Thursday's Thought of the Day !!

You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. – 1 Peter 2:2-3 (NLT)

What does it mean to grow into the fullness of our salvation?  I see this as maturing as Christians.  When we are born again, we are changed in a miraculous way.  But at the same time, our behavior and thinking may not be totally changed. 

The new birth is just the beginning, not the end of our salvation story.  It is then that God justifies us...that He forgives us and makes us worthy of His redemption.  Then we are to begin a new life where we look at things differently.  We'll continue to have pitfalls, failures and successes.  We can learn from each one and grow in our relationship with God from each one.  These are the things that will build us.  And we should be able to look back daily and say to ourselves, "I'm not where I should be yet, but I'm much better off than I was."  

After we're born again, the goal is for us to continue to mature, or as Wesley put it, to go on towards perfection.  So what we must realize is that the new birth and/or baptism is not the end of our salvation story.  These are just the beginning.  Let us all crave the pure spiritual milk that God has to offer us and grow into the fullness of our salvation.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Wednesday's Thought of the Day !!

"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house." – Haggai 1:9 (NIV) 

I came across this verse in another devotion and the question was asked "Do you spend as much time on God's interests as you do on your own?"  The author was trying to say that if God isn't a part of what we're doing, then it will all be blown away. 

This reminded me of another passage from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus speaks of building houses on rock instead of sand.  The same question could be asked after reading this verse.  Do we spend as much time on God's interests as we do on our own? 

The verse from Haggai refers to God's people spending their time doing for themselves while the Temple (God's house) remained in ruin.  If we update this to today, it might speak to us saying that we spend so much time thinking about ourselves that we forget that the Church (not referring to a building, but the people of God) is in decline in many ways.   

So the question must be asked yet again.  Do we spend as much time on God's interests as we do on our own? 

In the love of Christ,

greg

Tuesday's Thought of the Day !!

Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

Christians (Christ-followers) have a different set of standards than those of the world.  They also have a different home.  For their permanent home is Heaven, not this earth.  And so they are called on to live by these standards set forth by Jesus and for this home called Heaven.  Yet so often we live like our citizenship is here and not in eternity.  We worry about tomorrow.  We hold on to anger and revenge.  We think more about what we want than what Christ wants from us. 

I wonder how Christ, whom we're supposed to be placing first in our lives, feels about all this?  I wonder how disappointed our Father in Heaven must be when we forget whose we are and whom we're supposed to be representing?

I'm reminded of those great words from the book of Joshua, "Choose this day whom you will serve." and "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  Let us take these words seriously today as we remember where our citizenship is.  Let us live as though we are foreigners in this land so that we don't get too accustomed to its ways.  Let us reach toward Heaven in all we do and eagerly await the time when we will see our Savior in that place we call Home.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Monday's Thought of the Day !!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. - John 1:1-2 (NIV)

Who can I count on?  Can I count on someone who doesn't know the real me, who hasn't been privy to my darkest moments, my ugliest sins?  I don't think so. For if this was found out I might be abandoned.

What can I count on?  Can I count on something made by human hands to last me the entirety of my life?  Or will it eventually rust, break or simply stop working?  I suppose so.

Why can I not count on anything or anyone in this world to be the perfect presence in my life, knowing exactly how I feel, exactly what to say in all times, what I'm up against now, what I will come against later, to last and not ever break down, abandon me or fall apart?  The answer is because everyone and everything (including me) on this earth has been compromised by sin.  We are not perfect.  We are fragile, susceptible to death and decay.

So then, who or what can I count on and why?  The "Word" has been around forever and will be around forever.  This "Word" has been tested and remains perfect.  This "Word" has never been tainted by sin.  This "Word" is concerned so much for me that he went to the depths of the human existence to save me.  This "Word" is not perishable, double-minded, or selfish.  This "Word" is always there for me.  This "Word" is Jesus.

In times when we know people can't really understand everything we're thinking or feeling, Jesus does.  When we're lost and trying to find our way, Jesus knows it and is willing to lead us in it.  As a matter of fact, He is it.  In times of trouble and in times of joy, Jesus is always there and will never abandon us.  We can count on Jesus.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thursday's Thought of the Day !!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. – 1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

Some days we need to just begin our day praising God and thanking Him.  Actually, we should do this every day.  But maybe some days more than others because we got up on the wrong side of the bed.  Or we know of a confrontation that will be coming our way.  Or we know it's gonna be a long tedious day.  Sometimes we just (especially) need to begin our day praising God and thanking Him.

No matter what you think your day is going to wind up being like, it will be better if you go through it with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving.  So give God thanks for something He has done in your life.  Praise Him for something He's doing now.  And rejoice in what He can accomplish through you in this day as you have a Godly attitude of praise.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Wednesday's Thought of the Day !!

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23 (NIV)

This might be one of the most overlooked or disregarded verses in the whole bible for us Christians here in America.  It's not so in areas of the world where persecution is a daily thing.  But here, where we boast about our freedom, we are free to become lukewarm in our faith and complacent in our lives lived out for Jesus.  

"If anyone would come after me."  This means us who call on the name of the Lord Jesus to be our Savior.  As Christians we are followers of Christ.  We have felt the call to "come after" Jesus. 

"He (she) must deny himself."  Really?  How many of us make it a habit of denying ourselves of anything?  I could ask, "What would you give up for Jesus?", but the real question is "What are you giving up for him now?"  It's not that Jesus wants us to be denied of our pleasures.  But in a world that Satan has a grip on, there will be decisions everyday made that have to do with choosing Jesus or ourselves (the choice Satan wants us to make).  Will you deny yourself the television show that you know Jesus doesn't really want you watching?  Will you deny yourself that next alcoholic beverage when you know it will change you from having a drink to becoming drunk?  Will you deny yourself time spent on the couch so that you can spend it in God's Word and in prayer?  Will you deny yourself or break that law that everyone else does like speeding or fudging on your taxes?  And so on and so on it goes.  The list is endless of the choices we make daily.  We won't be perfect, but the question is, "Are we denying ourselves at all?"

"...take up his cross and follow me."  In Jesus' day the people understood the cross much differently that we do.  We wear them around our necks or hang them on walls to remind us of the glorious gift that God gave us through His Son.  But for the people then it was a reminder of pain and death.  There was no resurrection affiliated with it.  It was seen as a gruesome form of suffering.  Following Jesus in the Middle East or China or North Korea or other places where Christianity is illegal or just barely tolerated, means suffering.  Those people know that they are marked for life as criminals.  They're stuff can be confiscated.  They're lives can even be taken (legally in some places).  But here we claim that we suffer when someone takes the 10 Commandments out of a courtroom or says we can't pray in school.  Our suffering for Christ might be small here compared to other places, but we will have to endure some things for the cause of Christ.  Since we don't suffer much or often, when it does come up we might try to ignore it or get around it.  "Blessed are those who suffer for my sake", says Jesus in the Beatitudes.  Be blessed by Jesus by standing up for him.  But do so in the love that he teaches instead of the anger that Satan tries to get you to have.  Speak out in Jesus name to those who are on the wrong path, even though you might suffer.  Care for those who are less fortunate, even though you might suffer.  In other words, take up your cross and follow Jesus.

In the love of Christ,

greg