September 30, 2014

Giving praise and thanksgiving where it is due...

Psalm 100 (99 LXX)

Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth;
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with great joy.
Know this:the Lord, He is God;
He made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
And into His courts with hymns;
Give thanks to Him; praise His name;
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth is from generation to generation.

Encouraging Words...

Since the early church fathers determined that the Wisdom that the Psalms and Proverbs speak of is Jesus Christ then this entire Psalm is ins praise and thanksgiving of Jesus Christ and who He is. He is our Creator. He made us in His image. He is God. He is our Shepherd. We are to shout aloud to Him in thanksgiving. We are to serve Him with gladness and great joy. We are His people, His sheep, and we are to enter the gates of His kingdom with thanksgiving and praise and the singing of hymns. He is good and merciful for all generations. Glory be to Him!

September 29, 2014

Plugging in to the true source of power...

Psalm 18:32 (17:33 LXX)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Encouraging Words...

My power in this life here on earth, my position in eternity, has nothing to do with the position or title that I hold at work, or the rank or standing that I have in society, but everything to do with who I am in Christ. All of these worldly things are just that...worldly. The desires of my heart, the goals of my mind, should all be focused on my Lord for it is He who girds me with the power to make it through each day and lays out the path to righteousness before me. Glory be to God!

September 28, 2014

Being heard from heaven...

2 Chronicles 7:14

if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will be merciful to their sins and heal their land.

Encouraging Words...

So...does this verse say that if all of us who claim Christ as our King were to humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways that He will heal our country...America. Maybe! Maybe not! Maybe the land that will be healed is that of His kingdom here on earth. Maybe it is that spiritual realm that we coexist in. I am not sure. But I am sure that we are called to live this life for Him in whatever land we live in. We are called to be in unity and not the many divisions that we have today. We are called to put Him first, others second, and ourselves last. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

September 27, 2014

Saint of the Week

September 26, 2014

Abiding in God and God abiding in us!

1 John 4:12-16

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Encouraging Words...

One of the many wonderful truths of Christianity is that God abides within us. We do not have to strive to become something different, or do some prescribed tasks or rituals, or wait until we die and hope that we are reincarnated at a higher level. How can we know God lives in us? John gives a fourfold answer: (1) if we love one another (v. 12); (2) if we have been given His Spirit (v. 13); (3) if we can confess Jesus is the Son of God (v. 15); and (4) if we abide in the love of God (v. 16). Jesus is our Lord and He will dwell within us and lead us through our journey of life to be like Him. Glory be to God!

September 25, 2014

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death!

Romans 5:12-13

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.)

Encouraging Words...

The early church fathers taught that because of Adam's sin death became a regular part of every man's life. Because of sin...we die. They also taught that we sin because of the death, because when death entered the world we became mortal and in that mortality we sin. They did not teach that Adam's sin was imputed to us. We are responsible and accountable for our own sin. But the good part of this is that when Jesus was incarnated as a man, taking on fully our human nature, lived a sinless life, was crucified as an innocent man, and rose again the third day, He defeated death and therefore the sin that death brings into our lives. Through Christ our sins are forgiven and we can begin the process of living sinless lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

September 24, 2014

The journey through brokenness...

Psalm 147:3 (146:3 LXX)

He heals the brokenhearted
And He binds up all their wounds.

Encouraging Words...

Only in our brokenness can we truly receive the healing power of our Lord. This is why David and so many of the godly, righteous saints that have gone before us so often ask God for a broken and contrite heart and spirit. The hold that the flesh has upon us must be broken. That is the first stop in our journey and starts with confession and repentance. But what comes next is the most important step...letting our Lord heal that which is broken and bind it all back together in His way, in His likeness. He is the great Physician. We are His patients. Gory be to God!