Jesus is Lord!

Isaiah 49:24-26
24 Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go? 25 But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children. 26 I will feed your enemies with their own flesh. They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood. All the world will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

It is important to remember that we are not at war with flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  As a child of God, we are in a spiritual battle, sometimes for our own understanding and sometimes for the understanding of those in darkness. For our loved ones living in darkness, the words of Isaiah apply, they will be set free. God tells us that He will fight for those that we fight for and God will save our children! To penetrate the minds of those who live in darkness, we need to expose them to the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to reach beyond the level of their flesh and blood and go into the battle where it is. And the battle is in the their minds and while they are in darkness the best way to reach them is on this battlefield. We pick up our sword and fight the enemy with his own weapons and bind those in darkness to Light of Christ. We continue to fight until they are no longer in darkness but living in the Light of the love of God. All our prayers have a cumulative impact, for our prayers which are according to the will of God are NEVER without effect. So claim the promises of God and continue to fight for those you love who are in darkness and NEVER give up, for God will save your children!

Have a God Day!

Hebrews 9:11-15
11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world. 12 Once for all time he took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves. He took his own blood, and with it he secured our salvation forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ritual defilement. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, so that all who are invited can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Animal sacrifices were God’s Old Testament way for people to ask for forgiveness for their sins. Since creation God has made it clear that sin separates people from Him, and that those who sin deserve to die. Death was the penalty for sin. Because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), God designed sacrifice as a way to come to Him for forgiveness. Man needed to restore his relationship with God because sin has separated us from Him. Because He is a God of mercy and love, He decided from the very first that He would come into the world and die to pay the penalty for all humans. The Old Testament people had to come regularly and offer perfect animals as a stand in for their sin. Those before Christ looked forward to the work Christ would accomplish on the cross.  The Son of God, who is God, became a human and gave His life as a stand in for our sin. Now all people can be freed from the penalty of sin by simply believing in Jesus and accepting the forgiveness He offers. There is no longer a need for continual sacrifices because Christ has died for our sin once and for all. When we come before God and admit we are sinners and accept the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave for our sin, God will reconcile us to Himself and we are immediately made right before God the Father. We now have God’s assurance that we are His forever. Peace is a result of this and we give our lives back to Him in service because of His incredible love for us. At salvation, we are given the righteousness of Christ and the process of sanctification begins. Our mind, will and our emotions are being made into His image and will be complete when we are with Him. Sanctification is a continual process that will never be complete here on earth, but we rest in His arms knowing He is doing the work in us.

Have a God Day! 

Romans 12:6-13
6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God’s children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Paul is giving final instructions to the Christians of Rome. They were living in a city where it was illegal to be Christian and Paul is telling them to live above the sin that is all around them. One of the questions they asked was, “How long should we keep praying?” Paul tells them to be patient when in trouble and to always be prayerful. In other words, never stop praying. This still applies to Christians today. We are always to pray or be communicating with our Lord. But in regards to a specific prayer, we stop asking when we receive an answer from God. But then we always move onto the next need. And since we will always have needs, we never stop praying. But prayer is more than just asking God for what we need; it is spending time with our Lord. He wants our worship and love. Matthew 6:33 tells us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” When we put God first in our lives, all of the other things will be given to us. The other things we need. So, do the work given to you by God with the gifts He has given you and never stop praying. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your mind and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Demonstrate your love through the actions you do and the love of God in you will show in your life to all people around you. 

Have a God Day!

Psalm 19:12-14
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep me from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Sins committed without awareness are a problem for many people today. We just move forward without thinking about what we are doing or we have done it for so long it does not seem like a sin to us. God wants us to be aware of all of our actions and to model them after Him.  If we to be like Christ, we must be aware of all our thoughts, actions and motives.  It is hard enough to be aware of the deliberate sin, let alone the sins we are not aware of.  Many then ask, why should we care, aren’t all of our sins covered by the Blood of Christ?  Yes, this is true, but to have God within us means we turn away from our sin and deliberately purpose in our hearts not to continue to sin. This is what it means to have the mind of Christ. We know that as long as we live in this sinful world, that we will never be able to live without sin, but we continue to grow more and more into His image. Becoming more like Christ means we sin less and less. No, we are not perfect, but we continue to grow. It is what is in our hearts and minds that is lived in our behavior on a daily basis. And those with Christ within them lean on the Rock and their Redeemer for direction and power to become more like Him. To be more like Him, we must know Who He is by reading His Word and spending time with Him.  Keep your thoughts pure and your words and actions will follow!

Have a God Day!

Isaiah 40:27-31
27 O Israel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? 28 Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. 30 Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. 31 But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Even the strongest person gets tired at times. We all experience periods of time when we are weary. Whether our fatigue is physical or emotional, we all go through times when we feel exhausted. Sometimes life does not treat us fairly and we feel zapped of all our strength. But God’s power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength can be our source of strength, if we trust His Word. When you feel all of life crushing in on you and you cannot understand or go another step, remember that God is waiting and willingly to renew your strength. He has promised to always be with us and He will get us through any trial or problem that comes our way. Waiting on the Lord is the patient expectation that God will fulfill His promises in His Word and strengthen us to rise above all our difficulties.  Completely trust in His Word and God will see you through any problem, trial or difficulty that comes your way.  Look outside of your problem for the answer.  As long as you are looking at the problem, you will not see the answer.

Have a God Day!

Ezekiel 11:18-21
18 When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their detestable idol worship. 19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their hearts of stone and give them tender hearts instead, 20 so they will obey my laws and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those who long for idols, I will repay them fully for their sins, says the Sovereign Lord.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

“Singleness of heart” indicates a unanimous single purpose. No longer will God’s people seek many gods; they will be content with God. Their hard, immovable hearts of stone will be radically transplanted with a tender, receptive heart of flesh. This is what happens to the heart of a person when they finally accept Christ as Lord and Savior. When we recognize and turn from our sin, new life is given to us.  Our hearts and minds are renewed by a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is God’s work in us but it happens because we believe and turn from self to Him. When we do, God gives us new motives, new guidelines and a new purpose. If you have not received a new heart, do so by believing that God sent Jesus Christ to take the place of judgment for your sins. No matter how impure your life is right now, Jesus Christ can offer you a fresh start. You can have your sins washed away, receive a new heart from the lord, and have His Spirit within you, if you accept God’s promise. He will remember your sin no more and you can begin a new life in Christ by His power.

Have a God Day!

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 further 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 we see a human cloned. Under the disguise of wanting to save lives, man will be manipulating life. Right now, you can get on a waiting list to have your cat cloned for about $50,000.  And there is a waiting list. Many want to keep the pet they know and love.  But even if this animal is the same genetically, it will not be the same, because of it’s life experience.  So an animal cannot be completely duplicated. Life is sacred to God and only He can created it, man can only manipulate it. This will happen only as long as God allows. The very breath of God is in us and we are created in His image.  No matter how much man tries to change or deny this, it will never change. I do not believe that God will allow man to create human life through cloning. The stench of man’s sin will soon reach heaven and God will say enough.  Romans 1:22 states it bests, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became utter 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 remember you are in this world but not a part of it.

Have a God Day!

Colossians 2:6-15
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. 8 Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. 9 For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, 10 and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.  11 When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. 15 In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Receiving Christ as Lord of your life is the beginning of truth in your life. But you must continue to follow His leadership by being rooted, built up and strengthened in your faith. You live for Christ by committing your life and submitting your will to His, seek to know Him, and allow the power of His Holy Spirit to work through you. When we have Christ, we have everything we need for salvation and for right living. This is your reason to give thanks. There is nothing you can be more thankful for than your relationship with Christ Jesus. Nothing else in your life matters outside of Christ. Because your commitment to God is written in your heart, not your body, Christ has set you free from your evil desires. Remember that the next time you are tempted to sin. God removed your old sinful nature and gives you a new nature, His nature. Wear your new nature like you would a coat that covers you and keep the cold from coming in.  Your new nature will keep sin from coming in if you use it. And never stop thanking and praising Him for His love that gives you the power to overcome.

Have a God Day!

Colossians 1:9-14
9 So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. 11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. 14 God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

All Christians want complete understanding of what God wants us to do in our lives. We all seek to be wise with spiritual wisdom. But that is as far as many go, just the wanting. Most Christians know that they should be growing and becoming more like Christ as each day goes by but aren’t sure how to achieve it. Many make the mistake of looking at the overall perfection of Christ and know that they can never achieve that and just don’t even try. We will never in this life reach perfection, so why even bother. This attitude will hold back the power of Christ working within you to be come more like Him. It is God’s plan for every Christian to work at becoming more like Him. No one can say, “I’m not sure what God wants me to do with my life.” The plan is the same for all of us, “Become more like Christ!” Start with very small steps. We all know that we are to read His Word and spend time in prayer. Start by simply taking 5-10 minutes a day doing this and when it becomes a habit, slowly increase. As you spend time in the Word, you will find that you will want to do so. Listen only to Christian music during your day, this will keep you in atmosphere of worship. Keep a very short prayer list and pray everyday, But always start with praising God and thanking Him for what He has already done for you. When one is answered add another. Keep it short and simple. Take small baby steps and see what a difference it can make. Your effort will pay off as God will continue to strengthen you.

Have a God Day!