Healthy Division of Cells

Week 29

There is a mystery within the gospel. It is the mystery of the church as the bride of Christ and exactly how that betrothal will come to pass. No one really knows, but one thing is sure, God will make it happen. Over and over again the church is referred to as the bride of Christ, it is also referred to as the body of Christ. How healthy is the body?

What would cause it to be healthy? What can each one of us as believers do to strengthen the body and make it grow into the perfect bride that Christ is going to come back for? We each have a role to play within that body. We depend on one another and need each other to fulfill our part in the body.

I look at each believer as a cell within the body. We all initially came from one cell. Christ, the life giver, was the first cell and he is within the nucleus of each cell that is formed after himself. The Bible tells us that he is the firstborn from among the dead. (see Colossians 1:18) As born again believers, we begin to grow into his image because he is now living in us.

With Christ at the center of each believer, we have the potential to become just like him. Although each one of us is totally different, yet we have his spirit to make us into his likeness. We have the potential to have his character traits. His spirit can work with each cell in the body to create us into what God intended us to become when we were born.

Just as cells in the human body have the DNA inside to know what to become, so do we as part of the body of Christ have his Holy Spirit that helps us become a part of the church body. Inside each of us is the ability to become an important part of the body. Human cells become skin, eyes, lips, organs, brains and some even become other people. Christ cells become preachers, teachers, helpers, administrators, healers and encouragers within the church body. 

It isn’t us who determine what we will be, but God’s Holy Spirit that knows what is best needed for the body. God already knows where we have been, what we have done and what we know and sometimes he uses our knowledge and expertise to strengthen the body. Other times he chooses to show his power and might by using someone totally untrained to perform miracles, signs and wonders to confound the wise and lift up the humble. We don’t choose what the Spirit will do, our job is to be obedient and to lay our lives before God daily to be used by him.

The body that Christ is coming back for is vibrant and healthy. The church that He wants to marry is in good shape. We get a glimpse of the wedding in Revelation 19:7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)”

In Matthew 25 we see what happens with the virgins who are ready when the bridegroom came. They had oil in their lamps and were waiting for him when he arrived. When the bridegroom showed up the wise virgins went in with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut.

Christ is counting on the church to increase, make disciples and be ready when he returns. Are we doing those things? If not, what are we doing? How can we do the things that he expects us to do? We need to be led by the Holy Spirit, listen to God speak to us through the Spirit and be obedient. 

The ultimate division of healthy cells is in making more cells and in planting more seeds. We do this by going into the world and spreading the message of what Christ has done for us. Our testimony is very important in making disciples for Christ.

We are to strengthen or edify the church. That means that we do not gossip and bad mouth others in the body, but we lift them up and encourage one another. As long as there is dissention in the church, we are not that spotless bride he is looking for.

Are we ready and waiting for his return? What should we be doing as we await him? How can we make the body more healthy? In Colossians we read that we are to set our hearts on things above. Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)

If we are eagerly waiting for his return, we will be thinking about him all the time and when we have our minds on someone, we are more apt to do the things that they like. If we take our minds off earthly things and focus on the things of God we will be growing in the knowledge of him and tuned in to hear his voice when he asks us to do something for him.

Are our hearts and minds set to receive his message? Are we looking forward to spending eternity with the Lord? Are we wondering through the course of the day what awaits us? These are the things that we should be thinking about. We should be aware of those around us that do not know the message of salvation and be willing to share the hope that we have within us.

Holy God,

We really want to be a healthy church. We want to be the bride that Christ can’t wait to marry. We want to share the good news and open our mouths to speak life and joy everywhere we go, but we fail all the time to actually do these things. Why can’t we be that beautiful bride we want to be? What is keeping us from being all that Christ died to help us become? Please forgive us for not hearing you speak to us. Forgive us for not inviting your Spirit to lead us. Forgive us for living our lives according to our plans and not yours. We invite you, today, to rule and reign in our lives. We lay our lives on the altar and ask that you use us to share the good news with those we work with, those we live next door to and those we are related to. May our very lives be a beacon shining your light to those around us. We ask these things because Christ is in us and is our hope. Amen.

We are seated in the Heavenlies

Week 28

In Ephesians 2:6-7 we read “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incombarable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” 

As believers in Christ we are raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly realms. How can that be when we are physically walking on this earth? Once we accept Christ as our savior and he sends his Spirit to live in us we are considered spiritual creatures. Our identity is in Christ, we no longer identify with the old sinful body, but we are new creatures in Christ. 

It is hard to envision that we belong more to heaven than earth, but it is true and as our spiritual walk becomes stronger our thoughts of heaven become stronger. The pull is toward God and Jesus and away from the things of the world. Ultimately we will be where our hearts long to be, with God.

In Isaiah 66:1 we read that God’s throne is in heaven and the earth is his footstool. It isn’t hard to understand why we long for heaven when we come into a relationship with God through Jesus. That is where God rules and as his subjects that is where we want to meet with him. That is why we spiritually enter his throneroom everytime we pray to him. 

But the scripture calls the earth God’s footstool. As I meditated and prayed about this, God spoke very clearly to me. He originally made the earth and put man here to be in a realtionship with him. He walked in the garden with Adam. (Genesis 3:8) When sin invaded the earth and mankind let satan have control, God only came to earth when he found men righteous enough to walk with. Through the ages he walked with different men, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. But he wanted to get the earth back, he created it in love and longed for it. 

The only way that he could get it back was by coming here himself in the form of Christ and living such a righteous life that he could take it back. When he died on the cross he bought it back for us. His blood paid the price for us. But he still has to work through mankind to get possession of it. People have to take back control of the earth from satan because he is not going to leave it willingly.

Jesus told his disciples, and that includes you and I, that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.

If authority was given to Christ and we are in him, then we also have that authority. He has passed it on to us. Jesus couldn’t be everyplace on the earth as a physical man. He was still only one man, but through us he could cover the face of the earth and take back what the devil stolen. It is up to us to do this for him. As his disciples we are given authority over satan and his demons. Jesus told us that he had given us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of the enemy, that nothing would harm us. So what are we afraid of? Why don’t we take back control of the earth?

In Matthew 16 Jesus tells Peter that he would be the rock on which he would build his church. Peter was indeed the spokesman for the disciples when the Holy Spirit entered the church on the day of Pentecost. He spoke boldly and eloquently winning people to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. God used him in a mighty way to establish the church on earth. 

Jesus also told Peter that he was giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever he would bind on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever he would loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. He was passing his authority over to the church. We, the universal church of Christ, can take back legally what satan has taken from us. We just need to do it. By reading God’s word and asking the Spirit to help us we can begin right where we are to run the devil off. He has to listen to us when we order him to leave. 

A good place to start is in our own homes and with our families. Start claiming your home for the Lord. Order anything that is not of God to leave your property and claim the lives of your family members for the Lord. Speak boldly in the name of Jesus and it will be done. God wants us to stand for Christ.

Once we give our hearts to Jesus our citizenship is no longer connected with the earth. Our allegience is to Christ and he is in heaven. That is the direction we should look. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul says “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” 

With our citizenship in heaven that makes us ambassadors on the earth. And we read in 2 Corinthians 5:20 “we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Our minds are focused on Christ and our bodies are still here on earth to win souls to Christ. That is our sole purpose in life once we commit to Christ.

What are you doing as a disciple of Christ to share the good news? Are you letting your light shine in your home? In your neighborhood? In the workplace? Who are you sharing God’s love with?

The Bible is full of shadows of heavenly things that are portrayed on earth in terms that we can understand. One of the shadows is the priesthood. 

Over and over the priest would offer the same sacrifices and the blood would cover the sins of the people. But the sins would never be taken away only covered. When Jesus came he willingly gave his blood, the blood of a perfect man. Then he took that blood and offered it to God himself in that heavenly tabernacle. His blood, the blood of a righteous man, not only covered all the sins of the world, but also erased them. He took all those sins to hell and left them there. And after he took the sins of the world there, he overcame death itself and came back to life. 

All this is hard for us to imagine and it doesn’t make sense to a logical mind, because it requires faith. If we have faith that Jesus did this for us, then we can have the faith to believe that right now he is sitting at the right hand of God waiting for us to spread the good news to all the people on the earth.

Our feet are here on the earth doing the work God gave us to do, but our eyes are fixed on Christ the one who died for us. There is a beautiful verse in 2 Corinthians 4:18. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Heaven is our real home. It is the place where God dwells and it is close enough for us to visit every time we pray. The more we pray, the more time we spend there.

Heavenly Father,

We seek you today and we thank you that you have prepared a place for us to spend eternity with you. Sometimes it gets so hard being on this earth. We long to be with you all the time and yet we know that you have work for us to do here. Forgive us for failing to do the good that we know we should do. Forgive us for not remembering all that Christ did for us. Forgive us for not seeing that he died for each person in the world. Open our eyes to see those around us who have never heard the good news. Open our mouths to speak to them about all that Christ did for them. Give us a boldness like you gave to Peter. We know that the same Spirit that spoke through him can also speak through us. Use us today. Because of Jesus. Amen

Make straight the pathway

Week 27

Left to our own devices we try and try to find a way to God. The Hebrew people were given laws to live by and they created even more laws trying to attain perfection. It is impossible to reach God this way. He knew that we couldn’t do it, but he also knew that we would try. How sad for us. No matter what we do, we are still outside of heaven. 

God revealed this to the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Christ was born. Isaiah tried to tell the Jewish people that God was going to take care of the sin problem they had. In Isaiah 40:3-5 we read about one who was coming before Christ to herald his arrival. A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” John the Baptist was the herald sent by God to be the voice of one calling. He was calling people to repentance. He was preparing the way of the Lord.

Jesus explained this to John’s disciples when John was in prison and wanted to know if Jesus was indeed the one who was to come, the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. Read Matthew 11:2-10.

John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus he was born just a few months before Jesus and was filled with the Spirit of God. He knew the scripture from Isaiah and was looking for the Messiah that was promised. Imagine his joy and how humbled he must have been knowing that God was going to use him to announce the arrival of Christ. He was trying to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people to receive what Jesus was going to give them. 

I believe that the Spirit of God convicts people of sin and most certainly when John preached in the wilderness people were drawn to him and the message of repentance that he preached made their hearts sad. They knew they had a sin problem and were seeking an answer. They knew that the yearly sacrifices were not removing the sin. They knew that the religious leaders did not have any answers for them. They were hungry for God.

What exactly was this highway for God? How could valleys be raised up? Mountains and hills made low? How could the coming of the Messiah make the rough ground level and the rugged places a plain?

The Jewish laws were like a continual maze for the people. There was no way out, at least none that they could see. All through the old Testament God tried to prepare the Jewish people for what he was going to do. In Proverbs we see this clearly spelled out several times. Proverbs 3:5-6 we hear these words, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” In Proverbs 4:11 God told the people, “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” In verses 25-27 they were reminded to, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left, keep your foot from evil.”

The answer was coming if they would trust God, if they would continue to focus on him, if they would do the things that they knew to do. It is no different for us today. Our answer comes from God when we trust him and focus on him. When we are obedient to the things that we know he wants us to do. He will reveal his salvation to us.

Faith can move mountains. Jesus told us so. The mountains that seem to overwhelm us because they are so enormous are nothing to Jesus. From God’s perspective they are small. Jesus came to remove those barriers from our lives that would keep us from moving forward. All we have to do is believe. 

In Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus explained to his disciples about how he had been able to make the fig tree wither. “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

When my husband’s pay was cut by 28 percent in January 2000, we knew that we had some difficult decisions to make. We could not afford to stay in the area of the country where we were because the cost of living was so high. After praying about the situation, we chose to move back to Ohio. We did not have jobs waiting for us, we didn’t know what awaited us, but we knew God. He was a God of provision and had proved that to us many times before. At that point in time we were living in faith completely. 

Psalm 46:1-3 is a promise that is tried and true. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” 

God wants us to come to him and he has made the pathway easy by coming to earth himself, as Jesus the Christ. He himself laid low every mountain and hill. He is the one who makes the crooked pathways straight. 

In Psalm 90:2 we see that God was God before the mountains were born. If he made the mountains then I guess he can do away with them as well. If we would just get hold of that truth and hang onto it. We could all be like John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord. 

We are supposed to prepare the way of the Lord because he is coming back as a conquering king and he wants to rescue everyone from the enemy. How can we preach repentance like John did? The way has been made straight for everyone who accepts Christ. The same Holy Spirit that lived in John the Baptist is living in each true believer of Christ. It is that Spirit that convicts and convinces people of their sin. It is that Spirit that causes people to repent. 

It is up to believers to let the Spirit of God lead them. God wants to direct our paths. He knows where we should go and who we should speak to. He wants to reign in our lives. Why don’t we let him? What is the fear? Are we afraid that we will end up like John the Baptist?  It is a possibility, but really, how many people do you know who die trying to tell others that the kingdom of God is near? What keeps us from sharing the good news? 

Listen to these words in 1 Peter 3:13-15a “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

As believers we do have an undying hope. Christ has made straight the pathway to our heavenly Father. He has provided us with all we need to hear from God and to obey him. If you have never let the Holy Spirit speak to you now is the time. It isn’t easy turning over control of your life to God. We all like to think that we are in control of our own lives. But I can assure you that letting God rule in your life is the way to become all that God created you to be. He wants only what is best for you and he wants you to ask his help along the straight path. 

Holy God, 

You have made it so easy to find you. There are no obstacles in the way except ourselves. Today we lay our lives before your throne and we invite your Holy Spirit that is living in us, to speak your truth to us. Let us see one answer to prayer today. Give us one revelation of who you are and what you have planned for us. We trust you to remove mountains in our lives that have been keeping us from seeing you. We give you praise for you are worthy of praise. We thank you for Christ. Amen.

Blanket Prayers

Week 26

Blanket Prayers

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, but isn’t that impossible to do? Surely God didn’t mean for us to be in prayer constantly. That is just asking too much of us, isn’t it? 

Why should we pray? Deuteronomy 4:7 tells us, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” We have a God who wants to be near us and wants a relationship with us. Prayer is the way we keep in touch with our God. It should be a conversation. 

Many times I just imagine Jesus sitting in the passenger seat of my car while I drive down the road. I just speak to him like I would a friend. If there is a problem I am dealing with at work or at home, if I am having a problem with a relationship or a financial hardship, I just tell him. He wants to know about these things. He really cares about our daily lives. My prayers wouldn’t even sound like prayers to some people. But God knows my heart and he knows that I want to share my concerns with him.

In 1 Samuel 12:23 we read about Samuel the prophet speaking to the people of Israel. “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” What we see in this instance is that God expects us to pray for others. His spirit puts people and their needs in our hearts. If we fail to pray for them, it is a sin. 

Years ago I was impressed to pray for friends and relatives in a different way. I don’t live in the town where I grew up. All of my family members live at least 100 miles from me. Most of us have been shopping or driving down the road and seen someone who reminds us of someone we know. When I see someone who resembles a family or former co-worker, old neighbor or friend, I see it as an opportunity to pray for that person. I figure that God has put that person in my pathway for a reason and maybe their look-alike needs a blessing at that particular time. This is a form of praying without ceasing.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray and not give up. He told them a parable about a widow who kept approaching a judge about her adversary. Day after day she would come before him with her request. Finally, out of frustration and just plain getting tired of listening to her, he granted her request. 

Now, I’m not sure that this parable means we should wear God out with constantly asking for the same thing over and over, but I do think that we have every right, as children of the king, to ask for God to deliver us from our adversary, the devil. 

So when we are having spiritual problems and we know that the evil one is attacking us, we have the right to ask God to take care of the problem for us. In Luke 18:7-8 we read, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly.” These chosen ones cried out day and night - they prayed without ceasing.

How many times have you been standing in a checkout line at a department or grocery store and the people in front of you have an item that won’t scan? How many times have you been shopping all day and it’s late, you’re tired and so is the little kid in the cart in front of you. He’s crying and you just want to join him. What do we, as Christians, do when we find ourselves in this situation? I used to mumble and complain about the line or the cashier being so slow.

But the spirit put it in my heart one day to pray instead of getting upset. Now I see delays as an opportunity to pray what I call “blanket prayers.” As I wait in line now I ask the Lord to bless everyone who is in the store at that moment. I also ask him to draw everyone close to himself. Not just the people there right now, but also everyone who has entered the store during the course of the entire day. I ask him to put Christians in their pathways, I ask him to give each person the opportunity to hear the message of salvation. The longer I wait, the more I pray. I pray for cashiers, for babies, for parents and teenagers. And as I start to pray for all these people, I begin to see them through God’s eyes of love. That is praying without ceasing.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26. Ever feel that you should pray, but you aren’t sure just what to ask God? Some situations are so overwhelming or devastating that we just don’t know what to say. But we don’t need to worry because the Spirit of God knows how to approach the throne, God’s spirit knows the right words to say. 

Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. He knew he had messed up. He didn’t do what God had asked him to do and now he was fish food. He wasn’t dead, but he might as well be. What did he do? Jonah 2:1 says, “from inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” His prayer came from his heart and from God’s Spirit. He didn’t know what to say, but the Spirit prayed for him. He had a repentant heart, that was the necessary ingredient for prayer.

In Luke 18 we read about two men praying in the temple. “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” The tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” God knows our hearts, we can’t fool him with wordy prayers.

Praying for the needs of others especially for the needs of other believers is an acceptable prayer. Are your prayers self-centered? Are you more concerned with getting your needs met than those of others? That isn’t what prayer is all about. It is one thing to tell God your problems, he wants us to talk with him about our concerns, but it is like spending time with someone who can only talk about themselves. The conversation is too one-sided. God wants us to be concerned for others, that shows that we have a heart like him. 

When you watch the news and you hear about a flood or a tornado, an earthquake or typhoon, do you immediately pray for the people in the midst of that situation? Do you ask God to minister to their needs? Do you ask him if he can use you in some way to help? That is God’s heart for people. 

The prayers of righteous people are pleasing to God. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:12. He loves each person on the face of the earth and he wants us to have a heart like his. When we show a desire to pray for the needs of others, he knows that we are exhibiting his love. We are his hands and feet on this earth, we are his voice of comfort and we represent Jesus to everyone we meet. Look for opportunities to pray in behalf of people. That is praying without ceasing.

Holy God, 

You are so mighty and powerful, you are so gracious and loving. We want to be like you. We want our prayers to be mighty and powerful. We come to you on behalf of lost souls, we come to your throne every chance we get to lift others up and ask for blessings in their behalf. We know that you hear our prayers when we don’t have the right words to say. We trust in your Spirit to direct us in our prayers to you. We want to have a continual conversation with you and we realize that it is possible only because Jesus Christ is our mediator. Give us opportunities and teach us new ways to keep our relationship with you fresh and new. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, our savior and friend. Amen.

God's Perspective

Week 25

In order to understand how we can do the will of God, we need to try and see ourselves through the eyes of God. What does he see when he looks at us. From his perspective, what is our purpose? Obviously he is the God of the universe and doesn’t need us for anything. He is self-sufficient and he was before there was anything else. In Genesis 1:1 we see that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now why do you suppose he did that? Was he lonely? Bored? Did he just need something to do? As we read farther in Genesis we see the way that he created the earth. He planned it for us. Everything in the environment was perfectly suited for us. He gave us everything we would ever need to live an abundant life. His focus was on us before he even created us. He had a vision of what we could become and the relationship he would have with us. In Genesis 1:27 the word tells us that God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 

God made us in his image, how amazing is that? None of the animals were made in his image. Plants, birds, fish none of these were made in his image. Only man and woman. What is the difference between us and the animals? It is my belief that God created us to be in relationship with us. He wanted someone to share in the glory that was his. He wanted to communicate with someone and lavish someone with all the good things that he had created. He chose us, he made us like him to be able to appreciate him and his goodness.

But what did we do with all he gave us? We turned it over to Satan and let him come between God and man. Since God is holy and righteous, and since he is a God of honor, he let us have our own way. It is impossible for a righteous God to have a relationship with an unrighteous people. When he destroyed the earth with the flood he wanted to preserve a remnant of all that he had made. He saw in Noah a possibility of righteousness on the earth again and made a covenant with Noah not to destroy the earth with a flood ever again.

But the sin nature was imbedded in mankind forever. There was no hope for us and our relationship with the Almighty God was doomed. But God knew a way to get us back. It would require a sacrifice on his part.

In Genesis 22 we see a glimpse of God’s heart as we read the account of Abraham taking his son Isaac to Moriah to sacrifice him. In verse 8 we hear Abraham tell his son that God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering. And in Exodus 12 we see a similar event when the Hebrew people were set free from bondage in Egypt only after a lamb was slaughtered and the blood applied to their door posts. God was trying to give us a preview of what he would have to do to reconcile us to him.

God gave the Hebrew people a set of guidelines to follow, the Ten Commandments. Not because he knew they could do these things, but to show them that it would be impossible to live righteous lives on their own power. They could only live holy lives if God lived a righteous life for them. He had planned all along to do just that.

At the right moment in time, the perfect time in history, God came to earth as one of us. In the form of a human baby, God became one of us to reconcile us to himself. There was no other way that he could do this. He loved us so much that he would do this for us. The prophets, had advance warning that this would happen and time and time again they tried to put this concept into words. 

In 2 Samuel 14:14 we read these words from the woman from Tekoa.  “Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.” In Isaiah Chapter 7 we read about the birth of the Messiah. Messiah in Hebrew means the anointed one of God. We find out from the prophet that God will be with us. His name shall be called Immanuel, God with us. Each of these prophecies was fulfilled by Christ Jesus.

God looked on us more than 4,000 years ago and knew that he wanted to redeem us. That plan was carried out by Jesus on the cross when he said, “It is finished.” The power of sin over us was broken and once again we could live in a relationship with the Almighty God.

So what keeps us from having a relationship with God? God doesn’t change, his plan for us is finished. He has done his part by becoming the acceptable sacrifice. Now he is waiting to reveal himself to us. He is waiting for us to begin communication. When we accept his gift of salvation, Jesus sends God’s Holy Spirit to live in us. That spirit speaks to us and guides us if we let him. We sometimes mistakenly think that once we are saved life will get easier or better. We look to God to fix the problems that we encounter on this earth. And sometimes he does to show us the love he has for us. 

But he is looking for faithful followers. People who will believe that even if things aren’t great here on earth, and we all know that there are always problems. God is still God, he is still good, he is still our creator and the one who loves us enough to die for us. That never changes no matter what. God wants us to get hold of that truth and never let it go. The apostle Paul understood that and tried time and time again to share that belief with us in the New Testament letters.

God has a plan for each one of us. He can’t use people who have their own agenda, but he wants us to look to him for everything that we need. He is so happy when we speak to him like we would a father. He just wants to be a part of our daily lives. In James 4:8 we read, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” That was God’s plan when he created the earth for us. He just wants to be near us and fellowship with us.

Heavenly Father,

We know that you love us with an everlasting love. We know that you have made a way for us to fellowship with you by dying for our sins. We know that we should communicate with you all day every day, but we get so caught up in the rat race and daily routines of our lives that we forget you. Please forgive us when we fail to acknowledge you. Put reminders in our paths every day to speak to you about the things that are happening in our lives. Help us to turn off the TV and the radio and spend time alone with you. Show us how to speak to you like a friend. We want that kind of relationship, but we don’t always feel comfortable talking with an unseen person. Become very real to us and answer us when we pray. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our mediator and best friend. Amen.

Vacation in the sun

Our family of eight seldom went on vacations. My father drove a bulk milk truck, transporting milk everyday from local farms to a nearby dairy. There were very few days off for him, but I remember one particular summer. It was 1967, the summer before my senior year in high school.

There was a very generous dairy farmer who had rented a cottage on Indian Lake in Russel's Point, Ohio. This sweet man appreciated all that my father did for him and when he got called back to his farm unexpectedly, he suggested to dad that our family finish out the weekend in his cottage. He also had a boat that he included with the offer. 

We packed up bathing suits and everything we needed for a weekend getaway and spent three glorious days on the lake. Although I had to help watch my younger sisters, I didn't complain because it was the first real vacation we'd had in years.

We had the time of our lives speeding across the lake in that boat, lounging around on the beach and ordering pizza to finish off a perfect day. The weather cooperated perfectly and most of us suffered from sunburn. But the peeling skin the following week was just a reminder of the great time we had.

A few months ago several of my sisters and I were talking about that vacation and shared the fact that most of us didn't know how to swim and we couldn't remember wearing life jackets while riding in the boat. Even my dad admitted that he had never driven a boat and there were all sorts of problems that we could have experienced. 

The Lord kept us safe on that little mini-vacation and some beautiful memories were created. I'm sure that the dairy farmer, Bill Venrick, has gone on to glory, but we will always think of him with gratitude in our hearts.

My Life as a River

Week 24

My Life as a River

One day Jesus met a woman at a well, he had a conversation with her even though he, as a Jew, should not have spoken with her, a Samaritan. He told her that he could give her living water. “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14.

What was this living water he spoke of and how can we have it? In John 7:37-39 Jesus tells us. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

Do you believe? If you do, the Spirit of God is living in you and you have access to this living water.

The source of this living water is Jesus. He said if we were thirsty we could come to him. What did he mean by thirsty? I believe that those who seek God, those who know there is more to life than mere existence, those are the ones who are thirsty. We want more and we find more in Jesus. As the source of our existence we realize our need for him. We are sinful creatures, we are lost sheep without him. He becomes our means of support. 

Our bodies are composed mostly of water and we need water to live. We need Jesus to live an abundant life. Believing in him is only the beginning of our living life to the fullest. As we begin to trust in him and our relationship with him grows, the water within us springs to life and a continual flow comes forth. As long as we remain in a relationship with him.

The Holy Spirit longs for us to know more about Jesus and about God. Isaiah 58:11 says, “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

What happens to those around us as we begin to flow in the spirit? We touch so many people in the course of our lives. And we have the potential to minister from the flow that we have within us. Just how can we let the life-giving water within us affect others? It is almost like we don’t even have to think about how this will happen. It just does. It is a natural progression and sometimes we don’t even realize the affect we have on those around us.

In the spring of 2002, I wrote a series of articles focusing on cancer survivors for The News Democrat. The articles were in preparation of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. The first article was about a lady with breast cancer. She wanted to stress the importance of self-exams to women. 

Fast forward one year, the lady I had interviewed was at the Relay for Life the following year. She wanted to share with me that a woman told her that as a result of that newspaper article, she strongly felt that she should do a self-exam. She found a lump, went to the doctor and found out that it was a very aggressive form of cancer. She is being treated successfully, but had she not found the lump when she did, it may have been much harder to treat.

I don’t take credit for any of this, but God’s Holy Spirit flowing through me led me to the lady to interview. That same spirit prompted her to share her story and stress self-exam. The same spirit flowed into the lady who read the article and spoke to her about what to do.

We never know how this life-giving flow will affect us, the people around us or those who come after us. In Isaiah we read, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Isaiah 44:3. This passage speaks about the continual flow from the Spirit. It is one that doesn’t stop flowing just because I die and pass on to the next life. The Spirit within me will flow on to my descendants.

Things that my grandma Fisher did were shared by my mother until her death. The life my mother lived is now being shared by my sisters and her grandchildren. I am encouraged and strengthened to know that my grandmother was such a good hearted Christian woman. She left a legacy of love. Every Christian does that. Someone left behind shares a memory or quotes them. Sometimes it is a favorite hymn that is shared or a poem. Our memories just keep flowing on through life.

In Revelation, John hears these words from Jesus. “He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To him who is thirsty I will give a drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.’” Revelation 21:6-7. 

Again we hear similar words in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

It’s free, it’s available to anyone who wants it and it lasts forever. Can the world offer us anything even half as good? God has provided us with this pure, clear water that amounts to everlasting life. Why don’t we drink it?

If you believe that Christ Jesus died for your sins, if you believe that he is alive today, you have the life-giving Spirit within you already. It will flow through your life continually and it will also flow into the lives of others. Share the life in you with others every chance you get.

Heavenly Father,

We give you praise and we thank you for your holy Spirit that has become part of us. We are so grateful for the love that you have for us and for the opportunities you give us to share your love with others. We look forward to the time when we will see Jesus face to face and be able to thank him for the gift he has given us. We bless you Lord and we thank you for blessing us. In the beautiful name of Jesus we pray. Amen