Every One

“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Romans 6:18

We’d like to think that we were never on the auction block being sold as a slave but we were.

Every one of us was a slave to sin when we did not know God.

Every one of us!

Such was the shame, humiliation and demeaning of sin in our lives.

Sin excludes no one.

Even those who may not share the same theology!

Even those deemed the ‘best and the brightest’ of society.

Even those whose lives we might say is that of a ‘saint’.

Apart from God and the salvation paid for through His Son – each of us stood on the auction block.

Our lives being surrendered to the highest bidder.

White, black, rich or poor, sin is the great equalizer.

Praise God that the highest price possible was paid for you and me!

Jesus bought us back (and brought us back) to the Father through the redeeming work  of the cross.

As the song says:

“I’m no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God!”

Let the message of this song sink deep into your spirit - 

https://youtu.be/f8TkUMJtK5k

Melted Candles

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 14, 16)

Sitting on my dining room table is a decorative candle holder containing 5 large candles.  As I was looking at it, I realized how pristine the candles were.  The wicks were perfectly white.  There was no black soot on the candle.  They looked the same as when my wife first took them out of the box.

The only problem, they have never been lit, which means they have never fulfilled the purpose they were created for – to display light to a dark room.

Then I thought of the many Christians whose flame is not lit.  Sure, they may look beautiful on the outside, especially when on display in a church pew, but inside, there is no light.  The flame has been extinguished.

We are called to be a light in a dark world, but if our candle is not lit, we are not of much use.

When a candled is being used, it may not look the prettiest.  It may have black soot marks and become misshaped because of the heat and melting wax, but at least it fulfilling its purpose.

Are you being a light at home, work, and play?  Are you displaying the Light of the world (Jesus) to those around you?

If not, ask the Lord to reignite your desire for Him.  Ask Him to help you fall back in love with the Light of the world, so that you can become the light of the world.

By putting yourself out there, you may get a little messy and your flaws may be on display for others to see, but more importantly, you’re fulfilling the purpose for which God created you.

Fruitful Suffering

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3

“...but we also rejoice in our sufferings...”

If the words from that verse (Romans 5:3) ended there we might be tempted to say: “Oh, really Paul? I certainly don’t rejoice in my sufferings!”

But it doesn’t end there.

Paul speaks of what should be the end result of that suffering.

It can bear fruit in our lives.

Suffering produces perseverance.

Perseverance produces character.

Character produces hope and hope does not disappoint.

So suffering has a purpose.

Not necessarily the suffering we endure because of our own ignorance or disobedient behavior but that suffering that comes into all people’s lives at one time or another.

Someone has said that you “...shouldn’t waste your trials.”

But our scripture today is reminding us not to waste our suffering.

We do not waste it when, through that suffering we persevere allowing character built in us to give us hope.

A hope that does not disappoint.

That is fruitful suffering!

How Far is Too Far?

“at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.”

Isaiah 20:2

How far will you go to be obedient to Gods command?

How far before you say: “Too far!”

Apparently Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot for three years at the command of God and never said “Too far!”

Imagine the stares from others he endured during that time.

How many quick glances and whispered insults did he endure?

Imagine all of the “Oh, don’t pay attention to my crazy uncle, he thinks he’s obeying God” types of comments were leveled about him in those roughly 1000 days.

All for the obedience to the command of God!

Surely God wouldn’t subject someone to that kind of ridicule!

What courage and what confidence the prophet had to have that he was truly hearing from God in order to fulfill such a command!

Could I do it?

Would I do it?

Would you?

Would God require such a thing of me? Of you?

Are you prepared to answer the question:

How far is too far?

Through Christ

“because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

Romans 8:2

The Law of God has wonderful value but it will never be able to redeem us.

Paul wrote in Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in this sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we became conscious of sin,”

The law will not change a heart.

But God can change hearts, He can create new ones!

Not a heart that follows the law per se but a heart that follows Him.

The law is well able to reveal our shortcomings.

The law is also well able to reveal our need for a savior.

The law has benefit but it will not save.

Boasting in keeping the law and/or our religious tradition is a hollow boast.

All praise and honor belong to God who, through Jesus, redeemed us from the curse of the law.

We, in our eagerness, try to reconstruct the framework of the law through religion.

But all of our constructs are destined to fail because unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain.

Gods’ ‘construct’ is through relationship to His Son.

In that, by receiving the free gift of God, and not in our own works do we find redemption.

Hold Fast to What is Good

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.

Romans 2:14-15

Cornelius was not a Jew but he was an honorable man.

His story is told in the Book of Acts.

But the book of Romans Chapter two paints a portrait of men like Cornelius.

There were many who, though not Jews, kept the ‘spirit’ of the law.

God honored that.

At the same time there were many Jews who, though circumcised and boasting in their lineage violated the law over and over again.

For them there was no safety in their ancestry.

In fact they dishonored their ancestry by their disobedience.

Many of the Gentiles actually honored the “Fathers of the Faith” by their adherence to the spirit of the law God gave.

We still honor God with our obedience and by not holding fast to dead traditions

Let go of those things that hold you but do not draw you nearer to the Lord.

Hold fast to those things that bring you into intimate fellowship with Him!

Branded by God

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)

God was talking about a future covenant that was coming.  A covenant much better than the covenant at that time.  A covenant that was internal, instead of external.  A covenant where God would miraculously take residence within us and write His laws on our hearts.

I remember the old western movies where the cattle owners would “brand” their livestock by burning a unique mark on the hide of their cattle to let everyone know who the cattle belonged to.

God desires not just to have his words written on the pages of a book, but also to burn those words on our hearts.

In order for a steer to be branded, the cattle owner would have to rope the steer and restrain it until the process was complete.

Are you willing to stop and be hog tied so the Lord can burn His word onto your heart so they become the fabric of who you are?  Then it will become clearly evident who you belong to – God and His kingdom.

On the other hand, if we are frantically rushing through life and never stop to make time for God, other things will brand our lives, things that won’t identify us as belonging to God.

What branding marks do others see in you?  Does your lifestyle clearly identify you as belonging to God?

If you sense God is trying to slow you down, don’t resist.  Surrender your will, sit at His feet, mediate on His word, and let Him brand your heart.

Swimming in Manure

“The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;

    but Moab will be trampled in their land

    as straw is trampled down in the manure.

They will stretch out their hands in it,

    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.

God will bring down their pride

    despite the cleverness of their hands.

He will bring down your high fortified walls

    and lay them low;

he will bring them down to the ground,

    to the very dust.”

Isaiah 25:10-12

What a picture scripture paints for us of those whose trust is in their own skills and industriousness and who take great pride in what they have accomplished rather than trusting in the Lord!

Isaiah 25:10-12 speaks of the Moabites swimming in manure and seeing their fortified walls destroyed because of their great pride.

The very things they had trusted in were taken away.

Another place in scripture (Isaiah 64:6) speaks of all of our own righteousness being like blood soaked menstrual rags.

When we, in pride, exalt the works of our own hands over Gods’ work in our lives we are in a very unstable place.

We can accomplish nothing of eternal value apart from God!

Though we think our feats may be great (like the wonderful defensive walls the Moabites trusted in), God can bring them down in a moment.

How much better to trust in God than in our own skill, wisdom and strength!

Wholly Surrendered?

“Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”

Romans 6:13

Give your body parts to God as an offering?

While that may sound macabre or grotesque to some, Paul is not urging us to cut off a limb and place it on an altar of fire.

Rather, He is urging that our hands, feet, eyes, etc...be devoted to Him as instruments of righteousness rather than as instruments of wickedness.

Instantaneous change?

No!

A process?

Positively!

As long as we are in these bodies we will struggle with how we surrender and to whom we surrender our lives.

Yes, there is pleasure in sin – even though it is just for a season – and yes sometimes the rewards of righteousness may be delayed but that does not mean we have to surrender to sin.

Let God rule in your mortal body.

Bring your flesh under authority to the spirit man guided and directed by the Holy Spirit of God living in you.

Are You Willing?

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Romans 6:5

Are you dead?

Seems like a question most of us can answer without thinking.

But let’s not do that!

Let me rephrase it in a way that should cause us to pause and truly consider before answering.

Have you truly died to sin?

We are called to be dead to sin but alive to Christ.

But do we spend more time with the ‘old man’ so to speak than we do with Christ?

It matters.

It makes a difference.

If we continue in our sin and do not reflect Christ, we are probably hanging out more with the old man than we are with the Lord.

Yes, it is a work of Gods’ hands through His Son that we are saved and become the New Creation in Christ but the on-going work of sanctification is a work accomplished through cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

That cooperation, in a very real sense, begins and ends with our desire, our willingness to be like Him.

Do we desire to be like Him more than we desire the pleasures of sin?

If our answer is less than convincing even to ourselves, “are you willing,” as Corrie Ten Boom once said, “to be made willing?”

In other words, even when you recognize your weakness and inability to do it alone are you willing to partner with the Spirit of God to see your desires changed?

In the Moment?

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Acts 23:11

As we read above, the Word of the Lord was given to Paul.

With the ability on our part to read forward into Paul’s life we can see how this word was spoken more for what Paul was yet to face than it was for the moment that he was currently in. Though it would have certainly encouraged him ‘in the moment’ we find that many times in the coming days he would have ample opportunity to trust the Word of the Lord to deliver him to Rome when, by all appearances and through all circumstances, the exact opposite would seem the most likely outcome.

We often may receive words of encouragement from God delivered through prophecy, our own quiet time with Him, a clear and concise word from His Word, or some other way that He chooses to communicate that encouragement to us.

Let those words continue to sew hope and peace into your spirit as you trust God with their fulfillment and do not leave them to our own ‘in the moment’ interpretation.

Paul would indeed see the word spoken fulfilled.

But between the moment he received it to its’ completion there was hardly ‘smooth sailing’ for Paul.

He would endure much in between.

That included a shipwreck that one could never consider smooth sailing!

Hold on to the Word of the Lord!

Let it be hope and peace in your life.

Even when the waters are rough!

Put away the baskets

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15)

Do you know it has been proven that you can see a single candle flickering from 30 miles away on a dark night?

That’s the power of light to penetrate darkness.

You are the light of world with the power to penetrate spiritual darkness.  And it doesn’t matter how dark the darkness is.  Light will always prevail.

The light of God’s presence dwelling in you will always win out over the darkness in this world.

A light under a bushel is no less powerful than when it’s out in the open, it’s just covered up.

You can’t do anything to make God’s light within you brighter.   It’s as bright as it’s ever going to be.  You just need to uncover and release it.

A basket can come in many different forms.  It can be fear, shame, feelings of unworthiness or preoccupation with the things of this world.  Whatever is keeping your light hidden, choose to lay it aside.

Jesus called us to be the light of the world, so put away the baskets in your life so you can provide light to the world you live in.

Releasing Heaven into Your Life

Who are you looking for in the midst of the storm?

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake...

Matthew 14:26a

Don’t let the roaring wave and howling wind circumstances intimidate you!

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Matthew 14:27

In all circumstances and at all times seek His will

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

Matthew 14:28

As you seek Him, listen for the answer!

“Come,” he said.

Matthew 14:29a

As He calls you, move toward Him!

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Matthew 14:29b

Keep your sight fixed on Jesus!

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew 14:30

Where Are Your Eyes Focused?

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied,

“tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said”

Matthew 14:28-29

What stands between you and victory?

“Victory over what?” you ask.

Anything, anything you are facing, anything you are struggling with.

“Well, that’s easy, it’s the devil!”

That’s a standard response we often give but too often it is an ‘easy out’.

What do I mean by that?

Sometimes it’s just plain easier to blame something or someone outside of our selves.

What if the problem lies with what we say, what we listen to or what we watch?

Often it can be.

When Jesus called Peter out on the water and he stepped out of the boat, what caused him to start to sink?

It wasn’t one of the demons Jesus had previously cast out of someone.

It was what Peter allowed to impact his mustard seed faith.

The wind and the waves were not even to blame.

Peter himself allowed those things to shift his focus off of the Lord and onto them.

Admit it – you do the same thing.

So do I.

Let’s refocus back off of our circumstances whatever they may be.

Let’s look afresh on Jesus.

He is walking on the water to us.

He is inviting us to step out of the boat – daily – and come to Him.

Where are your eyes focused?

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,

beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew 14:30

Remember that law of physics you learned in high school that said:

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”?

While I could talk about suspending that law with supernatural intervention that is not what today’s blog post is about.

Rather, I am writing to help us understand that in order to see beyond our natural limits what we need to know is that what we hear, say and see will affect us.

There is a natural realm and there is a spiritual realm.

Where we focus our attention determines so much in our lives.

Peter got out of the boat and initially fastened his eyes on the Lord but as the natural

realm began to intimidate with wind and waves his focus shifted back to that and he began to sink.

Think of it this way – at that moment Jesus was Peter’s resource from heaven to give him what he needed to fulfill his request – Lord, bid me to come to you.

When our focus is on the earthly, the natural we will never bring the resources of heaven to work in our circumstances or of the circumstances around us.

In a very real way, what we focus our eyes upon (and our heart) will determine whether or not that prayer

“...your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...” is answered in our lives.  

What are you seeing today?

The Seen Scene

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Genesis 3:6

Stop a moment right now and take a look around.

What do you see?

No, no – what do you really see?

How you see will determine what you see.

Most of us just stopped and looked at, and described, our natural surroundings. 

How often do you look and see with your spiritual eyes?

How often do you peer into heaven in order to bring its’ resources to earth?

More often than not we allow our natural senses to determine our path.

We follow what we see with our natural eyes.

We are reluctant to follow what those same natural eyes cannot see.

Yet, like Abraham, each of us is called to see beyond our own surroundings, our heritage, our past and our capabilities.

Notice those words each of us?

Its’ not just the role of the Pastor, the teacher, or whoever we deem as more able to.

When God, by His Spirit, comes to dwell in us He gives us the capacity to see and understand as we couldn’t before.

We can see the unseen scene.

(or not!)

Just as you chose what to wear today, you can choose to focus according to the natural or according to the spiritual.

Maybe it’s time for an eye exam?

The Sound of Your Voice

Today’s blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

My 2 year old granddaughter is at that stage where she loves to talk.  She can’t get enough of her new found ability to exercise her voice.  She will talk non-stop without taking a breath and I just love to listen to her.

God also loves to talk.  He has been talking since the creation of the world when He spoke all things into existence.  I have discovered in my personal life that when I sit for any period of time, God will always speak to my heart.  The problem is the “me sitting” part.

I carve out time for a lot of other things in my life, many of them of little valuable, but I struggle to sit and listen to the God of the universe who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge and loves to share what He knows.

I need to fall in love with His voice until it becomes something I cherish and look forward to more than anything else.

Will you join me in cultivating an ear that continually listens for God’s always speaking voice?

In his book The Pursuit of God, AW Tozer prayed this way – “Lord, teach me to listen.  The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them.  Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for Thy servant heareth.”  Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart.  Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice.”

As for my granddaughter, I pray that she will grow up loving to hear God’s voice as much as I love hearing hers.

A Viper a Sign?

“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.”

Acts 28:1-6

People can sometimes draw wrong conclusions from signs.

This is evident in Acts 28:1-6 as the islanders on Malta watched Paul as a viper came off some wood being used for a fire and fastened on his hand.

Seeing this they thought he must be a murderer or something just as terrible to have such a terrible thing happen to him.

But just a little while later as they clearly saw that Pau suffered no harm from this viper they thought Paul must be a god.

So that’s two strikes against them for interpreting ‘signs’.

Lest you think I am denigrating signs and wonders let me reassure you I am not.

I do believe they still are part of the work of God in the earth today.

But in this particular case we see the warning of judging all signs as being from God.

In Paul’s case they were wrong both times.

We must be careful how we interpret the events and circumstances in another persons’ life or how we judge them according to those same circumstances and events.

AIDS, Cancer, natural disasters have all been claimed as God’s judgment in the past on a person, people, city or nation.

Be careful when you make such pronouncements.

Sometimes we ascribe to God what He has not done.

Like the people of Malta you just might be missing it!

Could-a Would-a Should-a

“Agrippa said to Festus,

 “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.””

Acts 26:32

When the words above were spoken by Agrippa to Festus, Paul had already defended himself several times.  He had been beaten, imprisoned and questioned time and again for the testimony he carried.

Sometimes in life we make choices, decisions or statements we later regret.

If we could take them back we surely would!

I can’t help but wonder if Paul, upon learning of this statement from Agrippa to Fetus, had those thoughts of regret.

You know the kind – the could-a, would-a, should-a thoughts – they have a way of making you second guess what you said or did.

Perhaps he was resolute in his appeal to Caesar or perhaps he had doubts.

Either way, his course had been set and now he would have to trust God as it played out.

In this story from Paul’s life we can learn a lesson for ours.

Who hasn’t said or done something they later regretted?

Unable to undo what we have done we can learn from Paul and carry on with life.

Go forward with the understanding that God can redeem even our most regrettable missteps and use them in a way that brings honor to His Name.

That is a miracle because sometimes we dig a hole so deep we wonder what possible good could ever come from it.

But God...

Paul would go to Rome.

On his way and while in prison there, he would continue to honor the King he loved and served in spite of his circumstances.

God loves us even when we say or do something we later regret.

Don’t allow regrets to keep you from serving the Lord.

He won’t allow them to keep Him from loving you!