Wednesday the 25th

Matthew 18: ⁷"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

 

 

We are responsible for our own actions, we all know that, and we all get that. We all know that there is evil in the world, I do not think there is anyone out there that would contest that fact. However are we aware that to some degree we are responsible for the actions of those that share in our lives? We are…that is what Christ is telling us. A thief can repent for their sins, but if the thief teaches another person to steal, they cannot repent for their students sins. Each of us might walk right up to the line of morality and successfully pull away, but we have no control if we take someone with us, and they cross that line. The choices we make, the path that we walk will at sometime or another be an instruction manual for someone else…..so what are we teaching? Our actions, even though we might not realize it, are often tied to another persons actions. What we say is OK the next person might take a step further, and cross into sin. This is why I talk so much about love, about forgiveness, about compassion. When we are living like Christ, when we are living our lives trying to help others, then our focus will be on helping our fellow man / woman improve their lives. How did you get to where you are today? What have you shown others in the past that you thought was acceptable? Are you living your life today thinking that it’s OK for me, but no one else should do this? We cannot wear a mask during the week  then try and show our real faces on Sunday morning. The people around us will not see the person on Sunday, they will remember, and emulate the person they see during the week. Where are you leading those around you? What are you teaching the world? A hard lesson for me to learn was that I can’t break the rules then explain that it was ok that one time, I can’t live my life as if nothing matters, then expect those around me to understand that God is all that matters. There will always be sin in this world, there will always be temptation, this is after all the devil’s playground. It comes down to the question of who’s team are you on? …..and there really is no gray area….we choose to be a teacher of sin, or a teacher of the Lord. The ripples of our actions reach well beyond our reach.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Tuesday the 24th

Romans 5: ¹⁰For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

 

You are reconciled with God. You are forgiven. It is a phrase that we use often. We use it to the point that the words are said, but often are not heard. Do you believe it? Do you live it? We hear the phrase that we are forgiven, and it is easy to think of a lot of people in your life who are forgiven, and needed that forgiveness…but what about you? We hear the phrase, and we know that those around us have had the slate wiped clean, but what about you? DO you realize that that forgiveness is on a very deep, internal, and personal level, that the Lord’s forgiveness is yours and it was given directly to you? We are always eager to make sure others know about the love of God, the forgiveness that we were given through His Son, yet we have a problem giving ourselves permission to enjoy that same forgiveness. We know that Christ lived dies and rose again to save the world, but do we centralize that down to the point that we understand that He did all of that for each one of us? You are forgiven, you are reconciled with God, your past does not matter anymore…..So are you living like you are forgiven, or are you living like you are still waiting to be? If you have not dropped the pain and the hurt in your life, how can you expect anyone you talk to do it? A forgiven life is a life of  service, and thanksgiving, a life waiting to be forgiven is a life of servitude to the world, and regret. Choose to accept the forgiveness that is freely offered. It is forgiveness that was extended to you before you were born. It is a standing offer, that is never revoked, but you have to choose to accept it. You have to choose to live it. Christ did not hang on a cross so that you could see all those around you receive the benefit. He did it for you. His forgiveness is not just for everyone else, it is specifically for you. Your sins are no worse, your short comings are no different, your past is just that the past. Live the life of the forgiven, not the life the world would have you live. Choose to take the Lord up on His offer, and truly let Him in. let go of the regret, the Lord has already forgotten it.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Monday the 23rd

Luke 12: ¹⁵Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

 

I know that this is something that comes up a lot, but when I read the headlines, look at the world around me, and listen to my co-workers….and honestly to myself…..I know that this is something that we all struggle with. It must have been a pretty big problem back in Jesus’ day, because He felt the need not just talk about it, but to make it a point to warn people. WATCH OUT! Be on your guard……..that is a pretty clear to me that something is going to happen, temptation is right around the corner. Now here is a point I feel is important to point out. Greed in the NIV is covetousness in the KJV, and the oldest text I have is the Bishops Bible from 1568 which uses the word couetousnes (they were not big with using the letter V) Strong’s dictionary shows the original word used in the Greek text to be pleonexia

pleh-on-ex-ee'-ah  that is, (by implication) fraudulency, extortion: - covetous (-ness) practices, greediness.  So at the heart of the matter is not just the feeling that we all struggle with (hey, I want that) it is allowing that feeling to turn into an action, an action that will take you on a path further from God. You might think that you will never allow that to happen, but let me be the first to say that Christ is correct, Watch out, and be on guard. The opportunity will present itself. The first job I ever had where I was purchasing things with company money the temptation came up often, ever since that day of the first offer, others have continued to arise. To some extent it is a temptation that we all face from time to time. The ability to get something, to attain status, or to further our goals, by way of fraudulency, or extortion……. greed, as we know it today, can be a tempting mistress. The pile of toys that we could amass are fun to have. There is a reason we are warned against it….like most things in life the easy way pays well in the short term. I know I could have made quite a bit of money taking the easy way, I have known men in high positions that have taken the easy way. I have worked with many people in many companies, that took the easy way. All of them had one thing in common….what started out as” just this once”, turned in to a lifestyle of corruption, and I can honestly say in each case I know of, it ended poorly. We come into this world with nothing more than the life that we were given by the grace of God, when we leave, the only thing we will take is the soul given to us. The time in the middle will determine the condition of that soul. There is a reason Christ used the image of storing up our riches in heaven. It is the polar opposite of the greed He was talking about. So take heed, watch out, and be on guard. The scales of justice are weighted in your favor, for Christ is on your side, but “just one” can quickly turn in to “just until I get ___” and the scales tip quickly when Christ steps off.  HE will never leave you, but if you choose to walk alone, and balance your own scales, He will let you do just that.

 

God bless,

Briane will never lea

 

Friday the 20th

James 1:  ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

 

Ahhh another school year has started, and times they are a changing. It does not matter if you have kids, your kids are no longer kids, or you never plan on having kids, this time of year always makes for hectic times. If you have kids, the money pit opens up and has to be fed, the schedules around the house change, responsibilities are shifted, and time becomes ever so elusive. If you do not have kids, then you still have to deal with the traffic, change routes, and of course deal with all of the stressed out people who do have kids, and are living on their last nerve! My point is that this is a season that comes every year, and one that can get the best of us if we let it.  This scripture reminds us that these are good times to be in! Yeah, I know….”are you crazy, Brian, these are not good times!) but they are, not only are they good times, they are important times in our faith. These are times that test our faith. The pressure of the day press down on us like a wine press, and we feel as if we are trapped. What will you do, where will you turn? If you are thinking about now that you cannot do it on your own, then you are half way there, because you can’t! Not only can you not do it alone, you are not expected to. These are the times when we make sure that we have Christ in the drivers seat. It is not sheer stubbornness that will pull you through, it is reliance on your faith that will! When time gets small, and the world gets big, it is time to put your faith in the God that is bigger than any world out on display. This is the time when prayers are answered, needs are met, and gaps are bridged, but only if you are making the prayers, needs, and gaps known. If you don’t hand them over to the Lord, they will stay your problems for a long time! Faith is not a short term dividend. It is a long term retirement investment. It is the continued reliance on your faith, and God’s grace that will take you through any tough time. Perseverance is the key. It is not just never giving up, but never giving up on God. The road to spiritual maturity is not just a short trip through one or two seasons, it is a journey through many years of many seasons, and I promise you the more you trust in the Lord, the shorter those seasons get! So as the weight of the world starts settling on your shoulders this year, shrug it off and give it to the Lord. We are not built to carry that heavy of a load, that is why we were given His Son. Turn your pressures over to the One who carried all of our sin, then you will find the strength to persevere, you will find that you will not be lacking anything!

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 19th

Psalm 141: ¹ O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you.

Come quickly to me….hear my voice when I call. That sounds more like telling than asking, doesn’t it? There are several times in the book of Psalms that I can’t help but think that David had great expectations when it came to God. He expected the Lord to protect Him, he expected the Lord to come to him, he expected the Lord to hear him each and everytime he lifted his voice to God. You know what? God did all of that and then some. The Lord has no problem meeting our needs, and our righteous expectations. As He told Jeremiah in chapter 32: ²⁷ "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? God wants us to depend on Him, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. He expects us to expect Him to. When we trust someone, when we love someone, when we depend on someone, then we expect things from them, and they from us. A child expects that their parent will be there to pick them up after school, a brother expects his older brother to protect him, the best friend is expected to be a confidant, and a supporter of dreams, and goals. There is nothing that the people that we surround ourselves with will not do for us……so how much more is God willing to do for those that love Him? If you can trust your life to your family, and a few friends, then how much more can you trust your eternal soul to the one who created it all? Call on Him, He will answer…expect Him to answer because you can trust Him, you can trust Him because He has told us that we can. Jeremiah 33: ³ 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Call on me, and notice here that God does not say He will listen, or that He will hear. In our time of need we call and He will answer! God wants you to expect things from Him, The Lord wants you to depend on Him, and Him alone for your needs. There is nothing to hard for Him, there is nothing to big, there is nothing He will not do for you. You have to ask, then you have to have the faith that He will answer. The quickest way to get your voice up to the Lord, is to get down on a knee. Call on Him, He is expecting you.

God Bless,

Brian

Tuesday the 17th

Luke 9:  ⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

 

The older I get, the better I was. Christ tells us that we have to leave our old lives behind, but that can be a hard thing to do. One of the things that always strikes a chord with me, is when people talk about how much easier it was when they were back in high school, or college, or just when they were y0unger. You always hear “man, I wish my life was as easy as it was when I was_____”  Or when I was in high school life just made so much more sense. Well let me be the first to say, no it was not easier, and it did not make any sense back then, any more than it does today. The difference? Us. Before we stepped out into the “real world” our lives were pretty complicated, we just don’t remember it that way. There were choices to make, big choices, life changing choices to be made. There were deadlines, and expectations to be met. Life really was no simpler back then. We look back and think it was because we remember the joy we had back then, we remember the high points, the wins, the good times. So it becomes quite easy to live in the past, and shun the life you have today. The older I get…..it does not have to be that way. Your life today is just as bright as it was back then, it is just as promising, and it still has quite a bit of potential that is out in front of you. I would go as far as to say, now, today, is even better than it was back then. Today you know what it means to walk with the Lord, today, you are aware of the promises that the Lord has made, today you know what it means to be a child of God. So why would you think of yesteryear as your glory days? Today, right now, you have the opportunity to live in the glory of God. The offer is extended to take the Lord up on all the promises He has made, we are reminded in Joshua 21: ⁴⁵ Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. The Lord is a promise keeper, he does not backtrack on His commitments. So what does that mean for us today? That means that right now are the glory days, right now life should be getting less complicated, right now the Lord is wanting to pour out His blessings. It is not that our life has become harder, it is just that our vision has become clouded.  When we were young life was black and white, right and wrong. Today we have allowed the shadows to creep in. Not quite dark, not quite light, just a nice shade of gray. There is no gray area in the Lord’s world, or in His plan. His truth cuts through he darkness, and drives away the shadows.  There is no gray area to live in, when you live with the Lord. When you clear the shadows out, you will see what it is to live in the joy of the Lord, to sleep in His rest, to live in His strength. You will find that the true and trusted saying will be “the older I get the better I will become”. The best days lie ahead, not behind.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 12th

Matthew 14: ¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."  ¹⁶Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

 

Can’t you hear the Holy Spirit saying that to you today? “They don’t need to leave, you need to feed them.” We live in a crazy world, it is fast paced, it is hectic, and it is demanding. All throughout the day we have people that come to us, and we brush them off, we send them on the way as quickly as possible, why? Because we just do not have what they want…..time. We have so much to do for ourselves, that we just don’t have the time to give to anyone else. Let them go get what they need on their own. However, today if we don’t give the people the time that they need, if we do not help feed their souls, they will go away hungry, and they might not find the sustenance that they need. They do not need to go away, we need to feed them. No, I can’t turn one fish into many, and I can’t make one hour last as long as two, but We can look at what is taking up out time, and cut out what is not needed. We can make the commitment to give more time to others than we take for ourselves. The whole story of Jesus feeding the masses starts off with someone giving what they thought would not be enough. It goes to show that with Christ in our life, our little bit, can be turned into more than enough, and did you notice that when we read about all being fed, they were satisfied, not gorged, not “full as a tick” they were satisfied.  I believe, and am convinced this is exactly where we lose so much time. We gorge on time for ourselves, as a result there is not anything for the person next to us. This is why we are so sure that what we have is not enough, and when we look in the basket we often find that we are right! We have to give what we have, but we have to only use what we need. Give the rest to the person next to you, they need that time….they need your time. Yes, I understand that you might think it might not be enough, give it anyway. Fifteen minutes of love, might be worth an hour to someone that does not have any in their life. Thirty minutes of compassion, might be worth an entire day to someone who feels isolated, and five minutes of forgiveness might just be enough for a lifetime to someone who is lost. They do not need to go away, we need to feed them. Center Christ in your life, you will find more time than you need, more love than you can give, more hope than you can dream, and enough forgiveness to fill the entire world. Feed the masses today, if we send them away, they might not return.

 

God Bless,

Brian