Following

God doesn’t want you to be confused, and he will never lead you into confusion. If you’re having trouble figuring out which way to go, get back to the basics and trust that God will give you the guidance you ask for. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) 

Take these steps to know God’s direction for your life.

I admit I need God’s guidance to make any decision.

I ask in faith for direction.

I listen for God’s response.

I trust God when I don’t understand.

Always ask God to give you guidance and obey.

Always follow the right leader. His name is Jesus. Amen?

Fixers

We are a society of "fixers". We think of ways to make the problem go away or make it better. This attitude is as old as time itself. Remember the Garden of Eden, and original sin?

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. - Genesis 3:6-7

When Adam and Eve sinned they tried to fix it themselves by covering themselves. God asked them where they were,  “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Instead of confessing and asking for forgiveness they played the blame game. There were consequences that we feel today.

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,  since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:16-19

Allow God to forgive your sin and fix your life. Amen?

Jesus' Freedom

Jesus Gives Us Freedom! Use the acronym F.R.E.E.D.O.M. to discover what the bible has to say on the subject.

Friend – Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18:24 - A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Redeemer – Galatians 3:13-14 – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Job 19:25 - I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

Enabler- Leviticus 26:13 -  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Philippians’ 3:20-21 - our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Everlasting – Deuteronomy 33:27 – The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Jeremiah 31:3 - The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

Deliverer –  Psalm 18:2 -  The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 40:17 - Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

Overcomer – John 16:33 -  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Matthew 16:18 - And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Master – Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 23:8-12 - “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Have you allowed Christ to set you free?

Freedom in Christ

As we celebrate Independence Day and the freedoms we enjoy today let us not forget that true freedom only comes through Christ. Let’s consider what Paul wrote in Galatians 5.

In verse 1 he says, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

It is up to each believer to stand firm on the truth and show our love by being obedient to Christ. We see it in verses 7-8,  You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

Jesus is now the main actor in our lives not us. In verse 13, You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Just like Christ.

May we always realize where true freedom comes from. Amen?

More Fun Than...

I heard about an experiment in dealing with stress and anxiety. Scientist had monkeys in a cage and stressed them out with noise and other stimuli. Nothing seemed to calm them down till they allowed the monkey's friend enter in to the same cage. Monkey buddies reduced stress by 50%!

We shouldn't be surprised. Solomon shared years ago.

Two are better than one,

    because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰ If either of them falls down,

    one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

    and has no one to help them up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

    But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,

    two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I've got a couple of monkey buddies in my life that helps me deal with stress. I pray you do too. They're also a lot of fun.

I pray that you will find and keep monkey buddies in your life. Amen?

Water Walkers

Have you ever been given the advice to: Walk it off ? It's usually given to us when we are afraid or what is happening to us isn't as bad as we're making it to be.

In John 6:16-21 we see Jesus coming through a storm to rescue His fearful disciples. By the way He was walking on water!

 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.  A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.  When they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.  But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

This is a great illustration of the supernatural, fear, and faith (or lack of). The focus of this account is on Jesus and how He protects us, loves us, and wants us to grow in our belief (faith and obedience) of Him. We need to keep our hearts, minds, and eyes on Him.

How’s your focus?

Always keep your focus on the one who walks on water. Amen?

Trusting In Him

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in His death, and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead.”Philippians 3:10 

Paul is saying (and so should we):

I want to know Christ in a personal and practical way.

I want to begin to experience the power, freedom and joy that comes when we live in light of the resurrection 

I want to have the attitude Jesus had when facing the difficult times of life.  I want to know that sense of peace that transcends the world.

And I want to live NOW as a person who attains the resurrection of the dead on this side of the grave

Let's again take a look at the story in John 6:16-21 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,  where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.  A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

It was dark and the disciples were about to sail into a storm without Jesus.

Is Jesus with you in the storm?

Jesus calmed the fears of the disciples by revealing to them His true identity in the midst of the storm.

Do you know who Jesus really is?

Jesus entered the boat, the stormed stopped, and they arrived immediately.

Do you have the protection of Jesus?

Jesus will see you through the storms, and get you home.