Jesus is Lord!

2 Corinthians 13:3-6
3 I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak in his dealings with you; he is a mighty power among you. 4 Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God’s power-the power we use in dealing with you. 5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test. 6 I hope you recognize that we have passed the test and are approved by God.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Do you regularly consider your walk in Christ?  Are there areas that you need to improve to show those around you that Christ does live in you? Examination of your Christian life should be done regularly.   Lamentations 3:40 states, “Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn again in repentance to the Lord.”  Regular examination of how you are doing representing Christ is one way to stay focused on His will.  An unexamined life can kill spiritual passion in your walk with Him.  Go before Him and simply ask, “Lord are there areas in my life that do not represent You?”  Take the time on a regular basis to ask Him this question.  He will show you areas that you need to grow.  There is no way anyone of us will ever get it completely right.  All of us will need to ask this question and turn from our will to His.  No one living for Christ in this world will never have to ask this question.  We all fall short of living completely in His will.  Paul tells us that to pass the test others should be able to see that Christ is with you.  That means living His way, doing His will and seeking His direction. Always!  Since we will never accomplish this feat in this life, it will always be something we work on.  You will never reach a point where you know all there is to know about Him and live in His will always.  So move forward to make this your number one priority, to be more like Him. This is not a point of discouragement, but encouragement because we know that, “He will complete the good work He has started in you” Then go to His Word and find out what that means.

Have a God Day!

Matthew 13:11-13
11 Then he explained to them, “You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not. 12 To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I tell these stories, because people see what I do, but they don’t really see. They hear what I say, but they don’t really hear, and they don’t understand.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Why would Jesus say that those who understand will be given more understanding, but those who don’t listen will have even what they have taken away? Jesus was not hiding His truth from sincere seekers because those who are receptive to spiritual truth listen and understand.  But those who do not want to hear the truth of God’s Kingdom would not be able to hear what Jesus is saying.  And because their hearts are hardened to Him even what they had will be taken away.  Not by God, but by their own hardness and their own refusal to know Him.  For those who are open to God and to what Christ has to say there is a responsibility to use it grow to know Him more.  But for those who reject Jesus, their hardness of heart drives away or renders useless even the little understanding they have.  God does not take it away, their own refusal to believe does.  God is always available to anyone who believes Him, but for those who reject Him because of their own pride, He is not. Where is your heart today?  Do you believe Him?  If so then seek to know more of Him so you can grow in His love to become the person you are in Christ. For understanding is yours!

Have a God Day!

Matthew 12:33-36
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

These are very powerful words spoken by our Lord.  Often we do not realize the power of the spoken word in our lives.  Every word we say is being recorded and one day we will have to give an account of all that we have said.  Our minds can not comprehend this time, but God has said it will happen.  So what do we do now to not regret what we say.  Jesus reminds us that what we say reveals what is in our heart.  And what is in our heart is what is in our mind and what is put into our mind.  But we can only change what is our heart if God has done a circumcision of our heart.  We need to allow God to cut away that which is not needed from our minds and those desires that will only harm us.  It starts at our acceptance of His work on the cross and letting Him save us from our sins.  Then we fill our mind with His truth from His Word.  Then we think and meditate on His Word.  As He fills our mind and thoughts, God will change our attitudes and intentions to conform to His.  As He fills us and we focus on Him, what we say and what we do will reflect God in our lives.  To change what we say, we need to change what we think and believe.  Only God can change us and only God can deliver us from ourselves and our words. Let God perform a cutting away of all that is not of Him in your heart today.  Go before Him and seek to know what God would remove from you today and then fill the void with His truth found only in His Word.

Have a God Day!