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My God is…not mocked Galatians 6:7-8

06 May

Galatians 6:7-8 – Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your mockingown flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked

Is God mocked? Well, yes and no. People try to mock Him, but the truth is, the mocking from those of this world have no effect on God. It’s no skin off His nose. There is nothing we could do that would make God feel bad about Himself. You cannot manipulate God. There is nothing God doesn’t know, and He is not a human who feels insecure just because those who do not know Him speak poorly of Him. God is not going to feel bad because of their bad behavior. He is above all of that.

For you reap whatever you sow

So for those who mock God, it’s not on God, but it’s on them. They are the ones who are separating themselves from the One who cares about them more than anyone else. They reap what they sow. They speak of God with no honor. They defame His name and deny His very existence. They reject Him. Then when He says those who don’t believe won’t get into heaven, they say, what an unfair religion to not let everyone in. It was they who said God did not exist, so for them heaven too must not exist. Their mocking ways have sealed their fate. Their future is bleak. They reap what they sow.

If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh

For those of us who do believe we must be cautioned as well. For we too will reap what we sow. If we’re focused on things of this world (money, prestige, looks and debauchery), we may lose focus on our Lord. The more we replace the focus we should have on the Lord and replace it with other things, the more likely we are to fall away completely from the Lord. Have you ever been in a place in your life where you weren’t making great decisions? Where you wanted to do what you wanted to do and to hell with what anyone else thought? Maybe it was your mom who cautioned you against staying out too late and getting into trouble. Maybe it was being flirtatious with a coworker and becoming numb to your spouse. Maybe it was your disdain for those who cared about the Lord. When we let these things steer us away from our Lord, we risk the full corruption of our flesh.

But if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

So what are we as Christians to do? Is it that we must do something to gain salvation? Not really, but in order to not get distracted by this world, we have to arm ourselves against it. We need to sow in the Spirit. We need to continue to give our attention to the things of the Lord. We need to take our minds off our selves and put them back on Christ and others. Not because this earns us salvation, only Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection have done that. The reason we must do these things is so that we don’t lose our focus. so that the devil would not take a foothold in our lives. We don’t want to start to pull away from God. Every relationship takes work. Every great relationship takes an investment from both parties.

God is fully committed. Are you?

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in My God is not mocked

 

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My God is…Upholding me Isaiah 41:10

03 May

Isaiah 41:10 – do not fear, for I am with you, girl-at-door
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

do not fear, for I am with you,
    do not be afraid, for I am your God;

The devil is a bully. What do bullies do? They pick on you when you’re alone. They almost never attack or bully when they’re out numbered. The devil wants to separate you from God and those who point you towards God. The devil wants to make you feel alone and helpless. The devil wants to rob you of your joy in the Lord. But WE ARE NOT ALONE! We don’t have to fear, because God is with us. The devil doesn’t want us to feel like God is with us, but He is. In Matthew 1:23, the angel even says that Jesus should be called Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” Have you ever been bullied? Remember how alone you felt? We don’t have to feel that anymore. We need to remember that God is with us and that He’s got the situation under control. Expect Him to show up in cool and unusual ways!

I will strengthen you, I will help you

Going back to that bullying idea. The devil wants you to feel weak. Bullies try to take away your power. Well, our power is in the Lord. He is the source of our strength and our power. When we’re in trouble, when the devil is attacking, God will strengthen you. He will help you. Trust HIM!

WARNING!!!

You’re going to be attacked. And let me tell you the closer you get to God, the more you spend time with Him, the more the devil gets frustrated. He attacks. And he’s good at it. But we have one who is stronger. One who can show us the way. The one who can stop arguments in their tracks by helping us own up to our mistakes. Do you know how quickly arguments end when one person says, “Your right, I shouldn’t have done that.”? So often in our marriages and friendships, we end up trying to defend ourselves instead of owning up to our sin. It’s not easy to do, but boy does it change things. Because we have God on our side, we’re able to admit our sins and restore relationships. Without God, I find admitting my wrongs is almost impossible.

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand

But with God all things are possible. No matter how far wrong things have gone, God is able to fix the problem. Relationships, our needs, our dreams and our faith are all in God’s hands. He can take care of any of them. This part of the verse reminds me of something that happened a few weeks ago on my morning walk with my friend. She and I were walking, and she was on the street side of the sidewalk. We’re walking along fine, when she loses her balance and starts to fall toward the street, where a semi was barreling along. By the grace of God, I was able to grab her arm and pull her back from what could have been disaster. That’s what God does for us. We’re walking along. Everything seems to be going well in our lives, then WHAMO!  We trip up. Life gets hard. We make a mistake, we sin, and fall short of the Glory of God. We don’t reflect Him in our lives. But God upholds us with his victorious right hand. He reaches out and pulls us back to Him. By His grace we are able to continue on.

Have you tripped up?

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2013 in Isaiah, My God is upholding me

 

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My God is…a consuming fire Hebrews 12:28-29

26 Apr

Hebrews 12:28-29 – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and Flames so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken

What a blessing it is to know that the kingdom of God will endure. We don’t have to worry that it won’t be there when we die, or that someday it will cease to exist. God is eternal, and his kingdom cannot be shaken. Nothing, not one thing, in all of time will be able to destroy the Kingdom of God. The devil for a time will try, but we know he has lost the war. God is almighty and has overcome the devil.

Let us be thankful

When someone does something nice for you, do you thank them? I’m not always as good at this as I would like. To be honest, I’m kind of ashamed of it. Who takes the brunt of that? Maybe my boys who are so kind to me and never refuse bringing me popcorn or tea. They’re not argumentative or defiant. They’re agreeable young men. I sometimes take their kindnesses for granted. I don’t always use the good manners my mother gave me. They deserve my thanks. If I am capable of forgetting to thank my sons who daily do amazing sacraficial things for me, how much more awful is it that I sometimes forget to thank my Lord and savior Jesus for his true sacrifice for my eternal life. Not only do I not say it often enough, I also don’t act grateful. I become selfish, unkind, impatient with Him. I don’t always act as He would call me to act. I don’t always treat others better than myself, and I don’t always put Him at the center of my life. Let us be thankful. Let us cast off our old ways and focus on the Lord!

Worship God acceptably with reverence and awe

Why do we have the traditions we do in our church? I think most of them are to help with this action, so that we might worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. I want to get better at this and not get too comfortable. I want things to not become rote or commonplace, but that I remember why I am worshiping, and more importantly Who I am worshiping. I want to show my Lord reverence and awe. I want to do that by putting Him first in my life. Lord help me do this, please.

God is a consuming fire

When we allow the Lord to be the center of our lives, He is an all consuming fire. He burns out the old cobwebs. He adds excitement and change that we would otherwise not embrace. God is amazing and has so much planned for us. In a Bible study I’m doing, (The Calling: Living a life of significance) it mentioned that sometimes we ask for silver when God wants to give us gold. When we put God at the center of our lives, as He is an all consuming fire and fills every nook and cranny of our heart, we will find the excitement of having God in charge. Having Him burn away the junk that gets in the way of our relationship with Him so that new life might grow in our hearts. When there is a fire in the wilderness, it can be devastating  It can look as if everything that was good is gone, but after some time, new life grows, stronger and healthier than before. May I be refined by the all consuming fire of God.

 

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is an all consuming fire

 

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My God is…Greater 1 John 4:1-6

22 Apr

1 John 4:1-6 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, Listening-on-phonebecause many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist  which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Don’t believe everything you hear. How many of you heard that from your parents at one time or another? I know I did as a child. Sometimes I need to be reminded of that as an adult. The other day I mentioned to my sister that I had read that those who chew gum are more likely to have more wrinkles. This basically made me think I should probably stop chewing gum. My sister instantly retorted that she didn’t think that was true. She said that probably those who smoke make up a large group of those who chew gum, and it’s more likely smoking that makes someone more wrinkly than chewing gum. I don’t know if she’s right (she probably is – I always think she’s right!), but I did think it was a good reminder not to believe everything I hear. It’s important as residents on this earth to be discerning about what we hear. It especially important when we’re talking about spiritual things. There are so many theories out there. So many ways people say you can be your best you, live your full life and be all that you can be. Some of the information can be useful, but some can lead you away from the Lord, putting your faith in things that have no truth and pull your attention away from Jesus.

But test the spirits to see whether they are from God

It is important that we test the things we hear against what we know is true in scripture. We can sometimes learn something from the self-help books, studies and gurus of this world, but the verse above tells us exactly how to test these spirits and ideas, “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” Any theory or idea that doesn’t acknowledge Jesus came as a man, but is also God is a pitfall for leading us astray. Even if they do have good pieces in them, they can be more damaging to us than they are edifying. Don’t believe everything you hear!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

We have overcome these false spirits, because we have the truth. We have God’s word which does tell us about Jesus as man and God. God has given us His Holy Spirit, and His Holy Spirit is greater than those spirits of the world. Our God is greater. He has the true answers. Not answers for the temporary things of this world, but for our life now and on into eternity. So many of the theories of this world have come and gone, some persist, but unless they jive with the word of God, they are meaningless.

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

Don’t be surprised when those you care about use these theories of the world, these gurus and philosophies to try to help you. They’re probably well-meaning, but these theories only work in the temporary, the here and now. They’re only about you. They’re not about others. It’s self-help for a reason – it’s all about you. The world loves that, because it is our human nature to think our problems are more important than anyone else’s problems. My husband’s arm hurting? He’s a wimp. My legs are sore, I’m practically dying. What’s the difference? One is about me and one is about him. I don’t care as much about his as I do my own pain (selfish I know, I got a lot of work to do). We’re all a bit like that. When we allow ourselves to think how the world thinks, we can’t see past ourselves. We think it’s OK to do whatever we want, because “I had to do what was right for me.” We need to be careful people. When something like that comes out of our mouths, it may very well not be from God. He tells us to love others as ourselves, and that flies in the face of that statement.

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. 

Listening-on-phone

Don’t believe everything you hear!

Just because our truth is from the Lord, don’t expect people to accept it that way. Those who know God will likely listen and be able to apply any wisdom that is based on God’s word, but those who are still living according to the world probably won’t. They may hear us, but more than likely they’ll pass off our ideas and scriptural references as strange, kooky Christian talk. They won’t be able to take it seriously, because they don’t know the Lord. Does that means we stop believing what we believe, or stop professing what we believe? No, but it does help us to have realistic expectations of what is likely to happen. It’s not going to be all rainbows and butterflies.

This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Our God is greater. Even though we might have doubts or struggle with a Biblical truth, we’ve got God, and our God is greater than all of the gibberish our world. Even the information that is helpful for this world is a far cry from what our Lord has told us and has planned for us. Our God is greater.

Don’t believe everything you hear – test it against God’s word.

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2013 in 1 John, My God is Great, My God is Greater

 

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My God is…exalted Psalm 138:6-7

17 Apr

Psalm 138:6-7 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;


though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.

Definition of EXALT

transitive verb
1: to raise in rank, power, or character
2: to elevate by praise or in estimation : glorify
3obsolete : elate
4: to raise high : elevate
5: to enhance the activity of
What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:4
God is exalted. He is of the highest rank, power and character. There is no reason in our earthly minds why our God should be mindful of us. Our perfect amazing Lord deserves to be exalted. He is perfect, kind, patient and so much more (as you can see from my blog). He is deserving of our praise and to be elevated in our estimation. Our Bible verse above reads, “he looks kindly on the lowly”. That’s you and me folks. We’re the lowly. I’m not trying to make you feel bad about yourself, but in relationship to the greatness of God, we’re not much.
Though lofty, he sees them from afar
Even though God is highly exalted, He sees us. It doesn’t says He strains to see us, it says He sees us (plain and simple). He knows everything about us, and sees us more clearly than we see ourselves. And guess what? He loves us anyway!
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
Even though God is…God, He is still mindful of us. When we’re in trouble we can expect Him to show up in unusual and amazing ways. In fact He already has. I bet that if you think about it, you’ll be able to think of a time when something was fixed or resolved in an amazing way you weren’t expecting. The biggest example of this is how the Lord saved us from our sins. There was no way we were going to earn our way to heaven. Each of us is a sinner, and if it were only by what we do that we could be saved, our bad would easily outweigh our good. But God came up with a plan. A plan that no human would have thought possible. God sacrificed His Son so that we might live. So that we might live with Him in heaven. That we might have eternal life.
How about right here and now? You can expect God to show up in unusual ways right now. Turn over your troubles to the Lord and watch Him (trust Him) to do what He says He’s going to do. He’ll sustain you through your pain, give you and escape from temptation and provide for all your needs. He loves you and will see you through your trouble. He will preserve your life for now and into eternity.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
For some reason the way I picture this part of the verse gives me great comfort. I picture some one running to attack me, and God pushes them away with His left hand and with His right He pulls me behind Him. He shields me from the danger. He saves me from the fate I deserve. I love the thought of My God being between me and my enemy. Like a father protecting his child from any sort of threat, our God stands in the gap for us. Protecting us and saving us with His right hand.
What do you exalt?
 
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Posted by on April 17, 2013 in My God is Exalted, Psalm

 

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My God is…not ashamed Hebrews 2:10-12

16 Apr

Hebrews 2:10-12 – 

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everythinggail-jill exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.  Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;

 in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

 

Do you have siblings? 

I have an older sister. In my mind, she was perfect (I say was, because now I know it was only in my mind! 🙂 – Love you Gail). She was beautiful, smart, funny and kind (most of the time). But I’m pretty sure I drove her crazy. I was the typical little sister, wanting to be wherever she was, doing whatever she was and following her wherever she went. I was annoying. Worse than that, many times, I’m sure I was embarrassing. Hard to believe, right? I was only a few years behind her in school, so that meant even in high school, I could embarrass my sister. Now however, we’re more likely to join forces and try to embarrass our children.

Are you ashamed of someone?

Have you ever been ashamed of someone? Maybe it’s your outspoken racist uncle, your politically uninformed but loud friend, or your doting mother? Maybe it’s your screaming child during church, shopping or pretty much anywhere.

Definition of ASHAMED

1 a : feeling shame, guilt, or disgrace
  b : feeling inferior or unworthy
2: restrained by anticipation of shame
Why do we get embarrassed or ashamed? 
I’m no expert, so take it for what it’s worth, but I think we get ashamed, because we feel embarrassed by what we or someone else has done. Usually in order to be ashamed of someone or something, we have to feel that it has some sort of reflection on us. We feel like the other person is hurting our reputation as a fun loving, accepting, patient, kind and entertaining person. We don’t want to have our friends or family putting out the wrong impression of us (though to be honest we’re probably doing a pretty good job on our own).
So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
Why is that a big deal? Do you know how often we must say or do something that could potentially hurt God’s reputation? Maybe it’s just me, but I can think of quite a few times just recently I haven’t been a good reflection of the Lord. Maybe it’s when I used words that are not very becoming. Maybe it’s when I was selfish and took the last banana without a thought for anyone else. Maybe it was when I yelled at my children, not because of anything they did, but because I was in a mood. Worse yet, maybe I’m not giving glory to God because I’m not showing others love. I think too often I wimp out on caring for others, encouraging others and going the extra mile. I put my needs first. When I say “needs” I use that term loosely. For me I may be choosing a nap, watching TV or playing games on Facebook over doing what I know in my heart would be a better reflection of the Glory of the Lord.
Here’s the Good News!
Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. If we were in high school with Him, He would let us sit at His table. He cares about us, and isn’t afraid to let it show, even when we’re not very lovable. His love is not conditional on our love for others. It is not conditional on anything we do outside of having faith in Him. All He wants from us is for us to believe in His promises and grow in our relationship with Him. We don’t have to be afraid to wave to Him in the hallway, He will acknowledge us. We know He will always welcome us with open arms. We are so blessed to have our God as our Brother, one who is not ashamed, but has washed away all that could bring us shame. He saved us from our shameful behavior so that we would not have the full consequences of our sins. God is good!
Are you ashamed of Him? 
 
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Posted by on April 16, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is not ashamed

 

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My God is…seated on His Royal Throne Psalm 47:7-9

12 Apr

Psalm 47:7-9 – For God is the King of all the earth;Royalty's Throne. Ornate. On White sing to him a psalm of praise.

God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.

For God is the King of all the earth

What does it mean for us that God is King? It should mean a lot to us. God is the King, and He is a good King. Not only is He our King, but He is also our Father, and that makes us part of the royal family. We are inheriting from Him much more than we can ever give back to Him.

God reigns over the nations

Sometimes we think that God can’t handle what we’ve got going on. Sometimes we thing it’s too big or too small for Him, but God is in the details. He is in charge of all things. Over all the nations, all the people, all the animals, all the cells and all the atoms. He’s got them all under His power. He can do anything. In Matthew 19:26 we read, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” If you want something big changed, you might contact your senator or your congressman. But what if you had access to the President. wouldn’t it be better to ask Him. We’re able to go right to the top, in fact we have Jesus interceding for us at all times (Romans 8:34 – Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.) We are blessed to have a God who hears and listens to what is important to us. We can go right to the top and ask the one who can make all things possible.

God is seated on his holy throne.

So why does it matter that God is seated on His holy throne? Have you ever seen a movie where the king enters to sit on His throne? Everyone stands and turns their attention to Him. Why? Because He’s about to get down to business. He’s ready to hear your requests, to give you advice, to celebrate with you, to send out His angels to protect you. To do all the God things He does. He has taken up His position of authority and is ready to use it. And because you are His adopted child through Christ Jesus, you’ve got an in with the Big Guy. You can have access to Him at any time. How amazingly blessed would you feel to be able to walk right up to the King? Right to His throne all the while knowing that He loves you as He loves His own Son. He took action for you and me that day. He had Jesus shed His blood so that you and I could live in Heaven with Him. He loves you that much. God is good!

Do you want some time with the King?

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2013 in My God is seated on His Holy Throne, Psalm

 

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My God is…my redeemer Galatians 3:10-14

29 Mar

Galatians 3:10-14 

Salvation

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse

We all live under laws. We have our civic laws, our family laws and even social laws. There are certain things you just don’t do in polite society. Yet we all know the feeling of doing something against the law. All of us have 
done something that wasn’t right. Maybe it was swearing at a loved one, talking back to your mom, cheating on your spouse, or lying on your resume. No matter what it is, I’m sure all of us can think of something we’ve done wrong (if not ask your family – I’m sure they could think of something). Suppose every time we did something 
wrong we lost the parts of your body that were involved in the sin. What parts would you have left? I don’t like to think about it, because I’m pretty sure for me there isn’t much left, but my armpits (though they may have 
caused offenses of their own). 

Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

I certainly can’t rely on the law to be justified before God. If I had to go defend myself and see all the crud I have done in my life, having to try to justify those behaviors, I would be laughed out of heaven. But I don’t have to rely on the law to be justified before God. I live by faith, and as it says in the verses above from Galatians, “The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”” And I guess die by them. But God has given us a way out. He’s given us a Redeemer.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

Definition of REDEEM

1a : to buy back : repurchase
  b : to get or win back
2: to free from what distresses or harms: as
  a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom
  b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental
  c : to release from blame or debt : clear
  d : to free from the consequences of sin
3: to change for the better : reform
5 a : to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby
  b (1) : to remove the obligation of by payment <the United States Treasury redeems savings bonds on demand> (2) : to exchange for something of value <redeem trading stamps>
  c : to make good : fulfill
6 a : to atone for : expiate <redeem an error>
  b (1) : to offset the bad effect of (2) : to make worthwhile :retrieve
Go back and read those definitions again. Read them with your name inserted in them.
  • Jesus Redeemed (Your Name Here)
  • to buy (Your Name Here) back
  • to get or win (Your Name Here) back
  • to free (Your Name Here) from what distresses or harms
  • to free from (Your Name Here) captivity by paying a ransom
  • to extricate (Your Name Here) from or help (Your Name Here) overcome something detrimental
  • to release (Your Name Here) from blame or debt
  • to free (Your Name Here) from the consequences of sins
  • to change (Your Name Here) for the better
  • repair, restore (Your Name Here)
  • to free (Your Name Here) from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby
  • to remove the obligation of by payment by (Your Name Here)
  • to exchange for something of value namely (Your Name Here)
  • to make (Your Name Here) good : fulfill (Your Name Here)
  • to atone for (Your Name Here) : expiate (Your Name Here)
  • to offset the bad effect of (Your Name Here)’s sin
  • to make (Your Name Here) worthwhile
  • retrieve (Your Name Here)

I don’t know about you, but I was overwhelmed by reading my name in those definitions. Jesus Christ went up on the cross for us on Good Friday to redeem us. Some ask why it is “Good” Friday when it’s such a horrible event. The list you just read, with your name in it, is why Good Friday is good. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for you. He died and rose again. He conquered death. He has done all of this and so much more.

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Why did God die on the cross? So that we might spend eternity with Him in heaven. So that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit and be in relationship with God. So that we would have a future, a hope, and a prayer.

 

 
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Posted by on March 29, 2013 in My God is My Redeemer

 

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My God is…the One who sustains me Psalm 54

27 Mar

Psalm 54 – Relationship-conflict

Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.

Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
people without regard for God.

Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me—people without regard for God.

That’s never happened to you, right? You’ve never had anyone talk bad about you or tell people something that wasn’t true, have you? I’m guessing there are many who are reading this saying, “It has happened to me, and it’s happening right now!” Maybe it’s someone at work who is trying to make themselves look better than you. Maybe your friend is cutting you down to make herself look more important. Maybe someone is straight up lying about you. Does it sometimes seem that people are lying in wait to trip you up? They sometimes seem well-intentioned, but then “whammo” they complain about you to your peers or superiors. Or maybe you feel someone is trying to isolate you, and remove others from your life so that you’re dependent on them. These kind of attacks are really hard to take, aren’t they.

They may not be out to kill you, but they’re killing your spirit, because being misrepresented, lied about and manipulated is not good for the soul. These actions are often sadly performed by those professing to be Christians (full disclosure – I’m one of these people. I know that I have fallen short of treating others the way the Lord would treat them). But as painful as it is for me to admit I’m one of these people it’s even harder to hear that what I am doing shows disregard for God. And those who do this to you are disregarding God as well. They’re not following His command to love others as yourself. It’s all to easy to look out for “Numero Uno”. Oh wait. I guess that might be the problem, God should be “Numero Uno” in our lives, and when we replace Him with our own desires, we always get off track.

Surely God is my help.

How do you get through those horrible situations when people are on the attack, when the devil is on the attack and trying to distract you from your walk with God. Well, you’re not alone. God is your help. We need to lean on God in our tough situations and let Him handle them for us. Praying before we interact with those who trouble us, praying for opportunities to have healthy relationships with those who manipulate and to have the words to be firm but kind.

Definition of SUSTAIN

1: to give support or relief to
2: to supply with sustenance : nourish
4: to support the weight of : prop; also : to carry or withstand (a weight or pressure)
5: to buoy up <sustained by hope>
6a : to bear up under

 b : suffer, undergo <sustained heavy losses>
7a : to support as true, legal, or just
 b : to allow or admit as valid <the court sustained the motion>
8: to support by adequate proof : confirm <testimony that sustains our contention>
The Lord is the one who sustains me
Looking at the definition of sustain helps us to see the depth of the word that this scripture says God will do for us. He will give us support and relief. He will supply us with what we need to survive. He will help us persevere. When we can no longer stand under the strain, He will prop us up. He knows the truth, and testifies on our behalf. He gives us hope.
Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.
When others slander and mistreat us, we can trust in God to administer His justice. It might not be in the time we want, but He’s got it under control. He is the one who will “Give them what they deserve”. We don’t have to think about revenge and restitution. We don’t have to think about anything but God.
I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
There is nothing sweeter than having these kinds of situations resolved. When people are no longer attacking us in such a direct manner, we can recognize God’s provision and protection. We praise His name for everything He has accomplished in our lives, and the way He has helped us to grow in our faith and maturity through these situations.
You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
 
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Posted by on March 27, 2013 in My God is the one who sustains me, Psalm

 

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My God is…Filling Colossians 1:9-14

22 Mar

Colossians 1:9-14 – For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.water-pour We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We continually ask God to fill you

Do you ever feel empty? You have amazing wonderful things going on in your world, yet you feel like you’re missing something? Or maybe you’re going through something really tough and you feel like you’re all alone. Maybe you worked really hard to lose weight, but when you did you realized it didn’t change your relationship with your husband the way you thought it would. We all get disappointed. Why? We see the answer in our verse above.

The knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives

What is the answer? The answer is knowing God’s will for us through wisdom and understanding from the Spirit. Some of you might say, “How do I get that?”, well, one way the spirit comes to us is through Baptism, another is through scripture, and thirdly from prayer. I know some of you pretty well by now, and someone is going to email me and say – “Really? Is that all there is for me?” I know as humans we want to DO SOMETHING! But the truth is the thing we really need to do is spend time with God. Put Him first above everything else. Spend time with Him. You say you’ve tried reading scripture and praying, do it more. Maybe hear some scripture through some Christian music. Get engaged in a Bible study, by yourself or with others.

So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way:

  • bearing fruit in every good work
  • growing in the knowledge of God
  • being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might
  • you may have great endurance and patience
  • giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light

God wants these things for us so we can live a life that God has planned for us, because it brings Him pleasure for us to live with Him in our lives. When we do that, we are going to bear more fruit. We’re going to grow in our relationship with Him. You know the friends you’ve spent a lot of time with pretty well, don’t you. Spend that kind of time with the Lord and watch what happens. Some of you have been going through some really tough things lately, we’ve been praying for many of you, and this next part made me think of you. If you’re in relationship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit, you will be strengthened with all power. Not a little power, you will be strengthened with all power. God parted the Red Sea, saved Daniel from the Lion’s Den and Rose Jesus from the dead, I think He can strengthen and preserve you too. He can handle what you’re going through. What’s another benefit of walking with the Lord? You will have endurance, you will be able to get through the tough times and miracle of miracles you will gain patience (I always seem to need more patience). All of this He does for us so that we might bring Him glory, showing His greatness to the world. In these tough experiences, we are developing the testimonies that the Holy Spirit could use to encourage others to come to faith. To God be the Glory.

 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. AMEN!!!

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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