The RIght Track +

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

Philippians 3:12-16 The Message

Let's say I make a decision to go buy groceries. Yes, I've made up my mind - that's what I'm going to do. Buy groceries. That is my plan. I have the list right here of everything I need from there. I know the store has everything on my list, too, so I'll be able to get it all. I've even researched recipes and planned the menu for the things I'll buy at the grocery store...

By now are you thinking, "So get to the store already! Quit talking about it and just go!"  And what does that have to do with this Scripture?

In light of our text for today, here's the practical application. We can talk the talk, but unless we put feet to it and walk it, we're not going anywhere. If we're not moving forward - if we're just talking about it - we're no closer to our goal of getting closer to God than when we first started. 

Drop whatever baggage of your past you may be carrying - it is holding you back, impeding your progress. God's promise is that He will make all things new! You have the list of everything you need from Him and HE is everything you need. Run toward all God has planned for you! Get on the right track. Keep moving forward!

Prayer:

Father,

          Help us to see Your plan and purpose for our lives. We repent of holding on to those things in our lives that would keep us from You. Help us to get on and stay on the right track. Quicken us, Father, to keep moving forward toward You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Losing the Right Weight

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5 NLT

If you've ever struggled with a weight issue, you know there are more quick fix, empty promise, flat-out lying so-called plans and programs than you can shake a fork at.

However, God made the original eating plan. In Genesis 1:29, God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food." And nutritionists will tell you, fruit is obviously healthy for you - Eat more fruit.

Christ also told us that it's not what goes into the man that defiles him, but what comes out of him, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that our mouths speak. And that's a totally different kind of fruit. Some of it just stinks - Some of it is rotting.

Galatians 5:22-23a NLT tells us, But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So, if we follow God's plan for our lives then the fruit of the Holy Spirit will be evident in our lives and we'll be healthier because of it. For instance, we will lose the weight of bitterness and unforgiveness and past hurts, just to name a few.

Would you like some more fruit?

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for the provision of nutrition for our minds, souls, and bodies. Help us to clear our temple so that You feel welcome in our hearts and there is plenty of room for You. In Jesus' Name we pray.

Go for the Gold

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:12-13 NLT

Have you ever committed to a competition that required endurance training if there was to be any hope of even finishing, let alone winning? Endurance training is gruesome. You push to your very limit and then push some more. In fact, usually for endurance training, someone else is pushing you because they don't want to hear, "I can't..." And then a month or so into it, you're DOING what you could only hope you could do at the start. And you keep pushing, and keep going, and keep enduring. Why? Because you want what's at the end of the line. You press toward the prize. I know you know where I'm going with this.

James tells us in chapter 1, verses 2&3 NLT, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. If you have known me for very long, you have heard me say, "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." I believe that. There have been times in my life when it seemed like it would be a whole lot easier to die than to endure. But God would get me through that, and because of the endurance training I received during that trial, I would be able to endure the next, bigger, tougher situation. 

However, I can't say that I've ever been ecstatic or enthusiastic about trials and tribulations. I wasn't looking ahead - I wasn't looking to the hills where my help comes from. I wasn't looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. (Hebrews 12) Endured! Christ looked PAST the Cross to the joy that was set before Him.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us in 10:35-36, So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.

Just as God for the sake of the Cross looks beyond our frail, human nature so that Jesus can receive us unto Himself, so must we look beyond the trials and tribulations and patiently endure them so that we can continue to do the Father's will no matter what comes our way. It is in the patient endurance that we move into the position to be ready to receive all that He has promised.

C'mon! We're almost there! You can make it! It's not that much longer. Go for the gold - streets of gold!

Prayer:

Father,
            Your Word promises that You are the Lifter of our heads. Hold us up so we can see over this to the promise of eternity with You where there are no more tears. No more pain. No more separation. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Where's the Lid?

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:29-32 NIV

I think it's safe to say that we have all said something that we regret having said at one point or another. In the heat of a moment, it might have felt good - it might even have felt justified - but when "the look" comes over the face of the recipient... ouch! You know "the look" I'm talking about, right? It makes me feel bad just thinking about it.

We often make excuses or try to justify our action or what we said. "I was right there in the middle of it and I just couldn't take any more!" "You weren't there - you don't know what it was like!" Jesus was in the middle of it, too. His reaction was, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do..."

When we lash out at others, do we ever stop to think that our 'unwholesome talk' can offend the Holy Spirit of God? I know lots of people have no problem thinking that God is mad at them for one sin or another, but does it ever enter our minds that we can hurt His feelings by our thoughtless words or deeds? 

Part of our text for today reads, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." The Greek word for grieve translates to 'make sorrowful' - 'affect with sadness, cause grief' - 'offend, to grieve'. This verse also says we were sealed with Him for the day of redemption. In essence, God "put a lid" on us and our unwanted behavior - He sealed it for us, so shouldn't we do something with the rest of it? 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Yep - we should definitely put a lid on it!

Prayer:

Father, 
           Thank You for sealing us with Your Holy Spirit for the Day of Redemption! Help us to get rid of everything in our lives that is not of You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Love Poured Out

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:16 NLT

Oh, I can hear some of you now - "I'm not telling anybody my sins. It'd be all over Facebook or Tweeted all over the place."

As a society, we seem to be consumed with presenting the best image; always attempting to show the good side; trying to hide or camouflage the less-than-perfect side of ourselves, our business, our 'whatevers'. That's not always a good thing.

Do we want people to like the illusion we present or the real us? We want to be loved as we are. How many times have we heard someone plaint, "I want them to like ME! ME! Not what I do for them, not what I look like, not my money...etc."

So, what deepens a relationship? Getting real with each other. Letting someone close enough to see the "warts" (the areas we strive to overcome) or the wrinkles; letting someone close enough to love you in spite of those warts and wrinkles, because according to 1st Peter 4, love covers a multitude of sin. And it's in exposing those painful places that love can then be poured out and we are healed.

You'll notice our text is all one verse. The second sentence expounds on the first to more clearly define what is meant. It's a Share, Prayer, Care verse. That does NOT mean share it all over Facebook or Instagram or to anyone who will listen! Use wisdom!

Who are we supposed to confess to? Someone who has an earnest prayer life, and not only that, but one who also walks in righteousness. In such an environment, there is an assurance of perfect love that casts out fear of exposure.

Prayer:

Father,
           We cry out for wisdom!! Help us to see it is the earnest prayer of a righteous person that has great power and produces wonderful results. Bring Your righteousness into our lives so that we may also pour out to others in need. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Losing to Gain

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Mark 8:35-37 NLT

What'd He say? Hang on and we lose it? Give it up and we keep it? It's the type of thing that confuses those who don't know Jesus as their Savior. Stuff like the last shall be first, and in our weakness He is strength, or like our text, If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. One of the best - Peace that passes all understanding. It makes no sense to the unbeliever. You really can't get a grasp on it until you have a hold on Jesus.

We're living in perilous times. I catch a lot of conversation from where I sit at work. People worry about everything - the country, their jobs,  their finances, their futures. They're worried about their homes being broken into and being robbed because the news and the Internet keep writing stories of increased robberies and burglaries. It's amazing to hear - it all revolves around money. You mess with people's money and it gets crazy. Of course, if the job (money) is their source for life, it's totally understandable. If that's all they have, what do they do? I don't know. I can't answer that.

That's another one of those wonderful things about the Lord. He is NOT diminished by interest rates or elections or world financial fiascos. He does NOT lose value in tough times or when the Dow tumbles. He is immoveable, unshakeable, Rock solid. You want a better interest rate? Increase your interest in Him. You want job security? He's always looking for workers. You want a financial institution that cannot be affected by today's market or some Fed in Washington? Matthew 6:19-21 NLT reads, (Jesus speaking), Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

How do you store up treasure in heaven? Matthew 19:21 tells us, Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. So let's revisit today's text - If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. Losing to gain. That's upside down. However, if you want a sure thing - there's only One Way...Jesus.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Prayer:

Father,
             It's true, Your ways are not our ways. We don't always understand. But some things we don't have to understand. Lord, cause us to walk in obedience to Your Word - to walk by faith in You, rather than in what we see. Help our unbelief. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Answered Prayer

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
2nd Peter 1:5-10 ESV

I met a woman tonight named Lynn. She had a beat up truck, a worn out dog, and a Bible that seemed to be used as a makeshift folder. She was tired... no. She looked more beat up and worn out than the truck and dog combined. She'd pulled up to the gas pump as I was starting to pull away. She half-waved and I stopped and put the window down to ask, "How're you doing?"

My logical brain was begging for my attention, "Don't stop, you don't know if she's got a gun." "You're a sucker for a sob story." "You're not giving her anything." My heart won. As I pulled over, I prayed, "Father, let me say what You want me to say... and please don't let her have a gun..."

As I got out of my car and walked toward her truck, it dawned on me that she might be praying the same thing about a gun... "You see me?" she asked unbelieving. "You rolled your window down to talk to me?" and with my affirmative reply, she began to weep. "You stopped for me..." more tears.

And it pierced my heart. How many times has God stopped for me, seen me, talked to me when I didn't think He would or should...

I prayed with her, gave her what money I had, it wasn't much (normally, I never carry cash) and then we parted... she never did buy any gasoline. I don't remember any of our conversation or prayer except I mentioned the answers were there on her dashboard, pointing to her Bible, and she replied, "I always have that to fall back on." And it struck my spirit - how often do we use God as the back-up plan - something or Someone to fall back on... when everything else we've tried in our own strength has failed?

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us for the times we have failed to seek You first. Thank You for the opportunity to be Your hand extended. Thank You for continually teaching us and loving us enough to give us ample opportunities to love. Let us never forget how far You've brought us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen