December 31 - Revelation 19:1-22:21

Good morning everyone,

Wow! We made it all the way through the Bible. What an exciting day! I am going to be honest with you, a year ago when the Lord asked me to go through the Bible chronologically and to each day write a devotional for the day, I questioned what I could possibly say each and every day that would be worth writing down. But God is good. So good! He does not ask us to do anything and then leave us hanging. Every morning He faithfully saw me through. Some mornings I found myself wondering, “where did that come from?” Always I thought, “Way cool! Thank you Jesus.” 

To the faithful who traveled with me most every single morning I want to express my gratitude. You have totally blessed my life. Your interest and dedication to my writing not only encouraged me but strengthened me when I was sick or weary and inspired me to move forward when I just plain didn’t feel like getting up. I am not delusional and think that I am some great writer, but you have made me feel like one. Words could not express how much I truly loved your faithfulness and company on my journey through the Bible this year. I will suffice to say, “Thank you!” 

Today, I believe, is the best day of reading yet and we have read some pretty amazing stuff. Right? When Jesus came to earth the first time He came to deal with our sins. The next time He comes He will deal with sovereignty. What does that mean exactly? “ Basically, sovereignty is God's control over His creation, dealing with and ruling over all reality.” Jesus will come and make everything as it should be. Totally awesome!

 Check this out, John says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” Let your mind’s eye see this huge white stallion, perhaps a bit frisky in it’s steps, anxious in anticipation for what is coming. Mounted on this steed is Jesus. Jesus the messiah, the mighty King all of Israel looked for so many years ago but failed to see, instead they hung Him on a cross.

Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword. Jesus will cast out, do away with, eliminate the wicked kings, and the unbelieving Christ-rejecting people left on earth.They will perish, not by a bomb or military weapons, but by the words that Jesus speaks from His lips as He returns to the earth! The beast along with the false prophet and stat himself will be captured, held captive for a thousand years only to ultimately be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The devil knows the end of the story, is it any wonder he wants to take someone, anyone down with him? Misery and wickedness loves company.

Then, though John says, “I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. This is so exciting! The new Jerusalem is a perfect cube with twelve layers and thick walls made of jewels suggesting purity and durability not to mention beauty. There will be no artificial sun, the city will be enveloped by God himself, His glory will illuminate the city. Oh friends, fellow Christians, this is our home! This is what we have to look forward to, what we should be working towards while here on earth because not everyone will be allowed into the new Jerusalem but only those whose names are written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Eternal life, residency in heaven, is not automatic. You can not inherit it from you parents, glean it from your spouse, buy it from a friend. It is only available through the blood of Christ. You must be born again! You must repent of your sins, dump them at the cross where Jesus suffered and died for them then ask Jesus to be you Lord and Savior. There is not other way to become a citizen of the new Jerusalem and claim a room in the amazing mansion being built for all who choose Christ. Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” I say, “Do it today.”

We do not know the day or the hour, but Jesus will return. Most scholars and teachers of the Word believe it is in the very near future. All prophecy has has been fulfilled, all requirements are in place. It begs the question, “Are you ready?” 

God loves you, He loves me, He desperately loves us all. he gave us the Bible, our book of hope, our road map for life and He on calls us to believe and to endure in our faith because great thing await us, fellow Christian. Believe on that! Revelation 22:20-21 says, “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen.Come, Lord Jesus.The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” And all God’s people said ….. Amen!

Have a good day and to God be all glory honor and praise.

God bless you all …..

December 30 - Revelation 15:1-18:24

Good morning everyone,

Chapter 15 begins the preparation for the last seven bowls, they are the last seven and final plaques on mankind. The wrath of God began with the seven seals in chapter 6 and now will be finished with the last seven bowls.

All throughout history God has poured out his wrath in judgment on sinners. It began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, continuing on to the people of Noah’s time and so on and so on. Now in Chapters 15 and 16 we see the final outpouring of God's wrath before Christ's return. 

What I really loved this morning was: John said, “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” 

The victorious were singing praises to our God. that totally blessed my heart, they had gone through some really wicked days where defeat stared them straight in the face. It begs the question, how many of us have experienced defeat? How many of us have had armies come against us in life? Stress, sadness, grief, anxiety, worry, tension with other people, sickness, the list goes on and on of the armies of life that rise up against us. We feel overwhelmed, outnumbered, and hopeless? Well, we too can claim our victory in Jesus, it is ours because it was won on a wooden cross by our precious Savior. Right?

I know I have posted it before, but there is only one more post this year so I am going to share it again today, a song that says it all: Victory in Jesus by Eugene Monroe Bartlett.

It goes:

I heard an old, old story,

How a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary

To save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning,

Of His precious blood's atoning,

Then I repented of my sins

And won the victory.

I heard about His healing,

Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.

How He made the lame to walk again

And caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,

Come and heal my broken spirit,"

And somehow Jesus came and bro't

To me the victory.

I heard about a mansion

He has built for me in glory.

And I heard about the streets of gold

Beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing,

And the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I'll sing up there

The song of victory.

O victory in Jesus,

My Savior, forever.

He sought me and bought me

With His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him

And all my love is due Him,

He plunged me to victory,

Beneath the cleansing flood.

Jesus loved us way before we knew Him and no matter the battle, we have victory in Jesus, It may not always look like we want it to, but it is there and ours to claim. For If God is for us, who can be against us? Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the Glory.

God bless you all ….

December 29 - Revelation 11:1-14:20

Good morning everyone,

Today finds us halfway through the Tribulation period in our reading of the Book of Revelation. John has been given a reed like a measuring rod, which would be about ten feet high, and told to go measure the temple of God. Right now, in Jerusalem, there is no temple. The third and last temple built in the city was leveled, as Jesus told us in Matthew and in Luke it would be, by the Romans in 70 A.D. Interestingly enough, there are preparations already being made for the rebuilding (actually building) of the 4th temple, with videos circulating to promote the idea, so who knows how near or far in the future it will be. This is a really fascinating topic to me, one which the hand of God can clearly be seen putting things in place and while I could go on and on about it I will instead move on to the two witnesses who, “have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.” Another fascinating subject.

Who are these two witnesses? Well, it’s not known for sure, however, most everyone agrees they are Elijah and Moses and they do qualify. Elijah in 2 Kings called down fire from heaven, prayed for a drought, which ultimately happened, and actually Elijah actually never died. Remember? He instead rode to heaven in a fiery chariot. - Moses, he commanded all the plagues on Egypt beginning with turning the waters to blood and then too remember in Jude, Michael the archangel argued with satan over the body of Moses, God obviously had plans for it.

Both Elijah and Moses have history in revisiting earth once before, at the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17. So it is not a big stretch to put these two men in the temple square, prophesying for 1,260 days.

Life as we know it is going to be nonexistent, in these days to come. It will be messed up. A quarter of the population will have already been wiped out and the remaining folks will be required to wear the mark of the beast. We’re told, “all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, will be forced to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Don’t do it! I know it sounds absurd for me to even say that because who can fathom such a time. It sounds like a science fiction movie, no way can we wrap our heads around such mass killing and destruction or someone insisting we get a number tattooed on us. Right? But I am telling you, these events will take place. God does not lie. And if you are still on the face of this earth when all this goes down, friends, be strong, run and hide, stand and fight, do what ever is necessary to not let that mark be put on you because if you do … if you do … if you let them put the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead then you, “will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 

Friends, people, choose Jesus now. If I could figure out a way to say it stronger I would, it is that crucial. Don’t waste one more minute, fall to your knees, repent of your sins and ask Him into your heart to be your God, your Savior. Turn your life over to Him today. If you do, when you do, you will not face any of the wicked, out of control, torment that will run rampant during the tribulation period. You will have already been called up, with the rest of the church to meet Jesus in the heavens before it all gets started. I promise you, no one wants to be here after the rapture of the church, it will get more awful than your worst nightmare. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Choose Jesus today. Tomorrow may be too late. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 28 - Revelation 7:1-10:11

Good morning everyone,

Revelation 7 begins with, “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.” Saw what? Well the earth had just experienced a mass earthquake when the Lamb broke the sixth seal, none like we have ever seen. It was so intense we’re told that everyone, from the most powerful and wealthy to the poorest of slave or free person, hid themselves in caves, crying to the mountains to fall down on them to hide them. 

Imagine, if you will, see in your mind’s eye how still all of the earth was after this natural disaster of mass destruction. The angels have stopped all of the winds on land and sea, nothing is moving. It will be quite eerie, I rather imagine, and there John is in the midst of it, viewing it, trying to make sense of it. What is going through his head? Then, out on the horizon, he sees another angel headed his way, seal in hand, calling out to the four angels saying, “Wait! Wait! Hold the show, we need to place this seal on the 144,000 who will be servants to God” (slightly paraphrased) This is awesome! 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, 144,000 will be saved in the  tribulation. Perhaps they were saved by direct confrontation like Paul was, maybe not, but whatever the case, it serves to prove to us that God is not through with His chosen. The covenant He made with them over two thousand years ago He is honoring. The promises were unconditional, do you remember that? They cannot be forfeited. Despite how fickle and the many times they turned their back on Yahweh, He loves them and is true to His word. He would not turn His back on them and He will not turn His back on you or me either. LOVE that!

We also read today that John saw a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, wearing white robes, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Most scholars would agree that these are the people who came to believe in Jesus during the tribulation. In Luke 15:10 it says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” and here we see the angels rockin’ out. 

While it is true if you are “left behind” there will still be a way for you to serve God in heaven as opposed to spending forever in the fiery pits of hell, you can believe it to be just as true that it will not be easy. Jesus Himself warned against false Christs, false prophets, false Christians, many deceptive miracles, signs and wonders and a counterfeit messiah. At that point in time, only the martyred will spend eternity in the presence of Jesus. It begs the question, “If you can not live for Jesus now today, how will you ever be strong enough to die for Him later?” 

Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” I think we all want saved, right. I would encourage you to make it easy on yourself and begin leaving for Jesus today. Don’t wait until being a martyr is your only choice. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all.

December 27 - Revelation 3:1-6:17

Good morning everyone,

Oh! My! Word! What an amazingly brilliant day of reading for someone such as myself who is able to see in their mind’s eye all that is being played out on the pages of this Scripture. Aww..some! But first, the letters.

Yesterday we read four of the letters, messages written on scrolls to the churches. Today, we looked at the final three of seven. The churches the letters went to, though they were actual churches in that time, carry a practical application for churches and believers today. Make sense? The first purpose of the letters was to communicate with the churches and meet their needs at that time. The second purpose was to reveal seven different types of individuals/churches throughout history and instruct them in God's truth. 

The churches and their messages were: 1-Ephesus; had forsaken it’s first love. 2-Smyrna; would suffer persecution. 3- Pergamum; they needed to repent. 4- Thyatira; they had a false prophetess. 5- Sardis; the church had fallen asleep. 6 Philadelphia; this church endured patiently. 7- Laodicea; they had a lukewarm faith. I love that each letter ends with, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” God hears our hearts and desperately wants to be close to us. He tells us, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” May I suggest we open up our hearts and let the Son shine in. Yes?

The throne of heaven. I have to admit, I am a wee bit envious of John, there in the Spirit checking out this throne. One of the first things I want to do when I get to heaven is see the throne of heaven and the one sitting there with the appearance of jasper and ruby, and the rainbow that shone like an emerald that encircled the throne. It excites me! I want to hear and join in with the four living creatures who never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Right? Who doesn’t?

I also want to join in with the voices of the many angels who, we’re told, numbered thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. And that they encircled the throne ,the living creatures, and the elders, and in a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Seriously friends, allow yourself to hear in you head how loud, how majestic, how reverent, all those voices praising God, praising our Lord, would be. It gives me goose bumps of delight. 

Friends, let that be our cry, day and night let us never stop saying, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” And all God’s people said …. Amen.

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 26 - Jude1:1-25, Revelation 1:1-2:29

Good morning everyone,

The book of Jude is super short but packs a super powerful message. It was written by Jude who calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother to James and he wrote to Christians everywhere to encourage them to them be on guard and get busy. He wanted them to recognize the dangers of false teachings, to protect themselves and other believers and to win back those who had already been fooled by the enemy. Many people simply do not want to believe that God sentences people to “eternal fire” for rejecting Him but it is clearly taught in Scripture. Jude warns all who rebel against, ignore or reject God. So the next time you speak with someone you know is not saved, speak up to them, share God’s Good News, give them a chance to save their lives.

The book of Revelation, finally friends, we made it. Great job!  Revelation is a crazy, some say complex, book to follow. It has baffled interpreters for centuries, as a matter of fact, some of the greatest biblical scholars will not even attempt do a commentary on the book. Personally, I find it fascinating. It was written by John, the same John who was the beloved of Jesus, who would lay his head on the chest of Jesus and the same John who was there waiting at the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying. Now, an old man of about ninety, John writes this astounding book. An amazing revelation God gave to Jesus, to give to John while he was in exile on the Greek island of Patmos where Roman emperor Domitian sent him to work the mines after John survived Domitian’s attempt to boil him to death in hot oil. I turned my mind’s eye off for that one.

The book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it. 1:3 says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” It is a threefold blessing, if you merely hear God’s Word and take it to heart you are missing out on a third of the blessing. The early church read the entire book of revelation every time they met. Imagine, if you will, how even more incredible it must have sounded to them, not being privy to our modern world of emails, test messages and Face Timing.

John, in speaking to his vision of Christ, says, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” Time to turn on your mind’s eye, folks. Now I am not one who appreciates being startled but I have got to tell you, as startling as that would have been, I would have loved it. What an honor!

When John turned around he reports seeing, “someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” Does that not excite you? It does me!!! And then, we’re told, John fell at his feet as though dead. Ummm, oh yes! I would have too :-) You?

Then Jesus said to John, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” The first words of Jesus to John personally identify him with the "I AM' of Scripture, for He calls Himself the "Alpha and Omega." These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The title signifies the completeness with which God revealed Himself to mankind through Christ. Make sense? This is nothing less than an official affirmation by Jesus of His personal deity.

The Lord God is the beginning and the end, God the Father is the eternal Lord and Ruler of the past, present and future. Without Him we have nothing that is eternal, nothing that could change our life, nothing that could save us from sin. It begs the question; Is the Lord your reason for living? The Alpha and Omega of your life? He has got to be or the only other choice you are left with is the “eternal fire” Jude warns us against. I would suggest that we all, choose Christ. Honor the one who is the beginning and the end of all existence, wisdom and power. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 25 -

Good morning everyone,

Christmas is a time that has been set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus;. Friends God loved us so much He gave His Son, the greatest gift ever given, that we may enjoy an abundant, God-kind of life. 

Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Luke 2:11 - For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.

Matthew 1:21 - And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Indeed we should rejoice and remembering this is the celebrated day of the birth of our Lord Christ. Happy Birthday Jesus! To you we give all glory, honor and praise. 

Have a very Merry Christmas and to God be all the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 24 - 1 John 1:1-4:6

Good morning everyone,

The book of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John was written by John, a son of Zebedee, and a brother of James. Yes, he also wrote the book of John and later the book of Revelation. At this point in his life John is an old man and the last living of the twelve apostles. Once carrying the nickname, along with his brother,  “Sons of Thunder” for their colorful characters and aggressive behavior, they later were transformed by God to become different men. More gentle, full of grace, loving men. James was the first apostle to be martyred for Christ, John went on to deliver a message of obedience to Jesus and love for all, telling us in 3:18, “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

John warns us of the spirit of the antichrist, making us aware that even now it is already in the world but that we should not fear because we, as Christians, are from God who has overcome the enemy, allowing us to be bold in the knowledge that the One who is in you, who is in me, is greater than the one who is in the world. Right? 

Jesus Christ, the one and only son of our Abba Father, humbled himself by coming to earth . He was obedient to death paying the debt for all sin, for all of forever, allowing us the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit, the “greater than the one who is in the world” dwell within us. I find that to be incredibly humbling, I lift up my hands and give Him all glory, honor and praise. There are no words to express the depth of my gratitude to God the Father, Christ Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit, so I will simply say, “Thank you!”

On this the 24th of December, the day we celebrate as the day before Jesus was born, I asked my friend earlier and I am going to put it to you now; could you imagine for a moment, if you will, on this the eve of Christ's birth over two thousand years ago, Mary, a girl herself of only 16 or 17 years old, 9 months pregnant riding into Bethlehem on a donkey and finding nowhere to stay but what is thought to probably be a shallow cave where livestock were fed. How frightened and still excited she must have been. Did she know all of what her son would grow to be? Did she consider her story would be told throughout all of time? A story that is true, needed to fulfill prophecy. What an amazing picture.

Our King humbled himself, leaving his throne in the heavenly realms to come into the world as a helpless little baby and grow to be our Savior. He did this for you, and He did this for me. I sometimes like to share lyrics I find particularly appropriate for what I have written and today is one of those days. The song speaks for itself and is definitely in my top 5 Christmas songs, it was written by Marc A. Martel, Jason Ronald William Germain and is  called ‘How Many Kings’ and goes like this;

Follow the star to a place unexpected. 

Would you believe after all we've projected

A child in a manger

Lowly and small, the weakest of all

Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mothers shawl

Just a child

Is this who we've waited for?

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

How many Gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that has torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior

All that we have whether costly or meek

Because we believe

Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure

And myrrh for the cross he'll suffer

Do you believe, is this who we've waited for?

It's who we've waited for?

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

How many Gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that has torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me

All for me

All for you

All for me

All for you 

He came for you. He came for me. He came for all who will let Him in. Our God’s love is more selfless and more powerful than anything known to man and that power lives in you, Christian. Believe in His love and power. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 23 - 1 Peter 5:12-14, 2 Peter 1:1-3:18

Good morning everyone,

While Peter wrote his first letter to teach about handling persecution, in his second letter he teaches them how to deal with false teachers and evildoers who have come into the church. 2 Peter was written toward the end of Peter’s life, he would soon be martyred, so he wrote about what was in his heart reminding his readers of the unchanging truth of the Gospel. Challenging them to be vigilant against falling into false doctrines giving us clues to help us recognize what that looks like and the consequence of choice.

Peter warn us that in the last days scoffers will say, “Where is your Jesus, He is not coming back.” He refutes their reasoning with explaining God’s time table is not the same as ours. We need to believe that our God is never late. He may not work on our timeline but He is always right on time despite our anxiousness, impatience, and worry. He will never be late.

You remember Lazarus, right? Jesus could have gotten up and been there before Lazarus died if He'd moved when He first got the news, but instead, Jesus waits until Lazarus is dead, in fact, by the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been dead for four days. 

Martha said, "If only you'd been here sooner."  But again, Jesus isn't limited to time as we are and sometimes when we feel like it's really getting bad, Jesus looks at it and says, "This is going to be good." Lazarus had been dead for four day, but then (love those words) came Jesus and the power of the resurrection reached into the tomb and touched a dead man's body and brought him out alive. Who would not want to have been there to see that? That would have been crazy great to see!

Friends, God causes things to happen at exactly the right time! Our job is not to figure out when, but to make up our minds that we won't give up until we cross the finish line and are living in the radical, outrageous blessings of God! The more we trust Jesus and keep your eyes focused on Him, the more life you'll have. Trusting God brings life. Believing brings rest. I would encourage us all to stop trying to figure everything out, and let God be God in our lives. His plan is perfect and He is right on time. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 22 - 1 Peter 2:4-5:11

Good morning everyone, 

1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Humble, according to Webster is: “Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.” The Bible describes humility as meekness, lowliness and absence of self. Being humble for most people brings to mind, low self esteem, allowing one’s self to be walked over, a form of weakness. Why do you suppose the Bible has so much to say about being humble? Maybe we’ve got it all wrong and the one who practices humility is actually the strong one?

When I think of humble I think of Moses. The Bible tells us that Moses was the meekest person at that time, however, this statement was made after Moses' conversion, not before. A lot of Moses' humility came by hindsight. Moses looked back and saw all the years God worked with him, even though he wasn't aware of it at times. God honors us when we are humble, it allows us to be open to His guidance. It’s only then that He can show us what is right and teach us in His way. Make sense?

How can we learn to walk humbly? Well we should all start by remembering it is God the Father, our Abba who is in charge and praising Him often. Then too, serve others. Mark 10:45 tells us, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus did not avoid any class of person. Rich or poor, even women with questionable reputations came to him knowing they would find understanding, forgiveness and also a command to go and sin no more. In Jesus we can truly see a person poor in spirit: humility, submission, service, faith and love.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good;and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” The proof of our humility before God is how we live among people. It is easy to say that we love God whom we do not see but true love is seen in our love for our neighbor and in our humility. Proverbs 27:1-2 “Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” I would encourage us all to be the strong one who at all times, lives in total submission to God and to other people, seeking their interests instead of our own. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 21 - Hebrews 13:1-25, 1 Peter 1:1-2:3

Good morning everyone, 

The book of 1 Peter was penned by Peter who was thought to be in Rome at the time suffering persecution at the hands of Emperor Nero. Throughout all of Rome Christians were being tortured and killed for their faith. Peter writes to the Christian Jews to comfort them with the hope of heaven and to challenge them to continually live holy lives. Peter also wants his readers to understand the grace of God. He wants every Christian to know what God has done for them and to learn more about Him.

1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” This gave me pause to wonder; “what do I look like to Joe Average on the street? How would I be identified? Oh there goes, “Matt’s wife”? Or “Karin’s mom?” Or hopefully “ a good Christian woman.” When we talk about an identity we are talking who we are as individuals and as a church. Right? Often, this identity is tied to our career; he’s a doctor, she’s a lawyer, that’s Bubba’s brother, (you get the picture) or our identity may also be tied to a political party, or where we serve in the church. However, a Christian identity is how God sees us and represents truly who we are, who we should be and how we should behave.  When we let that identity sink in and through us, it should transform our way of thinking, speaking and acting.  That is to say, we begin to live as God intended us to live. Make sense?

You’ll remember in Philippians 1:21 Paul told us, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”Paul was saying that everything he has tried to be, everything he is, and everything he looked forward to being pointed to Christ. From the time of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus until his martyrdom, every move he made was aimed at advancing the knowledge, gospel, and church of Christ. Paul’s singular aim was to bring glory to Jesus. 

During this season of the year it is easy to forget to “be holy in all we do” to live like Christ, as we get so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle and joy of the “holiday season.” It is rare to even hear “Merry Christmas” when out shopping. In it’s stead we hear “Happy Holidays” as a replacement. In the past two weeks I have heard more honking horns, angry shouts, and seen more people telling someone they are #1 by waving their hand, (if you know what I mean) then in all of the rest of the year combined. Christians, friends, may I suggest we not get drawn into any of this and remember the reason for the season, remember the joy of the Lord as we are out in all the merry madness.

This is the season of the birth of our Lord and Savior. Let us purpose to bring Him glory and honor by being and acting holy as He is holy while we celebrate with our loved ones this precious gift to us from our loving Abba. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 20 - Hebrews 11:1-12:29

Good morning everyone,

The Bible has much to say about faith. In today’s reading, Hebrews 11 which is often called the "Hall of Faith”, we find a list of people we have read about over the past year. It’s an impressive list of remarkable men and women whose stories stand out to encourage and challenge our faith. For me it was a nice walk down memory lane, with each name stopping to reflect on how obedient they were and, yes, faithful to what God called them to do.

In chapter 12 we are encouraged with, “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.”

Who loves his children more, the parent who allows their kiddo to do what will harm them or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help them learn what is right? It is never fun to be corrected or disciplined, especially by God but …. get this, but He disciplines us because He wants to see us grow up right in Him. He loves us that much. Make sense?

Moving down the chapter to verse 28 we read, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Friends eventually the world will crumble, it will. Only God’s kingdom will be left in tack and only those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts will be a part of this kingdom. Matthew 7:24-25 states that, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” 

So when the world gets crazy and things just don’t seem to make much sense, I would encourage you to pick up your Bible, read these verses and be reminded that no matter what happens our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed and be thankful, we have so much to be thankful for.

Our God is an all consuming fire, a God of compassion who has saved us from our sin and will save us from death. However, everything, and I mean everything that is worthless and sinful will be devoured by the fire of His wrath. Only what is good and dedicated to God will remain. It begs the question, what are you storing up? Is it good and righteous in our Abba’s eyes. Matthew 6:20 says, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” That is to say, our priorities should be set on simplifying our life for the kingdom of God, not accumulating “things” for our own earthly kingdom! Amen?

Have a great day and to God e the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 19 - Hebrews 8:1-10:39

Good morning everyone.

Hebrews 10:14-16, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

I love this! After Jesus died on the cross, cleansed us with His blood to make us perfect in God’s sight, He did not just leave it at that. Oh no! He left the Holy Spirit here on earth to progressively help make us holy so that we would be set apart for His special work. By no means is God finished with any of us, we all still need to grow in Him. How quickly we grow in Christ depends on each person individually. We can stimulate our growth process, our sanctification, by deliberately applying God’s Word to all areas of our lives. By recognizing when we are being disciplined, correct our behavior and heed to His guidance. By giving God total control of our lives. That seems simple enough, right? Well maybe not but He has put His laws in our hearts and written them on our minds, we should all “listen up” and choose to obey. 

Verse 17 says, “Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Dude, (yes, I said that … sorry) that is such a powerful statement! Once we ask for forgiveness, God will never, ever remember that sin. Psalm 103:12 says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Friends, this is great stuff! "East" is the direction from which the sun rises. No matter how far you go east you will still be facing toward the rising sun, the next time it rises. East never meets west.

North and south are different. Everything on the globe is north of the south pole, and vice versa. So yes, if you travel south to the south pole and keep going, you will then be heading north. That's because "heading north" and "heading south" are defined as "toward the north pole" and "toward the south pole." But since there are no west or east poles you will forever walk east. Awesome! As Christians we can be confident that the sins we confess are forgiven and forgotten forever and ever. 

Therefore, we should not harbor, sit on, wallow in, fret over, feel guilty about, or think on, any sin we have given over to God. Got it!? God Himself does not remember your sins, so why should you? He felt it was best to forget them, so honor Him and let them go. Whatever it is God has forgiven and forgot, you should too! I can’t say it enough. Some of you may have a rubuttle sounding a bit like, “Yea, but mine is so much worse because ___, God can not forget that.” To which I would reply, “If that’s what you think then you are calling God a liar and God does not lie! So stop it and believe Him.” God wants us to forgive ourselves and allow Jesus' blood to wash clean our conscience from all the evil we have done! Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” God made us new creations because He didn’t want our pasts to be a part of us anymore. I earnestly encourage you to let it happen! Let us all purpose to live with the firm belief we are forgiven and all our sins are forgotten. Lift your head up and know, you are forgiven because He was forsaken. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all…..

December 18 - Hebrews 4:14-7:28

Good morning everyone,

Today we read about Jesus the Great High Priest, what that means. In antiquity, the Jews depended on their high priest to represent them before the Lord. Right? He was the one who interceded for them before God. He alone entered the Most Holy Place and only once a year, to offer the blood sacrifices for the atonement of their sins. He was an important part of their relationship with God, but, get this …. but at the end of the day, the Jewish High Priest was just as human as everyone else.  

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus the Son of God, who conquered death, is our Great High Priest and that He is able to empathize with our weaknesses because He has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. Showing us that we have the power to say, “NO!” when then the enemy tempts us, seduces us with his beautifully wrapped, oh wouldn’t this be fun, gee just one time, wicked ways. 

We are encouraged to boldly approach God’s throne of grace with confidence any ole’ time we want, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Unlike the high priest of antiquity, Christ is always at God’s right hand, 24-7 interceding for us. He is always available to hear us when we pray, but approach with respect because He is our King.

I rather image it was hard for the Jews, the Gentiles too, but especially the Jews to make the transfer of putting their trust in a high priest they could physically see to a High Priest that they could not see but merely go on faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” Friends, life is a battle field with the enemy lurking, prowling about, capitalizing on every opportunity to shatter your confidence, your will. What keeps me going and I am sure what keep you going, as well, is our faith in God. When we purpose to keep our eyes on the Lord, we can keep on keepin’ on through anything no matter how horrific. If we keep His promises in mind, His presence is always with us. Make sense? His powers are our powers, and we can rest in His wisdom and strength. Imagine the weight that was lifted off the shoulders of those Jews of so long ago when they finally quit offering, spilling the blood of, bulls, goats and other such animals on an alter and put their hope, their faith in the blood of Christ.  

I love the peace that total faith in God allows us. Jesus said; "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” I would encourage you to take whatever is causing you heartache and pain and drop it off at the cross, because faith in God and allowing God to do the work can change any situation. Our Great High Priest can part waters, close the mouths of lions, heal the terminally ill, bring the dead back to life and so much more. He wants to help you, He is waiting for you to give it up to Him. Do it now, feel the warmth of His love and the peace that surpasses all understanding. Jesus loves us, this I know. For the Bible tells us so. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

December 17 - 2 Timothy 4:19-22, Hebrews 1:1-4:13

Good morning everyone,

The book of Hebrews is a letter written mainly to the Hebrew believers. The author of this book remains a mystery, though originally Paul was thought to have penned it but that was rejected because the writing style of Hebrews is much different from that of his other letters and too, Paul always identified himself.  Hebrews is thought to be written later in the era of the early church but before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Its purpose was to present the Lord Jesus Christ as perfect and superior in comparison to anything Judaism and the old covenant had to offer. The author was writing to a group of Christians who were under intense persecution and some were contemplating a return to Judaism. He warned them not to turn away from their only hope of salvation.

 I love the beautiful picture Hebrews paints of Jesus; who He is and what He has done, don’t you? We get a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the God man more clearly than we do in any other book of the Bible and because He is what He is and has done what He has accomplished for us, we have a covenant better than that of Israel. In every way we have things better than those enjoyed by the Israelites. 

In 4:12-13 we read, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” The Bible is not simply a collection of words from God. No way, it is so much more. It is alive! It is living, life changing and energetic as it works in us with the precision of a surgeons scalpel. God’s Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It rebukes us. It chastens us. It comforts us. It guides us and gives light to our path. It preaches to us. It restrains our foot from evil. It frowns on us when we sin. It warms our hearts with assurance. It encourages us with its promises. It stimulates our faith. It builds us up. It ministers to our every need. It is alive and dynamic. No other book ever written has that effect.

Friends, God loves us so much He gave us His Word, a set of  “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” the BIBLE. to help us at this weigh station called earth.  I would encourage you to use this gift, this tool to see you through each day. To learn your God, explore who He is and how much He loves you. Then prepare to be amazed the difference, how increasingly better a life following God’s plan is. Not always easier, but infinitely better. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..