Saturday, January 11, 2020

January 11

What does God want from us? He wants to spend time with us, hear our praise, worship, and thankfulness, and for us to make him the center of our world. Doesn’t that sound like it’s all about him? This is how good he is: when we do the things he likes for us to do, it becomes about us! He made me aware that spending time with him makes me a better person, so the time I spend honoring him, improves the quality of my life.

Jesus sacrificing his life was not about him, it was about us, and giving us a way to spend eternity with him, and it starts the moment we accepted him as our Savior. It helps us deal with life here on earth, and gives us a way out when the end comes. So you see, everything he does is because he loves us.

Can you see God’s ability to turn this around? You can look at your time spent in worship as honoring God, but the truth is, it’s also a selfish act because it improves your own life. Those of you who are all about “you,” honor God with your praise, worship, and thankfulness, and it will improve your life, and that’s how he wants it! That is lavished love! It’s overwhelming, abundant, and totally unselfish of him! 

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5

Friday, January 10, 2020

January 10

The Rolling Stones said it best:

“You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need”

I hear it said often, “I’m praying for you.” You might say it yourself, and it is important that we intercede for others, especially those who are weak in their faith, or those who don’t have faith at all. Take a look at the people praying for you, if they aren’t saved by Jesus, their prayers are a waste of breath. Over and over again, the Bible says to ask anything according to his will and he will answer you. My question to you is this; have you sought forgiveness for your sins before making your request? Another point, if Jesus isn’t your Savior, God can’t hear you, he is holy, and you are filthy. I can tell you with confidence that every prayer you pray will not be answered with a yes, because we often pray for things that are not within his will for us, or contrary to what’s written in God’s Word. Don’t stop praying, every now and then you will hit the bullseye with your prayer, but unless your prayer for that trip to Hawaii is to reach the people who are strung out on Ice, or for those lost in their native culture, your prayer is coming from your passion, rather than God’s will. 

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. John 9:31

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. James 4:3

Thursday, January 9, 2020

January 9

There are days, thankfully only a few, that I cannot find within me the words needed to be written. I scroll through my mind looking for tidbits of information that God may have downloaded, the previous day, only to conclude that nothing is there. I will pick something out, start a story, but have trouble linking it to the scripture or text that I am studying. That’s when I realize that there is a presence blocking my ability to hear. Once I figure out what’s going on, I immediately go to the psalms, I will pick something randomly, or go to Psalms 91, and read it aloud. Doing this cleanses the air, and refreshes my mind, calms my anxiety, and floods my surroundings with the peace of Jesus. After doing this the words begin to flow. 

When you get stuck, no matter what it is you are doing, stop and pray, pull out a psalm, read it aloud, or sing it. Did you know that the Lord inclines his ear to you, and hears your cries? We are so privileged to have God’s ear, and the knowledge that we are not praying to the air.

By the way, nothing is random if you have the Holy Spirit! I say randomly choose a scripture, but when I randomly chose a psalm, the very first scripture in that psalm, fit perfectly with the scripture in my line of study.

"To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry."  Psa 40:1

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us."  1Jn 5:14

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

January 8

Jesus visited me in a dream, and I want to share with you the details so you know how much you are loved, and summarize what he has done to show it. My dream was not fully visual, but more of an impression. It amazes me that he can speak without words or pictures, and still make his point. Here is my impression:

We follow a powerful Savior! Though he is powerful, he is also loving. He was here before creation, then moved heaven and earth to create a sanctuary where he could dwell, and walk with us in the garden. We denied him so he came again, showing us his power by being born of flesh, and then performed miracles as proof of who he is. We denied him again so he showed us his power by coming back from the dead after three days in the grave. He did all of this to show us his love, and give us a way to have a relationship with him. Do you know who benefits the most by spending time with him? You do! He loves you, and has pursued you for your entire life, it’s time to slow down, let him catch you, so you can make him the object of your adoration. 

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:9-10

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

January 7

Know this, the acts of war, or the acts that may be leading to war, you are witnessing, and that is playing out before your eyes, are all a part of the plan. Prophecy must be fulfilled before we are gathered to our King. If you are not living for Jesus, or do not know him, now would be a good time to declare him your Savior. Turn your life over to him, leave your sin, and put the past behind you. For some reason, we think it’s a better life, not to be confined, and to be able to do what we want, but that is far from the truth! My life is much better because of Jesus. God has a heart for his children, and whether we are here to watch the times play themselves out, or whether he brings us home early, and takes us out of the misery of this world, the things written about in the Bible will come to pass. Will we be taken up today or tomorrow? We don’t know. What we do know is that things written in the Bible have come true, and there are just a few prophecies left that need to take place before the end. Are you ready?

You may wonder why I would write this to the followers of Christ, it’s because many who call themselves Christians, are not true Christ followers, and have not turned away from their sin, to live for Jesus. They hold what they think is a “get out of hell free” card, but their life doesn’t reflect Jesus. If this is you, repent, and start living for him.

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:9-10

Monday, January 6, 2020

January 6

Occasionally, we will make our way to a local buffet for all you can eat. The one we frequent has the option of getting what they call the “blue plate special,” where they give you a blue plate, but you can only go through the line once; however can fill up that one plate with as much as you can fit. I’m usually very conservative when I fill my plate, but the last time I went, I decided to fill my plate with bacon! It was glorious sitting there eating it, but I had gotten too much, so when my daughter, who had also gotten a blue plate, said she wanted more bacon, it was the perfect opportunity for me to share. In the end, we were both happy, and satisfied.

When we sit at the Lord’s table, we can eat all we want, and even go back for more; no blue plate needed. What he gives us can fill us to overflowing, if we allow it. He is the bread of life, and the living water; we will never thirst or go hungry. Feast on Jesus, and watch your life change; your outlook will be different, your desires will change, and things that once made you happy, will become trivial, and your love for worldly satisfaction will fade. Your plate will be so full, that you will want to share it! That is what I call living!

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

Sunday, January 5, 2020

January 5

I was coming back on the ferry from Little Gasparilla, and as we came into the basin, I could see some dolphins splashing near the sea wall. They had rounded up some mullet, trying to get a bite to eat. The splashing stopped and then I saw one of them with a huge mullet in its mouth! That was the first time I’ve ever seen such a spectacle outside of Sea World. I’m thinking that they had run them into that area so they couldn’t escape, making them easy prey.

The school of mullet is like people who walk in darkness. The enemy is very clever, and will gather them together, funneling them into a confined area, guiding them away from the safety of the Savior so he can pick them off one by one. We see so much of this today; where people are calling the truth a lie, and a lie the truth. These same people will claim that they are walking in the light, but there is no light in them. Be aware, if you hear anything that is contrary to the teachings of the Bible, it is a lie, and a trap; do not stand with these people. To know the Word of God is to know the truth! 

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 1 John 1:6