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Devotional, discipleship, God's Goodness, intimacy, Jesus

A Reflection…

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We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit. —2 Corinthians 3:18, CSB


A simple truth: Jesus changes people. And when a believer comes to Jesus, he begins a journey in becoming more and more like Jesus, being slowly sanctified through the Spirit. Of course, this journey is not easy or fast, because it is a daily process. And it’s not a matter of self help or self improvement, because this is a supernatural work in the believer. Even more, the goal is to be less and less like the former self and more and more like Jesus Christ, so that the believer does not merely look like a better reflection of himself in the mirror, but instead something much, much better and permanent: the believer becomes a God-shaped reflection of Christ.

The point is this: stop trying to do it alone. You can’t do it without the Spirit’s work within your soul. This means that instead of trying to be a better version of yourself, focus on the One who is perfect already. In other words, instead of trying to make the imperfect, perfect, let the Perfect One, the Sinless One, the Savior, God-man, Jesus, do His work in you.

Is that impossible? Yep. In natural terms, it is. But with God, all things are possible, and when we mess up and blow it and sin and sin again, we can have confidence to ask for forgiveness and press forward after that. God is like that, both disciplining and forgiving those He loves and pressing them to conforming to His image more and more. He is in the restoration business, a business we all need every day.

So let the Spirit speak and work in you. Be changed in Christ. Come to Jesus for your salvation and forgiveness for your sins. Grow by reading His Word, by worshipping with other believers, by praying to the One who created all things. And look forward to the future in Christ, the day when we will all see Him as He is, the day when the mirror is no longer cloudy and the full knowledge is no longer veiled.

May your journey go well and your focus remain on your Savior, Jesus.

Fran

Devotional, Jesus, ministry

An encouragement: Keeping the Word

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He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Luke 11:28, CSB

Jesus did not want hearers only, those who sat and listened without ever taking action. Nor did He want people to work without listening to Him, as the Jews blindly did in His day. Instead, He called for faith followed by fruit, or faith with works as James wrote in his epistle.

Believers are called to faith in Jesus Christ, and called to serve Him out of that faith. Those who come to faith in Jesus have a new life, a life that has purpose, and meaning, and excitement as they share their joy with people around them. A life in Christ, a true relationship with Jesus, is contagious.

Don’t be one who merely wants to hear from the Lord and never do anything with it. Serve and share Jesus daily out of your faith in Christ. Be contagious with your spirit, your joy, and your biblical wisdom. Be ready to explain the truth about who Jesus is and what He has done for others.

Be on mission. It will make an eternal difference to others around you.

Devotional, gospel, Jesus

Making the Imperfect, Perfect

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Life is messy, at least it is this side of glory. We as sinful humans are really good at making a mess of ourselves. We blow it. We screw it up. We step in it. Well, you know what I mean…

And while life isn’t perfect, it’s perfectly imperfect. Nobody is perfect. We’re full of imperfections. We are broken, and we as broken people in a broken world need that perfect, merciful Savior who can take us just as we are and make us new in Him. It’s all grace, and it’s wonderful, and it’s offered to us freely.

This is why I’m so grateful. I mess things up and Jesus forgives me when I repent. I deserve nothing, but God offers me everything. And it cost Him everything, because it was on the cross that Jesus died, all to make the imperfect, perfect in Him. It’s all Jesus, all the time.

How about you? Have you received that gift Jesus has bought for you? If not, it’s never too late: “for all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).

Fran

God's Goodness, gospel, Jesus, salvation, SaturdayScripture

The Day Between the Days

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“Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body.”
Mark 15:43

It was a toiling day and a grueling night. The Savior had died, confirmed by the Roman centurion. Jesus’ followers, distraught and scattered, had no plan, no focus, no unity, and little hope.

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Yet one unlikely man would be bold enough to lead out. Joseph of Arimathea, a man who Mark called “a prominent member of the Sanhedrin,” courageously asked for the body of Jesus for His burial. Pilate granted his request.

The place where Jesus was buried, a tomb cut in a rock, had never been used before. The clothing, linen freshly bought and carefully wrapped around Jesus, was His attire. Roman soldiers sealed the entrance and then guarded it against intruders. There was no doubt that Jesus was dead and there in the tomb He was buried.

This was the day between the days. It was a day of silence, a day of waiting between the first and the third days. For the disciples, it was likely the longest day of their lives as they waited and wondered about what was to come next in their lives. But God was still in control, His power ready to be miraculously displayed the next day. As we now know, the best was yet to come!

Devotional, Jesus

Fire From Heaven

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“When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Luke 9:54 CSB

What would cause these followers of Jesus to want to call down fire from heaven? Was it anger? Hatred? Pride? Yes, to all of the above. Add in the fleshly, prideful racism that existed at the time, and such a request was certainly possible, even likely.

They probably thought that those Samaritans, those “half breed” “semi-Jews,” well, they had no right to refuse to give a place to Jesus in their town. This ultimate insult, a violation of the courtesies of the day, was the worst possible slap in the face. Someone had to learn that this was unthinkable! Someone had to be taught a lesson!

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Yet while the Sons of Thunder (that is, James and John) wanted fire from heaven to burn the Samaritans into submission, Jesus did something even more unthinkable: He turned the other cheek! He was not worried about the squabbles over protocol and custom, the blow to the ego, or the mean spiritedness of clueless people. No way! Jesus was more concerned about the work He was doing for the Father. He came to serve, after all, not to be served. And yes, to give a ransom for many, including those “pesky” Samaritans.

Today, let me encourage you to imitate Jesus in this way. Forget those petty, ego crushing words of poison from others or a perceived lack of respect from a person without a clue. After all, does all that REALLY matter in the big picture??

Daily Reading, Devotional, gospel, Jesus

How Dare He?

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“They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. So he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’” Luke 8:53‭-‬54 CSB

This child was dead. They knew dead. They were well aware that the 12 year old girl in front of Jesus had passed away. So when Jesus proclaimed that she was only asleep, they laughed in mockery. How dare He say such a ridiculous thing?

Yet as they were chuckling and talking among themselves, Jesus focused on the girl. “Get up!” Jesus commanded. What came next was, well, miraculous: this girl, this dead girl in which all had been mourning over, this cold, ashen faced girl arose from the dead!

Luke, a doctor, knew full well that this type of work did not happen naturally. Dead is dead. Yet Jesus has the power over life and death, sickness and health, heaven and hell. He is God, and His power overcomes anything we see as an obstacle. We are not, and we need to trust Him for everything, from the seemingly impossible to the tiny things we think we can handle ourselves. It all belongs to Him!

How are you trusting Jesus with all things in your life? What do you hold back on?

Devotional

Devotion: The difference between meekness and weakness…

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Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 KJV

There are plenty of people who confuse meekness with weakness, but very simply, meekness is similar to humbleness. What I often find is that people who lack meekness tend to display a weakness in their character. They might lack discipline, morality, a love for others, or something else, but one thing is clear: No matter the reason, while the meek will inherit the earth, the weak will not. God, who knows their hearts, won’t give His inheritance to the sort of person who lacks of humility and only cares about self.

Instead, look at Jesus as our example. Sure, Jesus was meek, but He wasn’t weak– He did not surrender in any way His strength, His abilities, or His power. Instead, He willingly chose to set aside His abilities in order to save others. Paul says as much in Philippians 2:8:

“he [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.”

Think about it, how many of us would attempt to save ourselves in the sort of situation that Jesus faced before a cross? That’s the difference between meekness and weakness: the desire to lay aside self to lift up others. These are the meek, the ones who would be considered worthy of inheriting the earth. And this is the goal of the Christian life: to die to one’s self, take up the cross, and follow the One who gave it all for us.

Fran

culture, Jesus, ministry, Pastors

Relief is coming

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This morning, I continued my reading through Nehemiah and one thing that stuck out to me was his complete dependence on prayer. When he dared to approach the king of Persia, he prayed. When people tried to discourage him, he sent up a short prayer. When he saw injustices by the nobles towards the people of Jerusalem, he prayed a simple prayer that he is righteous with God and not self righteous. And when he called the people out on their sinfulness, he prayed a long prayer of confession and repentance. Nehemiah was one of the most successful leaders of his time and his prayers to the Lord are consistently recorded. The prayers were often nothing fancy, but they were usually simple, direct, and meaningful to his situation on a daily basis.

Even more, we can see how much he depended on God’s leading through his time in prayer. Praying for him was like breathing. As he prayed, God led, and as God led, he followed in prayerful obedience. As others attacked verbally and politically, he stayed focused and firm on the calling God had burdened on his heart. His principled leadership was only going to move in a different direction IF God moved him. Nothing more, nothing less. Either way, he knew that as he followed God, relief was coming to him in some way, shape, or form.

photo-1448550603489-a7e43b0da4d2Today, we have church leaders all over who are facing attacks. Some attacks have come from persecution and through threats. Others have come from some of the supposed sheep of the flocks they shepherd. I too have experienced this sort of man-centered garbage, yet I know that any response less than biblical is amounting to repaying evil with evil. Pastor, leader, deacon, friend, don’t respond with evil, respond to evil with good. Relief is coming, and it’s coming through the workings of the Lord.

You have a calling that God has burdened on your heart. Stay focused, stay firm, and stay prayerful constantly. The greatest tool you have is not your own words of wisdom or cunning man-centered politics, but your dependence on the One who fights your battles for you. Relief is coming, relief to continue your calling as you fight the battle for the souls of men. Stay encouraged, my friend!

Fran

Devotional, gospel, intimacy, Jesus

Want to be Close to God?

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Let me start by saying that we have rebellious hearts that make closeness with the Creator of the Universe just flat out hard to do. Oh sure, I know that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, that we’re not coming to the Father except through the Son. Our prayers mean nothing until we know Him. I get that, and if you don’t know Christ in a personal relationship, you need to.

The closeness I am wanting to discuss is the way that a Christian interacts with the Father on a constant basis. I mean, is your intimacy with God a consistent, growing walk, or is it at an arms length, cold almost as, say a Facebook friend or work acquaintance? God did not intend for you to say “yes” to Him yet wave at Him from afar. To use some biblical metaphors, God wants the seedling faith He gave you to grow to be a tree planted by the water, with roots deep in the ground and fruit being produced.

And this happens through an intentional, intimate relationship with Him. So how? How can this be done?

To start, get close to Him through His Word and prayer. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. In fact, you can stop what you are doing (like reading this) and take a moment and pray. It’s okay, this blog post will still be here. 🙂

Let me also mention this: Prayer is to be based on the Truth, the knowledge of Christ. We cannot have intimacy with the Father if we are not in His Word. Our prayers would be based on ignorant ramblings of a sinful, fallen heart rather than focused petitions of the Spirit. Therefore, start reading the Bible. Again, nothing fancy- read a Psalm a day as a start, then work up to a chapter or two of a gospel, or a reading plan available online. Start small, work to more intake and prayer.

Let me encourage you: Know Him, love Him, talk to Him, and interact with Him. Fruit will come of that. Your mind, heart, and spirit will be changed in Him daily and the wisdom of God will convict and change you. I am with Paul in the encouragement that you are strengthened in Him:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles —  to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ — to him be the glory forever! Amen. Rom 16:25‭-‬27 CSB

Even not knowing who would read this, I prayed for you before I posted this. My prayer was simply that you will be closer to God today than you were yesterday. Let’s start there and see what He can do. To God be the glory!

Fran

discipline, God's Goodness, ministry, Pastors, salvation

The God of the Possible

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The fruit and potential of the land was amazing:

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there.” Numbers 13:23‭-‬24 CSB

Now think about it: The vine of grapes was so big, two men had to carry it! The land was beautiful, rich, and flowing. The Lord had promised it, and He came through big! All they had to do was follow God and do His will. No enemy, no inhabitant would stop God’s will for His people. They simply had to take a step. A step of faith.

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But they didn’t. They forgot the God of the possible, and instead created a god of the impossible. They ignored His miraculous work of the past and looked at the obstacles before them. But seeking to save themselves, they lost it all. They made a horrible, deadly choice and in a business meeting, individual by individual voted a resounding, faithless “no.”

Their “no” would change some of them forever. All if that generation would never see the promises of God fulfilled. Death would follow them when they could have had life and loss abounded when they could have seen gain. Most of all, the chance for God to be glorified by all Israel would be delayed for 40 years.

Have you been voting “no” to God’s work in your life? Has God challenged you to step out in faith? A year ago, I did something that made no sense to people (still doesn’t) and God has amazed me as I have seen Him working in many places I visit. He gets the glory!

And so, let me encourage you to do the same, to walk by faith, to fear nothing, to step out…and let God get the glory!

Fran