Losing My Life

    The Bible tells us that the ways of the world are the opposite of the ways of Jesus Christ. Somehow, we mix that up and think that we can do life buffet style-- take some of the world and some of Jesus for our own personal mix of favorites. But that is not how it works.     Sin does not mix with righteousness. This is why in the old testament, before Jesus and grace, the Lord had His people stay separate from the rest of the nations that were living in sin. Additionally, they had to purify themselves of their sins and unrighteousness through sacrifices. But no human could keep up to that standard and God could not bear the separation that sin caused between Him and His beloved people. In steps Jesus to bridge the sin gap between us and God. He provided the ultimate sacrifice and gave us a better path to righteousness-- Himself. He does the work through us, if we only seek Him and allow Him. Galatians 2:20   I have been crucified with Christ. It is no lon...

    When we are trying to live by faith, the things that inhibit us are the things that are right under our noses. We are trained to live based on the things around us. We don't believe anything if we don't see proof of it. The things around us are more our reality than what we say we believe in. But the Bible tells us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We are to live based on what we know is truth, not by what we see.     The things we see around us distract us from the reality we should be living in. What is unseen is eternal and more important than the things of this world. We need to fix our eyes on what is lasting and know the difference. We need to be filling ourselves with the word and not the world. When we are distracted by the world, we forget the truth. We become discouraged and doubt our faith. We need to draw strength from one another so that we may run the race with endurance.     What is determining your reality today? Is i...

    The goal of Christianity is for us to become mature in our faith and eventually look just like Jesus. James tells us that one important aspect of that is being able to control the words that you say. We are controlled by our mouths. If we can learn to control that, we can control our whole bodies. James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (ESV)     We need to be able to control our tongues if we want to live in maturity. It is extremely important because when we have Jesus and are filled with His Spirit, we have His raising-from-the-dead power inside of us. That should make you think twice about the words that you say. Just like Jesus cursed the fig tree, our words have power to curse others as well. But with that same power we can uplift and change circumstances by our words and our faith. Which would you rather do? Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are ...

    The nature of the flesh is to be sinful and selfish. That means that when we rely on others in our life, we are destined to be let down at some point because of their flaws. This is why it is so important to rely on God above all else. He will never fail you. He is unchanging and perfect and will never let you down or leave you hanging out to dry like mere humans will.     Who are you relying on today? When others let you down, does it destroy your whole life, or is your life built around the one who is eternal? It is easy to tell the truth of the matter by how we react in those situations. Of course we should be in close relationships with the people God has surrounded us with, but we have to be careful to never put them above Him in our hearts. Allow Jesus to be at the center of all your relationships and at the center of your life.     Jesus does not change like shifting shadows-- He is constant. He stays the same faithful and true King over ever...

    Recently, I pointed out that the Bible says we are to show our faith by our actions and not our words, but how do we know that we are doing so? So many people are blinded to their own faults. They read the words of Jesus and assume they are doing everything correct. They fail to self evaluate because of their pride. I daresay that most of us are like that at least in some areas in our lives. So how do we know?     There is a simple way to test whether you are in the faith or not-- by the fruit your life produces. If you are living in sin and darkness, the fruits of your actions will be negative and not from God. That doesn't mean that everything will be perfect, but it does mean that you will have joy and peace in all circumstances when you are living by the Spirit. What are the fruits of the world vs. the fruits of the Spirit? Galatians 5 gives a clear cut definition for us to reference when we are unsure where we stand. Galatians 5:13-26  For you were...

    How difficult was it for you to be born again? Did you have to follow a bunch of rules and chants or did you just simply say a prayer and accept the gift that had already been given to you? It has to be the latter. No one accepts Jesus by their works. Why then, do we think we have to continue that way?\      We think that somehow something has changed and that we now need to prove ourselves and our goodness. How does that make sense considering prior to your salvation you were worse off than now? But God still saved you. Now when He looks at you, He sees His son Jesus. What else must we prove to Him? Of course, we should be striving to live by what the gospel tells us because that is the best possible way to live for us and those around us. But we are flawed and we mess up! Jesus knows that and has given us a better way to live. He did what we couldn't and then provided us with grace-- undeserved favor.      Today, recognize that it isn...

    Jesus' death on the cross purchased so many things for us besides salvation. He provided everything we would need right there on that cross. One thing that we forget is that it has already been done and we do not need to plead with God to do anything more, we just need to receive the gift that has already been given. An area that I believe is a particular struggle for the Christian community is in our healing.     Do we really believe that God has done what He said He has done? If so, we should believe that we already have access to healing through Jesus. There is no need to beg God to heal you or to ask if it is "His will." All you need to do is accept and believe what He has promised. If it was His will for you to suffer through sickness and disease, would he have healed those around Him during His ministry? Would He have taken a beating for YOUR sickness if He didn't want your healing? We have authority over the evil in the world, including sickness. Exercis...

    Like I have said many times before, we are constantly being shaped from seeing from the world's view to seeing from Jesus' view. One thing I think that is hard to notice for us here in the states is our consumer mentality. We treat Jesus' church like we are customers just like anywhere else. We look for the certain things in a church that fit exactly our needs. Why should that be considered wrong?     I will say that we do have to find a church that is fitting for us. But that is less of our own choosing and more of Jesus' leading. If we choose established places that have everything we are looking for, we could be missing out on what could have been. A body is not complete without all its members and that is how the true church of Jesus is supposed to be operating. What if you keep missing your true home for fear of having to contribute something to it? 1 Corinthians 12:12-20  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the...

    How do we make a difference in the world for Christ? Not by sitting around and telling everyone how great Jesus is, but by taking actions to prove it. However, most of us are not comfortable with taking a step to let people know the heart of Jesus better. We see needs and instead of taking action to help we think, "someone really ought to do something about that." What if YOU are the one God appointed to take action? What is stopping us from stepping out in faith and doing the things we say we believe in is our own personal comforts.      We don't want to talk to that stranger at the park because they look a little funny. We don't want to help that stranded person on the road because we have things to do. The list goes on and on. But what if every person that sees the issue says what you are telling yourself? "Someone really ought to do something." What if we miss an opportunity to show Jesus' love to someone who is hurting or in need? Jesus puts p...

    We all know that one person who is always complaining about everything. They pick out all the bad in their lives and completely miss the blessings right in front of them. Sometimes we don't just know those people-- we are them. It seems like our flesh always wants to complain. And it makes sense when we consider the weight of our words.     We are filled with Jesus' spirit and His power. When we use that power to speak death over our lives it will only make things worse for us! Speak life into your life and the lives of those around you. Speak the truth that Jesus' life-raising power is in you and you have authority over anything that could try and stand against you in Him. What could you have to complain about?     Mind your words and speak with a sincere faith in the words written in scripture. Remember their weight and truth even when things around you look discouraging. He is always with us and He has given us power through Him to overcome this ...

    Have you ever worried about having enough or making ends meet? Our society teaches us how to provide for ourselves so that we won't be in that position. We encourage each other to get the jobs that pay well and we budget to the penny. I daresay we are obsessed with money and we live fearing the consequences of life without it.     But the Bible tells us that we have more than enough through Jesus Christ. When we commit to Him, he blesses us and gives us all we need and abundantly more. Everything you could ever need was purchased when Jesus died on that cross. He bought things money can't buy. All we need to do is keep our eyes on Him and receive what He has already made available. Worship the giver and not the gift.     Stop counting your pennies and start counting your blessings. Claim the blessings He promises you in the word. Trust that He has given you all you need and stop living in fear of not having enough. You are abundantly blessed! 2 ...

    Before you were saved, what were your first thoughts when you heard someone was a Christian? For most people, those thoughts aren't positive. Jesus is the rock of offense. It is the only name that separates good and evil, light and darkness. When society talks about peace amongst all religions, there are no questions asked about hinduism, buddhism, etc. But bring up Jesus, and there's suddenly an issue. This is because He is truth. 1 Peter 2:7-8   So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (ESV)     That all being said, we need to be careful with our words. It is great to tell people about your faith! We are to live unashamed of Jesus and His work in our lives. But the best thing we can do to broadcast the truth and the message of Jesus Ch...

    Most of us are afraid to die. We think of the more "pleasant" ways we would like to go and fear how it might happen for us in the end. It is engrained in our culture to fear death. Murder and death are all over the media which can make it pretty difficult not to be afraid! But what should be our outlook on death from a Christian standpoint?     Paul is such an excellent example of this topic. He lived a devoted life for Jesus and had a personal relationship with Him. To Paul, dying was something that he looked forward to! He said it was gain for him to die and go to be with Jesus. Also with Stephen, who was stoned to death for speaking the truth of the gospel. But in the moment of his death, all he could think about was Jesus. He looked right at Him and didn't look back to life on earth for a second, just like we are supposed to. Philippians 1:20-21 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as alw...

    Oftentimes, we judge people living in sin for making the decisions they make. We think that the answer is so obvious and that it shouldn't be that hard to resist the devil. Really, it is unfair. It is extremely hard for those without Jesus to make any kind of good decision. Even for those just coming out of darkness and into the knowledge of the light. They are so mixed up in the dark that it is near impossible to distinguish anything for itself. But ah, with God all things are possible.      We cannot expect people to be able to know the difference between good and evil right away. Think of the garden-- Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before they sinned against God, they only knew good. They walked in righteousness and were spiritually connected to God. But as soon as they sinned, their eyes were opened to the evil in the world as well and they died spiritually. From then on, we all were caught up in sinful nature. Gen...

    So many people, even Christians, consider this life to be their own to use as they please. They make their plans and spend their time doing what they want to do, whether it is pleasing to God or not. How many of us wake up in the morning saying, "Lord, what do you want from me today?" Instead, we wake up planning how we want to spend our time. The majority of the time, we do what we want to when we want to.     What if this is not how we were supposed to live? What if all our plans and schemes for our life gratify our own fleshly desires and really bring no glory to God? In my eyes, it'd all be for nothing if that were the case. On one hand, the Lord loves to give us the desires of our heart. He put them there for a reason! Everyone has their own joys in life that bring them satisfaction. So I am not saying that Jesus doesn't want to give us what we want. However, we should not confuse our fleshly desires with our God-given heart's desires. The funny thing a...

    When we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we are blessed with a new family and most importantly-- a new Father. Our earthly fathers may be men of God, or they may not. Either way they still fall short of the glory of God, as do all of us. They make mistakes. But praise the Lord we are given a Father who has infinite love towards us and who has all the wisdom to give us a beautiful life. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NIV)     As you celebrate your earthly fathers today, do not forget about your Father in Heaven. He has chosen us and adopted us, seeing us as His own beloved son, Jesus. He chose you before time began and He knows everything about you. He knows all your strengths and weaknesses, when you would triumph and when you would mess up-- and He still loves you. Ephesians 1:3-6   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places...

    With Father's Day coming up tomorrow and Mother's Day only a short time ago, we are in a season where America honors their families. Most of us are taught that "family is everything" for our whole lives. Family first, then everything else. Where does Jesus fall in your list of priorities? Is He after the "family first" doctrine? Maybe he's even after your friends, your job, and some other important things in your life.     I want to address the lie that family is everything. Jesus Himself put His Heavenly Father above all else, not His earthly father. We should be doing the same. We subject our lives to be run by whatever is most important to us. Whatever is most important to us controls us. When we put ourselves under the control of other flawed humans, we set ourselves up for a less than ideal lifestyle. We cannot live according to the whims of those around us! 2 Peter 2:19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corrup...

    Being a follower of Jesus, put simply, is a process in which we retrain our brain to follow our spirit, rather than our flesh. It is our natural inclination as "sons of Adam" to follow what our flesh wants and to live in sin, but when we decide to follow Jesus we become "sons of Christ." That means that everything changes in the way we view life and process information. We process through what we know the word of God says rather than what we see in front of us with earthly eyes.     When you first become a believer, you are an infant in your spirit. The Bible often makes comparisons to new believers and babies. Think about an infant who has to learn everything from scratch. They don't start by learning the complicated things, but the simple stuff of life. They don't come out of the womb eating steaks and lobster, but milk. It is much the same process for us coming into the knowledge of Jesus. It may be even more difficult when we have to unlearn the ...

    When you love someone you want the best for them. You don't think about all the things they have and you don't, but you think of what you want to give to them. Likewise, it is hard to love someone when you are focused on wanting all their blessings. Jealousy is blinding. We cannot love with envy standing in the way.     Envy takes our eyes off of Jesus and the things He is doing and onto what He is not  seeming to do for us, personally. It is a dangerous trap to be in because you are blind to what He has given to you. He blesses and uses us all differently. Amazingly, we are each completely unique in Him. Don't let the enemy distract you with what you don't seem to have, but let Jesus show you what you do.     When we don't see what is around us we begin to lose our thankfulness. We are supposed to be living a lifestyle of thankfulness to Jesus and all the wonderful things He has done for us. We thank Him and we praise Him and let Him use us ac...

    In the body of Christ, we should not be looking at the little issues that divide us, but at the God who unites us. Many believers focus so much on the differences between us all. They look at denominations and judge which one they like best and why. They look down on those who are outside of what they have deemed right, but this is the way of the world. No matter who is "right," none of us who truly follow Jesus should be acting this way. Jesus is not a God of division, but of unity. He wants us all as the body of Christ to function as one unit.     In the days of the Bible, the division was between Jews and Greeks. They each had slightly different ways of doing things and there was strife between the two groups because of that. Each believed their way superior. We need to recognize that everyone has their own way to glorify God and it can look different from country to country, city to city, culture to culture. As long as it is Biblically correct, who can say ...

    From the outside looking in, the most convincing thing to prove that Christianity works is to see it working in others. Not hearing them talk about it, but seeing them walk it out. That is what leads people to Jesus. But what happens when someone talks a lot about what they "believe," yet appears to be behaving the opposite? That would turn me away immediately. We have to learn how to show others Christ in us.     The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' day did a lot of talking. They knew the law inside and out and would enforce it on everyone who listened. Yet, they themselves didn't lift a finger to follow what they taught. Jesus spent a lot of time in His ministry chastising the religious rulers of the day. He knew their hearts. We need to be careful that we do not fall into this trap. It serves no one to just talk the talk without walking the walk.     Knowing what the Bible says without applying it to your life is pointless! If you really understoo...

    Beginning to follow Christ is an interesting transition. You are just beginning the journey of bringing your mind and perspective into alignment with the mind and perspective of Jesus Christ. This means that you are coming against everything you've been taught from the world's perspective, which is the opposite of the ways of God. It is a very worthwhile transition because it brings all life and fulfillment, but it can also be a difficult one.      We have an enemy who is trying to harass us and bring us away from Jesus at every turn. He doesn't want to see us build our relationship with the Lord because that is what will make us and Jesus both happy. It is very important that we be on our toes from the very beginning of our spiritual walk. The enemy will creep in and try to lead us astray with things that look appealing. He will even use things that are masked as something "from God" that are actually lies looking almost like they could be truth. Do not ...

    We are always asking what each other "feels" about something. What do you feel like doing? Where do you feel like going? etc. It is engrained in our culture to make decisions based on our emotions. Even though the Lord gave us emotions as a gift, we were never meant to abuse them the way that we are taught to in our society.     When we start applying the emotion filter to our walk with Jesus, we get in deep trouble. If we dictate whether or not He is working by if we feel it or not, we have severely crippled our faith in Jesus. There are no exceptions in His word that say we have to have some type of feeling for a prayer or Biblical principle to work. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful when we do have an emotional sensation about spiritual things, but we cannot live by it.     If you have been living under the bondage of emotions, start to change your thinking. Jesus is working even when you do not feel Him. Do not base your faith off of what yo...

    When we hear that someone calls them self a "Christian," it can cause us put our guard down completely. Even worse, we can allow someone to speak into our lives under the assumption that they are giving godly advice, when in fact they are not. Something that we should always be aware of is the possibility of a false prophet in our midst. Satan can use believers just as well as nonbelievers. This is why it is important for us all to be aware of what we are opening ourselves up to. We do not want to be used by Satan or deceived by someone else he is using.     I want to point out something that we may tend to overlook in our Christian lifestyles. Someone may look like they are a good influence on us because they are speaking some known truths to us. They may say things we're familiar with from other church experiences which validates them in our minds. The problem is that once they've established that "credibility," they begin to talk about things that a...

    The biggest challenge for all of us as followers of Christ, I would say, is to apply what we say we believe to our actual circumstance. It is easy to hear something and agree with it and never to use it in our lives because we are so used to the world's way of doing things. Too many Christians are living a defeated lifestyle because we just give over to the enemy without a fight.      We are told multiples times in the Bible that we have the power of Jesus Christ living in us. He sent His Spirit to dwell within us on the day of pentecost. Since then, all of God's power is available to us through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is free for the taking! The problem is that we don't use it. We are told that we have complete power over the enemy available to us, yet we continue to be run down by him as if he is a threat. It's like letting a three year old beat you in wrestling.  1 Corinthians 3:16  Do you not know that you are God’s temple and...

    Everyone makes mistakes. We all are born with the nature to sin, and we do so quite frequently. Most of us have done some pretty awful things in our lifetime. It is so tempting to be caught up with everything we've done in the past and to hate ourselves for it. We can live a lifestyle of guilt, shame, and regret. Or we can live drenched in grace and be changed into the image of Jesus.      We can fool ourselves into thinking it is a nobel thing to feel guilty about what we've done and to stew on it. Let me just tell you-- it isn't. Focusing on our past wrongs and how terrible we are is an insult to what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus died to set us free from our sins, don't act like you're still a slave to them. The funny thing is, when we focus on our sins, we sin more. Where we are looking dictates where we are going, no matter how bad we feel about it.      Yes, we are supposed to acknowledge what we have done is sin. We repent to Jesu...

    When you look around at nature, it is hard to deny God's handiwork. It is easy to get taken away with the beauties of nature-- the sea, thunder and lightning, the clouds in the sky. I love thinking of Him in the every day scenes He paints for us. Did you know that all of creation is praising Him? The earth and the sky sing to our creator. What a wonderful thing to think that when we praise Him,  all creation is joining in our song!      We have a God who is a master artist. The One who designed the heavens and the earth also created you. And He made you in His own image, far more beautiful than the views we enjoy in nature every day. If you think the stars and the ocean are a wondrous sight, consider that God made you even more lovely than they. Remember that you were created as a reflection of Him on earth. When you see the work of His hand around you, remember your beauty in Him. As you go through your day today, don't forget to stop and enjoy the v...

    A simple reminder today of what a difference we can make, simply by talking to God. The importance of prayer is mentioned multiple times in the Bible. The reason it is so important is because it changes things! Our prayers allow for Jesus to intercede into the world's circumstances. When we call upon His name, we use His authority to change our conditions. This is why the Acts church was devoted to prayer.     Make sure that you are taking time to ask Jesus to intervene in your life and the lives of those around you. Seek Jesus for His guidance and power for it is solely through Him that change is possible. It doesn't have to be a lengthy, ritualistic event. Simply ask Him anytime, anywhere when something comes up and wait patiently for Him to answer. His answers are rarely in our timing or by our methods, but trust in His infinite wisdom and faithfulness that He will come through. Sometimes the only thing we can do is pray, so be obedient to Him and do not ne...

    Many people think of the responsibility of leading others to Jesus as a job. But I believe it is much more than that-- it's a lifestyle. We think that evangelism is something we can turn on and turn off. But if evangelism were considered a job, we would always be "on duty." Some are called and gifted specifically in the area of evangelism, but what about the rest of us? If that is not our calling are we off the hook? Absolutely not! Jesus told His disciples (and us) to go into all the world and spread the word about Jesus. Not only to get them saved, but to make disciples of them. Once we have been discipled, it is our job to keep the process going. Ephesians 4:11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (NIV) Mark 16:15 And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." (NLT) Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the...

    One topic that captures the interest of many people in this world is dating and romantic relationships. When daring to explore this topic in the word, the Lord took me someplace I didn't expect. He showed me the emphasis that is often put on this area. It's a topic people love to discuss and meditate on. It is also very distracting. Many of us spend too much time taking on the search for a companion on our own. While I would agree that it is good to have an idea of what you're looking for in a mate, I don't think our lives should be dictated by this pursuit. Our lives should be dictated by the pursuit of Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross ...