Who Are You Looking For?

     The closer it gets to Christmas the more we hear of people talking about the birth of Jesus. I overheard an interesting comment in a store recently that went something like this: “ I don’t understand why everyone wants to make such a big fuss about a baby being born in a manger.” They made that statement as if to say that’s all Jesus ever was, just a baby. They seem to forget that he grew up to be a man. They forget that he died on a cross so that you and I upon repentance could receive forgiveness of our sin. They forget that he rose from the dead conquering death, hell and the grave. They forget that he made a promise that he will one day return to the earth to take his children home with him. He won’t be coming back as a little baby. Look at Revelation 19:16 – “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

     Jesus Christ will return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will come to receive his people to himself and judgment will begin. He is not just a baby; he is the Savior of the world. This week I want to focus on Jesus being our King. Yes, I am going to use an acronym again, this time with the word “Know”, to share how we can make him king of our lives.

Know Him - “…for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

     It is not enough to just know “about” Jesus.  We must know him personally. We must have a relationship with him. Just because you’ve attended church all your life doesn’t mean you know him anymore that parking a bicycle in a garage makes it a car. Attending church doesn’t make you a Christian. Being born-again by repenting of your sin and asking Jesus to rule your heart and life begins the process of getting to know him in a real and personal way.

New Beginnings – “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isaiah 42:9

     God wants to free us from our past, even from our difficult present. But we must be willing to give him the reigns of our life. He wants to give you a fresh new start. Sadly many want to come to God on their terms rather than according to the scriptures. Because of that they often miss out on the blessing of having new beginnings in their lives. I saw a bumper sticker one time that said, “God loves us too much to allow us to remain as we are.”  He wants to change us so that we can grow in Christ-like character in our daily lives.

Obedience - "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15

     When we know him and can truly love him we will keep his commandments. Now, that doesn’t mean we can “pick and choose” what we will believe or obey. No, we must believe all of the word of God. And, if he calls something sin then we must do the same. If choose not to walk in obedience we will have God’s peace and blessing in our life.

Worship Him – “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.“ Psalm 95:6

     One of my favorite things to do is to spend time in praise and worship unto the Lord! Praise is a great weapon of spiritual warfare. When facing difficulties in life or need an answer to a pressing issue, often we can receive our answers and our comfort through taking time to worship Jesus as the king of our lives.

     Now in closing let’s look at a scripture that sort of pulls together everything we’ve just discussed. “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God." (Psalm 50:23) I think verse makes it pretty simple for us.

     If we give praise to God he will be glorified in our life. It’s easy to give praise when we “order our conduct aright.” In other words when we live in line with the word of God we can than receive the promise of salvation. This means that life combined with right living and giving praise unto God will lead to living in the blessings of having salvation through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

     My friend, do you know him today? I mean really know him? If not, pray this prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.  I repent for all sin I have committed. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life.  I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. Help me to serve you for the rest of my life." In Jesus’ name, Amen.”  If you prayed that prayer for the first time, or maybe you’re coming back to the Lord, let someone know. Call a pastor, call our ministry or tell someone you know who is a Christian so that they can help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

     Until next time, in the midst of the holiday rush, remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!

Abiding in the Rush

    

When most people read John 15:1-14 they usually end up talking about bearing fruit for the kingdom of God.  That is an important principle for us to live by.  If we’re true disciples of Jesus Christ we should desire to bear much fruit for the sake of the Gospel.

However, as I read this recently I had a different perspective on it.

      In this passage in John 15 two verses in particular stood out to me. The first is in verse 5, which says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” As I read this I thought about how we all are in the “rush mode” getting ready for Christmas. The Lord spoke to my heart through this and reminded me that we must keep our focus on God, his Word and his son, Jesus -the reason for the season.  Maintaining this focus will help us be less stressed with more opportunity to bear fruit for the Lord.

     Understanding that in this passage Jesus is the Vine we’re to abide in, let’s see what we can learn about abiding in the Vine. I have made an acrostic of the word “abide” from which we can glean five principles of abiding. Apply Build Involve Deny Examine.

Apply – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15KJV - If we’re going to walk in tune with the Lord, we’re going to have to know his word. I don’t mean that you have to be a scholar or read twenty-five chapters a day. Just be consistent to read something from the bible everyday.

Build – 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians  5:22-23   Ask the Lord to help you build these qualities in your life. They will certainly be helpful in the crowded stores! (smile)

Involve – 46And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47NAS  The believers in the early church stayed in close contact encouraging each other and they were committed to involvement in their local church.

Deny – “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”  Matthew 16:24 Again, if we keep Jesus first in our life, and think of others more than ourselves, we’ll be less apt to growl back at another tired shopper.

Examine –“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-- unless indeed you are disqualified.”  2 Corinthians 13:5 We must regularly take inventory of our lives to make sure that we’re living in righteousness.

     Earlier I mentioned two verses that stood out in John 15. We looked at verse 5. Now let’s look at verse 11.   John 15:11 - "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”  “These things” refer to the scriptures Jesus just share in verses 1- 10. So, what Jesus is saying to us is that if we abide in him we will have JOY.  What a promise to hold on to for the rest of this month and next! The stress of shopping, the pain of being alone, missing a loved one, financial strain, etc.  As we abide in Jesus in the midst of it all we can still have joy in our heart.

Be encouraged my friend.  Even in the stresses of life, even in the rush of the holiday we can call on the grace of God to strengthen us as we abide in him. If you are struggling, pray the following: “Lord, I am hurting, I am tired, I feel so alone. Please send your Spirit, the comforter to come alongside me. Help me to focus on You so that I may have joy in this season of celebrating the birth of your Son.  In Jesus name, amen.”

     Until next time, I pray that you are filled to overflowing with the joy and love of the Lord!

Anchor of Hope

        

    I really had something else in mind to write this week but I just couldn’t get away from the idea that there are some of you out there who need to feel hopeful once again.

     Recently I have had some conversations with people who are facing some tough things in their lives. There is much devastation all around us. There is much turmoil over the recent elections, the state of our economy, etc. This caused me to wonder what kind of hope these people are holding on to. How can we persevere with hope in the midst of our trials? What can we be thankful for this Thanksgiving? Then I thought about Hebrews 6:19, which says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.”  As believer’s we have hope! Let’s look at an acronym for the word HOPE.

Hear God’s Word- “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

     We need to hear the word of God on a regular basis, not just on Sunday morning. I would encourage you to listen to teaching tapes or CD’s during the week.  We need to be feeding our spirit a daily dose of biblical teaching. And doing so will help build up our “hope tank.”  Remember in Romans 10:17 it says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Obedience – “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22

      Sometimes we think that by doing nice things, or giving money to the church will pacify God. But, it we truly want to walk in hope we will need to walk in obedience. You see, when you walk in complete obedience to the Lord you can live with the hope of Heaven in your heart. In recent weeks the Lord has really stirred within me this thing of obedience and drawing near to Him, nearer than I’ve ever been.

Prayer – “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” Romans 12:12

     Prayer. There is so much that could be said about this subject. Since our time and space are limited in this column let me simply say that spending quality time in God’s presence is one of the best things to do when you need hope restored in your life. Notice I said quality time, not quantity. While it would be great to spend several hours a day in prayer that just isn’t realistic for most of us. Let me encourage you to have a set aside time of prayer everyday for at least ten minutes. When you begin to consistently do this you will be amazed at how long you actually end up praying.

Expect a move of God – “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:3

     One of the ways we show that we expect a move of God is study the bible, pursue having more knowledge of God and his ways. Notice I didn’t say know about God, but to know him. Have a relationship with him. When we’re anticipating something good like an upcoming vacation, or a visit from a special friend it fills us with hope of something to look forward to.

     As we close let’s look at another scripture passage. Look at Romans 5:3-5… “3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

     When we go through rough times these verses promise us that if we stay connected to the Lord, the trial will produce his character in us and we will once again experience hope as God pours his love into our life.

     There is no doubt in my mind that someone out there reading this needs to be encouraged to hope again! God has a purpose and a plan for your life and it is good. Yes, there may be some hurdles to jump and some dark times to endure but as the scripture says, joy comes in the morning! Hallelujah!

     If you are struggling and need a word or prayer of encouragement please feel free to drop us a line or give us a call. Our website and contact information is listed below

 www.healinghearts4jesus.org

Real Freedom

      

Recently I was pondering the word freedom. What does it really mean?  While thinking about this I began to think about how I could encourage you to walk in true freedom. Let’s look at a few principles below that will show us where and how we can know true freedom. This is just a brief overview. There’s so much more I’d like to share, just not enough space here.

Freedom is found in God’s presence

     “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  Psalm 16:11

     Whether you’re in worship at church or in your own home in prayer before God, while in his presence you can gain freedom in your life. A few minutes in the presence of God will often do more for us than any counselor or medicine could ever do. Now, I am not against counselors or medicine, just stating that God is far more powerful.

Freedom is found in obedience

     I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. Psalm 119:45NLT

     We must make a decision that we will choose to walk in obedience to God’s ways. How can we do this?

Obey God’s Commandments – This verse shows us very clearly that freedom can be obtained when we obey God’s commandments. Sounds simply enough, eh? No, it’s not always easy.  In Galatians 5:17 it tells us that the flesh wars against the Spirit. We’re in a spiritual battle. Satan’s time is short and he doesn’t want to face eternal judgment alone. He is determined to take as many of us with him as he can.

Repent – If you haven’t obeyed recently or in the past, don’t give up. There is hope through repentance. Look at what Acts 3:19 says. “"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Repentance brings refreshing and newness into our lives.

 Freedom is found in forgiveness

     “31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

     I won’t spend a lot of time on this because it was covered in a previous column last year. However, I will say that forgiveness is one of the most powerful principles for freedom in our lives. If we spend our lives carrying grudges and hurts from five, ten, 20, thirty years ago; we’re only wasting our lives. Unforgiveness deeply affects us spiritually, physically and emotionally. Friend, trust me… If someone has hurt you forgive him or her. By not doing so you’re hurting yourself more than you’re hurting them.

     My next point may step on some toes. I share it not just from my own experience, but also in accordance with the Word of God.

Freedom is found in the Holy Spirit

     “Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom.”  2 Corinthians 3:17NLT

     Regretfully there are many churches that are doing their own thing, setting their own agenda and putting God in a box. When a congregation refuses to allow the Holy Spirit to be in control of their services, they lack true freedom. The scripture we just read makes that very clear.  Self is one of the biggest hindrances to walking in the freedom Christ has provided for us. One preacher said; “Oh if only I could forget self.” An evangelist responded with – “You would if you were more taken up with Christ, and you would be more taken up with Christ if you were more fully in the hands of the Holy Spirit.”

Allow me to share one last point.

Freedom is found in moving forward

     Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

     In other words, if Jesus has set you free in a particular area of your life don’t allow yourself to get in situations that will draw you back into it. If he set you free from drinking, drugs, anger, depression, homosexuality, etc. The devil will try to put you in places to bring you down. So how can you fight this? Look what James 4:7-8 says’

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

      In closing, my friend, if you’re feeling defeated and hopeless, don’t give up! Real freedom is available, but it can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Find a pastor or Christian friend and ask them to help you pray to give your life to the Lord. I promise you will not regret it!

   If you struggle with anything, addictions, shame, fear, anger, divorce, grief, etc.  Let me know so that I can pray for you and encourage you to pursue to freedom God has for you.