Get to Know God

'Let him...boast...that he understands and knows Me.' Jeremiah 9:24 NIV

It's cold today! So here's pic of better times last year at Cannon Beach. It was such a beautiful day. Do you desire to know God more?

 

God says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me.’ (Jeremiah 9:23–24 NIV)

 

The truth is, if you don’t know God it doesn’t matter how much money you have in your bank account, or what diplomas hang on your wall, or what position you hold in the company. Until you have a relationship with God, you haven’t really begun to live! And part of getting to know Him is learning the truth about yourself. After witnessing the miracle–working power of Christ, Peter acknowledged, ‘I am a sinful man!’ (Luke 5:8 NIV) When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, he cried, ‘Woe is me!’ (Isaiah 6:5 NKJV) But God doesn’t tell you the truth about yourself and then leave you that way. No, like a good doctor, He tells you you’re sick so that you can get the proper treatment. And the proper treatment for sin is salvation through the blood of Jesus. You will never know God until you are related to Him through Jesus Christ. So if you’ve never accepted Him as your Saviour, start this New Year by praying: ‘Lord, I repent and turn from my sin. I place my life in Your hands, trusting You as my Lord and Saviour. By faith I receive the gift of eternal life. Starting today, I ask You to lead and guide me and fulfil Your will through me. In Jesus’ name I pray: Amen.’

 

Happy New Year!

You are Loved!

God Has Something Better

'The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.' Psalm 84:11 NLT

Good Morning,

Having my cup of Joe doing my reading and God reminded me today that He always has something better in store for those who do right. When God knows something is good for you He says ‘Yes’, and when it’s not, He says ‘No’. Why would God say ‘no’ to you? Maybe the timing is wrong, or He has something better in mind. Gratitude comes when you realize what could have happened, but didn’t because God intervened. Stop trying to break loose from the loving grip of the One who holds you for your own protection. The Bible says: ‘Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you… Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.’ (Psalm 37:4–7 NLT)

 

Looking back on her life, Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, said, ‘If the Lord had said “Yes” to all my prayer requests I’d have married the wrong man—several times.’ What you’re so upset about now, you may be thanking God for later. The more spiritually mature you become, the more you begin to see how wise your heavenly Father is, and the more you learn to trust Him. The Psalmist wrote, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.’ (Psalm 23:1 KJV)

 

What a picture: God leading you, God feeding you, God protecting you, God watching over you. Like a lifeguard at a beach, in order to save you, God will sometimes interrupt your life, risk embarrassing you in front of your friends, and maybe even bruise a rib or two. That’s because He loves you too much to let you drown in the thing you thought was so good for you. The main thing is: God has something better for you!

 

You are Loved!

Romans 8

Good morning,

Just sitting here this morning with my cup of coffee reading Romans chapter eight thanking God for his love and protection. It is a great word for me to remind me how God has my best interests at heart. We sometimes forget that in the midst of trials. Look at what Paul says,
³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[a]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

I love the parts 'if God is for us and Nothing can separate us! Never forget that. Your God is on your side working on your behalf. This new year will have many challenges an UPS and downs. But never give up, he loves you. Keep reminding your self if God is for me who can be against me. It will change your heart and your attitude.

 

Keep me in prayer today as I go in for a routine colonoscopy. Not fun but necessary. Thanks for being a part of our amazing team.

You are loved!

Seeking God (1)

'Wise men...came...saying, "Where is He...?"' Matthew 2:1-2 NKJV

Notice two things about the wise men with me this morning:

 

(1) Who they were. Astrologers. Jews considered astrology to be a counterfeit to true prophecy. Be careful; there are people whose lifestyles you may disapprove of, who are honestly seeking God. So be gracious in your dealings with them. The Greek philosophers on Mars Hill had a pantheon of gods. Was Paul shocked or put off? No. He commended them for being willing to search for God, adding, ‘He is not far from each one of us.’ (Acts 17:27 NKJV) Don’t jump to conclusions and write people off. In God’s eyes every weed is a potential rose and every loser is a potential winner. And you should be glad about that!

 

(2) How far they travelled. They left their families and the comforts of home to travel thousands of miles in order to find God. Their round–trip journey took two years, taking them through a Jewish village where they didn’t fit in. Meanwhile, leaders who had access to the prophecies of Christ’s birth wouldn’t expend the time and effort to check them out. We often quote Jeremiah 29:11, ‘“The plans I have for you,” says the Lord… “are plans for good…to give you a future and a hope.”’ But don’t stop there, read on: ‘When you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.’ (Jeremiah 29:12–13 NLT) Poet Julie Carro wrote, ‘Now wise men still seek His face as they did in days of old; to give the Lord their hearts, more precious than silver and gold.’ How far are you prepared to go in your search for God?

 

You are Loved!

Stop Fighting!

'We do not wage war as the world does.' 2 Corinthians 10:3 NIV

During World War II, Allied bombers carried machine guns in the nose, under the belly, on top, and in the rear. B–17s, better known as ‘flying fortresses’; and carried thirteen .50 calibre machine guns. At one point scientists suggested the planes might actually be safer without them. Without the extra weight needed to operate the guns, they could fly faster and higher, increasing their odds of survival. The pilots, however, thought differently. They wouldn’t even consider embarking on a mission without guns to shoot back and defend themselves.

 

Think about it for a moment: ‘We make the same choice when it comes to fighting our own battles.’ God says we don’t need the guns… we can soar higher and faster with Him. I have a poster on my office wall that says, ‘For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.’ The weapons He gives ‘have divine power to demolish strongholds’; we don’t need the ‘weapons of the world.’ (2 Corinthians 10:3–4 NIV)

 

But if I've learned anything in 30 years of pastoring, we say ‘No thanks’; we have to shoot back and defend ourselves with arsenals of angry words, demanding attitudes, manipulative manoeuvres, excessive excuses, and bombs of blame.

 

It takes courage to stop using weapons of the flesh, ‘take up the shield of faith’, and arm ourselves with the weapons of God (Ephesians 6:16 NIV). It’s the kind of faith David showed when he [told] Goliath, ‘You come against me with sword and spear…but I come against you in the name of the Lord.’ (1 Samuel 17:45 NIV) Stop fighting in your own strength and let God’s spiritual arsenal defend you; ‘He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.’ (Proverbs 30:5 NIV)

 

You are Loved!

Mind Management (2)

Mind Management (2)

'Fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ.' 2 Corinthians 10:5 PHPS

Be careful what you allow into your mind, because your thoughts run your life. This is something I've learned to live my life by since I was a young man. Everyday, thoughts come at us from all directions: at home, at work, through the media, in our relationships and in our private world. How can you manage your mind successfully?’ The answer’s surprisingly simple. You can be transformed by making this one decision: you must submit your thoughts to the authority of Jesus!

 

It’s easy to overlook the significance of Christ’s claim: ‘All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me.’ (Matthew 28:18 NIV) Jesus controls everything in Heaven and on earth. That means He has the final say on everything—including your thoughts. He has more authority, for example, than your parents. Your parents may have told you you’re worthless, but Jesus says you’re valuable, and He has authority over your parents. He even has more authority over you than you do. You may tell yourself you’re too bad to be forgiven, but Jesus has a different opinion. And when you repent and submit to His authority over your life, those old condemning thoughts are no longer allowed. Jesus also has authority over your ideas.

 

Suppose, for example, you get an idea about lying or cheating. Jesus has already made it clear that those things are wrong, and if you’ve submitted to His authority over your mind then the idea of lying or cheating can’t linger in your mind. To manage your mind successfully, all you have to do is submit your thoughts to the authority of Christ. Will it happen overnight? No, but with practice and commitment you’ll get better at it.

 

You are Loved!

Mind Management

'Above all else, guard your heart.' Proverbs 4:23 NIV

We hear a lot these days about time management, financial management and weight management—but what about mind management? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about managing our minds than managing anything else? Jesus guarded the gateway of His heart by refusing to concede in three areas:

 

(1) The agenda of people who wanted to use Him for their own purposes. ‘Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.’ (John 6:15 NIV) Most of us would delight in the idea of becoming ‘king’. Even if we refused the crown, we’d enjoy considering the invitation! Not Jesus.

 

(2) The naïveté of those who wanted to spare Him.When Jesus announced His death on the cross to the disciples, Peter objected. And when he failed to see the necessity of the cross, Jesus issued one of His harshest rebukes: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’ (Matthew 16:23 NIV)

 

(3) The scorn of those who didn’t know Him or believe in Him.Before raising a girl from the dead, Jesus said to the people in the house, ‘She is only sleeping.’ (Luke 8:52 GNT) And what was their response? They laughed at Him. Like all of us, Jesus had to face scorn. But unlike most of us, He refused to accept it. Note His response: ‘He put them all outside.’ (Mark 5:40 RSV) Doubt, criticism and scorn weren’t allowed in the girl’s house—or in the mind of Christ. How about your mind?

 

You are Loved!