daily devo July 2009

I believe we live in an era where there are some terrible preconceptions about what theology is. One of my saying is, "You have to bring your mind and reality together."

The reality is though that we all do theology to some extent whether we recognize it as such or not. Everyone has a theology ... that is a perception and understanding of God. Even an atheist has a theology; their theology is just that there is no such thing. The question is not if we do theology but simply whether we're good theologians or bad ones.

Like any other discipline, there are theologians that give the topic a bad name. I can think of some who are "experts" on the Bible but have never encountered the risen Lord. That's not what I'm speaking about. I think believers need to encounter the living Lord with all of their mind as well as their heart. We need both head and heart knowledge.

Heart knowledge alone can save but never lead us to a full and right understanding of who God is. Head knowledge by itself can never save, but when combined with heart knowledge can lead us into a deeper understanding of who God is and take us to new depths of understanding and devotion.

There are sound methods and unsound methods to determine what the Scriptures are actually teaching. Holy Spirit illuminates the whole process, but sound methodology combined with Holy Spirit's leading produces the deepest understanding of God's Word.

The Scriptures repeatedly tell us to "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." To love Him with all of our mind means to use our reason and intellect to understand Him better. We're not told to love Him with just our mind or just our heart but to use both.

Throughout the Scriptures we see the blessings of studying and meditating on God's Word. Proper theological methodology gives us the tools to do that even more effectively. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible is devoted to the blessings of understanding God's Word. It's too long to put in here, but I do recommend you read it.

Acts 17:10-11 NIV
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

We're called repeatedly to watch our doctrine in Scripture. Sound doctrine comes from sound understanding of the Biblical text. Sound understanding comes from Holy Spirit illuminated study of the Scriptures using good methodology.

1 Timothy 4:16 NIV
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Theology is something we all do. My prayer is that you do it well and in doing so fulfill the command to love the Lord with your mind as well as your heart.

Lining my heart, soul, mind, and will up together to love the Lord and know the Lord like I should.

Bringing my mind and reality together to see, acknowledge and know God as I should.

Do you struggle with guilt? Two dictionary definitions of guilt are as follows: 1. self-reproach for supposed inadequacy or wrongdoing 2. the criminality and consequent exposure to punishment resulting from willful disobedience of law, or from morally wrong action.

Let’s keep these definitions in mind as I discuss how Satan uses guilt against us. The first definition implies being critical of oneself, blaming oneself, and feeling shame, condemnation, and dishonor. I chose the second definition because it relates to the disobedience of laws.

Guilt is one of Satan’s strongest tools to keep you defeated. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 explains, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

The mind is the battlefield for which God and Satan are both fighting for. God wants you to know and believe the truth. Satan wants you to believe his lies. He blinds the minds of those who do not believe.—Do not believe what? What Christ did for you!!! If you believed, the light of the gospel would shine on you and reveal the truth.

Revelation 12:10-11 tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”

Satan accuses you before God, but also he accuses you to you. Do you buy into it? Do you ever find yourself believing the requirements he tries to hold you to? He wants you to believe that you are a no good, worthless, unlovable, rejected nobody, because you... (whatever he accuses you of doing or not doing that causes you to feel guilty). Remember we feel guilty when we are critical of oneself, blaming oneself, or feeling shame, condemnation, and dishonor according to our first definition.

Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” Have you read that or heard that verse and began to say to yourself, “I AM like a filthy rag, I AM an unclean thing.” Don’t misinterpret that scripture! It says your righteousness is like a filthy rag--not you.

You may be made from dust, but you are a divine workmanship. You are valuable. It doesn’t help to act so humble, because it is only false humility. Simply put it is unbelief. You don’t believe the value you have to God—made in His image, worth pursuing, worth dying for.

Col 2:13-15 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Satan doesn’t want us to understand this truth, because it is how we defeat him: Christ has already defeated Satan and all his demons forever. Guilt is a powerful weapon of Satan’s. If he can make us feel guilty, we cannot defeat him. We cannot defeat him, because we believe his lie that we are bad, unworthy, worthless! Guilt is his key to our defeat. If we believe these things, then we will be too ashamed to go to a holy God, and we will never stand up to Satan and claim the righteousness that is ours. Righteousness is the key to victory. BUT….it is Christ’s righteousness not our own.

All our sinful acts have been forgiven. Christ took the written code against us, which is the law of Moses, and did away with our requirement of achieving righteousness. (This is where our second definition of guilt becomes important.) As long as the law was taken away, he took away our guilt, because it is our faith that accounts for righteousness not our obedience to the law.

Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Believe what Christ did for you, take off the blindfold from your mind and let the light of the gospel reveal how truly valuable you are to God—so valuable that He gave you His righteousness so you could spend now and eternity in His presence. His righteousness disarms principalities and powers and triumphs over them!

My husband and I were reading devotionals. We take turns reading online devotionals that we receive and discuss how they relate to our growing to be better ministers.

It was my turn to read. The person who wrote the devotional was talking about computer system maintenance and compared it to a person’s remembrance of hurts and keeping them in his memory, but I couldn’t concentrate on his message.

Most of his words were misspelled or missing letters. I had trouble understanding how his message applied to me, because I was bothered by his poor spelling.

As a former Editor, mispelings iritate me – yes, I did it on purpose; I misspelled two words – isn’t it annoying? I could forgive one or two misspelled words in a paragraph, but he had about five or six in one paragraph alone! Thankfully, he only had a few paragraphs.

I finally told Darrel, “I’m sorry I didn’t understand all that. All I could think of was, “Doesn’t he have F7 on his MS Word?”

I was expecting Darrel’s sympathy, or his wise words telling me to look at the message using the eyes of my heart and not my Editor’s eyes. Instead, he asked me. “What is F7?” Whoa!!! I couldn’t believe it! My own husband didn’t know about F7 when it has been his wife’s reliable friend most of her career! I had to ask him more than once if he really didn’t know what F7 was, trying to see if he was just pulling my leg. He wasn’t. He leaned forward toward the computer monitor and asked me intently, “What is F7?” Ok he’s serious. So I said, “Ok I forgive the writer for not using his F7.” (Not that he has sinned against me, but that I got irritated by his misspelled words) If my own husband didn’t know what F7 was for, then maybe more people didn’t either.

For those of you who don’t know, when you are finished writing a document on Microsoft Word, you can hit F7 and it will check your spelling and grammar use. Yes, it’s a short cut to spell check. Moreover, if you hit shift F7, you can see synonyms for the word your cursor is on. Now I’m not saying I am very good at computers and its countless programs, but I am fairly proficient with MS Word. I know what my document program can do for me and how to find what will help me create a readable article.

Now what about Christians? Do we know God’s promises? Do we know where in the Bible to find the answers to our predicaments? Do we know that not only CAN God do the impossible, but that He is WILLING to do it for us, provided we believe and obey His word? Do we know that our words and testimony have the power to bring life and death to other people around us? Do we know that the Bible has an F7 function? It can check our hearts: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me?” (Psalm 51:10)

It’s about time we become proficient with His promises and adept in our obedience to Him.

Let’s not wait until there are so many “wrong spellings” in our lives that people miss the message we want to present.

Let’s hit F7, correct our hearts, humble our spirit, and start learning more about God.

Learn and practice obedience and faithfulness so God doesn’t have to hit F7 on you.

The two boys were not very old, perhaps five or six. One was dressed in a plastic knight's helmet and carried a plastic sword and shield. The other carried a cardboard shield and a stick for his sword.

The two were engrossed in an epic battle with some imaginary foes. There was a great deal of hacking and slashing going on during their sword fight. Unable to stand against the force of our two young heroes, the ranks of the enemy broke and our young knights chased them down the street.

Hebrews 4:12 NIV
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Revelation 2:12 NIV
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

The sword is often characterized as being two edged. It is an image that the people of the day would be familiar with as Roman soldiers carried a sharp doubled edged sword as part of their very modern (for the times) arsenal. The double-edged sword was revolutionary. It could cut on both the upswing and downswing as well as be used to stab. It was versatile and feared.

I have often wondered if the double edge was more than a metaphor. I have never read a discussion along the lines of what I am going to suggest. It is just something I have been thinking about.

In my experience of counseling people, there are often those who want me to help them make a decision that won’t hurt, cause pain or push them too far in a direction that makes them have to make a choice. Often times they prefer to “ride the fence” and to try to have the best of both worlds.

I wonder if the two edges of the sword are the choices the Lord provides us with. We can choose to accept or reject Him. Each cuts in its own way. We can choose be obedient or rebellious. One choice brings blessing, the other discipline. Each step along our walk with the Lord involves a choice of some kind. There are always two paths to follow.

Throughout Scripture God's people are given choices to make. Each choice cuts in a different direction. Those that choose the narrow path see one road and one destination. Those that choose the wide road see something completely different.

There is the path of truth and light. There is also a path of deception and darkness. Again two edges or two sides.

We can be redeemed by God's love and mercy, or we can reject it and face His holy wrath. Two edges.

The Lord protects those that love Him. He condemns and judges those who reject Him. A double-edged sword.

Perhaps the two edges are merely metaphor, and they do a great job of painting a vivid word picture. Then again, perhaps they are more. I do not know. It is just something to consider.

Remember, there is no such thing as a choice that does not have a cut and some pain to it.

The book of Psalms is a true treasure. It contains doctrine, history, prophesy, devotion and wisdom. It shows the depth of man's failure and the magnificent breath and height of God's marvelous grace. It's no wonder that the Psalms are often amongst people's favorite Scriptures.

Recently a guy in our group study and I were discussing the difference between a stand of faith and a faith walk. To me a stand of faith is what we make when we have accepted Jesus. We've made a decision and stand firm on that choice. Unfortunately, many Christians never go beyond the stand. It doesn't enter any deeper into their lives.

A faith walk is the journey of faith where we strive to live a life pleasing to God. We stumble and fall. We get sidetracked, but as we mature and grow more like Him we walk more and more by faith. We learn to trust and obey. Our heart's desire is to be pleasing to Him and to see others come to Him.

So what does that have to do with the Psalms? I believe that the very first part of the first Psalm illustrates the wisdom of a faith walk over a stand of faith or no faith at all.

Psalm 1:1-2 NIV
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Blessed is the person who walks by the counsel of God and not by the wicked. Walking with God and by His precepts grows and strengthens us.

On the other hand, the person who stands in the way of sinners not having begun the faith walk is far more likely to fall and stay down. Sitting in the way of the mockers are all those who have never even bothered to take the stand of faith. Never making the stand is the same as rejecting Christ and leads to damnation.

To walk in the faith is to have an active faith. To simply stand is to have a passive faith. A passive faith doesn't trust and doesn't grow. It never flexes its muscles so it never walks in the power and fullness of God.

Until next time, go beyond making a stand and take a step of faith. Make your faith a part of all you do and all you are and watch God work.

I had been out running some errands and I decided to grab some takeout chicken for supper. There I saw a scene which made me wish I carried a camera.

The restaurant has a drainpipe about three inches in diameter that comes down through the wall. Nothing unusual about that, in fact I didn't even notice it until I saw something that made me look closer. The unusual part was the occupant of the drain pipe. Looking out of the pipe, proudly surveying the world from the safety of his new home was a gopher. Undoubtedly, the pipe seemed perfect as a new home. It was solidly constructed, raised slightly off the ground so he had a good view and best of all, it was pre-made.

Come the very first rain, the gopher is in for a rude surprise as he gets flooded out. He'll soon be out looking for a more conventional home. The drainage pipe offered more than it will be capable of delivering.

That's the way our world works. Many things compete for our attention. Some of them are even good things, but they all have one thing in common ... they offer more than they can deliver. You see those things competing for our attention cater to our flesh.

The problem with that is that we're more than just flesh. We're more than just flesh that has a spirit. You see we're actually spirit beings that have a physical body. When we die, our physical bodies pass away, but our spirits carry on either to eternal glory or eternal damnation. We'll get new glorified bodies in heaven when the time comes. God created the physical body of Adam and then breathed life and spirit into Him. The body will die but the spirit lives on.

That doesn't mean our physical bodies are "bad". That's a falsehood that was taught by many sects and cults over the years. It just means our physical bodies are only vessels for something more important. God created our physical being as well as our spiritual being and both serve their purpose. I simply mean that one is eternal and the other temporal.

But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 NIV

Nothing that is designed to appease our flesh will ever fully satisfy because our flesh is only temporary.

Are things that will never deliver what they promise taking over your life? Like the gopher have you been blinded by apparent ease that will cost more in the end and never give what you need?

Until the next time may your priorities in life be the things that bring eternal satisfaction and reward, not the empty and temporary things of the world.

Don’t wait to get flooded out by bad choices and wrong decisions. May God enlighten the eyes of your understanding to see these things now, before the rain comes and washes away whatever it was you felt so secure in.

Christians are called to a full life, an abundant life. I'm not talking about material blessing here, although sometimes God does bless us materially. I'm talking about our spiritual lives, our day to day lives.

A personal relationship with Christ is a call to a life of joy, contentment and peace. Christians should be the most incredibly joyful people in the world.

Believers are the only people in the world with hope. We have Jesus. We have Holy Spirit. We should be shouting it from the rooftops, telling everyone we know about it.

Holy Spirit dwells within us. He gives us His fruit if we seek it and stay rooted in Him.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law

You know that, but somehow it often does not manifest itself in your life. Why? Perhaps because you became complacent with your salvation and did not look any further. Maybe you’re not in the place you really need to be. Maybe you haven’t done all he asked you to do or give.

Revelation 2:1-4 NIV
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love

There is only one thing that will satisfy all our wants and desires. It is not a new house, a better job, a cruise or more money. It is not even a new computer or big screen TV It is not drugs, alcohol or sex. It is not the thrill of betting or of sky-diving.

Perhaps you've has a taste of it as you closed your eyes and sang a favorite worship song. Maybe you have felt Him with you during a prayer. Perhaps you have felt Him close by you during a time of crisis.

Maybe you have had what a Pentecostal friend of mine calls a full out, no holds barred, Holy Ghost experience.

So how do we get all these wonderful blessings? Where do we find all this peace, joy, gentleness stuff?

Well, one thing I know for sure is that we do not get them if we do not look to deepen our relationship with Christ.

Let me just speak straight from my heart here. Nothing fancy, just something I have learned out of my personal experience.

A deep personal relationship with Jesus is the most awesome thing you will ever experience. You do not have to be perfect or super-spiritual. That is a good thing, because I'm neither. All you have to do just truly open your heart to Him and seek Him diligently.

Do not accept the garbage the world offers you as a substitute or distraction.

Fully, completely give yourself to Him. He is simply more important than anything or anyone else. I do not mean neglect your family or your obligations because that runs contrary to His word. Still, we are called to put Him first overall.

It is time to quit playing at it. Quit playing at being Christians or settling for superficial Christianity and go for the real thing.

It is time to experience the joy of the Lord, the presence of the Lord and the true abundance of the spiritual life.

Until next time, may you truly experience everything Christ died to give you and what God purposed for you from the begining.

It always does my heart good to see people at work in their gardens. There is something fundamentally right about that connection to the land. There is something wise about getting your hands dirty now and then. There is something spiritual in a good days work well done.

I think that the church in many places has forgotten these truths and their roots. We have made the church into a beautiful, but lifeless and sterile institution when God designed it to be a life bringing, life filled organism. We no longer want to get our hands dirty and tackle the work of the kingdom.

We see the poor and hurting and we let "the government deal with it." We see needs in our community, but we carefully cultivate selective blindness that allows us to block them from our vision. We get offended and gossip when sinners come to church.

Now, of course, I am generalizing. Many churches do not have these problems, but as a generalization, I think I am safe in saying that the church might be more than a little embarrassed standing before God.

Certainly not every congregation and definitely not every person in every congregation, remember I am making general comments here. If you are one of the people this does not apply to, I thank God for you and pray you keep leading by example. If this brings conviction to you, I also pray for you to get before the Lord and ask what He needs you to do.

Matthew 25:31-45 NIV
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

May you be lifted up by a little stooping, a little labor and getting your hands dirty in His name.

Daniel 5:2 tells us, “While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.”

Here Belshazzar was using holy vessels from the temple of God for unholy use. However, the Israelites had begun this process long ago in their own temple in Jerusalem. God revealed the detestable practices of the Israelites to Ezekiel in visions throughout chapter eight of Ezekiel. He continues to explain that His judgment would come through Babylon. In Ezekiel chapter 22, He lists many of their sins which included in verse 8, “You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.”

The Israelites had been the first to cease regarding the holy as holy. When we refuse to call holy what God has called holy, we place ourselves in danger of being taken captive. This analogy begins with God. He is holy and should be regarded as so. What should follow this understanding is that what belongs to Him is also holy.

We are God’s children and even if we regard God as holy but not ourselves as His holy possessions, we are in danger of allowing the enemy to take us captive. Many Christians have no trouble acknowledging God’s holiness, but refuse to see themselves as holy.

Much of our self destructive sin results from unbelief that we are valuable and precious to God and therefore, we have an unwillingness to treat our vessel as holy. Following close behind our unbelief that we are holy, is the downward progression of allowing others to treat us as unholy vessels as well.

If your self-concept is low, we don’t expect to be treated with much respect which in turn perpetuates one’s low self esteem as the enemy uses others to continue to make one feel unworthy, unloved, and unclean.

Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

Christ made it possible. He lived, died, and was resurrected, that he might purify us unto Himself, and that if we would but believe, his shed blood forgives us of our sins, and we would be restored to the image of God as He first created us--holy.

In Leviticus 11:45 God said, “For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” We can be led out of our captivity by believing in faith that Christ made it possible for us to be holy, so He could present us to Himself who is holy. This was His purpose: to reconcile us to God.

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight — if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Colossians 1:19-23

Be who God says you are: HOLY! You are a holy vessel. Don’t be guilty of using a holy vessel of God for unholy uses. As you learn to simply BE holy as He is holy, you will begin to treat yourself honorably as the Word teaches you how. In turn you will require others to do the same. It is in this way, you will be “sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work… and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken

The science of dendrochronology deals with the study of the annual rings of trees in determining the dates and chronological order of past events. Tree rings are fascinating things. To a certain extent you can tell what kind of years the tree has been through by the thickness of its rings. A wide ring indicates the tree had a good year and grew lots, a thin ring meant a poor year.

It's too bad that people don't have joy rings. Imagine rings that showed how much joy a person had in any given year.

I can imagine thick rings in the years of marriage or children being born. The thickest ring of all should be the year we accepted Jesus.

Sometimes, after we've been Christians for a while, the rings get smaller. We become burdened with the things of this world. Sometimes we let our faith itself become a burden.

Our faith walk becomes hollow, legalistic, or ritualistic. We forget that He loves us where we are at and we work hard on impressing Him. The joy and love go out the window as we try to earn more of His love.

There is a lot to be done as Christians and there are many transformations that will happen. In the midst of it all we need to remember who we are and rejoice in the fact that He loves, forgives and accepts us despite our faults.

Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Take some time today and remember that your salvation and His love are not because of who you are or what you have done. He loves you and forgives you simply because you have accepted His love.

Until next time, may each year's joy ring be thicker as you come to appreciate more and more the endless gift of His love, mercy and grace.

Counting the rings and increasing in the thickness of God’s love, grace and mercy!

If we want to change our destiny, we must begin by changing our thoughts. Growing up, we have had many authority figures, but how many of those people actually influenced your thinking? People in authority are supposed to affect our behavior or actions. But, a person of influence will first affect your thinking which in turn will permanently change not only our behavior but our destiny!

Jesus was a man of influence not just a man with authority. Jesus influenced people 2000 years ago and continues to influence many people today. He has affected many hearts to do the will of His Father because He himself had passion for the Father and lived out the greatest commandment.

God spoke to the people in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 saying, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

In the New Testament when asked in Mark 12:28 which is the most important commandment of all? Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

We must be influenced in heart. God wants to be EVERYTHING! We must love Him with everything we have and everything we are. It is not out of obligation. It is not out of compliance. It is about believing in God and who He is and delighting to do His will because it is in your heart. It becomes your lifestyle. Jesus taught the people about the Father and the Kingdom of God as they went about life. As Deuteronomy 6 says, He talked as He sat, as He walked by, as He lie down, and as He rose up. When He spoke to the fisherman, He said, “I’ll make you fishers of men.” When He spoke of how God takes care of your needs, He said, “Look at the birds of the air.” He saw His father in everything. He was His passion.

God even told them why they should give Him their whole heart in Deuteronomy 10:12-14,"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Because it is for your good!

Then God continues to tell them in verses 14-17 how they can be sure God knows best. Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

Because I AM. I have all power and authority and I have set my affection on you. I am the one who knows what will bring blessing and cursing in your life. So why don’t we do the will of God? We don’t have the want to yet.

We don’t do the will of God, because it is not in our heart. We haven’t allowed Him to influence our heart yet. Are you trying to follow God out of obligation or trying to comply. It must be in your heart. Ask God to put it there.

God did everything so there is nothing to force us to do His will except our want to. For His followers, He offers unconditional love, promises ultimate forgiveness, there is no threat of rejection, and there is no fear of judgment. We simply are so influenced by Him that we give Him our hearts. In Him we live and move and have our being, because He has earned our trust. He wins our hearts. Isn’t that what He has been after all along?

Jeremiah 31:33-34 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD.”

The more Jesus taught the truth and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, the more there were those who sought to destroy Him. What did He do when they began plotting against Him or came after Him?

Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. Matthew 12:14-15

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. Mark 3:6-7

And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city. Mark 11:18-19

So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. Luke 4:28-30

According to scripture, He withdrew, went out, and passed through them. What divine wisdom can we gain from His actions?

The enemy is seeking and plotting to destroy you. What is he using to do it?

Fear, anger, perfection, pride, idolatry, rejection, addictions, bad relationships all can steal, kill, and destroy your faith walk and joy in the Lord.

There are certainly times when Jesus confronted situations and people. There are times in our lives when confrontations are absolutely necessary. It takes discernment and godly wisdom to respond appropriately in different situations, but many times it is as simple as walking away.

What situations, what people, and what temptations do you need to walk away from?

This morning I want to look at a familiar piece of Scripture and share some thoughts that often are overlooked when we read it. Some might be new to you, but even if they're not, it never hurts us to have a refresher.

Matthew 22:15-22 NIV
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

We've likely all heard this taught that we are to honor our commitments to both God and the government. We're to pay our taxes and our tithes and that's true, but let's look a little deeper.

The Pharisees come to spring a trap on Jesus but end up getting caught in it themselves.

They want him to denounce paying taxes to Caesar so they can expose him as a threat to the emperor and have him killed or as a threat under the Jewish law so they can denounce him for blasphemy. Whichever answer Jesus gives the Pharisees can get rid of him because He will have given His "dangerous" answer in front of more than enough witnesses to condemn Him.

Jesus asks them for a coin and they bring a denarius with Caesar's face engraved on it. A denarius is equivalent to day's wages for the people of the time.

The irony here is thick. Here are the religious leaders of the Jewish people carrying coins with graven images on them. That is a direct contradiction of one of the Ten Commandments. I wonder if they caught the irony or if their hearts were so hardened that it flew right past them. The text doesn't tell us.

The coin bears the image of Caesar, probably Tiberius although it could have been an earlier coin.

The Caesars proclaimed themselves as gods and demanded worship. Jesus tells the Pharisees "Give to Caesar what is Ceasar's, and to God what is God's." What is he saying? He is telling the world that Caesar is not god. Only God is god, all others are pretenders to the throne.

Jesus catches the Pharisees in their own trap shows them their own law breaking (although they likely missed the point) denounces a pretender to the throne of God and gives godly financial counsel all in very few words.

The Pharisees are stumped. There is nothing more that they can say about the matter.

I think there is also a veiled reference here to the role of money. Jesus makes it clear that money is but a tool to be used. Often money itself becomes our god and we worship it. Jesus doesn't leave us that option. It is simply a tool that can be used to trade with and to bring glory to God. Nothing else.

Until next time, may money be in the appropriate place in your life and may you "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

May you use the things you can spend where it really needs to go. The two biggest of these being time and money.

It has been a very challenging week! A week of attack after attack. There were times during the week where I reacted in the manner I was supposed to and other days and attacks where I failed!

Praise God for confessing and repenting and the blood of Jesus that cleanses, renews, restores, and reconciles.

I went to the backyard to pray, confess and humble myself for acting up and acting out in a manner not befitting an ambassador of the King.

God and I were busy doing business. I was talking out loud to Him. I was confessing to having a bad attitude towards a situation and asking Him to help me change my heart. I knew how I should be feeling about it, but the truth is that wasn't how I was feeling about it and it was stressing me.

A lot of confessing, eating humble pie and repentance brought a big attitude change, later I was feeling far less stressed

The truth is we all need attitude adjustments from time to time. We get focused on self and take our eyes off of Christ. We start to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to or less about others than we should.

The enemy is ever constant beating, hammering and attacking to wear us down and wear us out. He knows our weak spots and vulnerability points. He may know my weak points but glory be to God that I know My refuge, fortress and strong tower. The problem being I don’t always stay under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty and sometimes I take too long to get to the place of refuge.

Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Loving God for loving me even when I take too long to listen, obey, and get to the place in Him where I really need to be!

I remember when I was a child being fascinated and horrified by stories of cannibals, those vicious "man eating savages" from far off lands or their equally fearsome counterparts the "headhunters". I'd see pictures of these strange man-eaters in magazines like National Geographic or Life. I'd read about them in novels.

Cannibals were the enemies of shipwrecked pirates and other adventurers. In Dafoe's classic novel Robinson Crusoe the hero lived in fear of these enemies. (As aside note if you get a chance to read the full version of that story you'll find it has many Christian overtones, Crusoe reads his Bible daily, converts some of the headhunters to Christianity and more.)

While I'm sure there are some remote tribes somewhere that still continue these ancient practices to some degree there are cannibals among us today. Perhaps not in the literal sense of actually eating human flesh, but they certainly bite and devour others. Paul speaks of such things in his letter to the church in Galatia.

Galatians 5:13-15 NIV
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

We all know people who do that. They gossip and backbite. They assassinate the character of others with rumors, lies and half truths. They kill ministries with murmuring and innuendo.

If we're honest we've all been people like that to some degree or another. There have been way too many words that have come out of my mouth that I wanted to take back than I care to admit. My tongue has cut others deeply, often times intentionally.

Our tongues are dangerous weapons if wielded without wisdom. James has much to say about that subject.

James 1:26 NIV
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

James 3:3-12 NIV
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

When we have those moments when we are tempted to bite and devour someone, it is prudent to take a moment and bite our tongue instead. Once those words have come out of our mouths they can't be put back in. Many a hastily spoken word has come back to haunt us.

I think that sometimes it is the grace of God that keeps our minds from finding that vicious comeback that we only remember later. If we can't think of it we can't speak it and we can't hurt with it.

It would be prudent for us to learn to hold our tongues. The pain of choking the words back is a lot less than the pain of broken relationships and wounded hearts.

Ps 141:3-Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. NIV

Until next time, may you mind your tongue and let the Lord help you in your struggle to do so.

After talking to Janet this morning about yesterday’s devotional entitled “Bite”. I decided to do a follow up.

As I was saying yesterday, as a youth I enjoyed reading all kinds of stories, books and authors. Having grown up in West Texas a favorite author was Louis L'Amour. Although most of his books were about the old west and the wild frontier some of the stories were about islands and head hunters. I don't mean the people from personnel agencies, I mean old fashioned take your head off and shrink it types.

Warriors from these various tribes would collect the heads of strong warriors from other tribes in the belief that somehow possessing the head would give them strength. Often these same tribes people would eat the heart and various other parts of their enemies in the same hope.

While in the Philippines I got to meet a man that came from a headhunter tribe and he was the first to learn English, be born again and now he goes back periodically to evangelize his tribe.

So as I began to think about yesterday’s devotional it reminded me of Eric and the other stories I had read. That took me back in my thoughts to a number of missionary accounts I have read over the years about places like Papua New Guinea, Indochina, China and elsewhere where head hunting and cannibalism were quite accepted practices.

After yesterday now it is time to examine more of how we bite and devour. We might not actually eat the bodies of one another, but we are quick to devour one another with our words and thoughts. Gossip and innuendo has destroyed many people. A half true rumor can destroy a ministry in short order.

Even more insidious is the Christian practice of passing along gossip in the guise of a "prayer concern". I know we are to pray for one another and I believe strongly in the practice, yet there are many who use this holy practice as simply a way to spread the juicy news. That makes it a double sin in my mind. There is the sin of gossip combined with hiding it under the name of Christ.

All of us at one time or another have been the victim of or been these head hunters. They attack our reputation. They stab in the dark. They work in the shadows. You'll seldom see a gossip asking the person involved for the truth of what has been heard. Not only have we been victims, we're also all been participants in it as well.

Sad to say most people thrill at a good rumor or half truth. We love the sensational. All you have to do is look at your email inbox and see how many sensational stories that are easily debunked float through. I sometimes get dozens in a day all of which could have been stopped if someone had taken the time to do a quick look up at an urban myths page such as snopes.com.

Of course, all this is to remind us that the Scriptures tell us to keep a tight rein on our tongues.

James 1:26 NIV
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

Proverbs 10:19-20 NIV
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

Proverbs 11:12-13 NIV
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Proverbs 16:28 NIV
A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.

Proverbs 26:20-26 NIV
Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

Beyond the gossip, name calling, attacks on character and reputation, cursing of people and ministries is a dangerous place that people are putting themselves into. If you are listening to these things you are involved also.

Did you notice six of the seven, involve gossip in some way or another and that gossip is not just spread with your lips and mouth!

Until next time, may you put all your head hunting, man eating skills to rest and may you find forgiveness in your heart for those who have attacked you. May you truly put a guard on your mouth and may we “do unto others as we would have them do unto us!”

This time last year I was preparing for a trip to the Philippines. I was looking at maps and guides and setting up prophetic conferences on different islands. Though I had been there before this was going to be different in that Beth and I would be going to new places but still in the separate details of each place the end result was they were all in the Philippines.

No matter how much planning we did there were still surprises that we had to go through that we had not planned for. We used maps and a trip planner allowing us to avoid some of the major centers that would be unpleasant to drive through. It also shows us time and distance as we calculate every little bypass and alternative route.

A slight change here or there can make a surprising amount of difference. Sometimes it shortens things and other times it makes the trip surprising longer. With a little strategic planning we managed to find routes that will shave more time off the trip.

Life is very similar. We face a multitude of choices along our route, some of which add to the pleasantness of the journey and others that add to the pain.

Life doesn't come with a trip planner that allows us to fully lay out our route in advance. We do however have the Scriptures which can help us avoid many of the detours which will take us off track.

Exodus 20:1-17 NIV
And God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:15-19 NIV
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

God has given you a wonderful guide to life that will assist you in every step of the journey. The journey of life is a discipleship, training course all in one. It is full of obstacles, surprises and things you didn’t plan for.

Through God’s word, God’s leading, directions, corrections and instructions you can make it though this trip called life.

Why not today get out your Christian trip planner and take a look at where your next step should be instead of where you plan it to be!

Until next time, may you be consulting God as leader, guide and most of all; Lord.

There's one expectation though that many believers miss out on. They never expect to really hear from God.

They go to worship to hear a person preach, not expecting to hear a word from God. They don't pick up their Bible expecting God to say anything relevant. They pray but don't really expect to hear from God. They look at the world around them and they never see the creator.

God is still alive. God is still relevant. God still speaks today and longs for us to listen.

Psalm 81:8-16 NIV
"Hear, O my people, and I will warn you -- if you would but listen to me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

Hear O my people
If you would but listen O Israel
If my people would but listen to me
you would be fed with the finest of wheat
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Hear O Kevin
If you would but listen Kevin
If Kevin would but listen to me
Kevin would be fed with the finest of wheat
with honey from the rock I would satisfy Kevin.

What an incredible set of verses! What an awesome promise of blessing! We know it's not just Old Testament stuff, because those verses speak of God's heart for His people and His heart never changes.

When you go to a worship service, to Bible study, to read your Bible or in prayer, go with great expectations. Go expecting to hear from God. If you go with expectation, you can experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.