Romans 7:18-20 (NLT)
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
The apostle explains the corruptness that lives within all of us is called our “sinful nature” or as some Bible translations say, “the flesh”. The apostle believes there is nothing good which can come from us alone. He sees the struggle in that God has given him a desire to do what is right and he wants to do what is right - but he doesn’t. The opposite is also true, he wants to avoid what is evil, yet he finds himself doing the very thing he desired not to do. The apostle acknowledges that sin dwells within him and it is sin causing him to act against the desires of God.
When the Apostle Paul was writing the words above he was already a Christian. Paul knew he was a sinful man. Paul desired to walk away from sin, which showed his repentant nature. Paul had complete trust that Jesus died for his sin and that he would be reconciled with God to live an eternal life in heaven. We see that even though Paul was a Christian - Paul struggled with sin. Paul was not perfect and the truth is there are none of us who are.
For those who do not know Jesus Christ, I want you to know Jesus Christ loves you no matter what you have done, no matter who you are, no matter what sin you have committed. JESUS CHRIST LOVES YOU! Jesus desires to give you the same gift of eternal life as he gave Paul and every other Christian.
For those who have placed their complete trust and faith in Jesus Christ, I pray you have the same desire as Paul to do well and to turn away from evil. As a Christian, sin is always present in our lives, but sin does not control us unless we give it control. 1 Corinthians 15:57 tells us, “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, but we receive God’s promise of freedom by believing in Jesus Christ. We had a passion for sin, but that passion was nailed to the cross when Jesus died. Our flesh still wants to rise up against us. As Paul put it, “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from being proud.” We have to fight the temptation that comes at us, but we need Jesus to do it.
Maybe you have slipped and fallen into sin. Jesus can help you recover. Maybe sin has a tight grasp on you. Pray for mercy and grace and ask Jesus to take control. Maybe you want to do what is right and good but you are struggling. Ask Jesus to lead the way.
May God bless you, keep you close and pour His mercy and grace freely upon you.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
God's broken heart
Genesis 6:5-6 (NLT)
5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
Our creator, our God, our Lord, looked down on mankind and saw how sin had taken hold of man’s heart. Man’s thoughts and imaginations were forever looking towards evil. It broke God’s heart that He ever made man and was sorry He had made man that man would fall to sin.
There is a statement that says “The rain falls because the cloud can no long hold the weight. The tears fall because the heart can no longer handle the pain.” There is nothing heavier and sadder than a broken heart. A person with a broken heart is devastated with sorrow. There has been someone who has caused disappointment and caused great despair. Love never walks away; it is a person who walks away and abandons their love. Man abandoned God’s love and it broke His heart.
It may be that someone has abandoned you and broken your heart. It may be that you are still feeling the pain of a damaged relationship. David said in his psalms, “Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.” Jeremiah upon looking at the sins of Israel said, “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.” In Lamentations God spoke of the people and said, “I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken.” Many have understood the pain of a broken heart.
If the God of the universe can have a broken heart, let me assure you the Lord understands your pain. God wants to heal that pain. Throughout the Bible God says, “Let their hearts return to me and I will heal them.” God heals broken hearts and restores the joy it once had.
On this Valentine’s Day give your heart to God and He will give His heart to you.
5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
Our creator, our God, our Lord, looked down on mankind and saw how sin had taken hold of man’s heart. Man’s thoughts and imaginations were forever looking towards evil. It broke God’s heart that He ever made man and was sorry He had made man that man would fall to sin.
There is a statement that says “The rain falls because the cloud can no long hold the weight. The tears fall because the heart can no longer handle the pain.” There is nothing heavier and sadder than a broken heart. A person with a broken heart is devastated with sorrow. There has been someone who has caused disappointment and caused great despair. Love never walks away; it is a person who walks away and abandons their love. Man abandoned God’s love and it broke His heart.
It may be that someone has abandoned you and broken your heart. It may be that you are still feeling the pain of a damaged relationship. David said in his psalms, “Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.” Jeremiah upon looking at the sins of Israel said, “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.” In Lamentations God spoke of the people and said, “I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken.” Many have understood the pain of a broken heart.
If the God of the universe can have a broken heart, let me assure you the Lord understands your pain. God wants to heal that pain. Throughout the Bible God says, “Let their hearts return to me and I will heal them.” God heals broken hearts and restores the joy it once had.
On this Valentine’s Day give your heart to God and He will give His heart to you.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Have you been rejected
Luke 9:22 (NLT)
22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
After Peter confirms Jesus is the Christ, Jesus says the words above. Just affirmed and accepted by Peter as the Son of God, The Savior of men - Jesus says He will be rejected by those who should know God. He says the elders, leading priests and teachers will reject Him.
Rejection is a tough emotion to deal with. When someone rejects you there is a negative flood of emotions. You begin to wonder if you are good enough. Some people even start trying to change what they are to meet the others expectations. The issue -More than likely the other person is the problem.
Look at the life of Jesus. He ministered to people. Jesus had compassion for people. Jesus met the needs of people. Yet Jesus was rejected by those who should have known Him.
There are those who should know you, but have rejected you. They have said things that hurt and strike at the core of your heart. When that happens, remember Jesus. Jesus endured it all for our sakes. Jesus continued to be who He was. Jesus still reached out in compassion and love. Even today Jesus waits to give the gift of salvation to those who place their faith in Him. There are many who still reject Him and yet Jesus still loves them too, but He has to wait on them to come to Him.
22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
After Peter confirms Jesus is the Christ, Jesus says the words above. Just affirmed and accepted by Peter as the Son of God, The Savior of men - Jesus says He will be rejected by those who should know God. He says the elders, leading priests and teachers will reject Him.
Rejection is a tough emotion to deal with. When someone rejects you there is a negative flood of emotions. You begin to wonder if you are good enough. Some people even start trying to change what they are to meet the others expectations. The issue -More than likely the other person is the problem.
Look at the life of Jesus. He ministered to people. Jesus had compassion for people. Jesus met the needs of people. Yet Jesus was rejected by those who should have known Him.
There are those who should know you, but have rejected you. They have said things that hurt and strike at the core of your heart. When that happens, remember Jesus. Jesus endured it all for our sakes. Jesus continued to be who He was. Jesus still reached out in compassion and love. Even today Jesus waits to give the gift of salvation to those who place their faith in Him. There are many who still reject Him and yet Jesus still loves them too, but He has to wait on them to come to Him.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Have faith and pray
1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)
14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
The Apostle John starts this chapter with a call to continue keeping our faith in Jesus Christ. It is through our faith in Christ that we find our victories and win the battles we face in life. Through Christ we are given the bold ability to come to God with our honest and earnest requests. When we are humble, sincere and ask of God in accordance to His majesty and glory - Christ takes up petition for us with The Father. Knowing we want to give God the glory, knowing we desire to seek His will, and knowing Christ speaks for us gives us the confidence God will hear us and give and answer to our prayer.
In life there are certain expectations you come to believe in. If someone asked, “Has your wife ever misplaced her pocketbook” I could answer with a definite yes. After almost 33 years of marriage I would believe and expect that my wife has either left her pocketbook in the car, on the kitchen table, on the counter next to the stove, on the couch, or on the furniture in the bedroom and that she will spend some amount of time looking for that pocketbook. I have an expectation after looking she will find it in one of those places because that is where she usually leaves it.
Last night my wife ordered dinner out and was going to pick it up. As she would normally do, my wife went to look for her pocketbook in the above mentioned spots. This time however there was no pocketbook to be found. She started to become frantic looking under the cushions of the couch, looking in the trunk of the car, and looking just about any place where she thought she might have left it. All of us joined in the search, still 15 minutes later - no pocketbook. Since she was still looking I suggested I would go pick up the dinner she had ordered.
When I left she gave up looking and prayed for God to lead her to find her pocketbook. As I drove to the restaurant I prayed God would reveal the location of the pocketbook. I believe in prayer, but I must be honest and admit there are times when maybe I’m not so confident about the result.
I picked up our order and returned home. As I drove into the garage, hanging eye level straight before me from a shelf on the wall in the garage was my wife’s pocketbook. If I had asked someone I could not have asked them to put that pocketbook in a more obvious place. I walked in with it in my hand and my wife asked where did I find it and I said, “Right where God put it.” Three of us had walked by that spot several times to look in the car where we thought that pocketbook might be, but we never saw it. God listens and He hears our prayers. We just need to stop, pray and look forward to His answer. Most of all we need to have faith and believe.
14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
The Apostle John starts this chapter with a call to continue keeping our faith in Jesus Christ. It is through our faith in Christ that we find our victories and win the battles we face in life. Through Christ we are given the bold ability to come to God with our honest and earnest requests. When we are humble, sincere and ask of God in accordance to His majesty and glory - Christ takes up petition for us with The Father. Knowing we want to give God the glory, knowing we desire to seek His will, and knowing Christ speaks for us gives us the confidence God will hear us and give and answer to our prayer.
In life there are certain expectations you come to believe in. If someone asked, “Has your wife ever misplaced her pocketbook” I could answer with a definite yes. After almost 33 years of marriage I would believe and expect that my wife has either left her pocketbook in the car, on the kitchen table, on the counter next to the stove, on the couch, or on the furniture in the bedroom and that she will spend some amount of time looking for that pocketbook. I have an expectation after looking she will find it in one of those places because that is where she usually leaves it.
Last night my wife ordered dinner out and was going to pick it up. As she would normally do, my wife went to look for her pocketbook in the above mentioned spots. This time however there was no pocketbook to be found. She started to become frantic looking under the cushions of the couch, looking in the trunk of the car, and looking just about any place where she thought she might have left it. All of us joined in the search, still 15 minutes later - no pocketbook. Since she was still looking I suggested I would go pick up the dinner she had ordered.
When I left she gave up looking and prayed for God to lead her to find her pocketbook. As I drove to the restaurant I prayed God would reveal the location of the pocketbook. I believe in prayer, but I must be honest and admit there are times when maybe I’m not so confident about the result.
I picked up our order and returned home. As I drove into the garage, hanging eye level straight before me from a shelf on the wall in the garage was my wife’s pocketbook. If I had asked someone I could not have asked them to put that pocketbook in a more obvious place. I walked in with it in my hand and my wife asked where did I find it and I said, “Right where God put it.” Three of us had walked by that spot several times to look in the car where we thought that pocketbook might be, but we never saw it. God listens and He hears our prayers. We just need to stop, pray and look forward to His answer. Most of all we need to have faith and believe.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Learn from your mistakes
Galatians 2:11-16 (NLT)
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? 15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
The Apostle Paul recounts his confrontation of Peter, a pillar of the church, a strong leader, who gave into the peer pressure instead of relying on his faith in Jesus Christ. Peter made an error in allowing his thoughts to be guided by the criticism of others instead of being guided by Christ.
All of us are going to make mistakes in life. Most of us have a tendency to not want to admit our mistakes. We feel admitting our mistakes will make us less than perfect. The truth is we are less than perfect and the best thing we can do is admit our mistakes as soon as we are confronted. We need to express our regret, take responsibility, make restitution where restitution is due, and ask forgiveness. The last thing we want to do is cover up our problem, blame someone else or get angry when we are confronted. Adam and Eve attempted to handle their sin this way. They tried to hide from God, they tried to blame one another, and they resented being confronted. I wonder what might have happened if Adam and Eve had been honest, had admitted their sin to God, and taken responsibility for what they did. Instead they denied their sin and blamed God.
There is a saying that half of being smart is to know what half of you is dumb. Be willing to reach out for help and ask for guidance. Allow God to work in your life and show you how you can learn from your mistakes.
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? 15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
The Apostle Paul recounts his confrontation of Peter, a pillar of the church, a strong leader, who gave into the peer pressure instead of relying on his faith in Jesus Christ. Peter made an error in allowing his thoughts to be guided by the criticism of others instead of being guided by Christ.
All of us are going to make mistakes in life. Most of us have a tendency to not want to admit our mistakes. We feel admitting our mistakes will make us less than perfect. The truth is we are less than perfect and the best thing we can do is admit our mistakes as soon as we are confronted. We need to express our regret, take responsibility, make restitution where restitution is due, and ask forgiveness. The last thing we want to do is cover up our problem, blame someone else or get angry when we are confronted. Adam and Eve attempted to handle their sin this way. They tried to hide from God, they tried to blame one another, and they resented being confronted. I wonder what might have happened if Adam and Eve had been honest, had admitted their sin to God, and taken responsibility for what they did. Instead they denied their sin and blamed God.
There is a saying that half of being smart is to know what half of you is dumb. Be willing to reach out for help and ask for guidance. Allow God to work in your life and show you how you can learn from your mistakes.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The truth will set you free
John 8:31-32 (NLT)
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Matthew Henry tells us the following about the verses above. “The truth and certainty of the promise, the liberty which the Jews boasted of was an imaginary liberty; they boasted of a false gift; but the liberty which Christ gives is a certain thing, it is real, and has real effects. The servants of sin promise themselves liberty, and fancy themselves free, when they have broken religion’s bands asunder; but they cheat themselves. None are free indeed but those whom Christ makes free.”
People often use John 8:32 incorrectly. How many times have you heard someone say, “The truth will set you free” and they are implying telling the truth will somehow relieve you of the consequences of sin. I want to say telling the truth is the right thing to do, but telling the truth is not a get out of jail free card. Telling the truth will begin to bring healing into your life, but the damage has already been done.
I remember a Cops episode on TV where the officer was telling the suspect if he would tell the truth it would set him free. Actually, when the suspect told the truth he was placed in a patrol car and arrested for theft by taking. The man may have felt a sense of freedom by telling the truth, but the consequence for stealing was still there.
You see telling the truth after a sin is not what Jesus is talking about. Jesus was telling us knowing the truth about sin, knowing the truth that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and knowing the truth about the promises of God will set you free. Jesus wants to keep you free from sin before you fall prey to it!
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Matthew Henry tells us the following about the verses above. “The truth and certainty of the promise, the liberty which the Jews boasted of was an imaginary liberty; they boasted of a false gift; but the liberty which Christ gives is a certain thing, it is real, and has real effects. The servants of sin promise themselves liberty, and fancy themselves free, when they have broken religion’s bands asunder; but they cheat themselves. None are free indeed but those whom Christ makes free.”
People often use John 8:32 incorrectly. How many times have you heard someone say, “The truth will set you free” and they are implying telling the truth will somehow relieve you of the consequences of sin. I want to say telling the truth is the right thing to do, but telling the truth is not a get out of jail free card. Telling the truth will begin to bring healing into your life, but the damage has already been done.
I remember a Cops episode on TV where the officer was telling the suspect if he would tell the truth it would set him free. Actually, when the suspect told the truth he was placed in a patrol car and arrested for theft by taking. The man may have felt a sense of freedom by telling the truth, but the consequence for stealing was still there.
You see telling the truth after a sin is not what Jesus is talking about. Jesus was telling us knowing the truth about sin, knowing the truth that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and knowing the truth about the promises of God will set you free. Jesus wants to keep you free from sin before you fall prey to it!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Following God's wisdom
James 1:5-8 (NLT)
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
In these verses James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us God is generous to give us wisdom when we ask for it. It’s not a request God turns down, but is a promise He keeps. There is a condition to our request. The condition is we must place our faith alone in God and not waver from it. We cannot be divided between God’s wisdom and the wisdom of the world.
We all have someone in our lives we love and yet they can do some small thing that makes us feel rejected. I love my mother. She is a kind and very sweet person. However, there are times when she will call for my advice, then go on to ask the advice of others and then make her own choice. I acknowledge most of us probably do the same thing. We seek out knowledge; then we reject sound ideas and choose something of our own pleasing. I remember a car my mother was purchasing. She called me with the details and asked my opinion whether it would be a good purchase. I enjoy researching so I found out everything about the car. The car was rated well, it had a great expected service life, and the asking price was below average. I called my mother and said it would be a really good purchase. Later on she calls me back to say she got the car. I’m feeling good I was able to give her some wisdom; but that feeling didn’t last long. She informed me it was a different car, not the one she called me about. She tells me about the used car she just bought. Then she asks, “Do you think it was a good purchase?” All I could say was, “I have no clue mom.” I didn’t know anything about the car, its reliability or its price. When I went back and looked everything up I had to tell my mom she could have gotten a new car for the price she paid for a used car. She got a good car, but the price was unreasonable. It was an “as is purchase” so the car was hers. She missed out on the knowledge I passed onto her.
Hopefully you can see God’s point in this story. If we are going to ask for His wisdom, His advice, His Knowledge we need to be ready to accept and follow it. We don’t need to be looking elsewhere and end up with something less than God planned for us.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
In these verses James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us God is generous to give us wisdom when we ask for it. It’s not a request God turns down, but is a promise He keeps. There is a condition to our request. The condition is we must place our faith alone in God and not waver from it. We cannot be divided between God’s wisdom and the wisdom of the world.
We all have someone in our lives we love and yet they can do some small thing that makes us feel rejected. I love my mother. She is a kind and very sweet person. However, there are times when she will call for my advice, then go on to ask the advice of others and then make her own choice. I acknowledge most of us probably do the same thing. We seek out knowledge; then we reject sound ideas and choose something of our own pleasing. I remember a car my mother was purchasing. She called me with the details and asked my opinion whether it would be a good purchase. I enjoy researching so I found out everything about the car. The car was rated well, it had a great expected service life, and the asking price was below average. I called my mother and said it would be a really good purchase. Later on she calls me back to say she got the car. I’m feeling good I was able to give her some wisdom; but that feeling didn’t last long. She informed me it was a different car, not the one she called me about. She tells me about the used car she just bought. Then she asks, “Do you think it was a good purchase?” All I could say was, “I have no clue mom.” I didn’t know anything about the car, its reliability or its price. When I went back and looked everything up I had to tell my mom she could have gotten a new car for the price she paid for a used car. She got a good car, but the price was unreasonable. It was an “as is purchase” so the car was hers. She missed out on the knowledge I passed onto her.
Hopefully you can see God’s point in this story. If we are going to ask for His wisdom, His advice, His Knowledge we need to be ready to accept and follow it. We don’t need to be looking elsewhere and end up with something less than God planned for us.
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