A Work In Progress

     Rather than throwing out Bible verses or judging the behavior of others, what would happen if we love others just the way they are? The righteous anger of Jesus burned against the Pharisees. They were the religious leaders of the day, well-versed in Scripture, quick to point out their perfect lives and point out the flaws in others. Listen to the Words of our loving Jesus.

"You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Matthew 12:34

“Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean." Matthew 23:27

     Notice how Jesus always looks on the inside. He sees our hearts and He changes them to be loving, kind and generous. The Pharisees were concerned about their outer image presented to the world. They prayed in loud voices, wore long, flowing robes and pointed fingers.  And Jesus sees the truth.

     Follow the heart of Christ. He accepts us as we are and He does the work. Point others to Him. When we point out the flaws in others, they will turn away from Jesus, rather than to Him. Shine with love and light and mention the name of Chrst.  He transforms darkness into light.

Jesus,

Give us opportunities to love and give hope. It is easy to judge the world. They don’t know You yet. We want everyone to have a saving knowledge of who You are.

Amen

A Work In Progress

     God doesn’t give up on us. He understands our fear, our failures, our faithlessness. God does not condemn. If you are experiencing condemnation, doubt and guilt about yourself, constantly putting yourself down or believing anymore of Satan’s lies, listen to God’s loving voice. He might convict you to turn away from a bad behavior or a pattern in your life. He is Your Father after all and we need discipline.

     Listen to His voice. Read His Word and believe it! The Holy Spirit will guide your way today. Follow peace and joy. Follow truth and hope. Run from fear, doubt, worry and dread. Allow God to work in your life.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:4-6

     Be confident in His work. He began to transform your life the moment you first believed. And it will one day be complete on the day of Chrst Jesus. Amen!

A Work In Progress

     When we meet Jesus we are justified. It is “just as if” we never sinned. Next, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. He draws us closer to Jesus and continues to grow us more and more into His image. Finally, we are glorifed. Our sanctification brings more and more glorification until our final glory when we will be like Jesus!

     Justification, sanctification, glorification. Don’t let the Biblical words intimidate. They are the most wonderful words in the world. They are heavenly words. They are powerful words that represent our life in Christ.

     Our sins are forgiven! The Holy Spirit does the work within us! (If we let Him!) We are glorified day by day until the final glory in heaven!

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Father,

We can’t fathom how You work within us through Your Holy Spirit. Continue to transform our lives with ever-increasing glory as we transform into the image of Your Son.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Gift of Amazing Grace

     There is no other religion under heaven and earth that offers eternal life as a free gift of God’s grace. Only Jesus. And Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with a living God. There are religions that believe we can get to heaven on our own. Others believe we need to come back and live more lives before we achieve a heavenly state. Others believe they need to pray a certain number of times each day, to follow the rules, to live a “good” life.

     The truth is, none of us are good enough to work our way to heaven. The God of the universe is holy and perfect and just. And we are not.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

    Don’t buy into rules and religion. Jesus offers us the finished work of the cross. He paid the price for all of us and all He asks is for faith. To believe He is the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but will have eternal life. John 3:16

Father,

What a gift. It is amazing grace. The gift you have given us in Your one and only Son. He paid the price. He took on the suffering that we deserved. He took on our sin, all of it. We believe.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Greater

     The enemy of our souls prowls around like a lion ready to pounce (1 Peter 5:8) He accuses us. (Revelation 12:10) He disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) He knows our weaknesses and knows how to discourage us. He wants nothing more than to discredit our witness.  If you are working for Christ, he is your enemy. The best thing for us is to recognize the enemy and his wiley ways and to understand, we have the resurrection power of the almighty God within us.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

    firm in the faith. Allow God to resist the devil and he will flee. The One within us is greater than our enemy. Stand firm in your faith. 

Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

     Recognize your foe with no fear. He has to flee from us!

Father,

Thank You for Your protection and thank You for the Holy Spirit that resides within us. He is mightier than the one in the world. Keep us steadfast in the faith, submitting to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Victorious

     Victorious in Christ. Victorious over death. Heaven-bound. Immortal bodies. No more pain. No more tears. It all awaits us.

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it who overcomes the world? Only the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:4-5

     When we lose our fear of death, we can live in freedom. Each day on earth is a blessing. Every breath to be savored and treasured. We believe. We are overcomers in Christ! Force the negative, stress-filled thoughts out of your mind today. Dwell on the beauty of the day, the loved ones in your life, the little things that matter. Don’t let those small negative stresses take over your throughts. Don’t allow the moments of life to get away from you. Take the one good thing and magnify it. Don’t worry about the things that may never come to pass. Right now, this very moment, savor life.

Jesus,

Because of You we are overcomers. The victory is ours. We thank You for the special moments, the loved ones, the beauty of creasion, the food on our table and the breath of life.

Amen

It Is Finished!

     We talked yesterday about the world having trials and troubles, but Jesus has overcome them all. I am studying a book called “The Invisible War” with some dear friends and one of the author’s points is that, “we don’t fight FOR victory. We fight FROM victory.”

     Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Sins are forgiven once and for all. God sees us, as believers, through Christ’s blood. We are washed clean and we are already seated in heaven.

     Does this change our perspective on life? It should! We need not fear death. We have an all-powerful God on our side. He wants to use us for the short time we have here for His purposes. And that is life’s best. To show God’s glory. To please Him and not man.

     Paul said it this way,

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10    

     Easier said than done. We do want to please people, but God must come first. Let’s try to give Him the glory in our lives today. Represent Him well. Your faith please Him.

Dear Father in heaven,

The victory over death has been won. We are seated in heaven with You forever and ever. We can never thank You enough for the gift of eternal life and the power You give us to live life from the victory. It is over!

In Jesus name,

Amen