12.27.2009

The Choice to Love

God commands us to love people. He commands us to love one another. He even commands us to love our enemies! If He commands us to do it, we must have the ability to do it. But we don't always have the desire to do it.
Love is a choice. We must choose to love people. We must choose to love people not when we think they deserve our love, not when we "feel" emotionally inclined to love them, not just because they love us and not only when they are "lovable"! We must choose to love them because God commanded us to and because they are made in God's image and because God loves them!
If we are waiting for that fuzzy, warm feeling to hit us before we love people, we are obeying our emotions and not our God. Choose today to love everyone no matter what. It isn't easy, that's for certain. But it is God's will for us and His commandment to us. If we love Him, we will obey Him.
Jesus said that the world will know we are His "because we love each other"! Love is the trademark of God's children! God is love and His children will exhibit love toward people because God's love has been shed abroad in their hearts!

12.20.2009

Christmas Present

Do you know what I would really like for Christmas? I would like to hear the trumpet sound and then look up into the eastern skies to see Jesus coming in a cloud with His holy angels! I'm ready for things to be as they should, the way God intended from the very beginning. I'm tired of the hate, the fear, the disease, the pain, the suffering, the hunger, the wars, the selfishness, the racism and all the other evil that plagues this Earth! I'm ready for everything to be made right!
I know that the end will not come until the very last person who will be saved is saved, and I know that no one knows when that will be. But I say the sooner, the better! I'm ready for Jesus to have Satan tossed into the lake of fire for all he's done to people. I'm ready for sickness and death to be thrown in after him. I'm ready for the new Jerusalem to come down and Jesus to take His place on the throne of David to reign forever. I'm ready for a new Earth under new Heavens; a place where there's only peace and love and mercy for all eternity. I'm ready to lay aside all this mortal baggage and be made incorruptible and immortal. I'm ready for REAL life to begin for us all!
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

12.17.2009

Forgiver and Forgiven

The Bible tells us we must (not should...must!) forgive. The Bible tells us that God forgives forgivers. Conversely, God doesn't forgive those who won't forgive. If we refuse to forgive, we sin by not doing what we're told to do. Unforgiven sin will keep us from the presence of God and hinder our prayers. OK.... that seems pretty simple to follow. So, why is it that we keep asking God to hear our prayers and bless us when we know there are people we are holding grudges against?!
Do we think He doesn't know? Or maybe we think He knows you were wronged and that you have a right to hold that grudge and therefore He'll overlook it? Wrong!! God knows our thoughts, so we can't hide anything. And He tells us to forgive those who mistreat us, even our enemies!
We all need to search our hearts and forgive and release those we have been holding something against. When we do, we'll begin to see an outpouring of God's blessings on our lives.

12.15.2009

Keep Saving Me

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me ~ Josh Wilson "Savior, Please"

I know Jesus saved me.... but sometimes I find myself asking him to keep saving me. I try hard. I live my best. But I see that my righteousness is filthy rags and on my own I'm a miserable failure. I need Jesus' strength, Jesus' companionship, Jesus' righteousness. Please, Savior, keep saving me.

12.12.2009

Curve Ball

I must admit that there are times when God really messes with my theology. I know I don't have everything figured out (who could possibly "figure out" God?) but just when I think I have one little topic in hand, He does something that blows me out of the water. It's very confusing. It's very frustrating. It's very humbling.
He doesn't leave me completely in the dark though. He uses my confusion to lead me into prayer and meditation where He can teach me deeper truths. Besides, He just loves me too much to let me get too big for my britches!
When God throws you a curve ball, don't get angry or let the devil tempt you to doubt. Go to God with your questions and let Him teach you. Meditate in His Word and let the Holy Spirit lead your thoughts.

12.02.2009

Childlike

I think we have gotten it backwards. It's our child"ish"ness we're supposed to grow out of, not our child"like"ness! 1Corinthians 13:11 says "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." Matthew 18:3 has Jesus saying "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven." Being childish is one thing but being childlike is something altogether different! Mature Christians shouldn't be selfish, silly, whiny, mischievous and the like. But neither should we forget how to have fun and enjoy the simple things in life! Children believe their fathers can fix anything and trust them implicitly. Children can play with others and never even notice the color of their skin. Children forgive and forget so easily. May we always be childlike and never childish!
" To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." ~ CS Lewis