Different Paths, Same Destination

Proverbs 3:6 ESV 

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This morning was a very busy morning at our house, in the fact that we were all rushing in different directions  this morning. I'm sure that for many of you, your morning's may look the same as ours. Yes, children heading to school and parents heading off to different jobs in different locations. It is enough to make you feel lost sometimes. The one thing that we do in the morning's as to slow ourselves down and to set all our paths straight is to tell one another that we love them before they leave the house. 

I think the same goes in the fact that often we are each living emotional paths and each person that we encounter is on a different emotional path than we are. Some are lost, confused, perplexed, unclear, and maybe even off course. The saving grace for all of us as followers of Christ  is the  fact that God is constantly telling us that He loves us, so we can walk different directions and still wind up all at the same destination. When we believe in Jesus and are faithful to him we can all be in different places, but the love of Christ leads us all to the same destination.

My prayer for you today is that you will always start your mornings by loving Christ and loving others. In this way all our destinations will be heaven and our paths will all be made eternal, through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is the day that the Lord has made 

Maintaining Your Faith

We Are God's Music!

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Last night as I was lying in bed I listened to the wind blowing the wind chimes that hang off our outside deck and as I listened, each gust of wind seemed to play a different sound on the chimes. It was as if God was performing a musical concert in the midst of a wind storm.

Beloved, I really believe the same occurs in our relationship with God in the fact that he has made each one of us differently and has breathed His uniqueness into each and every one of us. The fact is that when God breathes on us, we each make a unique sound and tone as we live our lives as people of God.

My prayer for you today is that you will take time to stop and listen for God’s breath in your life, as you discern His will for your life. Yes, you and I are the chimes that sound with each gust of God’s breath. 

Brothers and Sisters be still in faith and draw near to God and let him write the musical for your life. Know that you are a unique and special sound that God has sent into the world for others to hear.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Living in Thanksgiving

Are You The Fire Without Heat?

Matthew 7:1-5 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

In these days of political commercials and twenty-four hour cable news, it is often easy to judge others without knowing them. Beloved, we live in a world in which judging others can even come down to judging whole societies and groups of people.

The text from Matthew today is telling us to take a good look at ourselves before we judge others; yes our lives must be clean before we can complain about the mess that others have made of their lives.  Author and Pastor Stephen Kingsley wrote a short story about true appearances based on the scripture of James 1:22; and Matthew 5:16.

Kingsley wrote: “I walked into the restaurant and stomped the snow off my boots before walking up to the counter. As I ordered coffee and a bowl of chili, my eyes were drawn to an HDTV mounted on the back wall. The screen featured a close-up of a fireplace with dancing flames. Maybe it was because the winter weather had me chilled to the bone, but my eye kept wandering back to the screen as I stood waiting for my order. 

What good is a fire that doesn't produce heat? It looks good, but it won't really warm anybody. It's all atmosphere and no substance. If we're to shine as Jesus shined, it isn't enough to speak Christian, we must live Christian. We must do the very same good works that Christ himself performed. He not only taught us to love one another, to forgive, to heal, to mend, and to bear each other's burdens; he loved, forgave, healed, mended and bore the burdens of many.”

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22).

Beloved my prayer for you today is that you look at yourself before judging others and that you take a look in the proverbial mirror, and ask yourselves if you are walking the walk as you talk the talk? This day I ask that you be the Word of God, and live the Word of God to all that you encounter.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

The "Son" Shines Even During Storms!

John 16:22 ESV

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

As I sit working in my home office, I occasionally look out the window because of the possibility of severe weather later on in the day. But as I look out the window I notice that the sun is shining, and I cannot see the possibility of severe weather.

This truly speaks to the way that we live our lives. The fact is that those that are in a personal relationship with Christ can truly see the “Son” shine at all times. Does this mean that those that know Jesus will not face storms in their lives? Of course not! The truth of the matter is that we all will face storms and challenges in our lives. The saving grace for followers of Christ is in the knowledge that they have seen the “Son” before the storm, and have been promised that the “Son” will continue to be in their lives even during and after the storm.

Beloved, Christ is not with us just in the good times; Christ is with us at all times and has promised that He will never leave us. My prayer for you today is that as you prepare for the storms that will come; you realize that Jesus is present in your joy, your sorrow, and in your stormy and your sunny days.

Yes, it will rain, and storms and winds will blow, but Christ is present with us as to insure that nothing or no one can ever take our joy from us. May you look for the “Son” that never stops shining, this day and every day.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Modern Day Miracles

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy: Mark 1:40-45

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[h] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[i] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

In today’s world with wars, famines, disease, some people doubt that God is invested in this earth anymore and they ask: “Where are the miracles of God?” Beloved, I bring you good news today in the fact that miracles do occur and that God is truly at work in this world He created.

Yes, miracles are occurring that you and I may not be able to see, because God is working these miracles through His people: “The Body of Christ!” If we look back on the miracles of Christ, we see that he didn't want to be known for his miracles. When we see Christ healing the man from leprosy, we see Jesus asking him not to tell anyone.

Beloved, Christ did not want to be known as a magician or a circus performer. Jesus wanted to be known as God’s Son who would come as the suffering servant who was sent to die for our sins. Christ came to re-establish our relationship with his Father, and he wanted us to be a faithful people through our love of God and one another.

Yes, miracles happen every day, but God wants us to base our faith on our relationships with Him, rather than the miracles that He is conducting in this world. If you want to see a miracle occur today, my prayer is that you be the hands and feet of Christ, and feed, cloth, and nurture those that are truly in need. Help those that don’t know Christ, to come into relationship with him.

Let us place our faith relationships ever stronger and more powerful in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, focused on the healing miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ instead of focusing on other healing s and miracles.

This is the day that the Lord has made.