Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Asking For Presents?

Some very valuable gifts.


James 1:5  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

It is the season to think about gifts so what gift are you hoping to receive this Christmas?

Don't forget about those gifts that are "priceless" There are lots of gifts that you can't put a price tag on like eternal life, hopefully you have already received that one, how about wisdom that is an awesome gift.

God says that if you are asking him for gifts then you better be sure that your faith is in God alone. He doesn't want to be used as a source of presents and then be forgotten about once the gifts are all open, you know how it is with your kids, but you know that God wants his kids to behave better than that.

God doesn't want to be used, he wants to bless us but only if we are faithful. God wants us to be consistent in our faith, it doesn't have to be enormous faith, a mustard seed size faith will be adequate. He wants you to be loyal to him and to know that he is the source of every good gift, every other gift that comes from anywhere else will fade away.

Help me to be loyal to you Lord, you have given us the greatest gifts, beginning with salvation and continuing on with wisdom, joy, peace, hope and many more. Help us to remember the reason for this season.

Monday, December 07, 2009

How Exciting Is My Quiet Time?

If you are yawning through it then you need to wake up.


Nehemiah 8:1 All the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey.

2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

Nehemiah 9:3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD their God.
What if you only had the Book of Law to read for your daily quiet time, I don't know if I could keep a journal or a blog of my daily quiet time if I only had the Book of Law to read, how exciting would it be to sit down and read God's word?

Thankfully we have a more complete revelation of God and what he is like, he has revealed himself to us through the sixty-six books of our Bible, and we have a better understanding of who he is through the teachings and the life of Jesus.

Heartfelt, genuine worship like this is seldom seen in churches today, just let the pastor ramble on for five extra minutes and the congregation is going to be zoned out. The Israelites had been given so much as the Lord restored their nation and they were so in awe of what he had done for them that they couldn't help but praise him and learn about how to please him.

The Lord has shown me incredible mercy and love but I can be very nonchalant and unresponsive to these great gifts that I did nothing to deserve.

Help me Lord to always stay aware of your gifts to me, and to always appreciate them, I don't want to ever be indifferent.Help me to always be excited about studying your word.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Don’t Let Them Get You Down

Sometimes it is easier said than done.


Nehemiah 6:1 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates. 2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono.

But I realized they were plotting to harm me, 3 so I replied by sending this message to them: "I am engaged in a great work, so I can't come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?"

4 Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. 5 The fifth time, Sanballat's servant came with an open letter in his hand, 6 and this is what it said:

"There is a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it is true, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you are building the wall. According to his reports, you plan to be their king. He also reports that you have appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim about you, 'Look! There is a king in Judah!'

"You can be very sure that this report will get back to the king, so I suggest that you come and talk it over with me."

8 I replied, "There is no truth in any part of your story. You are making up the whole thing."

9 They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination

Nehemiah was leading God's people to complete a God size task, there wasn't any way that they could complete rebuilding the walls and the gates around Jerusalem with a hand full of people and still they had to stand guard against attack as they were working.
If you are doing something for the Lord you are going to be attacked, whether it is an outsider or one of the members of the family of God, it is going to happen. Nehemiah didn't let the enemies of Israel get him down but instead he went ahead with the work that the Lord gave him with even greater determination.

Romans 8:31-34  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.

Help us to remember that we are one the winning team and that we must be determined to complete the good work that you have asked us to do.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Remember the Lord, Who is Great and Glorious

How great is our God?


Nehemiah 4:7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, "The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves."

11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, "Before they know what's happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work."

12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, "They will come from all directions and attack us!" 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.

14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!"

15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. 16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.

19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, "The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!"

The task of rebuilding the walls and the gates of Jerusalem was a huge task and to make it more challenging the builders had to worry about being attacked. So now this gigantic task is being done by half as many men so that the other half can stand guard with their weapon and then for a bigger challenge the workers had to carry a weapon in one hand while they did their work with the other hand.

Maybe God was trying to tell them that they were not the ones building this wall but it was Him that was making it happen. Lest they become prideful about what they had accomplished, it becomes a job bigger than they are so that the people will "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious."

We have an awesome God that will take care of the things that are way too big for us to handle, Nehemiah was a leader that knew where the vision came from to build this wall and he knew where the power would have to come from to make it happen. God would be faithful to his people if they would "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious."

When the going gets tough help us to "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious." Thank you for your faithfulness to your people, help us to be faithful to you.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Sandra Bullock: A blessing to meet and portray a real Christian

Are we a blessing to the world?


Sandra Bullock: A blessing to meet and portray a real Christian (OneNewsNow.com)

Matthew 5:13-16  “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

How are we doing at living out what we say we believe?

Obviously we are failing at making a difference in this world because we talk about high standards and values that are so enviable yet we are caught in compromising situations that show that we don't really care so much about those high standards.

Christ followers as a whole are not doing too good at being followers, we don't look much different from the other "good" people that this world has.

We say that marriage is honorable and "till death do us part" but what happens when the going gets tough?

We say that we are loving but do we really display it at the cost of inconvenience?

We say that we need a Savior but we don't obey his word.

We should be peacemakers, humble, hungry for righteousness.

Does it really matter that we don't live what we believe?
"Do not give me a lecture on how to live my life when I know I'm a pretty decent human being," says the actress. "I might not go to church everyday, but I know I do the right thing or try to."
If we open our eyes and see that the unbelievers are all around us looking to see if we really believe this stuff or are we just trying to look good then we will realize the importance of how we live. It matters to God and we should strive to please him, but it also matters to the rest of the world that is looking at our example of what Christianity is in order to decide if they need it or not.
Tuohy isn't like some hypocritical church-goers she's known, adds Bullock. "The beauty of Leigh Anne was one of my biggest questions was how people use their faith and their religion as a banner," she says. "And then they don't do the right thing, but they go 'I'm a good Christian and I go to church and this is the way you should live your life.'"
In a country that is supposed to be "Christian", why did it take so long for Sandra Bullock to see a "real" Christian? Do we like wearing the label "Christian" but fail to actually be a Christ follower?

Lord help us to be concerned about how you see us and to also be concerned about those that are watching us to see if we are genuine.