Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
We have grown up in a society that listens to that old radio station WIFM. You know the one. The letters stand for "what's In it for me." We do something for someone else and expect something in return.
But God's word does not say "do for others because they will do likewise for you." No, it says in Luke 6:31 "Do to others as you would like them to do to you." As you would like not only if you have a guarantee they will do for you.
Sure we do have to watch out for our own interests, but not at the expense of others. We must humble ourselves and look out for others. We are to serve others like it says in Galatians 5:13
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."
We are to serve out of love, not out of an obligation to God. We serve because He loves us and gave His life for us, for us to be set free. We serve because we want to serve and not to make an impression on others that they may see what we are doing. That would be serving out of a selfish desire to be noticed by others. We serve in secret knowing where our reward comes from.
"Father God, thank you for giving me opportunity after opportunity to serve others as I walk out in the marketplace today. Thank you for opening doors for me to walk through and closing those that I should avoid. Thank you for loving me and giving me an example to follow. In Jesus' name. Amen"
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Wisdom
James 3:13 NLT
If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
Wisdom is mentioned 215 times in the NLT Bible. James 3.13 tells us that "If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."
Webster defines wisdom as: knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life, the natural ability to understand things that most other people cannot understand, and knowledge of what is proper or reasonable; good sense or judgment.
Note the difference between the Bible and the dictionary. Wisdom comes from knowing God's ways. His ways are found throughout our Bibles, throughout His Word. The instructions for life are in His Word. As we read His Word and assimilate what He is telling us through it, we acquire wisdom.
Acquiring worldly knowledge and agreeing with the morals of the world makes us wise in a carnal sense. True wisdom comes not from the world and its evil ways, it come from God.
James 1.5 tells us how to get more wisdom: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."
"Father God, thank you for providing your Word to me. Thank you for the wisdom you impart to me as I go and see where you are working so I can join you. Thank you for showing me where I need to discern the difference between worldly wisdom and Your wisdom.. Guide me into all truth. In Jesus' name I pray."
If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
Wisdom is mentioned 215 times in the NLT Bible. James 3.13 tells us that "If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."
Webster defines wisdom as: knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life, the natural ability to understand things that most other people cannot understand, and knowledge of what is proper or reasonable; good sense or judgment.
Note the difference between the Bible and the dictionary. Wisdom comes from knowing God's ways. His ways are found throughout our Bibles, throughout His Word. The instructions for life are in His Word. As we read His Word and assimilate what He is telling us through it, we acquire wisdom.
Acquiring worldly knowledge and agreeing with the morals of the world makes us wise in a carnal sense. True wisdom comes not from the world and its evil ways, it come from God.
James 1.5 tells us how to get more wisdom: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."
"Father God, thank you for providing your Word to me. Thank you for the wisdom you impart to me as I go and see where you are working so I can join you. Thank you for showing me where I need to discern the difference between worldly wisdom and Your wisdom.. Guide me into all truth. In Jesus' name I pray."
Monday, September 14, 2015
Thoughts
Philippians 4:8 NLT
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
What do you do when your smartphone beeps? Do you take it out and see who just texted or messaged you? Most people do that. They are so tuned in to their social network they need to check right away. And yet, how often does Holy Spirit try to beep us and we ignore Him?
Our thoughts, what we think about all day long can determine our actions. When we fix our eyes on the situation we find ourselves in, the situation appears to worsen. All our thoughts go towards finding our solution to that situation. Holy Spirit has a hard time getting through our thoughts to bring us the right solution. We are too caught up in fixing it on our own.
No matter what is going on around us, no matter what troubles we find ourselves immersed in, Holy Spirit is right there ready to teach us all we need to move forward; all we need to move out of the grasp of the evil one into the arms of Jesus.
When we fix our thoughts on what is true all worry leaves because our God has got our back. When we give it to Him we can trust Him to take care of it. We no longer have to think about it. Instead we are filled with peace and able to think on what He has for us to do.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
What do you do when your smartphone beeps? Do you take it out and see who just texted or messaged you? Most people do that. They are so tuned in to their social network they need to check right away. And yet, how often does Holy Spirit try to beep us and we ignore Him?
Our thoughts, what we think about all day long can determine our actions. When we fix our eyes on the situation we find ourselves in, the situation appears to worsen. All our thoughts go towards finding our solution to that situation. Holy Spirit has a hard time getting through our thoughts to bring us the right solution. We are too caught up in fixing it on our own.
No matter what is going on around us, no matter what troubles we find ourselves immersed in, Holy Spirit is right there ready to teach us all we need to move forward; all we need to move out of the grasp of the evil one into the arms of Jesus.
When we fix our thoughts on what is true all worry leaves because our God has got our back. When we give it to Him we can trust Him to take care of it. We no longer have to think about it. Instead we are filled with peace and able to think on what He has for us to do.
Monday, September 07, 2015
Citizens
Ephesians 2:19 NLT
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family.
We don't have to become Jewish to be a Christian. We do not have to follow their non-Christian customs and rituals or those from any other religion. Jesus did not say to become a Jew and follow me, He said to just follow Him and then to have faith and believe without doubting. It is the Jew that becomes a Christian just like you and I.
Jesus did not evolve from being jewish to becoming the son of God. He was born already being the son of God into a family that believed in the one true God. We all come as we are to Jesus. The Father sends Holy Spirit to live in us and teach us all things. He teaches us what we can cast off from our old life. He came not to give us a bunch of new rules, but to free us from the bondage the old rules put us in. He came to show us the truth. He came to welcome all as citizens into the Kingdom of God. Thank you, Jesus!
"Holy Spirit, continue to teach me. Show me in God's Word what I need for the each day I walk on this earth. Help me become the person I was made to be regardless of what I have come out of, regardless of what religion I used to follow, regardless of what wrongs I have already been forgiven of, and of what mistakes I will still make while I live in this mortal shell. It is in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen."
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family.
We don't have to become Jewish to be a Christian. We do not have to follow their non-Christian customs and rituals or those from any other religion. Jesus did not say to become a Jew and follow me, He said to just follow Him and then to have faith and believe without doubting. It is the Jew that becomes a Christian just like you and I.
Jesus did not evolve from being jewish to becoming the son of God. He was born already being the son of God into a family that believed in the one true God. We all come as we are to Jesus. The Father sends Holy Spirit to live in us and teach us all things. He teaches us what we can cast off from our old life. He came not to give us a bunch of new rules, but to free us from the bondage the old rules put us in. He came to show us the truth. He came to welcome all as citizens into the Kingdom of God. Thank you, Jesus!
"Holy Spirit, continue to teach me. Show me in God's Word what I need for the each day I walk on this earth. Help me become the person I was made to be regardless of what I have come out of, regardless of what religion I used to follow, regardless of what wrongs I have already been forgiven of, and of what mistakes I will still make while I live in this mortal shell. It is in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen."
Monday, August 31, 2015
Work
John 6:29, 40 NLT
Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent." For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."
We grow up in our culture today with the goal of becoming educated in order to obtain a good paying job. We work to earn a living so we can purchase shelter, food, and enjoy life. It is not about how much we make, but rather what we do with what has been allotted to us.
Common sense tells us we cannot live in a two thousand dollar a month home if we only make fifteen hundred a month. But we are tempted by credit card companies to charge what we want in hope that we will make more in the future and pay off our debts. It is good for them, but bad for us. So we often work more than one job to make enough to feed our need to spend more.
I do not think Jesus was talking about this kind of work. No, He was telling me that I do not have to work to retain my relationship with Him. I am saved, born again, a friend of God. All my sins have been forgiven. He is the same today and tomorrow, the same as He was yesterday. There is no work I have to do to keep Him in me. Nothing can change His mind about how much He love me.
Is there work to be done? Yes there is. Our work is sharing the gospel message with all we come in contact with. How can they follow Jesus if they do not know who He is? We are to go in to the world, the places where we live, and share Jesus. We are to be a light in dark places. We are to be Jesus to a needing world. But it does not stop there. When someone accepts Jesus we do not let them go. No, we are to disciple them so they go to their world and share with them what Jesus has done.
How much work we do following Him does not have an affect on our eternity with Jesus. The closer our work with Him, the more rewarding our life here on earth. Out names were written in the book of life the day we asked Jesus into our heart. And that was not done with an erasable pencil.
Thank you Jesus for using me in the world I travel in. Thank you for being in me and working through me. Thank you for my eternal promise to be with you forever.
Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent." For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day."
We grow up in our culture today with the goal of becoming educated in order to obtain a good paying job. We work to earn a living so we can purchase shelter, food, and enjoy life. It is not about how much we make, but rather what we do with what has been allotted to us.
Common sense tells us we cannot live in a two thousand dollar a month home if we only make fifteen hundred a month. But we are tempted by credit card companies to charge what we want in hope that we will make more in the future and pay off our debts. It is good for them, but bad for us. So we often work more than one job to make enough to feed our need to spend more.
I do not think Jesus was talking about this kind of work. No, He was telling me that I do not have to work to retain my relationship with Him. I am saved, born again, a friend of God. All my sins have been forgiven. He is the same today and tomorrow, the same as He was yesterday. There is no work I have to do to keep Him in me. Nothing can change His mind about how much He love me.
Is there work to be done? Yes there is. Our work is sharing the gospel message with all we come in contact with. How can they follow Jesus if they do not know who He is? We are to go in to the world, the places where we live, and share Jesus. We are to be a light in dark places. We are to be Jesus to a needing world. But it does not stop there. When someone accepts Jesus we do not let them go. No, we are to disciple them so they go to their world and share with them what Jesus has done.
How much work we do following Him does not have an affect on our eternity with Jesus. The closer our work with Him, the more rewarding our life here on earth. Out names were written in the book of life the day we asked Jesus into our heart. And that was not done with an erasable pencil.
Thank you Jesus for using me in the world I travel in. Thank you for being in me and working through me. Thank you for my eternal promise to be with you forever.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Cleansing
2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
We are a clean people. We wash our cars, our clothes, our teeth, ourselves, and more. The consequences of not doing so may result in a reduced number of friends, loss of a job, loss of teeth, or worse. Living in/with filth has health consequences as well.
God's promises to us are numerous, but the most important one is His promise to save us from death. He sent His son, Jesus to show us the way to eternal life. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior we move from a life on earth ending in death to an abundant life here ending in eternal life in Heaven with Jesus.
Now that Jesus lives in me, I want to be the cleanest I have ever been. Sure I clean up on the outside the same way I did before I was saved. It is the inside that is needing a good washing. The way I thought, the selfish ways I approached things, the WIFM attitude I had, the movies I watched, the language I used, the endless supply of innuendos, etc. all had to go.
My list of was longer than that, but I have already listed more than I had planned as it is. You see, when I realized who was in me, I could not be that same person. My mind had to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. My mind needed to be renewed. I needed to operate out of the mind of Christ and not of my old mindset.
I would love to tell you I am fixed. I am not. There are still things in me that Jesus is working on. Holy Spirit shows me what they are and I work on changing, with His help.
"Father God, show me what needs to change in me. Help me to be the person you designed me to be and not the person satan tried to turn me into when I was tempted to do all those worldly things and hang around with the wrong people. Help me to be where you are working and give me the boldness to allow Holy Spirit to work through me so Jesus can touch lives all around me. Cleanse me. In Jesus name, I pray."
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
We are a clean people. We wash our cars, our clothes, our teeth, ourselves, and more. The consequences of not doing so may result in a reduced number of friends, loss of a job, loss of teeth, or worse. Living in/with filth has health consequences as well.
God's promises to us are numerous, but the most important one is His promise to save us from death. He sent His son, Jesus to show us the way to eternal life. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior we move from a life on earth ending in death to an abundant life here ending in eternal life in Heaven with Jesus.
Now that Jesus lives in me, I want to be the cleanest I have ever been. Sure I clean up on the outside the same way I did before I was saved. It is the inside that is needing a good washing. The way I thought, the selfish ways I approached things, the WIFM attitude I had, the movies I watched, the language I used, the endless supply of innuendos, etc. all had to go.
My list of was longer than that, but I have already listed more than I had planned as it is. You see, when I realized who was in me, I could not be that same person. My mind had to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. My mind needed to be renewed. I needed to operate out of the mind of Christ and not of my old mindset.
I would love to tell you I am fixed. I am not. There are still things in me that Jesus is working on. Holy Spirit shows me what they are and I work on changing, with His help.
"Father God, show me what needs to change in me. Help me to be the person you designed me to be and not the person satan tried to turn me into when I was tempted to do all those worldly things and hang around with the wrong people. Help me to be where you are working and give me the boldness to allow Holy Spirit to work through me so Jesus can touch lives all around me. Cleanse me. In Jesus name, I pray."
Monday, August 17, 2015
Masterpiece
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
When I think about a masterpiece, I think of an old painting created by a famous artist many years ago and worth a small fortune. Dictionary.com defines masterpiece as, "A person's greatest piece of work, as in an art or anything done with masterly skill". We are God's greatest work.
By going to the cross for us, Jesus canceled out our debts for all time. Our sins are forgiven--past, present, and future. We are covered by the blood of Jesus shed for us at the cross. It gets even better.
When we became a believer and asked Jesus to come into our heart, God heard us. We became born again; born of the spirit with a new birth date. And Father God sent the Holy Spirit to come into us and fill our spirit. Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ lives in us. Jesus is alive and working through us as we practice His presence each day.
"Thank you, Father for being in my life. Thank you for my being your masterpiece. Thank you for teaching me daily as I step out and minister to others, to those you place in my path. Continue to order my steps and point me to where You are working so I may join you. It is in Jesus name, I pray. Amen."
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
When I think about a masterpiece, I think of an old painting created by a famous artist many years ago and worth a small fortune. Dictionary.com defines masterpiece as, "A person's greatest piece of work, as in an art or anything done with masterly skill". We are God's greatest work.
By going to the cross for us, Jesus canceled out our debts for all time. Our sins are forgiven--past, present, and future. We are covered by the blood of Jesus shed for us at the cross. It gets even better.
When we became a believer and asked Jesus to come into our heart, God heard us. We became born again; born of the spirit with a new birth date. And Father God sent the Holy Spirit to come into us and fill our spirit. Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ lives in us. Jesus is alive and working through us as we practice His presence each day.
"Thank you, Father for being in my life. Thank you for my being your masterpiece. Thank you for teaching me daily as I step out and minister to others, to those you place in my path. Continue to order my steps and point me to where You are working so I may join you. It is in Jesus name, I pray. Amen."
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