Pastor Mary Haley

Jude 17-25
A Call to Remain Faithful
17 But you, my delightfully loved friends, remember the prophecies of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 18 They taught you, “In the last days there will always be mockers, motivated by their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people cause divisions and are followers of their own natural instincts, devoid of the life of the Spirit.

20 But you, my delightfully loved friends, constantly and progressively build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith [faithfulness] by praying every moment in the Spirit [pray as led by the Spirit].

21 Fasten your hearts to the love of God and receive the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives us eternal life.

22 Keep being compassionate to those who still have doubts, [be merciful] 23 and snatch others out of the fire to save them. Be merciful over and over to them, but always couple your mercy with the fear of God. Be extremely careful to keep yourselves free from the pollutions of the flesh.

24 Now, to the one with enough power to prevent you from stumbling into sin [to keep us from harm] and bring you faultless before his glorious presence to stand before him with ecstatic delight, 25 to the only God our Savior, through our Lord Jesus Christ, be endless glory and majesty, great power and authority—from before he created time, now, and throughout all the ages of eternity. Amen!

Titus reminds us what to expect as we live in the last days. According to Scripture, the last days are every day since Pentecost when the Spirit came to be poured out upon believers. Therefore, we live in the last days—the days when grace must hold us and sustain us so we can live in Christ’s anointing and provision. How do we stay in this place of grace? As the Spirit directs us, we continually cooperate with the building up of our faith, we pray as the Spirit leads, we love God and our neighbors, we receive mercy from the Lord as well as extend it to others, we demonstrate true compassion, we eagerly share the gospel with unbelievers, and because of our fear/respect for our Father we refuse to compromise and stain our lives with sin. So, my delightfully loved friends, may we fasten our hearts in the love of God so what is impossible to do in our flesh can be made possible in the power of the Spirit!

Prayer: Lord, I cling to your love for me as I draw upon the grace you have made available for my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

James 4:4-10
4 You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!

5 Does the Scripture mean nothing to you that says, “The Spirit that God breathed into our hearts is a jealous Lover who intensely desires to have more and more of us”?

6 But he continues to pour out more and more grace upon us. For it says,
God resists you when you are proud
    but continually pours out grace when you are humble.”

7 So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will turn and run away from you. 8 Move your heart closer and closer to God, and he will come even closer to you. But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting. 9 Feel the pain of your sin, be sorrowful and weep! Let your joking around be turned into mourning and your joy into deep humiliation. 10 Be willing to be made low before the Lord and he will exalt you!

In our passage today, James reminds us we are in the world, but are actually citizens of heaven under Christ’s Lordship. God desires to set us apart from the world and culture, because he wants all of us—every aspect of our being to reflect the righteousness of Christ’s heavenly kingdom. We are his Bride and he wants a pure and faithful one. Therefore, we must choose whom we will serve. Our humility before God brings us the power of grace to combat evil and bring God closer.

James gives us five ways we can come near to God: 1) Surrender to God’s authority; 2) resist the temptations of the devil; 3) replace our desire for sin with a desire to please God; 4) express sorrow when we do sin; and 5) humble ourselves before God. How wonderful of the Lord to give us the Holy Spirit to help us remain faithful as we fight our inclination to sin against God’s authority. Let’s move our hearts closer and closer.

Prayer: Lord, you are the One who gives my life worth and value; this world can never accomplish what you do for me. Help me to work with your power to bring change to my life. Thank you for your mercy and grace to help me in my shortcomings. I press on… In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 23 (TPT)

I always enjoy reading Scripture from a variety of translations each day. Today, I have chosen to share Psalm 23 out of The Passion Translation.

The Good Shepherd
David’s poetic praise to God
1 
The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd.
I always have more than enough.
2 
He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love.
His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.
3 
That’s where he restores and revives my life.
He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure
and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness
so that I can bring honor to his name.
4 
Lord, even when your path takes me through
the valley of deepest darkness,
fear will never conquer me, for you already have!
You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.
Your authority is my strength and my peace.
The comfort of your love takes away my fear.
I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.
5 
You become my delicious feast
even when my enemies dare to fight.
You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit;
you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.
6 
So why would I fear the future?
For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.
Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!

Are you afraid of the future? When you look at the world do you see only problems; therefore, you look to assign blame and hate others for causing them? Do you think if you could position folks who think just like you everything in the world will be fair and all right? When that is our take on life, we are deceived and have made ourselves, the world, and the world’s system our god instead of the Almighty, because God tells us the real problem with the world is human sin and rebellion against His Word (authority).

In our passage today, King David reminds us that no matter what we face, the Shepherd wants to lead and guide us into the authority and peace of God. The Lord told David’s son, Solomon, that when human sin causes Him to bring judgment, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chr. 7:14). I pray we all realize it is the heart of God to bring salvation, goodness, and love to humanity not judgment.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for our world, our nation, our states and communities, and every human heart to turn and seek you, because only you can save us and lead us into your goodness and love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 144:1-2
Rescue Me Lord!
1 
There is only one strong, safe, and secure place for me;
it’s in God alone and I love him!
He’s the one who gives me strength and skill for the battle.
2 
He’s my shelter of love and my fortress of faith,
who wraps himself around me as a secure shield.
I hide myself in this one who subdues enemies before me.

As you read the words of our Psalter passage for today, can you identify with needing a strong safe place in the midst of challenging times? If so, then you can identify with David—the worshiper—who sang this psalm as he stood before the giant Goliath. Israel could not see beyond the giant; their focus was on earthly power so their fears were fed by Satan. The Lord sent a worshiper to take authority and proclaim a heavenly victory. What fear causing giant is trying to rob your peace by standing between you and your trust and worship of the Lord?

According to 1 Samuel 17, David proclaimed the faithfulness and greatness of Yahweh as he ran toward the giant before him. David knew this giant was a strategy used by the fallen god of this world—Satan—to stop God’s people from assuming a posture of trust and worship. So, David positioned himself before Yahweh in order to receive the resources of heaven. As well, he used his words to unite and turn the attention of everyone listening toward the Lord as he spoke to Goliath, “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him! Today, the LORD will hand you over to me…the battle is the LORD’s” (1 Sam 17:45-46a, 47b). We are to have no other gods before Yahweh, so stay the course, proclaim His greatness, come against the fear-driven strategies of Satan, and call upon the resources of heaven, because salvation is from the Lord.

Ephesians 6:12 (TPT) The Apostle Paul reminds us, “Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage.”

Prayer: Lord, you truly are my shelter of love and your Word helps me to know the truth of what is going on in the heavenlies and on earth. Thank you for equipping me for every spiritual battle against the principalities that rebel against your Word inhabiting me. Please wrap yourself around me while you subdue my enemies. I am beyond grateful and I place all my faith and trust in your love. For all of your children worldwide, be our Shelter of love and Fortress of faith against every giant of fear trying to overshadow or hinder our heavenly perspective of your wisdom, holiness, and absolute power to save and deliver us from evil. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished.[old identity] Behold, everything is fresh and new.[new identity] 18 And God has made all things new, and reconciled[friendship with God] us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. 19 In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God.[for others to enter] 20 We are ambassadors of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” 21 For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.[God provided a divine exchange]

I have always enjoyed taking an old discarded piece of furniture and seeing how I might transform it. We have many pieces in our home that have been rejuvenated—given a fresh look. The furniture might still have the exterior lines of the original, but the fresh paint and hardware changes the outward appearance. These are old pieces that now simply look new.

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul makes us think about who we are in Christ. When we invite Christ into our lives he does not simply rejuvenate us on the outside—like I have done to these pieces of furniture. Christ actually makes us a brand new person inside by taking our sin (past, present, future) upon himself, imparting his righteousness to us, giving us new desires to obey God’s commands of love, while leaving us innocent and whole before the Father. Believers have been reconciled with God! This is such a merciful and miraculous gift, because one day God’s Word will judge this world, as well as human sin and the penalty will be death. Now, with this new life and power for righteousness, we can choose to live for the pleasure of God; to live in eternal peace with God. Don’t fear the future or God’s judgement; prepare your heart by being reconciled to God in Christ. After you have made the wisest decision of your life, go out and celebrate your new life in Christ by living in such a way that others want to be reconciled with God, too. Share the Truth of God’s amazing love!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for reconciling me to the Father by exchanging my sin for your righteousness. I so need you, Lord! Help me each day to live as a grateful daughter by living to please you. As well, help me to reach beyond myself so others might choose to be reconciled to you, as well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Peter 2:4-10 TLB

4 Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who has chosen him above all others.

5 And now you have become living building-stones for God’s use in building his house. What’s more, you are his holy priests; so come to him—you who are acceptable to him because of Jesus Christ—and offer to God those things that please him. 6 As the Scriptures express it, “See, I am sending Christ to be the carefully chosen, precious Cornerstone of my church, and I will never disappoint those who trust in him.”

7 Yes, he is very precious to you who believe; and to those who reject him, well—“The same Stone that was rejected by the builders has become the Cornerstone, the most honored and important part of the building.” 8 And the Scriptures also say, “He is the Stone that some will stumble over, and the Rock that will make them fall.” They will stumble because they will not listen to God’s Word nor obey it, and so this punishment must follow—that they will fall.

In our passage today, Peter sets forth many wonderful things about the character of Christ—our Living Word and Cornerstone. Although some may reject Christ as the Word, to believers he is trustworthy, precious, and the ultimate authority of the church. As believers, we welcome the Word to develop Christ’s character in our lives knowing our obedience will reveal our oneness and unity of love as God’s children.

As we live our lives in a fallen world, we may be tempted to disagree over cultural issues, but let us remember our responsibility to stay the course in oneness with the Word. God never created us to be one with the world. Actually, the world hates the Word who has taken up residence within believers. If we are going to be made in Christ’s image, then we must choose to listen to God’s Word and obey it.

Prayer: Lord, with so many different messages being sent throughout the world, let me cling to your Word and obey it. As I listen, I will know your Voice and recognize when the messages do not line up with your character and commands of love. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for being my Helper and bearing witness when I have heard the Truth. You keep me victorious and moving forward toward your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Philippinas 2:14-16a TPT

14 Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves. 15 For then you will be seen as innocent [translates “mature”], faultless, and pure children of God, even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture. For you will appear among them as shining lights [enlightened ones] in the universe, 16 offering them the words of eternal life [you stand in the place of life to them].

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds the church at Philippi they must fight against the spirit of division by standing in holy unity; this is the mark of the mature believer—the pure children of God. Unity flows from God; it is a gift of grace from the God head and reflects how the Father, Son, and the Spirit live as One. The Spirit of unity is not about agreeing with humanity; it is about living under the authority of God and choosing to align our lives with his Word—making Jesus our Lord. Jesus tells his disciples, “I am [God] light to the world and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk [be pushed] in darkness” (John 8:12).

Our world faces many challenges these days. Humanity’s rebellion against the authority of God’s Word comes with a price; the increase of darkness and the spread of lawlessness. Therefore, believers worldwide must unite and love one another as Christ has loved us (John 15:12). It is time for the Church to rise up and take her place as lights shining in the darkness, because living in unity reveals our place in God’s life and blessing (Ps. 133).

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the grace that helps me to live in unity; to be One with you. I pray for my spiritual brothers and sisters worldwide. As we call upon the name of the Lord—Jesus Christ—may we run from anything that would seek to divide us and rest in the unity of your love. Holy Spirit, help us to shine forth eternal life in this brutal and perverse culture. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 19:7-14 TPT God’s Story in the Scriptures
7 
God’s Word is perfect in every way;
how it revives our souls!
His laws lead us to truth,
and his ways change the simple into wise.
8 
His teachings make us joyful and radiate his light;
his precepts are so pure!
His commands, how they challenge us to keep close to his heart!
The revelation-light of his word makes my spirit shine radiant.
9 
Every one of the Lord’s commands is right;
following them brings cheer.
Nothing he says ever needs to be changed.
10 
The rarest treasures of life are found in his truth.
That’s why I prize God’s word like others prize the finest gold.
Nothing brings the soul such sweetness
as seeking his living words.
11 
For they warn us, his servants,
and keep us from following the wicked way,
giving a lifetime guarantee:
great success to every obedient soul!
12 
Without this revelation-light,
how would I ever detect the waywardness of my heart? [errors]
Lord, forgive my hidden flaws whenever you find them.
13 
Keep cleansing me, God,
and keep me from my secret, selfish sins;
may they never rule over me!
For only then will I be free from fault
and remain innocent of rebellion.
14 
So may the words of my mouth, my meditation-thoughts,
and every movement of my heart be always pure and pleasing,
acceptable before your eyes,
my only Redeemer, my Protector-God.

Creation reveals a great deal about God, but the Word of God reveals a whole lot more about Yahweh—the LORD—who offers a covenant of love to every seeking heart and remains faithful to his promises. Scripture is the Word or Testimony of God as the revelation of Himself. In our passage today, David’s song is filled with great praise for his Revealer, Redeemer, Provider, Restorer, and Rescuer whose Word is Truth.

Evil continues to be manifest on earth. Therefore, while we remain on earth, God’s Word warns and protects us from evil as we obey; this is the way God delivers us from evil. So, when we pray “Our Father, deliver us from evil…” we are actually humbly acknowledging we cannot see the errors of our own ways, we cannot make our lives clean before the Father, we cannot provide the spiritual, emotional, and physical sustenance and healing we need for our souls, we are not inclined toward forgiving others and cannot release forgiveness apart from grace; therefore, we are completely dependent upon the LORD—our Savior. Let’s close with the Lord’s Prayer from the Passion Translation; I pray it blesses you anew.

Prayer: Our Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is fulfilled in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Matthew 9:2-8
2 Just then some people brought a paraplegic man to him, lying on a sleeping mat. When Jesus perceived the strong faith within their hearts, he said to the paralyzed man, “My son, be encouraged, for your sins have been forgiven.”[Jesus perceived the faith of the Almighty present for forgiveness]

3 These words prompted some of the religious scholars who were present to think, “Why, that’s nothing but blasphemy!”

4 Jesus supernaturally perceived their thoughts, and said to them, “Why do you carry such evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or, ‘Stand up and walk!’? [Forgiveness and healing flow from the Lord] 6 But now, to convince you that the Son of Man has been given authority to forgive sins, I say to this man, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk home.’” 7 Immediately the man sprang to his feet and left for home.

8 When the crowds witnessed this miracle, they were awestruck.[seized with fear] They shouted praises to God because he had given such authority to human beings.

The life of Jesus teaches us many things about the holy perspective of Almighty God. For example, in our passage today we see how God perceives things, orchestrates opportunities to reveal the Truth of his love, and how human beings respond to the supernatural goodness of our Creator. Jesus perceives the hearts of everyone involved in this opportunity: the paraplegic man, the men carrying him toward salvation, the religious scholars, as well as the crowd. Jesus supernaturally perceives the hearts of everyone involved and what is being carried inside those hearts; the Lord alone has perfect knowledge of both good and evil. The hearts that actually carry evil, are the very ones we would have never perceived correctly with our natural minds. This is how deception works.

The curse humanity received in the Garden of Eden was also the knowledge of good and evil; humanity chose to eat from that tree and began to live in a fallen perspective of God, the world, ourselves, neighbors, and Satan. Remember the words of Satan to his prey, “The day you eat of this tree your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen 3:5). Please don’t ever forget, Satan uses pieces of truth to deceive and rob humanity (he comes as an angel of light but with evil motives to bring spiritual blindness). The piece of Truth Satan purposefully left out was we were never created to know evil. Remember, God looked over all he had made and saw it was very good (Gen 1:31)? That is why Satan tempts humanity to sin or rebel against God’s authority; because then we are vulnerable to deception.

Apart from the salvation of Christ, we do not perceive good and evil properly. Only Christ can bring us a perfect perspective of good and evil; the fear of the Lord [reverence for God’s authority] is the beginning of knowledge (Pro 1:7). Scripture teaches in the last days, people’s perspective of good and evil will take a major shift; good will be called evil and evil will be called good because people perceive themselves to be clever and shrewd without God; this is the spirit of antichrist (Isa. 5:20-21). May we take time every day to humbly bow before the Lord’s authority, pray and ask God to give us a supernatural perspective of good and evil so we may choose to live for the glory of our Creator and Lord. We overcome and defeat evil by doing good (Rom. 12:21).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating your children to live in your goodness. Continue to deliver us from evil. Thank you, Jesus, for being an example of the holy perspective that has been made available to those who are willing to live in your goodness. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for bringing us the power to choose goodness, so you will be glorified in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Philippians 1:20 (GNT)

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul continues to call his spiritual family in Philippi to a place of courage. The biblical definition of courage is to show oneself strong. God’s presence and power in the life of his people is the basis for biblical courage which causes one to stand against fear and intimidation. Paul reminds his spiritual family it is their duty to trust God in all things; to find joy beyond the difficult circumstances because God is good. The apostle isn’t all talk; he chooses to be the example of this duty for his family as he stands trial for simply loving and serving Christ with his life, as well as sharing the Lord’s message of hope and salvation with others.

Philippians 1:20 My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times, and especially right now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honor to Christ…”

Throughout Scripture, the Lord calls his children to a place of courage and each believer must choose to embrace this duty of trust in God. The world’s value system is fallen and demands we fall with it. Therefore, if we are going to remain faithful to Christ, it is our duty to take a stand against the world’s fallen and sinful value system, our flesh which is inclined to follow the world, as well as the devil seeking to destroy us and our vibrant relationship with God. These battles call for courage and Christ has promised to show himself strong in trusting believers. Is Christ growing your courage for righteousness? Is he showing himself strong in you through difficult circumstances? If so, then, rejoice!

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the message of the Apostle Paul and the need for every believer to take a stand for Christ. Continue to grow courage in your children, so you can show yourself strong in us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.