Sunday, July 25, 2010

Miracles

Read Matthew 8

Jesus' miracles in the Bible seem so routine that we can miss the power and love expressed in everything He ever did. When I read through Matthew 8 recently a few things stood out about His miracles.

What I first noticed was how people came to Him to ask for His help. There was something about Him, something different about Jesus that drew people to Him. Second, I noticed Jesus' response was different each time. There wasn't a prescribed way Jesus performed His miracles. For some He touched the person He was going to heal and for others He simply spoke and the miracle happened. Lastly, I noticed the response of the people involved in every miracle wasn't the same. Some were told to go to the priests and make an offering as a testimony of the miracle. Others believed Jesus could simply speak and heal, so their trust and faith in God was praised by Jesus. And others were terrified of Jesus' power so they asked Him to leave town.

What we need to think about when it comes to Jesus' miracles is whether or not we trust Jesus has the power to perform miracles today. I know it's a tough thought but really - do we think Jesus can do the miracles of His day in ours? Friends a miracle is something only God can do. Sometimes I think we call miracles thinks that fall outside this definition of miracles. But let's remember our God is able to do anything and that His power and love is just as active today as it was in His day. So let's believe God can perform the miracle of salvation in the lives of our loved ones and trust He's going to do it. And don't forget, this trust includes our participation in doing whatever part God desires from us.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Love of a Lifetime

Read Revelation 2:1-7

October 3, 1992 holds a special place in my heart because that's the day my wife and I said our "I Do's" to each other. And on that day we celebrated and danced to a kind of edgy rock ballad by a relatively unknown band Firehouse called Love of a Lifetime. I still enjoy hearing this song to this day because one of the lyrics affirms how I feel about my wife. It says - with you I never wonder will you be there for me, with you I never wonder if you're the right one for me. Listen, I'm not saying this for any other reason than it's true. My wife is the right one for me who will always be there for me; she's the right one for me.

As much as that's true in my marital relationship, God is truly the one we should never wonder about; He's always there and always the right one for us. Yet sadly, all too often, we forget Him as our love of a lifetime. We forget Him much like what's written about in Revelation 2 about the Ephesians. Read Revelation 2:1-7 and remember that God is our first and only true love of a lifetime. He wants our devotion, our passion, and our life to be all about our relationship with Him.

Take some time this week and reflect if there's anything in your life that's taking God's place as your love of a lifetime. Is there anything right now that is taking God's place in your life right now? If there is, confess it and spend time with God this week rekindling your relationship.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Great and Glorious

Read 1 Chronicles 16:1-12

Music has an amazing ability to communicate from the heart. The Old Testament is filled with passages telling how Israel would praise God by singing to Him and telling of all His wonderful acts.

Recently I was listening to a new song called Great and Glorious. It's from a group I heard about from the United Kingdom. And I'll tell you it simply is a great celebration of the greatness of God. To hear the song and the musicians and the vocalists united together in praise is an amazing sound. Now this group is part of a church in the UK that has about 2,500 attenders every week. Can you imagine singing God's great and glorious together and how amazing that must be? Friends I'm sure that pales in comparison what's going on in heaven right now. Just think of the praise that must be going on right now before the throne of God! He is holy and perfect, deserving of all our praises.

If you agree with me I think we can begin praising God now, before we meet Him face to face. Spend time this week worshipping how Great and Glorious our God is.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Faith Fitness

Read 1 Timothy 4

Lately I've seen so many friends sharing how they are working toward new fitness goals. And truly it's been amazing to see how many are committed to "shaping" up for the summer. I've noticed so many who are slimming down and really feeling healthier as a result. After speaking with these friends what's also interesting is their energy level is way up and they've all shared how good they feel with their results. But they've also shared how much effort is involved as well. Simply said, it's hard work.

First Timothy 4:8 says physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Friends, I see people everyday at the gym working so hard to get or stay in shape. And yet spiritual training we're told has value for all things. The question is - how hard are we working to get or stay in spiritual shape? What goals do we have to be spiritually healthy? Our faith fitness is so much more important than our physical fitness.

Paul tells Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching the word and to not neglect his spiritual gift. He finishes by saying make sure you commit your life to sound doctrine. If we can think of Paul as a spiritual fitness trainer what we should follow from his instructions is that we must identify the spiritual gifts God has given us and then put them into practice. And we must always be sure we know the truth from God's word. In other words, the exercises we use to stay in spiritual shape should be to follow the word of God by studying His word closely and we should insist on knowing what "exercises" (spiritual gifts) work for us. God's designed us uniquely so He wants all of us to work our spiritual muscles according to His plan.

Collectively we're referred to as the body of Christ. So together we should be flexing our spiritual muscles so that God's plan of salvation can influence the body of Christ and the world we live in. Stay close to this exercise routine of studying God's word and using your spiritual gifts and you'll be sure to healthier spiritually than ever before.