Sunday, July 31, 2016

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things:
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. 
The Lord has made known His salvation: 
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. Psalm 98:1-2

As you awake on this Sunday morning, you have so much to be thankful for in life. You see God had a plan before He created earth and humans. He longed for our fellowship with Him. But as His creation we were unworthy to stand in His holy presence....so He gave us Jesus....our sacrafice, our Savior from our impure, sin stained life (Colossians 1:21-22). 

As believers in Jesus Christ and accepting Him into our lives, we can stand in His presence. His presence lives inside of us through the Holy Spirit. I can tell you, the Holy Spirit is alive and well in believers who believe in Him and harness the power available to us as children of God. We are richly blessed. 

Each day is an opportunity to sing a new song of thankfulness for His rich mercy and love through the plan of salvation. Share that song of joy with those around you not only in church but in a world longing to find true peace and eternal life in heaven. Have a blessed Sunday friends. 

Saturday, July 30, 2016

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry. 
Psalm 34:15‎
A good parent will always keep his or her eyes on their child at all times, especially when away from home. And the cry of someone's child may sound routine, but for that child's parent...their cry is anything routine. Upon hearing their cry the parent's total focus is on the child to see what they can do to take away their sadness. 

How true this is with our loving Lord. He cares for us just like a parent does for their child. His eyes are always on us and he is ready to guide and direct us in the way we should go... through the voice of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. And when we are in a dire situation and cry out to Him, His loving presence saturates our life and provides the necessary healing and strength to move forward. 

Maybe you've never looked at God in the role of a parent. We should, for He created each one of us with our own characteristics and qualities and imperfections. He loves you so much, He offered His Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for the very thing that seperates you from Him...your sin. God became part of the human family so that we could become part of His heavenly family. 

Spend time this weekend thanking God for His presence in your life and the profound love He has for you. As Christians, we are blessed to know the world's creator considers us His children and loves us unconditionally. 
May you all have a safe and blessed weekend.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Jesus said to him: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  Matthew 22:37


Jesus was asked by a lawyer, "which is the greatest commandment in the law?" His response was the above verse. Do you love the Lord your God with every part of your being? Lets break it down.


1. Heart: Your heart is the one organ that keeps you alive. If it stops, you are dead. So to love with your heart means God is the driving force that keeps you spiritually alive in all circumstances; through every trial, burden or tragedy. No matter what happens in your life, He is your very passion! Your love and commitment to Him never ceases.


2. Soul: As believers in Jesus Christ, our soul will one day be joined with Him in Heaven. As we go through life knowing this, our desire should be  to grow and mature our spiritual life so we will be ready for that blessed homecoming in Heaven! Our soul is like a hungry person....we need His nourishment to feed us through his word in the bible, in prayer and listening for His soft voice which encourages us and gives us direction in life.


3. Mind: Your mind controls everything you do. Nothing your body does happens without your brain telling it what to do. To love God with all of your mind means that He is everything you think about, everything you live for in life. God consumes your every thought and action. Nothing you do in life happens without passing it through God. Why? Because your desire is to be within complete obedience to Him.


Loving someone in this manner means you have a heart's desire for them, you want to spend time with them, they are the beat in your heart, they drive you to love back and they consume everything in your life. Do you love God in this way?  If you find it difficult to completely love God, you need to surrender more of yourself and "let go" of the things that hold you back from being a complete and obedient Child of God!


Loving God in all areas of your life will result in blessings far more abundant than loving anything or anyone else in life. Trust me...I know personally how He will bless you through a surrendered life to Him. Happy Friday everyone and God bless!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 5:3

As humans we have a tendency to avoid or turn our back on rules we don't want to follow.  Maybe your battle is speeding down the highway...like seriously who drives 55? Lol.

For some, they avoid church and don't read their bible because they don't want to hear how to live their lives according to God's standard. Many people look at the bible as a bunch of unreasonable rules and don't want to hear the truth.

My friend, I can honestly say, the truth will set you free! As I have slowly worked to remove a lot of the "world" from my life, I have found more freedom in Christ. His holy word of instructional living is for our benefit; to protect us from harm and evilness, to give us eternal hope for tomorrow and by following His commands...blessings are sure to follow.

Don't turn your back on God and his commands. By living an obedient life, you will find yourself free from the wordly drama and things that so easily entangle you in emotional strongholds and fear. It simply boils down to how much of "you" are you willing to surrender for a life of "true" freedom.

Pray for God's spirit to give you strength and lead you daily in your walk with Him. He will do it and your life will be more meaningful. Have a terrific Thursday and God bless!



Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.
Isaiah 43:7

A while back I was frustrated by someone's actions and was quick to judge them because they were different than me. In that very moment, God revealed this thought..."every person on earth is God's creation". God allowed their existence....He created them.

That's a heavy thought. Why would God create and allow some people's existence...for their evilness is so evident. I've found that I can't question God for His creation because that would be judgmental.

But, I do know God created me for His glory. My existence on earth should be a reflection of His love and grace to those around me. Possibly, my life can impact others through the Holy Spirit living inside me. That's exactly why you and I were created.

Is your life changing the world around you? If not ask God to ignite the fire inside of you to live a more Christ centered life and help bring others to Christ through your actions and words. It's a tall order, but it's what we were created to do.
Live for Him today and see positive changes in others.
God bless!


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

"He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first".
John 8:7


In John 8: 3 - 11 we read about a woman caught in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus and the accusers questioned him about the law of Moses.....death by stoning the adulteress. Jesus response to the crowd was basically....let the first one who is without sin throw the first stone. He proceeded to write in the dirt with his finger. It is thought he was writing out sins of the accusers.


There is such a powerful message in this one incident that we can learn.....no sin is greater or lesser than any other sin. Jesus considers all sin wrong. Sin is the reason Jesus came to earth, to provide a sacrifice for our disobedience. His life was tempered in holiness in the flesh of a human body. Jesus life shows us the true thought process of God.


The bad news is we are all sinners. Our fleshly minds can easily sway towards disobedience. When we do, we distance ourselves from God and His goodness and purposeful blessings. It is so important to stay in tune with God on a daily basis through bible reading, study and much prayer. By doing so, we will be less likely to look at other's sin and focus on keeping our life on track so we can be a useful tool in the hands of God.


There is something even more powerful at the end of this story. Jesus asked the woman: "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She replied "No one Lord".
Jesus replied to her in the most awesome statement: Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.


WOW.....can you imagine facing Jesus and He pardons your sin? Fortunately, you can imagine it, because Jesus can pardon your sin if you accept Him into your life and have the desire to live for Him on a daily basis. When you do ask Him into your life, He resides in your heart and erases the sin of your past and forgives you of future sin. By doing so we can have a deep and personal relationship with God!


Have you received Jesus pardon? If not, simply pray to Him, asking for His forgiveness of  your sin and express your desire to have Him reside in you and start living a life pardoned for all eternity. Have a blessed Tuesday!  

Monday, July 25, 2016

"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice"
Genesis 22:18


One of my favorite stories in the bible is about Abraham. He was faithful to God and obedient in all matters. Abraham and his wife Sarah longed to have a child. God promised Him a child, but took 25 years to fulfill that promise. Years later, God tested Abraham's obedience by instructing him to offer his son Isaac as an offering on an alter. 


You have to think to yourself, geez......why did God have to go to the extreme and test Abraham...telling him to slay his only son? Imagine what Abraham was thinking and feeling? But despite his feelings and love for his only son, Abraham was faithful and followed through with God's instructions right up to the moment of slaying Isaac when an Angel of the Lord appeared and stopped him....and provided a ram for the sacrificial offering. Imagine the joy of Abraham!


Obedience for Christians is putting complete trust and faith in God's word and following His commands through scripture and responding to His voice when spoken to us through the Holy Spirit. Oftentimes God calls us to do things which don't make sense and seem out of sync with our feelings and thoughts. But God sees the "big picture", He has a specific plan for your life and knows the path you need to follow.


I say "follow", because God has already gone ahead of you on that path. He has prepared that path just for you...to grow you in your walk with the Lord, to bless you and make you more complete as a child of the living God. Every day is filled with decisions....obedience or disobedience. Who are you going to follow....Godly desires that bring blessings OR worldly desires that take away the holiness from your spiritual life?


God leaves the decisions up to you. But, He promises to bless you through your obedience no matter how illogical or contrary to our reasoning. Like I always say...God blesses obedience. Surrender your life to Christ and live an obedient life....I promise you God will shower you with His sweet blessings. Have an awesome Monday friends and God bless.