July 5, 2019
Psalm 66:1-5 New Living Translation (NLT)
How often do you find yourself praising the Lord? Take a minute and think about your week so far… If you had to divide your week into how much of it has been spent in praise to the Lord, versus how much of it has been spent asking of the Lord, where would you be? I’m sure the greater percentage for many has been spent asking of the Lord.
July 4, 2019
Romans 7:21-25 New Living Translation (NLT)
Happy 4th of July! Today we celebrate our independence as Americans. It’s amazing that we get to live in a free country with the ability to openly worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So many of our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world must hide their faith and worship for fear of dying. The beauty of our God is He allows each of us an opportunity to choose Him. He doesn’t force His way into our hearts, He gently nudges us, and then we get to decide if we are going to allow Him a permanent home where we can grow in an everlasting relationship with Him. Once that decision is made, we become dependent on Him to guide us to do what is right. We are sinful people living in a sin filled world, so our human instincts are to sin. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, living within us to overrule the power that wants to hold us as captive slaves to sin. As we celebrate our independence as Americans today, let’s also celebrate our dependence on God’s law that connects us in eternal life to our loving Lord, Jesus Christ.
July 3, 2019
Matthew 10:16-20 New Living Translation (NLT)
In our passage today, the Apostle Matthew provides us with direct instructions from Jesus that were given to the twelve disciples. As I was reading over today’s passage, The Whole Armor of God kept coming to my heart. Yesterday, the Apostle Paul reminded us of the grave importance of Living by the Spirit’s Power, and one chapter over from that lesson, He taught that we are to put on The Whole Armor of God so that we can stand firm against all strategies of the devil. The enemy is cleaver and cunning, he doesn’t just test and fight our flesh in the earthly realm, he battles against us in the spiritual realm (much of which we cannot see) and so we need to be equipped to stand firmly against him. Every day we must arm ourselves with God’s: 1. Belt of Truth, 2. Breastplate of Righteousness, 3. Shoes of Peace from the Good News, 4. Shield of Faith, 5. Helmet of Salvation, and 6. Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18). Once armed we can live out Jesus’s instructions in today’s passage. He knows that we are His sheep walking amongst wolves. He wants us to beware, to be on guard against people of this world, to understand that worldly people will try to stop the sharing of the Gospel, He wants to use us to witness to them, and we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us. It’s exciting to know that the same Spirit that Jesus imparted to the disciples lives and moves in us!
July 2, 2019
Ephesians 5:15-20 New Living Translation (NLT)
Yesterday, the Apostle John reminded us that we are to live in the Light of Christ. Today, the Apostle Paul teaches us that when we chose to live in the Light of Christ, we are “Living by the Spirit’s Power”. These 5 verses from the 5th chapter in Ephesians, are AMAZING! I see verse 15 as an instruction guide to a 4-step daily process found in verses 16 – 20:
July 1, 2019
1 John 2:7-11 New Living Translation (NLT)
Do you ever find yourself speaking poorly about a brother or sister in Christ? Do you not like a fellow believer?
In our passage today we learn from the “Apostle of Love”, John. He not only writes about love, but he puts the true love of Christ into action within his life. At one time Jesus nicknamed John and his brother, James, the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17), and in Luke (9:51-56) these two brothers wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village. So, John may have not always been known as the “Apostle of Love”, however, he followed Jesus and grew to know that reality is to be lived by God’s way, and no longer the world’s way. In verses 7 – 11 John repeatedly uses the words: love, life (living), and light. These words belong together in our lives as Christians. Our love is affected when we choose to either live in light or darkness. If we are walking in the light of Christ, we will love our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. If we are walking in the darkness of the world, we will spread hatred even amongst our brothers and sisters. John lived his life loving like Jesus, and so should we.
June 28, 2019 Galatians 4:8-16 New Living Translation (NLT) God has called me to preach and teach his Word of Truth; hearing His Word miraculously brings regenerating love to human life. By listening to the Truth, we become mature in Christ’s love (Eph. 4:15). “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16). In our passage today, the Apostle Paul was able to speak Truth to the Galatians when he first came to preach to them. They joyfully received the Word and invited the Spirit to help them live it out in love. However, in time these same Galatian Christians began to move away from the Truth; finding themselves enslaved to the world’s principles. Scripture teaches us to connect with the Living Word of God, so we can live in the Truth as God’s children. God makes the power available!
June 27, 2019
Psalm 16 Good News Translation (GNT)
I truly love the life God has provided for me. It hasn’t been an easy road, but it’s my road, so I love it. I thank him all the time—like a constant prayer—because I know the Lord has revealed to me much about his heart in the midst of my simple life. I call these revelations the Lord has shared with me LIFE Lessons, because they are things God revealed to me about our relationship; our spiritual dance. When I have allowed the Lord to lead, we have danced to a heavenly symphony. When I have demanded to lead, I have danced to my own worldly tune.
I look back and the past tells me the Lord was with me; I was blessed. I think about today and the Lord’s presence with me; I am blessed. I place my hope in Christ and eagerly look toward tomorrow; I am sure I will be blessed, again. The Lord has been so faithful to love me—to bring to my life his highest and best—so I place great confidence in him for every tomorrow. Do you have confidence in God’s love for you? I hope so, because God wants only good things for you, too.
June 26, 2019
Luke 9:37-43 The Message (MSG)
As you make a spiritual journey through each day, do you sense an awareness of God’s powerful presence with you? I am not talking about an internal emotion; I am asking if you understand the power of God made available to you, as you seek his heart, and the role prayer plays in releasing that power into the lives of others.
In our passage today, Peter, James, and John have been up on the mountain with Jesus. They have witnessed the glorious presence of Almighty God surrounding Messiah, Moses, and Elijah. It is a miraculous moment for the disciples’ faith; it is like a foretaste of heaven on earth. These disciples can’t even speak about the glory; it is overwhelmingly powerful. However, the crowds, religious leaders, and the disciples waiting at the base of the mountain have not witnessed the Transfiguration. They do not have the same sense of God; therefore, they do not have the same power in the Spirit against evil.
May the first thing we do each day be to gain a renewed sense of God; to climb the spiritual mountain for a fresh revelation of his power and might. Let’s get into the Word, pray, and allow the Spirit to stir our faith in his power at work in and through us.
June 25, 2019
Matthew 11:29-30 The Message (MSG)
I like to take our small dog, Gracie, with me when I head out for a kayak ride. She loves being with me, but in order to go she must put on a special life-jacket. When I first put the jacket on her, she lays down like it weighs a ton, but actually it is very lightweight. So, within a few minutes, she is up and moving freely. The jacket is the perfect size for her and provides protection while we are making the journey; she is required to put it on.
Gracie’s life-jacket symbolically reminds me a little bit of Christ’s yoke of grace for believers; how we learn to live by faith and through grace. God does not weigh us down with an ill-fitting yoke; rather, God’s grace is a perfect fit for our salvation. Christ knows we need freedom to move about, but we also need the protection grace provides. Christ’s yoke is a blessing; we do not need to worry about anything while we are learning the rhythms of grace. The Holy Spirit guides us along and will one day deliver us to our journey’s end. In the meantime, grace protects us and allows us to enter a confident rest in God’s love. So, don’t resist the work of the Spirit. Instead, thank the Lord for his yoke of grace and learn from him.
June 24, 2019
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The Message (MSG)
On this amazing Monday morning, isn’t it great to be on the way of salvation? Doesn’t hope in God’s love for you make every day exciting? We are following the Savior into new territory each day. We can share about the love of Jesus for the world and the salvation that is offered every seeking heart. Salvation calls us to invite the Spirit to bring change and renewal to our souls. Are you daily inviting God into every area of your life?
Listening to the Word being taught is wisdom that opens the eyes of the spiritually blind and teaches the spiritually hungry how to please God. When we gather for worship, it is not for entertainment purposes; sadly, that would be making worship about us. Rather, worship is filled with expressions in the Spirit as each of us exalts God. Worship leads us into thriving and life-filled opportunities beyond our gatherings; to help us grow in our love and trust of God. Take a minute today and think about how God has connected you to abundant opportunities.
