Tuesday the 28th

Psalm 99: ⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the LORD and he answered them.

 

They called, and He answered them. Moses, Aaron, Samuel, these are just a few people who went to God first. The list would become quite long if we were to start naming every person written about, or that we know that went to God first, I guess that begs the question would our name appear on that list? These people…they did not consult friends, first, they did not go get a general consensus, take a poll, or ask around about an issue, then went and prayed about it. They went direct to the source. When faced with impossible odds, when placed against impossible tasks, or having to deal with impossible people, it is the people who bend a knee first that find the ability to take the “im” off of impossible. Your friends will typically agree that it is impossible, your enemies will depend on you believing that it is impossible, the devil will insist that it is impossible, but the Lord will always, always remind you that nothing is impossible, nothing is to big, for the One who created it all. It is like when you buy something and it comes in a million little pieces, or you only get the instructions in French, what do you do? You pick up the phone and call customer service. They will be the ones that save you from hours of trying to wing it, they will be the ones that keep you form having a parts percentage left over. Today it is as easy as that, you can make a phone call, or Google it, and you will find the help you need to complete even the most difficult earthly task. SO why do we insist on winging it through life? We have a direct line to the Lord, He is the ultimate fix it hotline. No press one for English or 2 for Spanish, He speaks your language, and your dialect, no leave a message and someone will return your call, no set hours of operation, and never will you find a busy signal. We want the answers, yet we often fail to ask the question, we want the blessing, but forget the praise, we want the result, but leave out the prayer. Call on the Lord, He will answer, He has been doing it long before any of us showed up, and you know what? HE wants to hear from you. He wants you to lean on Him. He sent His Son so that we might feel that love and caring even more deeply. Don’t deny the Lord the one thing He asks of us, don’t deny yourself the gifts, the blessings, and the healing that comes from relying on the Lord. Call on Him, call His name and He will answer, call now, THE Operator is standing by to take your call.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Monday the 27th

James 3:  ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.

 

Matthew 16: ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

 

Luke 6: ⁴⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks

 

 

The first one is from James, the last two are from Christ. All three serve as a reminder that what we say shows far more than just what is on our mind at the moment. How often have we heard, or maybe even used the phrase “oh I was just talking off the top of my head” or something to the like? I did not mean it, is another one that comes to mind. It seems that we often have to backtrack on words that are spoken in haste, but I have noticed that not everyone lives like that. I know of some people who never seem to have to take anything back. They are the people who always have a kind word on their lips, they have more encouragement to offer than negativity. They are the people that we often look at and think “wow, how do they do that?” This small group of people have “got it” they understand the fist passage, they are the good people in the third, so they do not have to worry about the second. You see, if we praise our Lord with our tongues then how can we curse what God has made with the same? Someone is always held responsible. When your car, your computer, hot water heater, whatever, you curse it….but you are really not cursing that one thing are you? No, we typically thing I should have bought _____, a better brand, a different model, we think that the people who made the thing that has brought us grief have done an inferior job. It is the same when we lash out at those around us, we might be taking out our frustrations on the person, but in actuality, you are curing the creator, as if the manufacturer had in some way built an inferior model. Humans are far different than anything that a human can make, we are made by the one and only God. The master builder, the accomplished, and perfect manufacturer, however God did an amazing thing, He gave us open source software. We can write and rewrite our programs, hopefully improving with each new version. What we find is that what we write that new code with is what it will produce. If we fill ourselves with love, with praise, with the positive things in life, then we write a program that will produce those same code for others to see. Just like all of the other “cool” things out on the market, when others see that new program that you have written, they too will want it for their own. This is why Christ tells us that what comes out of our mouth can make us unclean. No matter how dirty the outside, what comes from the inside is what will soil our hearts, and those around us. Praise God, and all that he has created, store up good in your heart, and watch and listen as the cleanliness of   the Lord pours out. We were given the code, and software to fill the world with love, we make the choice to improve, and tweak that code, or we upload some virus that the world has out on the market. We can flood the world with hate, or we can flood it with love, and which gate is open has a lot to do with the next word that comes from each of our mouths.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Friday the 24th

John 13: ³⁴"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

 

 

It is a phrase you will find throughout the Bible. Love one another…. Christ preached it, you will find it in all of the Gospels, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians,  Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 and 2 John just to name a few. Love one another, as Christ loved. It is easy to love ones who think like we do, but Christ Himself pointed out that even a sinner loves those that love them (Luke 6:32)  We have to love like Christ loved, and He loved every person in this world. Those that loved Him, and those that would kill Him, He spared love for no one.  I was talking to an Atheist I know online. One thing we both seem to agree on is that the world will never change if we cannot start at a point of love. Now you might think, well Brian, you old dog, you are just wanting to convert him, and he just wants to bring you over to his side. I would have to disagree with that thought. You see, I cannot change his mind, that is not my job, that is not my function. I am here to be a conduit for the Lord, it is up to the Lord as to who is changed and who is not, and just when that change will happen. All I can do is live a life that is reflective of Christ. Where my friend goes, well that is beyond my grasp. I can promise you this though, if I operate from a place of self interest, if I push away instead of trying to draw closer, I will never accomplish what I was sent here to do. Christ told us that people should know us because we love one another. That does not mean just Christians, it means everyone. We can’t punch someone then tell them we are about brotherly love. We can’t condemn those around us, then claim that we are forgiven, were we not at one time all sinners lost in the world, do we all not continue to sin, even while we struggle so hard against it? Christ knew that this would be a though one to follow, that is why he told us that If we could just love God, and love others, the rest would take care of itself. It is a hard thing to do, but if we do not, we set our religion on a course of destruction, and we make Christ out to be a liar. For if we say that we must love everyone except…….then we have said that Christ was wrong….that some people do not deserve love. If we cannot start with love, we will never end in peace. If we start with war, we will never find rest. If you find yourself surrounded by only people who think like you, act like you, dress like you, and believe like you, then you have to ask yourself, how am I making a difference on an individual level? Christ loves each one of us, His Father…..our Father,  created each one of us, there is not one child that he hates, if we expect to help others onto the path, if we want to provide a spark, that the Lord can fan into a flame, then we must adopt the same outlook. I will not hate my brother or my sister, even when they hurt me, for it is then that they need the most love.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Tuesday the 21st

Ecclesiastes 3: ¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

 

Daniel 2: ²¹ He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning

 

Today is the last day of summer, a new season is upon us…….it doesn’t really feel that way though does it? It is still hot, the days are still long, the leaves are still green, and I am still cutting grass with sunscreen on. Make no mistake about it though summer is leaving us and fall is on the way. Waiting around for fall and spring is a lot like our lives in general. We are always ready for the next season, and it never seems like it is going to get here. We feel stuck in our lives, and often think nothing is going to change…the bills will never get paid, the promotion will never happen, my relationships will never get better…..guess what? Today just might be your last day of summer. That is the way it works you know? We often can’t appreciate it though because we are so focused on the situation we are in instead of focusing on God. We  walk with our heads down, so focused on forcing this season to change, that the next thing we know the season has changed and we missed it. We just know that FINALLY things are better. Did you know that the best part of a season changing is the time when one is coming to a close, and the next is opening up? Think about if we missed the beginning of fall, we would miss the leaves changing, the birds changing their habits, the grass that has hounded you starts to slow it’s growth, the days get shorter, and the nights get longer, the humidity starts to drop, and the heat starts to fade. All of these things are missed because we are so focused on how miserable summer has been. Right now your season might be changing in your life, are you missing the gifts that God is placing in your life to mark the beginning of that change? If you are in a storm of life now, maybe that last wave was not as big as the ones before it, maybe the winds are dying down a little perhaps there is not as much water pouring into your boat as before. “so what” you think, it is still bad. Yes it might be but, you are being given signs, signs that things are changing, and that my friends gives hope, and hope will bring your faith forward, and faith will bring you through the end of any season. You might hope things get better, but faith tells you the unbearable heat will soon be leaving. You might hope that the storm passes, but faith reminds you that God controls all the seasons, and this too shall pass. Do you think Moses thought his season was about to change on the 39^th year in the wilderness? Do you think that Daniel thought his season was about to change as he was lowered to the lions, or when Paul’s ship was sinking? At first they were worried, but it was their faith in God that brought them through it. It was their understanding that while it is God’s job to control the seasons, it is our job to learn from them, and seize every opportunity to glorify God during, and through the end of them. Don’t get lost in the seasons of your life, there is a reason this season is here, there is something to learn, there is something to do. Don’t let the heat of summer, or the chill of winter steal your focus. Know that God will change the season, you change the life.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Monday the 20th

Romans 14:  ¹Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

 

This is a great passage, and it continues through verse 4. I did not include the whole thing, but if you get a chance read the whole thing. Accept him whose faith is weak….it seems like a no brainer when you say it. When we really look at it though, it is not as much of a given as one might think. We have a nasty habit of placing very high expectations on people. The funny thing is when we find someone who is lost, who does not have Christ in their life, we often treat them with kid gloves, as we should. We encourage them, we gently bring them along, we foster that love that Christ so undeniably sowed and continues to show the world. Oh but when we find someone who has just got on the Jesus train…..what is the first thing we do? We hammer them, “oh ok, well you have to do this, you need to do that, you have to be here, read this, say that, and above all if you are going to do it right you HAVE to do this!” We go from the nurturing loving Christian into some combat express training, and if they don’t follow every step….all too often they are looked down on….we judge them, we wonder why their faith is sooooo weak?!? What about when we see Church friends (and the very fact that we have that term is a problem) friends that are out and about, and we see them doing something that we think there is no need for them to do, or maybe something that we think they should not be doing (nothing major mind you)…..what do we think….DO you catch the thought of “oh I am so much further ahead in my spirituality”, or “I am a better Christian than they are” We are holding our brethren to a higher standard than the lost soul that they were just a short while ago! We have to accept all people at every spot along the path to Christ. The ones in front of us (and that can be just as challenging) the ones right behind us, and the ones that just started out. We all progress at the rate the Lord needs us to. We are all at the spot we are supposed to be at right now. It is not up to us, nor is it our place to judge another who is doing their best at the moment to serve the Lord. It is block and tackle stuff, we support, we encourage, we love, those around us. In the big picture, no matter how long you have been following the Lord, it was just the other day that you too were that lost soul, it was then that you need the support of your fellow Christians, not their distain. You needed their love, because at the time it might have been the only love you received….you did not need their judgment, for the world was, and is still today, busy judging each and everyone of us enough already. Accept those whose faith is weak, it is the only hope of strengthening that faith!

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 16th

Matthew 21:  ²⁸"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'  ²⁹" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.  ³¹"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.  Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

 

I have done a lot of things in my professional life, I have been responsible for 350 employees at a plant, and I have had only one person to manage, one thing I have learned is talk is cheap. I have some of the most unlikely people step up and do what they said they would never do, and I have had some of the most promising fail to do what they gave their word to do. When I read what the Lord has to say about that I am reminded it is not what we say that always matters, it is our actions. Here we have Jesus talking to the chief priests, and elders, and He is telling them, hey look you guys are up here running your mouth, but there is no follow through. You are blind to the truth. He is telling them that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before them……..not exactly what these fellas wanted to hear I am sure.  Just because you know the words does not mean that you have the heart. A prayer means nothing if it is not heart felt, a pledge carries no weight and binds you to no one if you never planned to following through, and a priest can be just as lost, if not more so, than your average run of the mill sinner. Words count for little when they are not backed up by action. Where does that leave us? Which son will we be ? Will it be only words, will we create the grand façade, and have nothing to back it up in our lives? Or will rise to the occasion when the time comes, even though we did not start off heading that way? Christ is calling us to His vineyard, it does not matter if we say we are going or not, the question is, will you show up?

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

 

Wednesday the 15th

Matthew 12: ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

 

What you say will either acquit you or condemn you. But something is missing in this statement, something that we rely on heavily……often it is not what we say that condemns us, it is our silence. When I read through the Bible I read a lot about the Lord silencing His enemies, I read where David calls on the Lord to silence the lips of  those who tell  lies about Him, I read where Job professes that his lips will not be silenced in praise of the Lord, I read where the crowds are silenced so that Paul can defend the Word of God, and I read where the masses are silenced so that they might hear the Words of the Lord……..but I just cannot find anywhere that talks of our silence defending, uplifting, spreading, or confirming the Word of God. I cannot see where our mute lips refute the wrong, and build up the right. Did you know that in most areas of law silence is considered agreement? If you are in a group that is planning to murder someone, and you say nothing, if that murder comes to pass your silence has locked you in to the act just as if you were a part of it. Even if it does not happen you can still be found guilty of conspiracy just by saying nothing. It works the same way with the Lord. When we remain silent, we become a helping hand in destroying the Body of Christ. We live in a world that everyday becomes more politically correct. Hold your tongue in case you might offend someone they tell you. However that very silence offends the Lord. We must remember the power of our voice. Have you ever been in a football locker room at half time? Is the coach silent? Are the players sitting around staring at the wall, waiting on time to pass? Or course not! That is the time for the pep talk, it is the time to motivate, and lift up.  What about when there is a group of people, and something is said that several people do not agree with? DO those in disagreement sit back and let it go? No, they do not, they join together in one voice and present their opposing view. What about when it is just you and one other person, and that person starts talking trash about a friend of yours…..will you stand up for that friend? You know it! you will defend them to the end. It is just like when we are talking to someone and they start bagging on the Lord, and we …..and we……we look that person straight in the eye….we look that person straight in the eye, and say….nothing! or we sigh, or we walk away in disgust….but our voices that have rallied teams, defended views, and looked out for friends, has vanished. It slipped away, and we just can’t seem to find it. In today’s world we can defend burning the flag, but we must remain silent on our faith. Make no mistake about it, when it comes to the Lord, our silence will be judged just as strongly as our words. We must always speak on behalf of the Lord. We cannot allow ourselves to be beaten into submission by the PC police. We must speak our faith as loudly as we feel it in our hearts. Now that does not mean we go out and hold a burn the Koran day, but it does mean that just like the coach, we encourage with our words, we build with our words, and most importantly we defend with our words. Silence is not golden when it comes to matters of faith, silence is deadly. Yes we will all be judged by our words, some will be acquitted, some condemned, but never be fooled into believing that silence brings salvation, or safety. Christ spoke of forgiveness and His Fathers love right up until He drew His last breath, may we all find the strength to do the same!

 

God bless,

Brian

 

Tuesday the 14th

Romans 8: ²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose

 

1 Corinthians 3: ²¹So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,

 

2 Corinthians 9: ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 

Philippians 4: 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

 

Luke 17:6  ⁶He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

 

 

You cannot, should not, have not, are not, no, no, no, NO. That is what the world shouts to us on a daily basis. I have included several verses today, because I want to make sure this point is clear. There is nothing holding you back other than yourself! There is nothing keeping you down except for the person who you see in the mirror. There is nothing you cannot accomplish, there is nothing that is beyond your grasp. There is nothing that will not bend to the will of God. If you have brought Christ into your heart, if you have made the commitment to walk the path with Christ at your side…..then why would you for one second out of any given day not expect to be victorious in anything task the Lord has brought you to? These 5 verses are just the tip of the iceberg. Read Isaiah, Jeremiah, any of the book form the prophets. Read about the Israelites walking through the wilderness, read about Daniel, and David,  read The New Testament from Acts through Revelations, you will find time and time again the reassurance that The Lord is with you, and you cannot fail. God does not make failures, He does not create almost good enough, He is not in the business of getting by. He is THE GOD, not a god. He sent His Son, who is the key to life, not death. You are an unstoppable force with Christ in your life. If you will depend on Him, He WILL deliver for you. It is recorded over and over again in the Bible, there is testimony after testimony today that irrefutably shows that He still walks with, and cares for us today. You cannot allow yourself to be ran down by the devil. It is the evil in the world that tells you that you can’t, that you shouldn’t, that you are not good enough. Shut your ears to the world and open your heart to the Lord. You will be victorious, you will be unstoppable… you are stronger than you can imagine, you are better than the world would have you believe, you have the perfection of Jesus Christ inside of you, and that perfection can overcome any obstacle, sustain you through any hardship, and protect you from the evil of the world. Why would you choose any other life? Have faith, God is working for you, all things are yours, you will abound in every good work, you have the strength of Christ, and that is all you need to take on the world!

 

A friend of mine sent me this prayer, and I thought it framed this up rather well it is called the Knot prayer:

 

God, please untie the knots that are in my heart, my mind, and my life. Remove the have nots, the do nots and the can nots that are in my mind. Erase the will nots, the may, nots, and the might nots that may find a home in my heart. Release me from the Could nots, the would nots, and the should nots, that obstruct my life. Most of all Dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart, and my life all of the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back….especially the thought that I am not good enough. Amen

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Monday 13th

1 John 2: ⁹Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

 

You can’t live in the light, and walk in the shadows. You can’t live a life of love, if you hold hate in your heart. You can’t follow the path of Christ, if you ware walking the path in darkness.   The darkness has a nasty habit of coming out at the worst possible time, you can hide it, push it down, camouflage it, but you will never successfully suppress it. You have to let it go. You can’t miss it in today’s world. How often do you go to Church only to step outside and hear, “oh I hate that” or “I hate so and so”. ate has become a word we are so comfortable with We have become so comfortable with the word hate that we seldom think twice about using it. Oh I know you are saying well it is just a word….no one means it like that…..but we do…..all too often we do mean it. As a result we often wonder why our world seems so dark. Our words have meaning, they can cut like a knife or mend the deepest scars in our life, and the life of others. We have to choose….will we walk in the light, or live in the shadows. Will we choose to strike the word and emotion hate from our life, or will we continue to view it as only a word, only a fleeting emotion? As if it carries no weight, as if no damage is done. Funny how once again we return to loving our brother. It is threaded through out the Bible, and it is tightly woven throughout the New Testament. Love or hate, light or darkness? There is no gray area, there are no frenemies (thank you to my daughters for that word, it is a friend that you are also enemies with brings a whole new meaning to the love hate relationship) We love or we hate. You might say well I do neither, I am just indifferent…….what if Christ had said that?  No my friends, there is no real indifference, I would say that indifference is one of the greatest evils we face. Indifference is nothing more than muted hate. It is as caring as the word “whatever” it is as damaging as the word I do not care. If one thing is important….then everything is important.  We walk in the light…..we love in the light. We live in the light. Choose to live outside of the shadows. Take the well lit path of Christ, so that you will not stumble in the darkness.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Friday the 10th

Luke 9: ⁵If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."

 

There is a man down in Florida who wants to burn a Koran. In his mind this is how you take a stand against a religion that opposes ours. I say ours, because if you agree with him or not, he calls himself a Christian, he is the Pastor of a Christian church. That means we own him, in some way shape of form. I have read the Bible a number of times, cover to cover, I have yet to see where God, His Son, or the Holy Spirit call for us to rise up in an act of antagonism to prove a point. If we dig into the New Testament, where our Covenant with God was renewed by the sacrifice of His Son, we really see the exact opposite don’t we? How can we stand and preach compassion, love, faith, and glory in front of a pile of burning books? How will this act of hate grow, and spread love for Christ? How can we say that all are welcome into our Fathers house if we are busy kicking people in the teeth, and slamming doors in their face? No one can open their heart to Christ, and learn about the love HE has to offer, if we do not love those people first. This spectacle in Florida really is just a magnification of an underlying problem that we have. Far too many people do not understand that if the Good news is rejected, then we have done all that we can do…the rest is up to God. We cannot force people to become Christian, Jesus understood that. Shake the dust from your feet…it is a saying that means that you do not want to take anything from that person, or that town. You are done, and you have resigned to leave it up to God. God can turn the hearts of Pharaohs, the power of the Lord can part seas, the strength of the Lord can raise up the weakest and take them heights never imagined. You, by yourself……well we are just not that good. We plant the seed, God waters. We are the spark, the Lord is the flame. We are the small idea, the Lord is the entire plan. We will never convince anyone that we are full of love, and forgiveness, if the display they see is a display of hate. That is not just on the grand scale we see in the news, it holds true for even the smallest things that we do. You want to play yourself up as better than others….you just burned a Koran. You shout or speak hate because they do not think like you, grab the box of matches.  All we can do is speak the Word and offer love. If we are rejected, we shake the dust from our feet……we leave it in God’s hands. We cannot force anything to happen. God will turn the heart when it is time for that heart to be turned, He will transform that life when it is time according to His plan. We are the messengers, not the arsonist. We build up, not burn down. We lift our prayer, our hearts, and we lift others up for the Good Lord to transform into a spectacular display of His power, His Love, and His glory. We do not need a box of matches for that to happen, we need a heart full of LOVE!

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 9th

Hebrews 10: ¹²But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

 

Christ made the one time sacrifice, the one sacrifice that would cover all sins. This is the foundation of our faith. Christ dies for all of our sins. There is no longer a need to sacrifice livestock time after time, there is no longer a need to cleanse everything with blood form those sacrifices. Christ gave His life as the one time sacrifice for all sin, and when it was done, He sat down at the right hand of God. He is our mediator, our guardian, and our direct conduit to God. That one sacrifice made perfect forever those who are being made holy. This is the start of the New Covenant, one that calls for us to follow Christ, one that does away with the idea of living in the past, and moves us to living for the future. Our laws are no longer dictated, and carried out by mere man. God has written His laws on our heart and in our minds, He has promised that He will remember our sins no more. We are His people, and He is our God. It is through the death and resurrection of Christ that this is possible. This is what makes you perfect in the eyes of the Lord, even though we might never attain perfection here on Earth, God views you as the best that you can be. So if the Lord sees you in the best possible light, then why would you not see yourself in that same light? Instead of beating yourself up everyday over things that are in the past (just like offering the same sacrifice over and over again) Why not choose to live a forgiven life? If Christ already put in the work for each and everyone of us, why do we insist on trying to finish the work He already completed? It is over, it is done, finished, His work is complete! Quit the daily ritual of self mutilation. The only sacrifice that the Lord is interested in now is you. The sacrifice of your time, to  help those who are lost instead advancing your position, the sacrifice of your effort, to spread His word instead of your human desire, the sacrifice of your love, for Him and all He created, instead of the love of this world that only leads to death. The past is over and written, the future is open, and yet to be inscribed, when you put the pen of life to paper today what will you write?

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Tuesday the 7th

Isaiah 54:  ¹⁷ no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.

The LORD has your back! He is looking out for you, and He protects those who serve Him. No weapons formed against you will prevail. Think about that for a couple of moments. He is not saying that people will not try and harm you….as a matter of fact this scripture is a clear indication that weapons will be formed with the specific use of causing you harm. However, they will not prevail. Why is it so important to hear this, why would the Lord want you to have such reassurances? We cannot carry out the Lord’s work if we are spending our time obsessed with those who might try and harm us! That is exactly what happens to us. We get sidelined in the game of life because we cannot get past what someone else may or may not be doing. We have all done it, we hear something, or see something that causes us to believe that a person in our life is out to cause us harm. We have two choices at that moment. We can continue down the path the Lord has put us on, or we can take the side road, and find out what that person is up to. Therein lies the danger. When we step off the path we take our focus off of the task at hand, and the further down the path we go, the harder it is to get back. The next thing we know, we have lost sight of the Lord, and are totally focused on this one person, what did they say, what are they doing, where are they going, what are they up to, are they coming after me, are they talking about me, are they out to do me harm?……no weapon forged will prevail. There is no need to step off the path, and run down that rabbit hole. The LORD is going  to take care of it, He promises us, so we can take that to the bank. Christ reminds us of this in Matthew chapter 6 starting at verse 25 where he tells us not to worry, His Father will take care of us. God has been taking care of His people for a long long time. From the time we were created, through floods, and enslavement….He has delivered His people time, and time again. When the outlook was bleak, when there appeared to be no way out, God has always opened a door or a window for His people, and He continues to do that today, for me, for your neighbor, and yes…..for you also. You are loved, you are protected, you are cared for, No weapon will prevail, if you will allow the LORD to prevail in your heart!

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Friday the 3rd

Philippians 3: ¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

 

Paul is still searching, the most prominent, out spoken advocate if Christ is telling the people that he is still working towards perfection in his relationship with Christ. If Paul, who spent the last half of his life telling the world about Christ had not learned all he could learn, and see all that could be seen of Christ by the time he wrote this letter, what doe it say about us? Folks, our work is far from done. Paul did not spend much time looking back at what he had accomplished, he was always reaching forward straining towards what is ahead. He had the attitude of yesterday was great, but what about today?  This should be our attitude. Christ was not satisfied, He was forgiving, loving, healing, and changing hearts right up until He drew His last breath on the cross, and He continues that work today in each one of us. If you think you have learned all you can learn, if you think that you are done, that you have accomplished enough for Christ, then I have to tell you that you are wrong. We are not built to sit back and rest on the past accomplishments of our life. We press onward to what lies ahead. We have not attained our fullness, we still have work to do. It does not matter if you are 95 and close to drawing your last breath, or if you just found the Lord yesterday, God needs you today. HE needs you to strengthen your relationship with the Trinity, He needs you to share that with others, He needs you to continue to learn about His grace, His son’s love, and the Holy Spirits directions. As we head into this long weekend, resolve to run in this race of life. If you are running, run harder, if you have stopped off on the side because you are tired, go to the Lord for strength, and get back in,  if you think you are done, realize that it was only a check point, suit back up and get back in the race.  Our past does not matter today does, tomorrow will. Christ never said He was done, we should not either.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 2nd

1 Corinthians 10: ²³"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

 

You can do whatever you like. It is the very freedom that Christ died for. You choose, you decide, it is up to you to go right or left. At the base of Christianity you will find Christ, and you. Before we head off trying to kindle a spark for Christ in the souls of others, before we head out to change the world, we have a choice to make. Just because we can do it, does not mean we should. Just because it is available, does not make it constructive…..just because it works for you right now, and it feels good….well that does not mean that others are not hurt, and that the light of Christ will not be muted. It comes back to the two laws that Christ called the most important, loving God, and loving your neighbor. These two laws are what set true Christians apart from the Christian in name only, and it is what sets the Christian apart form the world. We hear the call form the world more loudly today than any other time that I can remember. Do it because you can, do it because it feels good, look out for number one. This is the polar opposite of what Christ taught, and it is what Paul is reminding us not to fall victim to. You are free to lie, cheat, or steal, but how would that be beneficial. What good thing can be built upon such deceit? You are free to skew the truth, cover up the facts, stab your friends in the back, and manipulate the story so you can get the promotion, keep the friend, or keep the peace, but what positive force will come from that? Nothing….nothing constructive, nothing beneficial, nothing that will glorify God.  The first choices are the hardest. They are the ones that will shape your day, your week, your year, and your life. Will you work for yourself, or for others? Will you take all of your time for yourself, or will you give it freely to your family, and your community? When the time comes will you stand and tell the truth, or will you cave to the world, and do what works for you? We live in a world that screams that we should put ourselves first; when in fact we should be third. God, others, then ourselves. You are free to put yourself first,  will you do it……just because you can?

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Wednesday the 1st

Isaiah 40: ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

The Strength is there for those who hope in the Lord. We all know a few of these people, they seem to have limitless amounts of energy, they are in to everything. The kids activities, their work, their church. They seem to be everywhere you are, and have just come from somewhere you wanted to be but could not make it. They run on an out of this world schedule, because they run on an energy that is out of this world. When I talk to these people they talk of their faith, not in a condescending, I have it and you don’t way, but with the attitude of how could anyone want to live any other way? We talk a lot about time management, we talk of sectioning off parts of our day so we can accomplish our tasks, but if we want this supercharged life, if we want to soar on wings like eagles, then we have to manages the most important part of our day, we have to quit thinking of the Lord like a time block that needs to be tended to then checked off the list. Trusting in the Lord means that we realize that the Lord is the time block that we fit all others into. He is the schedule that we build our life around. To borrow a line from Spurgeon, everything we see, do, and touch, should be tinged with the color of God. Trusting in the Lord is not something that is done in the first 15 min of the day, it is a way of life. The Lord will not carry you, He will give you wings to soar, He will not allow you to run a mile down the road, He will give you the strength to run all day. While others struggle to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other, you will find that you are walking with no need to slow your pace. Trust in the Lord. Immerse yourself in His love, flood your day with His grace, and you will find His strength will fill you, sustain you, build you up, and you will soar like an eagle. You will have a life full of the Lord, and that life wants for nothing!

 

God Bless,

Brian