Goodness

On June 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 145: 9

The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.
This scripture is talking about us. We are the works of God’s hands, His handiwork. And He has good plans for us. He is merciful when we make mistakes and His plans for us are plans for good. Sometimes we think of God as vengeful and harsh but the Word of God says that He is a good God and that He is good to His kids. He is a loving father with plans for good things for you. He gives good gifts to His children and protects us from harm. All His ways are of kindness and goodness because He is love. His substance is love. So, all that He has is good. He wants to give more good to you than you have ever received before. Let us get a revelation of His goodness so that we allow him to pour all of His lovingkindness into our lives. You have to settle in your heart first, though, that God is a good God.

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Imitating Christ

On May 17, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 15: 7

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Yesterday I shared Isaiah 41: 9 and we saw that our Father, God, accepts us and has not rejected us. Today we see from the New Testament that Jesus also accepts us. But look, Jesus also requires that we accept one another. That will sure put our judgmental and critical natures to the test. Apparently, God did not set us up in the position to be critical of our fellow human beings. Honestly, we just can’t see the things God does nor can we see the way He does. He has the ability to look at a person’s heart. We can only view their external appearance and behaviors.

You are accepted by God and by Jesus. Now you must learn to extend the grace and mercy that you have in them. Let this grace and the love of God fill you. As you receive God’s acceptance you will begin to overflow with the same merciful attitude towards others. If you find yourself critical and judgmental then make sure that you are fully receiving God’s love for yourself. When you come to understand God’s affection for you it becomes very difficult not to share it with others.

God loves you, accepts you and has not rejected you. Open your heart and arms to the rest of humanity allowing God’s love to flow from you . . . in Jesus’ name.

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Enough is Enough

On April 14, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Titus 3: 4 – 5

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

Brother this is the good news of the gospel. We were not saved on the basis of our deeds, our righteousness or our worthiness. God’s sweet mercy saved us. God sent His own Spirit to wash us clean. The Holy Spirit has regenerated and renewed you. What is so interesting about this is that he did this for you before you were ever born. That is why no amount of future sin can steal your salvation. Only you can give away your sanctification. Jesus has already paid for the sin that you commit tomorrow or next Tuesday. He has already paid for the sin of the person who is right now unborn, even unconceived. No one has to earn this salvation and no one could. We know that intellectually but we sometimes stumble over our day to day application of it.

It was God’s kindness and His love for humanity that saved us. Some people who have already been saved run around trying to be worthy of that great and awesome gift. Stop! There is nothing any of us can do to merit all that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have done for us. This is simply an expression of our guilty conscious. Why are we trying to earn what they have already given us for free? We should want to be a blessing to God’s kids because of the happiness which overflows as result of all God has done for us. None of that, however, will ever make us worthy of the great sacrifice God and Jesus made for us. So, we just need to get used to the idea that despite our unworthiness, our Father loves us and He sent His beloved to save us. That was enough for Him and should be enough for us.

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Do You Love Me?

On February 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 15: 17

This I command you, that you love one another.

If you knew me would you still love me? My definition of a friend is “someone who knows you and still likes you”. Sometimes we become acquainted with someone but then when we find a blemish on their armor or find that they have needs as well as strengths, we abandon that friendship.

One of our problems is that we make judgments about people based on these perceived faults. Well, when you began becoming friends with them, did you think they were perfect? There has only been one perfect. So discovering that a person is flawed really shouldn’t be such a big surprise.

Our response to these pronounced judgments is to hide away our true selves. Hence my question, “If you knew the real me, would you still love me?” Well, I know how Jesus answers that question and it is probably why we love him so much. He sees us for who we truly are complete with all of our emotional baggage, scars and our faults and yet loves us anyway. In fact, he knew all of my short comings before he went to the cross and seeing my damage chose to go to the cross anyway. Now that is a friend indeed.

Now Jesus directs us. He has said, “Do not judge” (Matthew 7: 1). Instead he commands us to love one another. I don’t see an easy way around these two imperatives. Do you? We are very good at determining what is good and what is bad but remember, that is the fruit of the tree we were never supposed to eat from (see Genesis 3: 2 – 4). Eating the fruit of that tree is what yielded the curse and it is still producing misfortune and torment in our lives today.

We do not need to agree with each other’s politics or even religious views but we do have to accept one another. We have not been appointed to determine who is good and who is bad, who gets into heaven and who does not. Our job is but to love. Period, end of story. Now, if we could really get a revelation of that, we would transform the world.

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Life

On February 22, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 10: 10

I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 3: 16 tells us why the Father sent His son into the earth. It was because of his love for us and so that, by that love, we might be saved and inherit life. Here Jesus tells us in his own words what his motivation and purpose were in coming to earth. He came into the earth to lay down his life for ours so that we might have abundant life, life overflowing. What is that motivation then? It is love, of course. Jesus so loves us that he willingly and knowingly laid down his life for us. He knew when he began his ministry how it would end. He knew that he was destined for Calvary and he chose that path because he so loves us. The Romans did not kill him. The Jews did not kill him. He laid down his life for us.

Knowing and understanding this should not put you under condemnation though. Do not feel guilty or unworthy of the sacrifice. That is to make the sacrifice less than it is. No rather we should express our deep and overflowing love and gratitude to he who first loved us. Just let the love of Christ fill your heart to overflowing and then as it does, let it overflow in your adoration and appreciation of him.

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Loving You

On February 10, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

While this is a very familiar passage of scripture, it is good for us to have a look at it sometimes and remind ourselves about our faith. We must grasp and retain that this is a love thing. The whole basis of Christianity is right here. Out of a driving force of love, God sent his only son into this earth to be the sacrificial lamb so that all might be cleansed and renewed. God sent and Jesus came out of their super-abundant, overflowing love for us. We need to understand that it all begins, ends and revolves around this precept. God gave everything out of his deep and abiding love for us. He loves you with all that he is and all that he has. Everything you have ever seen him do or read about him doing is all because he loves you. He wants you to be reconciled to him and be able to live in victory and freedom because he wants all of the best for you every day. He didn’t send Jesus into this earth for us to serve him or for us to learn to obey a rigid list of laws. He sent his dear child so that we might be free and happy. He, Father God, is love and He so loves that He will do anything for you that is good for you. He longs to be a Father to you and to shower you with His love. Will you please let Him?

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Fulfilled

On January 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 9: 8         Amplified Bible

And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.

In Luke 6: 38 we see Jesus importuning us to give. We have briefly pondered the question of why Jesus wants us to give.  I gave you a Biblical Principle that you can hang your hat on. Specifically, everything Jesus tells us to do is for our own good (see devotion from Wednesday, January 27, 2016). If you will always begin with this premise, you will arrive at right conclusions. Let me suggest some other reasons why Jesus encourages us to give.  

The first one is so simple and so obvious that it has almost become invisible. Jesus tells us to become habitual givers because he loves us. We have all heard people saying that the preacher on wants to get something from them. I don’t doubt there are preachers who put pressure on us to give for that reason but I innocently believe they are in the minority. Jesus pushes us to teach on giving not because he wants to get something from you. He is trying to bless you. He is trying to give to you but he needs your seed so that he can multiply it. Just look at Jesus’ life on earth. He was always giving away. He continuously blessed the people. He hasn’t changed. He still is trying to bless everyone.

In today’s text, the Apostle Paul provides two additional reasons for why Jesus teaches us to be givers. Those reasons are so that we will always have sufficient resources to meet our needs and so that, from our abundance, we will be able to help meet the needs of others.  

If you look closely, if you peer inside these ideas, you will see the Kingdom of God financial laws at work. Through our giving, we increase. With our increase, we increase others, who then contribute to meeting the needs of others, and on and on. God is in the business of growing. With the obedience of just a few people, He can start a garden growing which truly can spread across the entire earth. Let me just say this plainly – there is power in giving. Do not underestimate this primary tool of the Kingdom. Give and it shall be given unto you, then give again. Your crop will overflow so that you will have an abundance for every good work.

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