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Jude 1

8/26/2011

Jude 1:20-21 “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”

I really like the call for us to “build each other up” our faith is what drives us to be fully devoted followers of Christ and when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we need that constant sharpening and positive reminder that we are in God’s family. “Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit” and fill your hearts with wisdom so that your faith will grow and you will be a great example to followers working on staying focused on the truth. We know this world will try and keep us focused on it and not Christ so it is that much more important to ask, seek and knock to be pro-active in our desire to grow and stay on the right path. At the end of verse 21 it says, “…in this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” God’s love is always there, that is what He is, but we see the work of constantly remembering that and then living it out desiring growth and wisdom always. It is when we are comfortable we tend to be lazy and forget that our faith is something we can increase and strengthen through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I like in Ezra chapter 6 when King Darius sends a letter letting the Jews know to continue to rebuild the temple. He says in the end of verse 12, “…I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence.”

In the New Testament we are called to remain faithful, I say lets work on our faith with all diligence as we continue to grow everyday to be like Christ, never feeling we need a break. Amen

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1 John 2:15-16

8/24/2011

5 Comments

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."
Stop and read that again. Then ask yourself; what do I crave? Is it more important to achieve worldly things or money or do you crave to live a life that pleases God? Jesus came in human form and lived 33 years pleasing God and God said in Matthew 3:17, "...This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."
Is our life bringing Him great joy? Is Jesus your focal point and who you aspire to be like? Are you seeking Him for a living relationship that makes you surrender your will? If you answered "no" to any of these questions ask yourself, why? And if you answered "yes" to all of these, is God looking down saying you bring me great joy? Crave wisdom, knowledge and action then love Christ enough to change. Amen

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1 John 2

8/20/2011

1 Comment

1 John 2:5-6 “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

This is so good to read over and over because it should be instilled in our mind and heart so it drives us to be different and Christ like. We need to have that changed life when we accept Christ. We haven’t been perfect but His sacrifice has freed us from our old selves so why is it so hard to change? I think it is because it takes work and constant learning on our part. We tend to struggle with being all in and dying to self. Also the devil is at work trying to make sure it is not easy for us to accept the free gift and walk as a light shining like Christ. What holds us back the most from saying thank you Lord and then having a true relationship with Him that make us want to change? Are you doing all that God requires and asking for true wisdom so this world can be impacted for Christ and we can do what it says in chapter 1 verse 7, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

We can never be done growing and learning, we must always be seeking more and be willing to live out our salvation. Amen

1 Comment

1 Peter 2

8/16/2011

3 Comments

1 Peter 2:15-16 “It is God’s will that your honorable lives
should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against
you. For you are free, yet you are
God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.”

I like this because it is a great reminder for us not to argue
and try to force people to listen.
When the world reacts around us we need to stop and be slow to speak and
let our lives as Christ followers shine, then people will have only themselves
to argue with. The way we live will
speak for us and our human nature will take a back seat.
This only happens when we fill ourselves with the Spirit by joyfully
seeking wisdom from God and making our walk with Him real not just a plug in
need.

Verse 11 says, “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents
and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your
very souls.”

Do we buy into the fact that we really are not living for this
world; our focus should be a life with Christ eternally.
It is contagious when we truly surrender and follow Christ, our life
doesn’t get easier it gets more challenging. That is important because most people
like a challenge and it keeps them on their toes.
Challenge keeps us alert and we should always be ready for His
return. Let’s open our hearts and
say thank you for your sacrifice and please continue to show me your will. Amen

3 Comments

Hosea 14

8/10/2011

3 Comments

Hosea 14:9 “Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.”

It says: “Let those that are wise understand…” We get true wisdom only through Jesus and if we are seeking and asking for wisdom we will understand what we need to do. God has given us this book as a guide to live our lives. It is all good and will teach us how to live and show us how to work. Are we willing to learn and grow so our hearts are full of the Spirit? When we are determined to get or do something we go to all lengths to get it; why is it so hard for us to open God’s word and put it into practice. I heard a Pastor from Texas, Robert Morris tell us how he puts himself in the stories and reads through as though he was a part of them. I think this is so good because God’s word is living and active, it’s not just there. Another good thing I heard the other day is God has inspired this entire game plan there is nothing in it that is not good for us. If you find something you don’t like, you need to change your thinking and seek God’s wisdom.

In Psalm 111 verse 10 it says, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom.”

It is so important that we take the time to study and learn from God so what we are filling our hearts with is true. Then we can walk on the paths that are right and true and we can become that light that we are called to be. Then we will always focus on Christ and glorifying God with our choices. We can never coast in our walk we need to always be moving so we don’t get stagnant. Amen

3 Comments

James 1

8/2/2011

7 Comments

James 1:19-21 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”

This is so important as we mature in our faith because our reactions are what make people wonder about what we believe. We need to be an example to people of what Christ has done for us so we let the Spirit lead us and we slow down how we react and react like Christ. It is so important for us to change and work on being a new creation so we can let people see that with Christ we can do all things. When we are learning and trying to live by the Spirit we must work on our actions constantly and not just use our words.

In verse 22 it says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

People are watching us always when we call ourselves “Christians” so be ready to live it out and continually work at maturing, asking God to fill you with wisdom and understanding. Doing religious things does not make us “Christian” heart change and living differently is what shows God we love Him.

I love verse 26 which says, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”

You will not be helping the Kingdom of Heaven and you will cause people to stumble.

Verse 27 says, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

I pray for God to give us the strength to see past the world and all its selfish ways and for us to be slow to react to our emotions and truly let Him lead. We need to seek God and work on living a way that looks like the example God gave us with Christ. We can’t do it on our own but we need to open our hearts to let the Spirit fill us. Amen

7 Comments

Jude 1

1 John 2:15-16

1 John 2

1 Peter 2

Hosea 14

James 1

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