Atoning Sacrifice

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. ~ 1 John 2:1-2

John knew that even born again Christians would sometimes stumble with sin.  Surprise, surprise!  He knew that if sneaky Satan can get into our susceptible minds that a lot of damage and discouragement could be, and still can be done.  We need to remember that we are no longer alone in our journey against the evil one's tasteless tactics, that in fact, it says in the bible that our Savior was tempted "in every way" by the devil.  He understands!  He came down to the earth as a sinless and perfect man to take all my wretched shame so that I could be forgiven every time I foul up (which is often enough). We have a great, merciful and gracious Savior!  I try my hardest not to fall into the many traps that Satan has lined out for me on a daily basis, but when I do fall, I need to remember that I have the greatest Advocate on my side who has loved me with open arms and a fierce passion wrapped up in unconditional love (unlike me, unfortunately, but I'm working on it)  for me from even BEFORE my birth.  Even when I make the decision to turn my back on him and  follow the world, or slimy Satan, I have a way back into relationship with God through Jesus Christ and when I come to him he is always waiting and willing to accept me right back. For that I will be eternally thankful. ~ AMEN

Our Image

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  ~ Genesis 1:27

We are made in God's image!  You, me, everybody!  Did you catch that?  Read it again - WE ARE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE!  I am not a product of evolution; I was created by a Master Creator to have relationship and fellowship with Him.  "Evolution" would suggest that I have "evolved" from something, or become better over time; whereas "creation" and being "created" means I have been specially thought about, poured over uniquely, fashioned, fit and formed together to be a special creation all my own.  I am a unique design.  There is no one else like me.  I may have the same characteristics, features, bone structure, but my DNA is different than yours, or anyone elses' and my relationship with God is meant to be the same way - Special!  We are special!  We are unique!  I was lovingly thought of before being put on this earth, and so were you!  Evolution would have us believe otherwise; you are just something that came to be without any real thought, that you are what nature intended and there was really no reason for my existence.  NO!  I am to become what my Creator intended!  A Masterpiece. A work of art.  Not a happenstance, but a work of immeasurable love, thought, fortitude and insight; a being to love and to be loved.  Not only have I been made in God's "image", but also in his "likeness" so that I may have fellowship with God and respond and give Him praise daily.  Both male and female were created in God's likeness so that we could show Christ's love for all humanity no matter color, race, gender, political status, ethnicity and dare I say, sexual orientation/preference.  Incredibly, we were all made in God's image and likeness and we need to love each other as Christ first loved us.  I am a special part of His plan and a creation of His.  People are precious!  We are his first priority, and He should be ours as we learn to reflect His image back to him.  ~

Given Rule

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."  ~ Genesis 1:26

While everything on this planet and in the universe was created by God, we humans hold a significant part in the Master plan.  There is no other species of plant, nor animal that can say with certainty that they were made in the image of our loving Father.  God made us not only to praise Him, but we were given dominion and rule over the animal world and charged to take stewardship and pride in his creation of Earth.  However, we must be careful!  I have seen two extremes to our charge:  1) That we can bring ruin and destruction to God's creation for no apparent reason, or 2) That we put the rest of God's creation as our equal, or even a higher priority then the human race.  Both are wrong!  Since creation is part of God's glory, we need to treat it as such, but let's never forget that the human race is His crown jewel that he sent his son to die for!  We should be servants to each other first and foremost and we should protect each other first and foremost. We should be fighting for our neighbors rights just as much as we fight for the rights of animals.  In fact, dare I say, we need to be sure we are showing the same grace and care to each other and the human race as we would to our planet and the animal world, but to many times the planet and animal world are given priority over us.  Remember who you are, a child of Christ, and you should treat others with the same respect and dignity.  All in all, let's not forget that all creation deserves our best!   ~ AMEN

Perishable Seed

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."  ~ 1 Peter 1:23

Words are extraordinary.  They can bring life, or death.  They can lift up, or tear down and they have the unique ability to bring tears of joy, or of overwhelming sadness.  They are the hardest "things" to hold on to as sometimes they wield their way out of our mouths before we have the opportunity to shut our often to flippant lips.  When used properly, words can inspire instrumental thought and power and build up a child's confidence to monumental heights.  God's word, or words, as in the Bible, are that much more important - life giving!  Alive and just as active today as the day they were spoken and recorded, God's words have given his children many profound promises and God breathed seeds of wisdom.  The holy word tells us of an everlasting love and a grace that knows no bounds and teaches us how to be born again through Him.  Let's learn His words; words of wisdom, love, grace and truth that can not be matched in a dieing world.  I don't want to be silent about his truth, for someone out there could be saved by his enduring words and could be given a fresh start with the imperishable knowledge of a loving God if I will only share.  Let's share words of good seed and encouragement in 2013! ~  AMEN

Graced Spirit

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."  ~ Philemon 1:25

Have you encouraged anyone today?  How about this week?  This month?  Are you gracious and grateful on any other day but today, Thanksgiving?  There is more sarcasm, crude words and nasty jokes in what we think is funny in today's society and culture then there is an attitude of gratitude and encouragement.  However, in God's economy, words are supposed to be used as uplifting, and encouraging blessings to others as a spiritual and mental benefit to the giver and receiver.  What better words to encourage someone with than to bless them with grace from above?  Let us lavish on one another words of love, peace, strength and grace instead of stale, crude, empty and worldly humor.  You can tear someone down in minutes and it'll take years for some of those hurtful wounds to completely heal, or you can build someone up in minutes and watch their life change.  I want to be used as a blessing and I want desperately to see others through the grace that our Heavenly Father does.  In all honesty, the devil loves to use our words to wreck havoc on each other and in our homes in hopes that the more we tear down, the more we can't hear the small whisper that is the character of the Lord.  I want to learn how to bless and encourage someone with my words and presence instead of always trying to make myself the priority in the conversation.  If the grace of the Lord is with us, how much better is our day?  So get out there with grace and bless people with your words and your presence.  ~

Blessed Perseverance

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trail, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."  ~ James 1:12

This word - persevere - is my absolute favorite word in the English language.  I learned years ago that if I chant that specific work over and over in my head through difficult times, my mind is put at ease and my blood pressure drops.  James knew he would face trials, after all, he had watched as his brother was persecuted over and over again and his own faith was attacked many times, but he knew the value of "hanging on".  I know sometimes my trials feel overwhelming and when I watch TV our world seems to be over burdened with everything from natural disasters to other events that just don't make sense to us.  I do know, that when I "hang on" as best as I can and give it all to the Lord, great blessings arise.  Beauty DOES come from ashes.  James wants us to know that there are many blessings to have if not in this life, then our eternal life and that God has made that specific promise to all who love him.  After all, we know how this all ends - WE WIN - so keep on "hanging on ".  Persevere! ~ 

Well Pleased

And a voice came from heaven:  "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."  ~ Mark 1:11

Shortly after I told my son to be careful with the full glass of milk he had poured himself guess what was spilled all over the freshly mopped kitchen floor?  You guessed it.  Remembering that I had promised to work on my yelling; which I have a habit of, I quickly ran over to the sink to grab a wet rag biting my lower lip to keep my mouth shut.  If you have never seen a disappointment in the face of a child when they are mad at themselves, then you should have been at my house that day - he was upset with himself big time!  Was this the time to reprimand my child?  No, not now and boy was I glad I kept my big mouth shut.  What I decided to do in that moment was give my son a hug and let him know it was okay and that he did not need to be so hard on himself - it was, after all, just spilled milk.  You know, Jesus knew who he was, but it's nice to hear that even he had those days when he had to be reassured by his Father that everything was going to be okay.  Yeah, Jesus being tempted by the devil for 40 days is a little bit different then spilled milk, but the principle is the same.  Let's lift each other up through trials, tough times and life in general.  Disappointment and times of testing can come along at anytime during this life-long journey.  Let's be there for each other and don't forget to love on your loved ones including friends and even some hard-heartened family sometimes with a "well-pleased" attitude! ~  AMEN

Willing Price

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver, or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  ~ 1 Peter 1:18-19

How much would you be willing to pay for your life?  "What?" you may ask.  This life you enjoy did not come to you at a cheap price, nor did it come to you at the expense of all the world's treasure.  This life you call your own came at the ultimate price of your Maker's sons' life and he willingly and graciously gave so you could live!  This was a great gift given to me by an Almighty, jealous and loving God.  Yeah, I know, we've all heard it a billion times, but when I really think about it and put myself in those shoes let's just say that I don't think I could give my son up for other people; especially people I don't know who may, or may not be eternally grateful for our supreme suffering and sacrifice.  How about the fact that God's sacrifice never even did anything to deserve such a brutal beating and death?  It cost an innocent, perfect man his short lived life here on earth for ME and YOU to live in relationship with the one true God.  Don't pass the opportunity up!  The relationship is remarkable and the price has already been paid!  FREE ADMISSION!  What do you have to lose to experience the perfect relationship?  NOTHING!  What do you have to gain?  EVERYTHING!  Jump in!  ~ AMEN

Amazing Creation

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  ~ Romans 1:20

What an amazing, spectacular, beautiful and magnificent place this planet earth is!  The thought of space, stars, planets, the milky way and light travel all boggle my mind.  The mountains are my favorite places in the world with their ever present massiveness reaching towards the blue sky both protecting us and calling to us to climb their peaks.  On a cruise ship years ago I received my first real sense of the expansive ocean and what wonders it might hold.  The humbling experience left me breathless as on our second day out to sea I realized this humongous ship we had boarded was now just a speck in the wide openness of the ocean and my respect grew ten fold as I realized there was no land in sight.  The different tastes, textures, shapes, order, smells, sights an sounds of this universe are nothing short of a divine making.  Oh, that we could ever be convinced that all this world's creation was a scientific explosion, or phenomenon not only breaks my heart, but also God's and underestimates his holy power.  May we always see God's fingerprints clearly on this incredible wide world!  AMEN! ~

Conscious Sin

Do not be deceived:  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. ~ Galations 6:7

Have you ever looked at someone who claims to be a spirit-filled believer and looked at their lifestyle only to ask, "Really?".  I know we aren't supposed to judge people, but when they openly confess Jesus and then continue to live in a sin-induced coma with no regard to their professed beliefs, it's hard not too.  God CANNOT be mocked!  Those followers of Jesus who still sow sinful seed without attempting a heartfelt lifestyle change are guilty of mocking my (and dare I say yours, even if you don't believe, because one day, either in hell, or heaven you WILL confess that Jesus is Lord whether you want to believe if now, or not) Lord.  Let us be careful of what we consciously sow in our so-called "spirit-filled" lives.  We will reap much devastation and death when we mock the Almighty God we say we serve with willful, conscious, and unchanging sin.  Now, don't get me wrong, we ALL sin everyday, or at least I do, you may sin only a couple of times a week, but we do sin.  It's human nature, unfortunatley, and we can't be perfect, in fact, we aren't called to perfection, but we are called to be MORE like Jesus, no one can BE Jesus again. The only perfect human being was, and is Jesus and God knows that, but when we aren't heartfelt in our conversion, we have a problem.  We are talking about a deep heart issue that only God sees and we can answer:  Am I TRYING to change from my sinful ways, or do I really believe and care about what I have openly confessed?  The answer to that question determins destruction vs. eternal life and heartfelt change vs. mockery.  Let's be heart-felt!  ~  AMEN

Materialistic Views

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.  ~ Proverbs 10:2

My materialistic view of what I do, or do not have, often can contaminate my spiritual peace and I know I'm not alone in this.  One minute I can be completely content and then see a new vehicle go down the road only to be reminded of the older vehicle I am driving and turn completely jealous even if it my vehicle is competent of the duties it's assigned and unequivocally reliable.  Ever happen to you?  Generous gifts and blessing have been poured out on my family of both the financial and not so financial type and yet I easily lose sight of them in this very prideful, and dare I say, very narcissistic culture we live in.  Please Father, help me to remember where my gifts really come from and to be tremendously thankful even if they aren't all packaged in the fanciful packages I would like.  In everyday life I need to remember that Satan would love anything but to destroy my faith in a righteous God and if he (Satan) can get me to be discontent, well, then evidently he can conquer my thoughts and sneak his slimy foot right in through that doorway, so....BE ON ALERT!  The blessings of  righteous living far outweigh the unhappiness and broken-ness of wicked living even if  that lifestyle looks temping at times.  Even when all my earthly treasures are long gone, I will have the Heavenly treasures stored up to throw myself into.  This is NOT my home....so these treasures can NOT be my treasures.  Only Jesus Christ in heaven holds my final reward!  Praise God!  ~ AMEN