Losing My Life

    Sometimes the difficulties of life can seem overwhelmingly big. It can be hard to see past the circumstances that surround us to the God who has His hand on it all. I want to remind you today that whatever you are facing, the battle is already won! Jesus is victorious and the same power is alive in you.  Romans 8:11   The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. (NLT)     Long ago when Lucifer (Satan) rebelled against God in heaven, he failed. God cast him down to earth and to await his sentence of eternal damnation in hell. As he waits, his goal is to cause pain to God's children and bring them to down to hell with him. However, we have been freed of that! Jesus death and resurrection are no joke. When He was raised from the dead, He loosed Satan's hold on us for all who would choose to accept Him and His gift of life. The

    It is clearly stated a number of times in scripture that by doing good for the Lord, we will be persecuted with Him. But with that comes a huge blessing. So how are we supposed to act in times of unjust persecution? It is easy to fall under the weight of it all and question our hearts and actions. Were we really doing what the Lord asked of us, or truly mistaken? How do we prevent the doubt and sadness that comes with persecution for Jesus Christ? 2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (NLT) Matthew 5:10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (NLT)    At one point in my life, I was completely chastised by nearly everyone around me for doing what Jesus asked of me. I too questioned myself when authority figures in my life told me I was wrong. However, Jesus showed me how to get through it with joy! My little secret to dealing with persecution is to make a g

Mark 13:32-37 "Now concerning that day or hour no one knows--neither the angels in heaven nor the Son-- except the Father. Watch! Be alert! For you don't know when the time is coming. It is like a man on a journey, who gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. Therefore be alert, since you don't know when the master of the house is coming-- whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. Otherwise, he might  come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!" (HCSB) Hebrews 9:28 So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him . (ESV) Matthew 24:42-44 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have

1 Corinthians 13:7-8   Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (ESV)     What is the best way to lead a person to the truth? It is not by condemning them or pushing truth on them, but by loving them. We love people through their struggles and sins as Jesus works on changing them. We cannot change people, so it is important to know what we can do in our relationships to help someone along to Christ.      Everything starts from a place of love. We make our unconditional love clear to others. We do not reject anyone for sin that they are living in (or wrongs previously committed), but rather, introduce them to the merciful love of Christ. We listen to them without judgement and treat them as our brother or sister. Then, we are able to speak into their life.      We speak life to them when they are tired of living in the darkness and seeking our help. When you grow in your relationships with others, they trust you. And i

    When stressful situations come into our life, it is tempting to freak out. We innately begin to figure out how we are going to handle the stressor. This just causes more stress. Why? Because we cannot handle it on our own. Stressful circumstances in life are the perfect opportunity to trust God and build your faith.      We often do not recognize the day-to-day struggles that God uses to try and build us up and draw us to Himself. We can think that those every day stressors have nothing to do with God! We think it is completely up to us to pass a class or get our work done before a deadline, etc. But Jesus should play a role in every part of our lives.      It has been amazing to me to see how He has tested my faith in areas I thought had nothing to do with! School was one of them. We are taught in the world that you get out what you put in. If that were true with God, we would all be going to hell. Of course we do our best, but His grace is here to fill in where we lack du

    When we attend a contemporary church service, the first thing most of them do is have worship together. The congregation may stand up, sing, kneel, clap, or raise their hands during this time. But what does this all mean? Why do we worship? Let's not just go through the motions, let's seek to understand why we do the things we do.     First of all, we worship before a message at church so that we can ready our hearts to receive what the Lord wants to tell us through our pastor. The act of worship is turning our attention on the greatness of our God. It is reminding us of how wonderful He is. It is laying every burden aside to trust Him with our lives. When we are truly worshipping, the posture of our heart is changed to thanksgiving and praise towards the Lord. When we start from that place, we are much more apt to receive His word.     Worship is not a performance. It is not who has the best voice, dance moves, or raises their hands the longest that dictates the sincer

    In this world, there is darkness because Satan still resides here, awaiting His punishment. There is trouble and pain in this world because of him. Sometimes those things are distracting to us. We see the darkness and are overwhelmed with how seemingly far-reaching it is. But today I want to remind you, that Jesus has already won.     There is no darkness that the light cannot reach. There is nothing too big for our God. Stop looking at the circumstances and start looking to Jesus! He has made us to be the light of the world. We are the ones who carry His presence and are casting out darkness in all the ends of the earth. Carry that name with confidence!     Remember today not to fear the circumstances and darkness you see, but to have confidence in the victor that you know-- Jesus Christ. He has conquered the grave, He has overcome the world, and He has beaten this enemy! Let His light shine through you into the world and cast out the darkness starting today. John 8:12 Agai

    I know a lot of people who are always talking about their tomorrows. They talk about the things they think will eventually make them happy and fulfilled. When I have a husband, a better job, kids, my degree, etc. then life will be great. Sadly, when those very things happen in their lives, they are too caught up in the next big thing to enjoy it. We can talk a lot about tomorrow, but what about today?     What are you doing today to reap good fruit into your life? Are you chasing dreams, anxiously looking ahead, or enjoying what the day has to offer? When we know Jesus Christ, He is available to us at every moment and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If we could stop looking forward and start looking to Him in the present, we would see the wonderful things we have available to us today. Our King is available to talk to us today. He wants to spend time with you and and reveal more of Himself. Are you ready to open your eyes to Him? Galatians 6:7-8   Do not be decei

    The church environment is made to be the body and the family of Christ. We are supposed to love each other and support each other through everything. Sadly, this is not the attitude of most churches in America today. Unfortunately, many people bring the world into the church instead of bringing the church into the world.      A lot of people use the church as a place where they can jockey for positions and get recognized for their talents. They use it as a place where they can judge and condemn others from the safety of their own elite clique. They look down condescendingly on those they see sinning, while sweeping their own sin under the rug.  They cause division. This attitude comes straight out of the world without Christ.  Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (NIV)     A church is a place where we exalt Jesus and help each other to grow in Him and fulfi

     When we see the people we love making bad decisions, our heart aches to help lead them to Jesus and away from the destruction that comes from following the world's path. When we know the way to peace and joy, we yearn to show it to them. Sharing the truth from a place of love is how we come to fullness in Christ. However, we run into difficulties when we take on too much responsibility for others instead of giving them to Jesus.  Ephesians 4:15   Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (NIV)     Whether we are helping lead someone to salvation, or just helping our fellow believers to grow more in their faith, we can get very invested in the process. Oftentimes the people we are ministering to are those whom we care very much about. This makes it extremely difficult to sit still and watch them figure things out on their own. Nevertheless, there comes a time when that is all

Matthew 20:11-18   Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  Mary Ma

    Like I said yesterday, Jesus' pain and suffering on the cross was not for nothing. The same goes for us in our lives, the pain and suffering we endure lasts only a season, and it strengthens us for the future. The day Jesus paid for our sins on the cross bought us an eternity of life in paradise. Even though it wasn't easy for Him to endure, it was well worth it to Him to save those whom He loves.     If you are going through a rough time right now, do not  be dismayed. It is only a season and it is not meant to last forever. Tough times grow our trust in the Lord and our knowledge of His love for us. He wants to draw us nearer and nearer to Him and He can use difficult circumstances to woo us to Him. Remember that it isn't His will to let us suffer our whole lives! He will come through and bring restoration to our situation.     Be encouraged and trust in His timing. This will not last forever! And it does not compare that the joy that is coming for those who don&#

    Today, it being good Friday, I think it good to take a moment to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. Good Friday symbolizes the day he died for our sins. Personally, I can admit that I don't like to think about it. I know we should be focusing on the victory, but I do sometimes overlook the weightiness of the cross.     Jesus grew up and knew what His fate would be. He knew what was coming, and He did it anyway. He knew that he would die a gruesome death. On that cross. He bore the sins of all mankind. He took the punishment that we deserve and then some! He suffered so that we wouldn't have to. He gave us new life. And He didn't have to do any of it. So why did He? Matthew 26:39   Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (NIV)     He longs for us. He is jealous for us. He loves us more than we could ever fathom. He emptied Him

Revelation 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (ESV)     When you think of a gentleman what comes to mind? A man who holds open doors, pulls out your chair, and helps you with your coat? Whatever your definition is, one thing I think we can agree on is that a gentleman is never pushy. He is "gentle" and meek, respecting all those around him. To me, Jesus is the perfect example of a gentleman.     A gentleman never pushes for his way, but respects your thoughts and opinions even if they disagree with his own. But that doesn't mean that he lets his own beliefs fall to the wayside because of what you believe. Does that not describe Jesus? He waits for us to make our choices, but remains the same perfect, faithful and unchanging God. We were always created to have free will. We have a choice to have a relationship with Jesus, or not. To sin, or not. To love Him,

1 Peter 4:10-11 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. (NLT)     We are all designed with unique gifts from God that are to be used to show His glory through us. Every one of us carries our own little piece of Jesus for the world to see. All we have to do with these gifts is receive them and use them to bring Him glory.     We were not given gifts only to sit on them or use for our own selfish enjoyment. They are meant to glorify Jesus Christ. We get to enjoy the benefits of that, but the gifts themselves are not solely for us. Everything He gives us is for a purpose. It is our job to identify our gift

   Throughout our lives, God is constantly in the process of transforming us into His image as we draw near towards Him. He does this, in part, by allowing tough circumstances to come into our lives to test and strengthen our relationship with Him. Will we lean on Him in those instances? Or succumb to the worldly way of dealing with things?      The times that God uses to grow us, can also be used to help grow and encourage others. This is done by sharing the testimony of what God has done in our lives with those around us. Jesus often connects us with people who are going through the same things we have already gone through so that we might be able to encourage them with how He came through for us, and will come through for them. We are to always be boasting about the work that Jesus is doing in our lives.      The word warns us not to be ashamed of the work He has done in our lives. Jesus wants us to be proud followers of the One True King and to humbly share His work in o

    Today I read through a book in the Bible I rarely hear talked about-- the book of Jude. Come to find out, Jude was a brother of Jesus! He identifies himself as the brother of James in the opening of his letter, but it is the same James who was the brother of Jesus. For me, knowing that information gives me a different perspective while reading the book.     Jude tells us about false teachers who we are warned will infiltrate our churches, and the importance of being aware of them. He also tells us how to treat them. The way that he outlines it makes a lot of sense to me. He tells us to be careful of these people, but not to give up on them. To continue to be steadfast in leading them into the truth. Our goal as Christ followers is always to lead as many people to Jesus as possible. We can't just give up on them! In being persistent and patient with love, we literally snatch people from the flames of hell.     We also have to be careful to protect ourselves from the spirits

    Coming to know Jesus as our King means our spirits are reborn and reconnected to God when we accept Him in our heart. This highlights the great importance of our spirits! We were created to be spirits with a body, not bodies with a spirit. Why then, do we not approach life from a spiritual perspective over a natural one? We seek to solve problems with earthly solutions and with an earthly mentality when we have access to powerful spiritual weaponry through the name of Jesus Christ.     We look at sickness as a simple infection we've picked up as opposed to an attack to be prayed against. We think of finances under the constraints of a budget we put together rather than asking Jesus what He wants to do with our (His) money.  We judge people for their actions and never stop to think of the reason why they're acting that way, from Jesus' standpoint. These are just some examples of how real the spiritual world around us actually is! Jesus reigns over everything and there

    When we are in the process of finding our husband or wife to be (or in our current marriage), it is important to keep a few things in focus. Namely, that our focus should always be on Jesus. Did you know that we all (women and men!) are created to be the bride of Christ? How does that change your views on marriage and relationships? Isaiah 54:5  For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. (NLT)     We are supposed to be living with our God as our spouse. That means that He is the one we want to please, the one we confide ourselves in, the one whom we give our all. He is supposed to be put above your spouse when you have one. He should have the ultimate closeness to us and all our love and affection. The funny thing is, when you love the Lord that much, it flows out towards others! And even your spouse. We were created to love the Lord first, then love others as ourselves. I

    As Christians, one of the biggest struggles in my opinion, is setting aside time for God. Some people have this down to a t. They wake up every morning and spend an hour or so with Jesus. However, with the realistic knowledge that life will change and circumstances won't always allow for me to have that time in the mornings, it can be difficult. How do we make sure that we are saving time for Jesus in our hectic lives?     The most important thing that comes to mind is the temptation and circumstances that Satan tries to throw at us to keep us away from anything beneficial, including our time with Jesus. Satan knows that those moments alone with our Savior are crucial for our growth and relationship with Him. These are often the times when Jesus personally ministers to our hearts. The times when we get to fellowship with Him exclusively. Do you realize the importance of that? Satan does! 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is

    In the church world, we always hear about the great "I am," but what does that mean? In Exodus, God meets Moses and identifies Himself to him this way. The conversation as is follows: Exodus 3:13-15   But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. (NLT)     To me, the adjectives that follow this phrase are filled in throughout the pages of the books in the Bible and our own personal life. It conveys how all encompassing our God is. We see Him in different ways throughout our lives, but He is always goo

1 Timothy 4:1-5   I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.     Being a Christian doesn't mean living an easy life, but rather, being led along in life by a perfect, loving Savior who works through us. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep trucking along and proclaiming Jesus when things don't seem to be going very well. Some will push us away for our faith in Jesus Christ and y

    Do you ever sit back and contemplate how quickly life goes by? One moment you're hoping to grow up and the next you're wishing you had your childhood back. Sometimes it can feel like we are driving in the fast lane of life. With that in mind, it is important for us as believers to remember that we are not permanent residents of this earth.      We are told that our citizenship is in Heaven with our creator. This life will only last but a few short years in the light of eternity with our savior. We are to live with this in mind. The suffering and the toil of this life are only temporary! But while we are here, we have much work to do. When rough seasons come, we have all of eternity to look forward to. Keep your eyes up towards Heaven and be steadfast as we complete our work on earth with Jesus. It is more than worth it! Philippians 3:20-21   But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enabl

    When we are born again, we have to adjust our lifestyle. There is much grace for the transition while we learn how to walk out our faith, however, it is critical to be aware of what we fill ourselves with during the infancy of our Christianity especially. We need a solid foundation to begin our lives afresh.     The Bible warns us many times of false teachers. There will be those who try to use the name of Christ to push their own agendas and lead us into darkness. We must be aware and careful of those who lead and teach us. A false teacher can lead us into a worse place than we were before we became a believer.    How then, do we recognize these false teachers if we are new to the faith and not sound in the word? Here are a few tips. The word is over complicated.     The way Jesus taught on earth was by comparing Kingdom principles to situations his audience would be familiar with in the form of parables. He laid things out plainly and simply for the people. Teachers of the

   Oftentimes when we see someone who is engaged in an obvious struggle with sin, in our hearts we judge them. We wonder how they could be so far off the mark. How could they be so into drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.? We see the obvious extremities of the pit of sin in their life. Most of the time, we have no experience with these types of things which makes it hard to put ourselves in the other person's shoes. We consider them as fallen impossibly far from Jesus and His grace.     If I haven't gotten into any "hard-core" sin, am I more worthy of His grace? Is it easier for Him to dish out grace to cover my white lie than it is to cover her prostitution? My gluttony versus his drug addiction? The truth is we all sin daily! Even unknowingly. We are a fallen race and it is in our nature to sin. All sin is worthy of death and we are all in dire need of grace. It doesn't matter how "severe" our sins are from our view, they still make us worthy of death. Roman

    Sometimes my mind gets full with what I need to do-- school, work, ministry, chores, exercise, etc. During these periods, I am always thinking about what I need to get done next. Any free time I have I plan to use effectively to accomplish all the things on my plate. Yet when I try to finish all that needs doing, I find my mind unable to concentrate! As a result, I feel even further behind and more guilty about how I am using my time.     This kind of thing is normal with the busy American lifestyle. It's easy to feel pressure to get a lot done in little time. Our time on this earth is limited and important, but we need to be able to enjoy it as well! Jesus didn't intend for us to be constantly working with no enjoyment. Sometimes we get caught up in the busyness and forget to take a breath. We work hard while looking ahead at the benefits and forget to enjoy right now. This can even apply to ministry! Sometimes I find myself so worried about something I need to prepare f

Ephesians 5:15-17 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time , because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (HCSB) Psalm 90:12  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (ESV)     We have a limited amount of time on this earth. Our time is running out every day and we are all dying. It sounds depressing to think about it like that, but doesn't that make you want to use your time here more effectively? I want to leave this earth having made a difference for Christ, not having lived a whole life to satisfy the desires of my flesh. Mark 8:36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? (NLT)     But our time here seems everlasting to us. We don't realize how quickly it is melting away! To make the most of it is not some day down the road, but today. It is a choice we make every day. What are we doing with ou

Philippians 1:9-11   And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (NIV)     We always talk about going where God leads you and walking by His Spirit, but how do we discern what the will of God is? It seems so ambiguous when we try to come up with a formula. This is simply because there is no formula to hear God speak in your life and to know His directions specifically to you. Only you can know that. God speaks in different ways at different times to different people. He is not a God you can capture with any kind of formula, He is too multi-faceted for us to fit Him into any box.     However, one thing is for certain. In Philippians 1, we are told that we can gain better understanding and insight through Christ. We know that Chri

    When we were created, we were all blessed with certain gifts and skills unique to us. These gifts, combined with the make-up of our personalities and environments, shape our future for Jesus. He has equipped us in a very specific way to live out His plan for our lives and glorify Him as we do so. Considering that all we have is given from Him, why do we sometimes feel justified in a little bragging as if we had done these things for ourselves?     The only good in us is from God. We are a fallen people living from our flesh without Him. And our flesh only reaps destruction! There is nothing worth boasting about in our flesh. We were created in the image of God, yet we still compare ourselves to other fallen men and boast as if we are good! When we seek out Jesus, He forms us more and more into His glorious image as we were created to be. He is the mold by which our "goodness" is measured, not others. How could we ever compare to the One who made us and designed us? But

    Prayer is a huge part of our Christian life. It is our communication with God and our means to invite His light and power into the darkness of life. We ask for God to come into our life and work on our behalf. But what does the Bible say about praying for others? It outlines the importance of part of our prayer life being devoted to praying for all the saints, or other believers. This is sometimes referred to as intercession, which is defined as "the action of pleading on somebody's behalf." In my mind, I imagine standing between God and someone else and asking for His mercy on them and their situation.      My eyes have been opened to a new way of looking at intercession today. James 5:16 came to my mind and I was reminded that the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous. It made me think about those who are walking in unrighteousness. It dawned on me the importance for a righteous person to pray for those who are struggling to live blamelessly!  James 5:16