As we are busy with the hectic days around us, this week I was brought to think about the uncertainty of our lives.  We make our plans, we schedule, we make arrangements and look to the future.  The thing that came to my mind this week is something Jesus said in the “model” prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread”.    Our focus should be on ‘today’!!!

This was brought home to me in the circumstances of recent days.  I have been working at the school for the last 2 ½ weeks as a 6^th grade teacher.   I was looking forward to some rest this coming week and getting some Christmas visits made, getting my large Christmas card list ready to mail, and maybe even to getting some holiday baking done.  Well our plans were suddenly changed!!  I got a call from my sister on Wednesday evening on the way to church and she was on her way to the hospital with an abscessed colon, which would require surgery.  It was a very serious condition, even life-threatening.

Well, in one phone call our plans were changed and I knew we would need to go to Mississippi to care for my sister when she was released from the hospital.  Well God was gracious to us and the surgery went well and didn’t require a colostomy, and for that we praise God!!  We are now making arrangements to leave the middle of this week.  Then as I was making some phone calls to extend Christmas greetings (as I won’t get that Christmas card list mailed out this year), I heard of a young woman in our community who went to bed as usual and in the morning her school-age son found her dead in the bed!!!  “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow…….sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”… Matthew 6:34

I just wanted to take a minute to remind us all that God in His grace grants each day and we are only given TODAY!!!  As I quoted above Jesus reminded us in the prayer to remember to ask for “daily” bread.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.  I am to live in the here-and-now, yes but how am I to live?  Hebrews 12:1+ comes to mind,  “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”  As we walk from day to day our confidence is in Jesus and HIM alone.  I can become distracted by the things of this world and forget that I am a soldier of the Cross.   2 Timothy 2:1-4 says “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.   And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

The question that I believe we need to consider this week – “Am I a soldier of the Cross?  And if I am, am I being faithful to my Lord, my commander and chief, my GOD and KING?  Am I ready to “…give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick (living) and the dead” 1 Peter 4:5.  In 1 Peter 3:15 we’re also told “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”.  We need to be sure that we are prepared to meet our king should He call us into His presence or return for His church, as well as share while we are still here.

Is my mind occupied with the things of the world or the things of God?   Am I feasting on His word?  Hebrews 4:12-13 reminds us of our standard “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”  We must be saturated with the Word of God to meet the hostility of the world and continue to stand fast.  We are in enemy territory.  Paul states this clearer than any other passage in Ephesians 6:10-18  “ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  And I think that is a clear call for us to stand fast and continue to stand.

Are we ready to see our King—through the “valley of the shadow of death” Psalm 23:4, or in the clouds(1 Thess 4:17)?  I pray that we will take this special time of year to assess our relationship with the Babe born in the manger and go to the cross and ask Him to search us.  I’ll close with Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:” May God truly touch our hearts and minds to hear and respond to HIS voice and obey.  His blessings on you this week.

V1#4

As we are all focused on Christmas at this time of year our minds often go to thoughts of gifts and presents.  We love to give and receive gifts but I there are some other things about gifts we may want to think about this week.  They include the “gifts” that God has given us.  There are so many we couldn’t talk about them all but let’s look at a few—the gifts that the Father has given to us.

Of course at this time of year our minds reflect on the gifts of Christmas—the babe in the manger, the wonder of the star, the glorious messengers with the heavenly proclamation, and the grace of humble shepherd who received that wondrous announcement of the GOOD NEWS that God delivered through Mary’s womb that night.  The deliverance of the baby from Herod’s sword, and the wise men that God warned to return home another way.  I love the Christmas theme and how it reveals the love and splendor of God.  As Luke and Matthew share these wonderful stories I am moved to tears to think that God Himself would come to earth to save sinful man—how could he love us so much?  How could Jesus love us so much as to leave heaven’s splendor for a body of flesh and a life in a broken world among broken people?  To fathom all His love and grace to us just overwhelms my soul.

He is  the GREATEST GIFT—THE SON!!!!

As Luke proclaims in Luke 2:11 ‘ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord!”—Jesus came to be a Savior for us, but we also see that the Savioris Christ the Lord.  A baby who came a King but gave Himself a ‘Sacrifice” for us all.  We needed the saving and God sent His son to Save us.  Praise His name for all He has done for us.

As we ponder on these things God has given us beyond the manger,  lets look beyond the stories of Christmas.  In Romans 8:32 Paul tells us “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’   Then John records for us the words of Jesus in John 14: 21 “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself unto him.”  Part of this “manifestation” that Jesus imparts to us is His own Spirit to dwell within us. The other side of this is in John 15:5 ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”  After telling his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit (referred to as the promise), he told the disciples in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (And after this he ascended into heaven right before their eyes!!).  By His Spirit we are empowered and enabled to be “new creatures IN Christ”.     We see in Isaiah 48:17      “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” God by His gift of the Holy Spirit leads and directs our steps.

As I think of Psalm 119:133 “Order my steps in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me”, and 1 Peter  1:15 “But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”,  I am reminded that we can overcome sin only by God’s grace, power and Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also imparts to us individual spiritual gifts that we might be God’s hands and feet here on earth.  Each believer receives a gift at his salvation (1 Cor. 12) and we are to manifest the work of God in and through us each day and everywhere we go—NOT just at church.  Although our gifts are given to benefit and grow the church, the church is to reach the world, as each member is a living witness of Jesus to the world around us.  May we remember that, as we are out and about during this hectic shopping and giving season?  Let Jesus be seen in us.

As we think about the gifts that God has given us may we be thankful for all that we have the opportunity to do here in this world.  We can make a difference for Jesus and let the world know that a Savior has been born and He is still in the life changing business—and that is Good News!!!!  Remember that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”….Phil  4:13.

How blessed we are to have received the gifts of—

The Father

The Son

The Holy Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit

The Love of God

The Word of God!!!

Thanks be to God—Praise His Holy name…   May His blessings overflow in your life this week and may the love of God, in you, spill over in all your steps.

V1#3

As we have all listened to the “hype” about black Friday, I thought I’d take some time to talk about “Toys”.  We’ve all heard the slogan: ‘The one with the most toys wins”…..   As we think about that for a bit, Is it our culture or just our old nature of self that haunts our fascination with “stuff”?  What does Christmas have to do with toys and giving?  Is it the glitz and glitter, the parades, or maybe the carols we sing, or candles and lights?  NO!!!  It’s not those things that we celebrate, but JESUS that is the real reason for this season that we call CHRISTmas.

I think perhaps our perspective is askew because we fail to realize that the “one with the most toys” doesn’t necessarily win, he just leaves the most behind.  Well, if we will leave all the material things behind, where should our focus be?  Let’s see what scripture says.

John 3:16 (probably the most familiar of all scripture verses) tell us “For God so loved the world, that HE gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  God GAVE!!!  Am I concerned more about getting or giving?  Clinging or contributing?  Greed or generosity?    Only “I” can answer that question, but Jesus gives us a great principle in Matthew  6:20-21 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Thinking on these passages,  I am reminded that God GAVE us the best that he has and that is Jesus.  He is the ‘WORD” (John 1:1 ), He’s the “BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED” (Matt 4:17), and He is the one “IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION, THROUGH HIS BLOOD, EVEN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS” (Col 1:14).  God gave us all we need in Jesus Christ–His birth, life, and substitutionary death for MY sin.  We have been given the greatest gift of all—Salvation that brings abundant life (“I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly”…John 10:10), eternal life (“…not perish but have everlasting life….”John 3:16), a life of purpose (“….go ye therefore and teach all nations….. Matthew 28:19-20), and a missional life (ye shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth …..Acts 1:8).    Peter tells us that there is   “…given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hat called us to glory and virtue”…” 2 Peter 1:3

If I have been born again by the blood of Jesus Christ, I already have the greatest gift of all.  But what am I doing with this gift?  Have I shared it, or have I kept it to “myself”?  Have I given other material gifts to the ones that I love and left this greatest gift unshared with them?

When we have been given so much, should we be as focused on getting rather than giving?   If it’s the “Birthday” of Jesus that we are celebrating, how is it that we give gifts to everyone except the one that we say we are honoring?  One of  the greatest thing we could do for Our Lord Jesus is to be His hands, and feet and mouth to the world around us!!!  I can give the greatest gift of all to those around me.  I can live for Jesus every day. I can be the heart of the Savior to those He has placed in my path.

Am I willing to share the Savior and miss the Sale?  To be the giver and not the getter?  To contribute so that others might be blessed instead of clinging to my own self-interest?  Is my witness one of generosity or of greed?  Those around me will see.  Would you spend some time this week seeking the face of our Lord and asking what He would have you to do to share His love and gospel with the world?  Will we be the ones accumulating more “toys” or advancing the kingdom of Lord?

Please don’t misunderstand what I’ve tried to share this week—there is nothing wrong with enjoying all the blessings that God has showered on us.  It’s not wrong to have things but it is wrong when the things “have” us.  Let’s commit ourselves to see the opportunities that God has right in front of us—to help a single mom, to give a toy for a needy child, to feed a hungry person or family, to help a disabled person shop, or decorate or just mail cards to those in jails or prisons.  There are so many that need what we can do, let’s give Jesus the best gift that we can—and that’s our heart and life (hands, and feet and resources).  Have a blessed week seeing what God can and will do through you.

Bible Ballistics: An Attitude of Gratitude                           Vol. 1 No.2

As we have spent the last few days focused on “thankfulness” during this Thanksgiving season, I can’t help but remember many of the ways that God has blessed us in this past year.  We have been so abundantly blessed with God’s grace and mercy and it reminds me of a question I saw on a church sign several years ago: ‘Are you humbly grateful, or grumbly hateful?’  It kind of sums it up—our attitude is up to us, and I hope we will continually be giving genuine thanks to our God for all of His marvelous works that He has done, is doing and will continue to do on our behalf.  Thanks and praise be unto our God.

I’d like to share several passages that speak of “thanks” today:  1 Cor. 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Oh, how I long to be truly grateful for all that HE IS, not just what He does!!  That brings to mind 1 Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”   May we ever work on that “attitude of gratitude” as we keep our eyes on Jesus?  Remembering that HE is working “all things” together that we might be more like him.

One of the things that I am so grateful for is the confidence that we can have in this God who cares for us beyond what our hearts and minds can even comprehend.  How do we learn to have confidence in this God to whom we are to be grateful?  There are many ways, but I’d like to mention a few for us to ponder today.   Psalm 20:7-8 ‘Some trust in chariots , and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.  They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen,  and stand upright.”  It is when we learn that God IS faithful to keep His word that we can grow in our confidence.  We learn to do that by knowing and obeying the Lord step-by-step and circumstance-by-circumstance.  Learning that His word works in our lives and leads us to trust Him ourselves and then we are His witness to others.  Paul told the Philippians in chapter 2:12-13  “wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure.”  I/we can be totally confident that God is busy doing HIS work in ME/US.

It took me many years to learn (and I’m still learning) that God is never asleep and HE is always working to make me more and more of what He wants me to be.  We see in this in Romans 8:28-29 “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. (29) For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  Many of us know verse 28 “all things work together”, but we have often thought of that as something to quote when emergencies come, or cancer, or some other crises.  Yet we often forget that God isn’t just the God of “emergencies”, for when we look at verse 29 it is declared by our God that HE is at work in everything that comes into our lives is to “conform us to the image of His Son”…..   How much confidence we can have when we know God is always at work in our lives—no matter how big or small, seemingly trivial or significant things around us may seem!!  The same God who is faithful in the “big” things is also concerned in every detail of our lives.  He is always at work to make us more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we take time to reflect on the works of our God may we ever learn to trust Him more and cultivate that “attitude of gratitude” in all things?  I close with Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”  May you have a blessed week walking with the Lord, remembering to keep that “attitude of gratitude” as you watch for God working in, around and through you this week and always.

I’m sure that most of you, by now have heard about the release of the 1940 census records.  It is interesting to consider the information revealed by these statistics.  I was reading just recently  that the records reveal some interesting things about our  current society.  One of the things that I was reading recently 

was that almost 40% of people in our culture don’t marry at all, as compared to some 4% in the 1940’s.  I found this to be a most thought provoking piece of information.

What does this tell us about ourselves as a society, and even more importantly what does it tell us about those of us who claim to follow Jesus, Christians!  I can’t help but believe that we see a lot in this new (old) information.  Why are almost half of adults not marrying?  I see several things indicated in these statistics.  First and foremost, to me, is the fact that we no longer hold marriage in “high esteem”.  We no longer hold, if you would, a Biblical view of marriage.  In Hebrews 13, it tells us that “marriage is honorable, and the bed undefiled; but aldulterers and whoremongers, God will judge.” So what’s the deal?  As I see it we have adjusted our perspective away from the Biblical view; God established marriage and we have “un”established it.  We no longer see the “immoral” in “immorality”, anything is acceptable if we just give it a new name.  Premarital sex is now ‘exploring our own human sexuality’, and that , we say, can’t be done without experience.  Extramarital sex is now ‘freedom of expression of our human sexuality’, who would expect anyone to be monogamous?  We are moral, reasoning beings created in the image of God and able to make choices of right and wrong–and God set the standard–but we reap the consequences or blessings of those choices. It appears that we have become our own ‘gods’ and have changed God’s standard of Biblical morality for our own, skewed standard.

If two people “love” each other it’s ok that they sleep together.  That is no longer “adultry” but simply co-habiting.  Checking out the merchandise before the purchase, so to speak.  If one marriage parner becomes bored, lonely, discouraged or lusts after someone else, that’s ok too.  Everyone is entitled to be “happy”.  Even school teachers are no longer holding to the time-honored standard of not being involved sexually with their students.  The headlines are glaring with new stories almost daily of this violaiton of decency and decorum.  Why?  Because our skewed standard has abandoned God’s original plan–and without that original plan we are adrift in a sea of confusion and hopelessness.

So what is our hope?  Praise God, our hope is Jesus Christ–who saves us from sin, transforms us into His image and prepares us for life in eternity with Him, if we but repent of our own sin and call on Him in faith, believing in His substitutionary (he took my place) death on the cross for my salvation and deliverance.  That He also gives us the power through His indwelling Holy Spirit, (given to every true believer) to overcome sin  and the work of sin in our lives.  We are no longer bound by sin, even though we are still living within a body of flesh, in a broken and sinful world.  As 1 John says ‘greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world’…   We can have victory and live HOLY, righteous lives by His grace, His power and through the understanding of, and devotion to His Word.  Given  that  “all scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect (mature), thoroughly furnished unto every good work”, we CAN live victoriously.

Our hope is an eternal hope–the hope of Jesus saving work and power.  I am so grateful that He is at work in all things around us to shape and conform us into His image.  He is taking all the junk in and around us and weeding, pruning and shaping us to be faithful servants.  We can be faithful and ready to meet Him when He comes or calls  us unto Himself.  How are you doing in the “holy” catagory?  We all come short but we all can keep pressing on.  As Paul said in Philippians “forgetting that which is past……… I press toward to mark, of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”  and we can do that because 1 John 1:9 reminds us that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”….

Praise God we can walk in victory.  It’s not perfection that we strive for but  for excellence in God’s Spirit.  “if we walk in the SPIRIT, (emphasis mine) we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh…”  Ephesians   …….   I pray that you will spend time in the word and prayer that you will know how to walk in His Spirit and find greater and greater success each day.  It’s not that we won’t stumble and fall down but that we won’t STAY down.

I thank God that He is in the saving and keeping business and if we will but yield to His leadership and prompting in our lives we will find better recognition of the enemies tactics, quicker responses to right and wrong and more earnest devotion to Him who calls and saves us.  I pray that God will illumine our hearts and minds as we share His word and fellowship together.