LOVING GOD

Scripture: 1 John4:19
 

It is the pride of man to believe that we can love God on our own. This is the teaching of the Bible (1 John 4:19). We love God because God loved God. Meaning, the only reason we can love God is that Jesus came and loved His Father. Now, do not think that all we need to do is ask WWJD (What Would Jesus Do). No, we need to be regenerated and saved by Jesus Christ in order to love God. When we are saved, “God-love” is stamped or engraved into our hearts, souls, minds, and wills. In order to be saved, God’s righteousness (Christ) must be imputed to us. If this is true with salvation, then it is true with loving God. God-love must be imputed. If God did not love us, we could not love Him. We take our human (contaminated) love and project that toward God. We cannot love God the way we love people. We must love people the way we love God. God’s love is not human. The way we love has to reflect God or it is not love. 

We, as children of God, cannot know how to love our Father if our Father does not show us how to love Him. If the cross (Christ) is not seen and understood we cannot love God and cannot understand God-love. If we love what God has done for us, but not love God for being God, then we really do not love Him. Love is more than devotion; it is also about affection. We have been trained that love must focus on “me.” Yet, love leads and focuses on the one that makes us eternally happy: God. Love must start in a deeper place: delighting in God. The way you know if you truly love God is by being satisfied in Him. He must be your all, not His stuff. The only hope you have to loving God fully and forever is by God loving God through you by the Holy Spirit. Loving God starts and ends with God.

Daily Prayer:

O God, I desire to be satisfied in You. Help me love You the way You love, not the way I have trained by sin to love. Help me delight in, You being God, not in your stuff. Help my love for You. Help my love for others. In Jesus Name. Amen. 

Daily Challenge:

·       Today read 1 John 4

·       Ask yourself all day: Am I satisfied in God being God?

·       Repent where you need to.

GIFTS,Tools Not Rewards

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

         “Presents!” is what you will hear children (maybe even adults) proclaim when a holiday is being celebrated. Why do these children get these presents? Is it because they have obeyed perfectly all year long? Is it because they are good? No. They are given presents because the one giving them loves them. It brings great joy to the Giver. Moreover, it’s hoped by Christian people that the children will share these presents to bring joy to other children.

God gives His children (spiritual gifts) presents. Do we get these gifts because we have perfect faith and obedience? Is it because we merited goodness? No. God gives His children gifts because He loves them. He is sharing Himself with His children. Children of God desire and treasure imitating God (Ephesians 5:1) to the world, even in their spiritual gifts. When we focus on the gift given to us more than God, we are viewing them as a reward. However, when we focus on God and selflessly share the gift with others, we see the gift for what it is for— a tool. The gifts we are given are designed to display the One that has given them to us. It brings joy to a parent when a child is asked, “Who gave you that?” To which the child responds, “My Daddy! You want to play with me?” We do not have to guess how to use our gifts, because God tells us how to use them. He wills how they are used. God gave because of love and we share because to love. Since God loves sharing Himself with us, we should love sharing ourselves with others. We should proclaim to the world, “The Present!”

Daily Prayer:

         Father, first I declare and thank You that You have given me the gift of Yourself. With You comes all joy and delight. You have given me gifts, and I pray that I would use them to draw people to You and not me. May I be selfless in my sharing of my gifts. Today, may I use them according to Your will. Thank You and I love you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Daily Challenge:

·       Do you know what your gifts are?

·       Use your gift to serve someone today.

·       Meditate on 1 Corinthians 12 today.

    

THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF JESUS

Scripture: Colossians 1:18

God has a mission. He created the family to subdue the earth to raise godly children (Malachi 2:15). He created the church to accomplish the same thing. Both  have been designed to resemble each other. The reason for this is to glorify God (Ephesians 1:3-14). Everything is about and created for glorifying God. This has been true from the beginning of time. Jesus has a mission. God sent Jesus to the earth for this same mission: to glorify God by raising godly children (disciples). Notice that Jesus has called us to do exactly what His Father commissioned Him to do. The church is the gathering of disciples. And, disciples love their Father. The church has the mission now. The church is not a building. It is so much more than that! The church is a family with the same mission. This family is in covenant to accomplish the family’s business. Jesus describes the church as “His body.” The body has many parts, meaning that God has given us each our own ways of accomplishing this mission. This is important because it is through the church (family) that God has chosen to accomplish His mission. The church is called to glorify God on the earth and to raise children (disciples) to do the same. Since the church loves their God, it is inevitable that the church loves its mission: to make their God famous. His “body” moves throughout the earth, sharing their Father and Master everywhere, and finds great joy in doing it. You are His child. Embrace Daddy’s mission.

Daily Prayer:

         Father, thank You for making me Your own. Thank You for wanting me. May I, by Your Holy Spirit, love and enjoy making You famous on the earth. Engrave the mission in my soul so that I can engrave it on the earth. May I always be about Your mission, not mine. Put people in my path so that I can share You with them. You are all about re-birthing children. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Challenge

·       Read Colossians 1.

·       Share the Gospel with someone today.

·       Do you love the church’s mission? How has God fashioned you to do your part?

MINISTRY: Are Your Towel and Water Dirty?

Scripture: John 13:3-5

The best picture of what it means to minister is to look at the One who empowers us to minister. A true minister of the gospel is one who gets not only his hands dirty, but his knees as well. The word ministry means “to serve.” The question is: why? Do we serve so people will like us? Do we serve so that people will come to church? Do we serve because it is a nice thing to do? If you serve, then why do you? And if you do not serve, why not? Whether we like it or not, the truth is that if we are not getting our towels and water basins dirty to reach people, then we are not Christ’s servants. So why do we serve? Christ served to show His love for His disciples and to show us how to show others His love.

In order to truly minister (serve) the way Christ does, one must have a heart full with His love. We should have no other motive but loving those we serve so that they can get a glimpse of God’s love for them, leading them to His heart. Serving someone does not mean they will come to faith in Christ, but it does mean that you are displaying Him to them. Seeing Jesus wash and cleanse the feet of His disciples exemplified the whole purpose of His coming—cleansing them, saving them. We are saved for a purpose. Your salvation is not a reward, but a tool. You were saved to serve. If you are not ready to get your towel and water dirty for Christ, you are not ready to minister. Check your heart before you use your hands. It does not matter what people have stepped in. Clean their feet. Serve them. Minister ministry. The Gospel is real and it saves. Serve it to the clean and the dirty. May your towel and water show the residue of the Gospel—Christ washing away wrath.

Daily Pray:

         Lord, help me to be a Christian. May I fulfill what that family title means. May I serve those around me, with the clean and the dirty. May I never worry about getting my towel and basin too dirty. People are hurting and need to be served. Use me. Here I am. Send me today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

·       Read John 13 today.

·       Where do you serve? Do you do it for the right reason?

·       Serve someone you love today.

     

THE HOLY SPIRIT: Power Unleashed

Scripture:     John 14:15-17

Devotion:

The Holy Spirit has, for the most part, been shunned over the years because people are afraid of what they don’t understand.  However, He is as much a part of the Godhead as the Father and the Son are. He is so much more than some mystical, mythical, and magical being.  He is real and a person.  When God created Adam and Eve, He said, “Let ‘US’ make man in ‘OUR’ image.”  (Genesis 1:26).  Because God is a triune being, three in one, He is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit, all separate but one.  It’s kind of like the Russian Nesting Dolls (Matryoshka Dolls).  It is a wooden doll that has other dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other.  All separate, but all one.  The Holy Spirit is simply one part of the Godhead.  The Holy Spirit is the “power” portion of the Godhead.  He was the one that was there at creation, the one that was upon the prophets and kings of the Old Testament, and the one that empowered Jesus to do the miracles that He performed while on earth.  And He is the one that Jesus spoke of as the Comforter in the book of John 14:16 & 17.  He, the Holy Spirit, came on the day of Pentecost and empowered the disciples and the early church and the future church (Acts 2:38 & 39) to live a life pleasing to the Father.  So don’t fear what you do not understand.  Hunger for more of God and it will always lead to the fullness of God being in your life through the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer:

Father, I pray that You would open up my heart to the Holy Spirit.  Help me not fear what I do not understand.  You said that Your Holy Spirit is a gift from You to me.  I accept Your gift and thank You for Him.  Because I hunger for more of You, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and all that He is.  Empower me to live the life You have destined for me through Your Holy Spirit.

Daily Challenge:

Talk to 3 people that you know have been “filled with the Spirit” and listen to their experience.

INTEGRITY, A MATTER OF THE HEART

Scripture:     Psalms 25:21

Devotion:

“Charisma and talent may take you to the top but only character and integrity will keep you there.”  Integrity is a must in order to walk out your new found relationship with God.  Integrity in your relationships, business dealings, family life, personal life, your whole life.  Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, the state of being whole and undivided.  Your integrity comes from who you are.  And who you are determines what you see and what you see determines what you do.  You can never separate a person’s integrity from their actions.  You don’t get to choose who your parents are, your IQ, or your talents, but you do get to choose integrity and character.  As you live your life and make daily choices, you are creating your character and integrity.  You will never be able to rise above the limitations of your character and integrity.  Why?  Because your integrity and character come from the condition of your heart.  And since God has given you a new heart (Ezekiel 36:24-27) you now have a new lease on life and a clean slate to start all over again.  Here is a real life example of character and integrity:  A man took his young daughter to a carnival, and she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for cotton candy.  As the attendant handed here a huge ball of it, the father asked, “Sweetheart, are you sure you can eat all that?”  “Don’t worry, Dad,” she answered, “I’m a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside.”

Prayer:

Father, I know that without You I can never have the true character and integrity that I need in order to live a life pleasing to You.  I ask You to change my heart and make it new. Place Your Spirit within me, empowering me to live a life that honors You so that others can see and give You glory.

Daily Challenge:

Find 5 people you work with that you trust and that will be honest with you and ask them if you seem to be a person that has character and integrity.  If you get an answer that is not pleasing to you, begin to ask God to create in you a pure heart.  If you get an answer that is pleasing, remember to walk in humility and give God the glory.

WORDS OF LIFE

Scripture:     Psalm 19:14 

Devotion:    There is power in your words.  One of the wisest men the world has ever known, King Solomon, said, “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue and those that love it shall eat of its fruit.”  He understood the tongue’s power, how it can be used for a force of evil or a force for good, and that we get what we speak.  When God created the earth, He spoke it into existence.  Wow, He spoke it into existence! The very words of God created the earth with all its mountains, oceans, canyons, animals, fish… You get the picture.  Recently a study by scientists says that our universe is expanding and has been since day one.  Why?  Because, the power of God’s creative words.  They are still creating today.  That should give you a little understanding about how powerful your words are.  It is imperative that you speak words of life and not words of death.  You can’t control what other people say to you or to others, but you can choose what you say.  Your words can bring hope and healing or sorrow and sadness.  They can bring love and peace or disgust and disorder.  The choice is yours.  Your words are dictated to you by what others say or the circumstances you find yourself in.  They should be led by and motivated by the love of God that now resides in you.  Words, they are your choice.  You want life?  Speak life.  You want hope? Speak hope.  You want love? Speak love.  Remember that, once words have been spoken, you can never take them back, so choose to speak words that lead to life. 

Prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, may the words of my mouth and the things I think on be pleasing to You.  Help me put a watch over my tongue.  May the words I speak bring life to the hearer and may they bring glory to You.

Challenge: Pick one day during the week and choose to only speak when you are spoken to.  Don’t put your two cents worth in when people around you are talking unless they direct their conversation to you.  Simply put, plan to do a one-day word fast.  When you do you will see just how much we say that doesn’t need to be said.