I recently have started working a new job. It is not the typical job that I have had in the past. I have been spoiled over the years by being in a professional white collar atmosphere. However, since I am back in school a part time job is must. I have been working as a waiter. It has been humbling yet rewarding. I have only been there a few days and God has already been at work. I have worked very hard. I have always been a hard worker but for some reason I am working harder at a part-time job than I ever did in a full time job. Why? God has done something in my heart. He has radically altered my entire life. I cannot help but work hard. My co-workers notice my work ethic is not normal. Our jobs are an opportunity for Christ to work through us. Our jobs are a great tool for God to shine through us. When others cut corners, we choose not to. The easy way is the hard way and the hard way is the easy way. If we look at our jobs as a mission field, it will radically alter our work ethic. People will notice that we go above and beyond. People will notice when we help them with things that are not our responsibility. They will notice the little things. It is the little things that God turns in to big things. I am truly honored to be working as a waiter. God is teaching me how serving others for a living is a rewarding experience.
Proverbs 14:22-24
22 Do not those who plot evil go astray?
But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.
23 All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
24 The wealth of the wise is their crown,
but the folly of fools yields folly.
Hard work pays off. Our efforts are not just rewarded with money. We have an opportunity to share Christ with people every day at our jobs. We do not even have to say a word. Our work speaks for itself. Then others will ask, "why do you do things above and beyond your normal duties?" We can respond by saying, "because I am a blessed son or daughter of the most high God. I have every spiritual blessing I need in Christ, who is in me right now. I work hard so I can bless my Father's name. You see, I was rescued out of darkness and brought into the light. I am righteous in the sight of God because Jesus died and rose again. He took my sins on the cross. My entire life is forgiven. I am a new creation. I have a new identity. Now, I can serve my Perfect Father with all that I am. Why? Because of what He has done for me. I want to send blessings to Him instead of asking Him send me blessings. Why? Because I have every spiritual blessing I need right now."
Therefore, let us work hard for the glory of God. When others complain about their jobs, let us not. When others cut corners, let us go above and beyond. When others ask us to help, do more than they ask. When others talk negative, be positive. When others are rude to us, let us be kind to them. When others speak evil of us, let us say kind words about our enemies. When others steal from us, let us give to them generously. We are the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior. It is time that we remember who we are. It is time for us to be who we have been called to be. Let us go and work for the Glory of God!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Getting A Hair Cut
Recently I went to get my hair cut. While I was sitting in the chair I had this thought: "The hair on my head is connected to my head and grows out of my head. How weird is that?" I know it sounds simple. Let us think about. Our hair is connected to a power source. Once, it is cut off it can never grow again apart from our head. However, new hair is produced every day. It grows because there is life in us. Getting a hair cut is like pruning a vine. Jesus gives a great picture of the ultimate spiritual haircut in John 15.
John 15:1-8
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus is our power source. We are the branches. If we remain in the power source, fruit will emerge from our lives. We have all the power we ever need to live a full life. We just have to remember where the power comes. When God gives us a "haircut", He is pruning us. He is cutting off what is dead so that He can produce fruit in our lives. If we are like the hair that is cut off from the source, we have no life. Hair without a power source cannot grow. Let us abide in the vine. Let us let God produce fruit through us. All He asks is that we abide in Him, and He produce through us what we cannot produce ourselves. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Let us abide.
John 15:1-8
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus is our power source. We are the branches. If we remain in the power source, fruit will emerge from our lives. We have all the power we ever need to live a full life. We just have to remember where the power comes. When God gives us a "haircut", He is pruning us. He is cutting off what is dead so that He can produce fruit in our lives. If we are like the hair that is cut off from the source, we have no life. Hair without a power source cannot grow. Let us abide in the vine. Let us let God produce fruit through us. All He asks is that we abide in Him, and He produce through us what we cannot produce ourselves. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Let us abide.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
From Academic Probation To The Dean's Honor Roll
Ephesians 2:4-11
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
When I started back to school last year my GPA was at 2.40. I had always been an average student in high school. My overall GPA was 2.83 in high school. When thinking about going back to college, I was not sure how well I would do this time around. Over the last three semesters I have made only one B. The rest have been all A's. I went from being on academic probation to being on the Dean's Honor Roll. Was it me that accomplished this? By no means! It was Christ in me that did this! He gets all the glory. This has been a picture of how God can do anything if we are willing to let Him. He can make the weak strong. He can empower those that our powerless. He can take a weak student and make him into a strong one. We are often told that things are impossible and there is no possibility that our situation will change. My educational career has taught me that God can do whatever He wants when we are willing to let Him. God has blessed me with a great picture of how His power works through us. It is never too late for God. Just because we are in an "academic probation" season does not mean that it is over. What God wants to show us is that through Him, He can move us into "The Dean's Honor Roll." All we have to do is lay everything at the feet of Jesus. Let Him pick up the pieces and soon a masterpiece will emerge. We are God's masterpiece. He wants to use us as His instruments. Let us remember that God has included us in His story. All we have to do is trust that He can do what we cannot. We can do ALL things THROUGH Him who gives us strength. Not some things. Not most things. Not just the easy things. We can do ALL things THROUGH Him. The way out is THROUGH Him.
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
When I started back to school last year my GPA was at 2.40. I had always been an average student in high school. My overall GPA was 2.83 in high school. When thinking about going back to college, I was not sure how well I would do this time around. Over the last three semesters I have made only one B. The rest have been all A's. I went from being on academic probation to being on the Dean's Honor Roll. Was it me that accomplished this? By no means! It was Christ in me that did this! He gets all the glory. This has been a picture of how God can do anything if we are willing to let Him. He can make the weak strong. He can empower those that our powerless. He can take a weak student and make him into a strong one. We are often told that things are impossible and there is no possibility that our situation will change. My educational career has taught me that God can do whatever He wants when we are willing to let Him. God has blessed me with a great picture of how His power works through us. It is never too late for God. Just because we are in an "academic probation" season does not mean that it is over. What God wants to show us is that through Him, He can move us into "The Dean's Honor Roll." All we have to do is lay everything at the feet of Jesus. Let Him pick up the pieces and soon a masterpiece will emerge. We are God's masterpiece. He wants to use us as His instruments. Let us remember that God has included us in His story. All we have to do is trust that He can do what we cannot. We can do ALL things THROUGH Him who gives us strength. Not some things. Not most things. Not just the easy things. We can do ALL things THROUGH Him. The way out is THROUGH Him.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Is It Too Late?
There is a hidden gem in Matthew 20. It is the parable of the vineyard. Let us let the text speak:
Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Is it too late to turn this around? It is never too late to turn to Christ. This amazing parable can teach us many things. God has revealed that it is never too late to come to Him. Some are already in the vineyard. They will get their wages. However, God can pay those that only work an hour the same as those that have been working all day. What this text shows is that we are all equal in God's economy. We can either believe that it is too late to go to Him or simply go to Him. We can trust that Christ will take care of us. Have you ever felt like it was too late to turn your life around? Have you ever felt like there is no point of turning to God because of your massive sin debt? What this parable teaches us is that God lets the last be first and last first. He is more concerned with our coming to Him than our sin. He wants us to trust Him first. Secondly, He will teach us how to abide in Him for the power to resist sin. He just wants us to come to Him. God wants us to come to Him no matter what. The world may tell us that it is too late and you might as well give up. What God tells is us is that it is NEVER too late to come to Him. In fact, those that come humbly to God are greater in the Kingdom than those that come first. Why? Jesus says in Matthew 18: 2-4, " He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." When we humble ourselves before the Lord, God considers us great. He who is proud misses the entire picture of what Christ is trying to paint. Let us humble ourselves before the creator of the universe and let Him pay us what He so desires. Christ is more than enough. Whether you wait until the end of your life or surrender now, Christ can reward us as He wishes. He is God. We get the gift of salvation when we accept Christ into our lives. We get all the forgiveness we need. We get all the righteous we need. We are only righteous because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no greater reward than a life with Christ living in and through us. Let us go to the cross and humble ourselves at the feet of Christ. Let us become like children and come boldly to our perfect Father. All we have to do is come. Brokenhearted, happy, or sad, just come to Him and He will give us rest. He is all we need. Just come.
Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Is it too late to turn this around? It is never too late to turn to Christ. This amazing parable can teach us many things. God has revealed that it is never too late to come to Him. Some are already in the vineyard. They will get their wages. However, God can pay those that only work an hour the same as those that have been working all day. What this text shows is that we are all equal in God's economy. We can either believe that it is too late to go to Him or simply go to Him. We can trust that Christ will take care of us. Have you ever felt like it was too late to turn your life around? Have you ever felt like there is no point of turning to God because of your massive sin debt? What this parable teaches us is that God lets the last be first and last first. He is more concerned with our coming to Him than our sin. He wants us to trust Him first. Secondly, He will teach us how to abide in Him for the power to resist sin. He just wants us to come to Him. God wants us to come to Him no matter what. The world may tell us that it is too late and you might as well give up. What God tells is us is that it is NEVER too late to come to Him. In fact, those that come humbly to God are greater in the Kingdom than those that come first. Why? Jesus says in Matthew 18: 2-4, " He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." When we humble ourselves before the Lord, God considers us great. He who is proud misses the entire picture of what Christ is trying to paint. Let us humble ourselves before the creator of the universe and let Him pay us what He so desires. Christ is more than enough. Whether you wait until the end of your life or surrender now, Christ can reward us as He wishes. He is God. We get the gift of salvation when we accept Christ into our lives. We get all the forgiveness we need. We get all the righteous we need. We are only righteous because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no greater reward than a life with Christ living in and through us. Let us go to the cross and humble ourselves at the feet of Christ. Let us become like children and come boldly to our perfect Father. All we have to do is come. Brokenhearted, happy, or sad, just come to Him and He will give us rest. He is all we need. Just come.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Rest
Our lives are filled with so much business. We get e-mails, answer e-mails, send text messages, answer text messages. We are on the go. We grab our coffee to go. We grab our meals to go. We are always on the go. It is hard to rest when we are always on the go. It is hard to rest when we are always thinking of what we need to do next. It is hard to rest when we replay our past over and over in our minds. It is hard to rest when thing what could of been instead of what it is. It is hard to rest when the waves of life come crashing down on us. It is hard to rest when there is always something to be done. The Bible teaches us over and over to slow down. What is the hurry? What is the rush? Must we answer that e-mail right now? Must we return that call right now? Must we get our food to go? What God has been teaching me is that when I slow down, I hear from Him. I have been learning to rest. Resting means waiting on God to tell us what to do next. If we were bought with a price (Jesus Christ) then, is it our life or is it His life? We have been called to be used by God for God. We cannot be used when we are always in a hurry. Jesus stopped all the time. Jesus stopped to love on little children. He stopped when He felt his power being released to a woman who had faith. He stopped when men dropped down a paralytic through the roof and healed him. He stopped to teach the disciples. Jesus was on mission. When we are on mission we are not in a hurry. We can rest and know that what is next will be revealed to us. God has called us to rest. We were not designed to labor in vain. He wants to use our labor for His glory. He wants us to stop and love on people. We are His hands and feet. We are his messengers. We must stop and rest. We have short life here on earth. Let us rest in the arms of Christ. We might have to order our food to go. Yet, while we are waiting we can serve Him. While we are waiting for God to make the next move, we can rest. Resting does not mean not working. Resting means letting God do the working through us. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. There are no worries if we know that Jesus is in the boat with us. There is no fear when we know the creator of the universe can calm the raging seas. Let us rest. Let us rest.
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Perfect Father
We all have a Father. We all are wired for one thing. We want to be accepted by our Father's. When we dig deep down we find ourselves wondering if our Father is proud of us. Some of us have a great earthly Father. Some of us have had an abusive earthly Father. Regardless, there is no Father here on earth that is perfect. There have been many terms tossed around regarding God our Father. He has been labeled a "perfected version of our earthly Father". When looking at God as a perfected version of something, there can be a disconnect for some of us. The reality is that there is no comparison to our heavenly Father. He is perfect. Miriam-Webster defines perfect as: being entirely without fault or defect. Let us consider what entirely without fault defect means. The very nature of God is perfect. There is no fault in Him.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 says, " I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." God is perfect. There is no fault in Him. He is not a perfected version of our earthly Father. He is the creator of the universe. God's ways are just. He is upright. He never makes a mistake. We are no accidents. God's works are perfect. We are His workmanship. We are made perfect because of Christ. We have access to God because of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ died and rose again so that we could not just have eternal life. A ticked into heaven is just icing on the cake. Jesus came so that we could have an eternal relationship with the creator of the universe. God gave me a vision that was a perfect example of a perfect Father.
I was on the most perfect beach that I could imagine. The sand was white as snow. The shores were perfectly clean. The day was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky. The water was the bluest and clearest imaginable. There were two trees and in between the trees was a hammock. It was a perfect hammock. There were no flaws in the hammock. It was perfect. I saw myself getting into the hammock and Christ was the hammock. Once I got into the hammock I was locked into the arms of Christ. I imagined Him rocking with me as the winds of the sea brushed up against my face. There was no fear in the hammock. There were no worries in the hammock. There were no distractions in the hammock. Why? Because, I was in Christ. His perfect arms were wrapped around me and I felt loved. There was no condemnation in His arms. There was no talk of what was. There was only thoughts of peace and hope. There was only thoughts of a perfect Father loving His son. I was accepted right where I was. I was in the arms in Christ. That vision has propelled me into a new way of believing. I no longer see my life as over. I am no longer hopeless. I am no longer afraid. I am no longer inadequate. I am no longer defeated. I am in the hands of a perfect Father. My vision is based on my concept of perfection. God is the author of perfection. I have only had a taste of the Glory of God. I have merely taken a sip of his goodness. I have merely seen a small picture of the greater picture that He is painting in me.
I had trouble picturing God as a Father. My earthly Father let me down more than you could imagine. He lied to me. He deceived me. He physically assaulted me. He abused me. God had to give me a real picture of who He is. God had to implant in me a new vision of who He was. God is not the perfected version of my Father. He is my perfect Father. Maybe your Father is or was a good man. For me, I had to remove my Father from the throne. I had to allow God to show me that He was perfect. The more I understand who God is, the less concerned I become with my desires. The more He reveals to me, the more I heal. The more I dive into the Word, the more I see Him as perfect. There is no fault in Him. There is no wrong in God. He never makes mistakes. We are no accidents. He made us to glorify Himself. He made us so that He could live through us. We are His hands and feet. We are His sons and daughters. We are beloved. We are treasures in the eyes of Christ. We are white as snow because of what Christ did for us. We have a perfect Father who loves to love His children. Imagine the most perfect scene with a perfect Father. Read the Word of God and let God transform your life. Everything we need is in the hammock. A full life is at our fingertips. We have to decide whether to get into the hammock or not. We have to choose to let Christ change our lives. We have to choose Him over ourselves. We have to trust in our perfect Father. Perfection means perfection. There is perfection in the arms of Christ. Rest in the perfect Father's arms. The creator of the universe wants to rock us in the hammock. He wants to take care of us. All He asks is that we get in. Let Him do the work. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In Christ there is peace. There is joy. There is peace. There is hope. In Christ is everything we need. We are complete when we let the perfect Father do in us what we cannot do ourselves. He is more than enough, He is perfect. In perfection there are no worries. There are no doubts. There are no fears. There is only love. Let us get in the hammock and trust that our perfect Father will do ALL things through us. Though we may walk through the valley and shadow of death, we shall fear no evil in the hands of our perfect Father. We may be pressed against a wall. When we trust Christ, He can knock down any wall He wishes. In Him we have freedom.
We will face trouble in this life. Yet, Christ has overcome this world. There is redemption in Christ. All we have to do is trust Him. When the storms of life come we can remember the hammock. Jesus was asleep in a boat. The waves were crashing all around Him. Did you hear that? Jesus was asleep. He was at peace in the middle of the storm. Why? Because He knew His perfect Father was in control. He got up and rebuked the waves and the storm subsided. Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes Jesus lets the storms overtake us. Jesus uses the storms to teach us to trust in Him. He uses the storms of live to bring us to the hammock. What Jesus tries to teach us is to rest in Him. He is trying to teach us to get in the hammock and rest. No storm is bigger than God. No mountain is too big for God to knock down. Nothing is impossible for God. God is in control. We can rest inside the perfect Father. We can rest in the darkest alleys of our life. Why? Because, Christ is with us. We are not alone. We are loved sons and daughters. Jesus says in Matthew, "What earthly father would give his son a rock when he asks for a fish?" Imagine how much more a perfect Father wants to love His children? He calms the seas within our souls. Throughout the Word, God is trying to show us that we will suffer. However, in Him is peace. We will be okay. Let us get into the hammock and trust that Christ is who He says He is. Matthew 7: 7-12 says, 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Our perfect Father is going to take care of us. He just wants us to let Him do it.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 says, " I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." God is perfect. There is no fault in Him. He is not a perfected version of our earthly Father. He is the creator of the universe. God's ways are just. He is upright. He never makes a mistake. We are no accidents. God's works are perfect. We are His workmanship. We are made perfect because of Christ. We have access to God because of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ died and rose again so that we could not just have eternal life. A ticked into heaven is just icing on the cake. Jesus came so that we could have an eternal relationship with the creator of the universe. God gave me a vision that was a perfect example of a perfect Father.
I was on the most perfect beach that I could imagine. The sand was white as snow. The shores were perfectly clean. The day was perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky. The water was the bluest and clearest imaginable. There were two trees and in between the trees was a hammock. It was a perfect hammock. There were no flaws in the hammock. It was perfect. I saw myself getting into the hammock and Christ was the hammock. Once I got into the hammock I was locked into the arms of Christ. I imagined Him rocking with me as the winds of the sea brushed up against my face. There was no fear in the hammock. There were no worries in the hammock. There were no distractions in the hammock. Why? Because, I was in Christ. His perfect arms were wrapped around me and I felt loved. There was no condemnation in His arms. There was no talk of what was. There was only thoughts of peace and hope. There was only thoughts of a perfect Father loving His son. I was accepted right where I was. I was in the arms in Christ. That vision has propelled me into a new way of believing. I no longer see my life as over. I am no longer hopeless. I am no longer afraid. I am no longer inadequate. I am no longer defeated. I am in the hands of a perfect Father. My vision is based on my concept of perfection. God is the author of perfection. I have only had a taste of the Glory of God. I have merely taken a sip of his goodness. I have merely seen a small picture of the greater picture that He is painting in me.
I had trouble picturing God as a Father. My earthly Father let me down more than you could imagine. He lied to me. He deceived me. He physically assaulted me. He abused me. God had to give me a real picture of who He is. God had to implant in me a new vision of who He was. God is not the perfected version of my Father. He is my perfect Father. Maybe your Father is or was a good man. For me, I had to remove my Father from the throne. I had to allow God to show me that He was perfect. The more I understand who God is, the less concerned I become with my desires. The more He reveals to me, the more I heal. The more I dive into the Word, the more I see Him as perfect. There is no fault in Him. There is no wrong in God. He never makes mistakes. We are no accidents. He made us to glorify Himself. He made us so that He could live through us. We are His hands and feet. We are His sons and daughters. We are beloved. We are treasures in the eyes of Christ. We are white as snow because of what Christ did for us. We have a perfect Father who loves to love His children. Imagine the most perfect scene with a perfect Father. Read the Word of God and let God transform your life. Everything we need is in the hammock. A full life is at our fingertips. We have to decide whether to get into the hammock or not. We have to choose to let Christ change our lives. We have to choose Him over ourselves. We have to trust in our perfect Father. Perfection means perfection. There is perfection in the arms of Christ. Rest in the perfect Father's arms. The creator of the universe wants to rock us in the hammock. He wants to take care of us. All He asks is that we get in. Let Him do the work. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In Christ there is peace. There is joy. There is peace. There is hope. In Christ is everything we need. We are complete when we let the perfect Father do in us what we cannot do ourselves. He is more than enough, He is perfect. In perfection there are no worries. There are no doubts. There are no fears. There is only love. Let us get in the hammock and trust that our perfect Father will do ALL things through us. Though we may walk through the valley and shadow of death, we shall fear no evil in the hands of our perfect Father. We may be pressed against a wall. When we trust Christ, He can knock down any wall He wishes. In Him we have freedom.
We will face trouble in this life. Yet, Christ has overcome this world. There is redemption in Christ. All we have to do is trust Him. When the storms of life come we can remember the hammock. Jesus was asleep in a boat. The waves were crashing all around Him. Did you hear that? Jesus was asleep. He was at peace in the middle of the storm. Why? Because He knew His perfect Father was in control. He got up and rebuked the waves and the storm subsided. Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes Jesus lets the storms overtake us. Jesus uses the storms to teach us to trust in Him. He uses the storms of live to bring us to the hammock. What Jesus tries to teach us is to rest in Him. He is trying to teach us to get in the hammock and rest. No storm is bigger than God. No mountain is too big for God to knock down. Nothing is impossible for God. God is in control. We can rest inside the perfect Father. We can rest in the darkest alleys of our life. Why? Because, Christ is with us. We are not alone. We are loved sons and daughters. Jesus says in Matthew, "What earthly father would give his son a rock when he asks for a fish?" Imagine how much more a perfect Father wants to love His children? He calms the seas within our souls. Throughout the Word, God is trying to show us that we will suffer. However, in Him is peace. We will be okay. Let us get into the hammock and trust that Christ is who He says He is. Matthew 7: 7-12 says, 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Our perfect Father is going to take care of us. He just wants us to let Him do it.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Road To Damascus
Welcome! This blog is a blog about new life. This blog is about how the power of Jesus Christ can transform any heart at any time. All of us have made mistakes in life. Mistakes can either make or break our lives as believers. In Acts chapter 9 we can read about the conversion of a man named Saul. Saul was a Jew on steroids. He did all the right things and followed the Jewish law to near perfection. Saul persecuted the Christian church. He killed Christians. He tortured Christians. He had Christians arrested for preaching the Gospel. For all intents and purposes he was one of the greatest threats to the Christian church. Yet, Jesus Christ showed up and transformed his life. Paul went on to write over 60 percent of the New Testament. With Christ living through Paul, the New Testament church was established. We have heard the story countless times. Yet, there are some key things that we may be missing.
When Jesus came to Saul he did not ask Paul why He was persecuting the church. In fact Jesus said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting". There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Jesus is saying that when we sin, we are sinning against Christ himself. We often forget that our sin is against Christ. We walk around thinking that we have sinned against others and that Christ has forgiven us. Yet, we fail to stop and realize that we are sinning against Christ. Indeed, we sin against others and we must forgive others as Christ forgave us. However, the sin starts with sinning against our Lord and Savior. In Psalms David's confession to God paints the picture well when he says, "Against thee and thee alone have I sinned." Sin is against God. We must first stop and realize that our sin is against God. Once we do that, we can open up the doors to forgiving others that we have directly sinned against.
Paul's name was changed from Saul. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we get a new identity. We get a new name. We are no longer the old man, we are a new creation. Imagine our life as we know it. We have a name. We have a social security number. We have a credit rating. We have debt. All that we have in this world is linked to our name. What Jesus shows by changing Paul's name is that we are given a new name. We have a new social security number. Our old man has massive debts that could never be repaid. Our old man has a massive sin debt. We have all fallen short of the glory. What Christ is teaching us by Paul's conversion is that we have a new identity. We have no debt. We have a deposit of righteousness. We have a deposit of infinite blessings. We have a deposit of infinite grace. We have deposit of infinite hope. We have deposit of infinite cleanliness. We have a deposit of redemption. We have been adopted by the most High God. Because of Christ we are now sons and daughters of God. Ephesians 1: 3-10 says, "3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." Paul the persecutor of the Christian church is telling us that we have deposited in our account everything we need. We have all the righteousness we need. We have all the hope we need. We have everything we need to be everything we need to be in the person of Jesus Christ. Those who trust Christ are holy and blameless in His sight. It is not by what we have done but only through the cross of Christ that we have a new identity. We can either walk around believing the lie that we are the old man with the old social security number with a massive sin debt that can never be repaid. Or, we can put on the new self and let Christ do through us what we cannot do ourselves. We have been chosen by God to let God live through us. We need not ask for blessings. We already have all the blessings we could ever need. We need to spend less time asking for blessings and search out the blessings we already have in Christ. When we understand that we have everything that we need, we no longer ask God for blessings, but we ask Him how we can bless Him. When we allow Christ to be the Lord of our lives, we find a new purpose in life. We want to bless our heavenly Father. We want to share His glory instead of ours. Christ has given us everything we need. He cannot give us more forgiveness. We have already been forgiven. He cannot give us anymore hope. We have all the hope we need in Christ. He cannot give us more righteousness. We are righteous because of Christ. We are blameless because of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Old testament is filled with stories of how God revealed himself. God showed up as a burning bush to Moses. God knocked down the walls at Jericho by men shouting out loud. God parted the red sea. God did amazing things to show who He was to the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament is about God's promises coming true. God fulfilled the promises by sending his only son Jesus to live a perfect life, became sin and knew no sin, have a brutal death, and be raised from the dead. Why? So, that we could become His sons and daughters. God did this so He can lavish His love upon us. God did this so that we can have life in the person of Christ manifested by the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. God loved us so much that He wants to be in us. He wants to live our life through us. God did not just want to be around us. He wants to be in us. He wants to take residence in us so that He can live through us. God wants us to have everything we need so that we can have an intimate relationship with Him. God wants to give us all that He has. God wants to be glorified through our lives. God wants to take away the burdens and blows that life has dealt us. God wants to transform our lives into His image. He wants others to look at us and see Himself. If God can use Paul, He can use any of us. It is never too late to trust Christ. You may be in your darkest hour and everything around you is falling down on you. Yet, Christ is in control. He is on the throne.
Everything we need is in the person of Christ. He is the perfect Father who lavishes His love down on us. Do not listen to what the world tells you. Do not look at your past and say that you are too far from getting grace from Christ. There is no one that is too far from Christ. Have you killed any Christians? Have you tortured Christians? If not, Christ can do anything in anybody that is willing to let Him. We can either believe the lie that we can never be anything for God, or stand on the Word of God and trust that Christ is who He says He is. It is our choice. God is either a liar or not. Trust in the Word of God. People will tell us all sorts of things. However, we must take every thought captive and lay against the Word of God. We must know who we are. We must believe that we are no longer the old man. We must accept the grace that Christ has given us. It came at a high cost. Jesus had to die. Yet, the resurrection gave us a new life. We can approach God not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did on the cross. It is only through Christ that we are righteous.
When Jesus came to Saul he did not ask Paul why He was persecuting the church. In fact Jesus said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting". There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Jesus is saying that when we sin, we are sinning against Christ himself. We often forget that our sin is against Christ. We walk around thinking that we have sinned against others and that Christ has forgiven us. Yet, we fail to stop and realize that we are sinning against Christ. Indeed, we sin against others and we must forgive others as Christ forgave us. However, the sin starts with sinning against our Lord and Savior. In Psalms David's confession to God paints the picture well when he says, "Against thee and thee alone have I sinned." Sin is against God. We must first stop and realize that our sin is against God. Once we do that, we can open up the doors to forgiving others that we have directly sinned against.
Paul's name was changed from Saul. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we get a new identity. We get a new name. We are no longer the old man, we are a new creation. Imagine our life as we know it. We have a name. We have a social security number. We have a credit rating. We have debt. All that we have in this world is linked to our name. What Jesus shows by changing Paul's name is that we are given a new name. We have a new social security number. Our old man has massive debts that could never be repaid. Our old man has a massive sin debt. We have all fallen short of the glory. What Christ is teaching us by Paul's conversion is that we have a new identity. We have no debt. We have a deposit of righteousness. We have a deposit of infinite blessings. We have a deposit of infinite grace. We have deposit of infinite hope. We have deposit of infinite cleanliness. We have a deposit of redemption. We have been adopted by the most High God. Because of Christ we are now sons and daughters of God. Ephesians 1: 3-10 says, "3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." Paul the persecutor of the Christian church is telling us that we have deposited in our account everything we need. We have all the righteousness we need. We have all the hope we need. We have everything we need to be everything we need to be in the person of Jesus Christ. Those who trust Christ are holy and blameless in His sight. It is not by what we have done but only through the cross of Christ that we have a new identity. We can either walk around believing the lie that we are the old man with the old social security number with a massive sin debt that can never be repaid. Or, we can put on the new self and let Christ do through us what we cannot do ourselves. We have been chosen by God to let God live through us. We need not ask for blessings. We already have all the blessings we could ever need. We need to spend less time asking for blessings and search out the blessings we already have in Christ. When we understand that we have everything that we need, we no longer ask God for blessings, but we ask Him how we can bless Him. When we allow Christ to be the Lord of our lives, we find a new purpose in life. We want to bless our heavenly Father. We want to share His glory instead of ours. Christ has given us everything we need. He cannot give us more forgiveness. We have already been forgiven. He cannot give us anymore hope. We have all the hope we need in Christ. He cannot give us more righteousness. We are righteous because of Christ. We are blameless because of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Old testament is filled with stories of how God revealed himself. God showed up as a burning bush to Moses. God knocked down the walls at Jericho by men shouting out loud. God parted the red sea. God did amazing things to show who He was to the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament is about God's promises coming true. God fulfilled the promises by sending his only son Jesus to live a perfect life, became sin and knew no sin, have a brutal death, and be raised from the dead. Why? So, that we could become His sons and daughters. God did this so He can lavish His love upon us. God did this so that we can have life in the person of Christ manifested by the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. God loved us so much that He wants to be in us. He wants to live our life through us. God did not just want to be around us. He wants to be in us. He wants to take residence in us so that He can live through us. God wants us to have everything we need so that we can have an intimate relationship with Him. God wants to give us all that He has. God wants to be glorified through our lives. God wants to take away the burdens and blows that life has dealt us. God wants to transform our lives into His image. He wants others to look at us and see Himself. If God can use Paul, He can use any of us. It is never too late to trust Christ. You may be in your darkest hour and everything around you is falling down on you. Yet, Christ is in control. He is on the throne.
Everything we need is in the person of Christ. He is the perfect Father who lavishes His love down on us. Do not listen to what the world tells you. Do not look at your past and say that you are too far from getting grace from Christ. There is no one that is too far from Christ. Have you killed any Christians? Have you tortured Christians? If not, Christ can do anything in anybody that is willing to let Him. We can either believe the lie that we can never be anything for God, or stand on the Word of God and trust that Christ is who He says He is. It is our choice. God is either a liar or not. Trust in the Word of God. People will tell us all sorts of things. However, we must take every thought captive and lay against the Word of God. We must know who we are. We must believe that we are no longer the old man. We must accept the grace that Christ has given us. It came at a high cost. Jesus had to die. Yet, the resurrection gave us a new life. We can approach God not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did on the cross. It is only through Christ that we are righteous.
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