Love!

John 13: 35

³⁵ “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A number of years ago, I remember a lady coming up to me after church, to reveal that she didn’t feel that our church was very loving.

At first I was taken aback by her claim, until I realized that she only came to church once every 4 - 6 weeks.

It was kind of hard to understand how she came to that conclusion.

We very rarely saw her, and she didn’t really participate in church.

There are times when those kinds of people use that kind of excuse to justify their claims for leaving.

Often they lay the blame in the laps of others.

Of course it should be our desire to have a loving church that reaches out to it members, the lost, and the community.

Would you say you’re that kind of person?

What have you done lately to make your home church more loving?

How do we know that we’re true follower of Jesus? They are people who constantly display love.

You can’t possibly love if you’re not in church, and you can’t possibly be loved if you’re not in church.

That seems to be a simple conclusion.

A loving church is characterized by love. The better word to use here is charity.

“charity: benevolent goodwill toward other people”

You have to be in church to give it, and you have to be in church to receive it…

Give Thanks!

Psalm 106: 1       ESV

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!

It’s the craziest thing, but I looked in the Bible last night, and nowhere did I find the following words;

Macy’s…Butterball…Yams…Cranberries…Football or leftovers.

In the Bible, it mentions the word, “thanks”, over 100 times, and “praise”, over 200 times.

That’s what I did with 53 people at church last night. We gave God our thanks and praise. Some people obviously forgot about that.

Abraham Lincoln is somewhat responsible for us having Thanksgiving in the first place in this country.

In the statement below, not once did he say that this day had anything to do with us, but it had everything to do with God…

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow,

yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history,

that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world.

May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God! We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts,

that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace,

too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands,

to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth on high in the heavens.

Abraham Lincoln - October 3, 1863

Light!

Luke 1: 76 -78

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness…

I love getting away and taking a break from everyday life.

I tried to use moments during the 2015 deer hunt, to grasp the deeper moments and meaning of life.

Do you reflect on God, when you’re alone in the quiet?

Do you take reflective opportunities, or is your life too much of a jumbled mess?

A sunrise was a reminder of how great God is, and how insignificant I really am.

Apparently, I was significant enough for Him, to have Him share it with me, though.

In the midst of the darkness there is everywhere in the world, let’s not forget the sunrises He allows to visit our lives.

He came to give us light, and that light is able to dispel any darkness no matter just how dark it is…

The Best Security!

Numbers 32: 23

²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Since the terror attacks of 9/11, security measures in our country have increased exponentially.

We have bomb sniffing dogs…flying drones that can spy on an unsuspecting person…metal detectors everywhere.

And now we live in an age, where undercover and uniformed patrol officers patrol our city streets on bikes.

All of this to keep the people of our communities safe.

It would appear that we can’t hide very much of our lives anymore.

Establishments and cities incorporate and receive video feeds from 100’s of cameras.

It doesn’t appear there’s much privacy anymore.

Businesses now have social media monitoring areas, where they’re able to monitor what’s being said inside…WOW!

And yet we think this stuff is state of the art technology, expect for one little detail, God knows it all anyway.

We can’t hide anything from God. He even knows when we sin, and He wants it to be exposed.

It’s not that God is a busy body, peering from behind a newspaper.

It’s a good thing that God wants to expose our sin.

He desires that we have fellowship with Himself, as often as we like.

What do you need to confess this morning? Get it out in the open, because He desires to spend time with you today.

And one more little known fact, He already knows all about it. Talk about security! 

Walls!

Revelation 21: 12 - 14

¹² It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed…

¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

In the political spectrum, there’s a lot of recent discussion about protecting the boarders of the U.S.A.

One of the republican candidates suggest building a wall around our southern borders.

As crazy as that project sounds, maybe it’s not such a bad idea.

I won’t speak if that will ever happen, but maybe we should follow God’s plan when it comes to walls.

Have we forgotten that there will be walls around the great city in Heaven?

At least that’s what John seems to convey. He talks about a “great, high wall”.

The wall described in this chapter of Revelation, suggests the walls are there as a symbol of exclusion.

All that are unworthy, will never enter. The will hover in the outer darkness forever.

Many followers of Jesus will eternally enjoy the blessings of being secure behind this great wall, but will also be able to come and go as they please.

It’s another reminder, that only the redeemed may enter, and that one day there won’t be any evil.

Maybe we if still had protective walls in places around the world, people wouldn’t be getting killed and butchered.

Have you secured a place where there won’t be any darkness or night?

What’s keeping you from making the reservation today

The Right Ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5: 16 - 18             ESV

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances…

We seem to do all sorts of things without ceasing.

We…text with ceasing…worry without ceasing…complain without ceasing…disobey God without ceasing.

We even carry grudges without ceasing…we watch TV without ceasing, and we sometimes stay away from church for weeks/months at a time.

Rejoicing and praying without stopping, would be a welcome thing in the church.

I often read some material from Oswald Chambers.

He has some very interesting thoughts about prayer, and I love the questions he poses.

Here are a couple of OC questions I read just yesterday;

“How great is my sense of need?”

“What does it tell me about my spirituality?”

I saw pictures on the web recently  of people praying in Paris, France.

I think it’s amazing that a country that is almost now Godless, prays when people die.

I wonder if they could have warded off the enemy, if they had been praying before hand?

I wonder what might happen in my/your life, if we started to pray without ceasing?

I’m willing to take the challenge, are you?

Take Time!

Psalm 42: 1 - 2

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Like me, your new week has no doubt started with numerous conversations already.

Most of them will have been the electronic variety.

There used to be app available for i-phone users, called… “Moment”. I don’t know if it’s still available anymore or not.

This app was able to give us a heads up, as to how addicted we are to our i-phone/smart phone.

And yet when it comes to having conversations with the Creator of the universe, most people opt out for something else.

If you could have a conversation with God any time you wanted to, what would you ask Him?

And the point is, we can have a one on one discussion with God any time, night or day.

How much do you talk to God each week?

Does your soul pant for the things of God?

Do we thirst after the living God?

Here’s a simple question to consider on this crazy, mixed up Monday;

Is my “want” to pray, sufficient to make me want to pray?

Take all the time you need to hash this one out…

The Word in person!

John 1: 14            ESV

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

All throughout the Bible, God tells us exactly what He’s like.

He shows us His nature…He reveals His creative ability…and He shows us how He deals with people.

Let’s not miss that He also reveals His many purposes, and exposes the truth.

He actually interacts with people like you and me, and He teaches us who He is.

Then along comes Jesus, and He clearly demonstrates who He is.

Maybe if we consider the Words of the Bible in the form of a person, rather than just words written on paper, we can get a true look at the heartbeat of God.

Is that how you see the Bible? Are you able to get an intimate picture of who God is?

Are you studying your Bible that deeply?

Jesus, the very Word, made His home among all of us.

He healed and took care of those who were hurting, and He still does that today.

The Word of God should look a lot like Jesus, and it does, because it is.

Is that what you think when you open up your Bible? You do open your Bible, don’t you?

Just like He was over 2,000 years ago, He’s still pouring out His radical love to people like you and me.

But you’d be surprised at the number of people in the world, that don’t get one bit excited about that…

Joy!

John 17: 13          ESV

^13 “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”

Jesus had some pretty intense prayer requests to God the night before he died.

In this chapter, Jesus asked that His friends be kept safe from the evil one.

He also asked that they be one with the Father, and one with one another.

Jesus wanted His friends to experience the same oneness with each other, that Jesus and the Father had.

In this prayer, Jesus explained that He had taught them, and that His teaching would ultimately bring joy.

Does the teaching of the Word of God bring you joy?

I thought the church was there to make us holy, and not happy?

But doesn’t holiness and joyfulness go hand in hand?

The goal of our relationship with God the Father is complete fulfillment.

In the long run, God really does want to make us happy.

Are you happy in your relationship with Jesus?

Do the things of the church weigh you down? Then maybe you don’t know the true joy of knowing Jesus.

God’s Word all by itself should bring us joy.

Let’s face it, when Jesus speaks, we should be filled?

Come to think of it, if we’re not filled with joy because of the words of Jesus, what are we full of this morning?

Deeper!

Psalm 42: 7         ESV

⁷ Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.

I don’t know about you, but one way communication with God just doesn’t seem to be enough for me.

Yet there are people I know, that seem to love to do all the talking when it comes to prayer.

Do you take the “shot in the dark” approach, when it comes to your personal prayer life?

Those who want a deeper relationship with the God of the Bible, always hunger for more of Him.

Are we really willing to enter into relationship with someone, when it’s us doing all the talking?

I can tell you what my wife would say to me, if I was doing all the talking, and didn’t allow her to have a word.

It certainly wouldn’t speak too favorably about our relationship.

So whose doing most of the talking in your prayer life?

 …

Deep calling to deep, isn’t a one way means of communication, it indicates a two way radio signal.

The reason that many people don’t hear in the deeper places, is because their prayer life might be a bit shallow.

People are afraid of going deep.

People leave churches because of people desiring that God have a deeper place in their hearts.

Those people who have a deep love of the things of God, have allowed Him to search the deepest places of their hearts

Consider!

Proverbs 6: 6   ESV

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

The smartest thing I did yesterday afternoon, was to turn the TV set off, and take a one hour walk.

That was one of the easiest things to consider, especially when I saw how terrible the Packers were playing.

As I walked, I saw people doing similar things.

I was surprised though at the number of people putting up Christmas decorations and lights.

At first I thought, what in the world are they doing?

But then it occurred to me, that yesterday’s weather was the perfect time to put up Christmas decorations, instead of waiting until it was 10 degrees.

Thomas Jefferson actually coined the phrase… “Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today.”

What are you spiritually procrastinating about?

Biblical hard work is hard, or everybody would be doing it.

So why does the church still keep on teaching that following Jesus is a wiz, when we know that isn’t true?

That sounds like a HUGE contradiction.

So Jesus gave us 3 principals or ways to serve other people.

So why are you putting it off? Why are we so slow in doing what Jesus told us to do? Isn’t that more important than putting up Christmas decorations?

Here they are, and in no certain order:

Bless those who persecute you…Do good to those who hate you…Pray for them who despitefully persecute or reject you…

Flourish!

Psalm 92: 12 - 13

¹² The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.

Of the 250 or so receivers of this daily devotional, I don’t regularly get a lot of feedback.

I understand why that would be, because at times I have to confess that my “Light Reflections”, aren’t always on the lighter side.

One question I asked the other day was… “Are you satisfied with the depth of knowledge you have of the Bible?”

One person actually responded this way:

In answer to your question: Are you satisfied with the depth of knowledge you have of the Bible?

No, I am not satisfied but I am also not doing much about it right now.

I honestly don’t know how you could get more humble than this.

Of the over 250 people, that single person was brutally honest with them self, and with God.

That is the path that will lead to righteousness, that is if they take some dedicated action.

This person will flourish, if they will allow the Lord to have His way.

Where are you planted these days?

Are you bearing any Kingdom fruit?

Are you firmly planted in the house of the Lord?

Maybe it’s time for you to be brutally honest with yourself and God.

Maybe you need a moment of honest reflection, just like this person had the other day…

Repent!

Jeremiah 29: 13

¹³ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

God being the all powerful creator that He is, requires total obedience from those who say they follow Him.

Man being as weak as we know we are, must render total obedience.

How is your obedience towards God? Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ?

And by the way, make sure you know the correct definition of grace.

We owe God complete obedience, whether we feel like it or not.

You’d be very surprised at those who really don’t feel like obeying God.

Adam disobeyed God, and for that act of indiscretion we’ve been paying for it ever since.

The true love for God died within the heart of Adam.

I came from church last night, after spending an intimate evening of communion with God and some great friends.

We were fostering the love we have in our hearts for God.

Do you need the love of God restored in your heart again? God can do that, you know?

Would you say you seek God with all of your heart? Or is your attempt only  halfhearted?

There is only one way that restoration can happen, and the single word is now, just as it has been all along…

REPENT

Tremble!

Psalm 99: 1

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

I’ll probably take some heat for making this comment, but here it goes anyway.

Like I’ve ever been shy of speaking my mind J

There are times when a sadness comes over me, about the average Christian in the Christian church today.

Many of them are as interested about Jesus, as they are about the new model SUV out there.

Many really nice men and really nice ladies go to church each week, but they have no desire in going to the depths it takes to get to know God.

Most people do not delight or even tremble at the deep things of God.

Even a man in our church one time said about going deeper in the faith experience… “That’s probably not a direction we’d be willing to go…”

Maybe some wouldn’t, but I was with a pretty large group of people last night that were a captive audience to the things of God.

Compared to all the great things of God, nothing comes even close. Not even a brand new SUV or ATV.

By the scores, there are little churches with little Pastor’s who actually have little faith.

How is the depth of your faith today? Would you say you have a “little” faith?

Are you satisfied with the depth of knowledge you have of the Bible?

“Lord God, as I enter church tonight to listen to Your Word, and take Communion with other brothers & sisters, help me to come with an expectant heart.

I realize that my mind is small, but I also know that You are larger than life. Let me tremble at the thought, that I have complete access to everything within Your loving nature.

Amen.”

True Worship!

John 4: 24            ESV

²⁴ “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Our worship should be filled Spirit and Truth.

Our worship must be the whole counsel of the truth of God, and the whole Spirit of God.

Most Sunday’s are great to me, but yesterday’s worship service was incredible.

The reason that was, was because it was filled with the truth of God and the Spirit of God.

When a person yields their life to the truth of God and the Spirit of God, even the slightest thing we do is complete, and surrendered worship.

What is your worship of God like these days?

Did you know that there are churches out there who try to manufacture spirit and truth?

Just so you know, a 10 piece worship band can be at times, totally unacceptable worship to God.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit there can’t be adequate worship.

The guy we brought in to preach for 4 days, sure knows how to preach the truth.

Yesterday, there were millions upon millions of good assuming church people, trying to assimilate worship through customs and traditions.

What a complete waste of time.

Can you imagine doing that Sunday after Sunday, and never reaching the true heart of God?

What needs to be added to your worship today? The components of worship need to be truth, and God’s Spirit, and not necessarily in that order…