Thursday the 10th

John 5:17

¹⁷Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.

 

I really did not want to wake up this morning, I thought it would be a much easier day if I just stayed in bed, and let the day pass me by. We all feel like that every now and again don’t we? Just want to drop off the grid, and worry about one thing and one thing only…..me. In the spiritual world there is no day off. One cannot be afforded. We can’t just check out, and let the day slip by. There is not enough time. We each have 12 hours of daylight; enough time to get everything done, but not enough time to give up one hour of it! When Bob Marley (He started off Rastafarian, then converted to Christianity)  was shot, as soon as he got out of the hospital, he went to do a show. When asked why he did not take some time off, his response was that the bad people in the world don’t take a day off, so he was not going to either. That is how we have to look at it as well. We cannot give up one day….I can promise you the devil is not taking a sick day! Each day is an opportunity, it is our chance to make a difference, no matter how big or how small. You might think that the world will not miss you for a day, but you would be wrong. Every conversation is a chance for you to change a life, everything you get involved in is a chance for you to show the love of Christ to those around you. We can make a difference, each and everyone of us. It is the difference of one person at a time. So when you think of dropping off the grid for the day…. when you think that no one will notice or that no one cares, remember that the devil will still be at work, and the difference you might of made to someone will never happen,….that saving conversation, that random act of kindness, maybe something as simple as listening to someone’s problems, that will not happen,  but the devil will be there to step in. We each make a difference, we all count, we each wear the signet ring of the LORD. If my Father, and my brother are always working then I am going to work shoulder to shoulder with them. Will you join us?

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Wed the 9th

John 5: 6-8

 

⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"  ⁷"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."  ⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 

 

This illustrates exactly how Christ works in our lives. Have you ever had a big problem? Something going on in your life that you just cannot seem to overcome? When we find ourselves in that situation we typically look directly at the problem…..I will never afford that, there is no way I have the strength to overcome…..the world has me down, and it keeps kicking me….I just can’t get back up……sound familiar? I am sure it does, because we have all been there. Well Christ is standing right next to you right now, saying “get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” That man would have sat by the pool for the rest of his life, sure that he could never make it to the water….all of these problems, all of these obstacles were in his way. He had no help, when he does try to get down there someone gets in front of him…..all of these reasons that just make it to hard. Guess what? The man needed no healing pool, he needed no help form those around him. What he needed was exactly the same thing that each of us need, and just as Christ was standing there next to that man at the pool all of those years ago; He is standing right next to you when you open you eyes in the morning, He is next to you in the interview, He is walking right next to you during your season of hell. Christ’s advice to you today, is the same as it was to the man by the pool. Pick up your mat and walk! We can let the troubles of the world press down on us, we can allow it to keep us sitting on our mat, complaining about our misfortune, or how life is just not fair….how everyone else gets in front of us, or we can choose to let Christ do what He does best….. Complete us, fill us, and restore us. Don’t let the world keep you on your mat, accept the Lords offer, pick up your mat and walk with him today. Trust in Him, praise Him, love Him, and walk with Him!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

 

Tue the 8th

John 4:50-53

⁵⁰Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵²When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." ⁵³Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.

The man took Jesus at His word and left. Yet notice how it is not counted as belief in Christ (faith) until the father realized that the exact hour when Jesus spoke the words was the exact time that the boy’s fever broke. We do that often in our lives don’t we? We hear something and say OK I believe it, but it is not until we see the fruit of the words that we truly say “Ohhhhh not now I really believe!” While we might do well to live our worldly lives with a “trust but verify” attitude towards those we come in contact with, we cannot afford to have that type of relationship with our savior (trust me on this one). It is our faith that saves us, it is our faith that will bring us into a world beyond this one. We cannot “wait and see” with our faith in Christ. Grab hold of the promises of the Lord, let your faith lead you. Don’t follow with weak faith that only believes what it can see. Any common animal is capable of that type of faith, for it is not true faith at all. Choose to let your faith fill your heart, let it flow from your lips, and allow it to radiate from your very being. There is nothing that is too hard for God, there is not a problem to big, no situation impossible. The Lord will overcome all obstacles that might hinder you on your path…..if you will let Him, if you will choose faith in what is unseen over what can be seen, you will find yourself unstoppable. Faith is the fuel which will propel your life. Christ is the only vehicle that will run on faith, and that vehicle it the machine that will take you from the ordinary to the extraordinary!

May the Lord find you and bless you today,

Brian

Monday the 7th

John 4: 17-18

¹⁷"I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

 

Man, do I know how that woman felt! She did not tell a lie….not by today’s standards. Really the answer she gave was more truthful than what other people might have said. The pain, the embarrassment, the shame….whatever the reason, she put out just enough information to move the conversation forward, but not enough to show her true self. Withholding information is just as much misdirection as an outright lie. While we might be able to get away with in the natural world from time to time, just like this woman, we will have a meeting with someone where the misdirection will not work, the Lord will already know the answer before He asks you. So instead of working on the cover story, maybe we should spend the time working on dropping the façade. Why would the woman not give out all the information? Well it sounds like she was the biblical version of Elizabeth Taylor…..not exactly bragging rights that you want to own! How does Christ treat this woman? Well first he lets her know that she is not fooling anyone, he knows her past…..but here is the beauty of it, Christ still offers the water of life. Here is Christ, a Jew, talking to a Samarian woman (a big no no for the day)….and not just any Samarian woman, a woman with a history. Yet here is Jesus holding out His hand and saying  ‘hey, I know where you are coming from, but I have a better future for you” That is how the Lord shows up in our lives. You think you don’t deserve it….think your past is to dark, to many transgressions to be forgiven? Maybe you think that there is just no way you deserve that kind of forgiveness. Let me let you in on something…..none of us really deserve it!  He does not care about your past, just your future. He knows where you have been, and he does not care. He wants you now, just as you are, scars and all. Where you are at today, right now, this very second….you are just what the Lord is looking for, and He has a huge future in store for you, all you have to do is accept the drink of life giving water. Christ has never been concerned with what the world says about anyone, he knows each and everyone of us, and he knows the beauty and perfection that we are capable of…..the scars and the history you have picked up along the way, that is nothing to lie or be misleading about. Those dark spots that you went through made you who you are today. Make today the first day, the first day that you don’t feel the labels that the world has put on you, let today be the first day that you decide to live as a child of God… We all have a past, but we all will not have the same future.

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Thursday the 3rd

John 2:15

¹⁵So he (Jesus) made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

 

Did you ever know a hot head? Maybe you work with one now….when that type of person goes off, it is sort of expected isn’t it? You think, or there goes old so and so, he is wound up about something again….but you don’t pay a lot of attention to them do you? It is just another tirade form a person who has not fully accepted God’s grace. When we make it a habit to shout, and fume, when we take every instance, and point in our lives and make it a huge spectacle, we become ineffective. People quit listening. The reason why Jesus got everyone’s attention….notice they did not come back into the temple after he left….He so seldom showed that much outrage about anything. The point? Make your words and actions count. Don’t be the person that everyone brushes aside, and pays no attention to as well he is just being him. Hold your tongue, hold your emotions, until the offence is worth the outrage. Then people will listen. AS Christ shows us by his life there are very few things in life that really warrant outrage. Let us use His example in our lives, and as my Father used to tell me, don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill! Christ Did not get worked up about much, because he trusted His Fathers plan, let us do the same.

 

The other thing that stands out about this passage…. This is the only time we see Jesus really get worked up. Think of all that Jesus went thought, the persecution, the brow beatings by the various religious leaders, the people in general who turned their back on Him. He never wavered, He never got angry, He came to save the world, and for a large part, it was a world that did not want to be saved! Even when they came to take Him away, His followers were ready to fight, but Jesus held it together (talk about faith in the plan!). Yet here we see a very different, a very human Christ. We see a very peaceful man make a whip, and take those that would desecrate His fathers house to task. If there is one thing in life that is worth getting worked up about, it is people desecrating God, and His house. This is an important point for today’s world because we as Christians are under attack daily. The world tends to take our forgiveness for weakness. As a result, while we do not have money changers in the temple today, we do have money changers trying to replacing our churches with the interests of the world. That is something to get fired up about.  The world depends on us sitting by the sidelines watching as they try to force us out of everyday life. Think I am overreaching? How many people do you know that go to Church weekly….even bi weekly, let alone bring the Lord into their lives daily? The world is doing a fantastic job of convincing people that they do not need God. It is time that we grab our proverbial whips and drive them out. Get fired up, take a stand. If there is anything in life worth standing on, it is the rock of Christ. Forgiveness and compassion is divine, but not at the cost of our Savior. Speak the Word of God proudly!

 

Trusting in the plan,

Brian

Wed the 2nd

John 2: 10

¹⁰and (the master of the banquet) said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

Anything that Christ get involved in is the best. Once the Lord places his hand on something it is changed forever…..for the better. If something as plain as water can be transformed into not just wine, but fine wine; imagine what changes He can make in your life if you will allow it. Wine does not have free will….. you do. When you let the Lord get involved, he will bless you, He will pour out his favor on you, and He will transform your life from the simple worldly life that you have now, into a spectacular life long example of God’s love of those who love Him. The Lord does not do things by half measure. God did not give Moses the power to build a bridge quickly, He gave Moses the power part a sea. Jesus did not comfort the sick by tucking them in and bringing them food, He healed them of their sickness, He did not just tell people how to turn from sin, He drove the evil right out of those possessed. Christ did not just tell those who followed Him “ hey go out and tell the world about me” He sent His followers out with the power heal the sick, and drive our demons………No when the Lord gets involved with something it is never a half measure…….why would that not be the first place we would go in our time of need? Hurting? Ask the Lord to step in…..Lost? Ask the Lord for direction…..full of remorse? Ask the Lord for forgiveness. There is nothing that you need, that the Lord will not give to you. HE has your portion in hand, waiting for you to ask for His help. Just like the water, He will step into your life and change it into the finest wine. Mary did not run around looking for more wine, she did not send people out house to house to ask for wine donations. She went straight to the source, she went to the one place we should all run to in our time of need…..Christ. This Christmas season, let us all run to Christ, let us each ask him to change our lives from water to wine.

Peace,

Brian

Tuesday the 1st

John 1:39

³⁹"Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

 

 

Could you imagine……spending the day with Christ! What more could anyone ask for……What if I told you that Christ whispers those same words to you everyday……Come and you will see! Every morning when you wake Christ is there, waiting for you to say Lord, where are you going? Where are you staying? What does the day hold? If you will just ask, you will get the same response. Come and you will see. Will you? Will you follow the Lord today? Will you allow him into your heart, not just for a quick prayer in the morning, or a wrap up microwave prayer in the evening. Will you choose to spend the day with Jesus? The prince of peace has much to show you, he has more love to give than a thousand lifetimes could hold. Allow Him to give you that peace, that love, that joy, that can only be found when following the one who loves you so much. He does you know, He loves you down to your very core, the bright spots and the dark spots all the same. Christ is the one person who finds you perfect just as you come to him. He had a hand in creating you….and His Father the creator of all things does not make junk! Make the choice to ask the Lord where he stays, you might be surprised to find that he will stay right inside of your heart! Listen for the words that he speaks everyday to you. “Come, and you will see” then choose to follow the one true beacon of light in this dark world. Follow the love, follow the truth, follow the joy that always has been and always will be Jesus Christ.

 

May the light of Christ light you path, and your heart,

Brian