Monday the 6th

Ephesians 1: 18

 

¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

 

As we journey through this week, this is my prayer for all. Holy week is a time for reflection. DO not let this week go by without spending some time looking at your life and what the Lord has blessed you with. This was the most difficult week in Christ’s life. All of His hopes, and struggles come to their pinnacle this week. The world’s savior is coming, and his resurrection will save every man woman and child who will have faith in Him. Do not let this week slip by without taking the time to say thank you! Why God loves us as much as he does is a mystery to me. His patience, understanding, and love go beyond my comprehension. What I can tell you is that God gave us a gift, that gift was His Son Jesus Christ. Do not squander that gift. Search your heart, and your soul, find what it is that the Lord has called you for, and go to work. Let this week be a week of praise and thanks giving to the Lord, may we each set forth the example that Christ lived. Love your God with all your heart; all your strength, and all your soul, then love your neighbor as you love yourself!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Friday the 3rd

Luke: 19: 37-40

 

 ³⁷When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
 ³⁸"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
      "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

 ³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

 ⁴⁰"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

 

No long posts today, this weekend is the beginning of forever for us! Jesus rides in to town on the back of a donkey, and the wheels of God’s plan steps into high gear. Let us all make a commitment to rekindle the passion of the Lord this week. I pose a question to all who read this passage. What is missing in Luke’s triumphal entry account that is present in all the other three Gospels? There are slight differences in all four, but Luke left one thing out that is in all other accounts. What is it? I will post the answer later this afternoon! Be blessed this weekend, and remember Blessed is the king that comes in the name of the Lord!

 

Peace,

Brian

Thursday the 2nd

Galatians 6:9    

⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

 

The road sometimes looks long, and the end is not end sight, yet we cannot give up on the journey. We all get tired; it is only human to feel overwhelmed, less than perfect, and not capable. We all have times in our lives when we think to ourselves….”are you kidding me? What was I thinking….I will never pull this off!” It is in those moments, those quiet dark moments of doubt, and wariness, that we must not falter. There is a harvest awaiting us, and it will be bountiful for those that persevere; but we have to stay strong, we cannot give up. I know that it sounds so easy then it is spoken, yet so hard to actually carry out when you find yourself at the end of your rope! It is at those times that I urge you not to turn to the comfort of friends who will sympathize and feed that feeling of despair, instead turn to the Lord first. He will restore your strength; He will make the path easier, and lighten your burden. Turn to Him first, then friends second! After all He is your true friend, the friend that picked you before your birth, the one who has been at your side through all of your victories, and defeats. He is the one friend that always has His arms stretched out waiting for you to ask Him for the strength to carry on. Do not give up, do not tire. When the load gets heavy share that burden with the Lord.

 

Peace,

Brian

lead with love

2 Thessalonians 3: 14-15

 

¹⁴If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. ¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

 

Do not lose the love for your brother….or sister! We are here for each other. We are here to support, encourage, and help each other. There will always be people who stray. We are commanded to love each other as we love ourselves. That means all others, not some, not just those we like, but all of them. When we read this passage, some might take it as license to turn their back on those who stumble. Do not lose sight of the intention Paul had behind the exclusion, it was to be used as a way to humble the person in question. It was to be temporary, not permanent. Do not regard him as an enemy….Here is where many fall short. We get so zealous in our desire to bring people to the Lord, we get so caught up in trying to “save their soul” that we push so hard that we end up pushing the people away. We should warn them as a brother. Notice it says do not treat them as an enemy. We come together in love, we persevere in love. We heal each others wounds with love. Lead with love.

 

Peace,

Brian

Wed the 1st

Galatians 6: 1

 

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

 

Here we find words to live by. It is human nature to spend more time looking at others than looking at ourselves. We tend to hold others more accountable for their actions, while we can typically rationalize our own. The trap we fall in to is how we handle those who do stumble, or even fall. Society tells us to puff our self up with our accomplishments, and be full of pride. Yet when we do that we treat others harshly, we think of ourselves as “better then most” When we think we are “only trying to help” we find that we really are holding others to a standard that we ourselves cannot attain. We must remain humble in all that we do. When we find others that are being challenged in their spirituality, when we see those that step off the path, we cannot meet them with harsh words, or exclusion; we must come to them, and see them for what they are…..a wounded soul. We do not care for a wound by pouring acid on it, and we will never fulfill the work of the Lord if we are pushing others away instead of bringing them back into the fold. So be gentle with each other. Be kind to the weak, remember where it is that you yourself started. Most importantly, do not allow yourself to become tempted. Hold fast to your faith, and lead your help for others with the Love of Christ so that you will keep him first, and use His protection for the temptation to come. We can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us!

 

Peace,

Brian

Never tire

2Tessalonians 3: 11-13

 

¹¹We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹²Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. ¹³And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

 

The ever loving busy body, responsible for more pain, grief, and unconstructive labor than any person that you will meet. We all know them, and we don’t know what to do about them. We get a glimpse into a good plan of action here in this scripture. Most importantly, never tire of doing what is right! Simply put, you cannot combat a busybody by becoming a busybody. Nothing is gained by “getting down to their level”. Many find it easier to return hat for hate, gossip for gossip. The ever famous line….”oh yeah, well do you know what they did?” When we perpetuate the gossip, we perpetuate the problem. Instead of being a part of the solution, we have become the person that we did not want to be in the first place. It is easy to feel slighted by a busybody, it is easy to let their insecurities spill over into your life, and create self-doubt within you. Have faith in the Lord, and never tire of doing what is right. Remember compassion, remember love; remember that Christ overcame the world, overcame death, not through force, not by coercion. Christ overcame death, with love, faith, grace. You will always have to contend with the busybody, no family, no church, no community is perfect. Don’t fight fire with fire; never tire of doing what is right. Live with love in your heart, live with the light of the Lord burning brightly within you. Live as the child of God that you are.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Tuesday the 31st

Galatians 5: 22-23

 

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

I spend a lot of time talking about how we should not be bound by the law. Law protects us from sin, but does little to give us salvation. When we lead our lives with the fruit of the Spirit the laws are meaningless…..not because we can break them and it is alright…..but because the fruit of the Spirit keeps us well above any law. When you live for love, peace, joy….with patience, goodness, and faithfulness….when you practice gentleness, and self-control….there is not law for these behaviors. There is only Christ. So many people today live just well enough to get by. They look at the law and think that if no laws are broken then they are doing well……however it is when we lose sight of the laws, when we turn our focus to Christ that we can see the laws for what they are, chains that keep us from focusing on God. Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. When we apply these principles to our world we allow ourselves to experience the true Spirit of the Trinity. A heart absent of malice, judgment, and anger, is a heart that has plenty of room for all of the good that the Lord wants to fill your life with. I will not try and tell you that it is an easy task, it is not by any means. Many people will tell you that it is not worth the time, effort ands energy….I want to promise you that not only is it worth it, but your life will improve so much that you will not believe that you ever lived any other way. Choose to live for the Lord, choose to rout out the “old ways” do not get so focused on the law that you miss the opportunity that is right before you, the opportunity to know, love, and walk with the Lord. Live a life free of the law, and full of the love of Christ. As Paul tells us, there is not law for that!  

 

Peace,

Brian