Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8
In a perfect world, things would be perfect. But we know
perfection only exist in God. While still here on earth, our lives are
intertwined with the significant people in our life. Yes, there will be times
when they let you down, do or say hurtful things. Sometimes people find they’ve
had enough, want to throw in the towel and call it quits.
God never intended for love to fail. As a matter of
fact, He inspired the writer of Corinthians to state that “Love Never Fails”. I
believe we live in a society where discarding broken things is the best solution.
If you look at how things are made these days, you can clearly see that quality
is not the standard. Short cuts are taken, using cheap products, and thus over
time they wear out, break and soon discarded, leaving the consumer to go off to
buy another new, cheaply made product.
So, where am I going with this blog? As Christians, we
MUST commit ourselves to each and every relationship we enter into, especially
marriage. The quality of things you put into that relationship will determine
its strength. The most important quality is your relationship with God and
keeping Him involved in your day to day relationships. God spells out those
quality characteristics needed for a strong relationship; love is at the top of
the list.
I challenge you to never give up on the relationships
you bound to. Putting forth your best effort and keeping God at front and
center will ensure your love relationship will never fail. God bless!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and god of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with
the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
One of the things I enjoy while riding my motorcycle is
meeting new people and talking about their motorcycle rides to places I’ve
never been. As they share their stories, I make a mental note of the special
places to eat, cool roads to ride and good places to rest for the night.
Today’s passage goes along with my writing above. I
benefit from someone who has already traveled down the path I plan to go.
Oftentimes people are quick to share the dangers along the journey and provide
special insight how to lessen my chances of running into trouble that they
experienced. And usually the
conversation ends with words of encouragement.
Life is a journey. The path God leads you down has a
purpose and plan to not only benefit and grow you, but help others along the
way. Although the journey might be long and painful, its purpose can have
significant impacts on the lives of others if you simply trust God in what He
has allowed you to go through, knowing that you too can share your story of
courage and faith in hopes of helping others go through the same trial.
Trust God when He brings you to a new journey, knowing
its for your own good and the good of others! Ride on friend and make notes
along the way! God bless!
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who
curse you, do good to those who hate you, ad pray for those who spitefully use
you and persecute you. Matthew 5:44
It doesn’t take long to watch the news and realize our
country has a lot of enemies who speak badly about us, seek to harm us and love
it when we suffer at the hand of their injustice. Coming closer to home, we as
individuals have the same. People who speak badly of us, seek to harm us and
love it when we fall down. If you were able to look closely, you would probably
realize that Satan is working behind the scenes, in those people, to rob you of
your joy.
Today’s scripture provides a response to our enemies. “Bless
those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
spitefully use you and persecute you.” If you ask me, that’s a tall order and
sometimes I find it hard not to want to throw back the same response that my
enemies have given me.
But God! Only by His power, living inside of you through
the Holy Spirit, can you respond in a Christlike manner and not try to respond
in a negative way, but a gentle and loving response, all covered in prayer.
When you respond in that manner, you tell your enemy you are bigger than their
attacks and will not respond in a negative way.
Through a loving response, you
show them who is actually in control. It isn’t the enemy, its Jesus Christ, who
lives in you and makes you a better person because of your commitment to Him.
And through your loving responses, and commitment to pray for them, by the
grace of God, you can bring your enemies over on your side and experience the
blessings and peace of God. Commit to doing good to your enemies and see what
God can do with through your faithfulness in Him. God bless!
For “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.” Romans 10:13
The last few weekends I have had the privilege of sharing
the gospel of Jesus Christ with those in attendance at our church’s production,
Judgement Journey. This 45 minute journey is a biblical account of the end
times and what people will encounter following the rapture of God’s children.
The entire production takes over 200 people to make it effective and I get to
see God’s hand at work with the decisions made, accepting Jesus Christ into their
hearts.
Romans 10:13 is the last verse we share, telling folks the
only way to be saved is belief in Jesus Christ. For some, its hard to grasp the
ease in which one can be saved. So many people think its all about living a
good life and making oneself pleasing to God. But, the bible is clear that we
can’t do anything on our own to save ourselves. No good we do on our part can wash
us clean enough for God to look upon us. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ
can you be saved.
Maybe you’ve been trying to live that good life, good
enough to save yourself. Friend, you’ll never be good enough. Understand that Jesus
came as a sin offering for you and me. Without His sacrifice for the sins of
mankind, no one could save themselves. If you haven’t done so, call out for
Jesus to save you today and find forgiveness of your sins through His sacrifice
on the cross. Call on Him today! God bless
Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come
into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you
will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23: 42-43
One of my recent blogs talked about the “prodigals” in
our life. Those family or friends who live a reckless and sinful life, so far
from God’s standard of living. We worry about their salvation and pray continuously
that God will save them. We pray and pray over the weeks, months and even years
with no change in their life. The worry can be unsettling for sure.
Today’s passage comes from the end of Luke when Jesus
hung on the cross with two criminals. One of them identified Jesus as the Son
of God and asked that Jesus remember him upon his death. Jesus response must
have given that man a lot of peace, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be
with Me in Paradise.”
I can only imagine this man’s family must have said
prayers on his behalf, in hopes that he’d change his life of crime and walk the
perfect and narrow path of obedience. Yet, it didn’t happen until this man’s
last breath.
I share this story with you to say there is STILL HOPE
for those loved ones who live outside of God’s grace. Your prayers for them
should continue and you have the trust and faith that Jesus will come into their
life and save them, even if it’s at their last breath. One simple
acknowledgement is all it takes. Keep
the faith, pray earnestly and allow Jesus to come to them on their level, bare their
cross and save them at just the right moment when they need Him most! Jesus had
to die a criminal’s death to save that one. He will do the same for your loved
one! God bless!
Beloved, do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many
false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
Years ago, it was a common
practice for movie theatres to interject short subliminal clips depicting
refreshing sodas and snacks that would stir in the minds of movie watchers,
making them go to the snack stand and buy food and drinks. Eventually this
practice was outlawed, but it was proof how easily people can be deceived by
one simple vision.
Satan is a master of
deception friends. He often uses insecurities and weaknesses to play havoc with
our mind, enticing us to believe something that isn’t real or pursuing something
outside the will of God. And he most often does this when life is going good or
when you are serving God. The devil’s plan is to disrupt your plans to do good
and enjoy life.
The best way to protect
yourself from satan’s deception is to focus on the truth. So often satan tries
to make you believe something that isn’t real at all, but he can be pretty
convincing. Trust me I know first hand and some days can be a constant battle
to keep my mind focused on what I know to be real and truthful.
Pray and ask God to keep
you centered focused on His goodness, on His word and keep your ears tuned to
His Holy Spirit so when satan tries to speak those lies, you won’t hear or
believe it for you know the truth. God bless!
