He is

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

—1 Corinthians 1:30

God's grace has brought us into a saving relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

As believers, we recognize that Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross was much more than a terrible miscarriage of justice and the murder of a good and decent man.

Jesus is God's wisdom, a wisdom to convince us of His love.

Jesus is our righteousness; taking our sins upon Himself, He made us righteous.

Jesus is our ongoing holiness.

His blood cleanses us at the beginning and continues to do so today.

Jesus is our holiness; His death means our righteousness.

Jesus is our ransom payment, redeeming us from sin and death.

Jesus is our everything!

Have a blessed day!

Anxious

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

—Philippians 4:6

Well here it is again!!!

I suffer from anxiety, the worry over things which I cannot control and do not remove from my thoughts.

Anxiety dominates and controls a passive mind and a troubled heart, filling both with doubt, fear, and dread.

Anxiety cannot be removed; it must be replaced.

Anxiety has affected me personally in major terrible ways – the feelings of hopelessness and despair can be overwhelming.

I have a specific issue right now that is making me very anxious, I really need to “let go and let God”, but this, this is something that is affecting someone that I love very much.

Obviously I cannot control it, it is really up to God and the person facing the issue, but I still cannot help feeling helpless in finding a resolution.

Not only do I need to “let go and let God”, but the person facing the issue needs to do that as well.

We remove our anxiety by giving our concerns and worries to the Lord, trusting Him to care for us.

Then, as we give Him thanks for what He has done and what He is doing in our lives, we replace those concerns and worries with a genuine sense of His presence.

As a result, our confidence in His future for us can return.

Now, if I can just practice what I preach. . .

Have a blessed day! 

Practice

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from Me, or seen in Me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

—Philippians 4:9

Song reference!

Teach your children well, their father's hell did slowly go by,

And feed them on your dreams, the one they pick's the one you'll know by.

Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry,

So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

We teach our children everything we can about life.

Etiquette, manners, behavior and yes, even our faith.

As we seek to pass on the faith to our children, our friends, our younger spiritual "children", we should think about the apostle Paul and his example.

He taught the truth; passed on the truth that had been revealed and passed on to him; he displayed that truth in his life.

Paul then called on the people he was mentoring to put this truth into practice in their daily lives.

This would enable them to fully experience the presence of God in their lives and find the peace that God so longs to give them.

And it can work that way for us too.

Practice what you preach J

Have a blessed day! 

Never give up

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

—2 Corinthians 4:7-9

I have mentioned this verse before, yet I feel compelled to use it again.

We each face struggles every single day, every one of us - our struggle may be small in comparison to someone else, but to us it is very large, and very real.  

One of my favorite quotes is “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind. Always.”

How often I find myself forgetting that. 

No matter what talents and successes that we might have here on earth, we are merely vessels for God's message of grace, hope, and power.

Our focus should never be on the container for the message, instead, what is most important is the integrity of the messenger no matter the situation, so that the message can be seen without distraction.

The school where my kids attended K-5 here in Arkansas had a motto (what’s a motto? Nothing, what’s a motto with you?) (sorry – Lion King reference) that says “always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.”

That is integrity and if we have integrity, people will see that in us. 

They will know they can trust us and come to us when they are in need.

It is my desire that people see Jesus in me. 

I am a vessel, filled with His grace, I am a lump of clay, waiting for Him to mold me into what He wants me to be.

But

I am nothing.

Nothing without Him.

God's power is what sustains us, not our own, we are simply a vessel, a tool, in the hands of the Lord.

I need to repeat this. . .  over and over and over. 

People can tear me down, circumstances can give me trouble but I am NOT ALONE!

Neither are you. 

YOU are NOT alone!

We have each other, our friends and our family, but most of all, we have God. 

No matter what people try to do to me or take from me I ALWAYS have God.

Devil be warned – she is out of bed this morning and she is praising her Father with everything she’s got!

Have a blessed day! 

Who Listens?

To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. But I am full of the wrath of the Lord, and I cannot hold it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years. Their houses will be turned over to others,  together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the Lord. “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from Me, or seen in Me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

—Jeremiah 6:10-16

Song reference!

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

That is a long verse . . .  one that our sermon was on this week at church. 

I know that I will not be able to quote all the points that my wonderful pastor brought up yesterday, but I can tell you that it made me perk up and listen.

I have been sending this email / writing this blog for a long time.

And look what this verse says: “Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.”

Who listens?

Who hears?

See, I have to send out these verses, I have to write my silly little blog.

Because there will be a time that the right verse touches the right person and makes a difference in that person’s life.

Seek the ancient path.

Temptation is a choice between the old path (God's will for us) and a new path provided by the devil.

So often the devil's path is presented to us as a shortcut to happiness, prosperity, and accomplishment.

However, this path leads us away from God and the blessings He longs to give us.

Let's not be like the people of God in Jeremiah's day who refused God's way and said, "We will not walk in it."

The outcome of their choice was their own destruction.

So as the verse reads “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from Me, or seen in Me — put it into practice.”

I am practicing.

It is well with my soul.

How about yours?

Have a blessed day! 

Lead me to the cross

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

—1 Corinthians 1:27

The Cross, when viewed in its most basic and raw form, is such an offensive symbol.

We would not display tiny renditions of electric chairs or hangman’s nooses as decoration or jewelry.

For God to become human flesh and live among us is unbelievable enough.

For God to be subject to the vagaries and rigors of mortality and human needs is unthinkable.

For God to endure the indignities and inhumanities of the Cross is preposterous.

But, that is the Gospel.

What appears to be foolish, weak, and offensive has the power to re-make us and inspire us to unparalleled faith.

When we come to the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, we come to the impossible which was accomplished by God's grace for us and in us.

Only God would bring us salvation in such a way.

Lead me to the Cross.  (yes, that is a song reference)

Have a blessed day! 

Be gentle

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

—Philippians 4:5

In today’s world we are programmed to seek and to display extravagant over-reaction and over-hyped personality.

Look at how we react to the media and events around the globe.

Gentleness is that moderating grace in the midst of chaos and conflict.

Gentleness is vital to bring the peace of God to our conflict-laden world.

How can we be gentle?

How can we restrain from over-reacting to the wounds, offenses, and slights that come our way?

The Lord is near!

He is our vindication and our example.

He is our comfort, our hope,  our strength and He is near.

We are not alone and our destiny, reputation, and value are not up to us to establish or to defend.

Be gentle.

Have a blessed day!

It's almost Easter!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

—Philippians 4:4

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

We have many reasons to rejoice in the Lord.

Sometimes we lose sight of the incredible blessings we have been given from God.

Let's not lose sight of those, especially when those around us get caught up in pettiness and rivalry.

Let's remember our hope is in the crucified Son of God, our resurrected Lord and ever-present Savior.

Happy Easter!

 (if you do not have a church home, we have two services Sunday morning, 8:15am and 11am.  This week there will be a brunch and an easter egg hunt between services! Join us at Rogers Christian Church, 2501 W Oak in Rogers!) 

Have a blessed day!

are you weak?

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

– Psalm 34:10

Most of us work very hard for what we have.

It is easy to seek after good things, but in reality, we need to seek the LORD.

Prayer unlocks the blessings that God has for His people, but prayer also fills our souls with good things that truly satisfy.

When praises go up, blessings rain down!

Our definition of “good things” changes when God becomes the center of our lives.

Have a blessed day! 

Joy in marriage

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

– Proverbs 5:18

Today I celebrate 20 years of marriage to the love of my life.

It’s not been all happiness and sunshine, we have had our low points too.

The goal of a long marriage is not survival—it’s joy.

In marriage two people go through the seasons of life together and, over the years, become vulnerable and ultimately accepting of each other.

There is no amount of money that can replace that.

We are blessed to have his parents as phenomenal role models.

If you know a couple that has stood the test of time, you can say, “They are blessed!”, and let them know of your admiration!

Have a blessed day! 

Real Love

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

– 1 John 2:15

When I was a teenager, the church that I attended had a guest preacher speaking one Sunday.

She started her sermon telling us about her daughter learning to talk and understanding words.

Her daughter looked at her and her husband and said “I love Mommy! I love Daddy!” and as their hearts were swelling with pride, she looked around and said “I love ketchup!”.

We all laughed, but think about how many times we say that we “love” something.

There is a conflict between the love of the Father and the love of the world.

We can get so caught up in our daily routines that we drift farther and deeper into a love affair with “things” and the boastful pride of life.

If we find ourselves in this situation, our first response may be to change some behaviors, but we need to return to our first love.

When the love of the Father is in us, the love for the world loses its grip on us.

Have a blessed day! 

Forgiveness

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

– Colossians 3:12-13

I have been told that I can hold a grudge.

Unfortunately, that is true.  

How do we respond when faced with the pain of offense?

If our identity is in the love that the Father showers upon us, then we should be able to reflect the nature of the Holy Spirit to others.

Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Forgiveness.

This is not a display of our benevolence, but an exercise in our personal awareness of our daily need for Jesus.

To hold grudges against each other shows that we have forgotten our own need for mercy.

Have a blessed day! 

Dilemma!

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

– Romans 7:18-20

Are you trapped in the dilemma of trying to live a religious life, knowing the rules, yet painfully aware that you can’t keep the rules?

I think we can all answer that one “yes”.

We have a tendency is to keep looking for rules that please God, and sometimes even twisting His words to make our breaking the rules seem ok.

But that only leads to the anxiety that we see in these verses.

We know when we are doing something wrong and they trying to justify it.

We all sin and fall short (that is in the Bible too!).

We need to recognize our spiritual lack and pray for a way out.

That is why Jesus Christ came and challenged our hearts, because rules are not enough.

Have a blessed day! 

How should i pray when i hurt?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

—Romans 8:26-27

Most of us will face very difficult circumstances in our lives. . . if you deny this, then you are either a robot or you are lying to yourself.

When things get rough, sometimes we might feel that our prayers just bounce off the ceiling, like “Are You really there God? Are You listening?”.

Our prayers can seem empty and useless, we are unable to verbalize what is on our hearts because we feel like our words are ineffective and insufficient.

So what do we do?

We trust His promise and we go to God in prayer anyway.

Even when we don't have words to say, we offer our hearts to Him, trusting that the Holy Spirit takes those thoughts, emotions, and inarticulate frustrations to God.

The Spirit makes our hearts known to God, interceding for us according to God's will.

Even when we don't have words, the Spirit makes our needs known.

What a tremendous reassuring grace!

Have a blessed day! 

Open doors

These are the words of Him who is holy and true...what He opens, no one can shut; and what He shuts, no one can open. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

- Revelation 3:7-8

This is not the verse I had originally chosen for today.

But throughout the night last night and on the way to work this morning, I knew that I needed to send special encouragement today.

I do not believe that anyone on this list was unaffected by yesterday’s events, everyone knows someone that is going to be starting over.

Face it, this week has been a bummer. 

Personally I’ve had several things this past week that have hurt me deeply, from the death of a beloved pet to damage on my brand new motorcycle, but you know, it all seems small compared to what the people around me are experiencing today. 

Those people who came to work yesterday and left without a job.

The people who suffered damage and loss of their community in Goodman, Missouri last night by a tornado.

We have all heard the expression “When God Shuts One Door, He Opens Another”.

That is not actually in the Bible . . . Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone said: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

Sometimes our disappointments in life can become God’s appointments, so don’t let closed doors bother you.

The things we think of as failures and problems can often end up being blessings in disguise.

I could make this a very long email – very “sermony” – but here is what I know:

1. God will guide you if you’ll trust Him

You aren’t just placed on this earth to stumble around in the dark trying to find out what you should do. The God of the Universe is interested in you. He has a plan for you; He has a pathway for you

2. Don’t be disappointed by closed doors.

Just because you encounter resistance or difficulty, it doesn’t necessarily mean God has shut the door.

3. Be active as you look for God’s open door.

Have you ever been excited about an opportunity and suddenly found the door closed? The worst thing you can do is to camp out at that closed door. Don’t quit – keep on moving, and God will direct your paths.

There is another door in scripture God can’t open – it is the door to your heart.

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock (it’s the door of your heart). If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me.”

In Holman Hunt’s famous painting, “The Light of the World” Jesus is standing at a door knocking.

Art critics pointed out that Hunt had made a mistake because there is no doorknob.

Hunt corrected them by explaining that the door was the door to a person’s heart, and the only doorknob is on the inside.

Jesus won’t force His way through the door of your heart.

He is standing there, knocking, waiting, and asking to come into your life.

Will you open your life to Him?

Have a blessed day. 

dreams

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

—Ephesians 3:20-21

Imagine your biggest dream.

I am fairly certain that my biggest dream has something to do with having a big house so I can rescue more cats, lol.

Did you know that God longs to do more than that through you? 

He wants to work within you, so you can shine His love on others (even cats)!

The real question is whether or not you will believe it, receive it, share it and then give Him the glory for it!

Have a blessed day! 

A time to mourn

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

- John 16:22

My daddy would have been 90 years old today.

Unfortunately, he passed away 32 years ago, when I was only 15 years old.

This verse is set in the middle of the conversation that Jesus had with His disciples shortly before He was arrested, He is telling the disciples that He is going to die, but that they will see Him again.

He is telling them that it is OK for them to mourn, that when they see Him again, they will rejoice!

I truly believe that I will see my daddy again someday.

Someday, we all will be reunited, not only with our own families and loved ones, but also with the people of God from all ages.

In heaven we will all be one loving family, a huge family, and we will spend our eternity in rich, unending fellowship with those we loved here on Earth.

It is ok to mourn the passing of a loved one, as long as you remember that you’ll be with them again.  

Have a blessed day!