A Minute In It - Fighting Back

A minute in God's word will change your life. Take a minute to read the passages below and ask yourself the questions at the bottom of the post.

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG)

What are some of the weapons in the arsenal of God?
Why do you need them?
Why is Truth important?
Why is Christ's righteousness important?
Peace? Faith and Salvation?
What do you do with God's Word?
And why is prayer essential?
What about encouraging one another? What does that have to do with the battle we face?

Praying for you that God will guide you and keep you as you serve him.

Imitate Me

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.  Zechariah 8:23 (NLT)

WOW!! Can you imagine what the world would be like if we were all Christians like this? If we lived our life in such a way that people came up to us and said "I can see Jesus in you" or "Your life reflects God and I want to know him." Can you just imagine it?

This is what I want in my life. I want to live my life in such a way that even if I say nothing about him, people know who I follow.  One of my favorite sayings is:

Preach the Gospel to all the world and if necessary use words.

What would our world be like if we loved with our actions and didn't lead with our words? What about your world? How would your world change if people could see God in your life?

Father God, Holy Spirit, please change me so I live my life like this. Amen.

Refocus

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

Lately, I’ve been repeating that verse a lot.  And it suddenly dawned on me that maybe I don’t fully grasp what it means. Is it possible that when we repeat that verse we are focusing more on the “I can do all things” part and not the “through Christ” part?

I’m pretty sure the intent of this verse isn’t that we pick something we want to do and because it says "I can do all things", that we can just do it.  For example, if I decided I wanted to be a famous singer I am pretty sure that wouldn’t happen. You’d agree if you ever heard me sing. It’s not about picking some amazing goal and then believing hard enough so it happens.

The focus is really on “through Christ.” In other words, learning to lean on him, turning my eyes to him every day to get through the “all things” that cloud my view.

Maybe a paraphrase will help.

I can handle whatever life throws at me; whether it be losing it all or gaining everything because each and every day I turn my focus on Jesus who provides the strength, courage and stick-to-it frame of mind I need to sort through my crazy days.

Now, I just need to focus more on Jesus and less on the “all things” part. Easier said than done......

Yes! Jesus Loves Me!

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
--Lyrics by Anna Warner

Sometimes it's just good to remember that we are loved.

How Many Hearts Do You Have?

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.  Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

Friday was a bad day. I was rushing. I was making mistakes. I was missing things I should have caught. When I left work I was discouraged.  As I drove home, I thought about a conversation I had with a co-worker earlier in the day.

She was telling me about something she had to do that was hard. And she said "I had to put on my second heart to do it." When I asked her about the saying she explained that it was a Creole expression that her mom used as she was growing up. 

Made me wonder....after a day like Friday...what second heart would I put on?

A Heart of Trust:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:6

A Heart of Strength: My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Proverbs 73:26

A Heart of Courage: Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:24

A Heart of Praise: I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. Psalm 9:1

A Heart of Love and Patience: May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Yes. Next time I have a bad day, I am going to take my friend's Mom's advice. I am going to put on my second heart.

Stop Trying So Hard

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

If asked, I would have to admit I am a Type A personality.  Even though I believe that as I get closer to Jesus, that A inches more toward an A- or B+ because I am learning to let the Holy Spirit lead in my thoughts, my decisions and my reactions.

This is solely the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Nothing I do saves me. Nothing I accomplish helps me be Heaven-Bound. This is all the gift of God through Jesus. Imagine if getting to heaven were accomplished because of the tasks we did. Heaven would be filled with a bunch of competitive, over-achievers.  That might be a little annoying.  (Smile)

Today’s verse was summed up best by a paragraph in The Voice (a translation of the Bible):

The relationship between faith and works is often misunderstood. Some think that salvation is God’s reward for good deeds. If that’s true, then it can’t possibly be a gift. If it were a reward, then heaven would be a place where people might compare notes on what they did to make it through the gates. But Paul is confident in the truth of the gospel. The truth is that salvation is God’s gift through Jesus. Grace and faith make salvation real in us. When we are transformed by grace, then we become His new creation and begin to live out the good works He has planned for us. Works, then, aren’t the cause of salvation; they are its result. To put it another way, works aren’t the means of salvation; they are its presence. 

If you are working to be saved; if you think that you have to check the box to be “right” with God; stop. What he wants is a relationship with you.  He wants your heart, not your deeds. When you give him that, he’ll do the rest.  He already has a plan. 

Who's Righteous?

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.  James 5:16 (NLT)

When I first heard this verse, I thought "Well, there you go. I am not righteous so that won't help me."  I thought being righteous meant to be good; you know, to follow all the rules.

It doesn't meant that.  Righteousness is being right with God. How do you get right with God? You believe and follow his Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-24). When Jesus died for us, our sins were covered with his blood. When God sees us he sees his Beloved Son. He sees his righteousness.

So, if I believe and follow Jesus, my prayers are heard and they contain great power. In other words, they mean something. There is weight behind them.  The weight of a child asking their Father for help. 

Kind of simple really. The MSG puts it like this.
The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. (MSG)

Why do we make it so complicated when God made it easy?

A Minute In It - What An Imagination!

A minute in God's word will change your life. Sometimes, we need to remember that we are special. Take a minute to read the passages below and ask yourself the questions in the passage and the questions at the bottom of the post.

Job 38
8 Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’
34 Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
35 Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
36 Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
38 when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?
Job 39
5 Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?
    Who untied its ropes?
6 I have placed it in the wilderness;
    its home is the wasteland.
7 It hates the noise of the city
    and has no driver to shout at it.
8 The mountains are its pastureland,
    where it searches for every blade of grass
13 The ostrich flaps her wings grandly,
    but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on top of the earth,
    letting them be warmed in the dust.
15 She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them
    or a wild animal might destroy them.
16 She is harsh toward her young,
    as if they were not her own.
    She doesn’t care if they die.
19 Have you given the horse its strength
    or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?
    Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
21 It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength
    when it charges out to battle.
22 It laughs at fear and is unafraid.
    It does not run from the sword.

Can you fathom the imagination of God? All he has created and all he has done and nothing is the same. If God is that ingenious, couldn't he manage your life?