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

2 Corinthians 5:16 “From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we know longer know him this way.” ~CSB

I have great memories of my grandfather. When I was little, I remember his smile, his laugh, his jokes and the different voices he made telling those jokes. His laughter, during those times he watched cartoons with me, made me laugh then, and still laugh today. He was the funniest fun person I’ve ever been around. That is how I knew my grandfather as a little boy.

​When I became an adult, and after he was gone from this world, I learned who he really was. I learned that he was an even 'greater' man than I remember. He was a more serious man in the world because his calling was education. He became a well-known principal of Cameron High School here in Nashville, TN. And when I talk with former students of his, they all speak highly of him because he cared so much about their futures. His impact on those students and the community was so strong that there is a school named after him here called Hull / Jackson Montessori School. I bring up my relationship and perspective about my grandfather because I want to show you a different perspective of how we view Jesus Christ.

We grew up as Christians knowing the story of how Christ died for our sins on the cross. When we were children, we knew the story. But as we grow older, we need to understand the story for ourselves. So that we understand the ‘great’ in Jesus Christ. In other words, it’s one thing to know about the story. But it is another to know Christ personally.

As a child, I viewed my grandfather from a worldly perspective. But when I spiritually matured, that is, when I grew spiritually in my walk in Christ, I realized that my grandfather was given a calling from God to be a man that would affect so many people. The same is said for our knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our spirituality grows as we meditate on God’s word and in turn that meditation will seed our relationship with Him. Our prayers and questions through that relationship, will be answered with direction, and in miracles of healing from God that will allow us to know our Savior for who He really is. In the Spiritual way that we should.

We begin to transition from seeing Jesus as just a man who died on the cross, to knowing Our Lord died to pay a debt we could not pay. And we see our Lord and Savior was resurrected by God for our salvation as well. It is time to grow away from our worldly perspective on everything. And begin to live and trust in our spiritual views on all things of God. Now that we see Jesus through our spiritual eyes, we can also now see others through those same eyes.

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