3/2/2011

Job 30:20-31:40

• Self-examination: Where am I with You, Lord?
• The just shall live by faith. We have faith in God, even though we may not understand His ways. We don’t have to understand. He is God. He understands.
• If I lost it all, would my hands stay lifted to the God who gives and takes away? If You take it all, this live You’ve given, still my heart will sing to You!
  - I’m Still Yours, Kutless
• When we abide in Christ, nothing can hurt us in judgment.
• “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” – James 1:20
• God is merciful when we stumble. That’s grace.
• The love of God involves a reverent fear.
• Even when God does not answer your prayers right away, you are not insignificant to Him. You are not a heap of ruins. He hears your every cry. Be patient, He will rescue you!
• “I will rejoice in Yahweh!”
• I don’t know how I will physically survive, but I do know how I will spiritually survive!
• Stop being so focused on what YOU want and start focusing on what GOD wants for you.
• Resist the devil and he will flee from you. But maybe not right away. And he will probably come back. Lean on God!
• It is way easier to keep a bird out of your house than it is to get the bird out once it is there. Likewise, it is way easier to not sin than it is to stop sinning. Resist temptation!
• Set your life to sail towards righteousness!
• God is just and fair. He will deal with sin. In His time.
• Watch that in your zeal you do not become the devil’s puppet.

Dead to sin, alive in Christ!

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
– Romans 6:1-2

“What then, shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Certainly not!”
– Romans 6:15

We, as Christians, are to be dead to sin. Before we were saved, we were in bondage to sin. But Jesus paid the ransom for us and now we are free! Why then would we go back??? Just because there is grace doesn’t mean that we should take advantage of that!

If you read Romans 6, you will find that Paul speaks a lot about being a slave. Whose slave are you? We don’t have to be slaves to sin, we have been set free! “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

Fight against your sin! Ask Jesus for help; He is there for you! He will never ever leave you! It is a struggle, but it is worth it!

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”
– Romans 6:22

Deuteronomy 33:27

“The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!'”

Remember who your refuge is. The world has nothing to offer you. When you are down, remember that the ETERNAL GOD is waiting for you with open arms. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). You will be safe in His arms. Rejoice in that.

 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

“The greatest of these is love…”

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith. Hope. Love. Do you have these? Do you abide in them? Abide: verb: to remain; continue; stay (dictionary.com). Remain, continue, stay in faith, hope,  and love.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). Let your love be what people see when they look at you. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Love is a huge aspect of our faith, and also our witness.

Remember to show love to those around you, even those who are hard to love. People notice that. Would you rather someone notice that you are strangely kind or incredibly rude? I would much rather someone remember me as kind. If someone notices that, they may ask about the joy that is in you. What an incredible opportunity to witness about God’s unfailing love!

Be like Jesus! Think about what He would do when you aren’t sure what you should do.

 

“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” – 1 Peter 2:17

Rejoicing in Jesus

“This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24

It is so easy to rejoice and be glad when God gives us great days. On those days when the weather is beautiful and everything is going our way.

But what about the days when things aren’t going our way? I know that I can be grumpy when I am having a bad day, but it is something I struggle against. We should still rejoice! Jesus didn’t ask us to take up our cross and follow Him when we feel like it or when we have a good day; He wants us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He will help us, but we have to take the first step.

Going through Job at church has been a blessing. Through all his circumstances, Job still said “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Let us be like that. Don’t allow your circumstances define who God is.

I love that when we are having a bad day, we can still approach God. He wants us to. He wants us to tell Him how we feel. Sometimes, I pray that He will help me to put a smile on my face and have a better attitude. The greatest part is that He is always faithful! :)

So until we get home and every day is an amazing day, let us shine for Jesus here on Earth! :)

2/23/2011

Job 29:1-30:19

• God has a history of allowing His servants to suffer. But God’s people have a history of staying with Him even when He allows them to suffer.
• It is the love of God that allows His people to suffer. The people’s love of God keeps them going.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:7 – God' is restraining evil from taking over until He removes His church.
• Preach the word two times a year: in season and out of season!
• When God returns, will He find faith? Make sure He can find it in you.
• "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
  - Joshua 24:15
• Emotions are good to have on the ship, but don’t let them be the captain.
• If God pulled back all the blessings in your life, would you still love Him?
• Be clothed in righteousness all the time. It is not just for a costume party.
• You can’t “moonlight” as a Christian.
• When someone is hurting you, you still have to turn the other cheek. Don’t let yourself do what comes “naturally” – that’s what we are trying to avoid!
• No warning in Scripture is gender-specific; they are all for sinners.
• A wife should side with her husband; a husband should protect his wife.

2/20/2011

2 Corinthians 5:9-16

• Self-centeredness (rather than Christ-centeredness) leads to becoming a problematic Christian who is difficult to get along with. Focus on Jesus and the rest will fall into place.
• Don’t allow your circumstances affect who you are for Jesus. Showing yourself pity for what’s happening to you makes you less effective.
• If we are conscious of our salvation and its splendor and wonder, we are a threat to the enemy. That’s a good thing!
• Are you a threat to Satan and his agenda? If you aren’t, that’s a problem. Examine yourself.
• When you walk into a room, do you bring the joy of Christ or gloom?
• Our aim is to please God: here or there, dead or alive.
• Psalm 106:3: “Blessed are those who keep justice, And he who does righteousness at all times!”
• Make your first aim to please God. Everything else will fall into place.
• Be satisfied with the simplicity of your faith. We don’t need the world’s fads or help. All we need is God’s word, solid teaching, and fellowship. We don’t need other doctrine.
• Love is a critical component of our faith.
• In the Bible, where you read “the blood of Jesus Christ,” you can think “the love of Jesus Christ.” He died because of His love. Only LOVE held Him on the cross, not the nails. He could have called a legion of angels in, but He loves us.
• “I don’t have a value system I have a LORD – Jesus Christ. And I have value in what He says.” – Pastor Rick
• Be the person who, when you get out of bed, the devil thinks “Oh no, they’re up!”

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King! Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the King!!!