God Chose You!

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you." John 15:16

"American Idol" has been for some time now the leading talent show in thew country. The TV Reality show's concept is to have the American people choose who they believe to be the best singer in America. The winner actually carries the title and name of American Idol!

My point is not to tear down the show, music or gifted and talented artists. Being one who has grown up in a musical family, I have a love and respect for musicianship. Having said that, I do have a problem with the self absorbed, fleshly focus that the term "Idol" communicates to young kids who can be mislead. What is an Idol?

"The Webster Dictionary defines an idol as
1: a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god.
2: a likeness of something, pretender, impostor
3: a form or appearance visible but without substance ; also : ideal 2
5: a false conception : fallacy

Sure, one can argue that the title of "Idol" is harmless and simply denotes the cleaver labeling and selling/marketing genius of TV producers. On the other hand, according to this definition, it can communicate a subtle message of adoration and praise toward the one who is looked at like a god to be idolized by all. 

I find it encouraging that the Bible says that God, the uncreated Creator, actually appointed and chose us. His criteria, unlike the judges on the American idol show, does not include being the best, polished, most good-looking and gifted person in the bunch.

Did you know that Father’s activity determined the Son’s direction and motivation. We get to see what God is doing, then decide to join Him.  John 5:19-20 "....the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing...."

Our approach is to realize that it does not matter what capacities or abilities we possess, or what we think we can do for God. God said that He “chose the weak things of the world… and the base things of the world and the things that are despised…. and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. 

God is not looking for the next American Idol, He is simply looking for you, just like you are. It doesn't depend on numbers, status, looks, skills, talent or even resources. The future will be shaped by God through His people! He will do amazing things in and through His people as we learn to rest in Him and enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. 

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Living His Secret Ambition!

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow Me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process. Is anything worth more than your soul?"

Matthew 16:24-26

As I read this passage I was quickly reminded by Father that the world is filled with sefishly ambitious people. Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes have fame, fortune, respect and better opportunities for now. The successful business man or woman has power, prestige and perks for now. The problem is not ambition or the success of these careers, but people driven by selfish ambition with little or no regard for God.

Did you know that God can move us from selfish ambition to Christ Centered ambition? We can live a life that has greater purpose and is more fulfilling because we live our lives in relationship with the living God. How can we experience this radical change from selfish ambition to Christ centered ambition?

Jesus tells us to be willing to shoulder our cross. The cross signifies death. We can learn to live with His best in the forefront of our minds and hearts. This means that we can identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, death and resurrection.

In the next verse we learn that trying to hold onto our life and dreams, for our own selfish gain, can lead to losing everything in the end that really matters.

As Christians we learn that life is not to be ultimately about us and our agendas, but about God and His agenda. We actually live and work to leave this world not live and work to stay. We, like our Lord, can live being about our Father's business. We get to give up our selfish ambitions, which are hollow and short-lived, for the glory of the Living God who reigns forever and ever.

Finally, the climax of this passage. Jesus says, what does it matter if you are the greatest, richest, most well known and admired person at your job, your ministry, in your community or on the planet and yet lose your soul at the same time? In other words, you have been duped and end up with nothing of eternal value!

Imagine wasting all of your life building your personal empire, collecting, climbing, and achieving only to die poor in spirit while taking nothing with you into eternity with Father. Jesus ends this passage by asking a thought provoking, staggering rhetorical question. Is anything worth more than your soul? The answer is absolutely not!

I think our Lord is graciously offering us an eternal perspective so that we might seriously consider who we are living from (His Life) and what are we living for (His Purposes). We can actually live His secret ambition today and every day!

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Taking The Worry Out of Your Life!

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Have you ever gone through a trial or situation where you have felt completely out of control and powerless regarding the outcome? If so you probably are no stranger to that scary nervous feeling in the pit of your gut. Isn't it so easy to worry and think the worst during those times? We start rehearsing in our minds all the things that could go wrong.

Soon doubt and fear come crashing in like a whirlwind . We tend to doubt Father's goodness, we doubt that we'll ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. From these times we learn and relearn that life is not always fair, but God is always good.

I remember a time in my life when my family and I were neck deep in dealing with our health care provider regarding the loss of our medical coverage.

As I sought Father and His wisdom to know His heart regarding this matter, He spoke these words of comfort over and over to my spirit. "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Doing this allows us to experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

In this passage Paul reminds us not to worry about anything. In the Greek, the word worry or anxious means "To be pulled in different directions." The Old English root from which we get our word "worry" means to strangle. Paul knew that the enemy would use worry to pull our minds and hearts in different directions while strangling the life out of us.

Paul encourages us instead to pray to Father. Talking to Father with a heart of adoration, devotion and worship will allow us to experience intimacy with Him. Soon we will find ourselves thanking Him for who He is and all that He has done. Talking to Father turns our focus from our problem to our awesome God and Father and His power.

It's in prayer, (talking to Him) that we are reminded how much He loves and cares for us. Soon we find that resting in Him is better than knowing the outcome of our problem. In this passage Father promises His presence which brings a peace that satisfies us in ways that we cannot began to understand. The peace of God will actually guard, protect and empower our hearts and our minds, in Christ Jesus.

Our peace is In Christ, our hope is In Christ, our joy is In Christ, our power is In Christ, our battles are won In Christ. Jesus brings perfect peace in the midst of persecution, trials or troubles. How? By giving us Himself! Jesus offers us Himself in exchange for our uncertain future caused by unwanted trials and troubles. What a beautiful friend and savior we have in Jesus.

Then the passage encourages us to thank Him for all that He has done. Let me share one practical way to do this. When you are being tempted to worry and fret about your circumstances, trials and life, take a sheet of paper and pen and walk through your house writng down everything you have.

Why write it down? Because when we write it down we can label it, and what we can label we can iteract with intentionally. I have found that things get much more clear and precise when we write them down. In other words, nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific!

Then you can recount the faithfullness of God while being reminded of the many prayers that were answered that we tend to forget during the business of our lives.

So how are you doing this week? Are you tempted to worry because you are facing a crises or a problem that threatens your hope, your joy, your future or maybe your very life? Paul would remind you that Jesus offers you Himself in exchange for those awful feelings of being strangled and pulled in different directions.

Father's promise to you is that He, Himself, will guard your heart and your mind as you live in Christ Jesus

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God Has No Second Class Children!

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1Peter 2:9

We live in a world that promotes different classes and categories of people. For example, the polished vs the unpolished or even the best vs the best of the best. This kind of thinking can lead one to conclude, if you are highly gifted, successful and wealthy, you are especially blessed and a cut above the rest.

The origin of this type of thinking can be traced back to distorted beliefs that are deeply rooted in lies that we may have been believing for so long, that they can actually feel true to us.

To name a couple of these lies; your self worth equals your net worth, or God loves you because you are valuable. I would like to propose for consideration, that this way of thinking does not originate from our God's mind or heart at all.

In fact, the scripture clearly states that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons,

James 2:1-9. The bible also tells us that our identity in Christ is where we derive our worth and that we are valuable because God loves us! In other words, our worth and value is from God, not from us, nor is it dependant upon our deserving it.

Why? Because believers in the Church Age are under grace and are called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Peter called Christians “a holy priesthood” 1Peter 2:5 and “a royal priesthood” 2:9; Rev. 1:6.

Christians are a special people because God has preserved them for Himself. One of God’s purposes in choosing believers for Himself is so that they may declare the praises of Him before others. “Praises” could also be translated “eminent qualities,” “excellencies,” or “virtues”.

Phil. 4:8; 1Peter 2:9; 2Peter 1:3,5.

We as Believer-priests are able to live so that our heavenly Father’s qualities are evident in our lives. We are privileged to serve as witnesses of the glory and grace of God, who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. We have the amazing opportunity to experience Father living His life in and through us for the whole world to see, in hope that many would come to know Jesus as their life!

In 1Peter 2:10, he explained this with a quote from Hosea 2:23. “Darkness” refers to the time when his readers were pagans, ignorant of God’s provision of salvation Col. 1:13, when they were not a people, when they had not received mercy. His “wonderful light” now illumines the people of God because they have received mercy.

So no matter what the world, the devil or the flesh may entice you to believe, you are not and never will be a second-class child of God!

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light!"

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Who Is God Anyway?

Did you know that our beliefs about God can affect the way we relate to Him and therefore affects the quality of our life? Our experiences with our earthly fathers and other authority figures have influenced our concept of God as Father.

The more negative or painful our earthly relationships, the more distorted our view of our heavenly Father is likely to be. Thankfully, we can know our heavenly Father as He really is through Jesus and by renewing our mind with scripture. The more we know God as He really is the more we trust Him and can love Him. With this in mind, it is important that we clearly understand where and how our concept of God originated.

Remember, what was behind you can define you and then confine you. This is one of the reasons we can take comfort in God's name being I AM. He told Moses tell them I AM sent you. My name is I AM, not I was, not I will be but, I AM! I Am everything you need at any given moment in your life.

Remember in Ex. 34: 5-9 God comes to Moses to show what He is really like. He connects His glory to His own character. God begins to share with Moses the DNA of God. Let's go over these six characteristics of God together.

(I credit Graham Cook for these 6 points of the DNA of God)

Compassionate - Empathy. God knows everything you are going through and He is with you and for you. He has compassion for you. It's used 111 times in scripture. When God repeats Himself that many times He really wants us to get it. Compassion is love and sorrow mixed in our hearts for another. Compassion is an action that takes the weight off another person. In other words God our Father stands with us in our pain.

Gracious - Grace means to release favor to another person when they least deserve it. To act kindly, be friendly, be courteous. To impart unmerited blessing. God loves to be compassionate toward you. God will never change the way He feels about you, thinks about you and cares about you. God loves being your God. He loves loving you, He adores adoring you.

Slow to anger - He has a long fuse. He is easily able to patiently bear with us. It takes a lot to make Him mad. He is slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness.

Full of mercy - Mercy treats the offender better than they deserve. Father is abundant with mercy. Rich, overflowing, generous, super abundant, God loves being merciful to you. God loves being kind to people who don't deserve it. God is amazing, astounding and eye opening with His mercy towards you.

Faithful - He will never ever leave us or forsake us, no matter what we do. We are wonderfully and beautifully stuck with Jesus Christ. God will keep His word to complete the work He is doing in you.

Forgiving - When Jesus died for our sins on the cross all of our sins were future. How exciting to know that you are forever deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted, absolutely complete in Christ.

May we cry out with Paul in Phillipians 3:10 that are deepest desire will be"that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformd to His death."

(adapted from Graham Cooke's talk on Uncommon Love)

It's Never too Late With God!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Have you ever thought that because you made a really bad choice, that you would forever be stuck with God's second best for your life, always wondering what might have been?

If you have, you are not alone. This deception from the enemy has been used to keep believers from experiencing deep intimacy with God for centuries. When we've made choices that we believed really messed things up, it's difficult to believe that God wants to still give us His very best.

Sure there may be unpleasant consequences because of our bad decisions, that might require His loving discipline, but God's love for you and giving you His best, is never at stake for you. This is called grace. No, not greasy grace or a license to sin. If you think about it we can sin under law and under grace. Besides, God's grace never leads us to sin more.

In fact, Titus 2:11-12 tells us just the opposite. ....The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.

Maybe you're thinking, sure He might bless me, but my life will never be as good as it could have been? I have some good news that can set you free from this damaging, distorted belief, that is rooted in a wrong concept of God.

The good news is that God's love is greater than your bad choices! There is nothing you can do, no matter how big or small, no matter how ugly it was, that will make your life less than God's best for you.  Why? Because you belong to the living God, and it is His responsibility to ensure that your life stays on track. The bible says that He has promised to complete the work He has begun in you. Romans 8:28

In Colossians 1:16 we read, "By Him all things were create, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him."

This means that the world does not exist in a cosmic setting where everything occurs by happenstance. Instead the bible tells us that everything is functioning by the all powerful, mighty hand of God. Do the stars that He created hang up in the sky on their own? No!

God holds them up there, and knows each star by name. Isaiah 40:26 Does the earth keep spinning on its axis by it's own power? No! God designed it that way.

Proverbs 5:21 says, that God ponders or knows your every move. How intimate and meticulous is our God. The word has the idea of somebody walking alongside you with His face inches away from yours, lovingly examining and scrutinizing your every move.

Satan, the great deceiver, wants you and I to believe that because of our bad choices, God will forever look at us a little differently than He used to before we "blew it", and certainly cannot use us as He once could have or would have.

If you want to experience the depths of intimacy with God through Jesus His Son, it is important to know and believe that God is in full control of your life. In fact, if you cannot believe that God is in control of all of your life, than you cannot be sure that He is in control of any of your life!

Yes, but what about....? What about what? We all would do well to repent of the sin of unbelief! Satan is a liar and the father of lies. No longer allow him the ground to crawl on.

So be encouraged today my dear friends. Nothing ever catches God off guard or by surprise. He knew it all when He was lovingly and intimately creating you in your mother's womb. God is in the business of turning crucifixions into resurrections.

Nothing you've done, no matter how wrong or stupid it was, will limit your God and Father from working in your life, or stop Him from intimately loving you. It's never to late with God and His love is greater than all of our bad choices.

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Finding Hope When You Feel Hopeless!

"The Righteous face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one. For the Lord protects them from harm-not one of their bones will be broken". Psalm 34:19-20

Have you ever felt like you've had the hope kicked out of you? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your pain, hurts, circumstances and/or your trials in life? Do you find it easy at times to doubt whether God will answer your cry's for help?

If you can relate to any of these feelings you are not alone my dear friends. In fact, many of God's people today and over the centuries have felt the same feelings from time to time.

Would you allow the loving words of our God and Father to comfort you, and remind you of who He is and what He promises?

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death. The scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep". Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!!"  Romans 8:35-39 (NLT)

I don't know how bad it has been and/or how deeply you have been hurt at times in your life. Maybe you've had days or nights when you thought that you would not make it through another day.  May I remind you and encourage you, that you did make it? You did not fail and you were and are not alone. Our God was and is faithful in your life.

So feel free to rest in God's love for you. Soon you will discover that the hope you are looking for is found in an intimate relationship with Jesus.

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Living A Life of Humility!

"So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and in His good time He will lift you up. Cast all your cares and worries upon Him, for He cares about what happens to you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

What do you do when you're tempted to let the cares and worries of life bog you down? What do you do when the walls of unpleasant, uninvited circumstances are crashing in all around you?

Notice the text in 1 Peter does not read that God is to humble us. Instead the command from Peter is that we are to humble ourselves.

I believe that Peter makes this statement with the assumption that the believer knows that they accomplish this by living out of their union with Christ. Since Christ has already humbled Himself by dying on a cross, Phil. 2:8, we too can share in His humility by resting in His finished work.

Humbling oneself is a recognition of the worth of the person we are humbling ourselves before. I believe that humility and resting go together. In the context of burdens and worries, humbling is resting in who I am, human; and resting in who He is, Divine.

Humbling ourselves is not just for Him, but for us. It slows us down enough to recognize His greatness and our need, instead of staying in the busy mindset of trying to work out our cares and worries on our own.

It's not about religious duty or how to get out of life's unpleasant circumstances. But an intimate relationship of living in and through life's unpleasant circumstances, while living out of our union with Jesus Christ.

So the command is not really a command to do, it is a command of sharing in His Life, a Life that produces humility and surrender. What a joy and a blessing from God to live from our identity and union with Christ.

Then Peter goes on to use the phrase "under the mighty hand of God".

Seeing ourselves as we truly are, under His Lordship and control, allows us to approach our lives with an attitude of surrender and humility. Then, in exactly the right time, God will lift you up. He may choose to lift you up and out of the bad circumstances or He may choose to lift you up and leave you in the bad circumstances. Either way, we have the wonderful invitation from Father of getting to know Him more intimately.

Then Peter says, "To cast all our cares on Him".

See friends, we're going to be tempted to handle our cares and worries out of our own resources and strength. We all have polished coping mechanisms and survival strategies that we have learned over the years to turn to, in order to meet our legitimate needs in illegitimate ways.

Father asks us to cast or throw those cares into His loving arms instead. Why? Because He cares for you so deeply. Caring has to do with intimacy and closeness. Not a general feeling about someone or a condescending emotion. But one of knowing intimately.

While we humble ourselves by His grace, He extends even more grace to us by caring for us and about us. This is the One who says, I care so deeply and love you so fully, that I even know the number of hairs on your head.

After all He has done for us, He could just command respect and submission. But He understands us, our limitations and the fact that things can so easily entangle us. As the Psalmist said, He knows our frame, that we are only dust! Therefore, He desires for us the wonderful opportunity of believing and trusting in a loving, intimate Father.

So my dear brothers and sisters, will you choose to humble yourselves under His mighty hand by casting all of your cares and worries into His loving arms?

Peter finally ends this wonderful appeal in verse 10 with these resounding and reassuring Words from Father's heart. Enjoy the promises from Father, to you, His precious child.

"In His kindness God called you to His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation." Amen!

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God Makes Good Out of Our Bad!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Have you ever thought that because you made a really bad choice, that you would forever be stuck with God's second best for your life, always wondering what might have been?

If you have, you are not alone. This deception from the enemy has been used to keep believers from experiencing deep intimacy with God for centuries. When we've made choices that we believed really messed things up, it's difficult to believe that God wants to still give us His very best.

Maybe you're thinking, sure He might bless me, but my life will never be as good as it could have been? I have some good news that can set you free from this damaging, distorted belief, that is rooted in a wrong concept of God.

The good news is that God's love is greater than your bad choices! There is nothing you can do, no matter how big or small, no matter how ugly it was, that will make your life less than God's best for you.  Why? Because you belong to the living God, and it is His responsibility to ensure that your life stays on track. The bible says that He has promised to complete the work He has begun in you.

In Colossians 1:16 we read, "By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him."

Someone once said, "That the world does not exist in a cosmic setting where everything occurs by happenstance. Instead the bible tells us that everything is functioning by the all powerful, mighty hand of God. Do the stars that He created hang up in the sky on their own? No! Father God holds them up there, and knows each one by name. Does the earth keep spinning on its axis by it's own power? No! God designed it that way."

Proverbs 5:21 says, that God ponders or knows your every move. How intimate and meticulous is our God. The word has the idea of somebody walking alongside you with His face inches away from yours, lovingly examining and scrutinizing your every move.

Satan, the great deceiver, wants you and I to believe that because of our bad choices, God will forever look at us a little differently than He used to before we "blew it", and certainly cannot use us as He once did, could have or would have.

If you want to experience the depths of intimacy with God through Jesus His Son, it is important to know and believe that God is in full control of your life. In fact, if you cannot believe that God is in control of all of your life, than you cannot be sure that He is in control of any of your life!

Yes, sinning has it's consequences and we may have to reap what we have sowed. Yet, God has promised that nothing can seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. But what about....? What about what? We all would do well to repent of the sin of unbelief! Satan is a liar and the father of lies. No longer allow him the ground to crawl on.

So be encouraged today my dear friends. Nothing ever catches God off guard or by surprise. He knew it all when He was lovingly and intimately creating you in your mother's womb. God is in the business of turning crucifixions into resurrections.

Nothing you've done, no matter how wrong or stupid it was, will limit your God and Father from working in your life, or stop Him from intimately loving you. The love of God is greater than all of our bad choices. He has promised to never ever stop loving you and to never leave you or forsake you!

© All Rights Reserved

Living Life To Your Fullest!

"A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now." Ecclesiastes 7:4

Remember the days of our youth when we felt that we were invincible? There seemed to be an assumption that aging and death were the fate of other's misfortune, not ours. I have been reminded lately that aging and death have no manners and are no respecter of persons.

In fact, the Bible talks about both of them as a fact of life. Since aging and dying are a fact of life and none of us can escape this reality, it would be wise to find out what God our Father has to say about it.

Father has been bringing these two verses to my mind and my heart, let me share them with you. David cried out to God in the Psalms saying, "Lord teach me to number my days, so that I may present to you a heart of wisdom.

"Ecclesiastes 7:4 reads, “A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now”.

Let me share with you how I received these verses from our gracious God and Father.

Son, I came to give you life and life more abundant. Live life to its fullest because it is very short. One day you too will be old so prepare for that day by living wise and dependant on Me and allowing Me to freely live My life through you. Let growing in intimacy with Me, be your primary goal in life. All the other things will fall into place.

Today is the day to enjoy your life and your health. Do not think that you can escape aging or death? It is appointed for man once to die and then the judgment. Yet, did I not say that I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me will live even if he dies?

So, there is no need to fear aging or death if you know and love Me.Death for My children is the ultimate “Divine promotion”. Prepare for your retirement and leave financial provision for your children.

Proverbs 16 says, "A wise man plans his ways, but it’s the Lord who directs his steps”. A wise man leaves an inheritance to his children. Friends, it would be wise for all of us to take some time to sit with Father and talk to Him about our life; past, present and future. Are you enjoying your life or simply enduring it?

I believe that we are not ready to live until we are ready to die. How about you. Are you ready to live by being ready to die? May I encourage you to ask Father for a heart of wisdom to age gracefully and to prepare for our inevitable exit from this side of eternity.

Where we are going, will have no more tears, pain, hurt, sin or sadness. Why? Because Jesus will be there, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is perfect peace!

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The New You!

"And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put My Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command." Ezekiel 36:26-27

Have you ever wondered what sin is? Sin is such a little BIG word and often times seems to be some what elusive when we attempt to grasp it or understand it biblically. Are we simply sinners saved by grace? Here is a look at what Father has to say about sin and His remedy for it.

God makes it clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need - His Son Jesus. He died for our forgiveness, He lives for our deliverance. According to Romans, "sins" deal with wrongs I have committed before God. "Sin" is the power working in me. I need forgiveness of my sins and deliverance from the power of sin in me.

I need forgiveness for what I have done, the blood side of the cross and I need deliverance from what I am, the body side of the cross. According to Leviticus, the blood deals with what we have done, whereas the cross deals with what we are. (Identity)

It is God's holiness and God's righteousness which demands that a sinless life should be given for man. Remember from the O. T. God said, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." The blood of Christ wholly satisfies God. 1 Peter 1:18-19 But it does not satisfy our heart condition. Jer.17:9

We need a new heart. Ezk. 36:26. Therefore, we come to God on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus. I approach God through His merit alone, never on the basis of my performance, work, earnings etc. Heb.10; Eph. 2

Romans 5 tells of our peace with God. God will no longer be a cause of dread to me. But, there can still be unrest in us. Rom. 8:6-7. So the blood washes away my sins, but it cannot wash away the old man. It needs the cross to crucify me. The blood deals with the sins, but the cross must deal with the sinner. Romans teaches us that we are not sinners because we sin, but because we were in Adam when he sinned.

We cannot change this condition in any way. The good news is that in Christ we have been set free! In Christ we've been given everything pertaining to life and godliness. In Christ we have power over sin.

Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."

When we understand and appropriate our co-crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and ascension in Christ, the freedom and power to live and enjoy the Christian life becomes a practical reality. We need to find ourselves not being a spectator of the crucifixion at calvary, but participator in it, in Christ.

So my friends, with Paul we can say, sin shall not be master over me. I have died to sin. I am now alive to Christ. He is my life and my source of life. I can choose to live out of my union with Christ. I can fight from victory, not for victory, forevermore!

(Credit given and adapted from Exchanged Life Ministries Texas Teaching Materials)

Trusting In His Power To Live!

Having received His life, we have a choice. We can either continue to depend upon, or trust in, our own resources to try to cope with life (living "according to the flesh"), or we can depend upon Christ within us moment-by-moment to be sufficient to meet every challenge and fulfill our every need (living "according to the Spirit").

Operating according to the flesh produces reasoning like the following:

"If only I can become more self-aware, I can overcome my depression."

"If I could exercise enough discipline not to allow any negative thoughts to come to my mind, I wouldn't feel so discouraged."  "If I could just lose 50 pounds, I would be acceptable to my husband."

There may be nothing wrong with being more self-aware, being more disciplined, losing weight, etc. But, they do not provide life. Only God provides life, as we depend not upon our own resources, (flesh) but upon Him who lives within us by His Spirit.

Scripture provides a wonderful Old Testament example of living according to the flesh versus living according to the Spirit. Moses was a man who had all the fleshly resources a man could ask for. Raised in the court of Pharaoh, nursed by his own Jewish mother, having the best education Egypt could offer etc.

By age 40, he realized God's call upon his life to deliver the Jews from their Egyptian oppressors. So he set about in his own ability, in his flesh, to fulfill his calling. Beginning by murdering an Egyptian, it was a short-lived attempt. Moses fled to the desert in Median, an utter failure.

There Moses lived for 40 years, not getting strong enough to be God's man to lead the people, but rather getting weak enough. When Moses had finally learned not to trust in himself, ( Flesh) to accomplish anything for God, God was ready to use him. Moses had nothing to offer except his weakness and his complete dependence upon God. That was exactly what God wanted. A surrendered man empowered only by His Holy Spirit!

(Credit given and adapted from Exchanged Life Ministries Articles by Greg Smith)

God's Greatest Purpose For His Children!

Do you know what God's greatest purpose for you is as His child? For years I thought that His greatest purpose was to serve, obey, love or glorify Him. We do enjoy doing all of these out of love for Him but these are not His greatest purpose for us as His children.

So what is God’s greatest purpose for His children? God's greatest purpose is brought about by His Son, Jesus Christ! This is confirmed in Scripture, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory" (Heb. 1:3) "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in Him" (John 13:31).

God's greatest glory is the manifestation of His life in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of our spiritual union with Christ in death at the cross and in resurrection, it is not what we do for God but what Christ does through us that give God His greatest glory. It is not us trying to be like Jesus, (imitation) it is Jesus Christ expressing His life in and through us, (impartation) that gives God His greatest glory.

Isn’t it exciting to know that He has chosen to use your mind, your will, your emotions, your eyes, your hands, and your feet to accomplish His purposes here on earth (2 Cor. 2:14; 4:10-11). We simply respond in surrender and can finally do away with sincere self effort!

(Credit given and adapted from Exchanged Life Ministries Texas Grace Life Conference Lecture)

Living The Unexplainable Life!

So what is the Unexplainable life? It is Christ's life exchanged for our self-life so that we have His life living in and through us. It occurs when we come to Christ, but is not always appropriated at that time into our actual experience.

It involves the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and his deepest identification in Christ coming from that union. It recognizes that our "old man" of Romans 6:6 was crucified with Christ and an appropriation of our truest identity as a "new man" in Christ made in the image of God.

Christ taught the exchanged life truths, especially in the upper room; the apostles continued them in their writings, particularly Paul in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians; and they have been carried forward by key teachers down through the ages. They are timeless, biblical truths.

In order to understand and appropriate the exchanged life it is crucial to know how God designed us; that is, the biblical model of man. I Thess. 5:23 describes man as a whole person with three parts: body, soul and spirit.

The body is the physical and visible part of us that relates to our environment. It is a dwelling, or "earthly tent." The outer court of the tabernacle or temple is used as an Old Testament example of our body. The body is not inherently evil, but is the chief abode of "indwelling sin" mentioned in Romans 7:15-23 even after the person is born again in his spirit.

The soul is our personality or uniqueness and consists of our mind (thinker) our will (chooser) and our emotions (feeler). These three capabilities give us the ability to relate to other human beings. The soul is sometimes referred to as the "inner man." The Holy Place of the tabernacle or temple is an Old Testament example of the soul.

The spirit determines who we really are. It is the part of man with the capability of relating to God directly. We were born spiritually dead to God and alive to sin and Satan. However, this defect was rectified by that wonderful exchange at the cross where we not only met our Savior but where our "old man" was crucified with Him and the "new man" in Christ emerged. What a beautiful exchange! What an amazing Unexplainable life!

(Credit given and adapted from Exchanged Life Ministries Texas Grace Life Conference Lecture)

Why Do I Do What I Do When I Do It?

The biblical origin of the Flesh goes back to the two trees in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, man came under the power of sin, and by the law knew he had sinned, and was a sinner by identity. One result was spiritual death or separation from life, forcing man to function in self-sufficiency, or flesh.

The common religious view of the Flesh is bad behavior, actions and attitudes. The Bible says that the "flesh" is a condition in which we operate out of our own resources, doing things our own way. It is the self-centered source upon which we depend on to get our legitimate needs met in illegitimate ways. From the outside, flesh can appear to be either good or bad, and can produce either good or evil. Therefore, you can't judge it by results.

Man reasoned that if he could do well, he would be good, but if he did evil, he would be evil. So the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is representative of flesh with its self-sufficiency, self-reliance and exhaustible resources, which leads to bondage, law and ultimate death.

Flesh operates continuously in a non-Christian, whereas in the Christian, it operates when the believer is not abiding in Christ and, therefore, not walking by the Spirit, but operating under the power of "indwelling sin" (Romans 7:14-25).

The Flesh is a major hindrance to the expression of Christ's life in believers. Simply put, whatever we depend upon to get our needs met, short of Christ's life, is our flesh. Each believer has his own unique version of the flesh and it should be seriously considered. God has only one provision for dealing with the flesh: death through identification with Christ's death on the cross. God's only provision for life is identification with Christ's resurrection.

(Credit given and adapted From "The Nature of the Flesh" lecture by Exchanged Life Ministries Texas)

Do You Fear Or Revere God?

"Jesus climbed into a boat and went across the lake to His own town. Some people brought to Him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man,"Take heart, son! Your sins are forgiven."  Matthew 9:1-2

Do you enjoy being in the presence of God? Are you free to laugh and play in His presence? Has the spontaneity to be silly and fun seem to be missing in your life? Could it be that many of us in the body of Christ today are afraid of God?

I have been wondering for some time now what the difference is between fearing God and revering God. Let me share by way of summary, what my thinking and praying has led me to thus far.

Being afraid of God reveals at least two errors in our thinking. First, it reveals that we really don't understand or trust God's true nature and character. Somehow we don't see Him as a loving compassionate God who is full of mercy and kindness toward His children, all the time, no matter what.  He's seen as an angry judge instead of a loving Father.

Secondly, it reveals that we do not understand or trust the finished work on the cross. It is because of Jesus, death and resurrection, that we are completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted and absolutely complete in Christ.

These two misunderstandings will ultimately lead to a life of relational fear and doubt towards God and others.

Revering God leads to a healthy respect for Him because of who He is. To revere God means to have an attitude of deep respect, love and awe.

Notice the different responses from the people to the person and work of Jesus in these chapters. In chapter 8, Jesus cast out demons from a man and cast them into the swine. A healing miracle, yet the response of the people who witnessed it was fear. They begged Jesus to leave them alone and leave their town.

In chapter 9, Jesus heals and forgives a paralyzed man's sins. In verse 8, we see that the people responded not in fear, but with reverence, an attitude of deep respect, love and awe! Why did these people have different responses to Jesus miraculous healing?

I believe that when we are "in Adam" (in the flesh), it fosters law, bondage and lack of intimacy with Father, and our response will always be one of being afraid of God and His power. He appears to the one in Adam, (the flesh), as scary and powerful.

When we are "in Christ" living out of our identity (in the Spirit), it fosters grace, freedom and intimacy with Father and our response will be one of reverence, an attitude of deep respect, love and awe for God and His power. He will appear to us as One we can love, trust and approach with joy and confidence.

© All Rights Reserved

What is God Really Like?

"The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin." Exodus 34:6-7a

Does God really love me? If he does love me does His love really make a difference one way or another in my life.

All of us come to our relationship with God with our own baggage. I wonder what it is that you’re not seeing about God? What vision of yourself in the past is obscuring your view of His love for you today?

So who is God and what is He really like? Is your view of God clear to you or a little distorted?

If you found it distorted, you will find it difficult to fully experience His intimate love for you. Why?

We often put the wrong face on God. In other words we can view Him in the wrong way. Even if it’s our most respected spiritual mentor’s face it is the wrong face. But many of us have put a face on God based on a bad memory or painful experience from our past. We then transfer that over to our God, and see Him like that, and relate to Him accordingly.

Our view of God will determine how we see and approach other people, ourselves, God and the world around us. Father has shown us who He is and what His love is like for us in many ways through many different means.

In Ex. 34: 5-9, God comes to Moses to show him Who He is and what He is really like. He connects His glory to His own character.

(I credit Graham Cooke for these 3 points and the rest of the material on the DNA of God)

1.God's love for you is rooted in His Character.

Compassionate – Empathy. God knows everything you are going trough and He is with you and for you. He has compassion for you. It’s used 111 times in scripture. When God repeats Himself that many times, He really wants us to get it. The sufferings we are going through He is going through it with us. He will never leave us. He stands with us in our pain. Compassion is love and sorrow mixed in our hearts for another.

Compassion is an action that takes the weight off another person. The Father had compassion on the prodigal son. Hugged him and kissed him, filled with compassion. The Samaritan was full of compassion but the Levite who was supposed to be the man of God, had none.

Gracious – Grace means to release favor to another person when they least deserve it. To act kindly, be friendly, be courteous. To impart unmerited blessing. God loves to be gracious toward you. God will never change the way He feels about you, thinks about you and cares about you. He loves being God to you.

Slow to anger – He has a long fuse. He is easily able to patiently bear with us. It takes a lot to make Him mad. His understanding is inscrutable.

Full of loving kindness/mercy – Mercy treats the offender better than they deserve. Father is abundant with mercy. Rich, overflowing, generous, super abundant, God loves being merciful to you. God loves being kind to people who don’t deserve it. Do you know this God?

Faithful - He will never ever leave us, no matter what!

Forgiving – When Jesus died for our sins on the cross all of our sins were future. You are completely forgiven,

God’s character is the content of His glory and the significance of His name. This is who I am, says the Lord. This is who I want to be for you, to you and through you, all the days of your life and I will never change. The whole earth should be filled with the glory of God. Can you imagine what the earth and the people on it would be like if this were happening?

To understand Father's love better, we need a paradigm shift to grasp it. First of all we need to understand that we use the word love for everything in the U.S. We love food, cars, candy, our spouse and God. This kind of love is called "if and because" love. I love you if I can get something out of it or because of how you make me feel or what you can do for me. God is not like this. He loves us with AGAPE love. No strings attached! No agenda loving!

1JOHN 4:16 God is love…God loves us with AGAPE. It is a deliberate choice of God to love me. Not for what I would become, but for who I was right then and there.

Graham Cooke says, “God does not get disillusioned with us. He never had any illusions with us in the first place." He knew exactly what you were like. He has always known everything about you. Like the way you think, feel, your preferences etc...

2. God loves you no matter how good or bad you think you are doing or not doing.

This again is AGAPE. It is a deliberate choice of will to love someone, because of who you are not because of who they are. This love comes from Father because of who He is, so it doesn't change.

When you experience this love from God personally you will want to love others in the same way. We learn to love people out of the nature of God not out of our own nature. We allow Father to love others through us with His AGAPE love.

a. He loves you so radically that it covers a multitude of sins. God has it covered. In Proverbs it says that it is a man's glory to overlook a transgression. So it is with Father God. He loves to comfort you by the Holy Spirit. He knows everything about you and loves you 100%. God loves loving you! He enjoys enjoying you. He likes liking you.

b. God looks at you as the new person you are in Christ. God’s love for you is so deep that it absorbs failure. God's love for you turns you failures into His glory story. He loves who you are, you are His masterpiece. God is not obsessed with sin. He looks at you as the new person you are in Christ. Your sins have been dealt with once for all. Jesus is not going to die again.

c. When God looks at you, He does not see what is wrong, He sees what is missing out of your experience in Jesus. He’s already dealt with your sin. He’s not bothered about sin anymore in you. You are in Jesus, Jesus is in you. This means that when Father looks at you, He is happy. In his teaching on the "Love of God", Graham Cook said these comforting words, “When God looks at you, He sees what is missing in your experience of Christ in you and He intends to be that for you”.

There is an example of this in the bible with the lady caught in adultery. He loves and forgives her. He becomes for her what is missing in her life regarding Christ in her. This was pre-cross. For God not to love and forgive you, He would have to spit upon Christ. Do you think He would do that?

You are outrageously loved. God is aware of all of your weaknesses, hurts, habits and hang ups. He does not look at you like there is something wrong with you.

Jesus said this often to His disciples, "Just as My Father has loved Me, so have I loved you.” Abide, in My love. It is crucial that you experience a revelation of how much you are loved by our Uncreated Creator.

3. God's love overcomes our weaknesses and failures.

God loves us whether we are a success or a complete failure. Many of us are filled with deep guilt and shame for the things we have done! God is not going to love you any differently. He loves you 100% always, no matter what! His love never discriminates. His is a love that is always true no matter what is occurring.

As humans, our love does discriminate. When I think about all the trials and struggles with temptation and sin , hurts, the loss of loved ones to death, the ministry blow-ups and more, I could easily feel overwhelmed, unloved and unprotected by God.

Yet, I have never felt as close to God as I do today, so loved by God, so protected by God, so at peace in my soul, so deeply in love with my bride and three children. This is how real, intimate, life-changing and miraculous it is to experience the revelation of just how much you are loved by God.

So who is God for You? The one reason why we can absolutely guarantee that God is going to love us, all the days of our lives, 100%, is because love comes from God and through God. In other words, love comes through God to the Christ in you.

God is the source of AGAPE. In other His love draws us toward Him. The best way to love God is to let God love you. When God’s love melts your heart you have to love Him back. It’s an automatic desire.

Rom. 8:28 Everything works out for Good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. God allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent by His power.

God’s AGAPE love provides security, identity and belonging. Everything that comes against you is actually allowed by God to establish you in security, identity and belonging. God provides for you Himself who is your refuge.

Proverbs reads, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to Him and are safe. We need to learn to hide in God.

We are deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted, absolutely complete in Christ. His love will give you a confidence in Christ that will amaze you to no end. So let me encourage you today my friends with these final words.

His love is in control of your circumstances. This means He will always do the right thing in your life. He is solely motivated by His love for you. He is everywhere. I AM is everywhere that you are! He is unchangeable. That means He is not moody. He is the one constant you can always depend on. He is your God, King, Lord and friend!

(Credit given and adapted From Grahm Cook's teaching on "Uncommon Love")

Living With An Attitude of Gratitude

"No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus"  1 Thessalonians 5:18

It was another beautiful Monday morning. God was already showering His love on me by the melodic chirping of the birds and the gentle warmth of the sun that was shinning through the widow in my home office. The boys were able to sleep in this particular day because it was their two week school break. My bride and daughter were out of town visiting her family.

You see, it is always a challenge when my bride, "The GM of the home" is gone. My two boys and I have to gear up for the mission of "how do we make it with mom gone!":) To add insult to injury, I was still recovering from my second shoulder surgery only a few weeks earlier. Having only one arm that was working properly, while at the same time dealing with my bride being gone, would have a set of its own unique challenges that I had underestimated.

What was it like for me you ask, after having 2 shoulder surgeries?

At that time, I remember the pain, drained energy from my entire body. I was not taking my pain killers because I don’t like being controlled by any foreign substance. It was frustrating not being able to sleep very well at night because of the pain. So I spent most of my days feeling tired, sore and sluggish.

My everyday routine was interrupted and my goals in Mixed Martial Arts were being jeopardized. I had worked hard to earn my brown belt and had hoped to become a black belt by the end of that year. I couldn’t roll around with my kids and play and I needed help getting dressed.

Fortunately, our wonderful God and Father would use the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5 to teach me to be thankful while learning many life lessons. The verse says that no matter what happens, "Be"... thankful. First we learn to BE.

Through the operation, Father had given me the wisdom to understand my desperate dependence on Him. I was forced to slow down and learn to just BE with Him. When I think of BEing with Jesus I think of resting, trusting and abiding In Him. I was beginning to rest in and enjoy His presence while learning to listen to Him for longer periods of time. What intimate moments of knowing He deeply loved me and cared for me.

I was reminded how much my bride loves me and is willing to serve me. The first 4 nights I had to sleep sitting in the sofa chair downstairs. My bride chose to sleep on the couch so she could serve me throughout the night. Father showed me through her that this is how He loves and serves all of us. He is constantly watching over us, willing and ready to serve.

Father showed me how blessed I was to have friends who have been there to love and care for me through difficult times in my life. He also gave me a greater compassion and understanding for those who are physically challenged in the world. Something that I had not thought about in the way that I did at that time.

Father had given me greater appreciation for those He has called to the medical profession to serve us.  Father had shown His love for me through my kids as they were so compassionate and loving towards me. My daughter would greet me almost every morning before leaving for school with a kiss on the forehead and a warm, "good morning daddy".

My son Branden would come by now and then with a soft rub on my sore shoulder reminding that he loves me and reminding Bobby to be careful not to hurt me. Bobby simply would come by every now and then to say "Hey daddy, how’s your shoulder dude"? Got to love little Bobby. I also became thankful for just how healthy I have been for most all of my life.

So my brothers and sisters, is there anything in your lives that has interrupted your daily routine? Any financial burdens, unwanted surprises, emotional, relational, or professional set backs? Did you know that this verse tells us that it is Father’s will that we are thankful no matter what happens?

How in the world can we be thankful for bad things that mess up our lives? By Being, resting, trusting and abiding in Him first. Remember the verse says in all things give thanks not for all things. We need not necessarily thank Father for cancer, but we can thank Him in that situation.

Father did not cause the cancer. He allowed it. He promises to give us the grace to see our current situation through His eyes and to understand it with His mind. Colossians 3:1-3 says to keep our minds and hearts set on things above not on earth. Then we can see why all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28.

So what about you and your situation? Do you have an attitude of gratitude? I can testify that the result for me was a thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude and an insight to see earth’s affairs from heaven’s point of view. So take heart my friends, Father is ever present, watching over you with great care and love.

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Wanting Jesus More Than Anything!

"...I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..." Philippians 3:8

Larry Crabb in his book "The Pressure's Off" says,"Do you believe the key to being a blessed christian is praying and seeking God so you can have a better life filled with good things that make you happy, anointed and blessed? I think many of us have this formula somewhere in our minds that says,"Choose what you want out of life, figure out what you have to do to get it, then follow the rules."

He goes on to say that "If you want to be spiritual, practice spiritual disciplines? Do you want this crises with your son to go away? Consult with a second counselor who specializes in adolescence." These are not bad in themselves, but be careful that the enemy and/or the flesh does not make your goal to get your life together, instead of resting in Jesus and enjoying a relationship with Him no matter what the cost.

His final argument ends with these penetrating words, "We all want our lives to work well, to become better than they are or to remain as good as they are. When that desire becomes our goal. the objective we most value, then we like to believe that there’s an A we can do that will lead to the B we want. The result is our lives become a sustained effort to discover and follow whatever principles will provide a life that lets us feel pretty good".

I believe that walking with and loving Jesus is realizing that what you most want is beyond your reach, and you’re trusting God for the satisfaction you seek. You want Him. Nothing less, not even His blessings will do. Do we love Jesus for Jesus?

Or do we love Him for what He does for our lives, blessings, power over sin, a better marriage etc.? Would we still serve and love Him with all our hearts if He never answered another prayer?

May these words challenge us to rest in Jesus. That our number one priority would be to love Him over anything else this life could offer.

(Credit given and adapted from Larry Crabbs book "The Pressure's Off")

Friends Not Simply Acquaintances!

"Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy" Proverbs 27:6.

Isn’t it true that most of us long to be a good friend and long to have a good friend. I have been asking Father again what is a true friend? What makes a true friend?

I believe that it is wise to ask Father to make known to us, who are the friends authorized from Him to be in our lives. Life is too short, friendships are too important to not hear from God on this.

To have the wrong people/friends in our inner circle could lead to unauthorized hurt and pain in our life. Authorized friendships from Father, although at times can be filled with pain and disappointment, can be the most blessed and wonderful times in our lives.

It is important to differentiate between acquaintances and friendships. Acquaintances are those fun people we boat with, barbeque with, go to the movies with etc.. but don’t talk to too much or hang out with on a daily basis. These are good to have also.

But friendships are those people in our lives that are there day in and day out through thick and thin. Good times or bad times. These people have been tested and tried through the fire of life’s trials with you and never leave you, while always believing in what Father is doing in you and your friendship together.

So let me ask you; how many friends do you really have? Are you somebody else’s true friend? Let’s look into the passage.

"Wounds from a friend are better... First a true friend is one who loves you enough to take risks with you. The risk of telling you the truth with love even if it might hurt or be hard to swallow at first. In other words a true friend, at times, will deliver wounds.

The wounds of honesty, love, openness, or boldness regardless of how much fear there is of losing the friend or their good opinion of you. The wounds of a friend are for your benefit, not their protection.

It’s also important to know that true friendship can only come from being a friend of God. The security and freedom that comes from knowing Jesus, enables us to love ourselves and others.

The awesome thing about being secure in Father’s love is that we are then free to love others and be true friends. We no longer require from others what only God can give us.

On the other hand, an acquaintance may take the safer, easier, selfish, self-protecting way. In this text it is phrased as the "kisses" of an enemy. In other words beware of the "FRIEND" who always complements you, who never gets angry with you, who always agrees with you.

He/she seems afraid to tell you the truth for fear of losing your friendship, respect, or your good opinion of them. Remember this person hides behind their kisses for you.

Are you used by Father to take risks by delivering Christ Centered loving wounds out of sincere love for your friends. Or are you the "FRIEND" that hides behind the kisses of deceit and self protection?

Are we the true friend who brings loving wounds from time to time? Or are we the enemy who brings kisses and hugs, pretending to be a friend?

Isn’t Father so awesome that He would desire to empower us with the life of His Son so we can become the Christ-centered friend that would bring glory to Him and blessing to one another? The more we live in Christ-centered relationships, the safer the environment for our friendships to develop.

In Christ we all have the potential to be the most blessed friend from God. Remember it is Jesus’ love in us and through us that makes us a good friend. His life in and through us that creates opportunities to be the friend that blesses others.

© All Rights Reserved.

Experiencing God's Love!

By
Bobby Allen

"I love you with an everlasting love. I knew you before the foundation of the world, and in your mothers womb I poured out my love to you." Psalm 139.

Do you long to know the love of God deep within your heart and soul? Is there a yearning within you to experience an intimacy with Him that runs deeper than every other experience in life?

When you think about being loved by God what does it look like to you? When you think about being loved by God what does it feel like to you? Do you feel like you do not deserve His love? Do you think that you need to earn His love?

Steve McVey a wonderful author on many books on the grace and love of God encouraged us in His book, "Divine Invitation,"to imagine a different type of life for a moment. A life in which God requires nothing from you to get His love. In this life, His purpose is not that you should try to give Him anything. He, on the other hand, intends to give you everything for you to experience His complete fulfillment. In this life there is nothing you could ever do to make God love you or like you any more or any less than He does right now."

Imagine that nothing you could ever do could change the way God feels about you, even to the slightest degree. Hmm.. sound to good to be true?

Often times this kind of thinking is scary to believers. We’re afraid that this will encourage people to sin more. Or offer them a license to sin. But, if you think about it we don’t need a license to sin we do find without one. The world, the flesh and the devil are encouraging us to sin all the time. If anyone chooses to sin it will happen with or without a license, living under law or living under grace. So how do we experience God’s love?

One way to experience His love for you, is to let God love you. Allow Him to melt down any barriers we may have put up to protect ourselves. God says, "I love you with an everlasting love. I knew you before the foundation of the world, and in your mothers womb I poured out my love to you." Psalm 139. Enjoying His love for you will give you more love for Him.

Another way to experience His love for you is by appropriating Jesus as our life. The bible says that "in Him we move, exist and have our being." Acts 17:28 By the cross, God has put to death the old life we had and has now given us the very life of Jesus Christ to be our own. We live from the life of another! In other words God loves you so much that He has brought you to Himself, where you will stay safely in Christ, for all eternity.

I’m reminded of an insightful story Steve McVey told. There was guy who needed to learn how to swim, so he asked his friend a swimming instructor to teach him. The first thing to know, is that you don’t need to be afraid of sinking or drowning, his friend told him. If you relax your body will float.

So he laid back in the water, attempting to do what he had said. However every time he laid back and felt the water filling his ears, he would lift his head. Then he would begin to sink. "Don’t lift your head," his teacher encouraged him. Just relax and let your ears go under water. You won’t sink. Again he tried to do what his instructor said, but only would get scared when feeling the water, and soon would begin to sink.

Finally his instructor said, "Lie back in my arms and I will hold you on top of the water so that you won’t sink. I began to lie back and true to his word, I felt his arms underneath me holding me up. Soon I began to relax a little as I felt the support of his arms. Now he said, "I’m going to move my arms from your back so that you won’t feel me touching you, but they will still be beneath you, and I will catch you if you start to sink. Do you trust me?

Finally this guy for the first time in his life began to float. He said that he felt no fear because he knew that underneath him, were his instructor arms. He knew that he had his guarantee that he would not sink.

What kind of arms does God have my friends? The bible says that God has outstretched, strong and loving arms. Arms that will undergird you and rescue you when you feel like you are sinking. When the apostle Peter found himself in water over his head and was beginning to sink, he cried out to Jesus, "Lord save me". Immediately Jesus stretched out His arms and with His hand took hold of him. Matthew 14:30-31

Do you want to know and feel God’s love for you? Then rest in His loving arms. They are there for you all the time, no matter what, regardless if you can feel them or not.

(I credit Steve McVey's and his book "Divine Invitation" for the writing of this devotion.)

Suffering For A Moment

By
Bob Allen

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

In the book "Left Behind" the author asks, "Have you ever thought about how different the world was that Adam and Eve lived in before the fall? Everything and everyone was perfect. No improvements of anything were needed. No sickness, backaches, headaches, no bugs, or smog to bother you. No need to workout and starve your self to lose weight. No pass hurts to struggle through. No flesh patterns or distorted beliefs to untangle.

Every day Adam and Eve would enjoy unhindered intimate relationship with God and one another fueled by His unconditional love for them. Everything was perfect and fun!

Then came the greatest and saddest tragic love story that ever entered human history. The fall of human kind. Adam willfully disobeys God and Eve was deceived by Satan to believe that God was not good and was a cruel controlling cosmic kill joy!

Now every human is born into a gene pool which gets increasingly imperfect and sinful. We live in a world that reaps the consequences of sinful choices. Where wrong is right and right is wrong.
Daily we read and hear of global wars, starvation, crashes, rapes, and out of control crime even in the most "quietest and safest" neighborhoods. Pain, suffering and problems are everywhere and often show up on our front porch unwanted and uninvited.

Pain, problems and suffering have no manors and are no respecter of persons? It’s times like these that we find it easy to cry out to God asking Why? What did I do? Who’s to blame? Why is this terrible thing happening to me? I’m just as good as the next person. If God is a loving God, why would He allow such bad things to happen to me and my loved ones? These questions often times can go unanswered.

Oswald Chambers said, "To be able to explain suffering is the clearest indication of never having suffered."

In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts."

In other words we can believe that God is working, allowing and accomplishing things we cannot even begin to see or understand. The key is to remember who He is and not focus on what He is doing or the circumstances that we are facing at the time. Circumstances can change but God never does. He is always good and loving by His nature. There is no security in what God is doing there is only security in who God is.

Jesus said, "In this world you will have the tribulation". So why be surprised when it happens?

Even Jesus experienced suffering. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus had to learn obedience through the things He suffered? Who would have known that through his suffering and agony would come the redemption of humankind. Jesus had a purpose in His suffering. Redeeming and purchasing us for God was the joy set before Him

God’s will for Jesus suffering would also included the rejection of family and friends. He would suffer aloneness, isolation, being misunderstood, and being oppressed. Can you relate?

Can you discover any purpose or meaning in your suffering? Can you find a loving Father working all things out for His glory and your good? Can you find His purposes through what He is allowing to happen to your life? Maybe a new sensitivity that you’ve never had before. Or a new fresh love for your spouse. How about a new dependence upon the life of Christ in you? A new joy and appreciation for your kids.

Remember my dear friends that there are times when Father must allow us to experience some pain and suffering or unfortunate circumstances. It makes us a more sensitive listener and learner. It also teaches us to be humble, gentle and to live in daily dependence upon Christ living in us and through us.

(Adapted from the book "Left Behind")