Nehemiah 8:10 “…So don’t be sad. The joy of the Lord makes you strong.” ~NIRV

One way to understand God’s love is to know the difference between being happy and being blessed with God’s joy. Happiness is based on ‘happenings’. For example, young George is happy because he has just saved enough money to buy a car he saw on sale at the car lot down the street. He is happy because he has pictured himself in that car and has told everyone about it. But when George gets to the car lot, he finds that the car has been sold and is not available anymore. He is no longer happy. His happiness has been taken away just that quickly. It is because his happiness was based on a material object. One he can touch, see and smell. When that object was no longer attainable to George, his happiness disappeared.

It is in ‘Joy’ where God’s power in our strength, comes from. And His power has a greater effect on us, than just being happy. With joy we can be content no matter what is happening around us. Joy from the Lord is knowing that He is in charge. It is with this joy that we begin to see others differently. It is with this joy that we learn to love others instead of judging them. Joy is the foundation for us being called to love deeply, and sincerely, reflecting God’s own love. If George went to buy that car with joy in his heart instead of happiness, he would have realized that he may not have gotten that car because God had something better for him.

In life we are where we are, because God has something better for us and those around us. The world my be showing us its worst, but God has us in place to present His best. We receive joy from the Lord. And we know this gift is powerful because the devil tries to steal, kill and destroy it. But we must protect our joy because Nehemiah 8:10 says, “...the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It is in God’s gift of joy where we can overcome all obstacles. And continue to move as servants for the kingdom.

​May God bless and keep you protected, healed and loved as you continue to journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

2 Timothy 1:7 “God gave us His Spirit. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love. He helps us control ourselves.” ~NIRV

Every day, we believers wake up and start our day trying to walk our journey as righteously as we can. We find that sometimes it can be a very hard thing to do. When we get cut off in traffic. When we are trying to buy something in a store and the cashier is rude. Or when our co-worker or supervisor seems to take it upon themselves to make our day a little harder than usual, life as a Christian can be challenging. It becomes harder to perform in the righteous ways we are instructed in the Word to act. Our responses to some of these distractions are not always good.

How about those situations where things are not necessarily impossible under our own power; but because of the pain we have been through, inflicted by someone close to us, we refuse to forgive. With all this in mind, let us, as Christians, reflect for a moment. Looking at situations like these we know that our responses, should we take the wrong actions, are not the behavior God would approve of. So, what do we do?

Well, thank God for His grace, mercy and forgiveness because God knows that it gets hard for us sometimes. This is why He gave us the Spirit as a gift. Our Spirit is the gift that helps protect us from ourselves. “He helps us control ourselves…” This is to help give us the strength we need to stay righteous. Our Spirit grows strong every time we feed it the Word of God, so let's get a couple of 'spoonfulls' of scripture right now. For example, let’s look at Ecclesiastes 7:9. It says to not become angry, because anger lives in the hearts of foolish people. Truly God’s children, believers in His Son, are not foolish people, so we should not show actions that would indicate us not being God’s children.

And in Matthew 6 verses 14 through 15, a scripture of pure nourishment for our Spirits is written. We know that God loves us so much that He has forgiven us by sacrificing his One and Only Son. At the same time, reading the text in Matthew, it basically says that it is our ‘duty’ to forgive. Not a choice, a duty. “If we forgive others, God will forgive us. But if we do not, He will not forgive us for our offenses.” Those who have stacked up offenses against us, should be forgiven by us, just as God has forgiven the offenses we have stacked up against Him. In other words, if God did it, then we must do it.

So, it doesn’t matter if we get cut off in traffic, or if we meet an obnoxiously rude cashier, or even been hurt pretty badly by someone close to us, our actions should show others God in us. In spite of what we are going or have been through. Don't worry about if you can forgive or not. The action of doing the right thing comes from the strength of the Holy Spirit, given to us by God. The gift from our Father, Who has forgiven and accepted us as His children.

May God continue to bless and protect you as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

Joshua 24:21 “But the people Said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the Lord.’ Then Joshua said, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves. You have said that you have chosen to serve the Lord.’ ‘Yes. We are witnesses,’ they replied. ‘Now then,’ said Joshua, ‘throw away the statues of the gods that are among you. People from other lands serve those gods. Give yourselves completely to the Lord. He is the God of Israel.’ ~NIRV

“I am sorry.” These words usually come after one has betrayed another. Whatever the hurt, pain or struggle, an apology has been laid on the table. Next comes forgiveness. When that is given in response to the apology, a very important thing happens next. The covenant. This may come in many forms that will confirm the commitment that what has happened will never happen again. Rules are put in place and boundaries are set so that the covenant can remain intact.

This is important because the one that was hurt, if placed in that same situation again, that relationship may be damaged beyond repair. In other words, a wife may forgive a husband for his transgression, when he apologizes and commits to being loyal. But if he breaks that commitment again, the consequences could result in a ruined relationship. This is how we as believers need to look at our personal relationship with God. When we come to Him, we confess our sins. We acknowledge our transgression and we accept responsibility for the consequences. But when we know that Christ died for our sins, then our apology comes in our actions as we live godly lives. Our commitment to being loyal to God in his commands and will for our lives, seals that covenant with God.

This is what takes place in Chapter 24 in the book of Joshua. After Joshua presents the act of idol worship to the people and its consequences, the people respond by saying they will worship the Lord. Many may have recognized their shortcomings and recognized the error of their ways. Joshua told them to get rid of those things that keep them from being loyal to God and to give their all to God only. He tells them that as they speak, they are witnessing to themselves and others. In other words, in their right minds they acknowledge their willingness to be loyal to God and God alone.

In doing this the covenant is renewed. Joshua makes it clear that because our God is a forgiving God, we need to be sincere on our part of the covenant. Because our God is gracious enough to forgive us of our mistakes and bad decisions, He is merciful enough to give us another chance. This is an opportunity to show that we are grateful for His grace, and this time we need to be sincere about our renewed commitment to God’s commands and direction. In other words, God will always do His part. We are totally responsible for ours.

​May God bless and keep you loved and protected as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

John 7:38 “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” ~CSB

Sometimes during our ministry journey we might say, “I don’t think I can be of much help because I’m going through something myself.” Or we may say that popular statement, “I can’t preach from an empty cup.” If we as believers step back and relate the Word of God to that statement, we will find that the word contradicts it. We may very well feel some kind of way, but the statement about our cup is not necessarily true.

God’s word is the truth. And according to God’s word our cups are never empty. Think about it. We are not who we used to be. This is because God has brought us from a mighty long way. He has blessed us with gifts and talents along that journey. The endurance of our trials has trained us to handle the power from God to do good in this world. In other words, God has equipped us for His will in this world. Because of our experiences with God’s miracle in our lives, our spiritual cup never drains or becomes empty. A great example of this is in what Jesus said to the woman at the well. (John 4:13-14)

He said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again.” We drink from the world’s water ‘physically’ every day. This is why we get tired and emotionally drained. Sometimes we need the rest, and take the time to recover from our pain and struggle. But it’s the power from Jesus that helps us to keep going. Jesus continues by saying, “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him, will never get thirsty again.”

Even though our physical cup becomes empty, it can still be powered by our spiritual cup that is never empty. In fact, because of God, His love for us and His blessings to us, our cups run over! (Psalm 23:5). That is an overflow of love, power and strength always available to us, no matter how we feel. It is this overflow that contradicts our earlier statement, because with God our cup is always full. And we should be ready when God is ready to use us. No matter how we feel.

This very well may have been the case with Jesus. He may not have 'felt' like carrying that cross up that mountain to be crucified, but His overflowing cup from the Father allowed Him to surpass His weak physical strength and complete His mission of salvation. Remember God has done the same for us. The next time we feel ourselves needing a minute to get ourselves together, by all means, take it. But don’t rest too long. Know that God will always give us what we need to accomplish His mission.

He tells us in the text above, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” If you believe, then your cup is never empty.

May God bless and keep you in His love and protection as you journey in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

Esther 4:14 “What if you don’t say anything at this time? Then help for the Jews will come from another place. But you and your family will die. Who knows? It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.” ~NIRV

The story of Esther is one of faith and courage. Faith in God and courage to stand wherever He takes us. I won’t go into the whole story, please read it for yourself, but God’s plan for Esther put her in a position to be queen, despite who she was and where she came from. Our text is the part of the story where her people were in danger because of a policy the king unknowingly made.

As queen she had the power and influence to go to the king on behalf of her people. But during this time there were rules in approaching the king. These rules also applied to her, as his queen. If these rules were broken, it could mean her death sentence. She knew that she may be the only hope for her people’s salvation, but she was afraid. She goes to and seeks advice from Mordecai, her relative. He simply tells her that he is aware that she is afraid, but if she does nothing, God will still save His children in another way other than through her. He also says in verse 14 in reference of her doing nothing, “…but you and your family will die…”

As believers we will come to a point in our lives where we know the right thing to do. But we hesitate because there are consequences that will come from ‘doing the right thing’. Most of the time we are afraid and do not want to face those consequences, so we don’t do anything. We remain silent. According to the scripture, the question is, what if we are, where we are, because God wants to work His miracle through us? What if we knew that everything, we are afraid of, would never touch us because God is not going to allow anything to prosper against His work through us?

Mordecai says in verse 14, “It’s possible that you became queen for a time just like this.” In our lives, maybe God blessed us with our promotion to do something about the wrong doings in our workplace. Maybe God allowed us to be step parents for His reasons. It doesn’t matter if the child gives us resistance, God blessed the relationship of us and that child because he wants to perform a miracle in both lives. Looking at these two examples, we shouldn’t fear losing a promotion because God allowed us that position to do some good in His name. We should not become weary of our parent positions with our stepchildren because God blessed those relationships even before they came together.

​Don’t let the world keep us away from God’s complete work in us. Because Esther trusted God, her faith allowed God to use her to save her people. Just think of the power God will use in us because of our faith in Him. We should believe because, after all, God believes in us enough to use us where we are.

May God bless and keep you protected in His love and grace as we journey in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.” ~NIRV

When I was younger, my parents would tell me to do things. Often, I would get frustrated. I wouldn’t say anything out loud to them but, in my mind, I would have thoughts like, ‘I’m busy doing something! Why do I have to do it now?’ Or the times I had to do chores around the house like washing dishes, or yardwork, even being told by my father to change the car’s tires. Again, in my mind I would ask, ‘Why me?’

But when I got older, I became a man and set aside my childish ways, I can now look back and understand why things happened the way they did. I didn’t know it then, but my parents were preparing me. In other words, they were teaching me God’s timing. For example, when my parents called, I had to develop the will power to move when they called in spite of how I felt about moving. No matter what I was doing, I had to drop it and move at the sound of my parents’ voice. This taught me that God will call us at any time. As believers, to witness or even be apart of God’s miracle we have move on His time, not ours. Whatever we have going on when He calls, is not as important as what God has planned.

The chores I had to do taught me discipline. It taught me to be grateful. As children we live in a home that God has allowed our parents to provide for us. We had a responsibility to its upkeep as well because it is where the Lord placed us. As a child instead of complaining about yard work, I learned to be thankful that the Lord allowed me to live in a home with a yard. Instead of me being upset that I had to wash dishes, I became grateful that I had food to eat.

This is what the scripture above is speaking when it reads, “Now we see only a dim likeness of things.” Just as I was when I was little, we as believers may only see the struggle and pain we go through on some days. We may even be upset and ready to move from some of the places we are in. But we do not see or know that God has us where we are for a reason. There is a miracle in the making for that location.

The text continues, “What I know now is not complete.” As believers we cannot trust in what we see, but in what we do not see. We must trust in God’s plan for our lives. By praying in thanksgiving for Him to give us the strength, courage and wisdom to see our trials through. When we trust the Lord in His plan for our lives, then we can speak the Word of God when it says, “But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.” It is because God knows us completely that we trust that His plan for us will eventually show us the victory in our journey.
 
May God bless and keep you in His will and protection in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Luke 7:6-7 “So Jesus went with them. When Jesus came near the house, the Roman commander sent friends to Him. He told them to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself. I am not good enough to have you come into my house. That is why I did not even think I was fit to come to you. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” ~NIRV

When someone close to us dies, everything becomes hard. The pain in the loss increases the emotions of missing their voice, their touch and presence. The struggle to continue everyday routines like taking care of our children’s needs, our spouse’s needs, work and family, is real. There is no limit to the pain we feel when we lose someone. But believers in Jesus Christ have faith. This knowledge of God’s sacrifice of His Son on the cross is the foundation in knowing God’s love for us and that He is in control.

​It is true that some of us don’t want to hear ‘God is in control’ when we are going through a loss of a loved one. Maybe because of who is saying it to us or maybe it’s because we feel we hear that too much. But the fact is, God 'IS' in control. Jesus Christ’s resurrection defeated death’s hold on us. That bondage was broken by Jesus and with it a guaranteed life in heaven took its place. This plan includes our loved ones as well.

In the text above, the commander did not feel worthy. He sent others because he did not feel he was even worthy enough to be in Jesus’ presence. He additionally did not think his home was worthy of Jesus coming to it, so he sent word to Jesus. He wanted Jesus to know that all he wanted was for Him to say the words of healing and the commander’s servant would be healed. His faith was so strong that he knew all Jesus had to do was speak health and life in the air and his servant would live. Jesus was amazed and acknowledged the commander’s faith by saying in verse 9, “I tell you, even in Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong.” In the strength of this man’s faith, Jesus healed his servant.

The pain in the loss of loved ones should be medicated with our faith that our Lord and Savior has prepared a place for us and them in heaven. That pain should not take away our belief in the promise of heaven. Just as someone goes out of town, we must know that we will one day see them again. As God promised all of us though the mission of His Son, a place prepared for us in heaven.

​May God continue to bless, protect and provide for you as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

John 13:14-15 “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you.” ~CSB

Jesus is showing us a great example of servanthood. From those of us who have had everything since birth, to all who have come from nothing, this example in message must be walked by all believers. We as children of God are the representation of the kingdom. Do not let the world’s ways cloud any direction that comes from God. In other words, it does not matter if God has put us in a leadership position in the ministry, we are servants and still need to move when and where He tells us.

Let us not confuse our will to please God with our selfish desire to please ourselves. On our journey in Christ, our path will lead to places we may be hesitant to go into. But if God has called us to it, there is His reason why we are there.

This story deals with one of those selfish distractions, feet washing. During this time this is the one of the lowest types of work. It is usually a task left to be done by the poor workers or slaves. When Peter saw Jesus was about to wash his feet, he tried to stop his Teacher. In Peter’s mind, he will not let Christ do this work. Second, Peter thought he should be the one to wash Jesus’ feet instead. But Jesus corrected his disciple. Telling him that He was teaching him a valuable lesson in servanthood.  Jesus wanted Peter to let go of his worldly perception and spiritually understand being a servant.

​If Jesus could perform a duty to another for the betterment of that person, then every Christian should be prepared to get down in the dirt and muddy water in order to serve God and His children. As Jesus is willing to not only wash our feet, but also to be beaten, hung and die for our sins, then we should be present in all places we are taken by God. To serve where we stand.
 
May God bless and keep you embraced in His love and protection as we journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” ~CSB
 
We have all heard those stories about how a little boy is being bullied by another boy, larger and stronger than he is. The little boy warns the bigger child that he has an even bigger brother that will come and protect him from being bullied. When that bigger, stronger brother shows up, all the problems that came with the bully go away.

Now let us imagine that all the worrying we do, comes from the problems of pain, suffering and stress that are brought on by our very own bully, Satan. Look at it, John 10:10 said he comes to steal, kill and destroy. He does not want God’s work in us to succeed. He has no power, but he does have strong influence. He influences our surroundings, our enemies, even our family members through negativity, when we try our best to follow God’s direction. That bullying done by the devil pushes us every day.

But when we read the text above, we see that we must pray in thanksgiving. That young man in the story above asked and petitioned his big brother to come and help him in his situation. He did this in ‘thanksgiving’ because he had faith and trust that his big brother would do what he asked. We also have someone with us who is bigger and stronger than the devil. As Christians we must believe that when we pray in thanksgiving, we are showing God that we have the faith and trust in Him to protect and provide for us as He said he would.

Satan likes to bully us with problems, pain and suffering. But when we put in a request to God and we do it through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, God will show up. He will take care of those things we cannot.

Remember we cannot do two things at once. Worrying and Trust do not go hand in hand. We must let go of the worry in our lives that comes from the bullying of Satan. And embrace the faith, trust and belief in God who loves us and will protect us from everything that is not of Him. When we do that, we will allow His peace to surpass our thoughts, “…and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

​May God bless and keep you embraced in His love and protection as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” ~CSB

​Tina is 10 years old. She is about to give a speech in front of her peers at school. She was entered into a contest by her teacher. This will be Tina’s first time participating in a speech contest. Tina’s father looks at her before she takes the stage and says, “No matter what happens sweetheart, I am proud of you.” She responds, “You will be even prouder when I win.” Her father did not want her to get her hopes up. So, he adds, “Well, you are going up against other students who have participated in this contest before. Just do your best. This is all you can do.”
 
“Dad…” She begins. “…nobody can beat me at being me. Speaking on what I believe in, is ‘me’.” Tina went on to win the contest. There were a lot of things that contributed to her victory. But the one characteristic that took her over the top was her confidence in what she spoke about. Her confidence showed more in her than in the others that competed.
 
As new Christians, we must know that our faith is given to us as gifts by God. In the very womb we have everything we need to be a child of God. Which means we are made for the purpose God created us for. So, when we stand as Christians, it doesn’t matter if it is the first day we accept Christ. We can boldly stand next to a veteran Christian of 50 years and praise the same way. Why is this? It is because it doesn’t matter to God how long one has accepted His Son. What matters is how we carry ourselves in knowing Jesus Christ as our savior in everything we do and speak. There are those that are lost. They want to know Christ. When we carry ourselves with the confidence of Christ, they will see Him in us. They won’t see that we are just babies on this new journey in our lives. Our confidence from our faith will allow them to see God in our actions and speech. With this we have accomplished God’s main command for us as Christians. And that is to make disciples.
 
We must let go of comparing ourselves to other Christians who may have walked this spiritual path before us. Instead, we must embrace our calling of being His children. And live our lives as an, “…example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

May God continue to bless and keep you in his love and protection in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen