It will only matter who truly followed Christ

Whether you support or oppose Trump, this message urges Christians to examine the spiritual realities behind leadership, deception, and the coming judgment.

I wish I could claim credit for this writing, but it is a transcript from a YouTube video we saw.

God has always been in control of human history from the beginning of time. The rise and fall of nations, empires, and individual leaders has never happened by chance. We may see elections, political campaigns, and public opinion polls. But heaven sees providence, judgment, and divine orchestration.

The Bible is very clear. God raises up kings and he brings them down. He appoints rulers for His purposes, whether to bless or to judge, to guide or to expose. That truth should cause every Christian to take a step back and ask, “Lord, what are you saying through this moment in history?”

When we look at the figure of Donald Trump, we are not just looking at a political leader. We are witnessing the unfolding of God’s sovereign hand in real time. Some believe he was raised up to protect the church, defend conservative values, and fight for truth. Others believe he’s a deeply flawed man whose presence has caused division and moral confusion. But the truth lies not in the emotions of the people, but in the plan of God. And if God has allowed Donald Trump to rise, to fall, and perhaps even to rise again, we must ask ourselves what God is doing, not just what man is saying.

Go back to the Old Testament. Pharaoh was raised up not because he honored God, but because God wanted to show His power through Him. God told Pharaoh, “For this very purpose, I have raised you up that I might show my power in you.” Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, was called my servant by the Lord, not because of his righteousness, but because he was used to accomplish God’s judgment against Israel. Even Cyrus, the Persian king, was used to free God’s people, though he never truly followed the God of Israel. This pattern continues throughout scripture.

God does not need righteous men to fulfill righteous purposes. He uses whom He wills. So what about Donald Trump? Can God use someone with a morally questionable past, a prideful spirit, a divisive tone, and a strong personality to accomplish His purposes? Of course, he can.

But here’s the danger. Too many Christians mistake God’s use of a man as God’s endorsement of a man. And that’s where we must exercise biblical discernment. The fact that someone is in power or appears to be a defender of Christian values does not mean God is pleased with them. It may mean God is using them as a test for the nation, for the church, and for the individual believer. This is not the time to put blind trust in a man. It’s the time to open our eyes to what God may be doing through that man.

Sometimes God gives a nation the leader it asks for, not as a blessing, but as a consequence. Israel cried out for a king, and they got Saul. He looked impressive, spoke with authority, and won the people’s loyalty. But inside, he was disobedient, proud, and unfit to lead. God allowed it, not because Saul was the answer, but because the people had rejected God as their true king.

Could it be that Trump is not the solution, but the spotlight, revealing the heart of the church and the soul of the nation? The church must not be naive. Just because someone waves the Bible or uses religious language does not mean they walk in the fear of God. The scriptures tell us that Satan himself disguises as an angel of light. That means deception is not always obvious. It can look patriotic. It can sound moral. It can appear strong. But only those who walk close to Christ will recognize whether a leader is being used by God for redemption or for judgment.

We are living in prophetic times. Every headline, every courtroom decision, every election result is echoing what the spirit is already saying to the church.

Wake up.

Discern the times.

Don’t put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.

If God has raised up Donald Trump in this hour, it is not for us to exalt him. It is for us to examine ourselves. One of the greatest tragedies in the modern church is how easily we exchange the glory of God for the excitement of politics. We are witnessing a generation of believers who are more passionate about defending a politician than proclaiming the gospel. That should deeply concern us. God never called His people to pledge their allegiance to a man, no matter how charismatic, bold, or seemingly conservative he may be. And yet what we’re seeing today is a disturbing shift in the hearts of many Christians where loyalty to Donald Trump has begun to eclipse loyalty to Jesus Christ. This isn’t about whether you agree with his policies or appreciate his leadership. This is about something much deeper, something spiritual.

When a man is talked about more in churches than the cross, when he is praised louder than Christ, when his critics are condemned more fiercely than sin itself, then we are no longer standing on the foundation of scripture. We are standing on the shaky ground of idolatry. And make no mistake, idolatry doesn’t always look like a golden statue or a carved image. Sometimes it looks like a political banner, a campaign slogan, or an unwavering defense of a leader who has become untouchable in the minds of the people. There’s a danger in elevating any human being to a level where criticism feels like blasphemy.

That is not how God has called us to think. The Lord is jealous for His glory. He will not share it. Not with a president, not with a party, not with a movement. And when the church begins to blur the lines between reverence for Christ and allegiance to a man, judgment always follows. Just look at Israel in the Old Testament. Time and time again, they placed their trust in kings and alliances, thinking they were securing peace and protection, only to find themselves under the hand of divine discipline.

Why? Because they forgot the one who delivered them in the first place.

We have to ask ourselves some hard questions. Are we more broken over the condition of our nation or over the condition of our own hearts? Are we more focused on what’s happening in Washington than what’s happening in the pulpits? Are we more committed to winning elections than winning souls? When the church becomes more energized by political victories than spiritual revival, we’ve lost our way.

God does not need a president to accomplish His will. He needs a holy church that fears Him more than it fears losing cultural influence. Let’s be honest. Some of us have defended sin in the name of strategy. We’ve excused arrogance, dismissed immorality, and explained away division because we believe the ends justify the means. But God never operates that way.

He never blesses compromise. He never uses darkness to achieve light without first exposing the darkness. And he never compromises without first exposing the darkness.

We must remember that truth is not optional. It is the sword of the spirit. And when we lay it down for political gain, we are disarming ourselves in a spiritual war. We can’t fight deception with deception. We fight it with holiness, humility, and the unfiltered Word of God. Now more than ever, we need discernment.

The enemy is not always outside the camp. Sometimes he walks right through the gates dressed like a savior. Satan doesn’t mind using someone who sounds conservative if it leads the church into complacency, pride, or blind loyalty.

That’s why God warns us over and over again, do not put your trust in princes.

Our hope is not in who sits in the Oval Office. Our hope is in the one who sits on the throne of heaven. So if God is sending a prophetic warning in this hour, it may not be about Trump alone. It may be about the condition of our worship. In other words, who do we praise? Who do we trust? Who do we follow when the world is burning?

If the answer is anyone other than Jesus Christ, then we have already traded truth for a lie, and God will not leave that unchallenged. It’s essential that we understand the difference between being used by God and being approved by God. That distinction may seem small, but it’s critical.

All throughout scripture, God has used individuals, some righteous, some wicked, to fulfill His divine purposes. But in no way did that usage mean he condoned their character or blessed their behavior. God can work through anyone, including deeply flawed people, but that doesn’t mean he endorses them.

We must never confuse God’s sovereignty with His approval. When we look at the figure of Donald Trump, we see a man who has undeniably shaken the political landscape and for better or worse disrupted the flow of how things have operated in America for decades. His boldness, his resistance to political correctness, and his stance on certain moral and national issues have attracted many Christians who feel like they finally have someone fighting for their values. In fact, we must face the fact that not everyone fights for their values. Some sects of a society have fallen because of it.

But here’s the danger. Just because someone fights for your values does not mean they walk in the spirit. And just because God uses someone to protect certain freedoms doesn’t mean we should blindly follow them. Let’s not forget that God used Pharaoh to demonstrate His power through the plagues. He used Balam’s donkey to speak truth when Balam himself was disobedient. He used Judas Iscariot to bring about the betrayal of Christ, fulfilling prophecy down to the detail. These people were all used by God, but they were not honored by God for their hearts. In fact, many of them were under judgment. And yet, they were instruments in the larger plan. That’s the sovereignty of God in motion. He uses all things, even those opposed to Him, to bring about His purposes. There are moments in history where God raises up a man not to bless the nation, but to expose it. Sometimes it’s not about building but about revealing. That’s what many have missed. We assume that if God is using someone, it must be a sign of divine favor.

But scripture reminds us that even the antichrist will perform signs and wonders. Even he will gather a massive following. Usefulness is not the test of righteousness.

Obedience, humility, and surrender to God’s word. That’s the true test.

And where those qualities are lacking, we must be cautious, not celebratory.

What we are witnessing may be a divine spotlight. Through Donald Trump, God may be revealing the idolatry in the church, the compromise in our pulpits, the shallowness of our discernment. If we support someone because they hold up a Bible, yet we never question how they live, what they promote, or how they speak, then we’ve lost sight of what matters. The enemy doesn’t always work by opposing the church. Sometimes he infiltrates it by offering a counterfeit champion, someone who looks like a defender but lacks the fruit of the spirit.

Now, this isn’t a call to political disengagement. Christians should care about truth, about justice, about the moral direction of our nation. But we cannot do so at the expense of our calling to be a holy, distinct, and Christ-centered people.

We are not here to serve an earthly kingdom. We are here to represent a heavenly one. And our witness becomes compromised when we excuse sin for the sake of influence or when we defend actions that contradict the very gospel we preach.

We need to step back and ask, are we following a man because we believe he is God’s chosen vessel? Or are we surrendering our discernment because it’s convenient?

Has our admiration become blind? Have we silenced the voice of the Holy Spirit in favor of loyalty to someone who, though used by God, may also be part of His judgment?

These are hard questions, but we must ask them because the health of the church depends on our ability to separate spiritual clarity from emotional allegiance. Just because someone is part of God’s plan doesn’t mean they are walking in God’s presence. We have to come to terms with something many don’t want to hear.

The turmoil in America right now is not just political unrest. It’s spiritual judgment. It’s not merely the result of policy failures, cultural shifts, or leadership flaws. This shaking we’re seeing across every level of society is not accidental. It’s not random. It’s divine.

God is not watching from a distance while a nation spirals into confusion. He is speaking through the chaos. And the question is, are we listening?

When you see a country torn in two, when truth is no longer welcomed, when corruption is celebrated and sin is normalized, don’t be fooled into thinking this is just another political season.

No, this is God removing the hedge. This is what happens when a people blessed beyond measure turn their backs on the One who gave them everything. America isn’t just declining. America is being warned. And sadly, many in the church are still asleep clinging to the hope that a politician or a party will fix what only repentance can heal.

There was a time when God would bless a land because of the righteous remnant within it. But there also comes a time when he allows a nation to be ruled by confusion, by lawlessness, by leaders who reflect the very heart of the people. When that happens, it’s not a glitch in the system. It’s a judgment from God. Read Romans 1. When a society rejects God, he gives them over to depraved minds. over to moral blindness, over to the very sins they celebrate. And when you look around at the state of this nation, it’s undeniable we are already under that kind of judgment.

Donald Trump didn’t cause all of this. Nor is he the solution to all of it. His rise to power was a symptom of something deeper, something brewing for decades. His fall from influence and return aren’t just headlines. They’re a divine mirror. Through his time on the world stage, God has exposed more than just political corruption. He’s exposed the hearts of men and women across the nation, including within the church. How quickly many traded conviction for convenience, traded discernment for loyalty, traded the fear of God for the favor of a man.

This shaking is God’s megaphone. And it’s not just about America. It’s about the church. Judgment begins at the house of God. Before nations are held accountable, God looks to His people and says, “What have you done with the truth I gave you?

What did you do with my Word, my spirit, my son?” And right now, the answer many churches would have to give is sobering. We watered down the gospel. We turned a blind eye to sin. We embraced political platforms more than prophetic truth. We got comfortable in Babylon.

We must not miss what God is saying. If we keep interpreting spiritual warnings as political trends, we will miss the whole point. God is not interested in whether America swings left or right. He is interested in whether His people will humble themselves and repent. If you think a better economy or a stronger border or a louder voice in Washington is the solution, you’ve missed the crisis entirely.

The crisis is spiritual. And only spiritual surrender will heal it. It may be that the Trump era, whether past, present, or future, isn’t about a man’s leadership, but about God’s alarm clock to the church.

He is telling us to wake up, to stop idolizing leaders, to turn from sin, to return to Him. Because when God sends judgment, he always sends warning first. And what we’re experiencing right now may be the last call before the collapse.

The shaking in this nation is not a call to fight harder in politics. It’s a call to fall lower in repentance. We are living in a time when the church is being tempted to trade its prophetic voice for political power. The call to holiness, the urgency of the gospel, the clarity of truth.

These things are being pushed aside by a desperate desire to remain relevant, influential, and aligned with whoever promises to protect our interests. That’s not the mission God gave us. The church was never called to be a political machine. We were called to be a light in the darkness, a pillar of truth, a prophetic witness to a fallen world.

But somewhere along the way, we decided that if we just attach ourselves to the right people, the right policies, the right personalities, we can preserve our influence. And in doing so, many have compromised the truth.

Truth is not negotiable. It’s not something we bend or soften depending on who’s in office. The Word of God is not Republican or Democrat. It’s not American or European. It is holy, eternal, and unchanging. And when the church begins to adjust its message so it doesn’t offend the political figures it supports, that’s not wisdom. That’s disobedience.

We cannot afford to soften our preaching just to maintain political access. God doesn’t honor compromise, no matter how strategic we think it is. He honors obedience. And if our loyalty to a candidate prevents us from calling out sin, then we’ve already surrendered our authority.

What has happened in recent years is that many pulpits have gone silent, not because there’s nothing to say, but because speaking would cost them something. Churches are afraid to speak out on issues of integrity, pride, immorality, and division if doing so would reflect poorly on the politicians they support.

That’s not boldness. That’s cowardice. And it reveals where our trust really lies. Are we trusting in Christ or in political figures?

Are we depending on the spirit of God or on the power of earthly influence?

Jesus didn’t die so we could preserve a culture. He died to save sinners. He didn’t come to install a government. He came to establish a kingdom. A kingdom not of this world. And yet many believers are acting as if our mission is to defend a temporary system rather than proclaim an eternal truth.

We have confused preserving Christian comfort with fulfilling the great commission. And because of that, we’ve allowed ourselves to excuse behavior that under any other circumstance we would condemn.

We must be honest. If the same arrogance, dishonesty, or immoral behavior came from someone outside our political tribe, we’d call it out immediately. Because it comes from someone we believe is on our side, we justify it. We explain it away. We say, “Well, at least he’s fighting for us.” But friends, God never calls us to defend sin because it’s politically useful. He calls us to stand for righteousness regardless of the cost. And that’s the challenge in this hour.

Will the church be the church? Will we be a people set apart? Or will we become a religious extension of a political campaign? God has never needed a president to accomplish His will. He needs a people who fear Him more than they fear losing popularity.

He needs leaders who are willing to speak the truth even when it’s not convenient. Even when it offends their own base, even when it costs them influence and friends and maybe even their position.

We are in a moment of decision. Will we uphold the gospel with integrity, or will we dilute it for access? Will we honor Christ with undivided hearts? Or will we keep sacrificing the truth on the altar of political expedience?

Because one thing is certain. If the church refuses to speak truth now, we may find ourselves irrelevant when the culture finally crumbles. Silence in the face of compromise is not neutrality. It is betrayal.

There’s something stirring in the spirit of the age. Something that feels like a final warning. The events unfolding in the world, the chaos in society, the division in families, the upheaval in government. It all points to a deeper shaking.

And many believers sense it. They may not be able to explain it, but they feel it in their bones. We are not living in normal times. We are standing at the edge of something eternal. And the window of God’s mercy is beginning to close.

Donald Trump, for all the controversy and commotion surrounding him, may not be the main character in this unfolding drama. He may simply be one of God’s instruments to wake the church up before it’s too late. His unexpected rise, his unrelenting presence in public discourse. None of this is accidental. It’s part of a divine pattern.

God often uses disruptive figures to shake His people out of complacency. He will sometimes raise up someone who doesn’t fit the mold, someone who turns the system upside down. Not because that person is righteous, but because the people have grown numb to righteousness.

God sent prophets to Israel, not always to comfort them, but to confront them. And sometimes when they stopped listening to the prophets, he allowed kings and rulers to take the stage. Not to save, but to sift. What if the era we’re witnessing is not God exalting a man, but God exposing a nation? What if Trump’s time in power and the reaction to him is meant to reveal what’s truly in the hearts of Americans, especially professing Christians.

Look at what has happened. We’ve seen churches split, not over doctrine, but over politics. We’ve watched believers attack one another, not over sin, but over party loyalty. We’ve seen pastors compromise their message, Christians compromise their character and the world looks on in confusion because those who are supposed to represent Christ have gotten lost in a sea of slogans and campaign rallies.

If that doesn’t tell us something is wrong, we are beyond blind.

This moment is not about Trump. It’s about time. God is not measuring our faithfulness by how loudly we support a candidate. He is measuring our readiness by how urgently we repent, how deeply we obey, and how boldly we proclaim Christ.

The storm we’re seeing isn’t just cultural. It’s prophetic. It’s the sound of God warning His people that judgment is at the door and grace will not be offered forever. We are approaching the midnight hour and what we do in this season will echo into eternity.

If the church continues to sleep through the warning, if we keep arguing over temporary things while eternal souls hang in the balance, we will stand before God one day and answer for our silence. This is not the time to double down on our political strategies. This is the time to fall on our faces in repentance. God is giving us a window, a short one, to turn from idols, to turn from compromise, and to fix our eyes back on the cross.

We are being tested, not by the world, but by the Lord Himself. He is watching to see whether His people will awaken before the judgment fully descends. The shaking in the economy, the moral collapse in society, the hatred, the deception, the confusion. These aren’t just warning signs. They’re acts of divine mercy.

God always warns before He judges.

And this may be our last warning. Whatever happens in the future, it will not change what God expects from His people. He’s not looking for political warriors. He’s looking for spiritual worshippers, those who will not bow to the golden calves of power, comfort, or control, those who will stand for truth, preach the gospel, and live holy lives even when the world burns around them.

When the final trumpet sounds, it won’t matter who led the nation. It will only matter who truly followed Christ.

How dare you!

July 27, 2024 by YBP

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To lull me to sleep

With your razor blade words and saccharine tones

You trapped me in a box till my arms and legs outgrew that absurdly tiny space

That tension made me explode into fractions of the minutest pieces all over the place

It has been taking me years to find them and pick them up

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To rape me incessantly

Bleeding me to the core

Jeering and misleading me once more

Your wicked plans strapped close to your chest

As you imagine more ways of torturing me undetected

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To speak abominations

Of hollow empty promises

Dangling the shadow of hope in your hands

Deceiving me into oblivion

Giving me the drink of darkness in the soul

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To shame me in the court of the multitude

As you plant those seeds of doubt and discontent

In the secret fields of my solitude

Your weeds have been crowding my mind

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To pollute my well of purity

With evil intentions and belligerent energies

The silent waters that once ran deep have been stirred like a hornet’s nest

Stinging me with pain unbearable

I numbed myself in silence

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To parade me in my innocence

Before throngs of unrecognizable faces

Invading my space and bringing me to the guillotine

Avoiding my gaze and pleas for help

You fed me to the pack of wolves

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To snuff out all my brilliant ebullience

You extinguished the optimistic flame within

And turned it into the raging fires of rage

Yet trapped inside my inner world

Twisting every right to express myself

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To blind me to the true beauty of creation

Making me look at all the lack

By imposing the narratives of your turbulent past

Stealing my joy robbing my purest gratitude

Forcing entry into my world by hurling your ugly world into mine

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To mock me and hurl insults on my humanness

You made me fear your judgement and all the daggers that you threw my way

I kept running away from you to save my soul and yet I kept running back to you seeking your approval

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

A chemist of unbelievable proportions

Concocting decisive manipulation

In ways that hide beneath the sheets

The clues of neglect have been mixed with sugar and spice but nothing that was nice

Leaving so much distaste

Yet taking away all other options on the menu

I was left with nothing to eat but garbage

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To stunt my growth in every imperceptible way

Making me second guess myself

Casting a hurricane of disbelief

Tormenting me with the fear of failure and rejection

Addicted to the image of perfection

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To play me over and over again

An unwilling participant in your torturous game

Pressure on me to defend my inner child

Revelling in my anguish

Never putting an end to my cries

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

To goad me into the sunken levels of your bane existence

Frying my emotions and pulverizing my identity

Pushing me to monster-like tendencies

Stop projecting your vile nature unto me

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

Questioning my life

After trampling on me unnoticeably

In the silence of the crowd

You hid your lifetime abuse with all the gravel of your words

But your actions betrayed you

They revealed your abyss of pain and dysfunction

Till you could no longer live the layers of lies

As your manipulations chased you

How dare you!

Who do you think you are?

You are not me.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that we are one and the same.

Deal with your thoughts. Deal with your emotions. Deal with your choices. Deal with your lies. Deal with your manipulations. Deal with your cruelty. Deal with who you are and the path that you have chosen.

This is the healing end of all the abuse.

This is the end of the tale you tried to weave.

This is the end of the horror you tried to heap.

This is the end of the sick game you trapped me into playing.

This is the end of you wanting to be me.

This is the end of you stealing my identity.

This is the end.

I am finally free.
❤️

Especially Peter

by Pastor Bryan Lowe

Peter Running to the Empty Tomb, Burnard, c. 1898

And now go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter, that he will go ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.”

Mark 16:7, CEV

Poor Peter. Despairing over his personal darkness he has become completely undone.  His wound is beyond any human remedy.  No one can help him at this point. We do well to mark the fall of the ‘Rock.’ Peter is now how we understand our Father’s love.

Jesus had called him, the ‘Rock.’  This would become a bestowed nickname of a future transformation.  We use granite and marble when we want something to last for ages.  It is as permanent as we can make it. Peter is definitely a work-in-progress. His character is sand. He really doesn’t measure up.

Visiting a working quarry, you’ll find large machinery.  Men scale the walls with heavy drills.  At just the right spot they begin to bore a hole.  It is hard and intense work, but they are persistent.  The rock is unyielding, but they work relentlessly.

Soon they take the hole to the proper depth.  Explosives are hauled up, and the hole is carefully packed with dynamite.  The word used in the New Testament is the word “dunamis.”  It is translated from Greek into English as “power.”  Our word for “dynamite” is also a translation of that word.

Peter needs the dynamite power of the Holy Spirit. It is explosive. 

“But you will receive dynamite when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Jesus looks after each disciple before his resurrection.  He kindly gazes at Peter. Especially Peter.  He will need this new power to overcome his weaknesses. The dynamite of the Spirit will explode all over the Upper Room. Shifty Peter us about to become a rock.

His disciples, in just 50 days are going to meet the Holy Spirit. 

Peter was so transformed on Pentecost he would preach and 3,000 would believe and be baptized. He went from cowardly denier to bold preacher. The dunamis of God changed him that day (Acts 2).

As a broken believer, I see the image of Peter morphing into my own face. I have denied Him before others. I am ashamed of what I have done. My depression flares up and my heart goes down in a downward spiral. I must have the Holy Spirit’s authority to be free.

Bryan

Do you love?

Maybe it’s time to do a quick checkup on our love? If we hate anyone, we go against Jesus’ command to love with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.

Someone once told me they couldn’t love a particular kind of person. I told them about Jesus’ command, also saying God didn’t ask us to like or love people’s behavior, but that we should love the person and pray for that person. It’s important to know the difference and act accordingly.

So I repeat the question, do you love? Completely?

A Sheltered Spot for You

Tree by a Stream

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.”

Isaiah 26:3

All we need to do in time of sorrow and loneliness is to stay our minds upon God, to trust Him, to rest in Him, to nestle in His love. We remember where John was found the night of the Lord’s last supper with His disciples, – the darkest night the world ever saw, in the deepest sorrow men ever knew, – he was leaning on Jesus’ breast. He crept into that holy shelter to find quiet.

John was kept in perfect peace during all those terrible hours. Everything appeared to have slipped away and there was nothing that seemed abiding. But John crept into the shelter of love and simply trusted, and was kept in holy peace.

A beautiful story is told of Rudyard Kipling during a serious illness a few years since. The trained nurse was sitting at his bedside on one of the anxious nights when the sick man’s condition was most critical. She was watching him intently and noticed that his lips began to move. She bent over him, and heard him whisper the words of the old familiar prayer of childhood, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” The nurse, realizing that her patient did not require her services, and that he was praying, said in apology for having intruded upon him, “I beg your pardon, Mr. Kipling; I thought you wanted something.” “I do,” faintly replied the sick man: “I want my heavenly Father. He only can care for me now.

In his great weakness there was nothing that human help could do, and he turned to God and crept into His bosom, seeking the blessing and the care which none but God can give. That is what we need to do in every time of trial, of sorrow, – when the gentlest human love can do nothing, – creep into our heavenly Father’s bosom, saying, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” That is the way to peace. Earth has no shelter in which it can be found, but in God the feeblest may find it.  —JR Miller

We are the World! Happy New Year!

Praying for blessings to all of you around the world. May we all come together to find what is best in each of us. Love surely is better than hate. Working together, standing together, loving together will make the difference. If you are upset about something, find your voice. Go on Twitter, Facebook, start a Website, care and share positive ideas and progressive thinking instead of crying in a corner. We can all light the place where we stand and that light will shine enough to change things.

Be blessed with much love, joy, and happiness!

Sharon & Erick

We are the world!

There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And its time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We are all a part of Gods great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving

Losing my religion for equality

Although this article was published in 2015, when I discovered it today, I thought it important to share. ~ Sharon Rule

Jimmy Carter
Published: April 27, 2015 – 11:12AM

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women’s equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices – as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive areas to challenge. But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy – and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity. We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: “The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable.”

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world’s major faiths share.

The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place – and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence – than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn’t until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

The truth is that male religious leaders have had – and still have – an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions – all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.

Jimmy Carter was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981

May 4 2015

Want equality for all? Then spurn organised religion.

This story was found at: The Age

Why I love Christmas

When Christ was born, so was our hope! This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises! He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished.

He only awaits our word to walk through the door. Invite him in. Escort him to the seat of honor, and pull out his chair. Clear the table; clear the calendar. Call the kids and neighbors. Christmas is here. Christ is here. One request from you, and God will do again what he did then. He’ll scatter the night with everlasting light. He’ll be born in you.

Let “Silent Night” be sung! Every heart can be a manger. Every day can be a Christmas.  The Christmas miracle—a yearlong celebration! ~Max Lucado

The Heart of the Human Problem

The sinful nature is the stubborn, self-centered attitude that says, “My way or the highway.” The sinful nature is all about self: pleasing self, promoting self, preserving self. I have a sin nature! So do you. Under the right circumstances you will do the wrong thing. You’ll try not to, but you will. You have a sin nature. You were born with it. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart!

Christmas commemorates the day and the way God saved us from ourselves. The angel speaking to Mary in Matthew 1:21 says, “. . .you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Each of us entered the world with a sin nature. God entered the world to take it away!

~ Max Lucado

Overcoming discouragement brings great blessing

 Are you a “big picture” person?

(My Note: Considering the previous message on the site today, I think this one was also “right on” and meant for me to contemplate today.  Funny how that happens, huh?)

Who but God goes up to the heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fist? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name — and his son’s name? Tell me if you know!

Proverbs 30:4 NLT

Impressive panorama

When people understand events clearly, we often say that they “see the big picture.” This passage in Proverbs makes the point that the clearest view of the “big picture” will always include God. The sequence of rhetorical questions helps us consider the awesome identity and capacity of God. Much like the litany of questions that God showered on Job (Job 38:1-41:34), these push us toward humble and silent worship.

Agur was feeling overwhelmed (30:1), insignificant (30:2), and limited (30:3). But when he turned away from his smallness to contemplate God’s greatness, an atmosphere of confidence filled the rest of the chapter. He began with a little picture, no bigger than himself, but he soon looked at the big picture and forgot that he was weary and worn out. God gave him a new and refreshing point of view.

WISE WAYS  One of the best remedies for a weary and tired spirit is to contemplate the majesty and greatness of God. How have you found that to be true?

Dear Lord, when I look at all you have made, I know it makes me feel smaller, but it also fills me with wonder over how great you are! I worship you.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Proverbs by Neil S. Wilson, Tyndale House Publishers (2002), entry for January 30.


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Look up!

God wants you to stop being “absorbed with the things right in front of you.

Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—

that’s where the action is.

See things from his perspective”.

(Colossians 3:2 MSG)

If I ever needed to hear this verse, today was the day! I’m having a rough time facing the fact that my sister’s leukemia has now progressed and she will be starting chemo soon.  Also, it seems, people who are “supposed friends”, just simply “aren’t”.  So I need to look up, and try to see it all in “God’s perspective”.

Christ in You!

When grace happens, Christ enters.  Christ in you, the hope of glory!

For many years, I missed this truth.  I believed all the other prepositions:

Christ for me, with me, ahead of me.  But I never imagined that Christ was in me.

I can’t blame my deficiency on Scripture. Paul refers to it 216 times.  John mentions it 26.  No other religion or philosophy makes such a claim.  No other movement implies the living presence of its founder in his followers.

Muhammad does not indwell Muslims.  Buddha does not inhabit Buddhists.

Influence?  Instruct?  Yes.  But occupy?  No.

The mystery in a nutshell is Colossians 1:27:  “Christ is in you!”

The Christian is a person in whom Christ is happening!  We sense his re-arranging.  He’s turning debris into the divine, a pig’s ear into silk purse.  Little by little a new image emerges!

God’s Grace!

From GRACE

~ Max Lucado

Are you wearing the “belt of truth”?

The belt of truth

Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:14 NLT

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” says Jesus (John 8:32). But what will the truth set us free from?

First of all, it sets us free from the snares of deception. When people know the truth, they can’t be taken in by a lie. You can’t convince people to believe in something that they know in their hearts and minds is false.

The truth will also set you free from guilt and shame. When you’ve held tightly to the truth, you don’t have to worry about a lie coming back to haunt you. You don’t spend your nights lying awake wondering what words of deception might trap and ensnare you. You are free to live with a clean conscience and an innocent heart.

Finally, the truth sets you free from judgment. When you trust in the truth of Jesus, you have no more fear of death — physical or spiritual. You know his promises to be true and his words to be life-giving. You can no longer be bound by Satan’s lies.

The belt of truth Paul writes about is the strap that holds together the entire armor of God. Without it, everything else would fall away and Satan would have an open target to your heart. So take the truth of Christ, and latch it firmly around your waist. Let it set you free!

From a devotional by Frank M. Martin in Embracing Eternity (Tyndale House) p 293

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Blessings come from applying God’s Word.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

I have always loved this passage in Psalm 34. Read the whole chapter (which I have copied from biblegateway.com and included it after the following message from The Life Application Study Bible).  Let it bathe over you with comfort.

~~~~~

God pays attention to those who call on Him.  Whether God offers escape from trouble or help in times of trouble, we can be certain that He always hears and acts on behalf of those who love Him.

God promises great blessings to His people, but many of these blessings require active participation.  He will deliver us from:

  • fear (34:4),
  • save us out of our troubles (34:6),
  • guard and deliver us (34:7),
  • show us goodness (34:8),
  • supply our needs (34:9),
  • listen when we talk to Him (34:15)
  • and redeem us (34:22),

but we must do our part.

We can appropriate His blessings when:

  • we seek Him (34:4, 10),
  • cry out to Him (34:6, 17),
  • trust Him (34:8),
  • fear Him (34:7,9),
  • refrain from lying (34:13),
  • turn from evil,
  • do good and seek peace (34:14),
  • are humble (34:18,
  • and serve Him (34:22).

34:8  “Taste and see” does not mean “Check out God’s credentials.”  Instead it is a warm invitation. “Try this; I know you’ll like it.”  When we take that first step of obedience in following God, we will discover that Je is good and kind.  When we begin the Christian life, our knowledge of God is partial and incomplete.  As we trust Him daily, we experience how good He is.

34:9   You say you belong to the Lord, but do you fear Him?  To fear the Lord means to show deep respect and honor to Him.  We demonstrate true reverence by our humble attitude and genuine worship.  Reverence was shown by Abraham (Genesis 17:2-4), Moses (Exodus 3:5, 6), and the Israelites (Exodus 19:16-24) showed this kind of fear of the Lord.

34:9, 10  At first we may question David’s statement, because we seem to lack many good things.  This is not a blanket promise that all Christians will have everything they want.  Instead, this is David’s praise for God’s goodness–all those who call upon God in their need will be answered, sometimes in unexpected ways.

Remember, God knows what we need, and our deepest needs are spiritual.  Even though many Christians face unbearable poverty and hardship, they still have enough spiritual nourishment to live for God.  David was saying that to have God is to have all you really need.  God is enough.
If you feel you don’t have everything you need, ask:

  • Is this really a need?
  • Is this really good for me?
  • Is this the best time for me to have what I desire?

Even if you answer yes to all three questions, God may allow you to go without to help you grow more dependent on Him.  He may want you to learn that you need Him more than having to achieve your immediate desires.

34:11-14  The Bible often connects the fear of the Lord (love and reverence for Him) with obedience.  “Fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13); “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching” (John 14:23).

David said that a person who fears the Lord

  • doesn’t lie,
  • turns from evil,
  • does good,
  • and promotes peace.

Reverence is much more than sitting quietly in church.  It includes obeying God in the way we speak and the way we treat others.

34:14  Some may think that peace should come with no effort.  But David explained that we are to seek and pursue peace.  Paul echoed this thought in Romans 12:18.  A person who wants peace cannot be argumentative and contentious.  Because peaceful relationships come from our efforts at peacemaking, work hard at living in peace with others each day.

34:18, 19  We often wish we could escape troubles–

  • the pain of grief,
  • loss,
  • sorrow,
  • and failure;

or even the small daily frustrations that constantly wear us down.

God promises to be “close to the brokenhearted,” to be our source of

  • power,
  • courage,
  • and wisdom,

helping us through our problems.

Sometimes He chooses to deliver us from those problems.  When trouble strikes, don’t get frustrated with God.  Instead, admit that you need God’s help and thank Him for being by your side.

34:20  This is a prophecy about Christ when He was crucified.  Although it was the Roman custom to break the legs of the victim to speed death, not one of Jesus’ bones was broken (John 19:32-37).  In addition to the prophetic meaning, David was pleading for God’s protection in times of crisis.

 

Psalm 34

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
and He delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Fear the Lord, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20  He protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems His servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.

 

 

To read this passage in the King James Version, please click on this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2034&version=KJV

Faithful Perseverance

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:36-37

The greatest example of Christian perseverance for me is Sister Alice Yuan from China. Her pastor husband, Allen Yuan, was imprisoned for almost twenty-two years for refusing to join the government controlled church in the middle 1950’s. She says:

“When my husband Allen was sent to prison in April 1958, I was told that I would never see him again. I felt completely miserable and continually blamed God. The future looked so terribly bleak. I had the care of six children and my mother-in-law. I was only earning 80 cents a day. How could I keep my family alive on that?

“When it all became too much for me, one night I heard a voice: ‘My child, I have everything in My hands. These things come from Me.’ I replied, ‘If these things come from You, please protect me and my family. Do not allow me to dishonor Your name. I want to serve You and glorify Your name’

“Then I received peace in my heart. I was encouraged by Psalm 68:19, Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. In those difficult years, people let me down, but God never abandoned me. But he did put me through trials.

“The first trial was the struggle to survive. I was only earning 80 cents a day. How could we get by on that? But God took care of us, in the same way that he took care of Elijah. He promised to be my shepherd and provider.

“One evening, my mother-in-law said that there was no food anymore in the house. The next morning, at five to six there was a knock on the door. ‘Are you sister Alice?’ asked a woman in her sixties, whom I didn’t know. ‘God wanted me to give you this.’ She put a package in my hand and disappeared. When I opened the parcel I found there was rice in it and some other food and a banknote to the value of about four month’s salary of a professor! Praise the Lord. Where man comes to an end, God begins! This was only one of the many miracles which kept us alive all those years.”

RESPONSE: Today I will not complain about discomforts but thank God for all His blessings!

PRAYER: Lord, You desire faithfulness and perseverance. Help me develop these qualities in my life.

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:38-39

“The second trial came from the Communist party. Every day for nineteen years, I had to report to the police station, where for six hours, they put pressure on me. They said that I would never see my husband again, that I should divorce him and that I should give up my faith. With God’s help I kept going. Praying with my eyes closed, I endured the interrogations every day.

“The third trial consisted of the hard work. After I had been pressured by the security police for six hours, I still had to work for eight hours to earn a living. I had to push handcarts filled with building materials. The carts were much too heavy. I was completely exhausted and was already tired before I started. In the winter, it was even worse. Sometimes I had to shovel cement up onto a floor above my head. The work was dirty, hard and cold, but I achieved my quota. The others were surprised and wondered where I got the energy from.

“The fourth trial had to do with my natural desires. I was thirty-nine-years-old when my husband was taken away. The authorities put me under pressure to marry someone else. All my papers would be changed, so that I could start a new life without all the difficulties. I was offered money and clothing. God loved me so much that He gave me the strength to resist all these temptations. When I prayed to God, He gave me everything I needed, and even more than that.

“My favorite text is Psalm 68:6, God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing.”

It is a miracle that her husband, Allen Yuan, got out of the labour camp alive. In December 1979, he was released after twenty-one years and eight months. He was then sixty-five years old, thin but still healthy. At an age when many people are enjoying retirement, Allan again took up his vocation as a pastor. He died on August 16th 2005 at the age of ninety-one. Alice joined him in heaven in early August 2010 to hear her own “Well done!”

RESPONSE: I resolve to persevere, with faith in a good God, through all the trials that come my way.

PRAYER: Lord, may all Your children experiencing severe persecution today be filled with faith and refuse to shrink back. Help me to emulate these great examples of faithful perseverance.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

This message makes me stop and think.

Do I really love my enemies?And better yet, who are my enemies? Do I really have any?

First of all, we are so blessed that we do not have to endure the kind of persecution referred to in this story. But if we did, what would be our attitude? our response?

On a routine day, how do we respond to our neighbors when they do something that displeases us?

Do we vent to them?

Take it out on them?

Are we passive aggressive?

Do we fuss and fume about it in our homes?

Do we love, instead?

Food for thought!

~ Sharon

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… Matthew 5:44

Perhaps the most difficult of Jesus’ commands is to love even our enemies. A true Christian always seeks another person’s highest good—even when mistreated. Brother Andrew says “The Christian’s only method of destroying his enemies is to ‘love’ them into being his friends.”

Romanian pastor, Dr. Paul Negrut, was visiting an old friend in Romania named Trian Dors in his humble home. As Paul entered, he realized that Trian was bleeding from open wounds. He asked, “What happened?”

Trian replied, “The secret police just left my home. They came and confiscated my manuscripts. Then they beat me.”

Pastor Paul says, “I began to complain about the heavy tactics of the secret police. But Trian stopped me saying, ‘Brother Paul, it is so sweet to suffer for Jesus. God didn’t bring us together tonight to complain but to praise him. Let’s kneel down and pray.”

“He knelt and began praying for the secret police. He asked God to bless them and save them. He told God how much he loved them. He said, ‘God, if they will come back in the next few days, I pray that you will prepare me to minister to them.’” Paul continued, “By this time I was ashamed. I thought I had been living the most difficult life in Romania for the Lord. And I was bitter about that.”

Trian Dors then shared with Paul how the secret police had been coming to his home regularly for several years. They beat him twice every week. They confiscated all his papers. After the beating he would talk to the officer in charge. Trian would look into his eyes and say, “Mister, I love you. And I want you to know that if our next meeting is before the judgement throne of God, you will not go to hell because I hate you but because you rejected love.” Trian would repeat these words after every beating.

Years later that officer came alone to his home one night. Trian prepared himself for another beating. But the officer spoke kindly and said, “Mr. Dors, the next time we meet will be before the judgement throne of God. I came tonight to apologize for what I did to you and to tell you that your love moved my heart. I have asked Christ to save me. But two days ago the doctor discovered that I have a very severe case of cancer and I have only a few weeks to live before I go to be with God. I came tonight to tell you that we will be together on the other side.”

RESPONSE: Today I will destroy my enemies only with love.

PRAYER: God give me Your kind of love for my enemies—so they too will love You.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

SELFLESSNESS

Note: This is a beautiful story. I hope you will be blessed by it as I have been. Makes you really stop and think! ~ Sharon

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

Brother Andrew loves to tell this parable from the Middle East:

A certain man had two sons. One was rich and the other was poor. The rich son had no children while the poor son was blessed with many sons and many daughters. In time, the father fell ill. He was sure he would not live through the week, so on Saturday he called his sons to his side and gave each of them half of his land for their inheritance. Then he died. Before sundown the sons buried their father with respect.

That night the rich son could not sleep. He said to himself, “What my father did was not just. I am rich and my brother is poor. I have plenty of bread while my brother’s children eat one day and trust God for the next. I must move the landmark which our father has set in the middle of the land so that my brother will have the greater share. Ah – but he must not see me; if he sees me, he will be shamed. I must arise early in the morning before it is dawn and move the landmark!” With this he fell asleep and his sleep was secure and peaceful.

Meanwhile, the poor brother could not sleep. As he lay restless on his bed, he said to himself, “What my father did was not just. Here I am surrounded by the joy of many sons and daughters while my brother daily faces the shame of having no sons to carry on his name and no daughters to comfort him in his old age. He should have the land of our fathers. Perhaps this will in part compensate him for his indescribable poverty. Ah – but if I give it to him, he will be shamed. I must awake early in the morning before it is dawn and move the landmark which our father has set!” With this he went to sleep and his sleep was secure and peaceful.

On the first day of the week – very early in the morning, a long time before it was day, the two brothers met at the ancient land marker.

They fell with tears into each other’s arms. And on that spot was built the New Jerusalem.

RESPONSE: Today I will focus on the needs and interests of others rather than on my own.

PRAYER: Pray that this biblical attitude of love, humility and selflessness will pervade the church of Jesus Christ in the Middle East today and around the world.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

Every day, we are closer to Home!

By Max Lucado

Too seldom do I hear thunder and think “Is that God?”

I’ve been known to let a day pass, even two days, without a glance to the eastern sky. Let’s do better!

Colossians 3:2 reminds us to “Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.”

Blessings and burdens. Both can alarm-clock us out of slumber. Gifts stir homeward longings. So do struggles. Every homeless day carries us closer to the day our Father will come.

The Bible tells us God will wipe away all tears, there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain.

All of that gone forever. Write checks of hope on this promise! With Paul in Romans 8:23, we “wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children.”

Every day—closer to home!

From Come Thirsty

Loving the you He sees

Why does God love you so much?

For the same reason the artist loves his paintings.  You are His idea!

Ephesians 2:10 confirms that 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.”

In the movie Hook, Peter Pan had become old and looked nothing like the Peter the lost boys knew.  In the midst of the boys shouting that this was NOT Peter, one of the smallest boys pulled him down to his level.  He places his hands on Peter’s face, moved the skin around and reshaped his face.  The boy looked into Peter’s eyes and said, “There you are, Peter!”

Shh.  Listen.  Do you hear?

God is saying the same words to you.  There you are!  There you are!

He’s seeing you and loving the you he sees.

From Fearless

by Max Lucado

SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15

A Spanish father and son were estranged. The father later went to search for his son. When he could not find him, the father put this ad in the Madrid newspaper:

“Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.”

Saturday noon, 800 Pacos showed up at the office looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful actions that Christians can perform. The world does not understand the ability or reasons to do this because it is most unnatural in a dog-eat-dog world. There is also pain to be overcome because behind every act of forgiveness lies the wound of betrayal; but there is far more pain and emotional, social, physical damage done when we do not forgive.

An Asian Christian apologist says, “If I am asked what separates Christianity from other religions, or what’s different about Christianity, aren’t all religions the same when you get down to it?’ one of the first things that I would say is bound up in this one beautiful word: forgiveness.”

Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a brother who sins against him. He thinks he is magnanimous and suggests seven times! Jesus makes his famous reply, “…not seven times, but seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:22).

Jesus then shares a parable about a man who, after much pleading for mercy, was forgiven for much and yet would not forgive another person who owed him little. In the parable, the master throws the man into jail to be tortured until he pays back his large debt. Then comes the conclusion: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

RESPONSE: Today I will forgive others who hurt me because God has commanded it and because my own forgiveness depends on it.

PRAYER: Lord, give me a spirit of forgiveness toward others who hurt me, just as You have forgiven me.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

Take out the Trash

Who wants to live with yesterday’s rubble? 

Who wants to hoard the trash of the past? 

You don’t, do you? 

Or do you?

I’m not talking about the trash in your house, but in your heart. 

Not the junk of papers and boxes but the remnants of anger and hurt. 

Do you rat-pack your pain? 

Amass offenses? 

Record slights?

A tour of your heart might be telling. 

A pile of rejections. 

Accumulated insults. 

No one can blame you. 

They’re innocence takers, promise breakers, and wound makers.  

They’re everywhere and you’ve had your share.

Jesus answered Peter’s question in Matthew 18:21 and 22 when he asked:  “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”  “No, not seven times,” Jesus said.  “Seventy times seven!”

Do you want to give every day a chance?  

Jesus says to get rid of the trash. 

Give the grace you’ve been given!

~ Max Lucado

From Great Day Every Day

Your spiritual DNA

Want to blow the cloud cover off a gray day?  Accept God’s direction! 

It’s exactly what John Bentley did.

He and his wife were overseers of an orphanage for abandoned babies in Beijing. 

Years ago a mother deposited a newborn in a nearby field. 

No note, no explanation, just $1.25.  

The Chinese equivalent of a burial. 

The child was severely burned from head to toe.  

The Bentleys weren’t about to let that child die. 

They nursed him to health–and adopted him as their son.

I Corinthians 3:5 says, “The Lord has assigned to each his task.”

What direction has God taken you?

What needs has he revealed to you?

What abilities has he given you?

Direction. 

Need. 

Ability. 

Your spiritual DNA–you at your best! 

None of us is called to carry the sin of the world. 

But all of us can carry a burden for the world!

From Great Day Every Day

~ Max Lucado

Consume my life

Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Jim Elliot

God’s Word is powerful

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot, 1949

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.

Jim Elliot, 1948

Jim Elliot’s prayer

When he died [at the hands of the Auca Indians], Jim left little of value, as the world regards values.…Of material things, there were few; a home in the jungle, a few well-worn clothes, books, and tools. The men who went to try to rescue the five [missionaries — all of whom died] brought back to me from Jim’s body his wrist watch, and from…the beach, the blurred pages of his college prayer-notebook. There was no funeral, no tombstone for a memorial.…No legacy then? Was it “just as if he had never been”? Jim left for me, in memory, and for us all, in these letters and diaries, the testimony of a man who sought nothing but the will of God, who prayed that his life would be “an exhibit of the value of knowing God.”

The interest which accrues from this legacy is yet to be realized. It is hinted at in the lives of…Indians who have determined to follow Christ, persuaded by Jim’s example; in the lives of many who write to tell me of a new desire to know God as Jim did.…His death was the result of simple obedience to his Captain.

Jim Elliot and four other missionaries met their deaths trying to reach the Auca Indians for Christ.

Elizabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty

Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda, general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), p375.

Digging Deeper: End of the Spear by Steve Saint (Tyndale, 2005), son of Nate Saint, chronicles the story of the encounter with the Ecuadorian tribe, which also became a major motion picture.

Don’t take anyone else’s word . . .

“Don’t take anyone else’s word for God.

Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful,

warm tug on your heartstring,

that He is there, for sure.”

~ Billy Graham

(My note:

“Don’t take anyone else’s word for what’s in the Bible.

Read it yourself.

Many people,

including even some well-meaning pastors,

take scripture out of context

and use it for their own opinions to try to get a point across. ~ Sharon)

Joy in Sharing

by Billy Graham

We . . . offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.
–Hebrews 13:15 (TLB)

Jesus knew that one of the real tests of our yieldedness to God is our willingness to share with others.

If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God’s mercy.

Emerson must have been reading the gauge of human mercy when he said, “What you are speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

Satan does not care how much you theorize about Christianity, or how much you profess to know Christ.

What he opposes vigorously is the way you live Christ.

Some time ago a lady wrote and said, “I am 65 years old. My children are all married, my husband is dead, and I am one of the loneliest people in all the world.” It was suggested to her that she find a way of sharing her religious faith and her material goods with those around her. She wrote a few weeks later and said, “I am the happiest woman in town. I have found a new joy and happiness in sharing with others.” That’s exactly what Jesus promised!

Prayer for the day

There is no greater joy, Father, than sharing Your love. Help me to convey this in all my dealings with others.

When we learn to trust the Lord

When we learn to trust the Lord,

we will begin to have a sense of rest in the Lord

knowing that He has everything under control

even when life seems to be out of control.

Trusting God will get us to the point where we make a decision to trust in Him

and NOT in our own understanding.

God wants to give us a full and abundant life,

but He only asks for us to believe in Him.

“Trust in the LORD forever,

for the LORD, the LORD,

is the Rock eternal.”

– Isaiah 26:4 NIV

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17b

Scripture is God’s Word to us. Get to know it. It is the source of truth, assurance and comfort. Learn its lessons. Let God use it to speak to your heart. Look to it to cut through the enemy’s lies and spiritual deception, and to reveal the truth. Use it to persuade others about God’s love and forgiveness.

When God’s Spirit impresses us with a verse or a passage of Scripture to use in our battle against the enemy in a particular conflict, we are able to defeat our enemy. The Bible calls this taking the sword of the Spirit.

Jesus defeated Satan the three times he was tempted in the wilderness by using the sword of the Spirit. (see Matthew 4).

Ruth’s world changed when she chanced to find a Bible. She was fifteen when she was rummaging through her Muslim family’s library. She found it hidden behind the other books. She says, “I quickly read a few pages and the message immediately touched my heart, even though I understood practically nothing of it. Secretly I began to read the Bible regularly in my room. I knew that I had to do more with this. I wanted to get to know Jesus better.”

She adds, “I don’t remember how it happened, but my family realized that I was showing too much interest in Christianity. My whole family was against me, especially my mother.”

“You’re a Muslim,” she said. “Why are you throwing your life away? Why aren’t you like other girls? You’ll soon be going to university and then you’re going to marry a respected Muslim!”

Ruth’s voice falters and for a moment, she doesn’t say anything. “I suffered a lot,” she continues. “But still I kept reading the Bible in secret. The Lord Jesus keeps drawing me closer to Him.”

RESPONSE: Today I take the sword of the Spirit so I can expose the tempting words of Satan.

PRAYER: Lord may the two-edged sword of Your Word be ready in my hands today and in the hands of those reading it for the first time.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

We are called to obey “The Great Commission”

Matthew 28:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Amplified Bible (AMP)

19Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them

[a]into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

    20Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you,

and behold, I am with you [b]all the days ([c]perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion),

to the [very] close and consummation of the age.

[d]Amen (so let it be).

What is “The Great Commission (commandment, instruction)?
It is the instruction and last words Jesus spoke before He ascended to heaven. He commanded that we are to go into “all the world” and:
  • Make disciples
  • Baptize those who become disciples, and
  • teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded

These words are called “The Great Commission” (commandment, instruction) and were given not only to the 11 disciples who were with Him at the time, but to all believers from then on.

At first glance, this instruction would seem to be straight-forward and easy to follow. But let’s go a little further and analyze these verses so that we have the tools and understanding that we need.

When Jesus instructed His disciples to go and make other disciples of all the nations, He included  “Gentiles” as well as Jews.

Notice Jesus instructs them to baptize other disciples into the name (singular tense) of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We can see clearly that the concept of the “trinity” comes directly from Jesus Himself.  However, the word trinity well describes the three-in-one nature of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In researching the word trinity, no results were found in the following version(s) of the Bible: Amplified Bible, New International Version, American Standard Version, King James Version or New American Standard Bible. This one verse emphasizes both the unity and plurality of God (Greek singular).  Many passages show that the work of one involves the work of one or both of the other two Persons. There is no hierarchy of persons here. We must be careful that we do not lose either the unity or the diversity in the nature of God. (Part of this exegesis was derived from The New International Version and The New Living Version of the Bible.)

Why is baptism important?

Baptism unites a believer with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection as a symbol of death to sin and resurrection to new life. Baptism shows submission to Christ and a willingness to live God’s way.

How is Jesus present with us?

  • He was present physically from His birth until He ascended into heaven.
  • He is present spiritually with us through the Holy Spirit.

Practical Applications and Understanding our Task

regarding “The Great Commission”

  1. The Great Commission is not an option, but a command given to us by Jesus, so we should obey.
  2. If we don’t obey, then we have failed, or omitted to follow His instruction.
  3. We don’t have to be preachers, or evangelists to teach.
  4. We all have gifts given to us by God that can be used by Him to enable us to fulfill these commandments.

We can:

  • smile,
  • love,
  • give words of encouragement,
  • or do a service for someone in need like giving them a ride, cleaning their house, mowing their lawn, etc.

The most important part of “The Great Commission” comes from loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and our neighbors as ourselves.

For further study, go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:19-20&version=AMP#en-AMP-24215

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 28:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  2. Matthew 28:20 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  3. Matthew 28:20 Webster’s New International Dictionary offers this phrase as a definition of “always.”

I hope you have enjoyed this Bible Study.  Hopefully, it will be only the first of others that I do. Writing doesn’t come easy to me, but I felt led to write anyway.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions. We’ll work through any answers together.

Blessings,

Sharon

God is Always the Same

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows. 

James 1:17”

God will always be the same! 

No one else will. 

Lovers call you today and scorn you tomorrow. 

Companies follow pay raises with pink slips. 

Friends applaud you when you drive a classic and dismiss you when you drive a dud. 

Not God. 

God is always the same. 

James 1:17 says, “With God, there is no variation or shadow due to change.” 

Catch God in a bad mood? 

Won’t happen. 

Can your fear exhaust his grace?  A sardine will swallow the Atlantic first. 

Do you think he’s given up on you?  Wrong! 

Did he not make a promise to you? 

What he says he will do, he does. 

What he promises, he makes come true. 

God is not a human being, and he will not lie.

God is never sullen or sour,

sulking

or stressed. 

His strength,

truth,

ways,

and love never change. 

He is the same yesterday and today and forever!

~ Max Lucado

‘Passion of the Christ’ star Jim Caviezel says playing Jesus sunk his career

Despite a long list of woes that include being labeled an anti-Semite, having a violent temper and allegedly breaking the teeth of the mother of his youngest child—Mel Gibson has a friend in Jesus—or, at least the actor who played him in 2004’s “Passion of the Christ.”

“Mel Gibson, he’s a horrible sinner, isn’t he?” Jim Caviezel asked members of the First Baptist Church of Orlando, FL during an appearance Saturday night. “Mel Gibson doesn’t need your judgment, he needs your prayers.”

Caviezel, 42, spoke at the 14,000-member church in a speech the local paper described as “giv(ing) witness to his faith, (urging) others to share it and to sell a new all-star audio production of the Bible that he has produced.”

The staunch Roman Catholic recalled when Gibson first offered him the role of Jesus, he warned that it could end his career.

“(Gibson) said, ‘You’ll never work in this town again,’” Caviezel explained. “I told him, ‘We all have to embrace our crosses.’”

During the 20-minute talk, Caviezel said he was “called” to be an actor, noting that it was no coincidence that “in my 33rd year, I was called to play Jesus.”

He even joked about his initials– J.C. –with Gibson during casting, which “freaked [the director] out a little.”

Caviezel said taking on the role of the Son of God limited his career, saying that he was “rejected in (his) own industry.”

“Jesus is as controversial now as he has ever been,” Caviezel said. “Not much has changed in 2,000 years.”

But Caviezel has no regrets, saying “We have to give up our names, our reputations, our lives to speak the truth,” and adding that he’ll get his reward in heaven.

 

Why we’re less likely to try great things for God

By Jon Walker

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

God pours his power into your life, giving you his strength to do what he’s called to do.

Faith is acting in confidence that God’s power is active in and through your life; faith is trusting God’s power will be your strength to do everything through him.

He’s not asking you to live life under your own power or through your own strength. That would limit what you can do while God’s power and strength are unlimited.

When you say, “There’s something I’d really like to do for God, but I don’t think that I can do it,” God may reply, “Great! I’m glad you’ve figured it out. You can’t do it by yourself, but with my power working through you, you can do anything I ask you to do.”

If you stay at “I can’t” and never move power to “God can,” then you’re less likely to even try great things for God. It’s like having a car with the most powerful engine ever built, but saying, “I don’t think it can get me past the first intersection.” So you leave it in your garage, never taking it onto the road.

God’s power is available to you: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

This is Love

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us.

John 4:10”

Love never fails!

Wait a minute, no one has unfailing love! 

No person can love with perfection. 

That’s right. 

But God is not a person. 

Unlike our love, his love never fails! 

God’s love is immensely different from ours. 

Ours depends on the receiver of the love. 

Our love will be regulated by appearance or by personality. 

Even when we find a few people we like,

our feelings will still fluctuate.

Does God love us because of our goodness? 

Because of our kindness? 

Because of our great faith?

No.

He loves us because of HIS goodness,

kindness,

and great faith. 

The love of God is born from within him,

not from what he finds in us. 

His love is uncaused, spontaneous. 

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so!

~ Max Lucado

Six Hours, One Friday

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,

that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21”

Six hours, one Friday. 

Mundane to the casual observer. 

A shepherd with his sheep,

a housewife with her thoughts,

a doctor with his patients. 

But to a handful of awestruck witnesses,

the most maddening of miracles is occurring.

God is on a cross. 

The creator of the universe is being executed. 

It is no normal six hours. 

It is no normal Friday. 

Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart. 

And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him,

leaving him alone.

What do you do with that day in history? 

What do you do with its claims? 

They were the most critical hours in history. 

Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. 

Love did.

The sinless One took on the face of a sinner

so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

~ Max Lucado

The Cross

“And They Crucified Him” – Mark 15:24

So often the sacrifice that Christ made for us is presented in a sanitized, bloodless manner. It’s easier to take, less traumatizing. But the reality of the suffering he bore for you and I was profound. He gave everything so that you could be saved. Let’s not forget what he endured for us on that first Good Friday!

This description of a crucifixion is graphic. Reader discretion is advised.

The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified.

As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.

As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them deep relentless, and throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath.

Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-renting cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level. The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues. The tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues.

Finally, he allows his body to die.

All this the Bible records with the simple words, “and they crucified Him” — Mark 15:24

Jesus’ Burial

~ by Max Lucado

When Pilate learned that Jesus was dead, he asked the soldiers if they were certain. They were. Had they seen the Nazarene twitch, had they heard even one moan, they would have broken his legs to speed his end. But there was no need. The thrust of a spear removed all doubt. The Romans knew their job. And their job was finished. They pried loose the nails, lowered his body, and gave it to Joseph and Nicodemus.

Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus the Pharisee. They sat in seats of power and bore positions of influence. Men of means and men of clout. But they would’ve traded it all for one breath out of the body of Jesus. He had answered the prayer of their hearts, the prayer for the Messiah. As much as the soldiers wanted him dead, even more these men wanted him alive.

As they sponged the blood from his beard, don’t you know they listened for his breath? As they wrapped the cloth around his hands, don’t you know they hoped for a pulse? Don’t you know they searched for life?

But they didn’t find it.

So they do with him what they were expected to do with a dead man. They wrap his body in clean linen and place it in a tomb. Joseph’s tomb. Roman guards are stationed to guard the corpse. And a Roman seal is set on the rock of the tomb. For three days, no one gets close to the grave.

But then, Sunday arrives. And with Sunday comes light—a light within the tomb. A bright light? A soft light? Flashing? Hovering? We don’t know. But there was a light. For he is the light. And with the light came life. Just as the darkness was banished, now the decay is reversed. Heaven blows and Jesus breathes. His chest expands. Waxy lips open. Wooden fingers lift. Heart valves swish and hinged joints bend.

From When Christ ComesAnd, as we envision the moment, we stand in awe.

We stand in awe not just because of what we see, but because of what we know… We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us” (Rom. 6:5–9 MSG).

From From When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

Eternal Choices

Then (the thief) said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:42-44

Isn’t this the reminder of Calvary’s trio?  Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ?  Why not six or ten?  Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center?  Could it be the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gifts?  The gift of choice.

The two criminals were convicted by the same system.  Condemned to the same death.  Equally close to the same Jesus.  But one changed!

You’ve made some bad choices in life, haven’t you?  You look back and you say, “If only I could make up for those bad choices.  You can! 

When one thief on the cross prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him.  When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him.  He allowed him the choice.

He does the same for you!

~ Max Lucado

What’s your problem?

If your father were Bill Gates and your computer crashed,

where would you turn? 

If Stradivari were your dad and your violin string snapped,

to whom would you go?

If your father is God and you have a problem on your hands,

what do you do?

Is your problem too large? 

Ephesians 3:29 says, “God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” 

Is your need too great? 

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance.”

Is your enemy too strong? 

Philippians 3:21 says, “God is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

God is able to do what you cannot. 

When you have a problem—

make this your first thought—

“How can I get this problem to Jesus!”

It’s a day changer. 

Choose to make every day a great day!

~ Max Lucado

Prayer changes things!

A banner on the wall in my home church when I was growing up

kept us reminded of that wonderful personal relationship

we can have with our Lord by just talking to Him.

Prayer Changes Things!

He knows what’s going on.

He just wants us to talk to Him about it.

He wants to talk to us, too.

He wants to know we care enough to stop what we’re doing

and offer up our concern to Him.

YSIC,

Sharon

More than Forgiveness

“This is my commitment to my people: removal of their sins.” 

Romans 11:27,

The Message

God does more than forgive our mistakes;

he removes them!

We simply have to take them to him.

He not only wants the mistakes we’ve made.

He wants the ones we are making.

Are you making some? . . .

If so, don’t pretend nothing is wrong . . .

Go first to God.

The first step after a stumble must be in the direction of the cross.

~ Max Lucado

God’s Daily Promise – #9

Galatians 3:29 

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed
and heirs according to promise.
(World English Bible)

Promise #9: Since you are in Christ, I have made you an heir of all My promises.
 
Every one of the promises that God made to Abraham now belongs to you and I because we belong to Jesus Christ and are now heirs according to the promise. Just think of that for a moment. You are an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17). Every promise that God made to Abraham is part of your own spiritual inheritance!

When God said to Abraham that He would be the father of many nations, and a blessing to many (Genesis 12), you were part of that promise.  The New Living Translation says Galatians 3:29 this way… And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. NLT

May our God and Father give each one of us a revelation today about what it means to be an heir in His amazing kingdom. An heir of God and a co-heir with our elder brother, Jesus Christ. There is no higher call, there is no greater destiny, than to be part of the eternal family of the living God. Be encouraged by the words found in Galatians 4:7 – So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.(WEB)

Photo by Jeff Epp

Click here to read Barry Adams’ new daily devotional at Fatherheart.tv

God’s Daily Promise – #8

Galatians 4:6

And because you are children,
God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
“Abba, Father!”

 (World English Bible)

Promise #8: I sent the Spirit of My Son into your heart so you could call Me Father.

The greatest gift that the Father could give us was the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of Sonship. Each one of us who is born again, carries within our being the very life and nature of Jesus Christ Himself. Galatians 4:7 goes on to say… So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (WEB)

The Spirit of the Son that lives within us continually calls out ‘Abba Father!’. Abba is an Aramaic word for father that little children would call out to their dads in New Testament times. It would be like us saying ‘papa’ or ‘daddy’ in the English language. Because we carry within our very being the Spirit of the Son, our spirit man continually cries out ‘Papa’ to God, whether we are aware of this cry in our heart or not.

I believe it delights our heavenly Father when we cry out ‘Abba!’ to Him, for that is the very reason why God has given us the Spirit of His Son… so that He could be a Father to us. So may a cry resonate deep in our heart today as we join with the Spirit of the Son that lives within us that calls out ‘Abba Father!’.
Photo by Jeff Epp

Click here to read Barry Adams’ new daily devotional at Fatherheart.tv

Jesus is our center!

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Phil Ware

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

Jesus is our center! He is the hub around which we turn. Rather than trying to add on to the truth of Jesus, we must learn to accept it and trust it in child-like faith. But that child-like faith must be nourished and grown. As Jesus remains our central focus and our hearts remain thankful to God for his grace, we will that our faith is strengthened and that Jesus is more real than ever.

Prayer…

Holy and Righteous God, please give me eyes to see evil and avoid it. Please give me wisdom to know deceptive and false teaching when it is placed before me. Empower me to live a thankful life of holiness so that I can live in Jesus to your honor and glory. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

God’s Daily Promise – #6

Colossians 1:12-13 

12 giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;
(World English Bible)

Promise #6: I delivered you from darkness into the kingdom of My beloved Son.
Each one of us were once held captive by the power of darkness before we were set free by the power of Christ and brought into His kingdom. For every one who have said ‘yes’ to Jesus, our old life is now in the past tense and our new life in Christ is our present reality…
Whether we feel like it or not.

May the Holy Spirit give us revelation today to know that we have already been translated into the kingdom of our elder brother. The power of darkness has no more hold on us because of our royal position in Christ. We now live in an upside down kingdom, where the last will be first, the weak will be strong, and the poor will inherit the riches of our Father’s kingdom.

May each and every one of us echo the prayer that Paul prayed in Ephesians that our God and Father would give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better. That the eyes of our heart would be opened so that we could really see the hope of His calling and our glorious inheritance in the saints!

Ephesians 1:15-23…
15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, 16 don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 20 which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. 22 He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (WEB)

Excerpt from Great Quotes from Great Leaders

Cover of "Great Quotes from Great Leaders...
Cover of Great Quotes from Great Leaders

1. “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865)

2. “Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward.
Henry Ford
(1863-1947)

3. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Mother Teresa
(1910-1997)

4. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill
(1874-1965)

5. “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela
(1918 – )

6. “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal which is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi
(1913-1970)

7. “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.
Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826)

8. “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884-1962)

9. “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)

10. “The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth.
Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)

11. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
Franklin Roosevelt
(1882-1945)

12. “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.
Albert Schweitzer
(1875-1965)

13. “I believe the unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929-1968)

14. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.
Helen Keller
(1880-1968)

The Love of Jesus

The Love of Jesus

There’s no love more precious,
more costly, more kingly.
There’s no love that’s greater-
that’s more wonderful, more wild,
more passionate, more powerful-
than the love of Jesus.

Believe, receive, and rejoice forever in the greatest love the world has ever known!

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38, 39 NASB

(From: Dayspring.com)

God’s Daily Promise #5

Ephesians 1:4-5 

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
(World English Bible)

Promise #5: I chose you to be adopted into My family before creation.
It pleased the Father to choose us before the foundation of the world. In love, He saw the day when we would say yes to the free gift of His Son’s life for our life and become born into His amazing family. Before He even spoke the world into existence, He saw us!

And our adoption is not like any human adoption, for God has given us His own Spirit as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance. We are not servants in His house, but actual sons and daughters, joint heirs with our elder brother Jesus, seated in Christ in heavenly places.

What an amazing promise! Every other promise and precept rests on God’s eternal plan to make us part of His family. As Ephesians 1:4 says, we are holy and without blame before Him in love all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on our behalf has secured our place forever as God’s kids!

1 John 3:1 – Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. (WEB)

 

Sorting coins until God says I’m good

By Jon Walker

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Romans 3:20 (NIV)

I once went to one of those coin-sorting machines today and poured in a huge bag of change that had accumulated in a cup kept on the chest of drawers in my bedroom.

The total came to $22.31. I took the receipt to customer service and the cashier gave me 22 dollars in bills . . . and then 31 cents.

So I still have change and I paid the machine eight percent of the total to count those 31 cents (why it rejected the rubber band and the guitar pick that also poured out of the cup is beyond me).

Hmmm, I think I need some chocolate to help me think this through. Perhaps this is how you get hooked into an addiction; you always have change left over, so you eventually have to come back.

I know, I could count out the exact amount of change to total an even dollar amount, like $22.00 and no cents, and then pour that into the coin-sorting machine.

But then I’d be counting the change myself and I might as well not be at the machine. Aarghhhh!!!!

I definitely need some chocolate to reach a cosmic revelation on this. Anybody got change for a candy bar? I seem to be a little short . . .

When we try to live by the law, it’s like we’re pouring change into a coin-sorting machine, always trying to hit an even dollar amount. The law serves a useful purpose in that it shows us how impossible it is to reach God-righteousness by our own efforts.

The frustration we feel when we stumble and fail is absolutely normal. In truth, it’s part of God’s plan. “Through the law we become conscious of sin,” (Romans 3:20 NIV) and by realizing how far we fall short, we’re able to admit, “I can’t; God can.”

Once there, we’re able to live by the Holy Spirit at work within us.

Fear involves torment

There is no fear in love;

but perfect love casts out  fear,

because fear involves torment. 

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 

I John 4:18

Fear,

when it is mismanaged,

leads to sin. 

And sin leads to hiding. 

And since we’ve all sinned, we all hide—

in 80-hour workweeks,

temper tantrums,

and religious busyness. 

We avoid contact with God!

We’re convinced God must hate our evil tendencies. 

We despise our lustful thoughts, harsh judgments, and selfish deeds. 

If our sin nauseates us,

how much more must it revolt a holy God?

So we draw a practical conclusion: 

God is ticked off at us! 

Sin has left us lost and confused. 

Yes, we have disappointed God. 

But no, God has not abandoned us!

Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about His grace. 

God keeps no list of our wrongs. 

His love casts out fear because He casts out our sin!

Live forgiven!

~ Max Lucado

Believing in Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow FoundationTim Tebow with Jacob Rainey, one of the many people dealing with health problems Tebow hosted at Broncos games this season.

(My Note: I know there is a lot of hoopla going on surrounding Tim Tebow, but I think, as Christians, we really need to support all other Christian brothers and sisters in their stand for our Lord and Savior. Tim is reaching millions of people that none of us can. It is a gift that he uses to glorify His Lord. Let’s support Tim through our prayers.)

By Rick Reilly

ESPN.com

 

I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster’s), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

MORE FROM TIM TEBOW

For Tim Tebow’s take on being named America’s most popular athlete, click here.

“Here he’d just played the game of his life,” recalls Bailey’s mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., “and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, ‘Did you get anything to eat?’ He acted like what he’d just done wasn’t anything, like it was all about Bailey.”

More than that, Tebow kept corralling people into the room for Bailey to meet. Hey, Demaryius, come in here a minute. Hey, Mr. Elway. Hey, Coach Fox.

Even though sometimes-fatal Wegener’s granulomatosis has left Bailey with only one lung, the attention took her breath away.

“It was the best day of my life,” she emailed. “It was a bright star among very gloomy and difficult days. Tim Tebow gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. He gave me the strength for the future. I know now that I can face any obstacle placed in front of me. Tim taught me to never give up because at the end of the day, today might seem bleak but it can’t rain forever and tomorrow is a new day, with new promises.”

I read that email to Tebow, and he was honestly floored.

“Why me? Why should I inspire her?” he said. “I just don’t feel, I don’t know, adequate. Really, hearing her story inspires me.”

It’s not just NFL defenses that get Tebowed. It’s high school girls who don’t know whether they’ll ever go to a prom. It’s adults who can hardly stand. It’s kids who will die soon.

For the game at Buffalo, it was Charlottesville, Va., blue-chip high school QB Jacob Rainey, who lost his leg after a freak tackle in a scrimmage. Tebow threw three interceptions in that Buffalo game and the Broncos were crushed 40-14.

“He walked in and took a big sigh and said, ‘Well, that didn’t go as planned,'” Rainey remembers. “Where I’m from, people wonder how sincere and genuine he is. But I think he’s the most genuine person I’ve ever met.”

There’s not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow, and I’ve looked everywhere for it.

Take 9-year-old Zac Taylor, a child who lives in constant pain. Immediately after Tebow shocked the Chicago Bears with a 13-10 comeback win, Tebow spent an hour with Zac and his family. At one point, Zac, who has 10 doctors, asked Tebow whether he has a secret prayer for hospital visits. Tebow whispered it in his ear. And because Tebow still needed to be checked out by the Broncos’ team doctor, he took Zac in with him, but only after they had whispered it together.

And it’s not always kids. Tom Driscoll, a 55-year-old who is dying of brain cancer at a hospice in Denver, was Tebow’s guest for the Cincinnati game. “The doctors took some of my brain,” Driscoll says, “so my short-term memory is kind of shot. But that day I’ll never forget. Tim is such a good man.”

This whole thing makes no football sense, of course. Most NFL players hardly talk to teammates before a game, much less visit with the sick and dying.

Isn’t that a huge distraction?

Tim Tebow with Zac

Stephanie Taylor Not everything Tim Tebow does on one knee is controversial. Ask Zac Taylor.

“Just the opposite,” Tebow says. “It’s by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn’t really matter. I mean, I’ll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it’s to invest in people’s lives, to make a difference.”

So that’s it. I’ve given up giving up on him. I’m a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

Remember the QB who lost his leg, Jacob Rainey? He got his prosthetic leg a few weeks ago, and he wants to play high school football next season. Yes, tackle football. He’d be the first to do that on an above-the-knee amputation.

Hmmm. Wonder where he got that crazy idea?

“Tim told me to keep fighting, no matter what,” Rainey says. “I am.”