Jesus is Lord!

Psalm 138
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;   I will sing your praises before the gods.
2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness,
  because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
3 When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
4 Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them will hear your words.
5 Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great.
6 Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.
7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. You will clench
  your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me.
8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
  Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Every person makes plans and has dreams for their future. Then they work hard to see that they come true. But God has already charted a plan for each and everyone of us. And He will work out His plans for us. This doesn’t mean that there is only one path that we can and should follow. God has directions for us no matter which way we turn.  So if one path does not work out the way we thought it should, God has another direction to take us. And God knows which way we are going to turn before we were even born. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” We are not to be passive and just sit back and say, “Well, God already has a plan, so I should just not make any.” No, we are to trust in the Lord and when we make our plans, they are to be surrounded by prayer and direction according to His Word. This is where we find our plan. The Word tells us not to be unequally yoke in marriage to a nonbeliever. So when looking for a person to marry, you look only at those who are Christians. Other issues need more reading of the Word and prayer. But the bottom line is we are to make plans surrounded by the direction of the Word and talking it over with our Father. Doing this, we can know that He will lead us into the plan He has ordained for us.

Have a God Day!

Isaiah 55:6-13
6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 “MY thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, SO are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

We are all born into Adam’s physical family and because of this we all will die. We all reap the results of Adam’s sin. We have inherited his guilt and all of us have a sinful nature. But we are not judged for Adam’s sin, we are judged for our own because there is no one without sin. Romans 5:8 states, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” That is why we need to seek the Lord while we still can. God’s Word will accomplish it’s purpose, it will always produce fruit. Humans will never fully understand why God chose Christ to die for our sins as a plan of making us right with Him. We can not comprehend it and we never will. Trusting in God’s Word is faith to believe that He will do as He has said. And we know from Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” We will all die some day unless we are taken when Christ returns for His Church, but if you have not accepted God’s way of redemption, you will also die again at the Second Death. Revelation 21:15 states “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” This will be complete separation from God. Don’t try to understand it, you never will. But you must believe it because God has ordained it according to His Word and His purpose. Your thoughts will never be equal to God’s, they will never even come close, so seek Him through His Word and then accept His Gift of Love through Christ Jesus by believing that He died for your sin!

Have a God Day!

Colossians 1:25-29
25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to his own holy people. 27 For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory. 28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

How much of your life is under control of your “old nature” and how much is under control of “Christ in you?” Depends on how much room you have made for Christ. If you are still struggling with sin or can not find time for God, then too much of your “old nature” is in control. Recognizing unacceptable behaviors and habits is the first step to surrendering them to the control of “Christ in you.” All of us have things in our life we are not proud of and realize the need to make some changes. The only time in our life when we do not need to improve or change is when we are dead. But until that time, there will always be a part of your “old nature” that will want to bring you down or away from what God has intended for you. His life in you is truly your only hope of permanently changing the “old nature” in you. We must decrease and He must increase. This is a circumcision of the heart not just self-denial. When you change unacceptable behaviors out of your own will power there will always be inner drives continually trying to sabotage your efforts. But when Christ lives in you and you have made room for Him by surrendering to Him, then you will have victory and joy because it is Christ in you that gives the power. You do this by daily coming before God and opening yourselves up to His examination. You ask and allow God to reveal to you what direction you should take. You surrender completely to His control. It is a step by step process that will take the rest of your life, but it is worked at daily. As you move closer and closer to Him, His life will be lived in you and you will share His glory.

Have a God Day!

Philippians 2: 12-16
12 So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when l am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. 14. Do everything without grumbling or  questioning,  15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, 16 as you hold onto the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
The New American Bible, (Nashville, Tennessee: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) 1997.

We are all three-part beings that consist of a body, a soul and a spirit. Your body relates to the physical environment around you. It likes to feel good and be comfortable with plenty of great food, sleep, relaxation and comfort. Your spirit is the part of you that relates to God’s Spirit. It wants a relationship with our Creator. When you ask Jesus Christ to save you, forgive you and wash you with His blood, your spirit is put back into relationship with the Spirit of God. A person will never find contentment if his spirit is not in unity with the Spirit of God. Your soul is a three-part existence of mind, will and emotions. When your spirit is in unity with God’s Spirit, it is your mind, will and emotions that strongly resists following or surrendering to God’s will. It is your mind that has been recording every wrong thing that has happened to you and every wrong idea and belief about God. You mind has stored all the pain of your past experiences and keeps them alive through the emotions they evoke when you think about past failures and pain. Your spirit tells you that God loves and cares for you and then your mind plays an old tape that says, “Ya right. Where was God when this happened or that happened?” Your soul will not surrender to God without a fight. Paul was addressing this unsurrendered soul when he told the Philippians to work out their own salvation. God will not cross the walls of your self-constructed inner strongholds, so they keep His grace and healing out. We must tear down these walls ourselves and allow God to come in and make new tapes of love and joy and peace. Satan can push your buttons anytime he wants just by getting you to remember an old hurt or painful experience.  2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 states, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.” Work out your salvation by tearing down the strongholds in your mind that are preventing you from becoming all of what God intended you to be.

Have a God Day!

Isaiah 40:27-31
27 Why do you say, 0 Jacob, And speak, 0 Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord. The Creator of the ends of the earth. Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
The Holy Bible. New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

God never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. His love can not be contained or measured. Our minds will never fully understand the greatness of God while we are in these corruptible bodies. Only when we see Him face to face will we understand. Even though we can not fully comprehend God’s love for us, we do have His Word that tells us of His great love. And we had His demonstration of this great love when Christ went to the Cross and paid the price for our sin. God in His infinite greatness gave us a way to have His holiness through accepting the gift of salvation. Knowing God’s love in this manner gives us strength as we wait for God to move in our situation. Regardless of the outcome, we can have peace and gain confidence as God lifts us up over our problems and fills our hearts and minds with His love. Then we can say as Paul did in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Have a God Day!

Romans 4:13-16
13 It is clear, then, that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God’s law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 So if you claim that God’s promise is for those who obey God’s law and think they are “good enough” in God’s sight, then you are saying that faith is useless. And in that case, the promise is also meaningless. 15 But the law brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) 16 So that’s why faith is the key! God’s promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we follow Jewish customs, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Have you ever wondered why some believers seem to receive so much spiritually and others seem to have so little? There are some Christians who would explain this inequity by teaching that God’s gifts and promises are given when one meets certain “conditions” or levels of service, prayer, study or whatever. But God has not made the dispensing of His promises contingent on any preconceived ideas we may have about Him. Every believer in Jesus Christ has equal privilege to receive the Bibles promises. Our God is no respecter of persons and His promises are not given on a sliding scale of who is, who is not, or when one finally becomes worthy. To God, a believer is worthy because they are in Christ Jesus and have believed in Him. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the privilege of receiving spiritual wisdom, power, authority, understanding, answers and peace right now! God has no desire to withhold any good thing from you. If you do not have these attributes or gifts in your life, it is not God who has opposed you receiving them. It is you who has opposed you. The main difference between those who receive and those who do not, is how much room they have made within themselves for God to work. God does not change how He functions to conform to our concepts of Him. You must be willing to tear down, strip off and remove the trappings of your old nature to receive from God. Your “understanding” of God may be preventing you from receiving from Him. Go before Him and seek Him as He is. Be willing to lay aside your “knowledge” and seek His in His Word. Sanctification simply comes from a heart that has been able to receive, a heart that is so full of thanksgiving, understanding and love that it can do no less.

Have a God Day!

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. 11 So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

The Church is “the one” who is holding the man of lawlessness from being revealed. As the Bride of Christ and a part of the Body, our prayers are moving the hands of God and the Holy Spirit is working on our behalf and keeping complete lawlessness on hold. When we are removed, there will be a period of time when the world will be without anyone here on earth praying. However brief it may be, without this influence, it will be a prefect time for Satan to move in. If you reject the Gospel of Christ now, you are in danger of God sending great deception upon you after the man of lawlessness is revealed. You will be condemned for not believing the truth and enjoying the evil you are doing. This scripture is very clear about rejecting God now. When you hear the salvation message it is dangerous to wait. If Christ returns for His Church, you may not have another chance. Accept His gift of love today and open your heart to His sanctification in your life and have perfect peace that you will stand before Him and hear Him say, “My child welcome home!”

Have a God Day!

John 6:61-65
61 Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see me, the Son of Man, return to heaven again? 63 It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you don’t believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Jesus had been teaching the people that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood to live forever. This thought was repulsive to the Jews. Many turned away from Him at this point. But Christ was teaching them that to eat living bread means to accept Christ as God and accept Him into our lives and become one with Him. Jesus was not talking about literally eating His flesh, He was saying His life had to become their own. He went on to teach that the Holy Spirit gives this new life. Without the work of God in our lives, no one would be saved. When someone comes to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, they do so only in response to the urging of God’s Holy Spirit. God does the urging; then we decide whether or not to believe. We can not even see our own need for Him without His urging. All spiritual life begins and ends with God. He reveals truth to us, lives in us and then enables us to respond to that truth. All we can do is say yes or no. And the Spirit draws all people to Himself. There is no one who is not loved by God or called to Him. Christ came to save all people. But many will say no. What have you said to Him today? Are you ready to become one with Him and eat of His flesh and drink His blood? Don’t turn the Spirit away accept His love and receive Him into your heart today.

Have a God Day!

Proverbs 4:18-25
18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like complete darkness. Those who follow it have no idea what they are stumbling over. 20 Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. 21 Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, 22 for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. 24 Avoid all perverse talk; stay far from corrupt speech. 25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. 27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

To live effectively for God begins with respecting and appreciating who God is. God’s wisdom applied in our lives starts with reverence and awe in recognizing God Almighty as Lord. Effective living requires we trust in God and His Word. We allow His Word to speak to us personally and are willing to obey. Then we are to act on God’s direction in our daily devotions with Him. This will result in effective living for Christ in this world of sin. We live in compliance to God’s Word and experience what God can do through that obedience. Do you have victory in your walk with Christ? Or is it a daily struggle for you? If so, apply God’s wisdom by honoring Him and trusting in His Word, then act on His direction. The power of the Holy Spirit in you will guide you step by step as you trust Him.

Have a God Day!

Romans 12:2-8
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. 3 As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. 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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Paul is laying the foundation for emotion health to the Romans in this letter. You will find no better place for instructions on emotional health than the Word of God. Dr. Gary Chapman has laid out 5 principles for what he calls reality living that applies to how we react to the world around us. These principles are based on the Word of God.

1. I am responsible for my own attitude.
Attitude has to do with the way you chose to think about things. If we focus on the negative, things will get worse. If we focus on the positive, things will be better. Your attitude can have a profound effect on your emotional well being for the good or for the worse depending on what you chose!

2. Attitude affects actions.
Attitudes affect our behavior and words. You may not be able to control your situation but you can control your actions and words. You are responsible for what you do within your environment!

3. I can not change others. but I can influence others.
Our attitudes and actions are contagious. Every word you say and every action you take is influencing people around you for better or for worse. But the same is true for those around you. But don’t let other decide for you how you will respond. Go against the grain and respond to meanness with love and kindness.

4. My actions are not controlled by my emotions.
In our thoughts, we interpret what we experience around us. Our thoughts will become emotions or feelings. Eventually, we take actions, based on our thoughts and emotions, we do something. Our actions will enhance or destroy our relationships. Our actions are far more important than our emotions. So think before you act.

5. Admitting my imperfections does not mean that I am a failure.
To admit your own past failures does not mean you are taking all the responsibility for the trouble in your relationships. It simple means you are taking responsibility for where you have failed. This will promote forgiveness and healing. You will be starting from a point of love and not hate. You can take a positive step.

Taking these five steps will show that you are not copying the behavior and customs of this world, but letting God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think but more important changing the way you act.

Have a God Day!