Friday the 30th

2 Peter 1:12-13

 

¹²So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body.

 

Our work is never done. There is no conversion of a sinner and we are then done check mark. We must always continue to encourage, remind, and reinforce upon each other the truths of Christ. I used to drive and fire tanks at one point in my life, I used to ride a half pipe on a skate board. I can honestly say that while I still have some knowledge of these things, I could not do them today. So goes our love for Christ. If we do not keep it in the forefront, if we do not utilize the power that we have been given, it will fade. We will find that while we might have the knowledge, we are no longer firmly established in the truth. We will be adrift like a ship without a sail, floating at the mercy of the winds of the world. We must continue to remind, and encourage each other as long as we live in our temporary tents of life so that each of us stays strong in the truth. We all go through difficult times….times that we might feel the urge to slip, or stumble. With the help of our friends, with the encouragement from each other we will find the strength to persevere in the name of Christ Jesus….and there is the joy and the hardship right there to read in the last few words of verse 13…..”as long as I live”. Our time here is limited. While we might be eager to spend eternity with Christ, it is all too human to feel the pangs of  reluctance about leaving this world, yet it is going to happen. Our time is short, and we all have 12 hours of daylight. Enough time to get done what we need to get done, but not enough time to waste much of it. Let us spend that time not just looking for the lost, but also reminding each other just what we are saving the lost from. As we go into the weekend let us all remember that all of our time counts, all of our time is a reflection of what we find important in our lives. May we all hold our families a little tighter, gather our friends a little closer, and reach our hands out a little farther to those who need help. Let our actions and our words remind those around us of the truth, the life, and the light that is Christ.

 

God Bless,

Brian

 

Thursday the 29th

2 Peter1: 3

 

³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

 

Before you draw your first breath in the morning, before you open your eyes you already have everything you need to conquer the day. The Lord has placed inside of us all of the strength, the knowledge, the desire, and the perseverance that we could possibly need. So why is it so hard to get out of bed? Why is it that our first thought is I wish I could stay in bed, or our first emotion reluctance? It is not because we don’t have what we need, it is because we don’t rely on what we have. Don’t fool yourself, if you had more money, if you had a different job, if you had a different house, or a different family it would not change. Everyone has problems, everyone can see where they are, and see that they want something different. That is the snare of the devil. Just as we all have problems, we all also have something else in common……The love of the Lord. No matter our station in life we all are blessed with the tools we need to lead a spectacular life. We just need to rely on the Lord and what he has given us, instead of looking for ways to make our life easier. Each morning make the choice to wake up with the Lord. Instead of dreading the day, spend some time with the Lord, reflect each morning on all that you have been given, let the Spirit of the Lord rise up inside of you in the morning, and allow it to wrap you in joy. Each day is a choice, do I rely on the Lord, or do I rely on myself? When you rely on yourself, it is easy to see why the day looks so challenging, it is no surprise that there is a lot that you cannot accomplish, there are things that you will not be able to do. However with the Lord all things are possible….all things??? Yes! All things! Think of the blind that were given sight, the lame that were given their legs back, the sick that were healed, and the people saved from fire, and from prison. None of those things happened because those people believed in themselves, their belief rested on the only foundation that will outlast any storm…..Jesus Christ. Those people knew that they had been given more than they needed in Jesus Christ, and His Father. These people show us that the Lord is more than enough, He has given us more than our portion. Rely on that and your days will be bright; illuminated with the glory and goodness of the Lord. We will find ourselves suited for battle in armor that no enemy can overcome.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Wed the 28th

1 Peter 5:8

⁸Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 

Self-control…..it is where we all must start. We cannot help others if we cannot control ourselves. If we cannot control our selves we cannot love ourselves, if we do not love ourselves, we cannot truly love others. If we do not love others, we cannot effectively serve God, Christ, or our fellow man. It is a theme that runs through out the Bible, yet it is a concept we look at last. We love to look into other peoples backyards and point out the trash, the things that we might do differently if it was ours, we are always eager to go and help “fix” whatever is broken. Perhaps we notice all that they have that we do not.  Seldom do we take the time needed to look at our own backyard. More often than not, ours is in no better condition. While we are so busy looking at others, the devil is prowling in our back yard searching us out. We make for easy prey when we provide so much cover for the devil to hide behind. We must work to clean up our own backyard first, and that takes a HUGE amount of self-control. When we work to remove the clutter, we have a better field of view to see the devil coming. When we work to remove things like lust, pride, envy, anger, and deception from our lives, we find that self-control is easier to attain. These types of emotions are the devils hiding spots, they feed on us, and urge us to “let go”. We cannot let ourselves walk into that snare. Through the sacrifice of Christ we find the strength needed to rid our backyards of this clutter. Then we can go on to help our neighbor, then we can start to love ourselves, then we can fall on our knees and give thanks and praise to the Lord for all He has done without having to worry about the lion jumping on our backs. Remember while we are busy looking into someone else’s backyard……someone is busy looking into ours. Work for self-control in all areas of your life so that you might clear enough space to allow the Holy Spirit to do all of the good works within you. We have but one life to live for the Lord, let us work to make it a worthy one.

 

May you be filled with the love of Christ,

Brian

Tuesday the 27th

1 Peter 4:11

 

¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 

This passage always reminds me of my school days. The teachers favorite phrase to my parents would always be “we feel that Brian is just not working up to his potential”……..it took many years for me to understand what those teachers were talking about….and they were right. Paul is very much saying the same thing here. He is urging us to unlock our spiritual potential. When we speak, we should speak as if every word is important as if it is the very words of God…..because they are. After all were we not created in His image? Are we not called to follow in Christ’s footsteps? When we speak it tells the world volumes about our true belief. We make a choice do we fit in with the world, or do we show the world the potential that we have? The same can be said about when we serve, it should be done, not just as good as humanly possible, but we should unlock the strength that God provides and show the world the strength that God provides to those He loves. We are all human, but each and every one of us has the potential to be so much more. We have the potential inside of us to lead spectacular lives that reflect the glory, and the power of God. It starts with our words, and spills over into our actions. What will you do? Will you work to your potential? Will you step out in faith, and let your words show the purity of God? Will you work to let your actions reflect the strength that God has placed inside of you? We all have a huge amount of potential. The choice is ours to make, will we work to it, or will we simply survive? Unlock your potential today, make the choice, and commit yourself to it. Give the glory to God, let your words and actions show the world your true potential.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Monday the 26th

1 Peter 4: 8-9

 

⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

 

As we start the week this week, let us all do it with our hearts full of love. I know that few of us were eager to get out of bed this morning, maybe it was a rough trip in to the office, or the kids hid the keys….whatever the case make it a point today to set those little instigators to the side. Don’t let the small things in life keep you form experiencing the true joy of living with Christ. Lead with love, love that flows from the heart, love that puts the needs of others first. Let us offer hospitality to each other without grumbling, not because there is something in it for us, not because we deem that the other person “deserves it” let us look after each other, and may we do it with a joyful heart. Let us live to give this week, may we give in love, and give much, so that when the week draws to a close we can look back and reflect on the joy that we have brought into the world, knowing that it has been done in the name of the Lord. Love covers a multitude of sins, I cannot think of a better remedy for the pains in our life, than loving others.

 

May God bless and keep you,

 

Brian

 

 

Friday the 23rd

1Peter 4: 4-5

 

⁴They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

 

I was reading an article about some new signs up in New York that can be seen throughout the subway system now. They read something to the effect of you can have a good day without God. From what I understand there are several signs that have different verbiage but the same message, you don’t need God to have a good day…the idea is that you can live everyday without God, and it will still be a good day…..you know what? They are right! You can have a good day, maybe a good week without God….but you will not have a good life….and when you go down into the dirt you will suffer the pain of death not just once, but twice. The world wants you to believe that you don’t need God, they cannot understand why so many of us will not conform to the ways of the world. They hold us up as outdated, superstitious, or delusional. The next verse tells the tell, we will all have to give account, we all will stand before the Lord, and answer for our lives. Not just a day or two…… but for our whole life. So yes, I am sure that you can have some good days without God, I have seen many people do it. I just don’t really have any plans to have to explain and give account of why I tried to do it without Him. Why settle for a good day, when you can have a good life, why look only to the day that you are living now, when it is everyday in your life, and everyday in the next life that counts. Christ did not suffer, die, and then defeat death so we could have a good day. That was done with the long term plan in mind, it is a gift for those who will accept it, for those who will stand proudly on the day of judgment, and say yes, I followed you Lord, and while everyday has been a blessing, the eternal life spent at your side has always been the goal. I have no need for one day without God, even if it was to be a fantastic one in the worldly view. One day without my Savior cannot even be marginally good, it is a lost day, a day that I can never get back, a day squandered on the devil, and an embarrassment to myself, and my God. Don’t live for a good day, live as the offspring of royalty that you are, live a child of God, and a sibling to Christ, that is the key to not just to one single good day, but to an unbelievably, unimaginably, spectacular eternal life.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

 

Thursday the 22nd

1Peter 3:13-14

 

¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”

 

I love how Peter points out the obvious fact that I so often over look……who is going to harm you if you are working for the good? So often we are hesitant to do the right thing when it counts. We are afraid of how it will be taken, or that if we expose to much of ourselves, even in an attempt to do good, we will somehow tip our hand to the world, and we will be persecuted. SO we blend in, we let ourselves become camouflaged with the rest of the world, so that we don’t stand out. The fear we feel is a false fear, I often think of it as the devil himself whispering in your ear to just sit back and let it happen…..nothing you can really do….you can’t make a difference…..The truth of the matter is who cares what the world thinks? So what if you are persecuted for doing the right thing, you have nothing to fear. Why you might ask, because the Lord is with us, I often think of the LORD reassuring Joshua before he crossed the Jordan, the Lord reminds Joshua be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be frightened, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. We all have our rivers to cross in life, we all have a chance to do the right thing everyday, while that little voice might whisper in our ear to just let things happen, we know differently, we know that we are blessed, we know that the Lord is with us, and that being the case what weapons formed against us have a chance? We do not need to fear what the world fears, We have a family in the Holy Trinity that will always protect us.  We will not come to harm for doing good, we become spiritually injured when we do not!

 

In the name of the Lord,

Brian