Godly Wisdom

So many times we are content with staying in the same place and not growing in knowledge.  I have learned that we are designed to change and grow the way God intended. The Holy Spirit is available to guide us into all truth and wisdom.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Question:  Do you pray for wisdom?

So many times we think we “know it all”.  This is a typical selfish human action to qualify us.  We are satisfied with our level of knowledge and growth because we wouldn’t want anyone to say otherwise.

This is the exact opposite mindset of God’s children.  We are to grow in wisdom and transform to become more than what we were. 

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

Are You Lucky or Blessed?

After accepting Jesus as savior and facing the world’s trials I have determined that “luck” is a word that doesn’t go with salvation.  Once saved we obtain a relationship with a father and the truth of the Word of God is driving us towards God’s goodness and doesn’t require luck but rather faith.

If we are lucky than we are relying on the consequences of the world.  We are seeking things and expecting our outcome to be by “chance”.  I believe this is what the enemy’s plan is for us.  If he can make us rely on chance as our hope then we are not relying on hope of God.  This also implies that we do not have a future and destiny that is in conjunction with God’s divine plan.

Psalm 40:4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

To summarize luck we can conclude that we lack faith.  So I have learned to not use the word luck because if is simply meaning that your outcome is by chance.

What Are You Wearing?

As we go through our daily life we are walking in a state that reflects either the world or God.  What ever we reflect ultimately reflects back at us.  It’s the same principle of reaping and sewing.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

It’s not always our words but more often our actions and demeanor that speak the loudest.  If we are sewing good things we will receive good things.  It’s a simple principle but very important.  It’s a choice to walk in love and joy, the world around us will notice.  The reflection back to us will become whatever we sew.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Fools For The Taking

This morning I was thinking about how many things require instructions.  Basically everything we do has some sort of manual or pamphlet that gives us the “how to” of anything.

Every appliance and box of food or any other item we use has a set of instructions.  We are handicapped without them most of the time.  This is like life.  We choose to approach it without the instructions or knowing how it is supposed to work.  We are foolish to do so.

When we learn to follow instructions from the person that designed the item it works.  This isn’t hard.

Question:  Are you using the manual for life?

The bottom line is that we have a manual.  The bible.  It works perfectly to explain our needs and how we work.  Any other plan is simply a guess.  People everywhere are guessing about what is best for life all the way to the top of our government. 

Peace and Forgiveness

Being in ministry I have learned that people are bound up in un-forgiveness.  It is the reason for so much pain and misery in our world.

Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

God created us and He forgave our sins at the cross by sending His son.  When we walk with un-forgiveness it causes a spiritual bondage to the father that forgave us.  Our pain is spiritual and clouds our position with God causes us to lose our inner peace.

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

You Are Secure

Have faith and do not doubt your salvation for you are saved by grace through “faith” and not feelings or works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

We must learn to accept the free gift of salvation. It places us securely in the palm of God’s hand.  So many times our mistakes make us “feel” condemned and unworthy of this great gift.  We are unworthy of the gift.  That is the very point of being saved by Grace.  This is not a license to sin, but rather the security of the father’s unconditional love for us.

Question:  Do you feel unworthy?

Romans 3:10-11 “There is none righteous, no, not one;¹¹ There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.”

Walk the Walk

When I woke up this morning I was thinking about the upcoming day with hope of a great future.  This is a hope of looking forward to God’s plan in our lives.  We have a choice to dwell on the past or to walk in the newness of life that Jesus brought to us through His resurrection.

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Our walk should be based on the newness of life.  This scripture says that we “should” walk in the newness of life.  Therefore it is a choice that only we can make. 

Do You Trust God?

As we go through life and the unexpected trial comes our way, how do we handle it? 

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

We are supposed to be of good cheer because Jesus has overcome the world.  This means we are secure in our savior and His plan for our lives regardless of our circumstances. God has our back in all things if He is truly Lord of our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Revelation:  When I read this scripture the word “everything” stands out.  In everything we are to give thanks.  To be able to do this we must trust God.  He created “everything” and is more than capable of handling anything that we face.  God doesn’t cause the trial but is the overcomer of the world’s schemes.

Walk in the Light

The temptations of the world are all around us and we will face the trials of life.  How we handle these temptations determines our future. 

1 John 1:5-10 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

To walk in the light is a “Choice”.  That choice is in front of us each day. 

Live By Faith

Each day we have a new life opportunity to reach our destiny in Christ. As you face today’s challenges, will you believe that God has a plan and He is filtering life through His hands or will you be tossed around by the consequences of life?

Question: Are you living your life by “Chance” that things will work out or by faith?

Romans 1:16-17For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,“The just shall live by faith.”

Not being ashamed of the Gospel of Christ is important. We need to recognize Him as our source and that He has a great plan in all things. He is a good God all the time and desires to be our source.

Power in the Name of Jesus

In the day of Jesus people worshiped so many things including idols and names of different self proclaimed God’s.  Whether we realize it or not we are guilty today of some of the same things. We also don’t understand the consequences of our choices.  We worship money, houses, cars and especially success.  None of which will bring us eternal gratification.

Jesus came to bring us a relationship that would give us power from our true heavenly father.  This power would be complete and our source of strength throughout our lives.

Acts 4:13-17 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

Winning and the Search for Truth

After being blessed to coach thousands of games and winning many championships, I have discovered that sports provide a very unique look into the spiritual realm. The ability to achieve goals based on hard work and rules in a short-term setting allows us to view a goal and plan and the completion of a plan in a short time frame. We therefore can evaluate the individual behavior as well as the social behavior of a group. The same plan could be evaluated for a bigger group or “life” in general.

In life, whether we know it or not, we are seeking for the “truth.” As we grow with the Word of God, the truth in every situation reveals itself to us. The times I have won championships and viewed others winning championships, I have learned one common denominator: An overwhelming “love” comes over the “victory” group. Every other selfish emotion and fleshly plan or desire disappears for a short time and all involved “rest” together through love.

Psalm 133:1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!

Victory in Love

As our team prepares for a state basketball semi final game I was thinking about how much love and humility there is in a team victory.  It is a humility that places personal gain below the team and allows for the highest level of accomplishment.

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life.

The discipline it takes to win championships can teach us many lessons.  I have had teams that win and lacked a since of humility and others that truly gained the depth of what victory can be when togetherness is based on humility and love. 

When a team understands they are seeking a common goal and are able to place that goal ahead of their personal pride, they gain much more than a trophy.  They gain love and honor for each other and a deep respect for their accomplishment.

Where Is Your Mansion?

Yesterday we talked about how God provides for us.  He provided the Lamb of God His one and only son as sacrifice for our sin.

Today I was thinking about the many things that God provides for us and one key scripture came to mind.

John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Jesus was telling the disciples that He needed to go to prepare our place because we had been separated from God by our sin.  He was going to fulfill the plan so that we could be at home with the father. 

The Lamb of God

Last week our youth group watched a video in which Abraham was taking Isaac to the mountain to be sacrificed.  Each time I think of this story it reminds me of God providing a way for us when we trust Him.

But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.