God loves you!

 "In LOVE he predestined (before you were even born) us for adoption to himself as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will (that none should perish but that all should be saved 2 Peter 3:9), to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved (Jesus Christ). In him we have redemption (being saved from sin) through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (all our sins), according to the riches of his grace ( only by grace are we forgiven and saved), which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom (he knows everything we ever done both good and bad)  and insight (he knows our deepest thoughts and desires) making known to us the mystery of his will (the gospel of Christ, how to be saved), according to his purpose (calling; God does the calling), which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."  Eph 1:4-10

Now read it again!! 

Before you and I were even conceived God had a plan. He wanted us to be a part of his family! He not only made a way for us to be saved but he actually saves us through Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood. In that salvation He forgives us of ALL OUR SINS! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done God WILL forgive you because that’s His WILL. If you committed murder - forgiven, if you’ve been divorced - forgiven, if you stole something - forgiven, if you spent your life rejecting the Gospel and repent at the last moment - FORGIVEN! There is no sin that you won’t be forgiven of if you will trust in Him! It is by His Grace and love that we received this status at Calvary. 

GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS YOU TO LOVE HIM!!! God wants you to trust and believe in the atoning work of Christ at Calvary.

It's Not About Me

 It's Not About Me 

I want to be authentic. I don’t want to keep on thinking, I’ll figure that out later. I want to be what God wants me to be now. And that’s what being authentic is all about. It’s being real and developing the disciplines of a sincere faith. 

I think a lot of people want to have a genuine, honoring relationship with the Lord. But here’s the thing: It’s not just something you feel, it’s actually something you do. There are disciplines we can develop that lead to the authenticity we so deeply desire. 

We have studied prayer, fasting, personal Bible study, fellowship, and now we will study the last discipline: authentic serving. 

Look at Luke 17. This is from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself, the Master Teacher, the greatest Servant who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 

Here’s the thing: We must not expect God to serve us before we have served Him. The context in Luke 17 is very clear. Jesus is giving an illustration of a man who works for his boss, serving him, and doing his assigned job. This servant comes in from a hard day’s work. (How do you generally feel after a hard day’s work? You feel tired and hungry. That’s how this guy was feeling.) So he comes in and maybe smells something cooking, and most certainly he wants to get something to eat. 

But the fact of the matter is, he’s a servant. And rather than focusing on what he needs and wants, he continually keeps his primary focus on the master—always the master first; never me first—always what God’s doing first. It’s not about me—not what I want, but what God wants. He’s the Master, not me. 

We must not expect God to serve us before we have served Him. 

Prayer – Father, Thank You for Your Word. It is not failing for clarity. Help me to remember You are the Master and I am Your servant. Help my joy be in serving You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Encouraging Word

 There is someone reading this that needed this encouraging word today. 

As we enter deeper into the uncertainty of the future I want to remind you of a conversation between God the Father and a young man named Joshua. 

< background >

You see Joshua had been walking with a great man of god for 40+ years. While he still had duties and responsibilities there was always Moses that he could lean on. Due to some actions of Moses Joshua finds himself entering a stage of his life where he will face the unknown alone (he thought). 

Joshua now finds himself scared, worried, and facing uncertainty. He is going to be leading a people into a new land full of all kinds of uncertainty. God calls out to Joshua and begins to comfort him. God tells Joshua to be courageous and strong. He also tells Joshua to not be frightened (fear not). He tells Joshua the reason he shouldn’t fear is because God the Father himself will be with him and walking with him everywhere he goes. God also promises that He will never leave or forsake Joshua!  

I don’t know about you but I can relate to Joshua as I walk through the uncertainty of the mess going on today. Though I’m not scared, I am concerned with what the future holds. 

The uncertainty of the things we will face can cause anxiety and fear if we fail to do the one thing Joshua did. He TRUSTED God!! He trusted God to fulfill His promises to walk with him, to protect him, and to prosper (not just financially) him. 

If you find yourself struggling today look to the Word of God for comfort. If you are a child of God cling to the promises God has given you in His a Word. 

Promises

“You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isa 41:9-10

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  Mat 6:33

"but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  Isa 40:31

Satan is crafty and smooth.

 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

The devil, Satan, is always on the prowl looking for someone who has become weak and defenseless. 

You have to be on guard for Satan's attacks. He is crafty and smooth. He will attack when you least expect it. 

Today, while in a meeting, the leadership allowed for a moment of meditation. First attack... religious freedom allows for every religion except for Christianity. 

Second attack... during the meditation we had a moderator guiding us through verbal dialogue while calming music was being played in the background.  While ushering calming words the moderator repeatedly used the phrase "magic". "You are magic",  "it is magic", and "magic is everything" were just a few of the phrases that were used. 

Based on the teachings of God found in the bible "magic" is a tool Satan uses to distract and defeat mankind. Read the following passages for yourself. 

Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.

2 Kings 21:6 - And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke [him] to anger.

Acts 8:9-13 - But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

***I added the emphasis to point out the key words used. Words like familiar spirits, wizards, enchantments, sorcery, and bewitched are all synonymous with one another.  

This meditation was introduced to be beneficial as a calming tool set to music. In this day and time we are all looking for ways to better cope with the anxieties and troubles around us. We are all looking for ways to mentally escape the bombardment of things happening around us. During this time it would be very easy to fall victim to the deceiver.  I have seen so many professing christians fall victim to the deceptive influence of the devil. They have unknowingly praised the introduction of satan into their lives (this makes me so sad). 

While there is nothing wrong with meditation it is the content of your meditation that will cause you the problems.  

The Bible mentions meditation is in Joshua 1:8 and it reads, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” In these verses the focus of the meditation is on the words of Scripture. The Bible also mentions meditating on God’s unfailing love (Psalm 48:9), on God’s works and all his mighty deeds (Psalm 77:12), on God’s precepts and his ways (Psalm 119:15) and on God’s promises (Psalm 119:148). 

It is vitally important to stand firm on the teachings of the bible. 

The bible tells us to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)".

The way way we test the spirits is through studying God's word. 2 Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

I pray this brings you encouragement to study God's Word.