You are the apple of God's eye!

Deuteronomy 32: 10

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye…….

 

He guarded him as the apple of his eye.

Figuratively, the “apple of his eye statement” means something or someone that is cherished above all others.

Do you know, that’s how God feels toward His people?

 

Have you ever been found, in what seemed to be a desert land, a barren and howling waste land by God?

Do you remember a time when He’s shielded you and cared for you?

I can think of countless times when He’s done that for me.

 

Remember this statement……… “one bad apple, spoils the whole bunch”?

There’s truth is that statement too.

Rotten fruit gives off a gaseous hormone called ethylene, which affects the other fruit.

 

Today, I have to decide, whether I’m going to walk in the place where I’m the apple of His eye, or in the place of giving off a heavy concentration of gas.

I can affect the people around me, by being one or the other………….

Spread the news!

Matthew 9: 31

But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

 

In Matthew chapter 9, Jesus brought a dead girl back to life—He healed a woman who was bleeding for 12 years, and also brought healing to a mute and a blind man.

Not bad for a day’s worth of work!

News spread throughout the region, about these miraculous events.

 

When I consider all that Jesus has done in my life, I can only consider it an absolute miracle.

Have you stopped recently, to reflect on the goodness of Jesus?

When I stop and reflect long enough, I am totally blown away.

How about you?

 

News about our new lives in Christ, should be spread throughout our inner circles of influence.

The reason it generally doesn’t, might be because we’re spread too thin.

 

Often times in our inner church circles, the things that are readily spread, is gossip, dissension, division, discord…..you get the picture.

 

What the Savior has done for me, I just can’t keep silent about.

I try to tell my story of great victory, as often as I can.

 

What will you be spreading, in the not too distant future?

Hopefully, it will offer up a fresh aroma to the Heaven’s above, and offer up a sweet testimony, to God’s wonder working power……………

Pure and White

Psalm 51: 7

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 

Did you know, that of all the colors there are, the one with the most shades is white?

It seems kind of funny to be talking about snow in May, but you can take any white object, and compared to snow, that object will still look dirty.

 

Our lives are often times like that.

We think of ourselves as morally good, but compared to God’s purity, we may be a shade or two or three off.

 

In spite of our sins, God still loves us. I find that amazing, do you?

God provided a purity we could never attain on our own.

 

Jesus’ death on the cross, and His washing our sins away by His blood, is the only way we can appear pure.

After that, our sins appear as white, in the eyes of God.

 

Our good works and clean thoughts, and our best intentions don’t make us white.

Only Christ’s precious blood can do that.

His blood can continue to cleanse us from sin, even after He has saved us.

 

When you reflect on this wonderful truth, have you really claimed it for your life?

The Joy of the Lord is your strength!

Nehemiah 8: 10

“This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

In this passage, the walls of Jerusalem had just been completed, but something was missing.

The lives of this people group, were still in shambles.

They had just returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

What was missing? They had forgotten about their spiritual heritage, and they had forgotten about their God.

As a result, they didn’t have much joy.

Have your forgotten about your God? Then return to Him today, so that He can fulfill your joy.

The joy of the Lord becomes our strength, when we return to Him.

God had fulfilled His promise to His people, by bringing them out of captivity.

Do you realize, that God has made many promises to us?

Have you ever stopped to think, that He has never failed to keep up His end of the bargain?

This is a sacred day! We should not grieve, for our past failures are under the blood.

There is reason to rejoice today, for the JOY of the Lord is our strength!!

Taking time to plan

Proverbs 14: 22

Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

I read somewhere recently, that each year, auto makers recall literally millions of cars.

What was surprising to me, that only one third of people contacted, had the free repair completed.

The repairs in some cases, could actually save people’s lives.

But those who plan what is good, find good things.

What plans are you making today, related to the things of God?

I have learned in a very real way this week, that life doesn’t last forever.

My own father, is nearing the end of his life.

He made some plans for this moment in time, and also failed to make all the plans he should have made.

In some cases, he resisted the idea of planning ahead.

Today, I need to reflect on the plans I’m making. Regarding the things of God, do I have all my bases covered? Do you?

I’m so thankful, that I responded to His free repair.

Once we’ve been repaired, we should really live like it.

I think I’m going to access my individual eternal plan, starting today

Be Determined!

1 Corinthians 2: 2 (NKJV)

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

We are a determined people.

There is a serious side to my life, and yet I wonder sometimes if pursuing God is one of them.

We have great determination for so many things, and in a contemplative way this morning, I have to wonder if knowing Jesus Christ crucified, is enough to satisfy our deepest desires.

It was for the Apostle Paul.

Summer has arrived, and let’s face it, we are determined to make the most of what little time we have, while the weather is still nice.

Jesus was determined to prove His love for us, and the things we’re determined to do, will show in the actions we take.

Am I determined to show Him my devoted love?

If it’s all the same to you, I have to examine what I earnestly pursue.

Are they my selfish interests, or am I just as satisfied, reflecting on, and doing the things of God?

Let’s face it…..In the end, what I do for the cause of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, is all that will really matter.

The photo albums I’ve accumulated over the years, celebrating past memories, will one day be thrown into the heap of my stuff.

The things I am determined to know about God, will last for a thousand lifetimes…………..

Are you a burden carrier?

Galatians 6: 2

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Fulfilling the law of Christ……….

I guess that when Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves, He was serious.

He said that the law hung on two commandments; Loving God, and loving our neighbor.

Paul reaffirms this truth to the church at Galatia.

What does it mean to carry each other’s burdens?

I believe it’s laboring in prayer for someone, that’s going through a difficult time.

It’s picking up the phone to offer an encouraging word, or better yet, taking the time to drop an encouraging note in the mail.

It’s bringing a meal to share, when someone’s down and out.

Sometimes, we have so many burdens of our own, that we don’t often notice other people carrying theirs.

Maybe for a change of pace, we should take our eyes off of us, and bring the focus to the needs of others?

I think it’s time to become creative in how we’re going to help carry the burdens of others.

I wonder what might happen to your neighborhood, if you took this charge seriously?

Maybe these people, would actually see Jesus, in  this rare act of love.

Today I’m going to strategize, on whose burdens I’m going to help carry…………..