Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The words on the pages! Matthew 7:7

Good evening everyone,
I don't know where this devotional will end up but I pray that it makes you think about the words that you have available at your finger tips!  Not that you will just think about them, but that you will read them at every chance you get so that you can recall them when you need them.  Trouble is coming!  Will you be ready to sing praises with the promises of His Words?  The Red Letters that are in a lot of new testament Scripture represent the words of Jesus!  If you want to be encouraged, read the Red Letters!  If you want truth, read the Red Letters!  If you want to be able to overcome any and all obstacles, read the Red Letters!  Hope for the hopeless; peace and forgiveness; life is in the Red Letters.  The Red Letters represent love!  dc Talk, a Christian rock band, sings a song entitled Red Letters and it encourages you to read the Red Letters so that you can get to know Jesus first hand.  All of us are a bunch of misfits when it comes down to it and to be a Christian does make you stand out in a crowd. Unless we have a track to run on, there is very little hope that we can give to the people that we see on a daily basis!  The Red Letters are part of the track to introducing someone to Christ!  People that are hurting are possibly doubting their reason for simply living.  Several people I know are questioning why they are experiencing all kinds of drama in their life.  Prayer leads to changed hearts.  The Red Letters direct you toward the Savior and give you stamina when you can't seem to put one foot in front of the other!  The more you become familiar with your entire Bible, the more you will be ready for the situations that come up!  Read it; store it; recall it!!!  Matthew 7:7 is great encouragement and tells us that if we ask and seek, we will find.  And if we knock, Jesus will open the door!
Your brother in Christ,

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Do you treat home like it is treasured? Proverbs 24:3-4

Good morning everyone,
I returned home yesterday evening from being away to New York for 3 weeks?  Folks, 3 weeks is a long time from being away from the things that mean the most to you.  Both myself and the gentleman that I shared a room with had gotten to the point of being really homesick.  The first thing that I encountered upon landing was beautiful California weather.  The weather in New York, to say the least, had been rather unpredictable; cold, warm, rainy, snow, sleet, and all the above in a matter of a 48 hour period.  On top of the weather conditions, both of us had endured head colds.  Three weeks of wearing the same clothes makes you want to get rid of them all.  A slight fender bender while there didn't really help matters.  All in all, I learned a lot of valuable things and that is what I would like to focus on today.  When we become accustomed to the things that are treasured, we sometimes take them for granted.  It takes being absent from those maybe simple but beautiful pleasures for us to recall what is really important.  It reminds me of the Scripture that talks about what treasures are in Proverbs 24:3-4.  'By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasure.'  When the Lord gives you an open mind to see what is really important and what you should treasure, grab on to it and don't let it go.  I told my wife upon seeing her that she has never looked more beautiful.  May He open your eyes so you too can see all the treasures that He has in store for you!
Your brother in Christ,
p     

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Don't be disappointed! 2 Corinthians 8:4-6

Good morning everyone,
One of the hardest lessons to learn in life is the disappointment that we receive when we put our expectations above where they should be!  When we expect different results than what is reality, we most likely will be frustrated and feel defeated.  If you are getting different results than what you've been expecting, let me make a suggestion.  See first if your expectation is above where it should be and if not let the results speak volumes about who you are as person.  When my expectations exceed where they should be, almost every time I have a selfishness checkup!  The only expectations I can ever have and never be disappointed are the things that I expect from my Father.  When I go to Him and give Him my entire list of wants and desires (as long as they are not my selfish desires), He will give me more than I ever desire or need!  When we serve like Jesus did, we will find that extraordinary results will come out on top.  I have to go to the Father constantly asking Him to change me on the inside all the way to the outside!  If I just change the outside appearance, nothing good can be the result.  The outside is man made and looking around you may see many people that look gorgeous, but remember the inside is God made and it comes from humbly seeking His face!  Saying you are sorry when you mess up is okay because it draws you closer to the One who can change you!  In 2 Corinthians 8:4-6, Paul addresses the Corinthians by saying that God has given the Macedonian churches much grace.  Why?  In verse 5, he proceeds to tell them that they gave themselves first to the Lord.   Anytime we give ourselves first to the Lord, God is the result!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Broken and need fixing! Psalm 69:19-21

Good morning everyone,
Can you relate?  David crys out for mercy in Psalm 69:19-21 when he says, "You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.  Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.  They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst."  Sometimes it doesn't matter where you turn, nothing seems to go your way.  The harder you try and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, the harder you seem to be held down.  I think all of us have been there or maybe you feel as though you are there right now.  Either way, let me encourage you by saying that there is hope!  There is no problem, regardless of how monstrous or how very small, that God can't get you through!  Sometimes our world just seems to implode from every direction and it seems hopeless.  Isaiah 40:31 says, 'but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.'  Don't let satan play mind games with you because he is in the business to make you feel defeated.  When you let your mind be in charge of how your react, you need to remember to trust only in the promises that God has put in your heart!  It really isn't about how we feel that is important, it is more about how we allow God to use our dilemma's to shine a light back on Him!  Let Him use you to be the conduit that will super charge those you come in contact with so they will want what you have been given.  Don't be scared to freely offer the gifts that He is ready to supply to them.  The more you give, the more He will supply!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Friday, January 6, 2012

Don't let your fears lead you to believe you are a failure! Psalm 34:4

Good morning everyone,
Many times, when we as individuals fail, we become fearful.  Then it becomes a downward spiral of fears and failures pushing us into a dark closet.  Please don't allow that to happen brothers and sisters.  Don't go into the closet, because the closet is dark and it will make you feel trapped.  Whatever condition that makes you feel like a failure needs to be hit head-on with the tools that God gave you.  Open up to Him and be honest about your feelings.  Remember that every feeling you have has been allowed by the Savior and He is the One that can also get rid of it and replace it with His mercy!  Those folks that you fear will like you less if they know your feelings probably aren't your real friends anyway.  A friend is someone who can listen to your thoughts and possibly not say a word and still love you.  When they do say something, it should help pull you back to the 'Truth' that has been obtained through much prayer and Scripture.  Any and all situations should be turned over to God first and He is the One that can change hearts and thus help change actions.  See we have many flaws and those flaws are having a sinful nature.  The Savior is a savior because we need rescuing from that sinful nature through His 'saving grace!'  Repentance leads to forgiveness and forgiveness leads to growth.  Life is about learning from our experiences and allowing God to mold us into the person He created us to be. 
Everyone needs compassion; everyone needs to ask for repentance; everyone who does receives forgiveness from the Savior!  Those that don't forgive, He tells us that He will not forgive them! If you seek Him first, Psalm 34:4 tells us that He will deliver you from your fears just like He did for David.
Your brother in Christ,

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer! Philippians 4:2-9

Good morning everyone,
Exhortation is defined as an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something.  Encouragement can be defined as the expression of approval and support.  Prayer should be defined as a humble request or expression of thanks addressed to God through Jesus Christ.  When you look at all three of these subjects in Philippians 4:2-9, Paul addresses them with a sense that we should utilize them to carry on in a way that will reflect our Christian makeup!  Verse 4 says that we should rejoice in the Lord always, in every and all situations!  Verse 5 says that we should be reasonable (good sense and sound judgment) in our requests.  Verse 6 says we shouldn't be anxious about anything!  The pattern here is letting God be in complete control so that you represent Him in a fashion worthy of who He is!  He doesn't want to be your imaginary friend.  He wants to be One that gives you 'complete peace' as you trust Him to direct your thoughts and actions.  He wants you to have compassion for those that are hurt and lost and to lift those concerns up to Him so that He can pluck on their heartstrings!  As you get to know Him, He will give you a peace that surpasses all understanding.  People will not understand how you can get through situations that you encounter and His story will be revealed throughout your life.  See, getting to know the Lord is not about being on a 'cakewalk' in life.  It is about allowing God to use you through each and every situation so that folks will want to have the same peace you have been given!
Your brother in Christ,
p    

Monday, January 2, 2012

Everyone needs compassion! Psalm 145:8

Good morning everyone,
Isn't it wonderful that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich(abounding) in steadfast love.  He made us so that we would be compassionate to each other.  In my research about compassion, I've listed several examples:  He had compassion for the child; she shows compassion to the sick; and she had the compassion to offer help when it was needed most.  The definition of compassion according to Webster is the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.  It isn't just seeing a problem that you run across and turning a shoulder.  It is seeing a problem and asking your Lord and Savior how you can be a part of helping solve it.  Reaching out to folks and offering up prayer before they even ask!  It is about getting your hands dirty even though you are about ready to go on a date!  Compassion takes an effort and sometimes that means getting out of your comfort zone.  Jesus Christ lived on this earth and gave us the ultimate example of how we should live out that compassion for others!  Ask the Savior to give you a heart and the wisdom to know how to help those in need.  The more you seek His face, the more He will reveal to you how you can show compassion!
Your brother in Christ,