1/6/09
1/5/09
Christ Alone
We had a planning meeting yesterday. I sat there in utter amazement as I listened to a group of women share ideas and hopes. They were communicating with each other in a new way and there was such laughter - a fresh joy in serving the Lord!
I am reminded of one of my favorite songs ...
In Christ alone will I glory though I could pride myself in battles won
For I've been blessed beyond measure and
By His strength alone, I overcome
Oh, I could stop and count successes like diamonds in my hands
But these trophies could not equal to the grace, by which I stand!
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone
1/3/09
Change of Plans
It was such a beautiful day I decided to grill some chicken outside. I started the grill and sat outside to enjoy the sun while I waited. When it was time, I went inside to prepare the chicken. When I opened the package I was surprised to find chicken strips! What do I do now? The grill is hot, but all I have are these little strips of chicken!!
Life ever present you with a similar situation? You are prepared for one thing, but life gives you something very different? One of the many exciting aspects of walking with Christ is that we don't know what's going to happen next. At times we may be uncomfortable with the twists and turns, but God reserves the right to lead us wherever He wants.
As we prayerfully consider what God wants us to do, we can be confident that He will lead us day by day through His Word and by His Spirit within us (Psalm 139:10). Because He is good (25:8), we can trust Him with our lives in this great adventure called the Christian life.
And, as you might have guessed, the chicken strips turned out great. I grilled them with some vegetables so it was even better than my original plan. But, with God, isn't that usually the case?
Life ever present you with a similar situation? You are prepared for one thing, but life gives you something very different? One of the many exciting aspects of walking with Christ is that we don't know what's going to happen next. At times we may be uncomfortable with the twists and turns, but God reserves the right to lead us wherever He wants.
As we prayerfully consider what God wants us to do, we can be confident that He will lead us day by day through His Word and by His Spirit within us (Psalm 139:10). Because He is good (25:8), we can trust Him with our lives in this great adventure called the Christian life.
And, as you might have guessed, the chicken strips turned out great. I grilled them with some vegetables so it was even better than my original plan. But, with God, isn't that usually the case?
1/1/09
Happy New Year
No matter how fresh the start nor how great the plans we have made, if we do not walk with God, the coming year will not be a spiritual success. As we receive this gift of a new year, let's commit to serve the Lord. As we make plans for the coming days ahead, let's make sure that those plans are made based on the LORD's revealed will in Scripture and prayerful consideration of what our God wants us to accomplish.
12/31/08
As we stand at the end of one year and look into the beginning of a new one, before the resolutions are made and broken, and before this current year has come to an end tonight, we need to declare to the Lord and in our hearts that the following is our first priority: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.." (Joshua 24:15b).
12/29/08
12/28/08
12/26/08
12/21/08
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-- Romans 12:21
A friend used to remind me that the number one goal in dealing with difficult people or circumstances is this: Don't become what you hate. He wasn't talking about hating the person, but despising their evil, wicked, petty, and sinful actions and motivations. We don't overcome the Devil by underhanded and dishonorable means. We overcome evil, we drive it back into the abyss, by doing what is right and filling our hearts and lives with goodness.
-- Romans 12:21
A friend used to remind me that the number one goal in dealing with difficult people or circumstances is this: Don't become what you hate. He wasn't talking about hating the person, but despising their evil, wicked, petty, and sinful actions and motivations. We don't overcome the Devil by underhanded and dishonorable means. We overcome evil, we drive it back into the abyss, by doing what is right and filling our hearts and lives with goodness.
12/20/08
12/16/08
12/12/08
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. -- Romans 12:12
How can we keep our circumstances from determining our mood? How can we emancipate ourselves from the limitations that life deals us? The last in the trio of commandments opens the door for the other two to be true -- we can rejoice in hope and we can be patient in affliction because we have been faithful in prayer.
No matter what our situation is, we can pray with joy because of our hope in Christ no matter what our current situation is. We can remain patient, persevering through affliction, by presenting our requests and intercessions to God with thanksgiving. Prayer is God's gift to us so that we can be patient and joyful, even when things don't appear to be going well.
How can we keep our circumstances from determining our mood? How can we emancipate ourselves from the limitations that life deals us? The last in the trio of commandments opens the door for the other two to be true -- we can rejoice in hope and we can be patient in affliction because we have been faithful in prayer.
No matter what our situation is, we can pray with joy because of our hope in Christ no matter what our current situation is. We can remain patient, persevering through affliction, by presenting our requests and intercessions to God with thanksgiving. Prayer is God's gift to us so that we can be patient and joyful, even when things don't appear to be going well.
12/9/08
I hope my Southern Baptist Pastor isn't reading because I am about to start preaching! Here we go ...
God's plan is that those who have received His grace seek actively to persuade others to accept His divine, free, gracious offer to them. If I fail to invite others to be reconciled to God in Christ, I cease to be an agent of reconciliation, and I show signs of having received God's grace in vain.
Therefore, my involvement in evangelism helps me to share the treasure of God's grace. Person-to-person communication of the Christian faith is God's intended way of building the Church; it is the most credible form of demonstrating God's grace. I need to be involved in missions because God chose to send His Son to human beings. When I communicate God's intentions to others, through word and deed, the Good News is personalized, and it ceases to be theory or a set of abstract ideas. People are not born Christian. They become Christian.
Evangelization is the means by which people are introduced to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Christianity cannot long survive without evangelism. This is the logic that the Apostle Paul sought to impress on the Roman Christians: 'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?' (Romans 10:14, NIV)
Have you taken the call, the command, to share the Good News seriously? When is the last time you shared the message of Jesus Christ with someone? How will they hear if you do not tell the story?
God's plan is that those who have received His grace seek actively to persuade others to accept His divine, free, gracious offer to them. If I fail to invite others to be reconciled to God in Christ, I cease to be an agent of reconciliation, and I show signs of having received God's grace in vain.
Therefore, my involvement in evangelism helps me to share the treasure of God's grace. Person-to-person communication of the Christian faith is God's intended way of building the Church; it is the most credible form of demonstrating God's grace. I need to be involved in missions because God chose to send His Son to human beings. When I communicate God's intentions to others, through word and deed, the Good News is personalized, and it ceases to be theory or a set of abstract ideas. People are not born Christian. They become Christian.
Evangelization is the means by which people are introduced to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Christianity cannot long survive without evangelism. This is the logic that the Apostle Paul sought to impress on the Roman Christians: 'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?' (Romans 10:14, NIV)
Have you taken the call, the command, to share the Good News seriously? When is the last time you shared the message of Jesus Christ with someone? How will they hear if you do not tell the story?
12/6/08
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