Friday the 8th

 

Philippians 1:12

 

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

 

There Paul sat in chains, chains that bound him, and kept him from traveling and spreading the Word of God. Yet Paul still sees how even his hardship is an opportunity to advance the Word. It is easy to sing God’s praises when life is going well. It is when we hit the troubled patches that our true faith comes out. Paul could have very well dropped into a state of depression. He could have had himself quite a nice pity party, and rolled in his misfortune. Yet he chose not to. Paul instead used his time, and his misfortune as an opportunity to profess the Word to all who would listen. They might be able to keep his body in one place, but they could not keep the love of Christ from filling those around him! This is our challenge, when we face adversity we have two choices. We can lay down and be defeated, or we can turn that opportunity into a spectacular reflection of our faith. Just like Paul, you choose. In every situation you make the choice to reflect the Lord, or reflect defeat. Remember that those who are around you are watching to see how you handle it, will you break? Let them be in awe of how even in the darkest of times, your faith in the Lord shines through. God uses everything in our lives for the good. No matter how bad it is, he will use it for the good in the end. You just have to let him do that. Use your trials and hardships as a chance to praise God. If you listen, even in the storm, over the thunder, and the rain you will hear him say as always, “I am with you, I will not leave you I will never forsake you”

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Check yourself

2 Timothy 3: 1-5

 

¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

 

We do not know the day or the hour that Christ will return, yet we can be assured of one thing. HE will be coming back, and he has a very specific agenda for when he gets here! Take a few moments, and really read the scripture passage above. I know that many of you will think “well we are there already” and that is a very typical response, but I want you to really ready that passage, than put yourself against it……be honest with yourself. DO you find that you might fall in to one of these categories? Can you see areas of your life that might need some real honest prayerful work? It is easy to look at others and point the finger, yet being a true Christian is just as much about looking at yourself to make sure that you are projecting the morals that you are so quick to look for others lacking. We all have our struggles, but knowing that, and acknowledging that, is not to be confused with trying to repair that! The thief knows he is a thief, the addict knows he is an addict. While acknowledging it might be half of the process, without repentance, and reconciliation, it is useless. So yes we should all be on the look out for the people that fit these traits, but more importantly we should each be looking at ourselves to make sure that we don’t either!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Thursday the 7th

Philippians 1: 6

 

⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

The work has begun in each of us, but we have to remember that we have to allow that work to continue. Our journey begins with repentance and turning to the Lord, but that is not the end. We are not done…..not by a long shot! This is simply the starting point. You know it is the start line, because like so many starting lines there is a TON of people milling around. You have to open your heart, and your eyes to the spiritual world that has been revealed to you. You have to allow Christ to enter your heart, and start that journey down the long road. I do not want to mislead you either…..it is a long road; one without a real finish line. It is merely a checkpoint. That checkpoint will be when we stand before the Lord and we are judged. I say it is a checkpoint because if you have run the race, if you have worked to carry on to completion, then you will find that the next leg of the journey is eternity!  Make the choice to get off the milk and on to the meat of the Word of God. If you have not already, leave the start line. Let the journey begin, and allow yourself to experience all of the fullness of the Lord. There are great things to do, and unimaginable things to see, but you have to take the second and third steps. Standing at the starting line is no way to finish.

 

 

Peace,

Brian

Looking for a scrap?

2 Timothy 2: 14-15

 

¹⁴Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

 

If we could master the first part of this passage, it would make the second much easier! You know, if we really look at ourselves, we like to fight. We all do it differently, some are aggressive, some are passive aggressive, but we like a good scrap! It is one area of our lives that we all need work in. It seems that even as children we are always taking the bait when it comes to word wars. I have seen people from all walks of life, from convicts, to clergy fall victim to the devil’s snare. It has to be one of the most well used tools of the devil. Senseless bickering, nothing really comes of it, in fact it never was really that important in the first place. The fight is about who can get the last word in. We should all carry in our hearts and minds that fact that we are ALL God’s children; he does not pick sides, he loves all of us. For him there is no winner in a useless argument, only two losers, who have forgotten who their true father is. We should all do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, one who is not ashamed, we should do our best to stand as children of God! The best way to do that is to recognize that we are not the only children, we have to consider our brothers, and sisters. By working to build them up, we show our true worth to God, and those around us.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

 

Wed the 6th

Ephesians 5: 21

 

²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 

How ironic that one of the big traits that the Bible carries through it is submission, not just to God, or to Christ, but to each other. I say ironic because submission is typically beaten out of us starting in High School….maybe a little earlier. We are taught by the world not to submit to anyone. We are taught to conquer, we are taught to attack, or at least defend, but to submit…..well that is nothing more that weakness, or cowardice…..or both! Submission does not mean just to give in or to give up, but it does mean that we look at each other differently, it does mean that we put others needs in front of our own. You cannot understand how to help someone, or how to fix a problem, if we are shouting at the top of our lungs. We will not see the narrow gate, if we are busy charging the wide one! TO submit to one another is the true path to not only reconciliation, but to harmony. I am sure that you are already thinking, “Yeah well, what if the other guy will not submit” Then it is time to evaluate who you have in your life, and who you choose to invite in. The thing to remember is you will never know what the outcome will be, until you first try. We lose more battles because we refuse to let our guard down, we fight instead of backing off, we strike to inflict more damage instead of trying to fix what is broken……in short we refuse to submit. When you find yourself in the heat of battle remember to submit. You might be surprised to find that your opponent has been praying for a chance to do the same!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

don't forget your helmet

2 Timothy 1: 14

 

¹⁴Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

 

We often take for granted the gift we have been given by Christ Jesus, and the sacrifice he made. We run out into the world, and forget our helmet of salvation! We each have to remain diligent. We were given a gift that we did not deserve, and a time when the gift had no reason to be given; but more importantly, we were entrusted with that gift. It was not an old junky sweater that you were given, it was a gift that will last well beyond a lifetime, a treasure worth guarding, and it has been entrusted to you, not just to keep it safe, but to give freely to others as well! Remember that you are not alone in this task, the Holy Spirit is alive and well within you. Draw on that strength, look inward and upward for guidance. Be vigilant in guarding it, and be relentless in giving it to others. DO not fall into the trap of running out into the world and getting so caught up in other people’s business that you forget about this gift, and leave it unguarded. It is indeed your gift, it is up to you to protect it, You have been entrusted as a child of God, a sibling to Christ. It is no accident that you have been given this life changing, and life giving gift, You have been chosen to walk in the path of the light that is Christ. Guard that gift, and remember your helmet!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Tuesday the 5th

Ephesians 5: 15

 

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

 

Be wise, and make the most out of every opportunity. There is a call for continual work! We all leave the proverbial money on the table daily. Here is always more we could of done when it comes to God. Be wise with your time, as Christ reminded his disciples when he wanted to return to the city that wanted to kill him, we have 12 hours of daylight! More than enough time to get done what we need to do, but every hour that passes brings night closer, so there is not enough time to mess around. Find the task at hand and execute! Take every opportunity and recognize it for what it is, a chance to show by word and deed, the goodness of God. If one thing matters….then everything matters, there is no small task that does not count, nor are there tasks to big to tackle. Situations are placed in our path daily, we decide if we will take that challenge and make the most of it, or join the others who have decided to make camp and wait to see if the problem goes away. The days are evil, but we are children of light. Be wise and let that light shine brightly, make the most of every opportunity, if we are doing it in the name of the Lord, it will not be a wasted effort.

 

Peace,

Brian