Jesus is Lord!

Genesis 2:4-9
When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, 5 there were no plants or grain growing on the earth, for the Lord God had not sent any rain. And no one was there to cultivate the soil. 6 But water came up out of the ground and watered all the land. 7 And the Lord God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person. 8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had created. 9 And the Lord God planted all sorts of trees in the garden-beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

As we move forward into the 21st century, we are going to see more advancement in science and medicine. And if we look back over the 20th century, we will see more advances in technology, science and medicine than in all pervious centuries combined. Knowledge is advancing exponentially. And it will not be long before man once again attempts to clone a human being. Under the disguise of wanting to save lives, man will be manipulating life. Recently a rare and endangered species of wild ox called a gaur was cloned from a skin cell and an empty egg, but the clone died after two days. And a monkey was genetically engineered from a jelly fish cell. So the monkey’s cells all have a jellyfish gene in them. Most recently there are groups that claim to have the first cloned person, but there is no proof.  Life is sacred to God and only He can create it, man can only manipulate it and only as long as God allows. The very breathe of God is in us and we are created in His image. No matter how much man tries to change this or denies it, it will never change. I do not believe that God will allow man to create human life through cloning. But we will see more and more embryonic stem cell research. Scientist, stating they are helping man, will destroy him by killing embryos. A human embryo is a female egg cell that has been implanted by a male sperm cell. This is a human being. And all life is sacred to God. The stench of man’s sins will soon reach heaven and God will say enough. Romans 1:22 states it best, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.” We are created in the image of our Father and His very breath is in us. No matter how hard man tries to change this, it will never be accomplished. Stay true to the knowledge of His Word. Plant it deep in your heart and water it with time in prayer and be in this world but not a part of it.

Have a God Day!

Ephesians 6:10-18
10 A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. 12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. 13 Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Christians face a powerful army whose goal is to make us fail. When you believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try to turn you away from God and back into sin. If they cannot do this, they will try and make you a weak ineffective Christian. When this happens, you are not living under the authority that Christ died to give you. Satan does this by controlling our thoughts. He sets up strongholds in your mind that prevent the truth from setting you free. A stronghold is any thought that is contrary to the Word of God and you believe. Most of the time, you will not even know a stronghold is set up in your mind. The only way you will know is if you are not living a peaceful productive Christian life. This is when you put on the whole armor of God and fight against Satan. When you say to yourself, “I’ll never be able to overcome this sin, I don’t think I am saved, I can’t live the way Jesus did,” stand on the truth of God’s Word. These statements are strongholds of the enemy in your mind. They are wrong beliefs. The Word states, “I can do all things through Christ”, you are saved by the Blood of Christ and trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will direct your path. This is truth; this is the armor of God. Believe in Him who died for your sin, not in the lies of this world.

Have a God Day!

Zechariah 3:1-10
Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. Satan was there at the angel’s right hand, accusing Jeshua of many things. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from a fire.” 3 Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. 4 So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes. And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.” 5 Then I said, “Please, could he also have a clean turban on his head?” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by. 6 Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, 7 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: If you follow my ways and obey my requirements, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk in and out of my presence along with these others standing here. 8 Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of the good things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord Almighty, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. 10 And on that day, says the Lord Almighty, each of you will invite your neighbor into your home to share your peace and prosperity.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996

Born in Babylon during the exile, Zechariah was a young man when he returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. He was a prophet and priest. Being one of the first to return, he was working on rebuilding the Temple and the walls around Jerusalem. Jeshua was the high priest and chapter three is a vision that Zechariah had concerning the Jewish people. Satan is accusing Jeshua, who represents the nation of Israel. He stood in “filthy” clothes (sins). Yet God is revealing His mercy by stating that He chooses to save His people in spite of their sin. This is a very graphic image of how we receive God’s mercy. We do nothing ourselves. God removes our “filthy” clothes (sin), and then provides us with fine new clothes (the righteousness of Christ). All we need to do is believe on the Branch that God sent to die for our sin, ask God to save us and repent. In a single day, Jesus Christ removed the sin from the land. And that redemption is available to all who come to Him. When Satan tries to make you feel unworthy and dirty, remember that the clean clothes of Christ’s righteousness, now on you, make you worthy to draw near to God. And in His presence there is always great joy and peace!

Have a God Day!

Deuteronomy 17:18-20
18 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy these laws on a scroll for himself in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 He must always keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of this law. 20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. This will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

After the death of Moses in about 1400 B.C. God knew that the Israelites would eventually want a king and He is giving them instructions for that king to live by.  If this man stayed connected to God, he would rule justly.  In order to stay connected to God, the king had to read God’s laws daily.  At this time in history having the written word was like owning gold.  It just wasn’t available to everyone.  Only the priests had the Word of God and the people had to come to the priest to find out what God’s instructions were.  But God is telling them that the king should have his own copy and to read it daily.  As children of the King today, how much more do we need to read His Word daily to stay connected to Him?  The daily reading of God’s Word will keep us from becoming proud and will keep us connected to the One who saved us.  Accepting God’s grace through faith in Christ is where you start, but the life of Christ is lived daily by staying connected to Him.  If the king needed to read the Word daily over 3000 years ago, don’t you need it more today?  Take a few extra minutes each morning and meditate on His Word.  Move toward making this a habit and see what a difference it makes in your walk with Christ.

Have a God Day!

Zechariah 9:9-10
9 Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey-even on a donkey’s colt. 10 I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and I will destroy all the weapons used in battle. Your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

When we view two distant mountains, they appear to be close together, even touch each other.  But as we approach them, we can see that they far apart, even separated by a huge valley. This is the situation with many Old Testament prophecies.  Verse 9 was fulfilled when Christ rode into Jerusalem before His crucifixion. It was prophesied 500 years before it happen by Zechariah, but it is history for us today. Verse 10 refers to His second coming. And it is in the future for those of us today.  Just as this prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus came to the earth the first time, so the prophecies of His second coming are just as certain to come true.  We have the privilege of living in a time when we can see some prophecies have already come to pass.  So we should have faith that God will do what He said He would do.  Just as He came once to save us, He is coming again.  Acts 1:11 states, “They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!’” The Bible gives us a clear picture of what the future will hold.  Read and study His Word, know what God has promised.  Then trust Him that His Word is true and His peace will cover you.  Perfect peace will keep your strong as you live for Him.

Have a God Day!

Acts 17:24-28
24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs-for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from anyone of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As one of your own poets says, ‘We are his offspring.’”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Are you serious about serving the Lord? Do you live and exist and move in Him? These are questions every believer should be asking themselves. Because Christ will one day ask it of you. And what will your answer be? You didn’t have enough faith or time or energy or you weren’t really serious about Him. Well, He is serious about you. He died that you might have life before you even knew you needed Him. As long as you have breath, the Holy Spirit of God will be urging you to know more and more of Him who died for you. Increase your faith by hearing the Word as stated in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Faith does come by hearing the Word, but faith grows by experiencing the Word. Until you put the Word into practice, it will only be words to you.  Move past just reading the Word into experiencing it. It’s like reading how to ride a bike but never actually doing it. You can read and read and understand it, but until you get out and actually ride the bike you will never experience it. You believe in the instructions and may even have seen it applied, but it is not real to you until you do it for yourself. Take one scripture verse and put it into practice and see how God will move in your life and how your faith will grow. Keep doing this and you will be serious about serving Him.

Have a God Day!

Ephesians 4:20-25
20 But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, 22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. 24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness-righteous, holy, and true. 25 So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth”  because we belong to each other. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

A major aspect of holiness is living a life separated from the world. Jesus taught us to be in the world but not of the world. What used to be good is now bad and what used to bad is now good according to the world’s standards. But the Word of God has not changed; sin is still sin, no matter what you call it or how you look at it. And it is God’s standards that we use to measure. He laid out the plan before the beginning of time and it has not changed. We need to shed the “old man” and stand in readiness for spiritual combat. We need to recognize that we have demonic enemies that are out to separate us from God or at least make us useless Christians. If we are too weak in our faith and relationship with God, we will not be an effective witness to those around us. Reject any evil attitudes and let God work His divine nature through you.

Have a God Day!

Ephesians 4:17-24
17 With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They don’t care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. 20 But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, 22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. 24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness-righteous, holy, and true.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

When you look back over the last year do you see a progression of change toward better thoughts, attitudes and actions? Change may come slowly, but it must come if Christ is truly living in you. We know Christ is in us if we are becoming more like Him, even if it is at the pace of a snail. Accepting Christ’s gift of salvation is both a one time decision and a daily conscious commitment. Our old way of life before we believed in Christ is completely in the past. We must put off the old nature that is driven by self interest and greed and put on the new nature, which is Christ Jesus living in us. We have a new direction and a new nature. Is it showing? If not, go before the Father and tell Him and learn more about God’s Word and then pray for the Holy Spirit’s power in your life to move you forward to becoming more like Christ. Because in Christ, we know the best is yet to come.

Have a God Day!

32 A psalm of David.
1 Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
3 When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
6 Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996

Forgiveness has always been a part of God’s loving nature. He wants to forgive sin. God knows the best path for all of His creatures and He is waiting to direct and guide anyone who is willing to let Him. When the knowledge of His grace becomes real in our lives, we experience great joy. It is by faith we believe that God could have possibly loved us so much that He sent us a way of escape from sin. God has made a Way.  In the Book of John, Jesus said to us, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” God is patiently waiting for you to understand and believe in Him. He knows there is great joy for those that do. Anyone who believes in Him will receive absolution from sin. But God is not going to wait forever. There will come a day when time will end. David had the knowledge of God’s judgment on the world at the great flood. He knew that God would not tolerate sin forever. There is still time to repent. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring, why not be ready to face eternity with God’s grace instead of His judgment!

Have a God Day!

Zechariah 7:8-13
8 Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And do not make evil plans to harm each other. 11 “Your ancestors would not listen to this message. They turned stubbornly away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. 12 They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the law or the messages that the Lord Almighty had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord Almighty was so angry with them. 13 “Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not listen when they called to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Every time we sin, it gets easier to do it again.  Any sin seems more natural the second time, as we become hardened each repetition is easier.  Ignoring or refusing to listen to God hardens you each time you go against His will.  Just as it gets easier to sin, it gets easier to follow God when we walk according to His Word.  We decide which direction we will go and when we chose to walk in obedience to Him, His Spirit steps in and gives us strenght.But casual or occasional obedience, the results of a half-hearted or divided commitment, does not lead to the blessings God has promised. If we are looking to God for strength to serve Him or strength not to sin, His hands are tied if we only want the blessing and not do the obedience.  God will help us if we are committed to Him.  God’s Word tells us that an attitude of worship without a sincere desire to know and love Him will lead to ruin. What is your commitment to Him today? How long has it been since you spent time with Him in prayer or studied His Word?  Examine your life and see if it is easy to sin or if it easy to say no because God’s Word is in your heart.  Your actions will show where your commitment is.

Have a God Day!