Sovereign Lord

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation….” ~ Luke 2:29-30

Jesus is our salvation and Simeon knew it.  Jesus was just a little infant newborn when Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple in Jerusalem for purification and to register him as their first born son.  Simeon was a righteous and devout man who loved God, obeyed His commands and loved His people.  He knew that the Israelites had been waiting for a Messiah and since he was such a godly man, God promised Simeon that he would not pass away until he saw the Lord.  Wow!  Can you imagine what it must have been like to be physically holding the baby Jesus?  An ultimate privilege of trust.  The Savior of the world.  Israel’s wait was over.  And just like that, Simeon was ready to pass away as he now knew everything would be okay.  Jesus would somehow fix everything.  Simeon didn’t know how, but he knew everything would be made right again for Israel and all to come.  We can have that same assurance today. Jesus will make everything right. Of course we know that in the end we win, but even in our waiting Jesus is everything we need.  He is our Provider.  He is our Comforter.  He is our Faithful Father.  He is our peace during a storm and so much more.  Jesus is our salvation and our redeemer back to our Father God.  As much as this life has to offer, I am satisfied because of and through Jesus.  Because of Him I live, move and have my being.  Jesus made my life complete when He reconciled me back to God.  Nudging Jesus’ little fingers and looking at that sweet baby face, Simeon knew his life was made complete and Jesus was the reason.  We can have that same feeling and hope when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and when we feel His presence in our lives.  Let us share this good news of Jesus with the rest of the world so they may have the same hope as Simeon did and we do now. ~ Amen

Pride Humbled

The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will today disappear. ~ Isaiah 2:17-18

Our arrogant, prideful and superior view of ourselves often leads to destruction and loneliness.  No one wants to be around someone who always thinks they are right, belittles others ideas, or opinions, or always has to have the better story and last word.  In the Old Testament, Israel acted very arrogant because they were God’s chosen nation and figured that meant they could do whatever they wanted, but then when God disciplined them they got all upset.  Arrogance annoys us because it annoys God.  After all, who do you think you are?  Time and time again God opposes prideful people in the Bible and exalts the humble.  God doesn’t call us to be arrogant, but quite the opposite, and so why would anyone exalt themself?  When you are arrogant and proud you have forgotten your true place in life and it’s just a matter of time before God will remind you.  He is God.  We are not.  To be arrogant is to slap God in the face and tell Him you don’t need Him, but one day we will be forced to be humble before our Almighty God.  The arrogant and prideful tend to live for themselves and their own haughty ambitions and desires.  Oftentimes they are more judgemental than helpful and more full of themselves than the one who they claim to serve.  In the end, God will be the only rightful and sovereign God standing and deserving all mankind’s praise and glory.  Arrogance and pride will be destroyed and ultimately everyone will bow down before Him.  Philippians 2:10-11 says, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Will you be forced to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, or is He your Lord now?  The nations and all the people of the world will know the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Those who once were arrogant and prideful will be silenced and reminded that they are subject to God’s will and will be judged accordingly.  It is a powerful reminder that God alone will be triumphant and no one else will be able to boast.  Those who relied on themselves will see the destruction of their ways by God’s authority and power.  Let us all humble ourselves now and give God the authority and supremacy in our lives that is His and His alone. ~ Amen

Fruit Tree

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ~ Genesis 3:6

Obedience.  Sometimes sin looks so yummy and fun.  Surely I can have one small taste and no one will be the wiser.  Ah!  In a “me first” world, it’s easy to get caught off guard by our physical wants.  It’s tempting to do for me what I want and me alone.  With so much now considered morally right when it used to be considered morally wrong, who really knows what sin is?  So much confusion.  As long as I am happy and no one else gets hurt it’ll be okay….right?  We all have a tendency to look at sin the way Eve did – it will meet a need; it’s pretty and it won’t be harmful (a downright lie from the devil).  I mean how bad can it be if it’s helpful, pretty and makes me smart?  The thing about sin is that it doesn’t matter how it looks; if God told you not to do it, don’t do it!  It’s sin when you disobey God no matter how shiny the package; how big the raise; or how badly you want it.  Having societal rules and law enforcement help keep our communities in some kind of order.  The same is true of God’s rules when it comes to our spiritual lives.  Sin and disobedience wreck havoc on our spiritual lives and sometimes has a ripple effect for our families and those we love.  That’s what happened with Eve and her husband, Adam, when they disobeyed and brought sin into this world.  The consequential ripple effect will last for the rest of mankind. We became separated from God (physically); the ground became cursed and we now have to work and labor for our needs; we became mortal beings and would experience pain, sickness and death all of which were not part of God’s original plan, and now we have sin to be on guard against.  Sin and disobedience always leads to some sort of spiritual death.  The good news is Jesus came and died on the cross for my sins and rose again so that I could ask for forgiveness and be in right standing with Him again.  I want to  make it a priority to listen to God and stay away from the shiny sins of this world.  ~ Amen

Soothing Tongue

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. ~ Proverbs 15:4

“The tongue is the smallest muscle in your body, but it’s the most deadly.”  My mom used to say this and I never really understood what she meant until middle school when I realized that age group can be so mean to each other.  Most words out of pre-teens are hurtful, mean, sarcastic and just plain rude all in the name of fun.  Words can be hurtful, but they can also be encouraging.  Which ones roll off your tongue?  The years have come and gone, but some of those hurtful words are still with me from middle school.  I couldn’t tell you what I had for dinner last Thursday, but I remember the words and feelings I felt in the 7th grade when I was told “no one loves you” because I stood up for a friend.  Years later, as I have grown older, I can see how my own words have helped grow my children, or deeply cut them.  I wish I could say that I have always been a champion for my spouse and my kids, but I have torn them down and watched their eyes swell with tears more times than I would like due to some remark of mine.  This is something I am personally conscious of and work on intentionally although I have to tell you it is not easy.  I want my words to bring life and encouragement to people.  I desperately want to give hope and healing in times of pain and grief.  How can I show love if my tongue is a deadly weapon?  We need to be careful how we yield that fleshy sword.  I want to breathe life into situations and people who are struggling.  I want to be a positive influencer.  I want to be gentle and peace giving, even in my anger and disappointment.  I don’t want to break spirits; I want to lift them up.  I want to build people up.  Enough tearing each other down; there is already enough of that.  I want to bring truth, encouragement, hope and love.  I want to speak positively over everyone and every situation.  Let us be wise people with gentle and encouraging tongues and let us learn to bite our tongues when we feel them wanting to go rogue as deadly weapons.  Lord, help me control my tongue and let wholesome, encouraging words roll off it! ~ Amen

Former Generation

“Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing and our days on earth are but a shadow.” ~ Job 8:8-9

The story of Job in the Old Testament is a story of a righteous man who experiences tremendous suffering and then has discussions with three friends who come to comfort him, but they really end up giving him their thoughts as to why he is suffering.  In the above verse, Bildad, one of Job’s friends, tells Job that he should ask the elders for their advice and wisdom as maybe he can learn from them.  True, we can learn from the mistakes and pasts of others, but when going through seasons of difficulty, the best thing anyone can do is seek God and trust Him.  Our lives are often filled with tests from God and when we use our human knowledge to try and figure things out we often become frustrated because we don’t understand His ways.  That’s why we are called to trust.  We have to search, seek and trust God in difficult times and remember that our problems here, and our life are temporary.  While things seem bleak and you feel forgotten, trust that the Lord has you and He is faithful.  I have to remember that His ways are higher and I am limited in my wisdom as a human being, but I can trust that there is always a purpose and a reason.  We can seek godly counsel, wisdom and advice from Godly people, but we must take everything prayerfully to God.  There will always be trials and tests that sometimes God even allows for the purpose of refining us.  Job’s friends believed in retribution theology – the theology that if you sin, punishment falls on you and so Job must have sinned.  He must be wicked.  But we know that Job is blameless and he is not being punished for sin, but rather being tested to demonstrate his loyalty and faith in God.  Suffering is not always a punishment.  Sometimes it’s a test.  How will you respond?  1 Peter 4:19 says, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” Trust and do good always.  Let us be as strong, loyal and faithful as Job and keep in mind that this life is temporary.  We will be home soon. ~ Amen

Instruct Another

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ~ Romans 15:14

We are called to help each other out, to be relational beings and good to each other.  There is no room to let each other fall and flounder through this life alone.  It is our job to be kind, good and helpful to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  Paul was convinced that the Roman Christians had a good grasp on their faith and was instructing them to help each other out.  We need to be doing the same thing today.  Paul was encouraging these believers to continue the good work of being reputable and helpful.  In today’s world of self-reliance, gender confusion and living for one’s self (just to name a few lies) we would do well to lovingly keep each other accountable and to be generous and helpful to our brothers and sisters in Christ so that we may encourage each other to keep up the good fight.  What would our world see if all believers treated each other with unconditional love and goodness?  Our light would be so bright that the world would have to take notice and many would be attracted to Christ.  We live in a world of discord and discouragement, but we could and should be the kindness that Paul saw in the Roman Christians.  We need to dive into the word of God, ask Him for His wisdom and show His love to this broken world by first taking care of fellow believers.  The church and God’s family cannot grow without us being kind, in God’s word and able to instruct and help others to live a godly life.  No, we are not perfect; we are a work in progress; we will, and do mess up, but if we try to live a moral life pleasing to God filled with love and encouragement, our churches, families, work places, communities and world would change.  May our hearts be softened to each other and may we help each other grow in faith for the glory of God.  Spiritual growth through knowledge and encouragement for ourselves and others should be the business we are about.  To listen with an open heart of love and to instruct each other with God’s word is one of the greatest blessings we can give each other.  No one needs superficial kindness; they need love and encouragement grounded in God’s word.  Building each other up in godly wisdom is priceless. ~ Amen

Sanctify Through

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul encourages believers that God will not leave them, that He is faithful to continue the work He has started in them.  That is good news for us today also – God was, is and always will be faithful.  It’s part of His character.  You do not have to do this walk of life by yourself.  A sanctified believer is a person set apart; a changed heart that wants to live godly, but it’s important to know that this is a lifetime pursuit as God works in our lives to be more Christ-like.  For all of us there will be stumbling blocks; we live in a fallen and broken world, but God is and will be faithful to sanctify ALL of us - our soul, body and spirit.  There is great hope knowing that even when I am not faithful to Him, if I come to Him and repent, He will be faithful to give me peace so that I can continue on.  I am not discarded because of my doubts, or screw ups.  I can come to Him and He will be faithful to finish His work in me. The fact of the matter is that we cannot live a life always obedient to God without His faithfulness.  He will help us and equip us to live godly lives and a truly changed heart pursues that goal, but we are all sinners and without His faithfulness we would never make it to the glorious end He has for us and we would never be the person He has created us to be.  We can not have victory in Jesus without His faithfulness and His work in us; we are His to mold.  Let us hold on to this great truth that we are never alone and we will be made perfect in Him because of His faithfulness.  Not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done and what God works in us.  Glory to God!  It doesn’t depend fully on me; He will complete it! ~ Amen

From Everyone

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. ~ Luke 12:48

Just as some have been given much in resources, you can also be given much spiritually in the way of abilities and skills.  These blessings from God are for us to use to further His kingdom, not our own.  Are you a good teacher?  A good encourager?  A good leader?  A prayer warrior?  Do you know what your spiritual gifts are?  If you are a follower of Jesus, He is concerned with how you use these gifts more than He is concerned about what you have, or what you don’t have.  He is telling us that we should not compare ourselves to others, but be responsible with what He has given us in both wealth and spiritual gifts.  At Jesus’ return, we will either be rewarded, or disciplined for how we used what we were given.  He expects us to be faithful and good stewards of the Master’s gifts.  For followers of Jesus, this command is not only in regard to our physical talents, but how are you using your spiritual gifts to further the church of Jesus Christ?  The church is made up of many parts just like our body and when you are not using your spiritual talents to further the church’s mission, you are being irresponsible no matter how big, or small your talent may be.  The church cannot function the way Christ intended when not everyone is participating.  Just like when one part of our physical body is broken, or sick our body cannot function as a whole unit; the same is true of the church.  1 Corinthians 12:12 says, ‘There is one body, but it has many parts.  But all its many parts make up one body.  It is the same with Christ.”  How we lead, teach and use our gifts honoring God over our own ambition matters.  If we do not take this responsibility seriously, God will punish and judge us harshly.  However, when we use what God has given us, we will be given even greater responsibility.  It’s not about you, or your glory and comfort; it’s about representing your Master in a holy and faithful manner.  God doesn’t ask you to worry about what you don’t have, but to be good stewards and leaders of what you do have tangibly, or spiritually for His glory.  Let’s bring Him great glory and be thankful for all He has given us. ~ Amen