Jesus is Lord!

Matthew 14:25-33
25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”  28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.” 29 “All right, come,” Jesus said.  So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.  33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Living in this world is like walking on water.  The storm rages around us with so many problems and hurts.  So many people are hurting today because of sin in the world.  Not necessarily their sin, but because there is sin in this world.  As we come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we begin our walk with God in us.  We are walking on water with Christ as our head.  But all around us the storm rages.  We are not unaffected by the storm and sometimes experience the rage.  We start to sink when we take our eyes off Jesus.  When we begin to look at ourselves and the entire storm around us, we begin to sink into the water.  We lose our perspective of who we are as a child of God.  When our focus is on ourselves and our pain, we hinder our relationship with Christ.  So keep Jesus Christ as your focus and remember that He has called you to be in the world but not of it.  So even though we have to walk through the storm of this life, we do not have let it sink us.  It is only as we keep God first in our lives that we experience His blessings and peace.  If you find yourself sinking into despair as Peter did, look to the One who can keep you afloat.
 
Have a God Day!

James 1:12-18
12 God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. 14 Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. 15 These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.  17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows. 18 In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Temptation comes from evil desires within us, not from God.  God will never tempt anyone to sin.  It begins with an evil thought and becomes sin when we dwell on the thought and then put it into action.   It is like a snowball rolling downhill, sin grows and becomes destructive the more we think about it and then do it. The best way to stop a temptation is before it becomes stronger in our mind by putting the thought out.  We stop it before it grows and becomes an action.  The thought is not the sin unless we continue to dwell on it.  We can resist the temptation to sin by turning to God for strength and choosing to obey His Word.  1 Corinthians 10:13, tells us, “When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”  God will always make a way of escape; no one will be forced to give in to temptation and sin. It is completely our decision.  So when temptation comes into your mind, as a thought, remember God has made a way of escape and turn to Him to show you.  Trust God and He will help you.

Have a God Day!

John 15:5-14
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father.  9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it-the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you obey me.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

These are some of the most powerful words spoken by our Lord.  He clearly tells us to be connected to Him.  Anyone who is not connected to Him is lost.  Apart from Christ we can do nothing.  Jesus not only tells us to stay connected to Him but He tells us how.  His words are to remain in us.  We start by reading His Word, and then we study it and remember it.  We think about it and make His Word the way we live.  Our lives are lived in obedience to His Word.  Jesus then goes on to tell us that if His Word lives in us, we will have great joy.  He didn’t tell us we would not have problems but that we would have joy.  If your life is lacking a little joy today, look at your connection to Jesus Christ.  Maybe you are a branch that is a little severed, or maybe you have broken away completely.  You can still be grafted back to Christ by coming to Him and asking for His help.  Confess your sin and turn back toward Him.  The answer is only in Him.  Read the Book of John and pray, ask God for wisdom and He will give you peace.  Peace that only comes from knowing that you are connected to the one true Branch of God.

Have a God Day!

James 1:22-25
22 And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. 23 For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law-the law that sets you free-and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Our ability to fully understand the truth of God is greatly flawed.  Each of us has our own preconceived ideas about who God is and how He works.  Some of our understanding comes from how other people have treated us.  If you did not have a loving earthly father, it will be difficult for you to fully trust that our heavenly Father loves you.  It will be difficult but not impossible.  There are no obstacles from our past that God can not overcome.  Our ability to understand God’s love is not perfect, but His love is.  As we listen and read God’s Word it penetrates our minds and hearts.  As we obey the Word it begins to grow and take root.  The more we understand and the more we obey the deeper the roots.  God nourishes the garden of His Word in our hearts as we move in trust.  We trust His Word to be true even though we can not fully understand it.  We know His truth is perfect and trust Him to love us and meet our needs.  When the Word becomes clear to you move in obedience to that Word and let your roots grow deep.  The more you obey, the more truth will be revealed to you by the Spirit of God.

Have a God Day!

Numbers 9:15-23
15 The Tabernacle was set up, and on that day the cloud covered it. Then from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle appeared to be a pillar of fire. 16 This was the regular pattern-at night the cloud changed to the appearance of fire. 17 When the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel followed it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel camped. 18 In this way, they traveled at the LORD’s command and stopped wherever he told them to. Then they remained where they were as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. 19 If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed for a long time, just as the LORD commanded. 20 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days. Then at the LORD’s command they would break camp. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and moved on the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and followed. 22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. 23 So they camped or traveled at the LORD’s command, and they did whatever the LORD told them through Moses.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

The Israelites traveled and camped as the Lord guided them.  They did not make a move before the cloud did.  When you follow God’s guidance, you know you are where God wants you to be.  So many times we are looking for God to guide us into what we should be doing next or where we should be going, but every one of us is at some place right now.  Instead of praying, “God, where do you want me to go?” ask, “God what do you want me to do while I’m right here?”  Direction from God is not moving you from one place to another or one job to another; it is understanding that He has a purpose to use you right where you are now.  It doesn’t matter if you are in the valley or on top of the mountain; God has a purpose for you right where you are.  Begin to understand God’s purpose for your life by doing His will right where you are at this moment!

Have a God Day!

Romans 1:18-25
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. 19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

God has revealed Himself plainly in the creation of the world for all people to see. From just looking at the earth and the sky, we know there is a God.  Even though all people have an inner sense that there is a God, many chose not to acknowledge Him. No one standing before God will have an excuse for not believing in Jesus Christ.  Every person born has knowledge of God because God has put that knowledge in all people.  

As a child of God our moral standards are always higher than our behavior.  In other words, we all know what is right, but do not always do it.  For those of us under the Blood, we will have to answer to Him for all that we knew about Him and did not live.  Standing before Him, all will regret that more was not done when we had the chance.  Because once we leave this world, there are no more chances.  Thank God for His patience, He knows we are only dust and is patience in working with us to work out our sanctification.  The key is to keep moving forward, to keep growing to become more like Christ.  So even though we may take one step backwards, we are taking two steps forward.  We keep on moving and growing and becoming more of Christ to the world around us.

Have a God Day!

Colossians 3:12-17
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.  16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Every morning when you get up, you dress yourselves for work or play.  You do not go through your day wearing your night clothes.  And for most of us in this country, we have a choice of what we are going to wear.  Most have too many clothes and the decision can take some time depending on what the day will hold.  Some do not even think about it and just get dressed.  God wants us to get dressed every morning also, but not with clothes.  He wants us to dress every morning with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  It is a decision we make.  Most of us do not give it any thought and are subject to whatever mood we feel.  But to represent Christ to the world, we can decide to put on Christ instead.  Yes, it would be an extra step and it would require knowing what to put on.  The instructions are in the Book.  And putting on Christ every day will make a huge difference in your day.  As He is wrapped around you all day, you will express the attributes of Christ in your behavior.  So decide to dress in Christ this morning and every morning.

Have a God Day!

Matthew 7:1-5
Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. 2 For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. 3 And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Isn’t it always easier for us to see what is wrong in someone else than in ourselves?  Families are very good at this.  We like to fix what is wrong in our loved ones before we fix ourselves.  Sometimes we can be like the group of turkey vultures I saw once.  They were grouped by the road as I was driving and suddenly one of them jumped in front of a truck and was wounded.  I watched the others quickly go to him.  I thought, how nice that they care about their brother.  But to my horror, they went to finish him off so they could eat him!  Then I thought I’ve been to some family reunions like that.  It seems even Christians are better at judging others when they are down instead of looking at what is wrong in their own life.  We judge those getting divorced while our own marriage is in a shambles.  Or we say the sick must have sinned, while we continue in our own secret sin.  These words of Christ are for the church more than they are for the world.  As Christians we should be taking care of our own sin and not judging or trying to fix those around us.  Be very careful, as Christ has warned us.  We will be judge by Him with the same measure that we used to judge those around us.  I want the smallest measure of judgment when I stand before Him.  Whenever I want to judge or fix, I think about what needs fixing in my life first and if there is nothing there, then I can go forward with judging.  I have never reached that point and none of us will, which tells us we have no right to judge.

Have a God Day!

Romans 12:1-2
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

What is it that God wants you to do?  Isn’t this the question we are always asking ourselves?  I have heard many Christians say, “If I only knew what God’s will was for me, I would do it.”  Outside of the great commission, left for us by Christ, there is no other answer.  Jesus told us exactly what God’s will for everyone was in Matthew 22:37, “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’”  The answer to our questions are all in the owners manual given to us by God.  It’s in the Book!  Paul tells us in Romans not to copy what we see the world doing but to let God transform us into a new person by changing our thinking.  You are what you think you are.  As you fill your mind with the truth God has given us in His Word, you will begin to think like Christ.  As you think like Christ, you will act like Christ.  And as you act like Christ, you will become like Christ.  Whatever it is that you think about the most is the thing that is most important to you.  Follow the instructions in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right.”  As you read the Word and fill your thoughts with the truth of God, you will know God’s will for your life.  You will love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your mind, everything else after that is just minor details.  Don’t get stuck in the minor details, but focus on the One who made you for His own pleasure and think on Him!

Have a God Day!

Colossians 1:18-23
18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

This is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Christ found anywhere in scripture.  Jesus is not only equal to God, He is God.  He is the exact representation of God and He reveals God to us.  Because Christ is completely holy and He has the right to judge the world.  He is the head of the body and as Christians; we are to be connected to Him.  Because Christ is holy and is God, we can trust Him to direct our lives.  Everything is held together, protected and prevented from total chaos by Christ.  And because Christ is the sustainer of life, none of us is independent from Him.  If you are not connected to the body of Christ, you are not a part of Him.  As Christians, we can not act independent of Christ or His body.  We are to be connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are connected to Him.  There is no such thing as a lone Christian, if you are a part of Christ; you are a part of His body of believers.  We need to function together with each of us using the skills He has given us to grow the body.  This is the function of each Christian, with Christ as our head.

Have a God Day!