobility in our lives. When we have learned to discipline ourselves in making our bodies better, we can look back and become aware that we have ‘sacrificed’ things we like. We have sacrificed lazy time on the couch turning ‘me time’ into ‘family time’. Because of that we become healthier and stronger not only for our body’s sake, but for the sake of our Christian walk as well. With this new found strength we can carry on our sacrifice as we journey in the world. We can ‘sacrifice’ our need to fight back when someone insults us. We can say ‘NO’ to participation in a confrontation. And we can say ‘YES’ when it comes to forgiving our brothers and sisters. “...God has shown you His mercy…” In return and in gratitude we must learn and live sacrifice. Beginning with our own discipline and sacrifice with our flesh, we must train ourselves to be godly. Once we have conquered our flesh, God will use us to conquer the trials of this world. May God continue to bless you as you journey in Jesus’ name. Amen  John 15:4-5 “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” ~CSB
The next time you pick up a stick, look up at the tree it fell from. Take a look at the branches still attached to the tree. Those branches have leaves and are not easily broken. The branches still connected are capable of bearing fruit because of the tree it is connected to. But the branch you are holding is brittle, easily broken and does not possess the power to produce anything. It is dead because it is no longer attached to the source that gave it life. The sacrifice of God’s One and Only Son is the reason we have life. We have life because we are connected to Jesus. This eternal life was granted by the Father at the cost of His Son’s death on the cross. It is because of Jesus’ death our sins have been forgiven. The accountability for our sins have been paid in full. God then resurrected his Son from the grave so that we may have everlasting life. Now we only need to believe! Confessing with our mouth that Jesus did this for us! We must know in our hearts that God loved us so much that He did this for us and allowed us another chance to be with Him. In offering us this chance, He has created a purpose for our lives as we live here on earth. Think about it, when it comes to ‘righteousness’: in what we do, where and how we work, even in how we raise our children. How we function in society, the way we live with and around others, how we forgive and how we receive forgiveness; all comes from how strong our relationship is with Christ Jesus! Everything and everyone around us will flourish successfully if we remain, ‘everyday’, in Jesus. When we do this, we allow Him to remain in us. Jesus is our source of life, our tree, our ‘vine’. If we do not have him, we are just a branch, broken from the tree, on the ground dying. Any leaves or fruits on us will die with us because we are no longer receiving from our ‘source of life’. Eventually we will die like that brittle stick we found on the ground. Stay connected with the source! Jesus says, “The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit.” God’s fruit of love in us will change this world! It will bring hope of light inside all who believe. As they witness this in us, others will seek God, receive His Son and live righteous lives! Disciples will be made and God’s Word will continue to spread and free the souls of His children. Keep Jesus close. Because without Him, “...you can do nothing…” May God bless and keep you well as you journey in Jesus’ name. Amen Colossians 2:14 “He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.” ~CSB
Kenny is a middle school student and athlete. He participates in the school’s football program and is very good for his age. One day he gets information about a ‘D1’ program that will not only help him become a better football player, it will also help him get into a good college or university. But when Kenny looks at how much it will cost, his spirit becomes low. To him it is a lot of money and he did not want to bring this to his parents. Fortunately Kenny’s coaches talked with his parents. They felt the investment in their son would be worth it so they made it happen. Kenny’s parents paid for something that Kenny could not. And because of this, Kenny will get to move into an area of his football career where he will have the chance to get better and also have access to the best colleges of his choice. As Christians, this is what happened for us. There are laws listed in the Bible that are impossible for God’s children, (as we are born into sin), to fulfill. Taking away our chances for everlasting life with Father. But God loves us so much that He chose to give us a chance at salvation. We celebrate this season, as God's Gift to all His Children, was born. God's sacrifice of His One and Only Son, is His gift to us all. You see, Jesus would take all our sins, all that ‘debt’ we could not pay for, and take it with Him to the cross. Everything that kept us from the glory of heaven, our Lord and Savior took it with Him and it was nailed on that cross. And when He died, our debt died on that cross as well. But on that third day, Jesus conquered death. God raised Him from the dead, allowing our chance for salvation to rise up with Him! It is because of Jesus, we have zero debt. It is because of Jesus we have ‘V.I.P.’ tickets to be with Him and our Father in heaven. It is because of Him our chance for everlasting life exists! So this holiday season, it doesn’t matter if Christmas is not the way you want it to be. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the finances to get others gifts or if you don’t get any gift yourself. That’s not what this season is about. There is a gift that all of us have already received and it is the best gift ever given and received. The reason this season exists is because a Man, over 2000 years ago, made a choice to give His life for all God’s children. The joy of this season is knowing we serve a God who loves us so much that we have a chance to be with Him and His Son in paradise. All we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected for our salvation. This is the true meaning of the season. May God continue to bless you and your families as you all continue to walk in Jesus’ name. Amen  Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
You are watching your favorite football team. It is at the end of the game, three seconds to go. Your team is down two points. Your team is in great field position to kick a field goal and win the game. Your team’s field goal kicker sets up to kick. The ball is snapped to the holder. The kicker puts it away and the ball is up. In the air, it sails to the right and the field goal is missed! Your team loses. The first thing that comes out of your mouth is, “You had one job!” This guy spends all his time practicing, kicking field goals and when the time comes for it to really count, he fails. It’s funny how you look at something or someone having one main job. We think that they should be perfect in it. Well this is not always true. At any time, anything can happen. This is why we must do two things as we journey in our Christian walk. We must remember that we have ‘one job’. Matthew Chapter 22 tells us in the text above that we must love the Lord with all our hearts, soul and mind. In order to do this we must be in a ‘constant relationship building’ process with God. This means we have to follow steps everyday in making this happen. We cannot do anything righteous in this world without God. We must get into His Word Everyday so that we can receive and allow His peace to surpass our thoughts. In this we will understand and lean on Him instead of what the world shows us. When we receive His peace, then we can begin to heal. God’s love and power will heal us in those places that keep us from loving, giving and forgiving. A healing so great we, the words and actions of others won’t hurt us anymore. We will begin to see people, places and situations differently. Not through our eyes, but through an understanding of God’s perspective. When this happens, we will be able to love others in spite of who they are, or what they may do to us. We love because we are commanded to love and we love because others are God’s children. He loves all of us very much. Jesus did not die for a selection of people. He died for everyone. It is our job to love so that others will see God and His love through us and our actions. This love is commanded in verse 39 when Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This command is second and equally as important as the first command. Remember, we have ‘One Job’, and that is to love. Let us practice it by remembering God’s love for us. So that we may show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. May God always bless you with the courage, strength, determination and wisdom to live righteously in this world. Amen  Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” ~CSB
As a husband, I represent my wife and family. Being in law enforcement, I represent an agency as a servant to the public. And as an ordained minister, I represent The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. I represent the church. The one thing all of these positions have in common is that they all require a uniform. In any of those uniforms I cannot be ‘Billy Jackson’, saying and doing whatever I want. No, I must represent all these uniforms according to the policies, rules and regulations that govern them. These uniforms are all different. As a police officer, my uniform is visible. There is no question who I represent when I wear this uniform. If I were to do anything ungodly, others would not just see ‘Billy Jackson’, they would see a ‘police officer’. Now the uniform of the ordained minister is a little different. In church I may wear a visible uniform that defines who I am as clergy in the pulpit. But outside in the public, wearing regular clothes, that uniform is not visible. But look at this: those who know me as a minister, still see me in a spiritual uniform. Therefore those that have experienced my teaching in the pulpit, will see me as a minister in public as well if I were to stray away from the ways of the church. As a husband, there is no visible uniform. But to my wife and to those who know I am married, that uniform spiritually appears in their eyes. If I were to do anything that may disrespect the marriage uniform, others will see. So you see, we all wear some kind of uniform in our lives, visible or non visible. There is one we take off, and there is one we cannot. It is the one that we wear all the time we must concentrate on. When we walk in the name of Jesus, we must always be aware of what we are wearing. Others who God has affected and blessed through us will always see us in God’s uniform. They will see the, “...garments of salvation…” and see us “...wrapped in a robe of righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10). They will see us in our, “...full armor of God…” (Ephesians 6:11). When they are affected by us, as we live and walk in God’s will for our lives, in front of them, they will always see a uniform that represents the church. So in order to make sure you cover your walk with the blood of the Lamb, “...Put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” every morning before you journey into the world. You will need to clothe yourself with the scriptures from Romans, Isaiah, and Ephesians in order to starve the flesh, leaving its desires wanting. May God dress you well as you journey in Jesus’ name. Amen  Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” ~NIV
Little Bobby's grandfather bought him some ice cream at an ice cream truck in the park. After receiving the ice cream, little Bobby strolls to a spot in the park to sit down and enjoy his ice cream. Just before he tastes his delicious dessert, he observes another little boy. This particular little boy is dressed in worn, old and dirty clothes. With a sad face, the little boy is watching the other kids, standing with their parents, in the line at the ice cream truck. Bobby gets up, walks over to the little boy, “Excuse me, but would you like this ice cream?” The little boy looks at the sweating two scoops of vanilla and chocolate, and with a huge smile, nods his head. Bobby, without hesitation, gives his ice cream to the little boy. The little boy thanks him and walks away devouring the two scoops. Bobby’s grandfather walks up to him and says, “That was really nice of you Bobby! I am so proud of you! You have a natural giving nature. Now come on, I’m gonna get you another two scoops.” “No granddaddy.” Bobby says as he keeps his eyes on the little boy eating the ice cream. “I don’t want another one.” Confused, his grandfather asks, “Why not? You deserve it.” Bobby takes a breath and says proudly, “Because, I don’t think I would enjoy the ice cream as much as I am enjoying watching my new friend. He is actually enjoying the ice cream more than I ever could.” Bobby is a great example of the saying, ‘It is better to give than to receive.’ You see, at first Bobby may have given away his ice cream because he knew he could just get some more. But after giving it to the little boy, he was able to see the joy come upon that child. In his face and his actions, as he ate the ice cream. That in itself was satisfaction enough for Bobby. As Christians this is how we should be as well. Wanting to give and live a life of sharing joy. When our relationship with God becomes stronger, and we walk in the way Christ does, our desire to give becomes stronger than our desire to receive. This is because we get this godly desire from God. He gave us more than we deserve when He sacrificed His Son for all of us. God's giving is how we should pattern our giving. Not just financial or material things, but also in love and in time. It is through this love and time God will seed into others through us, His Word of peace and prosperity. So that we may live a life where He is pleased. Sharing in love, joy, peace, and patience is what’s needed today in our journey in Christ. May God bless you with all you need to accomplish His mission of giving as you journey in Jesus’ name. Amen Matthew 6:13 “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” ~NLT
Normally when we have read or heard this text from the Lord’s Prayer, we automatically think ‘adultery’. Ungodly acts of temptation against our wives or our husbands. Others may think of temptation where it concerns addictions. Knowing we need to put down the alcohol or let go of the drugs but the temptation of the flesh is too great. Well today we want to focus on a more general area of temptation. In the world today, the ‘...evil one…’ is making his attempt at tempting us to hate each other and not get along. This day and time, it may be social media, the news, or aggressive conversation, that work our disagreements to become the root of the eventual demise of our relationships. Causing us to feel the hate that can result in our differences. The difference in our way of thinking, the way we live, the way we look, and our ideas. This is not what God wants. The chaos of today is clouding the command of Christ when He said in John 15:12, "This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” There is no question that we are forgetting about God. Or at the very least He is not a priority in our lives. When we omit God in our lives, we allow the ‘evil one’ to take over. And when he does, he causes us to hate and react negatively to those he can easily influence to agitate the anger and stress we give into on a daily basis. But when we keep God first, (as we should), we allow God to take over. He will allow us His peace. It is this peace that will allow our hearts to know He is bigger than the biggest obstacle in our lives. We also know how much He loves us and in that love, we can love others in the same way. This cannot be done without God being priority in our lives. It is in our relationship with God that we learn our differences were created in us by Him so that we can all be strong together for the kingdom of heaven. Remember, God’s got it. He ‘is’ in control. Always has been and always will be. May God continue to belss you with His peace as you journey in Jesus name. Amen Isaiah 48:18 “If only you had paid attention to my commands. Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” ~CSB
Let’s say you know someone, but you haven’t seen or spoken to them in about twenty years. Many things factor into this long absence. Things like people changing. Meaning the person we knew twenty years ago is not the same person today. This person calls and asks for a large sum of money or maybe they come into town and ask to stay at your house. In your mind you may feel, ‘I may know you, but I really DON’T know you.’ In reality your relationship with each other is not strong because it has been nonexistent for 20 years. This is how our relationship with God is. We say we know God, but because we put Him on the ‘shelf’, we do not have a relationship with Him. So when we ask God for His blessing in miracles and power, we find that there is a delay in Him answering our prayers the way we like. It’s not because God chooses not to bless us. He is not a man where He will hold a grudge. It is because His blessings require instruction and work on our part. It is this instruction that can only be found in His Word. Some of us have not made it a habit of getting into God’s Word like we should. This good habit is the building of a relationship with God. In order for Him to allow us His power, we must understand the instructions that come from the endurance through our trials. It is this endurance that gives us the strength to receive, maintain and distribute the blessings from God. Take God off the shelf and build that strong relationship. No matter what’s going on in this world, God should be first. Doesn’t matter how bad our situations are around us, it is God’s peace that allows us to maintain His gift of joy. With this joy we always know that God is bigger than our biggest problem. When we know this, our peace will be, "...like a river, and our righteousness like the waves of the sea." May God bless and keep you covered in His protection as you journey in Jesus name. Amen  John 17:20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” ~CSB
Can you imagine making a huge birthday dinner for someone? Sweating in the kitchen for a couple of days, making all kinds of food with love in your heart. Food for many on behalf of a celebration for the one person. And later find out that your efforts have gone unappreciated. Or maybe let’s say we spend a lot of money on someone. Whether it be a small gift, a trip, new car or maybe even a house, and later find out that our financial efforts were unappreciated. How would we feel about showing and giving so much of ourselves to others and they do not appreciate what we have done on their behalf? Yes, as Christians we live to give and not expect anything in return. But there is something to learn in the appreciation of what has been done on our behalf. Like what Jesus did for us on the cross. You see, even though Jesus knew man’s history, He stayed focused on His Father’s plan for man’s future. Jesus did not think about, in our lives, how many times we would turn our backs on God’s word. How, in our darkest moments, we would learn to depend on making it under our own power, not God and His power. Thank God the Son went to the cross anyway in spite of our actions. You see, before He did, He said a prayer for us because He knew the world would try and teach us to grow apart from Gods’ ways. He prayed for the strength we would need to endure the trials of this world. So that after our endurance, we would be able to stand in a place of impossibility and watch God open the doors we can not open. A place of impossibility where God can heal in us what the doctors said could not be healed. And a place where God can lay his hands on a family that has been at war with each other for years, and feel the comfort of His peace. A peace that will heal that family so that they may love each other as God intended them to love. Let us show God our appreciation in what He has done for us. Because in the verse above, Jesus prayed that we will be able to tell those who suffer around us, what God has done in our lives. So that our message of miracle and hope will pass on to others that need Him in their lives. Our message will be a seed to others that will grow God’s power and a harvest of new disciples will be born. Jesus has already given us the power we need to endure in this world through His prayer. May God allow His peace to nurture that power in us as we journey in Jesus name. Amen |
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