Thought of the Day !!

Thought of the Day !! Notice - I will be taking a about a week break from the Thought of the Day !! devotions.  But that will resume next year.

In the love of Christ,
greg


Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
                                        Romans 12:11 (NLT)

We do various types of work during any given week.  Some we get paid money for.  Others we find fulfillment purely in the act of doing them.  Some are called honey-do's, while others may come from a to-do list that we've made ourselves.  Some tasks require a lot of manual labor, while others make us think.  But no matter what kind of work we do...no matter how unimportant or important it may seem...lets do it as if we're doing it for the Lord and His approval.  Instead of going into it with a bad attitude and complaining about it, we should be enthusiastic, giving every job our best effort.  This will bring about a sense of joy for us as well as being a witness for others. 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

                     Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

Humility means thinking of others before your self, or as Paul puts it, “[valuing] others above yourselves.”  This is what God seeks from us because the opposite of humility, or pride, is what lies behind all sin. 

C.S. Lewis said something to the effect that pride was father of all sins.  You see, sin comes from putting ourselves before God or others.  We disobey out of a deep sense of wanting our own way.  People murder, steal, rape, etc because of something in them that is thinking of themselves.  And even the smallest lie can come down to me not wanting someone to know the truth. 

Pride is all about me.  But humility is all about the other person.  It lifts others up.  It shares the love of Christ.  It promotes the well-being of another.  And it is obedient to the great law, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Paul knew that if we were to follow Jesus we would have to be humble because Jesus himself was humble.  He went so far to say that he came not to be served, but to serve.    

Let us humbly serve one another today, thinking of others and their needs above our own.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
                                  1 John 2:6 (NIV)

It's been a wonderful Christmas.  We've celebrated the birth of Jesus.  We've enjoyed family.  We've eaten a little too much.  Or at least this describes my Christmas, as I hope it does yours too.

As we go forward may the love that came down in Christmas stay in our hearts.  It would be easy to simply get back to the same old routine and get used to a world that can bring us down with bad news and less that loveable people.  It would be easy to get all caught back up in the world and it's values and trends.  What's harder is living daily with the love of Christmas in our hearts.  This would mean walking as Jesus did, following his ways and commands.

In 1 John we hear a lot about how if we really love Jesus then we will live in obedience to him and love others.  John goes as far as saying that if we claim him (or for us today if we claim to be Christians) and we don't do as he says, then we are liars (or not truly Christians).  In other words, we will be known by our actions and not our words.

Let us live this upcoming year not just claiming him but also walking as he did, learning what he taught, listening to what he means for us today, and walking with him in the here and now.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Christmas Thought of the Day !!

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
                             Luke 2:1-7 (NRSV)

Today will be a busy day for many getting last minute shopping or cooking done.  It will be a day of sorrow for some because while everyone else is happy they deal with loss or some other sadness this season.  And then there are those who will find joy in the preparations and the excitement of the gift-giving and family gatherings and all the rest that comes annually on these two days of the year.

No matter what is going on in your lives today, stop and remember the reason for Christmas.  Go back to the Bethlehem with Joseph and Mary, with shepherds and angels, and relive the magical story of God coming down to dwell with us.  Find the joy of a baby and the love of a Savior.  Seek the guidance of a Messiah and the forgiveness of the one filled with grace.

Today seek Jesus in the gatherings, the gifts and celebration.  Find Him not only in a manger but also in your home...in your midst.  May the Joy that came down some 2000 plus years ago fill you today as you celebrate Him.

Merry Christmas!!
greg

Thought of the Day !!

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.

                                John 1:15 (ESV)

No manger scene.  No Mary and Joseph or shepherds and angels.  No star leading wise men or inns without room.  Simply "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."  This is John's Christmas story.  Plain and simple.  God became man and came to us to live with us.

Mike Slaughter tells his congregation at Ginghamsburg UMC each year these words, "It's not your birthday."  I like hearing that because it reminds me that as we give our gifts to each other that we're not celebrating each other.  Or at least we shouldn't be.  Though Dec 25 is almost surely not the actual date of Jesus' birth, when the Word became flesh, it is the day that was chosen to celebrate his birthday.  Let us not forget that he is the guest of honor this season.  Let us not get so involved tomorrow and the next day with family plans and gift-giving that we forget the reason why we give.

Christmas should be about giving to Jesus.  And the best gift we can give him is the gift of our love.  Through this love for him we will love each other.  And through this love for each other we will share gifts for those we know and even those we might not know who are down and out or lonely.  Let's make sure we give to Jesus by giving to the least of these this Christmas.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !! (About the first Christmas)

(Joseph) took with him Mary, his fiancé, who was obviously pregnant by this time. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

                                           Luke 2:5-7 (NLT)

Most of us have heard the story of the birth of Jesus over and over again.  How the shepherds saw an angel proclaim the birth, how some wise men saw a star, how there was no room in an inn, how Mary pondered the happenings of the night in her heart.  Yes, many a stage has been filled with children acting out the first Christmas and many shelves, counter tops and even yards have displayed nativity scenes. 

 

We do know the story (If you don't, look to Luke 2), but what about those who came to see the baby?  Did they know what to expect?  Think about the shepherds.  They came to the place where the Savior of the world was born.  And even though they were told that he would be wrapped in "swaddling clothes", or strips of cloth, I wonder if they were surprised. 

 

I wonder if the shepherds, and later the wise men, were surprised to see what they had heard was a King residing in peasants' care.  I wonder if they were surprised to see that a stable, and later an ordinary house, was where this king resided.  I wonder if they thought that they might have the wrong address.

 

No, I think not.  After all, they had been told.  And even more importantly, I imagine that when they saw the baby, they just knew.  My only reasoning for this is that when we meet Jesus, we know that there's something different about him.  He attracts and pulls us to him.  There's no mistaking the one person in the world that will love you more than anyone else in the world.   

 

He may have been a fragile baby in a cold stable lying in a hay-filled manger, but he was something special.  And even now, we are drawn to him.  May he bless you this Christmas as you are attracted to the manger.  And may we all share the gift that God shared with us so many years ago.  The gift of love.  Merry Christmas.

 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

                            Luke 21:27 (NIV)

There will come a day, sometime in our future, maybe today, maybe a thousand years from today, but there will come a day.  This is the day when Jesus will return.  

Why do I mention this during our time of celebrating the birth of Jesus a couple thousand years ago?  It's because as we celebrate his humble birth, we should also be preparing for his Second Coming. 

Jesus came the first time very humbly.  He was born into a cold damp cave that would have been used as a stable.  There were commoners there to greet him into this world.  There were smells of a barnyard and critters that you wouldn't find in a nice warm hotel.  His first worshipers were smelly shepherds, and his first night's sleep was in a manger, of feeding box.  

He came humbly, and he lived humbly.  He taught us to be humble as well.  He did miraculous things.  And then he died a criminal's death for our sins.  His birth, life and death was all about serving us.  But the next time we see him it will be another story.

When he comes back he will be coming in the clouds and people all around the world will see.  He will come with power and might and save the faithful from persecution and heartache.  He will take those who've been faithful to him with him to the perfect place that he has been preparing for us.  

Prepare yourself.  As you celebrate the birth, prepare yourself to meet the beloved Christ.  Live for him.  Be ready to die for him.  And soon enough we will all meet him in person.  On that day, may he share these words with you.  "Well done good and faithful servant.  Well done."

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

[Mary] will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
                                              Matthew 1:21 (NRSV)

This verse is but a piece of the conversation that the angel of the Lord had with Joseph when Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant.  The angel is telling Joseph to name the child Jesus, which means "God saves". 

It's the gift of salvation that comes at Christmas.   This gift of salvation is the gift of second chances.  We all need second chances from time to time.  We're sinful people who have had a history of putting ourselves first.  And so God gives us the gift of Jesus...the gift of salvation...and we receive a second chance at being right with God. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could have second chances in everything?  Wouldn't it be great if we could turn back the clock and redo things?  Think about what you would do if you had the chance to go back in time before you said something that hurt someone or did something that angered someone or made any kind of mistake.  Given the chance, would you do the same thing all over again...make the same mistake? 

Any sane person would try to correct the mistake.  Don't you agree?

God gives us second chances daily.  And even though we can't actually go back in time and change what we did or said, we can still begin anew with God each day.  So what will we do with our second chances?  Will we continue to live the way we did before we accepted Christ?  Will we continue to make the same mistakes over and over?  Will we continue to satisfy ourselves instead of God?  Or will we change to be who God wants us to be?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

This is a time for singing.  What is your favorite Christmas carol?  Mine has long been "Do you hear what I hear?"  How about this?  Wherever you go today, sing, hum or whistle a cheerful Christmas tune.  Maybe it will catch on.  Others may find the joy of Christmas and begin singing themselves.  It's hard to sing Christmas music and be down or in a bad mood.  We might just bring a little cheer to this world today, and that is the gift you can give your Lord this day.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
"Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite,
With a tail as big as a kite."

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
"Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the the sea,
With a voice as big as the the sea."

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
"Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold--
Let us bring him silver and gold,
Let us bring him silver and gold."

Said the king to the people everywhere,
"Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light,
He will bring us goodness and light."

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Mary responded,
"Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
  and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
                                 Luke 1:46-48 (NLT)

I wonder if this song had been bubbling up in Mary since she got the news that she was going to be the mother of God's Son?  I wonder if she was about to explode to share this praise of her God with someone?  After the angel Gabriel shares the good news about Jesus with her, she goes to her relative Elizabeth's house and lets loose with a song of praise.

Her praise is not just an outward thing.  It comes from deep within.  She states that her soul praises (or magnifies) the Lord.

Our praise to God must not only be lip service.  You know what it’s like when someone’s trying to butter you up don’t you?  Or maybe you’ve done it before.  A person wants something and so they act real nice and shower someone with praises to get what he/she wants.  Mary’s praise of God is not like that.  It comes from deep down.  In other words, she really means it.

When was the last time you burst out with a song of praise to God?  It doesn't have to be sung, it can be prayed, spoken, or even shouted out to the heavens.  Let’s sing praises to God in His sanctuary.  Let’s offer praises to Jesus before our holiday meals.  Let’s praise the Holy Spirit's name in our family get-togethers, sharing how great He is with family and friends.  Let’s praise the name of our Lord in checkout lines, gas stations, parties and everywhere we go.

Show others you’re not embarrassed of the name of Jesus this year as you praise His name.  I think He’d like that gift this Christmas.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

There is a story in the Gospel of John where a woman is caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus by the religious teachers and Pharisees in an attempt to trap him into saying something they could hold against him.  This is a wonderful story.  But today I want to point out the ending.  Jesus has just told the accusers that whichever one of them is without sin can be the first one to cast a stone at her (for stoning was the punishment according to the Law of Moses).  This is what happens after they all leave.

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."

                                                              John 8:10-11 (NLT)

  

It’s easy to stand in judgment of others.  We can act much like the religious teachers and Pharisees and point fingers at others.  But when we realize that if we put ourselves in this story, we stand right there with the woman before Jesus.  Our list of sins may be different.  But we’re right there in the same boat she was in.  We’re guilty.

The only one there who had the right to throw stones was Jesus.  He was the only one (and still is the only one) without sin.  But He doesn’t. He shows compassion.  He gives her (and us) another chance at redemption. 

Notice, he doesn’t condone the sin.  He says to go and sin no more.  He knows that if he just lets her off the hook, she will go back into the same old routine of sin that got her in trouble in the first place.

He wants us to get out of the lives that are taking us away from God and ruining us.  He doesn’t condone the kind of living that hurts us.  But at the same time he also doesn’t strike us down because we’ve messed up.  He is the ultimate example of compassion.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
                                                    Colossians 3:15-16 (TNIV)

Attitude.  What will yours be today?

We can have an attitude filled with negativity where we complain about things in our lives.  And we don't normally have to go far to find something to complain about.  But what kind of day will that make?  Have you ever seen someone who was complaining about their spouse or their church or another person or their job, etc. smiling? 

On the other hand, if we look just past those things we can complain about, we can find something to be thankful for.  Even those of us with great difficulties in life can be thankful for something.  When we look to God and give Him thanks and live out our day in this thankful spirit, we find that we have more smiles than when we complain.  And it's much more fun to smile than to cringe. 

What is it you can be thankful for today?  Give thanks to God today for your many blessings and remember these blessings whenever you're about to complain about something today.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

And the King will say, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me."

                                           Matthew 25:40 (NLT)

William sleeps in a doorway to a downtown building.  He has a sleeping bag and a few blankets and very little else.  The first week I watched a couple bring him some food from inside my truck because I was told that William doesn't do well with crowds.  This week I went with one other and handed him a bowl of chili.  He was nice and said thank you, but little else.  When offered some shoes, he said that he didn't need them even though he'd asked for some before.  Maybe he'd forgotten that he asked for them.  William turned towards the wall and we began to step away.  It was then that we heard him speak.  He said, "Don't you worry who they are. It's none of your business."

It's been said that William spent some time in jail for sexual assault.  It's also been said that he is autistic.  And we witnessed for ourselves the fact that he hears voices.  Yet the only place for him is a doorway in downtown Memphis. 

Many people no doubt walk past William daily with indifference.  If any of them have heard what we have about his sexual assault charges they are probably even scared of him or disgusted by him.  The fact is, we don't know how safe William is because we don't know what the voices in his head might tell him.  But that won't keep us from bringing him food or loving him.

Jesus said that we are blessed when we feed the hungry or care for those in need.  He went as far as to say that when we do this, we do it to Him. 

There might not be anyone in William's life to care for him.  But Jesus loves him and wants him taken care of.  Might you have your own William in your life, someone you may pass by daily or weekly, not wanting to talk to or interact with for whatever reason?  Jesus loves that person as much as He loves you.  And if you care for that person, you will have cared for Jesus Himself. 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Make every effort to respond to God's promises.  Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
                                                       2 Peter 1:5b-7 (NLT)

Peter precedes this passage by telling us that God has given us everything we need to be able to live godly lives.  He also stated that God has given us "great and precious promises".  And then comes these words that share how we ought to desire to respond. 

First, Peter tells us to "make every effort to respond to God's promises".  God has given us so much and promised to give us so much more.  And our God is one who keeps His promises.  But so often we make very little effort to respond.  Our response should come out of our gratitude for all God has done.  So if we make very little effort to respond to God, wouldn't that mean that we aren't really that grateful?

Next Peter teaches us a proper response, one that would make our Father in Heaven proud.  He says to supplement our faith.  Faith is so important.  But faith should not ever be in word only.  It should be backed up by our works.  In this case, Peter teaches that God would love to see our faith backed by moral excellence (living godly lives), knowledge (of God's Word and through it His will), self-control, patient endurance, godliness, affection for other Christians and love for everyone. 

I leave you with a question for today.  It's not how do you live up to all these because none of us is perfectly sinless.  It is, however, how much is your desire and effort to live in these ways?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

[God says,] "Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry."
                                                                                                         Amos 5:23 (NLT)

God isn't telling us not to sing.  Actually, we find in the New Testament that we should sings songs of praise.  What God does not want is to hear us singing to Him while living lives that are unjust.  We are called to get our lives right with God and allow our praise to be genuine for the one who has made us righteous.  When we're living a life of justice and peace for others, our hymns of praise will be sweet music to God's ears...even when we sing off key. 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today.
                                                                Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NLT)

We can long for a past when things seemed much simpler...much easier...much better.  We can also live our lives in the past trying to relive what happened, only to be disappointed by the fact that we can never truly go back.  

We can try to hold on to the past so that we are unchangeable in the future.  Or we can treasure the memories of the past, while preparing for the future by making today worth living as well. 

Life is ever changing, and when we fail to realize this, we get left behind in despair.  Allow God to share His future with you and then go and share that future with others.  In doing this we won't complain about today and wish things were like they were way back then.  Instead, we will make a future worth living as well.  

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth." "Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?
                                                   John 1:45-46 (NLT) 

Be careful in pre-judging others.  That's exactly what Nathanael did.  He judged Jesus based on where he was from.  "Can anything good come from (Nazareth)?"  Maybe there were many people who came out of this area that were...let us just say..."less than perfect".  But that doesn't mean that any of them should be judged based on the character of others from the same area. 

If we're not careful we can do the very same thing that Nathanael did.  We might even say or think something like, "Can any person of that race / religion / part of the country / etc. be of any count?"  The truth of the matter is that we really don't know.  So get to know someone before you judge them based on their color or age or social status or whatever.  You just might find out that something good comes from places like Nazareth.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.
                                                                 Matthew 7:24;26 (NLT)

This comes at the end of Jesus' teachings that we now call the Sermon on the Mount.  He speaks of people being wise when they build their houses on something solid that is reliable and not going anywhere.  This makes sense.  You don't build a house until you have a firm foundation.

But often times people build the houses of their lives on something much less solid than the Rock of Christ.  Houses can be built upon the sandy soil of a person's income or personality or reputation or anything else that helps them get by in this world.  The problem is that when the winds blow and the floods come these houses can crumble because of nothing stable underneath. 

Matthew uses the word "moros", which we translate as foolish here.  Can anyone guess what we get from this word?  Moron.  How about this?  Jesus is teaching the people the moral law, or the moral (right) way to live.  If they hear what he has to say and simply ignores him, they are foolish.  Or it could be said that this would be a moronic thing to do. 

As Christians, we hear the word of God through sermons, bible studies, prayer and especially Scripture.  The moronic thing for us would be to listen and proclaim that these are wonderful teachings, but just unrealistic for us in today's world.  That's done more than we want to admit.  It's done every time we say we cannot forgive or cannot turn the other cheek or cannot love our enemy.  For with God all things are possible.  And with Christ as the foundation of our lives, we can do whatever He asks of us...and our lives will be filled...and we will be wise.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
                          Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Fear is a strong motivator.  People who are afraid will do things they might otherwise not ever think of.  If someone has a gun to his or her head, the fear of being shot could cause them to do whatever the person holding the gun says to do.  Fear of a burning building might cause someone to jump out of a 4-story window.  The devil knows all about fear and will use it to sidetrack us…to get us off course and to simply make our lives miserable.

The key to fighting fear is to ask for God's assurance and find our strength in Him.  In Isaiah we learn not to fear, for God is with us.  And He is, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

King David knew this to be true.  So true that he wrote in the Psalms that "(God) alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 62:6 – NIV).  He knew that God was the key to getting past our fears.  As the Bible says, if God is with us, who can be against us?

So as we strive to live our lives out in victory and in joy, we can conquer the fears that will detour us from living the way we should by bringing them to God and spending time studying God's Word.

May you be like King David, who even though he had enemies constantly trying to kill him, found strength and peace in the Lord.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
                                                          Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) 

Who would know better the paths that will lead to fulfillment?  The one who created the paths or the one blindly following the path?  We so often think that we know best, but when we'll seek God's will and trust in His ways for our lives, we'll figure out just how little we knew all along.  Allow God to guide you today, and not your imperfect understanding of the world and all that's in it.  In doing this you will find peace.  

In the love of Christ,
greg