Luke 16:16-17

The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.

Jesus explained to His disciples that the Law and the Prophets were preached until John. The Law exposes our sin before a holy God, and no one is capable of living up to its standards. Regardless of how hard we may try, our best efforts at righteousness are as filthy rags in comparison. While we may make excuses, Jesus instructed that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the Law to bend. He strongly urged His followers to obey the teaching of John and repent.

Repentance is good news for us. We can all look back on past mistakes with regret and wish we had made different choices. We may even still struggle with habitual sin that still haunts us in some way. The good news for us, however, is that sin does not have to have dominion over us because of grace. When we truly repent and turn to Jesus, He forgives us and grants us grace to overcome any sin that seeks to destroy us. Like the Pharisees, however, we often fail to admit sin and excuse it. We must become humble and repent of the things that hinder our relationship with God, even if we have been Christians for a long time. Only through repentance can we be forgiven and receive grace to overcome. As Jesus instructed, the Law will not bend for us. We need to repent and turn from our sins if we are to overcome them.

Turning from sin can be difficult if we don’t have a place to which we turn. We must surrender that portion of our lives that is subject to sin to Christ. Only then can we walk free. Just trying to avoid sin in our own strength will not suffice. To properly turn from it, we must turn to Jesus and receive His forgiveness and grace.

What is hindering your relationship with God today? Are you struggling with sin in some area? Turn to Jesus and repent. Receive forgiveness and walk forth in grace. When that temptation to sin approaches you again, just turn and walk toward Jesus. Surrender your weak areas to Him. When you turn to Christ, you reject the Devil, and he will eventually flee from you. Determine today who you will accept and who you will reject, and find victory by proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God over your life.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 7:10

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

Have you ever had good intentions while doing something entirely stupid? Have you ever beaten yourself up over things you’ve done or said that could have been interpreted differently from the way you intended? Have you ever offended someone without realizing it at the moment? I hope I’m not the only one who has experienced such things, and I seriously doubt I am. We all need grace, and I find myself asking for an extra supply daily. Thankfully, we serve a God who judges the heart and not our temporary lapses in judgment.

God is a shield for us. He knows where we fail and whether or not evil was intended. He has promised to work everything for our good and His glory, and we can trust Him to be our shield when we cannot protect ourselves. God looks deep into the heart and will protect what is good and draw what is not into repentance. Turning to Him is always the right thing to do because even if we have done wrong, repentance will purify us in Christ.

Trust God as your shield today. Don’t be afraid to try what He has called you to do out of fear of making a mistake. Even if you do fail in some way, He is your shield to protect you. He is with you and for you and is working all things together in a way that will transform you closer to the image of Christ and reveal His glory. Turn your cares over to Him, and trust Him to save you. He loves you more than you could ever imagine, and now is the time to believe it.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 108:13

With God we will perform valiantly; He will trample our foes.

What a wonderful word of encouragement we have to face our battles today! With God, we will be valiant – courageous, unafraid, fearless. Does that sound like us? I must admit that I find myself less valiant and more worried or anxious at times. The thought of facing certain foes or possibilities that could come against me makes me feel anything but courageous, and I often wish I could just pull up a blanket and hide. God didn’t call us to hide from our problems, however, and He promised to be with us always.

When we are worried or filled with doubt, we are facing things in our own strength. We are looking at our situation and trying to determine what we can do with our own resources and how we can strategize to try to maneuver from impending doom. This verse clearly tells us that God will trample our foes. If He is with us, we can expect Him to act on our behalf. He not only created us, but He is our provider and our protector. We can perform valiantly because of His power and not our own.

Are you worried or anxious about anything today? Turn your focus from yourself and hand your situation to God. With Him, you can perform valiantly and face that situation head-on. If He has called you to it, He will not abandon you through it! You don’t have to conquer that giant in your own strength. He will trample your foes for you. Look to Him and lean on Him daily. He is your strength and your mighty warrior to save you. If He overcame death and the grave, don’t you think He can handle your little problem?

Have a blessed day!

2 Peter 1:17

For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him.

In His final letter, Peter described his experience on the mount of transfiguration, where He beheld the glory of Jesus. He heard the prophetic word from heaven declaring Jesus as God’s Son, and he warned his followers to pay close attention to these words. If Jesus said it or did it, God took delight in it. Therefore, we should pay very close attention to the things Jesus said and the things He did. Herein, lies the secret to pleasing God.

On the day of transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. Peter had a “good idea” to build a tabernacle to each of these men, but God the Father quickly informed Peter that Jesus was His beloved Son. No tabernacle should be built to honor anyone else, and God would build His church through Jesus Christ. Peter never forgot this correction and found it necessary to include it in his last letter as a warning.

God will not tolerate the building of anything that worships mere men. He will build His own church through Jesus Christ, and we will do well to teach and preach Jesus so God will add to the number daily those who are being saved, according to Acts 2. All of our great ideas to do something for God in the name of earthly men will crumble, but the church God builds through Jesus Christ will be eternal.

Let us never forget that God takes delight in His beloved Son. When we honor Him and point others to Him, we are engaging in the very ministry God seeks to expand His kingdom on earth. May we lay aside our own desires to so something great for God and open our eyes to what He is doing so we may participate and bring glory to the name of Jesus. God is building His church and the ministries that make up His church. If Jesus said it or did it, let’s follow suit and point others in the same direction. When we do, God will add to our number and use us to expand His kingdom.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 27:7

A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb, but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet.

A honeycomb is a luscious find and sweet to the taste. Those fortunate enough to find one has a real treat. Someone who is full and has no hunger or need, however, cannot fully appreciate the honeycomb’s value and may take it for granted. To the hungry person who has been denied, even something the full might consider bitter seems sweet and is appreciated.

God satisfies the hungry. Unless you are hungry or have something to fill, you cannot fully receive nor appreciate God’s blessing. In fact, He sometimes has to empty us just so He can fill us with something better. We may be called to give up the good just so we can experience the great God has planned for us.

God may also bless us with honeycombs, but we don’t appreciate them until we are hungry. We may tend to ignore them or even discard them simply because we think they are a nuisance or not important. The things we take for granted are often the very thing we miss most when we become empty.

Is your life too full to be blessed? Are you hungry enough to be satisfied by God? Has He placed honeycombs in your life that you are taking for granted? Take time today to evaluate your life and consider the direction you are heading. Have you made room for God to bless you, or are you filling your life with things that can only temporarily satisfy? Rid yourselves of the clutter of immediate gratification, and ask God to fill your need permanently. Be willing to trade what is good for what is truly great, and fulfill a purpose greater than yourself.

Have a blessed day!

Hebrews 13:5

Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

As Christians, we have no need to hold on to money as security. Most of you have lived long enough to know that money can be here one day and gone the next. While it can make us comfortable in some ways, it cannot give us true happiness. Money can give us things, but it cannot give us love, real friendships, integrity, or honest respect. In fact, money can tear down the things we hold dear and be a roadblock to the very thing that would make us happy. To love money is to worship a false god and to have a false sense of security.

The writer of Hebrews instructs us to be satisfied with what we have. If we could only learn to do this one, simple thing, our lives would be so much richer than what they are. Too many of us strive to pay for what we’ve already purchased and become slaves to credit cards and loans to enjoy what God is giving us today. Saying, “No,” to today’s frills can certainly be tomorrow’s peace of mind. I have learned this the hard way, as many of you have, and I’m still trying to fully adhere to the instruction.

Jesus has said Himself that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Even when we’ve blown it completely, He is still with us to show us a better way. He is still coming to our rescue, whether we realize it or not. Saying, “No,” to the temptation of money’s lure and “Yes” to Jesus will loosen any grip money may have on us. Who do you really want to worship? Rest assured that Jesus will be there for you long after money is gone. He is the real treasure we should seek.

A sure way to become satisfied with what you have is to count your blessings. Someone else would love to have what you do today. Stop comparing yourself to others who have what you think you want. God has not shorted you one little bit, and He will never forsake you. Come before Him with a grateful heart today, and just watch to see how He will bless you even more.

Have a blessed day!

1 Thessalonians 3:12

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we also do for you.

God ordained us for growth. When we surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, God’s kingdom increased, and He began an increase in us of His kingdom. His increase in us is not that of worldly things or desires. In fact, Paul even stated that he must decrease so Christ could increase. God’s increase in us is that of love toward one another.

We see much competition in the world today. If we want to get ahead financially, we must compete. If we want to succeed in a career, we must compete. If we want to win in sports, we must compete. In God’s kingdom, however, we don’t win through competition. We gain by increasing in love for one another. When that love overflows to others, God’s kingdom increases. We succeed by considering others first and doing what is best for them.

God, however, causes the increase. Only He can cause us to overflow with love. We cannot create that within ourselves. Our human nature wants to take care of itself, and God overcomes the evil desires of the flesh with His love.

Do you feel a lack today? Ask God to give you a heart to love. Do you feel unsatisfied or unfulfilled? Ask God to increase your love for others. Stop seeking to increase yourself by earthly standards, and surrender to the work of God’s kingdom. Let His love fill you to overflowing, and find yourself happier than you could ever imagine. As you decrease in worldly things, you will increase in heavenly things – things eternal and truly satisfying.

Have a blessed day!

Ezekiel 36:33-34

This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

God did not save you to destroy you; He saved you to rebuild you from the ruins of your previous life. Sin will destroy our lives by making them unfruitful and unproductive, causing them to waste away. When God cleanses you from your iniquities, He cultivates your land, making it flourishing and inhabitable again.

You may not see exactly what God is doing in your life, but He is rebuilding your ruins and cultivating your desolate land. His desire is to see you thrive and flourish in the purpose for which He created you, and He will continue to till the ground until it yields what He desires. Some of us just have more rocky ground to dig than others, and it may take a while longer for some to see the harvest emerge.

God has called you out of desolation. While others may have seen your lack or your loss, God will be faithful to also show them the new thing He is creating in you. You are a story in the making, and He isn’t finished yet. Expect some blooms to rise from the fertilizer that has been thrown at you. He uses everything to mold you, shape you, and grow you into the perfect testimony of His grace.

God has cleansed you from your iniquities, and He is currently inhabiting and rebuilding your cities. He is cultivating your desolate places, and He is filling you with His grace to overcome your losses. Trust the work of His hand and the intent of His heart. You are His, and He is yours.

Have a blessed day!

Acts 4:32-33

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.

The members of the early church had a bond of love among themselves that saw each other through the lens of grace. No one thought they were better or more deserving than another. They knew they had each been forgiven of much, therefore, they loved much.

To have this type of bond, you must be able to see yourself and others through the lens of grace. If you still think you have a need to make up for something or to prove something to someone, you are not looking at yourself through the lens of grace. While you may sense a need for grace, you actually still have a law mindset that tries to compensate for past failures.

Ananias and Sapphira sold their property but held back a portion of the profits. They were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Ananias means Jah has favored (grace). Sapphira comes from a Hebrew word meaning to scratch, tally or keep score (law). You cannot combine grace and the need to keep score because the two don’t mix. Grace keeps no record of wrongs, and trying to keep something you think you deserve denies the need for grace. You can’t mix the law and grace and have true Christianity. That is why God struck them dead.

Choose to live by grace today. Consider your own need for grace, and thank God for His Son. Extend the grace God has so lavishly given you to others. You don’t deserve grace any more than the next person, and you can never pay for your own sin. Accept His grace today, and become a giver of grace. You will find yourself free to love and unite with others who have found the same grace.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 108:7

God has spoken in His sanctuary; I will triumph! I will divide Shechem. I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.

God has already spoken victory over you, and whatever He speaks comes into being. You will triumph over your current battles, and the war is already won! Your job now is to believe you have victory and to march forward.

Shechem was a place in Palestine meaning “ridge.” The Valley of Succoth was a place in Palestine, as well. Succoth means “booths.” A ridge is usually considered a high place, and a valley is a low place. Whether you have come to the border of a high place or confined in a booth in a low place, God says you will triumph!

To divide Shechem means to separate it evenly or carefully. To apportion the Valley of Succoth also means to divide carefully and distribute appropriately. In your victories, you have something to give to others. Every time you take ownership over your weaknesses and gain victory in an area, you have hope and encouragement to give to others who are struggling with the same issues.

God has already spoken your victory over you. Your victory will lead others into victory, as well. Take heart, and go forth and conquer!

Have a blessed day!