Tuesday the 22nd

John 12

 

 ⁴²Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

 

I am sure I will not get the full point out of this scripture, but every time I read it, I think of the same thing…….we really have not changed as a people have we? I talk to people all of the time who know Christ, they even claim to put their faith in Him, yet they will not talk about Him in public….they will not give Him the glory. We have moved to a place in society, all in the name of inclusion, where we all to often will not mention our faith. The President is hesitant to put up a nativity, you are hard pressed to find a Merry Christmas sign posted anywhere, and most conversations end with Happy Holidays. Just the mention of scripture will get you “the look”….you know the one I am talking about. Eyes cut to one side of the head, and an eyebrow goes up….the look that screams….”you’re not a Jesus freak are you” …..While back then the fear was being put out of the church, today the fear is getting grouped in with the church! We have nothing to fear, and only salvation to gain! We need a ground swell of people finding their voice. If we are going to help heal the world, we have to start by showing the world that speaking of our faith is an everyday occurrence. Think of it this way. If you had a best friend that went everywhere with you, you lived together, you ate together, you went to parties together (there is one to think about)….well….. you would talk a lot about that friend wouldn’t you? You would want the people you meet to know your friend….I mean that would be awkward wouldn’t it? Just having a conversation with someone and never acknowledging the person that came with you…….but that is what we do…..many of us don’t even introduce our friend to our family! Christ is with you always. Don’t deny Him His introduction. Worried about how some people might take you? Worried that they might talk trash about you…..First, good for you if they do, I can’t think of anything better to be persecuted about! Second…..it is my experience that those types of people are going to do it anyway, no matter how hard you try to win their praise! This Christmas season make it a point to introduce your friend, you might not win all of the praise from some of the people that you come in contact with, but you will win the praise of God. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have God’s praise, than the entire world’s!

 

In Christ’s name,

Brian

 

 

Monday the 21st

Luke 2:4-5

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

 

Today would roughly be the day that Joseph loaded up with Mary and headed to Bethlehem. It is about an 80 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Most of the groups traveled about 20 miles a day. On the last few days leading up to Christmas, I think about that trip a lot. 4 days on the road…and I do mean on the road. No car, just a donkey….one donkey…..and as they travel they have an abundance of one thing…..time. Time to walk, time to see the land….and oh yeah, time to think. Plenty of time to think about all that had transpired, and all that lie ahead of them. This time of year we are all on the road to Bethlehem aren’t we? The days slow down, we have the year behind us, and a new one rolling towards us. Plenty of time to think what have we accomplished and all that we still have undone….and just like Mary we too are carrying Christ with us on our trip. We too have to think about how we will care for Him, how we will protect Him, how we will live with Him. When we look back on the year do we see that we have prepared a place in our lives for Christ to live? In the coming year do we have a plan in place to keep Christ alive and well in our home? As this short week gets underway think of it as your trip to Bethlehem, Christ is coming into the world, and the world will be forever changed. Likewise, for us this time is a chance for a new beginning. We too have been changed forever. As you walk along the path this week, take the time to look behind you, and to look forward. Where will Christ’s place be in your life in the coming year?

 

Rejoice,

Brian

 

 

Friday the 18th

John 9: 1-3

 

¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

 ³"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

 

Bad things happen to good people……..but really are they bad, or just an opportunity to show the strength of God? Be it our current situation, or something we have been struggling with our whole lives, anytime we find ourselves in a time of hardship, we have two choices we can throw a pity party, and wallow in it, or we can recognize that this world, our bodies, our station in life, they are all temporary. We can say that we will never get through this, or we can say this is where I am at, and I will push ahead. Every hardship is a chance to shout the glory of God. A girl lost her arm while surfing. She did not let it stop her, she surfs to this day, and gives the glory to God. She has turned her hardship into her ministry. I have seen people down to their last dollar give the shirt off their back to someone in need. No matter rich or poor, healthy or sick, we all have trials, we all have seasons in hell. Take heart! God is at work in each of our lives right now. We can choose to acknowledge that or we can listen to the world, and believe that we are less than others, that we are broken, or that we will never recover. Think of Job, talk about a life used to glorify the Lord! God worked in his life after the devil had almost stomped the life out of him, and took all that the world said Job HAD to have. God is always present, He is always working, He is working to use your life as an example of His power right now. Without the bad we would have no idea what good was, without pain there would be no joy. Know this, the depths of any pain you go thorough will not compare to the heights of Joy you will receive if you will allow God to work in your life. Give thanks for your weakness it is a chance to show the world that with God you are strong. Be thankful for the seasons of trial, for it is the opportunity to shout to the world that God will provide. Let God work in your life, invite Him in, and you will see the power of God.

 

Glory be to the Father,

Brian

 

Thursday the 18th

John 7: 10-11

 

⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  ⁹At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.¹⁰Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  ¹¹"No one, sir," she said.  "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

 

How quick we are to point out others faults. It is easy to look at another persons life and see where all of the wrong turns were made, all of the transgressions are clearly seen. Yet it is not as clear when we look at ourselves is it? How many of us have been part of a group just like the one in the scripture? How quick have we been to condemn a fellow brother or sister, all the while knowing that we too are guilty of transgressions? When we look to ourselves, I mean deep into ourselves, into those dark places that we don’t like to look at, the places that we don’t show the world, we find that while the sin might not be the same, we are no better than those that we would condemn. When we look and see how hard it has been to make changes in our own life, and honestly none of us are done with that, then we can look at others, not with eyes of condemnation, but with eyes of compassion. We all struggle with daily life, we all have demons that torment us, we all have a past, and we all have made mistakes. Let us make the commitment to break away form the mob that would condemn. Let us be the one to go against the flow, like Christ, and recognize that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As we draw closer to the remembrance of the ultimate gift of love, allow yourself to do the unthinkable….love the unloved, forgive the un-forgiven, and pray for those that will not pray for themselves. Remember your past, and look towards your future, you will see that there are no stones to throw, only love to give.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Wednesday the 16th

John 7:24

 

²⁴Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

 

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Many people could not see Jesus for what He really was, even with all of the signs, all of the teachings, many refused to see the truth. Looks can be deceiving, and when people looked at Christ, they did not see the image that they expected to see in a Savior. Imagine if you will a man living in the wilderness speaking out about a man that was coming to save the world. The people were waiting for a savior, a hero, someone to ride in and save the day. Imagine their surprise when the man that is pointed out, is not rich, he is not well dressed, as a matter of fact he looks pretty much like any other guy from that time. They were expecting a miraculous event to bring a man, what they got was a uncommon common man who brought miraculous event to them. He is still doing that today you know……but so many of us have fallen back into the mind set of looking for thunder and lightening to announce that the Lord is among us. With Christmas right around the corner we are once again reminded that the Lord snuck into the world. In a quiet manger, surrounded by common folks, a few wise men, and the angels. By all appearances it was not the birth of a savior….. at least not what the world expected. In much of the same respect that is how he comes to us today. How often do we make judgments by mere appearances? How many times have we missed the help of our savior because the person offering was not the person we expected? How often do we pass up the opportunity to act on behalf of Christ because we don’t think that the people in need look like they “deserve” it? Appearances can be deceptive, and if Christ was not what the natural world expected back then, why would we think it would be any different today? Stop judging by mere appearances, look to the same place that God looks…..the heart. Don’t get caught up in the status of those around you, look to the substance. It is not the clothes that show a persons worth, it is their willingness to give the shirt off their back for their brother. Be on the look out for Christ this Christmas, you might be surprised where all you see Him…….when you quit judging by appearances.

 

Glory to God in the Highest,

Brian

 

Tuesday the 15th

John 6: 5-6

 

⁵When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" ⁶He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. ⁷Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"  ⁸Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, ⁹"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

The Lord does not need much to work with to provide for many. We see that very clearly in this chapter as He feeds thousands while starting out with next to nothing. Yet this all starts off with a very simple question. Jesus asks how will we handle this problem…….and like all good teachers, he knows the answer before the question is even asked! Of course, as we all do, the first thing the disciples look for is how are they going to solve the problem on their own. When you find yourself facing impossible challenges, where do you turn?  Do you look first to what you can do? Most of life’s problems can’t be solved by us alone. We might be good, but we are just not that good! We typically run in to the same problem. We do not have enough resources at our disposal to really take care of the issue. However, there is a place we can turn….to the one who has the answer to the question “how am I going to fix this” before it is even asked. The Lord knows that this world is a challenging place. He knows that there are obstacles that you cannot conquer on your own. Instead of looking for what you can do, why not look for what God can do! Even our biggest problems are minute to the Lord. There is nothing that He can’t handle, and do you know what? He wants you to ask for His help! HE knows that we can’t do it alone, that is why He sent us the Holy Spirit. It resides in each of us. Don’t rely on what you have in your hand. Trust in what you have in your heart. It might be a big problem, but we serve a big God! When we find ourselves in difficult situations, when the path gets hard to see. Don’t focus on the problem, focus on the Lord. He can feed thousands with nothing, he can give the blind sight, and the sick their health. I promise you that He can deliver you from your trials. Start by turning to the Lord, then pickup your cross and get to work, the Lord will do the heavy lifting!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

Monday the 14th

1 Corinthians 13: 13

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

Christmas is upon us. I know for many of us the running starts this weekend, and will go through Christmas weekend. As we run from family to family, house, to house over the next couple of weeks tensions mount, and patience starts to run thin. We get so caught up in the holiday, that we miss the celebration! So as the schedule starts to fill up, and the trunks are crammed with the suitcases and gifts, remember to pack extra love. You will need it! Fill your heart with love this holiday season. If you think you don’t have enough, think of the love that God has for each one of us, so much that He has sent His only Son. Think you don’t have the patience? Think of the patience that God must have waiting for His children to return to Him……we drag our feet yet His love does not diminish for us. Fill your heart with love, and you will find that there is no room for anything else. So you are going to see the cousin that you can’t stand, the uncle that always seems to find your last nerve, the nephew that you are sure is a direct descendant form the devil……remember God loves each and every one of them just as HE loves you. Don’t be a scrooge with your love, this Christmas choose to love them all. God does not ration out His love, Christ did not come to earth just to save a few, love them all, just as the Lord loves you!

 

Peace,

Brian