Repentance and Salvation June 1, 2016

Isaiah 30:15 New International Version (NIV)

15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.

In the Scripture reading today, Isaiah describes repentance and rest as the fruit of our salvation and quietness and trust as our strength. The Israelites did not repent, and their lives reflected the loss of peace and rest.

They continued to disobey God and ultimately ended up in captivity where they lost their confidence and peace and were weakened in spirit. Salvation, meaning “wholeness,” is available to us through Jesus Christ. When we turn to Him in faith, He not only offers us eternal life, but He also offers freedom from the bondage of our sins which brings us peace and quiets our soul.

After Peter healed the beggar, he spoke boldly about Christ whom they, the Jews, had killed. He called on them to repent so that their sins could be forgiven. I don’t know about you, but if I had been standing there,

I would have been spellbound until he came to the part about my killing the Son of God! It took supernatural courage for Peter to speak so boldly. Are we willing to love people enough to tell them the good news that Jesus died for their sins and offers them forgiveness? It doesn’t matter what we have done; there is nothing so terrible that He will not forgive if we repent from our sins and turn to Him.

Have you lost your peace or your confidence? Ask the Lord to show you if there is an area in your life where you are in disobedience and repent

(turn back to God). You will find that in repentance and rest is your salvation, and in quietness and trust you will find your strength.

Thought For Today: How do I stay strong in my convictions?

Stumbling In the Dark May 31, 2016

1 Peter 2:8 (NIV)

8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble

    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

To those who respond in faith, the Stone is “precious,” just as it is precious to God. But to those who reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah, He becomes a stumbling block. Peter compares the response of unbelievers to Christ with the disobedience of the people of Israel and Judah. God became their source of judgment rather than their salvation. Peter, writing to God’s elect, admonishes them to be rid of all deceit and hypocrisy, envy and slander. He reminds them that they are being built into a “spiritual house” that will be evidenced by offering spiritual sacrifices. 

Does your life reflect your belief that Jesus Christ is a precious treasure? What spiritual sacrifices have you been offering Him? Peter identifies spiritual sacrifices as a declaration of praises to God for bringing us out of darkness and into His light. Recently, a beautiful young woman gave birth to a baby boy. He is struggling with an illness, fighting for his little life. Jesus is precious to her and she clings to Him as she continues to praise and worship her Lord. For those who do not know Christ, it is difficult to understand her faith. Jesus is a stumbling block to them, and yet so very precious to her!

Thoughts for today:  What causes you to stumble in your spiritual life? Are you able to declare praises to God even when things are difficult in your life? The Lord becomes precious to us as we learn to trust Him in all circumstances. What do you need to praise Him for today?

Going Down To Egypt-land May 30, 2016

Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horseman, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. (Isaiah 31:1) These are words penned by the prophet Isaiah describing Israel’s reliance on Egypt, which represented wealth, false security, prosperity, and human wisdom. It is interesting to me that in former years, the Israelites had served as slaves to the Egyptians who were hard taskmasters. Yet they quickly wanted to go back to Egypt when the going got rough: But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children die of thirst? (Exodus 17:3) How quickly the Israelites forgot their life of slavery as they remembered the “benefits” of Egypt.

We can easily become enslaved by forgetting the Lord and relying on “things” or “human wisdom” to bring us peace and understanding. Our only true peace comes through trusting in the Lord. God, in His infinite mercy and love, sent us Jesus Christ to be a precious Cornerstone for a sure foundation.

(Isaiah 28:16) We are promised that when we put our trust in Him, Egypt cannot have a hold on us.

What have you put your trust in? What things represent the “chariots and horses” of Egypt? Egypt’s wealth lured the people into thinking that freedom comes from wealth, when in fact they were enslaved in the midst of an affluent society. Their security was in the things that Egypt represented, but they had forgotten their God. The Lord is calling you to trust in Him alone; only in Him is there true freedom.

Thought for today: Do I look to things for strength to the exclusion of God?

Transitions May 29, 2016

Joshua 3:3-4 (NIV)

3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, the Hebrew word “nasa,” which means to “enter” or “walk,” was used to signify the crossing of the Red Sea. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, however, the Hebrew word “abar,” meaning “to cross” or “to pass,” was used.

In our personal lives, we enter or walk into different seasons of our lives. This is not necessarily brought on by an abrupt change, crisis, or a significant event. Sometimes, we simply take the next step and the transition is smooth. There are times, however, when the transition is not smooth.

The Israelites were in transition, crossing over into the Promised Land. This would be a totally new experience for them, unlike anything they had done before and unlike anywhere they had lived before. There are times when we, like the Israelites, have to transition into unfamiliar territory. We become abar” people, claiming new territory and inheriting promises brought on by radical change. Although change can be jolting and unexpected, God is with us as we follow Him.

As Christians, we continue to face crossover experiences, journeying into places we have never been before. The Lord uses these times to stretch us and to change our character to be more like His. Are you in a time of transition? Trust the Lord to go before you as He did the Israelites. Be encouraged when God takes you to the other side. There will be a fruitful land waiting for you.

Thought for today: Do I lose focus when I “crossover”? ( Do I take I got this , so it’s no longer important attitude?)

Righteousness Of God May 28, 2016

Romans 3:21 (NIV)

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

The 1st century Jews understood the righteousness of God as being inherently tied to God’s faithfulness to His covenant people, the Jews. The Jews thought that their righteousness was linked to the fact that they were God’s covenant people. However, the law was only meant to be a tool that pointed them to God. The Jewish people thought that their possession of the law was enough to make them righteous, and yet Jesus told his disciples that their righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of God: For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20) In essence, Jesus recognized the Pharisees as those who were so caught up in the law and their own righteousness that they missed seeing Him as the fulfillment of the law. Paul clarifies to the Jews that now (note the word now) righteousness apart from law has been made known, and this righteousness comes from faith in Jesus Christ. (v.21)

Even today it is easy for us to think that we must earn our way into a right relationship with God. We learn this at an early age when we receive credit for the good things we do. But there is nothing we can do to earn salvation other than believe in the One who can save.

Thought for today: Do I acknowledge grace in my life?

Tearing down The Devil’s Strongholds May 27, 2016

1 John 3:8 (NIV)

8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Scripture tells us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)

In Matthew 12, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, accused Jesus of healing a demon-possessed man by power given to him by Beelzebub, prince of demons. Jesus explained to them that their logic was distorted. He came to drive out demons, so why would He be in partnership with the prince of demons? He told them, If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How can his kingdom stand? (Matthew 12:26) He continued to explain to them that He drove out demons by the Spirit of God, demonstrating to them that the kingdom of God was at work. As believers, we are co-workers with the Holy Spirit in destroying the works of the devil. We are in partnership with God and work together to bring His kingdom power to earth. When I realize that I am to be united with God against the enemy, it motivates me to allow the Holy Spirit to drive out those things in my life that are not pleasing to God. By doing this, I can be more effective in my partnership with God.

Jesus made it very clear to His disciples, and likewise to future believers, that the enemy is always prowling around seeking to destroy believers. (I Peter5:8)

One way he is successful in doing that is to have us live with a mixture of God’s ways and his ways. Jesus commands us to live as children of light and to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. (Ephesians 5:8-11) In this way, we can be part of the kingdom of God, working together with Christ to destroy the works of the devil.

Where are you in conflict with God’s ways and the ways of man and the world? Are you willing to partner with God in destroying anything in your life that is a mixture of God’s ways and the world’s ways?

Thought for today: Do I make it a consistent practice to call sin out?

Response to Assault May 26, 2016

1 Samuel 19:9-10     (NIV)

9 But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

As Saul sought to take David’s life, David asked Jonathan, Saul’s son, what he had done to cause Saul to be so angry that he would want to kill him. David knew that he was innocent of wrongdoing, yet he knew that Saul was the king and therefore he would not touch God’s anointed. (I Samuel

24:10) After being anointed by Samuel to be king, David spent his early years running and hiding from Saul. The passage in I Samuel 19 describes an evil spirit that came upon Saul as he was sitting with the spear in his hand. David eluded him as he had many times before. David was wronged. He had done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment from Saul, yet he was not going to retaliate.

In my own life, I have experienced times when I have felt the pain of spears and have wanted to get even. We must see things, however, from the perspective of heaven and replace our retaliation spears with the mantle of love. Courageous leaders know that to be like Jesus, they must abandon selfish ambition and vain conceit. It is by God’s supernatural grace that we are able to retreat and not seek revenge. If we want to lead others, we must love courageously and depend on God to protect and deliver us.

Has someone wronged you? Perhaps someone has said things about you that were not true and damaged your reputation. The Lord may call you to bring the truth into the light and confront the person. He may ask you to do nothing. Regardless, we are called to be like Christ in our attitudes: Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kind of evil against you because of me. (Matthew 5:11) James tells us that we should consider our trials as joy because the Lord will use them to develop our character in Christ:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4) The Lord may be calling you to pray for the person who has insulted or wronged you.

He may be asking you to lovingly confront the offense. But regardless of His ultimate plan, He uses our willingness to not retaliate to grow Christlike character in us. Although constraining ourselves from retaliation goes against our human nature, God will see us through.

Thought for today:  Is my response to an offense in line with God?