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Luke 7

3/30/2016

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Luke 7:50
“And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”


I wanted to start with this verse so you could see how different believing in something and having faith in something is. Jesus is invited to a Pharisees house to eat and while there this lady comes in starts to wash His feet with her tears, wiping them down with her hair, then anoints His feet with perfume.  The Pharisee is annoyed and thinks this in verse 39 “When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman is touching Him, She’s a sinner!”
Simons focus was on how bad she was, Jesus was focused on her heart and the fact that nothing made her come wash His feet but her faith in who He was.

See the Pharisees wanted to see miraculous signs all the time but this lady not only believed in who He was but she showed her faith by doing something about it.  See we can't get caught up in thinking Jesus is a genie in a bottle we must realize that He is our Lord and Savior. When we do our faith grows and is perfected by Jesus and we seek Him to obey Him and our lives become about others and not ourselves.  James, Jesus' brother puts it best in James chapter 2 verse 14 “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” See, the woman's faith made her step up and do, and that made her go to Jesus.  What is holding you back from going to Jesus and letting your faith lead you?  You haven't been too bad.  Your not too far away.  Stop and see what Jesus tells the Pharisee Simon in his house. 

In Luke chapter 7 verses 41-42 Jesus says, “Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” I love the way Jesus paints this picture, he shares in verse 47, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Simon thinks he is "all that" because he knows the law, the women seeks Jesus because she is humble and wants change.  We must remember that the surrender of our will and letting go of who we were is an important step but then we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and let Him make us new. That change helps us understand and gives us the desire to put action to our faith.  There is no earning salvation, there is us truly accepting Jesus and repenting our sins. This is what humbles us to not wait for Him but go to Him always.  Amen


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Isaiah 53

3/25/2016

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Isaiah 53:5
“But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”

As we get closer to Easter and I read this today it made me full of thankfulness.  He was pierced for us, to give us hope and to release us of the sin we were born into. "He was beaten so we could be whole." Not unsure and wondering but complete and full of life.  Finally it says, "He was whipped so we could be healed." When we feel and think we are not good enough, we must pray and remember His word, which is 100% truth, and remember we are healed because of Jesus.

  With Jesus as our lead we are always forgiven, always whole, and always healed.  Don't get caught up in the world and what it is telling you, open His word and see how amazing God's love is.  After Jesus takes our cup of "stuff" He was raises from the dead to bridge the gap to the Father and He finishes the purpose of why He came.  We can't let that ever leave our thoughts because our willingness to accept Him and shine His light is what make a difference in this world.  Easter is a time for us to see and hear all that Jesus did but we must use that every day so our lives will be an example of our love for Him.  Relationships are not built and developed sporadically through the year they are developed and built upon everyday so you can know those relationships.  Don't let anything get in the way of Loving God, Loving Others, and Serving the World. Believe that you are God's masterpiece and be thankful  everyday.  Amen


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1 Corinthians 10

3/24/2016

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1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:12‬ ‭
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

We can't get comfortable and take our eyes off the prize, eternal life, because Jesus came, died, and was resurrected for us so we could choose life.  I love the fact that we are given all we need from God to live this life with joy and peace even when it is hard and seems too difficult.  The more we seek wisdom from His word the more wisdom we will get, but that means nothing if we choose not to listen.  The most incredible thing is that we have the Holy Spirit living in us, and leading us to all truth.  He even prays for us when we don't know how to pray, so we are never alone but we do have a choice.  In verse 13 it show us why we keep seeking and keep listening and doing what we see from the Lord.  “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

Why not be ready at all times? Pastor Casey Treat shared this while preaching at The Rock and it is important for us to remember; "We need a Relationship with the Holy Spirit - because the Holy Spirit leads us in our weakness." We can't just think we are strong because then we let our guards down, draw close to God and our guard will be strong.  Look what it says in James chapter 4 verse 8, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

‭We can't let the world confuse us or even make us over confident so we loose our passion to seek Him for everything.  I want you to look at these next verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and remember the importance of staying strong. Verses 23-24 which say, “You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” When we focus on God and invite Jesus in our lives we become strong and that strength leads us to grow and that growth helps us see others and reach people that are struggling and might not even know Jesus. This is what we are called to do; share the Good News and live like Christ, let's keep focused and keep being difference makers.  Amen

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1 Corinthians 12

3/18/2016

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1 Corinthians 12:7

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”

We must remember this as we continue to grow and mature in our walk with the Lord.  Our gifting has been given to us so we can help people (one another) in our day to day journey of life.  God has always intended for us to be family and working together so as we go into the world we have every tool needed to stand strong.  This is explained the best in
Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 12 which says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

There is strength in numbers because when there are numbers we have the ability to sharpen each other.  As we pray and we actually seek our Spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit shows us how to become better through the word of God.  And He decides what gifts will be used by us in the best way to reach people for Christ.  Look at verse 11 “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” That does not mean we sit back and do nothing, that means we keep reading and praying so what ever gift the Spirit decides for us to have we can use it to the best of our ability.  Nothing we do as believers should be done with a (me) mentality, our purpose is for reaching people so they can know who Jesus is. 

Then we grow so we can help each other through this crazy world that is not our home.  1 Corinthians chapter 13 is a perfect place for us to learn what is the most important thing about being part of Christ's body and in the family of God.  Read and pray about the first 7 verses and let them sink in our hearts.  “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  Amen

 
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March 09th, 2016

3/9/2016

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Luke 11

3/2/2016

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Luke 11:2-4

“Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation."

As I read this today it made me think of each part and how it was important for us to think this way daily. First, keep God's name holy.  Think of His love and how He not only gave us life but also eternal life.  There is no bad in Him, He is just love.  We need to wake up and thank Him everyday, and keep His name holy.  Secondly, may your kingdom come. We are not made for this world we are made for the kingdom of God.  It is good to remember that as we live each day focused on the things of heaven not of earth.  This world keeps our thoughts on it and when we don't purposefully direct our thoughts on the Kingdom of God, where our true home is we get caught up in what we think is important. We are warned in Romans not to love the created more than the creator so when we set this prayer in action we should seek for it to come soon. 

Thirdly, we should desire the food we need daily, to me that is not only sustenance, it is knowing and doing His will.  John chapter 4 verses 31-34 says “Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” “Did someone bring Him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work.” So as we grow and remember this prayer daily we keep getting fed by what God is showing us and then living it out for others. 

Fourthly, we need to repent and start fresh daily.  Forgive us our sins, and the sins of others. So we need to be forgiving, not mad or holding people's wrongs against them.  This is why when we start a practice of doing these things we grow and that growth helps put our faith into action.  And finally, don't let us yield to temptation but deliver us from evil.  While in this temporary home we will be tempted by everything that can take our minds off of God.  Money, fame, greed, envy, fear, jealousy and lust.  These are from within our flesh and aren't the way God wants us to live. Look at Mark chapter 7 verses 20-23 “And then He added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” So as we grow in our relationship with God we should think of this prayer and remember the steps He has given us to be successful and live our lives focused on His will not our own.  Amen

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