A living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2
¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When one sees a "Therefore" in scripture, I was taught you should go back and see what it is there for.  This verse refers back to the first 11 chapters of Romans where Paul emphasizes what Christ has done for us and that we are saved by faith and not by works.  That nothing we do can earn our way to favor with God.  I was all done by mercy.

In light of these facts we're to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.  Jews would understand what a sacrifice was.  They put aside animals to be sacrificed at different festivals and times of sacrifice.  The thing about the sacrifice is once it was killed, it was gone.  Dead.

So how does one be a "living: sacrifice?

One dies to oneself daily. (Luke 9:23) As and American I have the Constitution and have certain rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights.  We are to be good stewards of these freedoms, but when they conflict with God's will for our lives we must willingly give them up.  In our daily relationships we willingly give up our "right" to win. (Philippians 2:3-4)  In our daily plans we must seek God's plan first and align our plans up with His.

One does not conform to the world.  We all have to dress, eat, work and play.  However in these day to day activities the world should see that we are different.  Our dress should be modest.  Our food should be in moderation.  Our work should be as unto the Lord.  Our play should be pleasing to Him.  I won't give you specifics for each of these other than two principals found in Romans when Paul was discussing sacred days and meat sacrificed to Idols..

1. If you are convinced that your actions are pure then keep it between you and God.
2. Do not be a stumbling block to your brother.

One is transformed by the renewing of their mind.  This can only be accomplished by scripture and allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate the WORD.  I have found this truth to be so evident in the past few months.  Things that used to entice me still do, but the truth of scripture has made these thing less and less important.  I can actually function without being pulled away by my selfish desires so often.

God Bless.

Keep on keeping on.

Romans 12:11-13

¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

Zeal.  Fervor.  Are those the words you would chose to describe yourself when serving?  I know when I taught Pioneer Club many times toward the end of the year it was more of a "can't wait till it's over" or "just have to survive" attitude.

How about work?  We are commanded to do everything as if it is for God. (Colossians 3:23-24)  Do we approach our job with zeal?

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 

Remember that joy is not happiness.  You can be going through a rough time and still have joy.  One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy.  He will teach you joy in all circumstances.

When affliction comes wait for God.  Yesterday's blog dealt with the fact that I was losing patience with what I thought was a lack of progress.  God has you where you are for a reason.  Learn that lesson well...the first time.  Be aware that your situation may not be just for you, but also for those that witness how you go through that trial trusting God.

Do you pray?  I have never prayed more than I have since March of this year.  My prayers are no longer "Give this that and the other thing.  Forgive my sins and rubber stamp my plans."  I've learned to weep before the Lord.  I've learned brokenness. It was only through spending time with God daily that these skill developed.  Prayer takes time, effort and faithfulness.  My prayers are better, but I've still go a long way to go.

¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I had one of the best examples of this in my parents.  Especially mom.  Hospitality comes as natural to her as breathing.  Though I am quick to share when I have extra, I am not so quick when things are tight.  How quick are you?

Remember that all we have comes from God. (1 Chronicles 29:14)( Psalm 24:1)( Haggai 2:8)  Giving him back what is already His will only bring us blessing as we trust his provision.

God Bless.

Waiting for Answers to Prayer.

I am reading in 1 Kings 18:37-40 the story of Elijah calling fire down from heaven to prove to the Israelites the  Baal is NOT God. Elijah prayed and immediately fire fell from heaven and consumed everything.

What about me?  I have been praying about my problem since March.  When do I get my answer?  When do I get my life back?

Immediately I thought of Jesus praying in the garden in Mathew 26.

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”


⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”


⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Here we read about Jesus, the Son of God, praying to his Father and asking for any other way for salvation to be accomplished.  But he was willing to submit to his Father's will.

Dear God my heart is breaking.  Unlike Christ I do not know what is next.  In fact I fear it.  Help me with my unbelief.  I surrender to your will.

God Bless.

Jimmy Hendrix. Who knew he was so close to the truth.

Driving home today I saw a bumper sticker.

When the power of Love

overcomes the love of power

we will know peace. - JH

Jesus is love.  Love sent him to the cross.

Satan is the love of power.  He desired to set himself above God.

Jesus overcame Satan at the cross and when he returns for the final battle then all of creation will know peace.

Conviction of Sin

One of the most important roles of the Spirit is conviction of sin.

John 16:7-11

⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The world does not accept Christ and is therefore wrong about sin.  They do what feels good.  At conversion the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and we begin to see how wrong the world is about sin.  Things that last week were "OK" for us, suddenly seem wrong as we grow closer to the Lord.  I have seen this truth so evident in my life recently as habits and attitudes and pride have been chiseled away by the work of the Spirit on my life.

God Bless

The Holy Spirit the neglected one in the Trinity

When someone mentions God to me, 90% of the time I think of God the Father.  Perhaps 9.99% of the time I think of God the Son.  Rarely, perhaps .01% of the time do I think of God the Holy Spirit.  Now these percentages are merely guesstimates to illustrate my point that the Holy Spirit gets very little credit from me in my walk with God.

Today's Bible Reading was John 14:16-18
¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

So I am now thinking, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk?

Intercessor: Romans 8:26-27    He takes our inadequate words and speaks our heat to God's heart.  Think of how great this is.  He IS the Spirit of God, therefore he has intimate knowledge of God.  He lives within us, so who is more qualified to speak our heart to God?

Advocate/teacher:  John 14:26  He will teach us all things. Galatians 5:22 These fruit grow in us as the spirit teaches us.

Testifies: John 15:26 Hebrews 10:14-16 There are times when we may doubt, but the Holy Spirit will testify that what we believe is true.

Power: Acts 1:8 When we are sent to do something for God, the Holy Spirit will give us the power to accomplish His task.

Witness: Acts 5:32 When see something or learn Biblical Truth, the Holy  Spirit confirms in our hearts it's truth.

Encourages: Acts 9:31  The Holy Spirit will encourage us.

Giver of Hope: Romans 15:13 Verse is pretty strait forward here.

Sanctification: Romans 15:16 We become more and more like Christ as the Spirit works in us.  This is Sanctification.

Seal: Ephesians 1:13 We know the FDA, USDA and Presidential Seals mean.  It means this product meets certain criteria and is accepted by the organization.  We who believe and have accepted Christ's payment for our sins on the cross have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. We are accepted by God.

Conviction: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6  I always thought of conviction in the negative, but the Holy Spirit will convict us in the positive to drive us toward God and his will.

I will close with the words of Dr Stanley when speaking of the Holy Spirit.

"Do you have any need that requires more power than omnipotence? Are you facing a decision that requires more knowledge than omniscience? Nothing we encounter is bigger than the omnipresent One who lives within us. Be calm and confident. No matter what challenges you face, He can help." - Dr. Charles Stanley.

God Bless.

Now my Bible study has started meddling with my lifestyle.

I'm fat.  Some would say I am chunky, but I know I'm fat.  When a person needs to lose 100 lbs to be where the doc says he should be, he is fat. Why am I fat?  I don't exercise often enough and I eat too much.  [sarcasm mode on]What do you mean a family size bag of chips is not a single serving? [sarcasm mode off].  I don't eat to live, I live to eat.

Today I read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

I've "been gonna" go back to the gym and start eating better, but I just haven't found the motivation.  I think I have found my motivation now.  The Holy Spirit lives in me and my body was paid for by Jesus' blood.  That has to be my motivation.  I am the caretaker of someone else's property.  I have not been a good steward.

God Bless.

God's omnipresence. Comforting or Disturbing?

Read Psalm 139:1-10

I cannot hide from God.  My thoughts, actions and motives are all laid bare before him.  I can't go somewhere he is not.  I can't out think him and come up with an original idea or loophole in scripture.

To answer the title of my post I have to say BOTH.

It can be disturbing when we are living in the flesh.  Let's face it sin is FUN.  It looks and feels "right" because the devil shows it to us that way. 2 Corinthians 11:14  But the joy is short lived. Hebrews 11:25  Once the let down comes we have to deal with the Holy Spirit.  Numbers 32:23

It is also very comforting. With an omnipresent God we don't have to explain when your having a bad day.  You still talk to Him but he already knows the who, the what and the why.  He knows when your in trouble and when you cry out to Him, He knows exactly how to meet your needs.

God bless.

Losing my job.

Any time between now and mid October I will be unemployed.  I have my resume put together and a friend is polishing it off.  I know I need to "get out there" and there is concern as I've not interviewed in better than 10 years.  There is also concern because this economy is in the pits.

Today I read about Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1-9

¹ Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” ² Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: ³ “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
 ⁵ So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. ⁶The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
 ⁷ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

God supernaturally fed Elijah through the ravens.  He naturally fed Elijah through the brook.  When the brook dried up, God told him it was time to move on.

Oh how I wish, God would audibly tell me the next phase in my life as the brook that has been paying my bills is about to dry up.  But I know he has a plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11) and I know he will take care of me. (Matthew 10:29-30)

God Bless

Complete obedience.

So I am driving to work this am and I am praying for a loved one.  They making some really bad decisions that are hurting lots of people and they seem quite proud of they're sin.  As I'm praying "God please break their heart so they realize what they are doing is wrong.", I look down at my speedometer.  Too fast.  So now I start argue with God about my speed.

I did not think of a specific verse, but I soon realized that I cannot effectively pray for God to convict another if I am ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  I dropped my speed and continued to pray. It was only as I was typing this blog that  "the prayer of a righteous man availeth much" came to my mind.  Now that is the KJV the I remember growing up.  It took a few moments with the search engine, but the verse is found in James 5:16

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (NIV)

I was not righteous, therefore my prayer was not going to be effective.

All that was to lead into this morning's devotional.  It was in Genesis 6:9-22, Genesis 7:24, Genesis 8:14-19.  A familiar story to me about Noah.  What Dr Stanley pointed out today was Noah's complete obedience.  Noah did exactly what God told him to do.

"The Lord wants us to follow His instructions precisely. Unfortunately, we like to add some of our desires to His plan. We are like a child whose parent assigns three chores. The first is done satisfactorily, the second is put off until another day, and the third is skipped because the girl deems it unnecessary. This is not obedience." -Dr Charles Stanley

As we go about our day, we must be aware of that nudge from the Holy Spirit.

God Bless.

Obey because we love.

This morning I came to a cross roads.  My first impulse was to follow my flesh.  Just a few seconds in I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit showing me I was seconds from "the point of no return". I immediately stopped and agreed with God that this is not where I want to go.  Imagine my joy when I opened my devotional and received confirmation of my decision instead of conviction.

John 14:23-24

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

It's quite simple.  I decided my relationship with God was of greater value than my personal desires.  I loved God enough to say "NO".  This does not happen enough yet, but as I grow closer to Him, I find I chose him more and more.

God I love you.

Jesus thank you for dying for me.

Holy Spirit, thank you for pointing out that I was headed down the wrong path.

Short and sweet today folks.

God Bless.

Remain calm. Don't allow others to provoke you.

When Paul was being falsely accused in front of Festus he remained calm. Acts 24:1-16  He did not lash out at his accusers.  His rational behavior allowed him to share his faith not only with Festus, but eventually King Agrippa and then on to Rome itself.

I have seen this in my life.  It's no secret that my older sister and I rarely got along.  Why?  Because I let her provoke me and I too would dish out a goodly portion of misery myself.  I won't say that she was always purposely attacking, but some of her actions would make me mad and I would blow up and attack.

One weekend Cheryl came home and I decided that no mater what I would remain calm.  It worked. All those feeling of annoyance never came.  Then a couple years later she stayed at my home.  Again I made the decision to love my sister.  It was a wonderful weekend.  I praise God that he taught me to remain calm.  I actually enjoy her company and she is the same person.  Only I have changed.

Then there is the negative side.  I won't mention the loved one because the relationship is still fractured.  I am still working on it.  However my lack of calmness has destroyed the intimacy and broken their spirit.  They no longer trust my intent and don't really believe I have changed.  I don't blame them, trust once broken takes time to repair.  Sometimes it never comes back.

I want to implore you to remain calm if attacked.  Even if it is legitimate.  Losing your calm and attacking back is not the way.

Be silent and pray for guidance and wisdom.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you chose your words.

God Bless.

Anger. The emotion that works for everything. NOT!

I sent an email to a dear friend this morning.  I woke remembering a time that I used anger as a way to express and cope with a perceived rejection by them.  As I analysed my actions I realize I have a life pattern of anger.

Frustrated because some electronics are not working?  Get angry.
Hurt by a loved one? Get angry.
Lost?  Get angry.
Get disrespected?  Get angry.
Driving behind a slowpoke.  Get angry.

The more I think about it my anger at times has been so bad I have scared my family.

All these things going through my head and God providentially has Colossians 3:12-14 as today's devotional.

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

No where does it say be angry.  In fact it tells me to be the very opposite of angry.  It tells me to forgive as the Lord forgave me.  I've "forgiven", but I still bring up the list of wrongs when it suits me.  That is not true forgiveness.  We are not God so we cannot forget.  However we can pray and God will wash away the hurt.  I know because he has done it for me in the areas I have submitted to him.

Let go. When you hold a grudge the only one you hurt is you.

God Bless.

A good finish.

At the end of a race most people don't remember who lead at the beginning.  They remember the winner. They cheer for everyone the crossed that finish line.  When someone falters in the middle and that person perseveres and finishes the race there is that extra appreciation and satisfaction of having not quit.Do

So here I am a crossroads.  Do I finish the race I have begun or quit?  I shall finish, so when I arrive at the end of my life I can utter the words of Paul.

2 Timothy 4:7
⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Are you going through a rough patch?  Remember that God is in control of your situation.  He knows the what and the why so don't worry about it. (Matthew 10:28-30)  He also knows the end to which this will bring you. (Jeremiah 29:11) (Romans 8:27-29)

God bless.

What is Your focus?

In Philippians 1:1- 14 we read these words from the apostle Paul.

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul was in jail.  When he looked at his chains he did not grow bitter at God and think "God, I serve you and this is the thanks I get?".  He looked at his chains and at the guard that COULD NOT LEAVE and said, "Hey guard.  Have you heard about Jesus?  Because of Paul in prison the gospel was spread within Rome's own soldiers.

Where are you?  What are you doing?  Do you realize you are EXACTLY where God wants you to be?  The hurt you feel.  The annoying neighbor.  That tyrant boss.  The family member that you want to never speak to again.  Look at it from God's perspective.  You are the missionary that God sent to them.  There may never be another chance for them to see Christ.  Are you going to focus on poor me or are you going to advance the gospel?

O that God would so change my heart that I could echo the word of Paul in Philippians 1:20

²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

God Bless

Focusing on Christ so we can rejoice.

Today's study was in Philippians 3:8-11

⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 

A loss?  Garbage?  Well yes.  This is what we as Christians aim for.  We want Christ as the most important thing in our lives.  Americans have a hard time with this because we have so much.  TV bombards us with the fact that we "need" more.  However I have learned how much I don't really need.  How less is more and Christ is becoming all the more important to me.

⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

I'm have finally beat this into my head.  My righteousness is from God based on faith it Christ.  I can't earn it.  I don't deserve it.  Once I got past pride and independence I realized how desperately dependent on Christ I really am.

¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Do you want to know Christ?  He promised that if we stand with him the world will hate us.  Matthew 24:8-10  ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

   ⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

 It's coming America. The world is pushing God out of everything.  You need to make a choice.  Will cling to the American Dream and walk away or will you participate in the Lord's suffering?

I don't want to end this with gloom and doom.  Remember that Paul wrote this letter while in prison.  Yet he found ways to rejoince.

Philippians 1:18; 2:18; 3:1 

God Bless

Don't quit. Trust and Obey.

No matter how much I pray about my situation, progress seem to be moving so slow or even backwards.  I admit to frustration at what I consider a "lack of progress".  This morning's Bible study was in Joshua 6 and is the story of God delivering Jericho into the hands of Israel.

God told Joshua to march around the city once for 6 days. On the seventh day march around it 7 times. Once that was completed they were to blow the trumpets and have the people shout. God would deliver the city into their hands.

Militarily speaking this is dumb.  Jericho was a large city.  Why would one want to make their troops tired by marching round and round on the day of battle?  And what's with the trumpets?  Come on God, we can come up with a better plan than that. (Don't we say that to God on a daily basis?)

When you read the story you see that Joshua and the people obeyed and God did deliver the city to them.

Applying this to my situation.  The flesh in me wants to cut and run.  Many of my non-Christian friends say I should.  I won't.  It has been made clear to me that the path I am on has been chosen by God.  Though painful, what I am going through right now has been the BEST thing for my spiritual life.  I'm really leaning on God to do what humanly speaking is impossible.

Back in June I reworked a lesson by John Piper about not wasting your trial.  Thank you God that I am not wasting this trial.  I ask that you help me learn it right the first time.  I have no desire to have to learn these lessons a second time.

God bless.

Night mare turns to day mare.

I awoke to a night mare that my worst fears had come true.  When I tried to go back to sleep I just kept thinking about it so I got up.

While preparing my heart for worship I was given Psalm 143:8

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
   for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
   for to you I entrust my life.

Thank you God for your gentle reminders.

God Bless.

God is so faithful when we listen.

I tend to talk to much.  I also have been guilty of sharing too much.  I've actually spent so much time laying the foundation of my point that I forgot what I wanted to say.

So here we are with this blog.  How far is too far?  How open is too open?  It's a battle with every post.  Today's lesson is so personal that I am tempted to keep it private.  However I don't feel that is the right thing to do.

This morning I was tempted.  I had Christian songs in my head, but I ignored them.  Just as I was about to sin, the paper broke on the printer.  I thought "Did God design that paper break just to make me think?"  A few minutes later I went back to my temptation and suddenly had to use the facilities.  Again I'm thinking, "Is this God working out the circumstances again?"  For the third time I am about to return when "God is a jealous God"  went through my head.  I stopped in my tracks.

Take some time to read about it.

Exodus 20:5

Exodus 34:14

Deuteronomy 4:24

Deuteronomy 5:9

Deuteronomy 6:15

Deuteronomy 32:16

Deuteronomy 32:21

Joshua 24:19

Nahum 1:2

Psalm 19:12-14

¹² But who can discern their own errors?
   Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
   may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
   innocent of great transgression.

 ¹⁴ May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
   be pleasing in your sight,
   LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

God Bless

God will plead my case.

Were I am in my life right now is the direct result of bad choices, selfish actions and my temper.  Though I have been forgiven by God and the Holy Spirit has begun to transform my life there are still fractured relationships that only God and time can heal.  In truth those relationship may never be renewed and that breaks my heart.   

There is an anonymous individual that keeps taunting me in the comments because they know some of the details of what is going on.  They are taking great pleasure in my misery.  Part of the study from Dr Piper dealt with that today.

Micah 7:8-9

⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy! 
   Though I have fallen, I will rise. 
Though I sit in darkness, 
   the LORD will be my light. 
⁹ Because I have sinned against him, 
   I will bear the LORD’s wrath, 
until he pleads my case 
   and upholds my cause. 
He will bring me out into the light; 
   I will see his righteousness.

There are earthly consequences for my wrong doing, but I know that the LORD will plead my case and my cause.  I will trust in his promise not condemn me. (Romans 8:1-3)

If any of you are suffering because of sin or under the chastisement of the Lord, remember that he only disciples his children because he loves them. (Proverbs 3:11-12) 

God bless.

Come. Just as you are.

I was in church yesterday and having a hard time forgetting some of my mistakes and just worshiping God.  The musicians chose the song "Come Now is the Time to Worship" take a moment to listen.

It was awe inspiring and worship came easy.

God bless.