Don't talk about it Be about it

The bible tell in John 1:1, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  There is something amazing about a word, words are the most power agents we have at our disposal to use.   Words carry an influence powerful enough to persuade or dictate our actions and even persuade our direction of faith.  

Today, we are so quick to speak and consequently our words are beginning to be devalued at a consistent increasing rate.  We have gone from our words being a binding contract to the point where we need an actual contract.  And even contracts are voidable if you have the right person to speak the right word against it.  Many of us have an issue believing the words of others even if that person has a history of keeping their word.  The incredible thing about God is He gave us an example in taking His word a step forward and putting Him on our level to be an example for all mankind. 

John 1:14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  God put His Word into action, and gave us an example of who He is and how He operates.  Today is a simple challenge, examine your life and your actions and make a commitment to not just speak a word, but put your word into action. 

A Fresh Word Makes a Difference!

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 (KJV)

There use to be a particular restaurant that served the best sandwiches.  It was actually a restaurant chain, but none of the other locations could compare to this particular one.  Every person I told about how good the sandwiches were, said the same thing, “They’re all the same”.  That is, until they ate there and realized it was different.  The obvious reason was that the bread was always fresh.  Unlike the other places, they never used old bread.  Whenever their bread became old or cold, they would throw it away and politely ask if we could wait a few minutes until the new batch came out the oven.  The freshness of the bread made a world of a difference.  And to top it off, it was a healthy sandwich at that.

This experience, along with many others, has convinced me that healthy food, good food, beneficial and even necessary foods do not have to taste absolutely horrible.  Instead, good food can and should taste good!  The same goes for spiritual food.  David said in Psalm 34:8, Taste and see that the Lord is good.  What better way to experience the goodness of the Lord than when it’s wrapped in a fresh word?  Jesus lets us know that we should seek a fresh word everyday.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Not stale bread.  Not leftover bread.  But fresh bread.  It does make a difference.

Today ask God for a fresh Word, a word that will allow you to embrace your today.  Taste and see that it does make a difference!

Our God of Comfort

 

God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 ( NLT)

One of the greatest promises of heaven is that there will no longer be any pain or suffering.  To someone who is hurting today, however, that promise may offer little comfort.  The immediacy of pain is not easily ignored or deferred (nor should it be).  When someone hurts right now, right now is when that person needs comfort.

That’s where you come in.  In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he made special reference to the value of God’s comfort and how it ought to inspire people to comfort one another.  “Comfort others just as God comforts you.”  One of the only sure things you can count on is that God will comfort you.  Knowing this brings a sense of peace even in difficult times.  In a similar way, you can be there with comfort for someone who hurts.  Sometimes just the knowledge that you’re only a phone call away is enough to get a person through a tough time.

God also offers a listening ear to those who are in need through the vehicle of prayer.  In a like manner, you can offer your willingness to listen to a hurting friend.  Often one of the most important steps to overcoming a hurtful experience is talking about it.  When you sit with a hurting person and listen, you provide comfort and help move along the all- important process of grieving.

Whether you are simply available to a friend or are taking an active role in helping that friend move beyond the pain, the most important thing to do is love that person.  God’s love is immeasurable and doesn’t go away.  Draw from God’s love as much as necessary, and offer it to someone in need of comfort

 

Let God Work from the Inside Out

The words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. (Matthew 15:18 CEV)

Any task you have to do whether it's conducting a meeting, invoicing an order, working at a job that you do not like, or taking a patient's blood pressure can be done with many different attitudes:  What's in it for me? When do I get to go home? How can I help the other person? The outward words and actions matter, but not as much as what's in your heart. What is really in your heart in terms of relationships, work and even your spiritual walk.  We are vessels used by God to show people the way to Him.  If our heart is not filled with God's love then what type of love are we really showing.  Is it only love when they do what you want them to do?  Is it love when things only go your way?

It helps to be aware of what we are here on earth to do: to make peace between God and other people, to bring them together, to reconcile the world to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).  As we work in any kind of job, we need to ask ourselves how we can help someone get a clearer picture of God's love.  And we can enjoy God's company while doing the task.  It's not so much the specific task we do as the heart with which we do it.  A peacemaking, reconciling heart doesn't give itself easy to evil thoughts, lies and insults.  Instead it makes peace, and puts forth what is right, in a loving way.

Let the words that come of your mouth come from your heart and the Love of God.

DO I LOVE ME LIKE GOD LOVES ME?

John 3:16 Declares “for God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV).  

Two things about this verse currently amazes me, the first portion is how much God loves us and the second portion is how much He gave.  Out of the abundance of God’s love for us He gave a gift that has the ability to consistently sustain life.  Out of His love He didn't give anything material, He didn't give anything tangible, He gave life.  His gift of life solidifies the magnitude and the measure of His giving.

Often times when we express love to ourselves, we express it with a “me day,” we take ourselves out, we buy ourselves something nice.  More often than not, many would invest externally or in something tangible.  The expression of God’s love is exemplified with giving His greatest investment to the internal, someone we can’t physically see or hold.  We receive Christ in the internal and through His life in us internally we are able to live life eternally.  Today is a simple question, a question we should ask ourselves.  What is my greatest gift to me? Is my greatest gift to me something tangible that will depreciate or is it something that will sustain me?  Am I more concerned about investing in the external than internal?  If we get the abundance of God’s love on the inside of us He will ensure we have the desires of our heart.  If you delight yourself in God, He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  How much do you love yourself?  Better to invest in you, than on you…..

Perspective

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose Romans 8:28 (NIV)

The ability to put things into the right perspective is something every Christian should desire, if not already possess.  If we really trust in Romans 8:28, it will cause us to have a positive outlook within any situation we find ourselves.  Now some people have misused this scripture to suggest that everything we go through is somehow good.  This is not the case.  Sickness is not good.  Death of a loved one is not good.  Lost of employment is not good.  Not only does this scripture not suggest that the suffering or tragedies in our lives are somehow good, it also does not suggest that everything will work out if we have enough faith for it, or that someday we would understand the reasons we had to endure such hardships.  So what does Romans 8:28 tell us?  It simply tells us that, in every situation, God is working with our best interest at heart.

I use to have a manager who would often worked with our best interest at heart. I remember once, every one of our jobs were being threatened over a computer problem that could not be fixed.  Our manager performed a query and discovered that we had successfully resolved over a thousand issues within that month alone.  Viewing one unresolved problem alone was one thing.  Viewing it in relation to over a thousand successfully resolved issues is another.

Today, let us gain the right perspective in our respective situations.  God is right there with us, working with our best interest at heart.  Viewing our suffering or tragedy alone is one thing.  Viewing it in relation to God having our backs, providing what we need, and working for the good of us - is another.

Return to the Lord, Your God

When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace.  Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap - Isaiah 55:12 (CEV)

There are more than a few scriptures passages that tell of God's great joy when one of His children turns away from a life of sin and comes back to life with God.  Many of the stories Jesus told revolve around the theme of the lost being found (for example, the stories of the lost son and the lost coin in Luke 15).  But here in Isaiah, we find one of the Bible's most vivid images of God's delight in welcoming back his people.

When we turn away from God, we often do so because we don't feel His presence in our life, or because we are plagued with doubts about His power to act on our behalf.  When we finally feel ready to come back to God, we wonder if he'll take us in.  We wonder what our punishment will be for rejecting God.  But this passage reminds us that God is not only willing to take us back, He is waiting for us to return to Him. And when we do, all of creation celebrates our return.  What a beautiful picture of God's love for us.  We find mercy where we expected punishment, joy where we expected anger, and freedom where we expected judgment.  When we return to God, He is more than ready to make us whole.

I Promise

Matthew 5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

I can remember when I was a young child we would make promises and to add extra value on an agreement we would do something creative like a secret handshake or a pinky promise.  We did these things as a symbol of a contract.  As I got older, we began to say things such as I promise or I swear.  We consistently searched for different ways to add weight or value to our agreements.  As an adult, we signed contracts or legal documents to add validity or power to an agreement.  By adding different things to our promises to add value, we water down the simple yet power value of our words. 

Jesus said let your yes be yes and your no be no.  More often than not, we enter into a promises without concern or any expectation for follow through.  We commit to being places we have no intentions on going, we commit to helping people we have no intentions on helping, and we use the excuse I forgot as a clause to get out of our promise.  If God were to say He would do something and when the time came, He didn't show up, but use He forgot as an excuse; many of us would lose our faith.  In the same manner, many have lost their faith in us for the same reason. 

Today is a simple challenge, be mindful of what you commit to because whether with a contract or not, each yes and each no is a promise. 

Integrity

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  Luke 16:10 (NIV)

In a world where people will do and say anything to get ahead in life, we’ve been called to be a people of integrity.   Integrity is not perfection.  It’s simply knowing what is right and wrong and choosing to do what is right even when it might cost us everything.  C.S. Lewis defined integrity as “doing the right thing, even when no one is watching”.   Notice neither definition quantifies the act.  It doesn’t matter if it’s something the world would normally deem as being very little – like taking some paper and pens from work, for personal use at home, or if it’s the world’s idea of much – like infidelity.  Why do you think most prenuptial agreements state the lost of everything if the spouse is caught cheating?  It’s a much act.  If that person is dishonest with much, how can the other person ever trust them with anything else again – even when it’s very little?

In our scripture for today, Jesus is very clear.  He is saying that we can only be trusted when we are trustworthy in everything – little or much – big or small – when no one is watching and when it may cost us everything.  Do not be fooled.  Make no mistake.  If the sin that caused us to be dishonest with that one little thing is not dealt with, it will eventually cause us to be dishonest with much more things.

Today let us think integrity.  If we have been dishonest, let us now repent.  Set things right.  Then let us move forward, determined to handle everything the right way with sincerity and honesty – with integrity.

Clamness in Conflict

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you (2 Timothy 4:5)

Sometimes it is difficult to keep a clear mind in every situation. There are times in which you are wronged or unjustly accused and the first thought that comes to mind is to defend yourself. You feel a sense of violation when things are said which are not true and things done to you that you did not deserve or ask for. These times of friction is intended for you to seek God and not revenge. The scriptures throughout the New Testament exhort us to not be afraid of suffering for the Lord. You and I must be very mindful that we will suffer persecution for righteousness sake. Is it fair? Why does God allow it? There will be times when God will reveal His will in our times of suffering and there are other times in which He will not. This does not mean that God has forgotten about you nor does it mean He has forsaken you, but it gives you an honest opportunity to trust God even the more.

Our responsibility is to bring others to Christ even when we are going through our own pain. Have you ever been right in the middle of your painful circumstance and God tells you to go and minister to someone else? Was there a time in which you were consumed with a problem and someone comes to you for advice about their own problem? These moments are great times to rely on God for your comfort and minister comfort and peace to another. I can share from personal experiences, when I take this approach, I walk away feeling better than I did before the conversation. You have a ministry and don't allow any circumstance or situation to cause you to run away from it.