Monday, October 31, 2011

What We Ask

2 Chronicles 1:10-12 ESV
10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”

Both what is asked for and not asked for reflect the heart.
May we grow in wisdom and love this day that is the gift of God.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Join Him There

Psalms 103:11-12 ESV
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

We can't jump high enough or run far enough to reach God, but His love is big enough to reach us wherever we are. Join Him there.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Name

John 17:11 NASB
11 I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.


Revelation 19:12
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

No one knows the mind of another, except his spirit. We share the truth of God because He has given us His Holy Spirit. It is this name, of God Himself, that we are saved, all who call on His name. Through this Spirit we cry "Father!". Through this Spirit He answers. Jesus and the Father are one. There is one way to God and it is He Himself.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

You Will Live

Romans 8:12-14 ESV
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The body is destined to die, but we can change what that means, how it is to be done. By placing our trust in Jesus, death is longer an end to our life, but the beginning. We come to His cross that becomes our own, and through it we participate in His life.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Do It

Luke 8:21 ESV
21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
What is it that binds us?  It's not just the hearing, but doing it.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Talent

Matthew 25:14-15 EVS
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
The Greek word for “talents” (τάλαντον )implies the weight or value of something.  We each are given something very valuable by the Lord - life itself.  We are a unique mix of characteristics and abilities, but the grace of opportunity is the same for all.  The outcomes may differ, but each will be rewarded with “well done my faithful servant” when we give what we have to Him.
How we use this gift is left to us.  One day we will meet with Him and give an account. 

Friday, October 21, 2011

The Seed

Luke 8:11 EVS
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The seed has been cast and falls to the surface, whether stoney or fertile.  The rain from heaven causes the seed which finds soil to quicken, putting forth roots as it begins to reach for the sun. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I Myself

Isaiah 54:16


16 Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals


And brings out a weapon for its work;


And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

The refining fire of the Lord is just, burning away all sin and corruption. He disciplines those He loves. He loves those who seek Him. We love Him with obedience and worship. His word is the sword of truth and its edge pierces into the secret heart.
It is the heart the accuser covets. The Father seeks the heart given to His Son. It is the word that reveals each heart.

Breathless

We each travel that Damascus road in life, though it's name differs according to our circumstance. We are given breath that we might find the breath of life. We encounter Him along the way, if we but look. If we do, He will meet us. If we don't, we will most likely pass by, breathless in the end.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Stripped For Work

John 21:7 ESV
7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, It is the Lord! When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

Peter was a different man than when Jesus first called him.  He was still Simon Peter, with his enthusiasm and action, but made wiser in his time with Jesus and confrontations of his own failings.  He was now stripped for the work Jesus had called him, for he had seen his own weakness with painful clarity. Pretensions were exposed and torn away, self serving ambitions had dissolved. He was now ready to answer "Yes" when Jesus would ask, "Do you love me?".
The Greek word εβαλεν, translated here as "threw", implies a disregard for the outcome.  Peter once again leaves the boat and plunges into the sea. This time he swims to the Lord who waits on the shore, and he does not become afraid of the water.