OFF LINE - Back on August 1st

Dear Readers,

I'm taking a short break away. God willing, I'll be back on August 1st. I hope you'll be back, too. 

Love in Christ - 

                        Andréa

Whose Recommendation?

So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Acts 20:32

We have an electronic bulletin board at my day job and oftentimes, there are requests for recommendations regarding handymen, lawn care, car repairs, doctors. We want someone who KNOWS the person is reliable. It makes sense, doesn't it? We hate to go into something blindly trusting - especially with something as important as our health or home or car. That's all well and good, but we also need to know the one who is making the recommendation. Are they reliable? Is their word trustworthy? We NEED to know.

Commending someone is a little different, but along the same principle. We commend someone for their good works or accomplishments. But we also commend ourselves (or by implication give as in a trust or for protection) to something or someone. To commend someone, we need to know them. We need to know that what they've done or are doing is commendable. 

Luke, the physician, commends us to God and to the word of His grace... Luke is trustworthy. After all, God let him write part of the Bible...that's commendable and is highly recommended reading.

Jesus commended His own Spirit into the Father's hands. 'Nuff said. Do we need further commendation or recommendation?

Prayer:

Father,

           We accept Luke's commendation of ourselves to You and to the Word of Your grace. We know that You are the Master Builder and need no other recommendation than what we have already received. Keep us set apart for You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

By Request - Huffing and Puffing

Some of you have become conceited and arrogant and pretentious, counting on my not coming to you. But I will come to you [and] shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will perceive and understand not what the talk of these puffed up and arrogant spirits amount to, but their force (the moral power and excellence of soul they really possess). For the kingdom of God consists of and is based on not talk but power (moral power and excellence of soul). Now which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of correction, or with love and in a spirit of gentleness?

1st Corinthians 4:18-21 The Amplified Bible

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. They've become quite the banty roosters - all caught up in factions and political parties and who has what and how much of it he's got and he said-she said-they said. 'We've got these spiritual gifts - more than you have, etc.' And thinking they're getting away with all of it. Say what they want. Act however they feel. Appointing themselves as leaders, answerable to no one for their actions. 'You're not the boss of me...' Huffing and puffing. Talking it, but definitely not walking it.

The New Testament Church body. The first-century church... And here we are - the TWENTY-first-century church - there sure is a lot of huffing and puffing going on! And people don't want to hear the Truth and will be the first to tell you so. Yet, because of a loving, long-suffering, patient, and holy God, we can hear the same words of warning come out of the mouth of true Christian leadership in regard to Christ's return.

Paul wrote later, in 2nd Timothy 4:2-5, to encourage Timothy and every church leader since then. Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

In other words, just because they're huffing and puffing, doesn't mean we're leaving and grieving. Scripture tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. So since Christ is our Foundation, our Chief Cornerstone, our home is secure. Huff and puff all you want - we are not moved. You can't blow this House down.

Prayer:

Father,

Thank You for a firm foundation and steadfast soul to serve You. Help us to lean on You and not our own understanding in these last days. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Wait for It

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29 NIV

Growing things is a process. That's what our text teaches us today. You sow and then you wait. If you put it in good soil, it might sprout quicker. If you water it, the seed stands a better chance. But you don't harvest a corn plant before the ears are full of corn, and then not until it's ripe. If you pluck it before its time, it's not good for eating or for reseeding. Even the horses don't want it.

So if the Kingdom of God is like the planting process, then for us to come into full corn will take a while, don't you think? And if we pluck something to use before its time, then it's not good for what it was planted to provide. According to the Word of God, Matthew 7:19 & 20, So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

We need to wait on the Lord. Stop trying to force the fruit. Do you want to try to live on unripe fruit? Would you eat a green banana?

Prayer:

Father,
           Help us to run the race You've set before us without cutting corners or jumping fences. Help us to stay the course until we come to full fruition. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

By Request - Scared to Death

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 

Psalm 139:1-5 NLT

(My sister, Michelle, wrote this one.) 

I remember the days when the first verse of this Psalm scared me to death because I was walking the wrong path. Our upbringing taught us only of a God ready to send us straight to hell if we messed up; do not pass go, do not collect $200. Our generation was brought up getting "the hell" literally scared out of us; the next generation got to live in the luxury of "the grace" teaching which was definitely more about the love of God and not His judgment. However, God is both Judge and justice, and so much more - Grace, Mercy and Love.

If you believe the Word of God, it tells us that God cannot lie, and if we believe the Word, we have to believe all of it. We don't get to just pick the Scripture passages that we like. The same Bible that teaches God is love also teaches us that The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10: 30b-31).

Because I was so scared of God for the majority of my life, I never felt loved by Him. I know I have a long way to go in that area but I at least know now that I AM loved by God. Regardless of what I have done, regardless of what I will do in the future that may not please Him, He loves me... and He loves you!

I wish I hadn't wasted so many years not having that knowledge. I am positive if I stood in front of a roomful of people with their heads bowed and eyes closed, and asked how many truly believe that God loves them - no matter what they had done in their life - very few people would raise their hands. That's the lie the devil perpetuates when we are young and unfortunately, we believe it for a very long time. 

It wasn't until I learned to rest in His presence that I could feel His love. It's how we learn about our other friends, right? Spending time with them? So let us spend time in His presence and get to know this God of love. He is, after all, Immanuel, God with us.

Prayer:

Father,
           Forgive us for judging You with lies the enemy has sold us. Shine Your Light of Truth on Your Word and reveal it to us in such a way that we'll be holy and acceptable in Your sight. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

What We Think

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV

When we first become Christians, we want to do everything right - we read our Bibles, we pray, we gather with other believers, and we want to do it all exactly as we've been instructed.

Then, as we walk it out every day, there are times the discipline of it becomes tedious. We want to watch a movie or play a computer game instead of reading the Word. We'll chat or text with friends instead of taking the time to pray... sleep in or go to the beach instead of going to church and then convince ourselves it's supposed to be a day of rest, anyway, and we're resting... or so we think.

I'm not saying that watching a movie, playing a computer game, chatting, texting, sleeping in, or going to the beach are bad things in and of themselves. The danger lies in thinking we know what's best for our lives. Left to our own devices, humans tend to choose the path of least resistance, the easy way, every time. Our text for today reads, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, not 'whenever' we feel like it.

If we read through to chapter 30, we find this in verses 19 and 20,
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;

Even though we know we are NOT God and we don't have in hand all the knowledge pertaining to life, we tend to make life-altering decisions based on what we think we know. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

God gave us a free will. We can choose to love Him or not. Daily, we can take up our cross as directed by Christ, or we can lay it down and walk our own way. Let's do it - taken as directed by His Word, not by what we think.

Prayer:

Father,
           Open our eyes to see that we don't know it all. Help us to make the right choice of following You and Your instructions to the letter. Father, we want to diligently obey Your voice. Help us to clearly hear and understand Your direction. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The devil went away...

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Matthew 4:1-10 NLT

Every day, we face temptations and trials. And oftentimes, we fail or feel as though we will. We don't feel strong enough to withstand the onslaught of the enemy of our soul and the Truth is that WE are not strong enough. Not by ourselves. Not without the sword of the Spirit... which is what? The Word of God! (Ephesians 6:17). 

In our Scripture passage for today, satan wanted to destroy Jesus. He was out to kill Him. How did Jesus withstand him? He spoke. "The Scriptures say..."  Whoosh! Swing that sword! And again, "The Scriptures say..."  and yet again, "The Scriptures say..."  Then what happened? Verse 11 - Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

The Scriptures say, "Fight the good fight of faith..." 1st Timothy 6:12. The Scriptures say, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds..." 2nd Corinthians 10:4. What does Scripture say?  We need to know!

Prayer:

Father,

           Remind us to put on every piece of Your armor so we will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle, we will still be standing firm. Help us to stand our ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of Your righteousness. For shoes, we put on the peace that comes from Your Good News so that we will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, give us the strength to hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Cause us to remember to put on salvation as our helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word. Holy Spirit, as the Scripture says in John 14:26, bring back all things to our minds that the Word has taught us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen