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2 Corinthians 5

12/28/2015

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2 Corinthians 5:14
“Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.”

This is something we should all remember before we start our day.  When we believe this and let it happen we are confident in our walk and we are happy to do the things God puts on our hearts; such as giving, serving, inviting, loving and any other things that show that we are like Jesus.  In 1 John chapter 4 verse 4 it says, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” We can never forget this as we live each day with purpose loving the Lord, loving people, and that should lead us to serve the world. 

We are new creations and we have the tools to say no to our flesh and yes to the wisdom we get from the Lord.  Look at what it says in Proverbs chapter 4 verses 5-7, “Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.” When we purposely develop our walk by seeking Him we grow but it is best when we ask and knock as well because it will complete the things we need to understand. Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7 verse 8 “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Our new lives should be filled with the fruit of the Spirit so we start to live them out and no one can argue with what we believe.  I want to end with some scriptures which shows the development of our lives and something we should examine in our lives often.  2 Peter 1:3-8 NLT “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is why it is important for us to continue to grow and not stay stuck doing the same thing every year. Amen
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Luke 17

12/23/2015

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Luke 17:5 NLT
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”


As I read this today I saw how important it is to start with believing what we believe about Jesus, and then living that faith out so it can be seen.  It is not about the amount of faith it is about perfecting the faith that we have, and that faith is perfected by Jesus.  We need to continue to keep our eyes focused on Him so that we are constantly growing.  Look what it says in Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

As we keep our focus on Him, He perfects the faith we have.  This is important to see because we so easily in our culture think more is better when Jesus shows us how applying it no matter how much will make the difference. Look at what He goes on to say in Luke chapter 17 verse 6 which says, “The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!”  See, when we think more is better and don't follow through with the little we keep wondering why nothing changes in our lives. We need to remember when we thank God for the things we do, and not wait for people to thank , us we understand how our faith is perfected by Him and our faith has to come with our believing and doing what God has put on our hearts.

If we say we have faith and question everything that is going on we will miss out in the glory God is trying to show us and do in us. We need to keep praying and thanking God so we can continue to grow for others and our faith will keep us focus and willing to do.  I want to finish with James chapter 2 verses 17-18 “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. “Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” Let's all make a practice of showing our faith by the actions we do for the Lord and always be ready to thank Him because He is God.  Amen  

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Luke 14

12/18/2015

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Luke 14:34
“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?”

This seems so simple, but it is something to think about and understand.  We are called to be the salt of the earth making the Good News a flavor that people want for their lives.  When we live as a light for Christ our life has meaning and purpose and our actions become like salt for people to enjoy.  We simply desire to grow and learn and we ask for wisdom and we apply it to our lives.  When I read this today the thing  that stood out is that our desire to be His disciple comes with us being salty for others, something appealing and when we keep seeking and asking we stay salty and the flavor is amazing.  Look at the next thing that is says in verse 35; “Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

There is purpose for us being a child of God, Jesus came to show us what it looks like to surrender our will for the love of the Father.  Jesus ask Peter three time do you love me, look at John chapter 21 verses 15-17 “After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? ” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

 What we need to see is that Jesus asks "do you love me" then tells Peter to do something.  Our love is shown by our saltiness and our saltiness is used for the people. When we answer that we love Jesus we live with the kingdom in mind not ourselves and nothing can compare to our love for Him. 

I want to finish with Luke chapter 14 verses 26-27 and really be praying about it while you are reading it. “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Amen

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Luke 12

12/16/2015

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Luke 12:35-36
“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks.”

I have written on this before but was led to share again because this is so important for us to understand.  We have to be dressed already, that means we are not still looking for cloths, we have them.  When we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives, we are starting to put on the cloths necessary to grow and develop in our walk. We continue to get dressed as we light our lamps and keep our lamps burning we are purposely making an effort to learn and (die to self) that is when we can be ready and waiting. We need to see that taking the first step doesn't make us ready, it's being fully dressed.

In Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11 we are told, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”  When we are ready we understand the things of this world and we can avoid them, but when we don't keep our lamps burning or (renew our mind) daily we can miss or be blinded by the Devils strategies.  As we see in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4 we see that satan is the god of this world; “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Our belief helps us open our heart but our being dressed and ready keeps us aware.  Look what it says in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8; “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

When we are not renewing our mind it wanders so it is important to embrace the fact that we are His children and He sent His Son for us all so that we can be home for eternity with Him.  Jesus tells us plainly what to do and why it is important, in Luke chapter 12 verse 31 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need.” We can't pray for God to do everything for us, He started it all by sending His Son while we were yet sinners, now we need to co-labor with Him to grow to be more like Christ, so that is who people see in us.  Amen


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Hebrews 6

12/5/2015

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Hebrews 6:11
“Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.”


This shows us how important love is and how we should be outwardly seeking to live our lives for others so they see Jesus in us. God is love and we should work our hardest to have His qualities. The amazing thing is that we didn't have to do anything for God to send His Son, He already loved us. Look at Romans chapter 5 verse 8 which says, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” He didn't wait until we did something worthy, He counted us as worthy.  There are so many places where we see how love is needed and how love for the right thing brings strength. When we love people with the love God shows us, people are open to change.  But when we love things and ourselves, people see the world and that doesn't help them see Him.

 It says in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
See it is not the money, it the love of money.  We must direct our love to God and then people so that Christ is seen in us. This is done by us having a relationship with Jesus and seeking wisdom that can be lived out and applied to our lives.  I love what Paul shares in Romans chapter 5 verse 5, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” We don't need to wonder how to love or what to love, the Holy Spirit in us has given us Gods love, we just need to use it.  It will get us through our struggles and help us know what to truly love.

At The Rock Church our vision is Loving God, Loving Others, and Serving the World and that is what God's love will show us.  We can say we love food, cloths, or whatever other things but unless we have love for God we will be missing out on what true love feels like. In 1 John chapter 4 verse 18 it says,  “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.”  His perfect love is what I want and with the Holy Spirit in me I can have it. 

Pray on these next scriptures and remember how much God love all of us. 1 John chapter 4 verses 15-17 which say, “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.” Amen

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