September 21 – How To Obey

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” -  Romans 12:1 (ESV)

While the Bible places a strong emphasis on obedience, it's critical to remember that believers are not justified by obedience. Salvation is a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to merit it. True Christian obedience however, flows from a heart of gratitude for the grace and mercy we have received from the Lord and our response is the worship of obedience. The Greek word for “I appeal” or “I urge” springs from a root which means “to call alongside to help.” In Acts 24:4 it is “beg”; in Act s 27:34 “encourage.”  Jesus used a related word, “comforter” or “helper” in reference to the Holy Spirit. Here Paul was writing as a counselor with full weight of apostleship to his readers. In light of all the spiritual riches we believers enjoy solely as the fruit of God’s grace and mercies, it follows that we owe God our highest form of service which is our act of worshiping God; an act of our spiritual service offered genuinely from our hearts. For those in Christ, our only acceptable worship is to offer ourselves completely in worship to the Lord our God.

 

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November 24 – Going Deeper than Deep

“ For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12  (ESV )

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment in the Bible are sharp. They are alive and active enough to drill down to the bottom of our heart and show us that the lies of sin are indeed lies. The things we do and justify doing based on our desires and fears are not capable of reaching our need and making things right. Dishonesty and false teaching can be countered by the word of God. The promises in God’s Word is like opening the windows letting in the bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin cloaked as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given us good news, his promises, his word to protect us from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God. Take heart because the word of God is living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword. it will go deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone. It will reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

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April 16 – Waiting With a Heart of Courage

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Psalm 27:13-14  (ESV)

We can have the same confidence and believe the same way that David did when he wrote this song.  We are serving the same Lord and He is as good to us as He was to David.  He watched over His people in those days and He watches over us who are living today.  Therefore we can have this same confidence in His care for each of us today.  We may not see immediately or quickly the answer to our prayers for help and we may need to look forward for the Lord to act in His perfect time.  These are the times when we may need to wait for the Lord to demonstrate His goodness and His love. Having confidence and believing in His will is a part of living by faith and living that way is what God is looking for in our lives.  God will never fail us.  We can always expect Him to demonstrate His love and concern for us.  

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March 23 – Enough For All

“Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”   2 Corinthians 6:16 (NASB)

This verse in the New Testament of our Bible refers to statements God had given His people in the Old Testament to assure them of His presence with them.  God has always wanted His people to be aware of His presence with them and we believe He wants each of us today to be aware of this as well.  It is God's will that each of us today, who put our trust in Jesus Christ, recognize His presence in our lives.  God is in heaven and He is ruling over the universe but He wants us each to know with assurance that He is also with us and participating in our lives where we work, in our homes and wherever we travel to.  We are never alone and even if we are with no other person, we are with God because He is with us.  That is His promise.  We have no need to seek out other means, God is enough for each of us who believe in Him.  

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February 13 – Revealing Thoughts and Intentions

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

Are the words from the Bible a blessing to you in your life?  Each day we select a verse or two that has a promise and today's verse tells us why we believe that these words are so very important and helpful for the one who has believed in Jesus Christ as their savior.  We believe that the Bible gives us words from God.  Those who who recorded these words long  ago received them from God and they recognized them as living words which would give life to those who followed them and put them into practice by living according to what they said. We believe that God's word in the Bible are active as our verse says.  When we let the words work, they go deep into our heart and mind and help us to separate God's ways from the the wrong things in this world.  When we accept what God teaches us through the words of the Bible our thinking is changed and our behavior is changed.  We are able to see things the way God wants us to see them.  The words work to reveal to us the intentions of our heart and what we are really thinking.  

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