The most important thing about Jesus is having Him in your heart; inviting Him in, giving Him full access to every room, talking with Him about everything, sharing all your secrets with Him, asking His advice on everything, and letting Him decorate how He wants to. Then constantly working on your private relationship with Him, figuring out how He speaks to you, so that you fully understand each other. This is going to be different for each person. He is not the author of fear or confusion. He will guide you through love if you let Him. The more you grow, the deeper your relationship with Him gets, the more you can share His love…
The teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light. Matthew 11:30
Jesus says he is the solution for weariness of soul.
Go to him. Be honest with him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He already knows what they are. He’s just waiting for you to ask him to help . . .
Go ahead. You’ll be glad you did. Those near to you will be glad as well.
~ Max Lucado
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6 NIV
We usually get what we hunger and thirst for. The problem is, the treasures of earth don’t satisfy. The promise is, the treasures of heaven do . . .
Blessed are those who, if everything they own were taken from them, would be, at most inconvenienced, because their true wealth is elsewhere.
Posted: 11 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT
By Jon Walker
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. (Psalm 51:8 NIV)
In the school of Christ, brokenness is a good thing.
Here’s why: It’s impossible to become intimate with God unless we are broken of our independence, broken of our pride, and broken of our insistence that our way is better than God’s.
We must be broken of the illusion that we bring anything to the peace talks when we seek to end our war with God; the only surrender God requires is unconditional.
God breaks us so he can use us. We can smash our pride against the solid rock of Jesus, confess our sins, and admit our need for him; or the stone can fall on us, meaning God in his ruthless, loving pursuit of us will break us of our pride, sin, folly, and independence (Matthew 21:44).
Like Jesus serving bread at the Last Supper, God takes us, breaks us, blesses us, and then uses us.
Oh, Lord, may you hear our joy and gladness; may the bones you have crushed rejoice (Psalm 51:8 NIV, author paraphrase).
Psalm 3:3 KJV
Psalm 56:11 KJV
11 In God have I put my trust:
I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
Fear of man is a powerful debilitating force in our world today. It will keep us from taking risks and it will keep us from being the person God made us to be.
The only way to deal with fear is to embrace the love that God has for us and allow perfect love to drive all fear away. (1 John 4:19)
In this promise, the psalmist makes a declaration that he will put his trust in God and not be afraid of what man can do to him. May faith rise up in our hearts today and agree with Romans 8:31, where the Apostle Paul declares “If God is for us, who can be against us?”.
God, we thank you; we thank you because you are near.
Psalm 75:1
God is the God who follows.
I wonder . . . have you sensed him following you?
We often miss him . . . We don’t know our Helper when he is near.
But he comes.
Through the kindness of a stranger.
The majesty of a sunset . . .
Through a word well spoken or a touch well timed, have you sensed his presence?
– Max Lucado
1 John 1:7 KJV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Jesus is called the Light of the World. In Him is no darkness, only brilliant, glorious light. The good news of the gospel is that when we receive the free gift of God, which is the life of His own Son, we are completely cleansed from all unrighteousness and forgiven from all our sin. We have become children of the light because we are now joined completely into the holy life of Jesus. Romans 8:1 says because of this exchange, there is therefore now no condemnation for us.
Our adversary the devil is called the accuser of the brethren. His aim is to continually bring accusations against us that would somehow cause us to feel ashamed and run and hide from God. When you hear these accusing voices, declare the finished work of the blood of Jesus over your life for it is the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood that keeps us walking in the light!
We have no need to hide in shame from God. Jesus Christ has secured our place in His Father’s heart and His blood has covered our past sins, our present sins and our future sins. You can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. When He cried it is finished! on the cross, He meant it. Does this mean that we can go on living a sinful life? God forbid! However, we can rest assured that if we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light, His blood cleanses us from ALL sin.
Photo by Barry Adams
Galatians 5:1
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Hebrews 12:1b (TEV)
When Jesus tells us to break with our old existence, his command is not arbitrary or random. You could say it is meant to make us small enough to fit through the narrow gate that leads to the kingdom of heaven. Imagine trying to go down a narrow path and then through a narrow gate wearing a backpack overstuffed with heavy regrets from your past and superficial distractions from the present.
You’d end up exhausted and frustrated as your backpack and the things spilling out of it kept getting snagged on the narrow sides of the path. You’d begin to see many of the things you carried were a hindrance rather than a help and one-by-one you’d start tossing them aside.
How would you feel when you got to the end of the path and found out the only way you could fit through the gate was to leave behind everything you still had with you, even your backpack? So you reluctantly throw it off and head through the gate only to discover that everything you’d been carrying, everything you’d been so reluctant to leave behind, will be useless in your new life in the kingdom of heaven.
Inside the kingdom of heaven, you realize you’ve made your journey more difficult than it had to be simply because you kept trying to hold on to things that were impossible to keep. This is why Jim Elliot, who was killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people in Ecuador, wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Think Small and Travel Light by Jon Walker is a post from: GraceCreates
Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose.
He has served on staff at Saddleback Church and Purpose Driven Ministries and is currently the managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotionals and the Ministry Toolbox. Contact him at questions@gracecreates.com.
Ephesians 3:12 KJV
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
The NIV Bible says Ephesians 3:12 in this way… ‘In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.’ What a glorious promise! Through our new life in Jesus Christ, we have complete and unrestricted access to our heavenly Father. Though angels bow down in reverence to Almighty God, we can call Him our Abba. Though He holds the earth in the palm of His hand, He calls us His little ones.
Praise God for giving us an amazing salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In the great exchange that happened at the cross, Jesus exchanged His life for our life. We no longer live apart from Christ (Galatians 2:20), so being in Christ, we have full access to our Father just like Jesus does. As a matter of fact, in Colossians 3, Paul says that we actually are hid with Christ in God, seated in the heavens!
As a father, I would be disappointed if I felt that my children were afraid to come into my presence. They are my children after all! They are welcome any time, night or day! If we as dads are intended to be a shadow of the perfect Father (Matthew 5:48), how much more does He desire that we come boldly into His throne room with freedom and confidence?
May each one of us be encouraged today to come into our Papa’s presence with a new boldness. Not because of anything that we have done, but because our big brother, Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, has made the way for us to approach God with a confident expectation that He will receive us and put us on His lap, day or night.
Psalm 71:6 KJV
What an amazing promise! Our God and Father was there on the day you were born! Many people carry around the feeling that their parents didn’t plan their birth, so they feel like they were an accident. This Bible promise says the exact opposite! Not one person who has ever been born has been a mistake! God planned each birth and was in the delivery room to welcome all of us into the world.
If you struggle to feel that you belong in this world, I pray that this promise will go deep into your heart. God knit you together in your mother’s womb and He has cared for you from the moment you were born until today.
And He will never stop caring for you because you are the apple of His eye!
Photo by Barry Adams
1 Chronicles 16:34 KJV
34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever.
In the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve, he was primarily questioning the goodness of God. “Did God really say…” He tried to portray a view of God that was skewed and distorted. That God was insecure and didn’t want the best for Adam and Eve. That God wasn’t good.
The enemy’s tactics have remained the same up until today. He continues to question the goodness of God at every turn. My encouragement to you today is to believe the truth about God and make a declaration to the heavens that He is really good and His love endures forever!
The love that God has for us will not change today, tomorrow or in eternity. It will endure forever! The very foundation of our God and Father’s heart is goodness and love. No matter what happens in life, I would encourage you to not side with the accuser and question your Father’s goodness. Our God is good and He is loving beyond comprehension.
In the midst of any storm that you are going through, His love will cause even the worst situation to turn for good (Romans 8:28). May faith rise up in our hearts to know this on a level that is deeper than we have ever known it before.
Photo by Carl Dyck
You love.
But who loved you first?
You serve.
But who served the most?
What are you doing for God that he couldn’t do alone?
-Max Lucado
Psalm 33:4 KJV
4 For the word of the LORD is right;
and all his works are done in truth.
If I would make a promise to my children and they would question the integrity of what I promised, that would hurt me deeply. As a father, it is my hope that my children would have confidence in my character and my word. If they doubted what I said, then I would feel that they question the very core of who I am. I believe that the foundation of any relationship is trust. If there is no trust, then the relationship is on shaking ground.
If we struggle to believe that God’s word is true and we cannot trust Him completely, then we are in effect doubting God’s very character. Every time we question God’s Word or His goodness, we are agreeing with the Father of Lies and the continual accusations he brings against God. Just as this would hurt an earthly father, I believe that it deeply grieves the Father of Lights.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith, it is impossible to please God. I believe that our God and Father loves it when His kids simply believe every word He says… Just like a little child believes everything their mom or dad has to say to them.
My prayer today is that Holy Spirit would make us aware of the unbelieving thoughts that come into our mind and we would break any power of agreement with them, for the Word of the LORD is right and we can trust everything that He does!
Anything you did even for the least of my people here, you did also for me.
Matthew 25:40
What is the sign of the saved?
Their scholarship?
Their willingness to go to foreign lands?
Their ability to amass an audience and preach?
Their skillful pens and hope-filled volumes?
No.
The sign of the saved is their love for the least . . .
No fanfare.
No hoopla.
No media coverage.
Just good people doing good things.
For when we do good things to others we do good things to God.
~ Max Lucado
God is being patient with you . . . He wants all people to change their hearts and lives.” 2 Peter 3:9
In many ways your new birth is like your first: In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there is one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born; this time you do.
The power is God’s.
The effort is God’s.
The pain is God’s.
But the choice is yours.
~ Max Lucado
The Lord God is like a sun and shield; the Lord gives us kindness and honor.
Psalm 84:11
Rejections are like speed bumps on the road.
They come with the journey.
You can’t keep people from rejecting you.
But you can keep rejections from enraging you.
How? By letting God’s acceptance compensate for their rejection.
When others reject you, let God accept you.
He is not frowning.
He is not mad.
He sings over you.
Take a long drink from His limitless love.
~Max Lucado
by Neil Anderson – July 27
Psalm 118:6-8
The LORD is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man
David’s question in Psalm 118:6 introduces a common fear among Christians: the fear of man. The timid man is quick to respond to the question, “I’ll tell you what man can do to me. He can abuse me, he can fire me from my job, and he can even kill me.”
True, but Jesus tells us to lay those fears aside: “Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). If you fail to take God as your refuge, the fear of man will control your life.
God appointed Saul to be the first king of Israel and commanded him to utterly destroy Amalek, along with all of his family, followers and possessions. Unfortunately, Saul didn’t completely obey. Samuel confronted Saul, and after Saul’s excuses ran out, he confessed, “I have sinned . . . because I feared the people and listened to their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24). Then the Lord rejected Saul as king of Israel. More than one king has fallen for fearing man more than God.
Suppose you are intimidated by your boss. You work in fear of him from eight to five. What power does he have over you? He could fire you! How could you overcome that power? You could quit or be willing to quit. By not allowing your boss to hold the job over your head, you would free yourself from his intimidations. God’s Word says, “Do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:14, 15).
I’m not suggesting that you rebel against your boss or become irresponsible. Servants are to obey their masters, and we are to work heartily as for the Lord rather than men (Colossians 3:22, 23). However, when you make God your sanctuary, you free yourself to live a responsible life. If you lose your job in the process, you have the assurance that God will meet all your needs.
Prayer: Lord, I want to be a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser. Give me strength to stand up for the truth no matter what the cost.
sharin' His love & Prophecy Unfolding 