PLANTING OUR FEET IN GOD'S SOIL
Walk a freshly tilled garden. Barefoot. Let your toes feel the rich soil, so tender and soft.
Then dig your feet in. Enjoy the warmth of the earth as it wraps your sk... View MorePLANTING OUR FEET IN GOD'S SOIL
Walk a freshly tilled garden. Barefoot. Let your toes feel the rich soil, so tender and soft.
Then dig your feet in. Enjoy the warmth of the earth as it wraps your skin.
Or walk along the beach and work your feet into the sand. On a warm day, the feeling is fabulous.
We get the same sensation when we walk with God … spend time in his Word … kneel before him in prayer.
Psalm 1:3 describes the glorious effect of spending time with God:
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Now reread the final words in this verse: Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Whatsoever. Anything. Prosper. Return unto you multiplied.
And if you don’t spend time with God? What happens then?
You have no roots, you are not planted, and the next verse describes what happens next.
“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” (Psalm 1:4)
Now’s your time. The opportunity you’ve waited for. Open the Word. Get on your knees. Spend time with God. Plant your spiritual feet deep into his freshly tilled soil. You will grow in him more than you thought you could.
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VICTORY THROUGH GOD
That battle you’ve been fighting? It’s already won!
Your struggle to come out on top? You are there!... View MoreVICTORY THROUGH GOD
That battle you’ve been fighting? It’s already won!
Your struggle to come out on top? You are there!
That relationship that puts you down? You are freed!
You, Christian, are not the loser. Not by any stretch.
How do you know? God says so!
Psalm 60:12 gives you your victory promise.
“With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.”
It’s important to pay attention to the verbs here. We’re not told we might do valiantly. This verse doesn’t tell us we could do valiantly. Not should do, can do, or even plan to do valiantly.
We SHALL DO VALIANTLY.
Why is that important? Shall adds a special meaning to this sentence, one that these other verbs don’t portray.
Shall says it will happen, without question, and with no doubting allowed.
Are you ready to jump for joy? You shall do valiantly.
And this has nothing to do with your strength or power. You don’t have to figure out how to pay that bill, get out of that relationship, get that education. It is God who will tread down your foes.
God will open opportunities for you to step into. God will prompt the words for you to say. God will guide you to the right people who can get you out of your difficult situation.
Here’s the condition we must meet: With God.
When we stand with God, every challenge in life becomes an opportunity to let God manifest his power through our difficult situation.
God brings us victory when we trust in him.
Copyright © 2021 MyChurchNotes.net
OUR HIDDEN SOURCE OF STRENGTH
Where is your source of strength?
In a ship, we call it the keel. It runs from bow to stern down the center of the vessel. You can’t see it, but without it, the first s... View MoreOUR HIDDEN SOURCE OF STRENGTH
Where is your source of strength?
In a ship, we call it the keel. It runs from bow to stern down the center of the vessel. You can’t see it, but without it, the first storm will break the ship in two.
A car’s strength is in its frame. If it’s rigid and sound, the car can travel on rough roads and hold itself together. Crack the frame, however, and your automobile turns into a limp dishrag and is good to no one.
Even you, you have a bone structure. Try to stand without it. You can’t see it, but without it, you’d be like an octopus, all jelly and slime as you slither across the deck of a ship.
We find the hidden source of strength for the Christian in Psalm 119:11:
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
When we delight in the law of the Lord, we want to have it in our heart. It’s called memorization and needs to be a high priority for every Christian. It becomes our keel, helping us track true in the water, the frame that holds us together when life gets rough, the internal structure that allows us to step around, dodge, even fight the evil tricks of the devil.
No octopus life for us, slithering away when the devil comes calling. We must stand tall in the full armor of God. Our backbone comes from the Word we have memorized against that day of battle.
Your workout starts now. Open your Bible, choose a verse, and make it yours.
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OUR SUGAR-SPRINKLE LIFE
Oh, how we love sugar sprinkles!
Visit a bakery, and the best cupcakes glitter with sugar sprinkles all over the puffy icing. Our mouths water with anticipation.... View MoreOUR SUGAR-SPRINKLE LIFE
Oh, how we love sugar sprinkles!
Visit a bakery, and the best cupcakes glitter with sugar sprinkles all over the puffy icing. Our mouths water with anticipation.
Chocolate cakes? Covered with chocolate sprinkles—sugar goodness—with a touch of a crunch when we take a bite. It tastes heavenly.
Here’s the fun in sprinkles: any size, any shape, any flavor. Color? You choose. Raspberry, vanilla, or just plain sweet. They are pure sugar delight.
How can we make our life like that? How can we give people around us that sugar sprinkle taste every time they interact with us?
Proverbs 28:27 gives us a good start.
“Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”
Our sugar sprinkles are the good things we share with those who have less than we do.
We gain insight by focusing on the second half of this verse.
“He who hides his eyes . . .”
Here’s the truth we need to see: the sugar sprinkles that make our lives flavorful come in all sizes, shapes, and flavors.
What does it mean to give to the poor? Does that mean opening our wallet and letting the bills fly out until we are drained dry?
We must be on the lookout for creative ways that we can help others.
1. Invite someone out to lunch and cover their meal.
2. Offer to take an elderly neighbor’s car to have the oil changed and pick up the bill.
3. Buy a pack of bath tissue for a homeless shelter, and when you drop it off, ask what else they need.
See where this is headed? He who hides his eyes . . . We become the sugar sprinkles that make life more enjoyable when we notice the needs of others and write the checks that fill the need. Any size, any shape, any flavor.
When we live like Jesus, we look for ways to make people’s lives better.
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JESUS, OUR IMPOSSIBLE GIFT
Some things can’t be done.
Time travel. That’s one. Time is linear, and if anyone says we can turn the pages of time like a book, well, that’s science fiction. It’s fun bu... View MoreJESUS, OUR IMPOSSIBLE GIFT
Some things can’t be done.
Time travel. That’s one. Time is linear, and if anyone says we can turn the pages of time like a book, well, that’s science fiction. It’s fun but impossible.
How about bodybuilding without breaking a sweat? Can we truly achieve the stature of a Titan by willpower alone? It’s not going to happen, no matter how much we dream.
Then there’s that lottery payout we hope will be ours. A million or two, or even more. What? We haven’t bought a ticket? What do we think will happen, we’ll win by osmosis?
Then, the big one. Our loved one, lost to the clutches of time. Gone from this earth, with only dust to remember their passing. One more day, we plead. Just one more day.
Here comes Jesus, our impossible gift.
1 Corinthians 15:21 says:
“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”
We know the story of the first murder. Cain killed Abel because he felt God loved his brother more.
Skip ahead to Jesus in the tomb . . . except . . . EXCEPT . . . THE TOMB IS EMPTY!
Jesus came to earth to live as a man . . . and lived and died, yes, died in his flesh . . . and bam, he CAME ALIVE AGAIN!!
That’s our promise, our impossible gift.
Time travel? Bleh. We have something better.
Bodybuilding? Eeh. We’re getting a new body.
The lottery? We’ve already won. We have Christ, our champion and our king!
Let’s give it up for Jesus, the gift that keeps on giving.
Copyright © 2021 MyChurchNotes.net
NO LONGER LEFT ALONE
Cuba is a country in distress. In 2014, Fox News pegged entry level nursing salaries—a high-paying job in the United States—at $25 a month. Doctors, well-paid by Cuban standards,... View MoreNO LONGER LEFT ALONE
Cuba is a country in distress. In 2014, Fox News pegged entry level nursing salaries—a high-paying job in the United States—at $25 a month. Doctors, well-paid by Cuban standards, pull down over twice that at $67 a month.
The average government worker? She survives on $20 each month.
It bears repeating: Cuba is a country in distress. Once beautiful buildings are crumbling behind elaborate facades. Cars imported in the 1950s are still on the road, and for the most part, they’re the only ones travelling the empty thoroughfares.
The Cuban people are ready for a change. They eagerly anticipate the trade they hope will come with the recently lifted import embargo against their nation. They no longer wish to be left alone to exist in poverty while surrounded by a world of plenty.
Do we feel left alone in our spiritual struggle to survive? Have our churches become no more than crumbling facades; and behind the stained glass windows, things feel as if they are falling apart faster than we can patch them back together?
Is the Church the Cuba of today?
In John 16:7, Jesus warns his disciples he must leave them.
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:13 promises we will not be abandoned to spiritual poverty.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
When the world abandoned the people of Cuba, they had no one to fall back on for help. They watched their lives descend further and further into poverty and decay.
When Jesus left his disciples, he assured them the embargo was temporary. The Holy Spirit would soon refill their coffers every day. The Christian would not be left alone.
We are that Christian. We have received the promises of God. We have the Holy Spirit to give us strength and power.
We are no longer abandoned, living lives of spiritual povery, as a world of plenty teems all around us.
The Spirit of truth is mightier than the world, and he is with us in every situation that comes our way.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
5 FIXES FOR A MESSED-UP LIFE
Where has life let you down?
Has a relationship not panned out?... View More5 FIXES FOR A MESSED-UP LIFE
Where has life let you down?
Has a relationship not panned out?
Are house repairs swamping your financial ship?
Perhaps you are realizing retirement might never be an option.
Or maybe it’s something else, an indefinable disenchantment, the feeling that this can’t be all that your dash—the years from your birth to your death—has to offer.
If you feel you have a messed-up life, that divorce, finances, or even addictions have punctured your proverbial balloon, then it’s time to make a change.
Jesus offers us 5 Fixes for a Messed-Up Life in Mark 10:21.
“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ ”
Jesus was speaking to a man with all the breaks in life. Youth. Wealth. Opportunity. Yet, he felt dissatisfied, and he wanted to fix his life.
Here are the 5 fixes Jesus offered:
Our 1st Fix for a Messed-Up Life: Go.
Action is our first fix for our messed-up life. We’ll never get there on the couch, no matter how many good TV preachers we invite onto our screen.
Our 2nd Fix for a Messed-Up Life: Sell.
Having too many things ties us up. Travel? The yard needs done. Volunteer? We need to organize our storage building. Our things begin to own us, and that becomes oppressive.
Our 3rd Fix for a Messed-Up Life: Give.
The gift giver often receives more joy than the recipient. Now that things have been sold, we have time and money to give and be a blessing to others.
Our 4th Fix for a Messed-Up Life: Come.
Jesus must be the core of our lives. Salvation is our connection unto him. We must let Jesus—not our jobs, houses, and other possessions—be our passion.
Our 5th Fix for a Messed-Up Life: Follow.
Our life’s choices, actions, and focus must exemplify the example of Jesus as reflected in the annals of the Gospels. The choices Jesus would make in our situation impact how we live, spend our money, and treat the people around us.
This was a difficult choice for the wealthy young man. He walked away disappointed. He hoped Jesus might be the answer to fulfilling his life. He chose his riches, instead.
What will you choose? If you live a messed-up life, there is no better choice than to follow Jesus.
Copyright © 2021 MyChurchNotes.net
DAZED AND CONFUSED
The title of this piece might ring a bell. It goes with a 1993 comedy, and that somehow seems appropriate to our Christian walk.
Dazed and confused. Unsure how to apply the teachi... View MoreDAZED AND CONFUSED
The title of this piece might ring a bell. It goes with a 1993 comedy, and that somehow seems appropriate to our Christian walk.
Dazed and confused. Unsure how to apply the teachings in the Word to our daily life.
Turn the other cheek.
Forgive seven times seventy times.
If a man asks for your shirt, give him your cloak also.
What?!? Are you kidding?
See, here’s the thing. The way Christianity works makes no sense when we try to figure it out with our natural mind.
It’s a God thing, a heavenly mandate that only makes sense when we let God have total control.
Proverbs 3:5 in the KJV tells us how to make sense out of our Christian walk:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
We must turn loose of what makes sense to us. Otherwise, we’ll wander through life like we’re in a pinball machine, crashing into the bumpers and being wacked from place to place when we least expect it. That’s no way to live.
Let’s place our trust in Jesus and let Him lead us the way we should go.
Copyright © 2024 MyChurchNotes.net
A SONG OF UNIFICATION
In 1985, recording artists from across North America joined to send a message to listeners everywhere.
The group of artists (at least 13 and as many as 50) named themselves U.S... View MoreA SONG OF UNIFICATION
In 1985, recording artists from across North America joined to send a message to listeners everywhere.
The group of artists (at least 13 and as many as 50) named themselves U.S.A. for Africa. Their song, "We Are the World," won a Grammy for Record of the Year and was nominated for numerous other awards.
The song raised over $63 million ($147 million in 2021 dollars). Ninety percent was pledged to African relief.
Psalm 86:9 tells us that the day is coming when the world will do something similar for Christ.
“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.”
"We Are the World" was such a resounding hit that it has since been rerecorded by Piccolo Coro dell’Antoniano (1986), Michael Jackson (2008), and Per Fredrik Asly (2018).
Christ has been such a resounding hit that 2.4 billion people claim allegiance to him according to worldpopulationreview.com in 2020.
As the verse in Psalms says: “All the nations . . .”
Italy. Canada. Mexico. Morocco. South Africa. France. The U.S.A. and many more.
Let’s get ready to sing. We really will be the world standing with our hands raised to the eternal king and Lord of all that we are and all that is.
Jesus is our theme, and his love weaves our songs of praise together as one.
Copyright © 2021 MyChurchNotes.net
CONFIDENT EVEN IN THE DARKNESS
Try this:
Put on your sunglasses at night.... View MoreCONFIDENT EVEN IN THE DARKNESS
Try this:
Put on your sunglasses at night.
What?!? You want me to do what?
You do something similar all the time. Have you gotten up at night to get a drink from the kitchen and made it there and back without turning on the lights?
Even reaching for a light switch in the dark … and finding it every time. That counts, too.
Our minds record what’s where in our living room (or the location of the switch on the wall). It’s called spatial memory. We know the distance from one item to another and where each item is located. Only when something has been moved do we stumble and fall.
Our Christian life is the same. When we surround ourselves with God, we can walk confidently with him no matter what’s happening in the natural world.
2 Corinthians 5:7 in the KJV says:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Sunglasses on. The darkness doesn’t matter. We know exactly where God is, and we can trust him to be exactly where we need him to be exactly when he needs to be there.
Copyright © 2024 MyChurchNotes.net
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