John 10:10 "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all it's fullness."
Jesus is trying to explain to his followers his mission and he contrasts that with the purpose of Satan. Satan wants to kill and take, but Jesus came to love and give life.
I met with a young man recently who has been dealing with depression and some suicidal thoughts. He was dealing with a lot of guilt over things he did when he was younger. His guilt and sadness led him to believe that he was no good and God did not care about him. I shared with him that through Jesus we can have total forgiveness from our sins. They are separated from us as far as the east is from the west. Satan likes to remind us of our sins, mistakes and failures. He likes to take garbage and throw it back in our face. We have to remember what his goals are and what God's goals are. God is good and loving and wants to give us life!
Dear Jesus help me to remember that you are the life giver. And help me to remember what exactly Satan is-a dog and the father of lies. Amen.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Perishable Lenses
John 6:27 "...you shouldn't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the father has sent me for that very purpose."
One day, Jesus fed 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The next day, the crowd follows Jesus to other side of the lake and he tells them that they are only following him because he fed them. He instructs them all to care less about perishable things and focus more on eternal life.
Today I am having a bad day. But really it's just a bad day through the view of "perishable lenses." My car will not start today, we really need a new one and there are several other small "perishable" problems. This passage reminds me of what's important and that I need to put on my "eternal lenses" and see the forest for the trees. I have eternal life in Jesus, I have a wonderful wife and two awesome kids. I am truly blessed. I am eternally blessed!
Thank you Jesus for my many blessings. Help me to each day wear my eternal lenses and see and know what really matters.
One day, Jesus fed 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The next day, the crowd follows Jesus to other side of the lake and he tells them that they are only following him because he fed them. He instructs them all to care less about perishable things and focus more on eternal life.
Today I am having a bad day. But really it's just a bad day through the view of "perishable lenses." My car will not start today, we really need a new one and there are several other small "perishable" problems. This passage reminds me of what's important and that I need to put on my "eternal lenses" and see the forest for the trees. I have eternal life in Jesus, I have a wonderful wife and two awesome kids. I am truly blessed. I am eternally blessed!
Thank you Jesus for my many blessings. Help me to each day wear my eternal lenses and see and know what really matters.
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Shove into the Pool
John 5: 7 "'I can't sir,' the sick man said, 'for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me.'"
In Jerusalem there was a place called Bethesda's Pool. Tradition said that every so often an angel from heaven would come and stir the waters of the pool. The first person in would be healed of whatever ailed him. In John 5, Jesus comes across a sick man who had been waiting near the pool for 38 years. He claims he has never been healed because others always get in ahead of him and no one helps him. Jesus tells him to get up and walk-and he does!
You have to love this story! Here is this man who for 38 years has been forgotten, left out and neglected. Yet Jesus comes to him, has compassion and heals him. This story illustrates the power of our Jesus and also his mercy. He calls us to care for the unlovable, the downtrodden and outcast as well. This is how we show love to him.
Dear Jesus, help me to follow your example. Help me to see the outcast and forgotten around me and give them a shove into the pool. Amen.
In Jerusalem there was a place called Bethesda's Pool. Tradition said that every so often an angel from heaven would come and stir the waters of the pool. The first person in would be healed of whatever ailed him. In John 5, Jesus comes across a sick man who had been waiting near the pool for 38 years. He claims he has never been healed because others always get in ahead of him and no one helps him. Jesus tells him to get up and walk-and he does!
You have to love this story! Here is this man who for 38 years has been forgotten, left out and neglected. Yet Jesus comes to him, has compassion and heals him. This story illustrates the power of our Jesus and also his mercy. He calls us to care for the unlovable, the downtrodden and outcast as well. This is how we show love to him.
Dear Jesus, help me to follow your example. Help me to see the outcast and forgotten around me and give them a shove into the pool. Amen.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Who I Belong To
Galatians 4: 5 "God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children."
Paul is explaining that life bound to the law is a life of slavery and that Jesus has come to free us from that life. His blood on the cross has purchased our lives and in that act the Father has adopted us as his children.
My good friends have been going through the adoption process for some time now and just yesterday they received their referral. They now have a picture and a face of their soon to be adopted daughter who they have named Selah. I know they have spent months upon months undergoing this process. They spent large sums of money, sorted through volumes of paperwork, and spent hours doing research and preparation. However, I don't think any of the business related to this adoption had anything to compare with the hours of prayer and waiting and tears they have spent this past year. They have undergone all of this to adopt their little girl. She will now be theirs and they will be hers. Jesus suffered on the cross and died in our place so we could be his and he could be ours. I need to remember that I am fundamentally different and no longer belong to the world, I belong to Christ.
Dear Jesus help me to remember who I belong to. Amen.
Paul is explaining that life bound to the law is a life of slavery and that Jesus has come to free us from that life. His blood on the cross has purchased our lives and in that act the Father has adopted us as his children.
My good friends have been going through the adoption process for some time now and just yesterday they received their referral. They now have a picture and a face of their soon to be adopted daughter who they have named Selah. I know they have spent months upon months undergoing this process. They spent large sums of money, sorted through volumes of paperwork, and spent hours doing research and preparation. However, I don't think any of the business related to this adoption had anything to compare with the hours of prayer and waiting and tears they have spent this past year. They have undergone all of this to adopt their little girl. She will now be theirs and they will be hers. Jesus suffered on the cross and died in our place so we could be his and he could be ours. I need to remember that I am fundamentally different and no longer belong to the world, I belong to Christ.
Dear Jesus help me to remember who I belong to. Amen.
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