Assurance

When we commit our lives to God, He comes to dwell and live within us.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and He abides with us.  This means no matter what you face, it should not be overwhelming. No matter how stressful the circumstances of life becomes or what God calls upon you to do, You've Got This!

I like Philippians 4:13 from the Amplified Bible, "I can do all things which He has called me to do through Him who strengthens and empowers me to fulfill His purpose--I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace."

Because you are now God's and God is your sufficiency, anything He calls on you to do is possible simply because of the Spirit of God within you.  It's not you alone, but God in you.  So, I challenge you today to abide in God and remain steadfast and confident in Him.  He will equip you and enable you to do much more than you think because He empowers you with divine strength from heavenly places.

Created to Serve

When we commit our lives to Christ, there is a desire that is birthed deep in our Spirit to please and serve God. It's part of our new nature in Christ. Jesus the King of Heaven left His Throne in Glory to come to this earth and give His life for you and me. He came to serve. And we were created for God’s pleasure.

When I hear the phrase ‘created to serve,’ the scene of the disciples sitting around a large table after a feast and Jesus girding His waist with a towel comes vividly to my mind. 

Jesus being fully and completely deity, kneeled down with a basin of water to display the heart of a servant by serving those around Him.  He was worthy of being served.  He was worthy of riches, honor and gifts, yet He humbled Himself to graciously serve those He labored alongside.

In John 13:16-17 the Scripture unfolds before us, “Now that I your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

Our heart should be to serve God with all that is within us and serve our Church with our gifts and talents. With serving flows the blessings of the Lord on our lives.

Attitude Check

Often, we have the mindset that we are "All That!...and a bag of chips!" Confidence is valued, but sometimes we become overbearing. When we think too highly of ourselves, we run the danger of failure when we allow pride to swell up so large that it drives our life. 

Self-pride is necessary to keep yourself properly groomed and maintain good work ethic.  However, when we begin to think the sun rises and sets in ourselves, our mindset is definitely distorted and our vision clouded. We must prefer others above ourselves and maintain a level of humility. The Word of God bears this out. 

Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." And Failure is definitely in our future when we think too highly of ourselves.

We must be careful to take an attitude check. We can become complacent and conform to the people we spend time with. Therefore, we must spend time talking with God and allow the Scripture to evaluate our attitudes. The Holy Spirit will always bring us back into check, if we will be quiet and learn to listen to His promptings.

Romans 12:3, "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."

Shortcuts

What Christ did for you and me on the cross is incredible. He sacrificed everything, suffered great physical pain and tortuous agony, faced ridicule and rejection, drug his cross up Golgotha's hill until his body collapsed from exhaustion. He was the Perfect Lamb. 

He was sinless and flawless, yet He knew this was the only way to restore the broken relationship between man and His heavenly Father. He willingly became our perfect Lamb. The crowd crucified Him and laid Him in a borrowed tomb. But on the third day, He rose from the grave and ascended back to the Father in heaven.

We are guilty of searching for a shortcut. We want the easy way. Today, people try to clean up their own act. We try to fix our own problems and restore our own relationships. We rationalize God is merciful and we can live how we please. We even choose to worship other gods than the One true and living God, thinking it really doesn't matter who we worship. But Jesus declares in John 14:6, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; No man cometh unto the Father but by Me." 

There is absolutely no other way. Jesus is the only one able to deliver you from the bondage of sin and free you for a better life. America needs to stop trying to shortcut their way to heaven and realize every individual needs a personal relationship with God. No one can choose that way for you, but you.

Pure Heart

There is nothing more open to the Hand of God than a pure heart. Scripture resounds about the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". 

We often make excuses for our sin and use our humanity as a crutch.  But we must realize in the christian walk that it is the Word of God that purifies our heart. Paul said, "I die daily". He said, "I have hidden the word in my heart, that I might not sin against God." Throughout his teachings he prompts us to feast on the Word because it is the Word that is the very "life" of the christian.

When a silversmith heats up the silver in a pot over an open flame to a boil, the dross begins to float to the top. He then is able to skim off the bad particles of the silver and make it pure. And so it is with you and I. We've got some junk, some dross that is floating around in our heart, our attitude, our mind, our conversation. We must step up to the looking glass of God's Word and allow His Word to purge out the old and renew us.

The flame is the God breathed Word that is capable of purging the impurities from our lives. Without it, we cannot possibly walk holy and pure. But if we stay on the flame, the dross will continue to surface so that God the Holy Spirit might change us daily and make us more like Jesus.

Shoes Off

There's nothing quite like running barefoot through a lush, grassy field on a spring day or walking barefoot by the seashore as the water rushes over your feet. It is a feeling of refreshing and calm.

When we moved to Chicago everyone took their shoes off at the door of the house. It became a habit due to the heavy winters and shoes off prevented us from tracking in dirt and snow. It kept the carpet clean.

In Exodus, God called out to Moses, "Take off your sandals for the place you are standing is holy ground!" (Exodus 3:5) What a glorious place to be called upon by God to remove your shoes. What a wonderful opportunity to stand in the holiness of a righteous Father and be refreshed in the Spirit. Yet, everyday you and I are given the choice to stand barefoot with God.

God in His great mercy sent His Son to die for us and sacrifice Himself in our place, to become our righteousness. Now, He calls out to us to take off our sandals and walk barefoot with Him. He encourages us in Scripture to seek Him, that we may follow Him and know His heart.

Today is a new day. Plan to stand barefoot with God today and see His holiness. Obtain refreshment that only comes through your personal relation with Jesus and the righteousness He offers you.

The Quiet Place

Every believer needs quiet time to talk with God and a solitary place set aside to pray. The Word in Psalm 91:1 records, "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Here Scripture speaks about each of us having a secret place to dwell within. To dwell means to reside, to wait, to sustain.  

A Scripture found in Matthew 6:6 continues to confirm the power of the secret place of prayer in our lives, "when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly."

Do you realize that your prayer encounters with God can change circumstances and impact nations? Do you understand that your prayers can pivot history, pour out healing, rain down revival, and change hearts? Scripture teaches that God hears and answers the prayers of His people.

The life of Jesus was a life of prayer. We are encouraged to follow His model of example and heed the Scripture of Matt 6:6. It is important that we do not fail to go into our secret place, and pray with childlike faith and simplicity - because God still answers prayers.

Authority over our Enemy

Satan is the enemy of our lives. I have no desire to give him any glory today, but you and I must walk in awareness of his schemes against us. 1Peter 5:8-9, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Daily we must clothe our mind with the powerful Word of God and take time to pray to God and commit everything to His Trust. To clothe your mind signifies a deliberate effort to change your inner thoughts and embracing a mindset that aligns with God's values.

The Holy Spirit is the power that enables transformation and renewal. The Holy Spirit empowers us with strength to live according to God's will through prayer and commitment to Him.

However, we must intentionally choose to be clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). We must practice virtues like godliness and compassion, allowing our behavior to be more like Christ. Our actions must practice being a reflection of Christ's character, striving to become more like Jesus. This all begins by taking authority over the enemy and allowing God to shine through.

Sunshine

Everyone has heard there are great benefits to natural sunshine. But did you know that the best known benefit of sunshine is to give the body a boost of vitamin D production which lifts our mood?  Sunlight strengthens our bones and helps regulate blood sugar. It also stabilizes our blood pressure, supports muscle health, and kills bacteria.

But just as our body needs sunlight, we need Sonshine. We need to take time to step into God's Presence and allow the power of God to refresh our Spirit. We need to bask in the light of the Son. And there are many great benefits to standing in this light. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Our character will be transformed by God's power when we remain in the Sonlight. We will begin to display fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. Our heart will begin to be regulated by compassion and humility. Our desire will be to serve and reflect God's love to the world. 

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”(Mark 11:24)

No doubt, the sun has tremendous blessings. However, basking in the Son has benefits that far outweigh the advantages of natural sunlight. Just as we are encouraged to spend 15 minutes a day in the natural sun, I invite you to go to your secret place today and a receive the overwhelming benefits of spending time with the Son.

Glory

In the New Testament, Paul refers to a continual change being wrought in us with ever-increasing glory.  2 Corinthians 3:18 shouts, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." As the Spirit of God works within us, we progress from one stage of glory to the next. 

Personally, I passionately desire God to move me from glory to glory. And I want His change in me to be constant and continual. I aspire progress to take place in my heart as God moves me into deeper understanding. I long for an unending awe of the realm of His Divine Spirit. I desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and my spiritual ears be fine-tuned to the Divine Voice of God. I yearn for my daily movement to coincide with the will of God.

We were each created in the image of God - to be like Him. And to move in His Glory. God desires that we press hard toward transition of heart into the image of Christ reflected in every finite aspect of our attitudes, motives, thought process, compassion, mannerisms, reactions, responses, conversation, and activities of daily life. 

God strives to make us more like Him. And we are the hand of God extended to the world. So the questions presented to us today are: Do sinners see Jesus in us? And do we conduct ourselves in a manner that shines Christ to the lost? We are ambassadors for Christ and should guard our conduct to reflect a change.