I WILL LOVE THE LORD

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:27

JOB 1:20-22

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell to the ground and worshipped. 

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job 1:20-22

HEBREWS 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND!

What does Grace sound like? As humans, we relate to sound in a very real and immediate way. Imagine a relaxing sound: the sound of waves lapping gently at the seashore. Imagine a familiar sound, like the sound of your mother’s voice. Now, imagine the excited roar of a football crowd after a winning touchdown is scored. Sound memories make unforgettable impressions on our lives and shape our experiences. 

Imagine what it was like to hear the “sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze” (Genesis 3:8, The Message), like Adam and Eve did, after they sinned in the Garden of Eden then hid with shame in the trees?

Grace does have a sound. It’s called silence. It’s the Spirit of God moving in our hearts and lives; a moment of deliverance when peace envelops us and places us in God’s Divine presence. Can you hear it?

DISTURB US, O LORD!

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we posses

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope and love.

attributed to Sir Francis Drake - 1577

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

PERSPECTIVE

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4:17

WHAT HAVE YOU TRUSTED GOD FOR TODAY?

Francis Chan, in his book, Crazy Love, asks: “What are you doing right now that requires faith?”

It’s a question that we must each ask ourselves.

WORDS OF WISDOM

If you don’t have a Bible, get one.

If you’ve got a Bible, read it.

If you read the Bible, believe it.

If you believe the Bible, live it.

from Life's Little Handbook of Wisdom

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Count your BLESSINGS 

instead of your crosses;

Count your GAINS 

instead of your losses.

Count your JOYS 

instead of your woes;

Count your FRIENDS 

instead of your foes.

Count your SMILES 

instead of your tears;

Count your COURAGE 

instead of your fears.

Count your FULL YEARS 

instead of your lean;

Count your KIND DEEDS 

instead of your mean.

Count your HEALTH

instead of your wealth;

Count on GOD 

instead of yourself.

(Unknown)

MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU

Jesus said: “My grace is sufficient for you...” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

There is a lot of teaching that markets itself under the big umbrella of Christianity. This can be very confusing for new Christians, and even for mature Christians who are experiencing a season of hardship.

If you are a person who is seeking to better understand how Christianity is different from other world religions, and you are overwhelmed by all of the apparently conflicting teachings that say they represent the Christian religion, you should know this:

True Bible based Christianity is very simple. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Nothing more. Nothing less.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

John 3:16

Amen.

GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

FORCE RIPENED FAITH

Have you ever eaten a tomato that was tasteless, obviously picked prematurely and forced to ripen in a delivery truck on the way to market many miles (or continents) away? 

Have you ever bitten into a vine-ripened tomato? What a difference! The vine-ripened tomato is juicy and colorful and it has the full flavor of the sun and the soil and the seasonal rain.

Sometimes in our faith, especially as baby Christians, we want to grow up quickly. We want to show the world how much, and all, that we know. Our enthusiasm is not to be discouraged. But faith cannot be forced ripened. Faith is experiential. Faith is personal. We can learn from others’ trials of faith, but until our own faith is tested we will never know the true power of faith to transform our lives and the world around us. 

...knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)

...for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (ESV)

...because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)

You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you may become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (The Message)

James 1:4

FAITH CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

Matthew 17:20

This is a tricky verse to share with anyone who is not a Christian. Even Christians struggle with it. It’s hard to imagine moving a mountain, especially when you are standing in front of one, whether it’s an actual mountain or a mountain of problems.

There is one important thing to note about this verse: we are not moving the mountain. It is our faith that moves the mountain.

I am always amazed at how easy it is to lift and transport a heavy item when it's resting on the platform of a moving dolly. The long arm of the dolly takes all of the difficulty out of the task. This phenomenon is called leverage.

Faith is our leverage in this life. 

We don’t need big muscles to do impossible things. We need faith. Even faith the size of a mustard seed can do great things. Christ tells us it can move mountains! 

Let’s be clear: we are not talking about using our minds to perform a magic trick. We are talking about having faith in Christ and using that faith to do impossible things.

What seems impossible to you? Before we challenge God, maybe we should challenge our faith.

DOING BATTLE WITH THE DEVIL

If you have any doubt about the seriousness of sin, reflect on this passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...having fastened on the belt of truth....having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith....take the helmet of salvation....and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit....keep alert with all prayer and perseverance.

Ephesians 6: 10-18 (selected)

This passage does not list the rules of engagement for playing in a sandbox. It's a battle cry! Orders to prepare ourselves for war! The war against sin.

Our first order from God is to “stand.” We cannot fight a battle sitting down and expect to win it. We must be at the ready, prepared with our feet planted firmly underneath us. 

God does not instruct us to grab a bucket and a spade to do battle. He instructs us to put on our whole body armor. Just as an NFL player must wear all of his protective gear to survive the physical battle of a football game, we must prepare ourselves for battle with the devil by putting on our whole suit of armor. 

All good emergency response plans rely on a comprehensive check list, and God has very kindly provided one for us. We will need:

• belt of truth (everything depends on it)
• breastplate of righteousness (to forget it could be fatal)
• comfortable shoes for the long fight (it’s in the battle plan: peace and assurance of the gospel)
• shield of faith (it’s our secret superhero power that melts the bad guy)
• helmet of salvation (even NFL players, who are about as tough as they get, know the importance of protecting their noggin)
• sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (we should call this our AMEX card - - never ever leave home without it)

Have you ever packed your suitcase for a vacation, and on arrival at your destination realized that you forgot the most obvious and essential thing, like your underwear?

After we have diligently checked off our list, God reminds us of the most important thing that we should take to our fight: prayer. And not just any old half-hearted prayer. God instructs us to pray at all times in the Spirit. This is fervent prayer. It is not a time to multi-task. It is a time to be focused, to be a prayer warrior.

Fighting sin is serious business and it requires a well-trained warrior. 

God tells us, “keep alert with all perseverance.” The battle against sin is never-ending. If we think for one moment that our fight is over, and that we have won, we have already been ambushed. The moment we let down our guard and relax, the moment we rest on our laurels and think that we can claim any lasting victory over sin before Jesus returns, in that moment we are already a casualty of the war.

Fighting sin is a battle of endurance. We must put on our full battle armor, arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, and pray like our life depends on it. Because it does. 

A NEW LIFE

“Something is [terribly] wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.”

Francis Chan, Crazy Love (2008)

...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires...and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22,24

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Galatians 2:20

DILIGENCE

Diligence is excellence lived out with consistency.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

Song of Solomon 8:7

JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

Jesus, Lover of my Soul,

Take this heart and fill it.

Take this life and make it whole;

Jesus, Lover of my Soul.

JMSmith