GOD’S LOVE

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. —Psalm 63:3

Is this how we view the love of our Lord God Almighty? Is His love of more importance than any other relationship on earth? Is His love our highest priority? Is His love more important than our job, our family, our leisure or anything else? May we truly “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

It is this love God has for us that motivates us in every area of life— “Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life” (II Corinthians 5:14). If God’s love is not of highest priority in our lives, then our walk with Him will not be what it could be. Oh, may we know His love, be growing in the knowledge of His love and allow His love to control us in every area of our lives. May it be so!

Dear Father, may Your love for me motivate me to live a life that is faithful to You above all. May this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus my Lord.

HIS STRENGTH, HIS LOVE

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. —Psalm 59:16-17

Oh, let us sing about the strength of the Lord and walk in it— “The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)—Habakkuk 3:19 and let us sing of His love that we would not know except He first loved us (I John 4:19).

You doubt God’s strength and love for you? Think about the very air you breathe and the ability to breathe and let the doubts fade. Think about His provision for you at whatever level that may be and let the doubts fade. Think about the people in your life that want to love you with godly love and let the doubts fade. Think about all creation, how finely tuned it is— from the vast bodies in the universe to the microscopic amazements. Let your doubts fade. Let Him be your strength… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC617kE1maU

Dear Father, thank You for Your strength and love for me. I am so grateful to know that I do not walk alone in my own strength, but that I can depend on Your strength. I am also grateful to know that You love me when nobody else… You do. I am grateful to know that You are always there for me. Now, may I walk in the strength and love of my Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Yes, may it be so!

I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN GOD!

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? —Psalm 56:3-4

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? —Psalm 56:10-11

Really… who else are we going to trust? Are we going to put our trust in mere man? There is not a person on the planet that will not fail us. And then there are evil people who only have their own interests in mind and not that of others. Jesus said, “He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person” (John 2:25). He knew that “There is no one righteous, not even one; There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18). There you have it… a description of Mankind. Do you really want to trust someone with that description?

Praise God that for we who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ “he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:13). “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:16-18). Rejoice! We have had our eyes opened. We have been turned from darkness to light. We are no longer under the power of Satan, but under the authority of our Lord God Almighty! Yes, rejoice. He is fully trustworthy!

Dear Father please help me to live a life of gratitude and a life that calls out to others to trust in you as well. May it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.

…for the world and its fullness are mine. —Psalm 50:12

This is my Father’s world. Man does not own it, but is only a steward of it whether he realizes it or not. One day he will give account for what he has done with His property.

Praise God that He has shown us who Jesus is— nothing was created without Him (John 1:3). He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). May you and I be faithful stewards with the time and resources He has given us in the places where He planned for us to live (Acts 17:26). May it be so!

Dear Father, oh, that I would be a faithful steward with all that You have given me in Jesus. May it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit.

REDEEMED!

No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay. —Psalm 49:7-9

This is truly an amazing statement about the value of a person. No payment is ever enough. No man can ever pay the price to redeem the life of another man. That is how costly a person’s life is. Not all the wealth of this whole world is enough to redeem one single person. Nor would the wealth of the entire universe be enough. If a person owned all of creation it still would not be enough to redeem one single life! No man could give God a ransom to redeem the life of any man.

Jesus, the God-Man, is the only One who can redeem the life of those who trust His finished work at the cross. Sin is an eternal issue. One sin would be enough to keep a person out of relationship with God, out of Heaven and headed straight to Hell. But Jesus took the penalty and punishment for all sin— “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2). No mere man can redeem the life of another man, but the eternal Son of God can redeem all who call on His Name (Romans 10:13). The eternal Son of God took care of the eternal sin problem for all who trust in Him! This is the Good News! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQSuTP5OHBE

Dear Father, may I live faithfully for You out of great gratitude for all Jesus has done for me. May it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit.

KING JESUS

You are my King and my God… In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. —Psalm 44:4, 8

Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. —Psalm 45:6-7

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” —Psalm 46:10

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” —John 1:49

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. —Matthew 27:11

King Jesus will be exalted in all the earth! Every knee will bow to Him (Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIlXWOnbTlM (through 3:47). There are those I have talked with over the years with a very arrogant attitude toward God, but they will bow the knee just as self-proclaimed atheists will.

Let us speak to those who will listen and introduce them to our King Jesus that He may be their King as well. Today, Father, help me be sensitive to those around me that I might introduce them to Jesus. May it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit.

TALK ABOUT IMPORTANT ISSUES!

As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” —Acts 24:25

Isn’t interesting how Felix responded as Paul talked with him “about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come?” He “was afraid” and he did not want to listen anymore at that time. He told Paul, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” I wonder what Felix’s final decision about Jesus was. Hopefully he came to trust Him. Paul surely planted and watered the seed of God’s Word in his life.

So don’t be surprised when people are not willing to listen anymore at the moment. That could change and there may be a willingness to listen to us later or maybe to someone else they come into contact with. Let us be like Paul and share God’s Word when we can and leave the rest with Him. He alone is the One who can change a person’s heart.

Paul’s major points mentioned above:

1- Righteousness: Being righteous in Christ (II Corinthians 5:21) and living righteous for Christ (Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38; 1 Peter 2:24).

2- Self-control: This is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23) and is needed to “run the race” (I Corinthians 9:25).

3- Judgment to come: We all will face judgment after death (Hebrews 9:27). Believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10) and unbelievers at the White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)

May we be faithful in sharing these points with love ones and anyone we come into contact with. Dear Father, may it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son, Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWndDW_271g

LIFE IS SHORT!

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” —Psalm 39:4-5

How fleeting life is! Six decades have passed me now. It is really hard to believe that I am at this age and that my youngest son, Ben, will be married next month. And if that is not hard enough for me to fathom it is even hard yet to fathom that I have six grand-daughters and lovely gems them are! My prayer for them til I draw my last breath is that they will all follow Jesus and all be in glory one day with me and all who love Jesus. May it be so!

The fleeting shadow of life is not something people think about or talk about too much or at least it seems that way. Maybe in the recesses of their mind they think about these things, but it seems people are more concerned with walking in the present brightness of the sun— not thinking of the quickly fading shadow of life. As one person put it when the topic came up of “we are all going to die” said— “That is a defeatist attitude.” No, it is reality. 100% of people die and that person will as well. They just don’t want to truly think about what is next saying that “When we are dead it is over.” Talk about a defeatist attitude and non-willingness to consider what comes after death! Wow— that person is closed minded.

On the other hand a brother in the Lord, Matt, and I were out talking with people at the beach last night. We talked with a variety of people. It is so exciting to see how there are people, some you just meet, that are willing to talk with you about the important issues of life— and death, Jesus and what comes next. We had a great time sharing the gospel with people of all ages. One thing we mention, especially to teenagers, is how quickly life passes. It is wonderful when you meet teenagers who will talk about the important issues of life… and death… and what comes next.

Yes, life is short. May we who know Jesus be wise in sharing the gospel with people while we have time to do so. One day, not in the too distant future, life will be over… our race will be finished. May we encourage others to enter the race while we can talk with them! Yes, may we be doing so! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRhcR4Vg10

Dear Father, oh please help me to use the time I have left to live on this planet wisely. May it be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son.

RIGHT IN THEIR OWN EYES

I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong. —Psalm 36:1-4

How sad this is! People were created and designed to have a relationship with their Creator and enjoy life now and forever. Yet, there are so many people, the majority, who do not fear God. They treat Him as if He is non-existence and are blind to Him being the Creator of all the wonders around us. Their blindness leads them to flatter themselves and measure themselves by themselves— “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (II Corinthians 10:12). They are so focused on the measurement of themselves and flattering themselves that they cannot “detect or hate their sin.” They are blind (II Corinthians 4:4) and ensnared, being held captive by Satan to do his will (II Timothy 2:26). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYbX-3_a98U

Brother and sister in the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoice that you and I came to the “knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” (Titus 1:1). May we be faithful and share this good news with others. Some will listen, many won’t. Some will come to Jesus as we did. The majority won’t. Do not be discouraged. God’s stewardship of the gospel to us is to proclaim it. He does the rest. So, be faithful in this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5CMSSAx_c

Dear Father, help me to be faithful to Your call on my life and do Your will and not my own. May this be so in the by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus.

EXALT HIM!

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. —Psalm 34:3

Let us do so today with our actions and words. May those around us know there is a God in Heaven and His Son’s Name is Jesus!

May I glorify Your Name today by the way I live and speak. May it be so in the authority of Jesus and by the power of Your Holy Spirit.