New Testament

In Search of a Thankful Heart pt 2 – VOTD.08.08.17

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.  Hebrews 12:28

Last time we saw that a genuinely thankful person is satisfied in the moment. (How many songs proclaim that ‘Jesus is all I need?’) But we miss that in the ‘now’, because other emotions take center stage. We looked at a few of these seemingly innocent gratitude-breakers and today we’re going to look at a few of the more diabolical ones:

We can’t be thankful and be Arrogant, Impatient, Greedy, Bored, or Judgmental. Why would this be? Because thanksgiving can only come from a humble heart… Thankfulness can only be felt by those who know that no one owes them what they’ve gotten.

In the same way Impatience stems from an attitude of, “my time is more important than yours.” In other words, it stems from arrogance. Thankfulness stems from Love…Love is patient, and true gratitude can only spring forth from love (1 Cor 13:4).

Thankfulness can’t be greedy. The two are opposites. Thankfulness says, “I am satisfied.” “I have enough.” A greedy spirit never has enough. (Col 3:5)

Bored?? Yes, a thankful heart isn’t bored. Boredom nearly always results from dissatisfaction in the moment; this is the opposite of thankfulness. Face it, there are always things to do. But a bored person isn’t stratified with the options… that person wants MORE… No wonder it’s often said that boredom is a tell-tale sign of moral issues at some level or other. (more…)

Continue ReadingIn Search of a Thankful Heart pt 2 – VOTD.08.08.17

In Search of a Thankful Heart pt 1 – VOTD.08.07.17

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.  Hebrews 12:28

According to today’s verse we are receiving the kingdom of God… the very presence of the King is being received by us… not just once, a long time ago at an altar, but continuously, right now… It’s not some day in the future in heaven, either. It’s continuously, right now…

Since we are receiving the presence and majesty of Jesus on a continual basis, “Let us be thankful”. What an understatement! You would think that since we’re receiving a Kingdom we’d be overwhelmed with gratitude, but apparently Hebrews has to remind us to be. I wonder why?

Why do we have so much trouble being thankful in the NOW? Today’s verse suggests it’s because we aren’t satisfied with the Kingdom we’re receiving. I suspect that’s because we have trouble being satisfied with Jesus in the now.

There are some seemingly innocent emotions that can be gratitude-breakers in our lives. Fore example, how can we be thankful and be Angry, Depressed, Discouraged, Jealous, or Full of self-pity? These things are incompatible with genuine gratitude. Here’s why: (more…)

Continue ReadingIn Search of a Thankful Heart pt 1 – VOTD.08.07.17

Lion and Lamb – VOTD.07.31.17

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

We don’t have to be second-class Christians. God is able to make all grace overflow in you and me. Why? So we’ll have all we need to abound in Jesus and in His work. It’s all from God and He makes His grace overflow in us through Jesus.

Not all Christians are overflowing in grace. You and I can make the Lord our refuge, our dwelling (Ps 90:1), or we can try to run away from Him.  The first is blessed and the second is tragic.

The Bible refers to Jesus as the “Lion of Judah”, and the “Lamb of God” (Rev 5:5/Jn 1:29). There is a tension there.

When the Lion of Judah roars, those who are running from Him had better be afraid. When the Lamb of God draw those who are running toward Him to Himself, those who seek Him, will find Him in a deeper way than they ever thought possible.

Jesus alone is our ultimate protection and safety. Jesus has eyes only for us, and demonstrates His incredible love over and over. He’s relentless in His tenderness for those who seek Him… He’s relentless in his provision of security and passion for us (Ps 27:8). (more…)

Continue ReadingLion and Lamb – VOTD.07.31.17

The Big Question – VOTD.07.24.17

Last time we brought up a burning question about maintaining and growing in the presence of God in our lives. The answer to the big “Question”… really to all questions regarding spiritual growth is given to us by Jesus in these two words:

“Follow Me.” (Mk 1:17, 2:14)

Today we have a throng of unbelievers who think the whole Christian experience can be summed us in words like: “follow My religion” or “follow My rules” – Worse, even some believers go through their lives thinking that that is the essence of spiritual living.

But as we’ve seen, Jesus said, “Follow Me.” It’s all about Jesus – not Christianity, not Christians, but Christ.

I was at a seminar on evangelism, after I’d written the last few weeks of meditations, and the speaker brought up a parallel thought: The excuses many non-Christians bring up for not accepting the Gospel revolves around the Christians and churches they’ve known.

“Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites”
“All the churches want is money”
“I’ve known some drug dealers who behaved better than some ministers”

Was Jesus a hypocrite? Was Jesus all about money? Did Jesus live His life in anything less than righteousness? (more…)

Continue ReadingThe Big Question – VOTD.07.24.17

Following – VOTD.07.17.17

“Follow Me.” Mark 1:17, 2:14

In the final analysis, walking in the presence of Jesus come down to two simple little words: “Follow Me”. Those of us who want more of the presence of God have to want to be with Him where He is. To be with Him where He is, we must want His will.

There simply isn’t any other way… Jesus must reign. But the legitimate question is raised… What is His will?

Consider those two words from Jesus that answer almost every question regarding what we are supposed to do as Christians. “Follow Me.” It’s Jesus’ personal invitation which He extended to us who would be His disciples. And He continues to extend this invitation to every one of us who want to walk in discipleship.

“Follow Me.”
(more…)

Continue ReadingFollowing – VOTD.07.17.17

Why did I say that? (pt 1) – VOTD.06.27.17

If anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body. James 3:2

Each of us is known by how we behave, and our behavior is based on what is happening in our hearts. One particular aspect of our behavior, that flows from our hearts is our words.

Face it. It is every Christian’s desire to be content. Many believe they don’t deserve to be (because they have problems accepting God’s forgiveness), others believe it is outside the realm of possibility given their circumstances, yet others are too busy to think about it. Yet for all, contentment is desired.

The reason our tongues are so important to our being content is that our words give us a vivid picture of the state of our hearts… and they show us how much we’ve allowed the Holy Spirit to transform us.

If we holler and rant and rave… it’s because there is a heart problem. If we are cynical and sarcastic, it’s because there is a heart problem. If we are gossips and back stabbers, it’s because there’s a heart problem. Augmentative? Abusive? Accusers? Bullies …Heart problem… (more…)

Continue ReadingWhy did I say that? (pt 1) – VOTD.06.27.17

The Heart – VOTD.06.26.17

Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness, offensive deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. These are what make you unclean. Matthew 15:20

Out of the heart… One of the reasons that Christians have so much difficulty being content is that we focus on behavior management instead of heart surrender. And since we fail to get our behavior where we want it to be, we feel defeated, rather than contented.

We think if we can just get our behavior in line with the Bible, we’ll be holy. But holiness is a matter of the heart and if we want our behavior to exemplify Christ, our hearts must exemplify Christ first and foremost. How often we focus on terms like “integrity” (acting out certain behaviors) and good deeds, instead of purity of heart.

Yet the Holy Spirit has placed the desire in each believer to live a holy life… one that glorifies God and displays His love. Our desire to be content will never be really fulfilled without becoming more like the men and women God wants for us to be. (more…)

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The Big Lie – VOTD.07.25.17

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Something one of my sons really got into several years ago is digitally restoring awful photographs. He took pictures that you’d never want to show anyone and made them look like postcard material. God is in that business, too… in dealing with our lives.

All of Satan’s lies are destructive. Keep that in mind. He never lies to us except to destroy us. It is foolish to embrace his lies…but they sneak into our thinking because they are usually subtle—so subtle that we can pick them up, even at church and Christian events … they are that pervasive.

There are two kinds of lies Satan tells us that are probably deadlier than any of the others: The first are the lies He tells us about God (WHO HE IS and what He’s like) and the second are the lies he tells us about WHO WE ARE.

You see Satan works to either diminish who God is or diminish who we are in Jesus. Diminish God’s Holiness or diminish His Grace and who we are because of His grace. And if we lose touch with either of those we will end up in a destructive situation.

To some of us, Satan diminishes the sinfulness of sin. He wants us to think that God is not as godly as He really is and that sin isn’t as contrary to His nature as it really is. This does 2 things: First, it smears God’s character. Second, it gets our focus off the consequences to sin. (Face it, if we came to grips with sin’s consequences, it would be obvious why we wouldn’t want to sin, and why God wouldn’t want us to sin.)

So Satan takes things that are hideous, and makes them appear harmless (even wonderful)—by doing that He makes God appear less holy and more of a killjoy. And he also clouds our ability to see that EVERY sin has negative consequences. (more…)

Continue ReadingThe Big Lie – VOTD.07.25.17

Blameless and Pure – VOTD.06.20.17

Do everything without complaining… so that you may become blameless and pure children of God. Philippians 2:14,15

When we speak of Biblical Contentment, we’re not talking about stoic, “grin and bear it” resignation. Nor are we speaking of sticking our heads in the sand and pretending all is well when it’s not. We are talking about TRUST in a good God who wants the best for His children.

But what can we do to be more contented believers?

TRUST: Discontentment often manifests itself in the form of complaining. Often when we find ourselves complaining (either verbally or in our hearts) we are really showing a lack of trust in God. A better use of our emotional energy would be to pray, “Lord, give me a trusting spirit that believes that You are Lord of this situation.” We may need to pray that prayer a whole lot. But God is faithful to answer it!

THANK: Thankfulness is the result of contentment. You and I simply can’t be thankful and discontent. Intentionally, ponder what it is that we have to be thankful for. Write out a list if that would be helpful. Become obsessed with thanking God. Pray for God to fill us with an attitude of gratitude.

MODEL: Consider and/or write down some ways that we can model contentment to those around us…To our workmates, our family, our churchmates… and then act upon them. The world and even the Body of Christ is full of people who are not content. Talk about the meaning of contentment. Ask those complainers (ask ourselves!) what it is that would make them happy. (A lot of times, they don’t know; or when they stop to think about it, what would make them happy is so far outside of reality that they recognize it’s silly.)  Brainstorm ways to show contentment. (more…)

Continue ReadingBlameless and Pure – VOTD.06.20.17