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My God is…the Messiah Matthew 16:16

14 Jan

Matthew 16:16 –  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Salvation

mes·si·ah  /məˈsīə/

Noun
  1. The promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Jesus, regarded by Christians as the Messiah of the Hebrew prophecies and the savior of humankind.

The Promised Deliverer

Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament. It’s amazing to see how books written hundreds and thousands of years before Christ could so specifically predict the things that would take place. Here is an example of those prophecies:

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

11 Prophecies in Psalm 22

There are 11 prophecies right here in this chapter that point to Jesus as the Savior, the Messiah. Why does it matter? Because it adds validity to His claims to be the Messiah. That means we can have faith in Him. The Scripture is giving its testimony for our Lord Jesus.

Some of the prophesies in Psalm 22:

There are so many more places in scripture that point to Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. Those scriptures are how Herod’s scholars could figure out where the messiah was to be born. Herod believed that this Messiah was to be the new leader of the Jews, and couldn’t stand that idea so he had all the boys two and under killed in Bethlehem. Herod believed it. The wise men too knew of the prophecies and knew when the star rose in the east that they were going to see the new king. They were certain, or they wouldn’t have gone on that long journey. All of these events, prophecies and people are witnesses for the Truth that Jesus is the Messiah, our Messiah that we might be saved by Him and have eternal life.

Can I get a witness?

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2013 in Matthew, My God is the Messiah

 

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My God is…rebuking Hebrews 12:5-6

11 Jan

Hebrews 12:5-6 Dad disciplining son

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

 

Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you

Have you ever been rebuked? Told that your behavior is unacceptable?  This will probably not come as a surprise, but I have. When I was growing up, I think rebuking was my parents favorite form of punishment. My best friend growing up used to get in trouble all the time. She didn’t have to do much wrong to get grounded. I would do the same or worse and only get a talking to. She asked me one time, “Why don’t you do more wrong? All your parents do is talk to you as punishment.” I explained to her that I didn’t want to have to find out what was after the talking to. I listened to my parents, because I guess I knew they could have done much worse than talking to me, and I think the thing that was most difficult for me with the “talking to” I received is that my parents showed their disappointment in my behavior. I loved my parents and wanted to please them, so a talking to was all it took, I guess. Also my mom didn’t like to ground us, because that meant she would have to ruin her life staying home to make sure we obeyed the grounding. She didn’t want to be grounded because we did something wrong.

Why do parents discipline their children? 

I’m sure we’ve all seen the kids who have been raised with no discipline. I guess not all parents discipline well, but most parents have certain things that do matter to them, and if their responsible at all they make an effort to properly discipline their children. Do they do it so other people will think they’re good parents? Maybe, but I think the real motivation is love. They love their children and want to help their children grow up and be able to live fulfilling lives without getting in a lot of trouble they can’t get out of on their own.

God disciplines us. 

In the same way that loving parents discipline us, the Lord disciplines us, and the verse above tells us how we should respond to that disciplining. ” do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son” So if you’re going through something right now, and you feel like the Lord is neglecting you, punishing you or abandoning you, know that He still loves you. He hasn’t changed. He is consistent. His love for you does mean that sometimes we have to face the consequences of our sins. Sometimes we have to face things that don’t seem fair. But God does not abandon us, but loves us like His children. Sometimes letting us learn small lessons so we don’t have to face the bigger ones, and sometimes facing the bigger ones because the smaller ones haven’t gotten through to us. He takes no pleasure in our pain, but does know what is necessary for our growth in our faith in Him.

He loves us. 

No matter what is going on in your life, you can cling to the fatherly love of your Lord. He cares about you more than you care about yourself. Turn to Him for your refuge, strength and fair discipline.

Have you been rebuked?

 

 

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is Rebuking

 

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My God is…Anointed Acts 10:37-38

09 Jan

Acts 10: 37-38 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the The Lord's Love is Lavished on usbaptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power

Have you ever been anointed with oil? Our church does anointing with oil (a small cross on the forehead). Here is what they say about the anointing with oil.

“Anointing is not a sacrament like the Lord’s supper, but a physical sign accompanying prayer, much like incense used in the worship of the Israelites. In the ancient world, oil was used for medicinal purposes and for spiritual healing. The practice is described in James 5:14 (Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.), and Mark 6:13 (They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.). It marked a person as one set apart for God’s care.

The anointing of oil in Exodus 30:22-31 ( Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.) had a similar function, marking certain items as holy, dedicated to God, indicating that it is the Lord who heals, according to His will.

Definition of ANOINT

1: to smear or rub with oil or an oily substance
2a : to apply oil to as a sacred rite especially for consecration
 b : to choose by or as if by divine election; also : to designate as if by a ritual anointment <critics anointed the author as the bright new talent>
You know how I love definitions, so I wanted to look this word “anoint” up and see what kind of depth we could find to the meaning. I did not expect to see the word smear. Weird word smear. Right up there with moist, not my favorite words. When I read this definition, I was instantly reminded of the baptism scene in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. There isn’t anything said about the anointing of oil in the scene, but I think the concept of smearing on of oil is forever smeared in my brain.

http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/DV3Eg969ePHe63/the-baptism

to choose by or as if by divine election

So with the definitions above, it is probably the final definition that fits most with Jesus being anointed by God. I like the richness of having all of the definitions though, because the idea that Jesus got the Holy Spirit smeared on Him, makes me think that He had the power of the Holy Spirit lavished on Him. Not just a little, but a lot, all He needed.

We too are anointed

As believers, we have been lavished by God. Anointed in a sense. It reminds me of 1 John 3;1-3, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

We are set apart to do good works in Him, to purify ourselves, but mostly to live focused on Him. Putting God at the center of all we do. I love the word lavished, it’s decadent really. It’s not just giving a little, it’s putting on more than is necessary. Have you ever put on lotion and tried to rub it in only to realize you have too much. You hope to find someone else to smear some on. That’s how God’s love (and anointing is). We get so much love and setting apart from God, that we want to spread it and share it with those around us. We’ve got too much love from the Lord not to share it. Smear someone with God’s love. (Still a weird word)

Have you smeared someone today?

 

 
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Posted by on January 9, 2013 in My God is Anointed

 

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My God is…delighting in me Zephaniah 3:17

27 Nov

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you,

He delights in you

the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.

Definition of DELIGHT

1: a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction
2: something that gives great pleasure <her performance was a delight>
3: archaic : the power of affording pleasure
When was the last time you were delighted? 
I think the last time I was delighted was a few days ago when I asked my boys (currently 13) where they thought they might like to go to college, they both responded with the names of Christian colleges. I was delighted. I had a high degree of gratification that they wanted to go to school where they felt they would be taught more about God and be accepted with their belief system.
He will take great delight in you
God delights in you. I’m guessing for some of you this is not news. You know that the Lord loves you and wants what’s best for you. There are others who may like me not always find it easy to think about the Lord delighting in us. I have a tendency towards self loathing. I’m a sort of perfectionist. Anything short of perfect can be a true disappointment. I have often not tried very hard at things, because I was afraid of just doing alright. But doing alright is fine if you weren’t really trying. So with all of my self loathing and self disappointment, it is hard for me to think about God being able to delight in me. He’s the only other person who can see into my heart and know for sure what a louse I am. But God doesn’t linger on the bad stuff I’ve done.
In His love He will no longer rebuke you
Before Jesus, we were held up to a pretty high standard. We were to try to keep the commandments and keep them perfectly. While we’re still called to keep them, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, it is no longer how we get into heaven. We are no longer rebuked. We are no longer loathed for our imperfections. Instead, in God’s love, He delights in us.
He will rejoice over you with singing
Do you ever get so happy your words come out in song? OK  maybe that’s just me, but sometimes I get excited and I my words come out to a tune. That’s what I think of when I read this part of the verse. I can hear God saying, “Go Jill, I adore you” to the sound of “Go Jill, It’s your birthday”. He delights in me so much that he rejoices over me with singing. I know I don’t deserve it, but what an amazing thing. That He would not only know me, but rejoice over me with singing. For me I guess I can only compare it to my love for my boys, and how I rejoice over them. Do I always love what they do? No. I can assure you I don’t, but I still delight over them on a regular basis. Praise God we’re so blessed to have a Lord and Savior who delights over us.
Are you delighted?
 
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Posted by on November 27, 2012 in My God is delightful, My God is delighting in me

 

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My God is…to be thanked Psalm 136

22 Nov

Psalm 136 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.

to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.

He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yes I’m writing this on Thanksgiving, waiting for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to start, and hours before I make my fruit salad for Thanksgiving dinner at our friends house. Living far from family, we’re very grateful for the family the Lord has given us here.

To Him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

All month-long I’ve been blessed to read the thanks of my friends on Facebook. People have been sharing such amazing things, and I believe sharing the great wonders that have happened in their lives, blesses others and points us all back to God – His love endures forever.

He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.

We are so blessed that our God cares about us. Often we don’t even properly care for each other. We think that we’re better than others, or that they’re not working hard enough, or they’ve brought their troubles on themselves. Isn’t that true for most of us. OK, some of us may just have bad things happening to them, with no cause in sight, but most of us know why the bad stuff has happened. We know what has led up to our troubles. We have usually put ourselves in the position we’re now going through in life. We are no better or worse than others we meet. We try to justify our position, but the truth is, we may not have handled what they’ve been through any differently than they did. There is one who cares about us no matter the condition of our heart, our mind or our bank account. God has loved us in our low estate. He cares for us no matter what. His love endures forever.

He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

It’s hard to talk about Thanksgiving without thinking about food, but what a blessing it is that the Lord provides the food that we need. that he provides it for all who call on his name. For my family and I, more than once we’ve wondered how we were going to make ends meet, but our Lord has always provided us with food and shelter. In our country so many of us are blessed with an abundance of food. Let us remember to thank our Lord for this blessing. His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Our God is good. While you enjoy your big meal, some football and games with the family, remember this day the one who has given it all to you. Give thanks tot the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2012 in My God is to be thanked, Psalm

 

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My God is…Worthy Psalm 145:2-4

18 Oct

Psalm 145:2-4
Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

My God is Worthy of Praise

Worthy of Praise

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.

Definition of WORTHY

1 a : having worth or value : estimable
b : honorable, meritorious
2: having sufficient worth or importance

God is worthy

Worthy. What makes someone worthy? I think I have ranted on before about being deserving, how I don’t like it when good things happen and people say, “They really deserved it.” It is hard for me to rank people according to their worthiness. I believe no one on earth is worthy of anything, except death. We are all sinners, and the wages of sin is death. So who is worthy? God alone is worthy of our praise.

Who is your king?

Tuesday night at my women’s Bible study, we were challenged with the question of, “Who is your king?” We had been looking into the verses on the day of Jesus death, and noted the irony of the Jewish leaders in the passage. They said that Jesus was blasphemous, and that’s why he needed to die. They were trying to convince Pilate that Jesus was truly guilty of a crime worth death. Well, Pilate wasn’t sufficiently convinced, so what did they do? They did just what they accused Jesus of doing…blasphemy. They said that Jesus claimed to be king, and that anyone who claimed to be king was against Caesar. This wasn’t the blasphemous part, but that’s what came next. In John 19:15, Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” and the chief priests responded with, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Blasphemous? 

We debated for a little bit about whether or not this was really blasphemy. Wasn’t calling Caesar king like us saying we have no president but Barack Obama? Fortunately we have Lynn in our group, who attended seminary. She explained to us that the difference is that the Romans of the time considered Caesar to be a god. They burned incense to him, and praised him like a god. So the chief priests saying that they have no other king means they were putting Caesar above God and hence they were guilty of blasphemy.

Having sufficient worth or importance

In the Psalm above, we see God claimed as worthy to be praised. God has the sufficient worth and importance to be praised. He should be the most important. Does God have worth in your day-to-day life? Does God have sufficient importance in your life. Who is your king?

His greatness no one can fathom

The psalmist backs up his statement of God being worthy of praise with this statement, “His greatness no one can fathom.” In the old testament, they had seen some amazing things that the Lord had done. Maybe they even had a clearer idea of the greatness of God. But God is still at work in our midst. He is still great and worthy of praise.

One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.

I think one area that I as a Christian parent and a person with influence over my friends children should work on, is pointing out the amazing work God is doing in our lives today and yesterday. We have an opportunity to help the next generation know God more through our testimony of how He has worked in our lives. Can you think of some mighty acts that the next generation should hear about from you?

Here are some of mine:

1. My husband is a Christian. When I met him, he didn’t really confess any sort of faith, but the Holy Spirit worked in his heart and now he is a strong Christian man, living for the Lord. GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

2. My son, who was born with a heart condition, Tetrology of Fallot, had surgery when he was nine months old, and now is expected to never need another surgery for that condition (which others often have many). GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

3. My Multiple Sclerosis doesn’t affect the quality of my day-to-day life. GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

4. God has provided for us when it looked like there was no way to get through another day. GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

5. The Lord has provided the right jobs for me at the right time. GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

6. Despite moving many times, the Lord has provided me with a support system of Christian women. GOD IS WORTHY OF PRAISE

What is of worth or importance to you?

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2012 in My God is Worthy, Psalm

 

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My God is…Commanding John 15:12

16 Oct

John 15:12 – This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Love one another as I have loved you

Love one another as I have loved you

This is my commandment

In John 15:12, Jesus is talking with His followers, trying to give them the low-down just before He is going to go to the cross. They don’t know what’s coming, but He does. To be commanding means to draw attention or priority. Here Jesus is trying to put His ministry in a nutshell, His elevator pitch of sorts. This is what I want you to do. This is what I want your priority to be. This is what I want you to give your attention to doing. Jesus said, of all of the things He could have commanded, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Love one another

Easier said than done, right. We all have known our share of unlovable people, haven’t we? I remember way back when I was teaching (for a whole year and a half), there was a little boy named Howard. Howard was super smart. You couldn’t get anything past Howard. He didn’t do his homework much, but he probably already knew everything I was teaching at the time anyway. Needless to say a bored, creative, young man was bound to push the boundaries a little. I remember one day he had been less than nice to a younger student who was annoying him. He said to me, “You can’t make me like him.” I said I didn’t care if he liked him. I told him the Bible didn’t say we had to like people, it said we have to love them. That means treating them kindly and not threatening to beat them up. He, in his wisdom, thought that made a lot of sense. He was thrilled, “So I don’t have to like him? ” he asked. “Nope, but you do have to love him.” I said. “I can do that.” He said and ran outside to play.

Love vs. Like

Are we always likable? No, I don’t think we are, but Jesus loved us anyway. He loved us so much that He laid down His life for us, so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. So how do we love the unlovable. Sometimes, for me, it seems like loving the unlovable is best done by doing the opposite of what I want to do. I see someone I don’t particularly care for, or am uncomfortable around and my tendency would be to look the other way or walk away. God would call us to reach out to that person with care and concern. How about the person who has stabbed you in the back. It may be a bit much to think you’re going to go out of your way to find ways to love them, but perhaps even just forgiving them and being cordial in their presence. Not easy, but it is what we’re called to do. We don’t have to like them, but we’re called to love them. How about at church? Are there people who get under your skin? Maybe they said something that was off-color or unkind, and you don’t want anything to do with them. Even if you can’t bring yourself to go up to them, you might add them to your prayer list, and maybe even pray that one day you would be able to show them love.

WARNING – if you pray something like that, you’ll probably be given an opportunity to see if you can love them. EEEK!

That you love one another as I have loved you

Jesus calls us to love one another as he has loved us, unconditionally. He doesn’t love us more when we’re good and less when we’re bad. He just loves us. And he loves us so much He died for us. The verse that follows the verse above says how we are to love one another.  “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We have to put others needs ahead of our own, like Jesus put our needs above His own desires. This is His command for us. This is what He wants us to pay attention to in our lives. This is what we need to make a priority in our lives. Love one another.

 
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Posted by on October 16, 2012 in John, My God is Commanding

 

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My God is…my king Psalm 145:1-3

11 Oct

Psalm 145: 1-3 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

Descended from Royalty

My husband and I went out to dinner with some friends last week, and they told us about a show they like on PBS called, “Finding your roots“. In the show, they trace people’s lineage back quite far using, documents, family history and DNA analysis. We watched one on Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon. Kyra found out that she is related to royalty. Would you be surprised if you found out your family was related to royalty? Would you feel more important knowing your 18th great-grandfather was royalty?

You are Royalty

You’re not just the 18th generation after a king. You’re the adopted sons and daughters of a King, our Lord Jesus Christ. We’re the children of Royalty. What does that mean for us? As adopted children into the family of our God and King, we’re promised eternal life in his palace. We will live with Him forever in paradise. We will know Him. Imagine knowing a King. There are many privileges that come with knowing the King. Our privileges don’t often show up as much on this side of heaven, but our future is secure. We know where we’re going, and that the King has prepared a room for us. We are blessed to be part of His kingdom, and part of the royal family.

What’s expected of you

So many people say that Christians are hypocrites, and I think they’re right. We make big mistakes. We don’t always treat others the way we should. Sometimes we get up on our soapbox or on our high horse and look down at others who don’t know the Lord. What is expected of us as part of God’s royal family? Should we be running around naked, drinking too much and having affairs? That’s how some in a royal family might act, but it’s not what is expected from someone of position. We have a position, and it’s important that we work to reflect our King to the world around us. Not because it gets us into the palace, but because we care so much about the King that we wouldn’t want to tarnish His name. I pray that I am a good reflection of the title Christian.

Do you respect your title?

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2012 in My God is my King, Psalm

 

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My God is… Sacrificial Hebrews 10:11-13

25 Sep

Hebrews 10:11-13 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

A sacrifice bunt

I don’t know how much you know about baseball, and I’m no expert, but I have been around baseball a lot in my life. In high school I was a bat-girl (I even lettered in baseball – technicalities!). My father has always loved baseball, so almost every summer vacation had some element of baseball included. I love the history and they traditions of baseball.

One thing that sometimes happens in baseball is called the sacrifice. It can be a bunt or a fly ball. What happens is the batter will hit or bunt the ball, expecting to get out. He knows he’s not going to get on base. He’s planned it that way (or his coach did). Why? Because it allows the other player to get home. Does a batter want to hit a sacrifice? Probably not, it’s not as fun as getting a hit and getting on base. Coming to the bag, he knows he has to give up his chance at a home run or a hit so the other player can be assured he’ll make it home.

Expecting to get out

Jesus came to earth, knowing he was going to have to make a sacrifice play. He was going to have to give up his life so we could be sure to make it home. Without Him taking our sins on his shoulders and getting us out of  a jam of sin, we couldn’t be sure we would ever make it to our heavenly home.

The coach planned it that way

Seeing the mess we had gotten ourselves into with sin, our coach, God knew that a sacrifice had to be made. The only way to assure we would make it home was with a well executed sacrifice. He wanted to make sure it was done right, and so he sent His best player, His Son Jesus Christ. Not only did Jesus have to do it right on the day, but He also had to train well, living His life perfectly before the big day.

Why Sacrifice?

Jesus knew He could stay safely in heaven. He could enjoy the rewards, but He knew we would never make it home if He didn’t do the sacrifice play. He did it for us, for the team and for His Father in Heaven. It was part of the plan to get us out of the tough situation of sin we had found ourselves in since the fall.

Best sacrifice ever!

 

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2012 in Hebrews, My God is Sacrificial

 

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