Thought of the Day !!

Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 2:16 (ESV)

If you love me, obey my commandments. - John 14:15 (NLT)

God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. - 1 John 4:16 (NCV)

We love because God first loved us. If people say, "I love God," but hate their brothers or sisters, they are liars. Those who do not love their brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have never seen. And God gave us this command: Those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters. - 1 John 4:19-21 (NCV)

Recognize a common thread here? Yes, love...from God, for God, for each other.  That's what everything is really all about.  You want salvation?  Love Jesus, therefore loving one another.  You want to be happy in life?  Love God, who already loves you.  You want to know what you were created for?  To love.

All this love talk is not sappy romantic movie talk.  It's powerful, sacrificial, take a stand, be brave kind of stuff.  It means putting your life in Jesus' hands.  It means standing up for those who are bullied, taken advantage of, or simply down on their luck.  This kind of love is the kind that makes men real men and women strong. 

Think about it today.  Do you have the real kind of love that makes a difference in other people's lives?  Is it making a difference in your life?  If not, begin with loving Jesus.  Everything else will flow from that.  For if you really love Him like you say you do, you will obey his command to love others.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’   

                                                      Numbers 21:4-5 (NRSV)

 

As I read this passage, I couldn't help but smile as I thought of how my response to the Israelites' complaints would be if I were Moses.  They complain that there's no food.  Then they follow that complaint up by saying that they "detest this miserable food."  Hey, wait a minute.  I thought you said there was no food.  Which is it?  No food...or miserable food?  It can't be both.

 

I guess what really made me smile was thinking back on how I've gone through my kitchen before and opened all the cabinets and the refrigerator only to shut the doors and complain, "There's no food in this house!"  Was there actually no food for me to eat?  Oh there might be a can of chicken noodle soup.  There might be some peanut butter and some saltines.  There might have been something I would have to take the time to cook.  But the truth of the matter is that I didn't want what I had in my kitchen.  And so I've complained before that there's no food, when in reality it was right in front of me. 

 

The Israelites were getting spoiled.  They evidently had access to food.  They just didn't want it.  And so they complained. 

 

The problem was that the Israelites forgot.  You see, they forgot just how miserable they were in Egypt.  They forgot how they prayed for God to save them.  They forgot how God sent Moses to them.  They forgot how God brought them out of Egypt and how God saved them again at the Red Sea and how God had produced food and water for them and protected them.  They evidently forgot all that God had done for them because they complained.  And if they had thought about how good God had been, they would realize that there was nothing to complain about.

 

I think we can get just like the Israelites from time to time.  We forget all the blessings we have.  We forget how good we actually have it when we see someone who has it better than us.  We forget that life itself is a blessing, and that there is much good to find in it.  We simply forget.  And we do the same as the Israelites.  We complain.  Why did I get....  Or why didn't I get....  Why did so and so do better....  Why oh why.  And the whys become whining.  And negativism or envy or jealousy or whatever turns us into complainers.

 

I wonder what would happen if every time we started to complain about something, we found something to be thankful for first.  Maybe this world would become a more positive place.  And maybe God would be happier with us.

 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

     Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

     Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”  

                                                                              Acts 5:1-4 (NIV)

I came across this scripture this morning as I was reading from Victorious Living by E. Stanley Jones.  Jones pointed out that one test of a person's character is whether or not he/she is willing to lie.  Early Christians, facing horrible death, could often get off the hook with a small lie.  But they would choose to die rather than lie.

How easy it is today to stretch the truth just a little so that we can get out point across or sway another's opinion in our direction.  We point at politicians and claim they lie to us.  But how often have we done the same?  Is it okay to say a little white lie?  Is it okay if "no one really gets hurt"?  Is it okay if we never get caught?

Maybe instead of these questions, we should be asking, "Has God ever lied?" or "Has He ever asked us to lie?"  Jesus is the Way, the Life and the "Truth". (John 14:6)  There is no deceit in truth.  And truth will  prevail in the end.

Let your word be your bond so that the Truth will live in you.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
                                                         1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

Once we give our lives over to Christ, our bodies, along with the rest of who we are, belong to Him.  That's kinda what happens when you give something to someone.  It becomes their property.  In the case of Jesus, we give them to Him who cares about them even more than we do. 

I wish I cared as much about my body as God does.  Before I go to Heaven I will try to take care of my body.  But at the same time I will give up when certain foods come around or when it comes to exercising regularly.  I desire to do right in these areas, but I guess I desire other things more at times. 

Are you like me?  You want to take care of your body but you just have such a hard time doing so?  Well, don't give up.  Remember that if you're a Christian you've given everything over to God, including your body.  So honor it to the best of your abilities.  That will include taking care of it with right foods and exercise.  That will also include not putting harmful substances like drugs or excessive amounts of alcohol in it. 

We're not perfect.  But we can strive to be.  This includes taking care of the bodies that God has created for us to live in and that we've dedicated back to Him when we accepted Christ into our lives.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

                                                                Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

Have you ever had a situation in your life that seemed nearly hopeless?  Christ can give you the hope you need to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Have you ever had something go really, really wrong in your life?  Christ can give you the strength you need to recover. 

 

Have you ever had a problem you didn't know how to handle?  Christ can give you the discernment you need.

 

Have you ever needed a little direction in your life?  Christ can give you the wisdom you need.

 

Christ is our help in times of distress and trouble.  He's our help in times of joy and satisfaction.  He gives us the strength we need everyday to do what's right and good.  He gives us the strength to make it to a place where we can be happy and have peace.  He can do all these things if we will only let him. 

 

Have you ever...Christ can help you do everything.

 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

     The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are."
     But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.
                                                 Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT)

Here we see a conflict of wills.  God's will was for Jonah to go Northeast to Nineveh and preach to the people there.  But Jonah didn't want to go.  He probably hated these people, who were wicked Assyrians.  So his will was to go anywhere but Nineveh.  This led him to go down to Joppa and head west...the opposite direction of God's will.  

How often is it that we're like Jonah?  How often does God have a will for us to live, behave, give or receive differently than what our own will is?  I'd say that this could be often for many of us.  The question is, what will we do about it?  Jonah decided he could do whatever he wanted, no matter what God's wishes were for him.  If you already know the story of Jonah, you know that he created a mess for himself (If you don't, check it out in the Old Testament for a good short story).  When we are so stubborn as to continually do things our way instead of God's better way for us, we create a mess for ourselves just like Jonah did.  

God's will is for us to have a more abundant life.  Even when we don't understand how this works out with what He's calling us to do or who He's calling us to be, we can be sure that His way will lead to a better life for us. 

So will you be like Jonah and run from God's will for your life?  Or will you be like Jesus as he prayed at Gethsemane "Father not my will, but yours"?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

                                                        Matthew 5:6 (NRSV)

 

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness have a deep desire to be right with God and to have a right relationship with God.  That's basically what righteousness is.  So Jesus teaches us that if we truly want to be filled with God through the Holy Spirit, then we will.  But how many of us truly desire that? 

 

Something to think about today - Do you really want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, especially if it might mean going places you now don't want to or acting in different ways or giving up some things you'd rather hold on to?

 

If you truly hunger and thirst for God, you will receive God.  But I think that many people claiming to be Christians don't really have a hunger or thirst for righteousness.  Imagine what this world would be like if we all did.

 

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)

 

Does God want us to worship Him in song?  Of course.  Does He want us to praise Him?  Yes.  So of course He desires to hear hymns of praise from us.  But when these hymns of praise come from people who are not being obedient, who are something totally different within the walls of the church than they are outside them, then He'd just assume not listen to their false praise.

 

As Christians, God wants us first and foremost not to become hypocrites, thinking we're better in any way than others.  Neither does He want to see us becoming the kind of people that put ourselves and our selfish desires before Him.  So let us submit ourselves to a life's purpose of putting God first, through the life and teachings of His Son Christ Jesus.  And let us strive to live that life out to the best of our ability.  Then justice and righteous living will flow from us naturally.  And our worship will be pure and received by the Father with joy.

 

In the love of Christ,
greg

 

Thought of the Day !!

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,  but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
                                                                                 Genesis 3:1-5 (ESV)

Matthew Henry, in his commentary wrote that the devil (the serpent) did three things in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve to disobey God.  He questioned whether this was actually a sin or not.

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
He denied that there would be any punishment.

“You will not surely die."

And he pointed out the benefits.

"When you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Today as Satan tempts us he does the same thing.  He tries to convince us that the sinful things we do are not really all that bad, that their will be no problem with it, and that there will be benefits if we will only do, say or think whatever it is he's trying to get us to do.

Be very aware that the devil is always there stalking you, waiting for his opportunity to tempt you to sin so that he can come between you and God.  He hates God so much that he'll go to any extreme to try to hurt Him.  And you are his only way of getting back at God who kicked him out of Heaven. 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?
                                                                                  James 2:19-20 (NLT)

What James is trying to tell us is that simply believing that God exists and that He created us is not enough.  It's not the kind of belief that Jesus speaks of in John 3:16 when he says that "all who believe shall never perish, but have eternal life".  This kind of saving belief (or faith) has good deeds attached.

He is not telling us our good deeds will save us, but that true faith (or belief) in Jesus is life changing.  When we accept, we not only accept Jesus as our Savior (the one who saves us), but as our Lord (the one whom we invite to run our lives).  And when Jesus is in control, good deeds will naturally follow.

So it's not that good deeds save us, but that they point to a person who is living out his/her salvation.  As Jesus said, "We will be known by our fruit."

So what kind of fruit have you produced lately?  Are there signs that you are a Christian?  Do good deeds pour forth from you?  Or do you claim to have faith while having no deeds to show the authenticity of it?

May we all have a fruit-producing day today.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

O LORD, I am your servant;
  yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
  you have freed me from my chains.
                                 Psalm 116:16 (NLT)

Chains bind us.  Mere human strength cannot break them.  But God can.  Metal chains can physically bind us.  But there are also those invisible things in our lives that hold us down and keep us from living a life of freedom. 

We can struggle with things like addiction, low self-esteem and depression, among other chains that the devil uses.  But we cannot defeat these things on our own.  The Psalmist understands that it is God who frees us. 

So what chains might have you tied up in bondage?  Are you struggling with something that just seems to be hopeless, that you feel helpless against?  If so, know that the God that freed the Israelites, who freed David, who freed us from our sins through Christ,  can also free you from your chains here on earth.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
                                       John 14:15 (ESV)

Growing up I loved my mom and dad (this hasn't changed since becoming an adult).  One of the ways I showed this was by my obedience to them.  Did I always obey?  Just ask them and you'll get a definitive "NO".  But for the most part I wanted to make them proud.  The problem was that I struggled between my desire to do their will and my own will that at times went against theirs.

It's the same way with Jesus.  He is supposed to be Lord of our lives if we call ourselves Christians.  Will we ever disobey (sin)?  Yes.  That comes because we're still struggling with our sinful nature.  But if we truly love Jesus, we will have the desire to make him proud, which means we will want to obey him. 

So if we love Jesus, we will keep his commandments.  We will strive to obey and do the best we can to be the people he wants us to be.  And the result will be the same as when I obeyed my mom and dad.  We will be better off for it because he knows best.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosethenes.

                                     1 Corinthians 1:1 (NLT)

On Monday when I was looking over possible texts to preach about this week I came across 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 in the lectionary readings for Sunday.  For those of you who've never heard of the lectionary, it is a set of weekly readings that can be used to guide you through the majority of the scriptures in a three year period.  Many preachers will use this to preach from.  I used to, but now typically preach sermon series.  Since my next series won't begin for a week or two, I was looking through different scriptures praying that God would share what I should preach from Sunday.

Anyway, after reading this one verse I stopped.  I felt God speaking to me as I read how Paul described himself.  He said that he was "chosen" by the will of God to be an "apostle" of Christ Jesus.  First of all, Paul was chosen by God.  What an honor it is to be chosen by God Himself.  I don't know about you, but when I think about someone being chosen, I think about how they are special for some reason. 

Was Paul the only chosen one?  Of course not.  Are we chosen as well?  Yes, we are.  But what are we chosen for?  Paul was chosen "by God's will" to be an "apostle".  This means he was to be an authority on Jesus and to share all he knew about Jesus with others.  It meant that he would act on Jesus' behalf and lead others to do the same.  He was the one whom God chose to start churches, commending people at times and rebuking at times.

As I read this, I started thinking about what God has chosen me for.  I know that He chose me to me a pastor/preacher.  But within this, has He chosen me to be more?  Am I specifically suited for planting churches, discipling others, missionary work, servant evangelism, etc.?

What about you?  You were chosen to accept Jesus.  After we come to Christ we are chosen for other purposes as well.  What might it be that you were chosen specifically for?  Maybe it's something you have been avoiding.  Maybe it's something that excites you.  Maybe your call has been right in front of you all the time, and you just haven't noticed.  I encourage you today to reread this verse and put your name in it instead of Paul's.  What might God have already chosen you to do in your life?

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
                                          2 Thessalonians 3:3 (ESV)

Satan knows our buttons to push, our most temptable sins and our weakest moments.  On our own we would be doomed.  "But (as Paul says) the Lord is faithful."  He comes to our rescue, often when we don't even realize it.  He sends His angels to fight on our behalf in a spiritual realm that we don't see or even know is going on.  That's exactly what Paul is speaking of when he says that our fight is against the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:12). 

Our part in this battle is prayer.  Pray today that God would send His angels to fight on your behalf.  Pray for protection against the evil one, the tempter, the one who wants so much to destroy you.  Pray for forgiveness for where you have failed Him and for help in your struggles for the day.  Pray today, and ask the Lord to be faithful as His Word promises, and then give thanks for the faithfulness and protection that He will provide. 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

God's way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true. And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful wisdom of God. This "foolish" plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength.

                                         1 Corinthians 1:22-24

To an unbeliever in Paul's day, the message of God coming to earth in the form of a man to suffer and die for the sins of the world must have sounded foolish.  I suppose nothing has changed though.  Many today have a hard time believing in a loving God when there's so many bad things going on in our world.  Many have a hard time grasping how a person can be 100 percent human and at the same time 100 percent God.  Others can't understand how any being has simply always existed without having a beginning.  And so the message of the cross is foolish to them who are perishing, for they simply cannot believe.

The problem is that much too often we try to package things up into something we can understand so that we can believe.  But faith is not logically thinking things through until they make sense.  Faith is believing even when we don't understand or comprehend. 

We'll never completely understand the totality of God's wisdom.  And that's alright.  We don't have to.  We simply have to have faith.

 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
                                                                    John 3:16 (ESV)

Today's "Thought" is simply a reminder of something I hope you already know.  And that is that God loves you.  He loves you so much that He created you.  He gives you breath.  He gave you His only Son to die for you.  He gives you, who believe in that Son, a new life without defect or fault or hate or sadness after this one is gone.  He loves you.

As you go through this weekend be reminded by everything you see just how much God loves you.  And when you see the things in your life that don't look like evidence of His love, remember that it's not Him that brought sin into this world and made it imperfect.  It is humanity that messed up His perfect creation.  But I thank the God who loves me that He's giving me a second chance and one day a new life that will be perfect again.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

This is love for God: to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. - 1 John 5:3-5 (NIV)

Jesus teaches in the Gospel of John that if we love him we will obey him.  John reiterates this point in this letter.  Love for God means obeying his commands.

Some people think that Christianity is a bunch of rules and regulations, do's and don't's, commands for us to keep so that we don't get smited.  Okay, I just like the word "smited", but you get my point.

But the truth is that the commands of God (Jesus) are not burdensome.  They are simply to love God and to love others.  Out of this love will come faith, and out of faith will come victory over this sinful life. 

The commands of our God in Heaven can be stated in one rule.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  I believe this is the gold standard of living that will be carried out in Heaven and are to be practiced here on earth.  Just think if everyone would think this way.  The earth would be perfect because instead of people thinking of themselves they would be thinking of each other.  And instead of only one person thinking of oneself there would be multiple people around thinking of that person.  This would be a sin free life, aka Heaven.

Now I know everyone in this world won't submit to this.  Most will still think of self first.  It's in our human (sinful) nature.  But the key to defeating this world is to have faith in Jesus and obey his command of love.  Think of it as practicing for Heaven.  :) 

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

This is love for God: to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. - 1 John 5:3-5 (NIV)

Jesus teaches in the Gospel of John that if we love him we will obey him.  John reiterates this point in this letter.  Love for God means obeying his commands.

Some people think that Christianity is a bunch of rules and regulations, do's and don't's, commands for us to keep so that we don't get smited.  Okay, I just like the word "smited", but you get my point.

But the truth is that the commands of God (Jesus) are not burdensome.  They are simply to love God and to love others.  Out of this love will come faith, and out of faith will come victory over this sinful life.

The commands of our God in Heaven can be stated in one rule.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  I believe this is the gold standard of living that will be carried out in Heaven and are to be practiced here on earth.  Just think if everyone would think this way.  The earth would be perfect because instead of people thinking of themselves they would be thinking of each other.  And instead of only one person thinking of oneself there would be multiple people around thinking of that person.  This would be a sin free life, aka Heaven.

Now I know everyone in this world won't submit to this.  Most will still think of self first.  It's in our human (sinful) nature.  But the key to defeating this world is to have faith in Jesus and obey his command of love.  Think of it as practicing for Heaven.  :)

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast and brag.  All such boasting is evil. -- James 4:13-16 (NIV)

We want to control things don't we?  I think it's in our nature.  I'd love to be able to control the weather today.  I want the sun to come out and the temperature to stay in the upper seventies to lower eighties.

It is God who is in control.  Now this doesn't mean that He moves us around like pieces on a chess board.  He gives us the ability to choose our own actions; what we will say, do, accept, etc.  But He is in control of what happens in this world.  Only He can decide if it will rain or not.  Only He can miraculously cure someone's body.  Only He can stop time.  Only He can add another star to the night sky.  Only Him.  This is because He created all these things.

The two most important prayers in the bible to me come from our Lord Jesus.  One is when he teaches us to pray the Lord's prayer and the other is when he is at Gethsemene.  In both he prays that God's will be done.  And isn't it of comfort to know that the one who created and controls everything knows how all things should work out?  We may want this or that, but God knows so much more than our limited minds can handle.  He knows how the things that we ask for will affect us.  He knows the outcomes of all things and we can only know the here and now. 

He also answers "No" to us at times because we need to go through the fire and be refined like silver.  Sometimes the impurities of our lives must be burned out to make us better.  Sometimes we have to go through hell to see heaven on earth.  And only God knows when those times are. 

So let us submit to God's will in our lives through our actions and through our prayers.  Let us all pray today that God's will be done.  And if that is the same as what we want, then great.  If not, then let's learn to accept that God knows better and He is still listening and still in control. 

In the love of Christ,
greg