Uncategorized

Psalm 96:1-3
1 Go ahead—sing your new song to the Lord!
Let everyone in every language sing him a new song.
2–3 
Don’t stop! Keep on singing! Make his name famous!
Tell everyone every day how wonderful he is.
Give them the good news of our great Savior.
Take the message of his glory and miracles to every nation.
Tell them about all the amazing things he has done.

In our passage from the psalmist today, we are encouraged to sing a new song to the Lord. God does new things in our lives every single day. As believers in the work and grace of the Lord, we know daily he is actively saving us from unrighteous and selfish attitudes and choices by guiding us to produce the righteous fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). This is salvation in Christ at its deepest level; scripture teaches this is living by the Spirit’s power! We do not have to take on the attitude and behaviors of this sinful and corrupt world by living in the power of our flesh. Rather, we can live with Christ as Lord of our lives, bear good spiritual fruit, and radiate his glory every day. “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25). The psalmist is right, this is something to sing about…something to share each day because his love never ceases and his mercies are new every morning! (Lam 3:22-23).

So, here’s my new song: I am six weeks status post my horse-riding accident that caused a fractured pelvis and God continues to exponentially heal me. This morning when I woke up, I felt joy in my spirit, my body was not in pain, the sunrise was amazing, and I was able to walk 1/4 mile in the neighborhood without my cane! Glory be to God! It may not be your song, but I guarantee God wants to give you a praise song of your very own, so you can make him famous, too!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the love and mercies you have poured over me, today. I will sing of your faithfulness and goodness! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 6:25-35
After Jesus Fed Five Thousand, they came looking for him…
25 When they finally found him, they asked him, “Teacher, how did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “Let me make this very clear, you came looking for me because I fed you by a miracle, not because you believe in me. 27 Why would you strive for food that is perishable and not be passionate to seek the food of eternal life, which never spoils? I, the Son of Man, am ready to give you what matters most, for God the Father has destined me for this purpose.”

28 They replied, “So what should we do if we want to do God’s work?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work you can do for God starts with believing in the One he has sent.”

30–31 They replied, “Show us a miracle so we can see it, and then we’ll believe in you. Moses took care of our ancestors who were fed by the miracle of manna every day in the desert, just like the Scripture says, ‘He fed them with bread from heaven.’ What sign will you perform for us?”

32 “The truth is,” Jesus said, “Moses didn’t give you the bread of heaven. It’s my Father who offers bread that comes as a dramatic sign from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the One who came out of heaven to give his life to feed the world.”

34 “Then please, sir, give us this bread every day,” they replied.

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty.

According to Scripture, “True life is found in every word which constantly goes forth from God’s mouth” (Mat 4:4). God created humanity to require the spiritual nourishment found in his Word; as Creator he feeds us the Truth. Only the Word—the bread of heaven—can satisfy us and cause us to thrive in righteousness, peace, and joy; this is the manna of the Kingdom of God. In our passage today, the Lord has just fed five thousand people a supernatural miracle through the Living Word and they cannot see beyond worldly resources or temporal satisfaction. As the Word of God, Jesus tells them he is the eternal bread, but will they desire spiritual nourishment and come every day to be fed by him?

Even today, if humanity refuses this revelation and eternal bread provided by the Father, people will remain hungry and, in their misery, become angry with God. Actually, many people in the world right now are what I refer to as spiritually “hangry.” They are spiritually hungry, as well as angry for where they find themselves due to their own disobedience to the Word of God. Satan loves the hangry; he just keeps feeding people unrighteous manna which keeps them enslaved to their worldly appetites. May the Church—those seeking constant spiritual nourishment—share the Good News that Jesus is the bread of heaven who came down to feed the world.

Prayer: Lord, as I invest myself in your Word each day, please feed me Truth and nourish me in your righteousness. I am hungry for more of you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Philippians 3:10, 13-1610 And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and I will be one with him in his death.13 I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. 14 I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. 15 So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. 16 And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds his readers that Christ is at work in believers and if our goal is to know him, then he will continue to reveal himself to and through us. Every day is a divine invitation for all believers to enjoy the riches of Christ’s indwelling presence and power. We can live out each day, not as some visionless wandering victims of this world, but decisively following the plan of Yahweh, walking in the power of the Spirit, all for the purpose of revealing the presence of Christ in us to the world.

My strength alone could have never brought me through my recent accident, injuries, and subsequent recovery; however, my goal to know Christ and place my faith in his power not only could but did! My heart is fastened to the heavenly goal of knowing Christ. I am passionate about my Lord and how he fills my life and carries me when my strength fails! In what area of your life do you knee Christ’s strength and power? This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Prayer: Lord, today, I run straight for the heavenly goal of knowing you. Thank you for never leaving me and always be there to give me the strength I need to press on. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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.