Trusting In The Lord When Life Gets Hard

Sometimes life seems hard and difficult.  Sometimes life seems totally unfair to us.  We think of the seemingly unfairness of a young child fighting for their lives after being diagnosed with cancer.  We think of the people who are trapped in war torn countries with no place to run and hide.  Life is hard for so very many people in our day and age.

We think it is unfair when we see swindlers get rich and the people who want to do good end up struggling to pay the bills.  Sometimes we may even wonder if there is something wrong with us because we aren't as successful as the guy mentioned on the evening news.  

We must remember that we live in a fallen sinful world and this world is not our home if we are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.  When we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become citizens of Heaven.  We wait for the Day when Jesus returns and takes us their to our Home where there will be no more tears, wars, hunger, or death.  

When our lives get difficult we must remember to whom we belong.  We belong to the Lord Jesus if we have put our faith in His finished work on the Cross.  We are Christ ambassadors here on the earth.  We are to bear witness to the Gospel Message and proclaim what Jesus has done for us and all people who put their faith and trust in Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says,

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight."


When life gets hard and difficult we must continue to trust the Lord with all of our hearts.  We must remember that God is still at work in our world today even though we may not see any evidence of that on the surface of things.   We must continue to seek His face and continue to seek Him in prayer.
The Lord knows what He is doing.  He is an all powerful and awesome God.

There are things that happen in life that don't always make sense to us, but God is never taken by surprise.  The Lord asks us to just trust Him during life's difficult moments.  He loves us and He does care for us.

Are you trusting in the Lord with your difficulty?

Lord,
Sometimes life gets hard.
Thank You that You are always there to lead us through those moments.
We praise Your name.
We trust You O Lord.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.

Remembering

This is Memorial Day weekend here in the United States of America where we remember those men and women who served in our armed forces and died defending the freedoms that we enjoy today.  Our Nation was founded upon God given principles that are found in His Holy Word, the Bible.

Sadly, our Nation has been sliding away from those principles and also away from God Himself.  This Memorial Day let us remember all of those men and women who died defending our freedom and may we take a firm stand upon God's Word and protect our freedoms for future generations.

I am reminded what Jesus said in John 15:13,

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends"

I am also reminded on this Memorial Day, as we pay honor and respect for those who served our Nation in the Military and died for our freedom, about the One who paid the ultimate price for every person on the planet by dying on a cruel old rugged Cross for our sins.  I talking about Jesus who laid down His life for our sins. 

God demonstrated His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross for our sins.  God raised Jesus on the third day.  One day the Lord Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth in full completion.

Let's remember our Military members that died for us, those who died in the line of duty in law enforcement, and all those men and women who have served or are serving in our Military and Law Enforcement Agencies today.

Lord,

Thank You for the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ.

Thank You for those in the Military that have paid the price for our freedoms.

Thank You for those in Law Enforcement that protect us.

Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die on a Cross for our sins.

Lead us and guide our steps each and everyday.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

                                                       (Above Photo by Michael Rairdon)

I took this picture this morning of my neighbor's flag.  Notice the Blue Jay on the wire that appears to have his head bowed.  This is God's way, I guess, to remind us that our Nation and all Nations are in need of prayer.  We must pray as the Body of Christ in one accorded that the Holy Spirit would send revival in our hearts and a Spiritual Awakening would spread from coast to coast and to all parts of our world.  Our world needs the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Running With Perseverance

There are many people who think that after they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior that life will get easier, but that is not the case.  Life can actually become more difficult when we place our faith in Christ.  Our families and friends may distance themselves from us and we may face severe persecution.  We may also encounter spiritual attacks from our enemy, the devil.

The Christian walk is like a race.  When someone runs in a race they must first enter into the race and we enter into this race when we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We must continue life's journey growing in our faith and we do that by reading the Bible.  We need to be studying the Bible as well.  We must pray and worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth.  We need to walk in the Spirit and walk by faith with our focus on the Lord.

We must not give up.  We must continue running our race of faith.  The Lord will help us through the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

I like what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:1-2,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and
the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

There have been many believers that have run the race of faith in Christ before we came on the scene and we need to learn from their examples.   We must cast off those things that will hinder us as we run our race here on the earth.  We need to cast off those sins that so easily trip us up and make us ineffective. 

We must fix our eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ and remember that it is He that we are serving.  Jesus paid the penalty of our sin for us by dying on the Cross in our place.  Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer.  We are saved by Grace by placing our faith in His finished work on the Cross.

Let us not give up, but let's persevere and keep our focus on the Lord Jesus.

Lord,

Thank You for this day.

Help us to run our race of faith with perseverance with our focus on the Lord Jesus.

We praise Your Name O Lord.

Come Soon Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Singing To The Lord

There is a lot of anger in our world these days.  There is a lot of darkness and despair.  There is a sense of hopelessness.  When troubles come and our anxiety arises we must remember our wonderful Creator is always with us.  We must remember that Jesus promises, all of us who have placed our faith and trust in Him,  that He will be with us always even to the very end of the age and He promises never to leave us or forsake us.

When times are tough and trouble comes we must remember to praise the Lord and thank Him for His loving care for us.  We must remind ourselves of all the good things He has done in our lives and in the lives of those all around us.  We must remember that our God is a Mighty and Awesome Loving God.

When we remember all that the Lord has done for us by sending His Son Jesus Christ we will want to burst out in song.  Sometimes when things are tough we might not feel like singing out to the Lord, but we should.  When we start sing out loud to the Lord the Spirit stirs up deep within us as we lift up our voices to Him.

Psalm 98 says,

" 1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 
                                                                                                       

2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,

6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.  "        

 When we are with fellow believers in Christ at Church we should all sing out loud and lift up our voices to the Lord.  We aren't singing to be heard by other people.  We are singing to the Lord of all Creation.  He is our Redeemer and our God.  Shouldn't we lift up our voices out of gratitude for all that He has done for us.

May we have a song stirring in our hearts each and everyday.  A song of praise to our God and King.

Lord,

We praise You and Thank You for all that You have done for us.

Put a new song in our hearts O God.

We lift Your Name on high O Lord.

We are thankful for Your Amazing Grace.

How Great Thou Art O Lord.

Lead us and we will follow step by step.

Come Soon Lord Jesus

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Following Jesus With Passion

There are many things that can get our attention in this world.  There are many things that we pursue.  We strive to get a good education and we try to land that great job that we always dreamt of having.  We pursue money, fame, friends, a girlfriend or boyfriend, and we even pursue a career.  There are many other things that we can pursue I suppose, but shouldn't we pursue Jesus first.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing the things I mentioned early, but I wonder where does our pursuit of Jesus stack up.  Jesus showed His love for us by dying on the Cross so we can have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in Heaven when we die.  The Holy Spirit pursued us and convicted us of our sin and helped us realize our need for Jesus.  The Lord loves us so very passionately and unconditionally.  Shouldn't believers in Christ love Him first and foremost with the same passion that He has for us.

Jesus says in Luke 9:23,

"...If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Jesus wants us to follow Him while denying ourselves.  He is looking for believers that love Him so much that they are willing to do what He wants them to do and go where He wants them to go.  He won't force people to follow Him.  He wants people who are so in love with Him that there is nothing else in their lives that matters more. 

That is not to say that the other things don't matter or aren't important because they are, but in the scope of things our love for Jesus needs to be larger and greater.  When our love for Jesus is stirred up and we are following Him full on then everything else will fall into place.  We may have to surrender things in our lives that used to be important to us.  We may have to not take that job.  We may have to forsake that career.  Following Jesus won't be easy,  but if we truly love Him as He loves us then in the end it will all be worth it.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Sometimes Lord I confess my love for You cools off.
My passion for  serving You seems lukewarm
Stir up a love in my heart O Lord to love You as You love me.
You demonstrated Your love for us on the Cross.
You pursued us because You love us.
We love You Lord Jesus.
I love You Lord Jesus and can't wait until the Day I see You face to face.
Thank You Jesus for loving me so deeply and passionately that You never give up on me.
Thank You Jesus for all believers in Christ who love You so much
Come soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Trusting Jesus With Our Brokeness

There are many people in our world today that are broken.  Their hearts have been hurt by a marriage that failed for one reason or another.  There are people who have experienced a very difficult childhood where they experienced abandonment and abuse.  There are people all around us that are in desperate situations that they themselves just can't seem to fix. 

There are many people who feel depressed and pushed to their very limit.  There are many people who have no peace in their hearts whatsoever.  There are many people who have turned to drugs, alcohol, or even sex to try to dull the emptiness and void they feel in their hearts and lives.  Many people just feel all alone.  Some people feel like they have no one who understands.  There are many people who are on the very verge of giving up on everything. 

There is someone who understands exactly what they are going through and the pain they are feeling.  The Lord Jesus Christ understands the difficulties that life can bring.  He knows that this world is a world of sorrows and one of brokenness.  Sin has wrecked our world and it all started back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree.  It was then Adam and Eve became spiritually dead and everyone born since have entered the world separated from the Living God.

God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to save us from our sins and to reconcile us back to God because He loves us so very much.  Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went and died on the Cross for our sins, past, present, and future.  God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day and He is now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  One Day the Lord Jesus Christ will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

The Lord didn't leave us as orphans, however, but He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We must realize that we are sinners and we can't save ourselves.  Our good works are not good enough for us to enter into God's Holy presence.  We can only come through the blood of Christ.  It is through what Jesus did on the Cross that we are reconciled back to God.

Jesus was broken on the Cross for our brokenness.  We must come to Him in faith and bring to Him our hurts, our painful memories, and the brokenness that we feel.  We must lay it all at the foot of the Cross.  We can't carry the burdens that weigh us down on our own.  We are too weak in our own strength.  We must give them to Jesus Christ.

He tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 to come to Him and find rest from those burdens that we try to carry ourselves in our own strength and power.  We can't do it on our own we must hand over everything to the Lord.  The Lord wants us to come to Him and trust Him with our brokenness.

The Lord can heal your broken heart if you allow Him to.  He can help heal those wounds that no one else can see.  Come to Him.  He is waiting for you with opened arms.

I would like to encourage you to surrender your hurts and the wounds on your hearts to Jesus.  Find forgiveness through Jesus Christ and forgive those who have hurt you.  Tell those who don't know Jesus that they can come to Him and find reconciliation with God and He can heal their wounded hearts.


Lord,
We praise Your Name.
You are Holy.
Help us to reach out to those who are broken with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Lord heal those hearts that are broken and lonely.
I pray for those who are facing sorrows and those who feel at the end of their rope.
Come Soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Help For A Troubled Heart

We live in a fallen, sinful, and dark world.  We live in a world where evil lurks in the hearts of people.  There are many things that can trouble our hearts indeed.  The terror attacks in England last night is very troubling to our hearts and our minds as well.  My condolences go out to the families and all of those affected by this horrible act. 

Unfortunately we live in a world where tragic events happen and things do seem to be getting very dark in our world.  We must not give up hope.  There is still hope for the people of this world.  It won't be found in expressions of hatred.  It won't be found in any political leader.  It won't be found in any mere human being. 

There is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We live in troubling times.  There is a lot of fear and anxiety.  There is a lot of wondering what will happen next.  The Lord Jesus told us in Scripture that things would grow worse until the day that He returns and brings the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion. 

I am reminded of a time in Scripture when Jesus was speaking with His disciples.  He had just told them that He was going to die at the hands of the religious leaders and that one of the twelve was going to betray Him.  He even told Peter that he would end up denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.  The disciples hearts were troubled and shattered at the news that Jesus was telling them.  Their hearts were filled with fear and anxiety entered their thoughts.  They felt troubled deep within their very souls.

The Lord noticed that they were troubled and He started to encourage them in John 14:1-14 which says,

"1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
                                                                                                       

2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

                                   

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. "         

Jesus told His disciples and He tells us as well to not let our hearts be troubled, but trust in God and also in Him.  We will have trouble in this world that is a guarantee for each one of us, but we must remember that our hope is not in this world.  Our hope needs to be firmly established upon Jesus Christ our Lord.  

We have all sinned and have fallen short of God's glory.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the Cross.  Jesus died on the Cross for our sins.  HE shed His blood and took the punishment that we deserve.  Everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ and have received Him as Lord and Savior will be saved.  We are saved by Grace through our faith in what Jesus did on the Cross for us.  

Jesus reminded His disciples that even though He was leaving them that He would return and take them Home to Heaven to be with Him forever.  That is our promise as well is well is we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that is.  

There is only One God and HE is a God of love.  HE is love.  We must not hate our enemies.  We need to pray for them.  We must love the Lord with all of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls and we must love our neighbor as ourselves.

There is coming a Day when Christ will return and we must be ready to meet Him.  There is only One Way into Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only Way to the Father.  God loves you and He wants you to come to Him and be reconciled back to Him through Jesus Christ.  

Is your heart troubled?  Trust the Lord Jesus during this time of trouble.  He loves you and He will lead you through the dark tough times and one day HE will welcome you Home to Heaven when that time comes.

Lord,

Thank You for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

Help our troubled hearts by trusting You even more.

Help us to pray for our enemies and those who wish us harm.

I pray that the Gospel message of Jesus Christ will be proclaimed and received by many throughout this world this night.

People need You O Lord.

Come Soon Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.                

When Our Faith Is Tested

We like it when life is going smoothly and all seems right with the world.  Life isn't always smooth, however.  Sometimes life gets really hard and sometimes it gets really painful.  We have great moments and many good memories of times when everything seemed to be going well for us.

There will be times when trouble comes knocking on our door.  There will be times when our faith is put to the ultimate test.  Sometimes the test and trial will be so severe that we will be tempted to walk away from everything and just give up.  We all have a breaking point.  We all have an area of weakness.  The devil loves to launch his fiery darts at us and he always seems to try to hit us at our weakest point. 

We must not crumble in despair for we know the Lord.  He is the Mighty God.  He is all powerful and all knowing.  The Lord is greater than any challenge that comes against us.  The Lord is greater than anything the devil tries to throw at us.  The Lord will make us stand if we are trusting in Him.

Jesus told His disciples and us that we will have trouble in this world, but we are to take heart and know that Jesus has overcome the world.  When challenges and difficult times come and they will we must cling to the promises that God lays out before us in His Word.  The Lord promises never to leave us and to never forsake us.  The Lord promises to provide for all of our needs.

We can trust the Lord when our lives seem to be in total chaos.  The Lord is faithful and He urges us to trust Him.  We are to walk by faith and not by sight.  Times are tough.  Challenges and trials will come to us in all shapes and sizes.  We must cling to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He will see us through even the most difficult trial that we face.

We need to put on the full armor of God and resist the wiles of the devil.  We need to reach out to the Lord in pray and trust that He will provide for us when our lives seem to have be tossed upside down.

Our faith will be tested from time to time.  It is how we respond to those test that truly matters.  We must remain focused on the Lord and the truth of His Word, the Bible.   

Lord,
You are Holy and Just in Your Judgments.
Thank You for always being by our side even in the darkest times.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Turning Away From Our Worries And Refocusing On The Lord

Sometimes we find it very easy to find something to worry about especially if we look at the world and all of the bad things that seem to be going on.  There are so many things that we could worry about if we truly wanted to.  When we read a newspaper or watch the evening news on television and we see the horrible things that are happening it make us feel anxious and perhaps lead us to worry. 

We can worry about a lot of things in life is we wanted to.  There are people who worry about losing their job.  There are some people who worry about being able to pay the bills on time.  There are people who worry about their health.  There are people who worry about their families and loved ones.  There are even some people who worry that they worry too much. 

When we worry about things that are out of our control we take our focus off of the Lord and He is the only One who can truly help us with our situation no matter how difficult it may seem to us.  Throughout Scripture we are told not to fret and fear not.  Jesus tells us, "Do not worry..." in Matthew 6: 25-34 which says,

"25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
                                                                                                       

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

If the Lord tells us not to worry about our lives, shouldn't we listen to Him and trust Him.  There are many things that concern us of course, but we must be careful not to focus only on our troubles and problems.  When we focus on our problems they will seem so much bigger and we will forget to look to the Lord for help.  Our view of God shrinks when we end up focused on the things that make us worried, but when we focus on our Mighty, Awesome, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, God our problems will seem very small indeed.

The Lord cares for us.  The Lord loves us with a deep unconditional love.  We can trust Him because we know from experience that He is faithful and true to His Word.  There will be times when our troubles will seem overwhelmingly huge to us, but we must remember to refocus on the Lord and remind ourselves how much greater He is than those things that worry us.

God is good and He will always provide for all of our needs.

Let's refocus our minds and our hearts upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lord,

We praise Your Name.

Help us with our worries.

Help us not to worry.

Lead us to the place where our focus is on You.

You are Mighty!

You are Holy!

You are Powerful!

We praise Your Name!

Come soon, Lord.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

The Lord's Model Prayer

There are many things that the disciples could have asked Jesus while they walked with Him during His ministry here on the earth.  They could have asked Him how they could give better sermons,  they could have asked Him how they could attract larger crowds, or they could have asked Jesus countless other questions,  but they didn't.  Out of all of the questions the disciples could have asked Jesus they chose to ask Him to teach them how to pray.

Prayer is a vital and powerful component to the life of  the believer.  The Lord urges us to pray.  He tells us throughout Scripture to call on Him with various prayers and supplications.  The Lord will work mightily through the prayers of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lord even gave us a model prayer that is intended to be our guide on how to pray.  Sometimes we end up just repeating it word for word without ever truly thinking about what exactly we are saying.  Sometimes it can be vain repetition if we are not careful if we just recite the prayer from memory.   We are all familiar with the Lord's Prayer as we know it as which is found in Matthew 9-13 which says,

"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptations,
but deliver us from the evil one."

Jesus wants us to know the One that we are praying to and that is very important if we want our prayers answered.  We are to call out to our Heavenly Father and we need to do it with a reverence of who He is.  Our Heavenly Father is the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  He is the great Living God.  He is the only God.  There is no other God except Him and Him alone.  His name is Holy and He alone is worthy of our worship and all of our praise.  He deserves a place of honor in our lives that is His alone.  The Lord wants to be our number one love.  

When we come to Him in prayer we must keep in mind who it is we are speaking with and we must come to Him with a humbled heart and a sweet awe as we come into His wonderful presence.
We also should pray that His kingdom will come soon.  His kingdom will come when the Lord Jesus descends from heaven on a cloud. 

We also ought to pray that the Lord's will be done here on earth as it is done in heaven.  The Lord is sovereign and He reigns over all.  The Lord have the final say over everything.  If  He didn't He wouldn't be God. 

We also must remember that the Lord will provide our daily needs and we should continue to pray that He will continue to meet our needs.  The Lord may not give us the things we may think we want, but He will sustain us with the things He knows that we need. 

We also need to confess any sin in our lives and repent of it.  We also need to forgive those who have hurt and wronged us and give them over to the Lord.  We need to ask for forgiveness of those whom we have wronged as well.

We should also pray that the Lord would protect us from the evil one, the devil, for he does come at us like a lion seeking someone to devour.  We can take comfort that the Lord will protect us and keep us safely sealed by His Holy Spirit when we have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We must continue to pray and call out to the Lord with all kinds of requests for all kinds of people.  We must never give up calling out to the Lord and believing that He will indeed answer our prayers when we call out to Him in faith. 

Let us continue to call out to the Lord in prayer and not give up.  We must also remember to listen to what the Lord is saying to us in His Word and as we are praying in the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will help us to pray when our words fail us and sometimes they do.  Sometimes we just don't know what to say,  but he Lord knows our hearts and out needs.  He knows our concerns even before we utter a singe word. 

The Lord wants to hear for us.  May we not neglect this time of praying to the Lord.

Lord,

Thank You for the opportunity that You give to us to pray to You.

We come humbly to Your throne of grace.

We lift up Pastors and their families.

We lift us those facing illness and sorrow.

Lord help us to forgive those who hurt us.

Lead us not into a place where we will be tempted.

Protect us with the full armor of God against the wiles of the devil.

Place a hedge of protection around us.

Help us to live for You each and everyday.

Provide for our daily needs for all that we have comes from You.

May Your kingdom come soon O Lord.

May Your will be done on the earth as it is in Heaven.

For You are Holy and Powerful.

And Your Kingdom will never end.

Praise The Lord for He is good.

Holy is Your Name Heavenly Father.

Thank You Lord Jesus.

Thank You Holy Spirit for indwelling all who believe.

You are the Lord O God.

Come Soon Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen. 

Being Right With God

There seems to be so much turmoil in our world today.  There is also a boat load of angry people (a very large boat) all around us in our world today.  It seems like everything is in a tail spin.  It also feels as if we are rushing forward in time toward something huge.  There is a sense in people's hearts that something is about to happen, but many are not sure what exactly that is.  Some think the world is going to end in one way or another because of all the problems that they seem going on all around our world.

I have had people, who are not believers, say to me that they thought we were coming to the end of everything.  There is a fear that is stirring in people's hearts and minds.  Things do seem bad and things most likely won't improve anytime soon.

The Lord Jesus told us that things will grow increasingly worse until the Day He returns.  That Day, I believe, is drawing very near.  Each day that passes we are a day closer to the Lord's return.  When Jesus returns it won't be as a little baby this time around.  When will return on a cloud from Heaven as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  What a great and terrible Day that will be.

It will be a great and Glorious Day for those who are waiting for His return and are trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  It will be a terrible Day for those who have rejected Jesus.  

There are many people in our world today who are not ready and that saddens me.  There are our co-workers,  members of our family, our neighbors, and even members of our church.  Many people like to think that they are all right with God,  but they are not.

There are so many people who put on a great act.  They may seem religious, but their hearts are actually far away from the Lord even though they may say the right things.  The Lord is not fooled by our acting skills.  The Lord looks at our very hearts.  He knows our hearts and our motives even better then we know the ourselves.

The Pharisees of Jesus day when He walked on the earth thought they we right with God and they were very proud of their accomplishments.  They knew the Scriptures frontwards and backwards, but they still failed to recognize who Jesus was even though the Scriptures teach about Him.

(Read Matthew 23: http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/23.html)

Jesus listed seven woes directed toward these religious leaders and they didn't like it one bit.  Jesus even called them hypocrites because they talked the talk, but they failed to walk the walk.  They dressed nice.  They knew Scripture.   They thought that by knowing the Scripture that they were in right standing with God,  but hey weren't.

The Lord is more interested in our hearts and it's condition then He is about our outwardly appearance.  We may be able to fool other people, but we can't fool God.  There is coming a day that we are appointed to die and then face the Judgment.   We will have to give an account for our lives.

There is a way to obtain a clean heart and to be ready for Christ return.  We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of God's standards.  We have all missed the mark.  We have even played the hypocrite.  

God demonstrated His great love to us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth.  Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life.  He went obediently to the Cross where He shed His blood and died for our sins.   God raised Him from the dead on the third day and One Day He will return.

Who ever confesses their sinfulness to Him and receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be saved.  It is by grace that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ.  We can not earn our way into Heaven.  There are no amount of good works that we can do to get us into Heaven.  There is only One Way into Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

Religion will not save you.  Being a member of a church will not save you.  Being baptized will not save you.  Being a member of a large religious group will not save you.  There is only One Name under Heaven in which a person must be saved by and that is the Name of Jesus Christ.

It is through our faith in Jesus Christ that we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell with in us and He will transform our hearts.  It is through our faith in Jesus Christ that we can stand strong in a world that is falling apart.  It is through our faith in Jesus Christ that we don't have to fear about not being good enough to get into Heaven.  There is no one good enough to enter into Heaven one their own.  We enter in by what Jesus Christ has done for us at the Cross and we can rejoice in Him because of His finished work.

What a Savior!  Praise the Lord Jesus!

Let us be thankful for all Jesus has done for us.  Let us serve Him out of our love for Him because He chose to love us so much.  Do you love Jesus?

I love the Lord Jesus Christ because He chose to die on the Cross in my place.  He took the punishment that I so rightly deserve.  Thank You Lord Jesus for saving a poor wretched man like me. 

Let us praise Him and give Him all the Glory for all He has done.


Lord,

Thank You for salvation through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

I pray that You would pour out Your Spirit upon all believers in Christ.

Give us a fresh faith and fresh power to serve You in these dark times.

Help us not to be discouraged, but help us to be hope filled and focused on Jesus Christ.

Touch each one who reads this blog with Your healing touch and encouragement.

Thank You Jesus for loving us so much.

We love You Lord!

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

More Than Head Knowledge

Sometimes we can find ourselves filling up our minds with knowledge of various things in this world.  Now, there is nothing wrong with knowledge.  We should be learning new things.  I just finished painting a pre-sketched canvas.  It was in one those art kits for beginners that I bought at one of those member only warehouse type stores.  It was a fun thing to do and while I probably won't become a great artist it was a good learning experience.

We human beings do like to learn things at least I hope we do.  We often hear the old adage, "knowledge is power!"  I guess it can be of sorts, but it also comes with a great responsibility as well sometimes. 

Sometimes we find ourselves accumulating vast amounts of knowledge that doesn't really matter in the long run and we call that trivia.  We call somethings trivial because that knowledge has no real impact on a person's life. 

There is nothing trivial about our knowledge of God.  We must make sure that the knowledge that we have of God is the right knowledge.  We must make sure that we have a proper relationship and intimacy with the Lord.  Just having head knowledge of God will not suffice.  We must know Him.

Sometimes we read our Bibles, memorize Scripture, and say a prayer before we eat and we think we are in good standing with God.  In order to know God we must first believe that He exist.  That is always a good start.   We must have knowledge of Him and we can obtain that from reading the Bible which is His Word. 

We must also have a personal relationship with Him as well and that is only possible through having received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  It is Jesus Christ that reconciles us sinners back to the Father through His shedding of His blood on the Cross.  We must realize that we are sinners and need a Savior.  We must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior for there is no other Name under Heaven in which people must be saved by.

We ought to praise Him for all that He has done for us.  We ought to worship Him in Spirit and Truth.  The Lord is worthy of our worship and praise.  The Lord desires us to have a personal and intimate relationship with Him and not just head knowledge.  The Lord wants our hearts and our lives.

He wants to be the main focus of our lives.  Do we know Him in a personal loving way?

The Lord is our Rock.  The Lord wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace and know Him.  He wants an intimacy with us that will be far greater than any other relationship that we have.  The Lord loves us with a deep unconditional love.  His desire is for us to love Him with abandon.  

I am reminded of what Psalm 95 says when it comes to knowing who the Lord is and expressing our hearts of gratitude by worshiping our Lord and King.

Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 
                                                                                                       

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,

8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’

11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

The Lord urges us to come to Him with an opened and humbled heart.  We must come to the Lord through Jesus Christ.  He is worthy of our praise, worship, and devotion.

Let us give our hearts and our entire being to the Lord Jesus and live for Him.  May we worship Him and cling to Him for HE is wonderful and Awesome.

Lord,

We thank You for all that You have done for us.

Help us to know You more by reading Your Word.

Holy Spirit help us to not forget what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

Thank You Lord for loving us.

Help us to love You more and Help us to love each other.

We praise Your Name.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.

Telling Our Families About Jesus

Today is Mother's Day here in the United States and today we pause to celebrate the gift of a godly Mother.  Sometimes being a Mother is not easy.  There are times of great joy and times of bitter sorrow.  There are times when a Mother has to do the job of a nurse, a councilor, a negotiator, and even an investigator.  I can say confidently that with out my Mother I wouldn't be here today.

If you are a Mother I would just like to encourage you and thank you for all you have done for your children.  I would like to thank my Mother on this Mother's day for all she has done and all the patience with my silly sense of humor (not that I have one mind you, just saying).

I hope the Lord blessed you with a godly Mother or at least someone that was like a Mother to you.   Some people haven't had a Mother figure in their lives for one reason or another and if that is you just know that your Heavenly Father loves you with an everlasting love and He will take care of you if you will just trust Him.

The family structure seems to be falling apart in our world today.  We often wonder what is going on with the attack against traditional family values.  Family needs to be established upon a solid foundation.  It needs to be set upon the Rock of Christ.  A life that is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ may be shaken, but it won't crumble into defeat.  A family that is built upon the truth of who God is and His Word will stand even though hardship and challenges will come.

This world needs godly Mothers and godly Fathers who are anchored in the truth of who the true Living God is.  There are people all around us that need the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.  We must live for the Lord and we must tell others about Jesus.  We can start by telling our families and teaching them about Jesus.

 Lord,

Thank You for our Mothers.

Thank You for being an Awesome Loving God.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Are we showing our joy?

 I feel that sometimes we believers and followers of Jesus Christ fail at expressing the joy that is within our hearts properly.  I don't mean we need to put on a show or anything like that.  I mean we have a great reason to show joy to those around us because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

We have all sinned and have fallen short of God's high standards.  We are all deserving of being eternally separated from the Living God and placed in a literal hell forever out of God's Holy presence.  

Thankfully,  God made a way for us law breakers to be reconciled back to Himself.  The Lord sent Jesus Christ into this world to live a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus is the only One that ever kept the law of God without fault.  Jesus was pierced for our transgressions.  Jesus was nailed to a cruel wooden Cross and He bled and died there for our sins. 

Jesus took the punishment that you and I deserve in order to bring us into a right relationship with God.  Who ever comes to Jesus Christ in faith will be saved.  We must realize that we are a sinner and can't save ourselves.  Then we must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  We know that One Day Jesus Christ will return and bring the Kingdom of God to full completion here on the earth.   We know that who ever believes on Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins will be saved and will have a Home in Heaven when our earthly lives are over.  

We have a lot to rejoice over in the Lord.  We should be full of joy and gratitude for all the Lord has done for us.   The Lord didn't leave us as orphans, but He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Sometimes we confuse joy and happiness.  Happiness is dependent upon our circumstances while joy isn't.  We can be joyful that we are known by the Lord and that our names are written on the Lambs Book of Life because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross at Calvary. 

I am reminded of how much joy Paul and Silas had even though they were chained to a wall in a prison in Philippi.  They were singing out to the Lord and they were full of joy.  Their witness was powerful there because they ended up bringing a guard to faith in Jesus Christ and his entire family as well because they showed their joy.

I wonder what would happen if we truly allowed the Holy Spirit to flow through us unhindered and express the joy we have from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  What kind of impact would we have on those around us?

Lord,

Restore our joy in knowing You.

Help us to be a witness for You in this darkening world of sin and sorrow.

Fill us with Your Holy Spirit.

We rejoice in who You are.

Lead us and guide our steps.

May Your will be done.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Casting Off Our Timidity And Trusting The Lord

We have all faced those moments in life when we feel rather timid or afraid to do something.  Sometimes doubt and fear arises from deep within us and it stifles the truth.  For example picture a young child who is standing at the side of a swimming pool and their parent is standing in the pool urging the child to jump into their waiting arms.  The parent comforts the child with kind loving words, "It is alright.  I will catch you."

The child knows that the parent loves him or her.  They know the truth of that love because they have experienced it everyday since they were born, but at this moment their fear overrides the truth that they know so plainly. 

Sometimes we do that with the Lord.  We know the truth of who He is and that He promises to always to be with us each step of the way throughout our lives,  but sometimes we allow fear to take a hard grip upon us.  It's not that we don't know the truth about who God is,  but we allow doubt and fear to grow bigger than our faith in an awesome loving God who is bigger than any fear that we will ever face.

There will be times in every Christians life when we will feel discouraged.  There will be times when our fears seem so big that we just want to run away and hide on a small tropical island somewhere in the Caribbean where it doesn't snow and rain all the time (Maybe I have thought about that way too much).

When we are serving the Lord we will face difficulties and challenges.  There will be times when doubt knocks at the door of our hearts and minds.  It is in those moments we must take courage and not be afraid to ask questions.  We must seek the Lord in prayer and through reading the Bible.  We also should seek wisdom from the Lord and from other followers of Christ who are living in the Spirit and are grounded in the truth of God's Word.

I am reminded of a verse of Scripture that we spoke about tonight at a Bible study that attended which is found in 2 Timothy 1:6-7 which says,

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,

which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,

but s spirit of power,

of love and of self-discipline."

The Apostle Paul was trying to encourage Timothy to fan into flame the gift that God had placed in him.  Timothy may have been starting to grow timid and fear may have been clouding his vision. 

Sometimes discouragement can do that to us.  We may be living for the Lord and we are using our gifts that the Lord blessed us with and then we hit a rough patch.  We may feel like giving up or we may feel backed into a corner.

We must remember to submit to the Holy Spirit and fan into flame the gift that the Lord has given to us no matter how small of a gift that may seem to us.  The Lord doesn't want us to be timid,  but He wants us to trust Him.  The Holy Spirit will empower us to use those gifts to draw people to Jesus if we just rely on Him to work through us.  We must remember to be well grounded in God's Word and we ought to be self-disciplined.

Let us fan into flame the gif that the Lord has blessed us with for His Glory, Honor, and Praise.  Let us not be timid, but let us trust Him to lead us and to empower us to do His will.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.

You are Holy and Just in Your Judgments.

Help us not to be timid and just lean upon You.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Bearing With One Another In Love

Sometimes we find ourselves at odds with other believers in Jesus Christ.  We would like to think that would never happen to us, but unfortunately these disputes do occur.  Sometimes this causes division amongst fellow believers and that is never good.  The devil is running around stirring up trouble because he knows his time is running really short.   The devil loves it when believers fight with each other. 

Disagreements come to the best of people.  There will be times when we rub someone the wrong way or vice versa.  When disputes get really bad within a congregation it can hurt our witness for the Lord and that is never a good thing. 

We must remember the magnitude of love that the Lord Jesus has for us and the outstanding grace He has shown us.  We also need to show grace and mercy to those around us as well and that includes in the church.  The Lord Jesus died for our sins and He forgives us when we place our faith in Him and His finished work on the Cross.  We too ought to be quick to forgive those who wrong us and we should be quick to ask for forgiveness of others when we make a mess of things.

Sometimes it isn't easy to forgive those who hurt us badly, but we must and we must release them to the Lord.  When we forgive someone we are not saying what they did what right, but we are surrendering our right to revenge and giving them to the Lord who is better at dealing with the person than we are. 

The Lord doesn't want us to be at odds with one another.  We must remain calm and gentle even though sometimes that is no easy task by any stretch of the imagination.  We must remember also to be true to God's Holy Word and be led by the Holy Spirit.  We must love each other as Christ so greatly loves us and He demonstrated that love at the Cross. 

I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul says in the book of Ephesians 4:1-7,

"As a prisoner for the Lord,
then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and
gentle;  be patient,  bearing with
another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one
Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father over all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given
as Christ apportioned it."

The Lord wants us to love Him with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul and He also tells us to love others as we love ourselves.  It is by the love that we believers have for each other that the world will know that we truly are His disciples.

What message is the Church sending to our world today?

I would hope it is a message of Truth and Hope and Love that is only found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  We, the church, need to be in the business of proclaiming the Gospel truth and furthering the Kingdom of God.  The Lord wants us to tell people about Jesus Christ and He wants people to grow in a relationship with Himself.  

Lord,

We praise Your Name.

Help us to love each other.

Help us to love You more and Your Word as well.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit into all truth.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Showing Kindness To Others

There seems to be a lot of negativity in our world these days.  There is a lot of mean spiritedness and it has seemed to have infiltrated the church as well.  This is a dark and scary world and it would appear that things will get worse until Christ returns. 

It is tempting for we believers in Christ Jesus to try to be positive about everything, but that won't get us very far I am afraid.  Don't get me wrong being positive has its place at times,  but sometimes situations that we find ourselves in won't be fixed by us being positive about it.  Instead we should be hope filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for the Lord Jesus and trusting in Him no matter what dark times befall us.

People won't always treat us the way we think they should.  There will be times when people will insult us and treat us badly.  There will be times when we are mocked and laughed at because we are followers of Jesus Christ.  We are not responsible of how other people act.  We are responsible for our response and actions to those people who come against us. 

We must remember that this world is not our home.  Our Home is in Heaven.  We are pilgrims just passing through on our way to a better land.  We are here on earth to be ambassadors for Christ.  The Church has a mission to go into this world and proclaim the Gospel Message to all Nations. 

While doing the Lord's will in this world we must remember to be kind and compassionate to those around us.  There are many people hurting all around us.  There are many people going through things that we have no idea about.  Sometimes when we open ourselves up to love others we will get hurt, but that is what the Lord would have us to do for He tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Are we showing kindness to those around us?

Ephesians 4:32 says,

"Be kind to one another, forgiving one another as in Christ Jesus God forgave you."

Shouldn't this verse be embroidered on every believers heart.  Let us show kindness to those around us both inside and outside the church.  People need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and it is our mission to tell them about Jesus.

Let's tell the world about the love that Jesus Christ has for them and all that He has done for us.  Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and He gives us eternal life to all those who receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Let's be gentle and kind to one other so we can draw people to Jesus.

Lord,

Help us to be kind to one another.

Help us to forgive those who hurt us with their words.

We give them up to You Lord to deal with in whatever way You see fit.

We praise Your Name.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Learning To Trust The Lord In Difficult Times

Hello, everyone.  I am sorry for not blogging for the past few days.  My computer has been giving me troubles lately.  It is working at the moment thankfully and hopefully I will be able to post this blog post tonight. 

Sometimes things don't always go the way we would like them to go.  There are times that we fail to do the things that we know the Lord who have us to do.  Sometimes we moan and grown because the weather isn't sunny and warm (like here in Northern Maine). 

Sometimes life can seem like a rollercoaster of sorts.  We have great moments and climb quickly to our mountain top experience then without warning we a careening downward at a very steep angle at a very high rate of speed.  I must admit I really like those mountain top experiences where we feel really close to the Lord and all seems well with our souls. 

I know however that it is during those moments when I am thrust into a deep dark valley that I have the most Spiritual growth that takes place.  I learn to trust the Lord during those times because He is the only one that can help me and you as well.

It is during life's difficult and troubling moments that we learn that the Lord is able to accomplish many things in our life and He helps us to learn to trust in Him and grow to know Him more intimately.   The Lord wants us to grow Spiritually and He wants us to trust Him.  The Lord wants us to walk in the Spirit and give no foothold to our fleshly desires.  In our own power that would be impossible because we are very weak in the flesh and our hearts are set to meet our own selfish needs. 

The Lord wants to set us free from those sinful desires within us and the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives to do just that, but we must submit to His will.  We don't like the sound of that word though, do we?  When we hear the word submit we feel like we are being weakened or beaten down.  We must come humbly to the Lord however, and that involves submitting to His authority.  We are His servants when we place our faith and trust in Him.  We are no longer our own.  We have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus died on the Cross for our sins.  He paid the penalty that we deserved to pay.  Jesus died in our place.  Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross will be saved. 

The Lord is Awesome and worthy of our praise and our worship.  The Lord is worthy of our trust.  We can trust Him because we know He is faithful. 

Let us allow the Lord to teach us how to trust Him more in those valley moments of life and may we lean upon Him during those hard times.  The Lord isn't out to hurt us, but He wants us to grow in Him with a deeper love and a greater appreciation of who He is. 

I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:20-21,

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work
within us,  to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."

Sometimes we forget that all things are possible with the Lord.  The Lord can do all things and He can indeed work in ways that seem totally impossible to us.  There will be times when the Lord wants us to take a step out of the boat and onto the stormy sea where He is and just trust Him to help us to keep our eyes above the crashing waves that wants to pull us under.

We need to learn to trust the Lord in those very difficult moments when all seems lost and impossible.  Let's lean upon the Lord and trust Him with our lives.


Lord,

We praise Your Name.

You Are Holy and Just in Your Judgments.

Help us to trust You in those difficult moments and Help us to grow closer to You.

You are God and we are Your servants.

Forgive us for being self centered and Help us to be God focused.

Lead us and empower us through Your Holy Spirit to do Your will.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Giving Our Heart To Jesus

When I was growing up I remember a neighbor of mine asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I thought about it for quite a while and I think I must have giving him a lot of different answers over a period of time because I remember getting a card from him with writing all over the envelope.  The envelope was covered with all the names of jobs I told him I wanted to do when I grew up.  The jobs ranged from police officer, doctor, reporter, reverend, and covered many other job descriptions.

I was just sitting here thinking about my neighbor from many years ago about all those jobs I waned to do.  That got me to thinking also about how we sometimes get defined by the job we do.  When we think of certain people we think, "Oh, he's the doctor or she's a nurse or she's a lawyer."

We forget sometimes that people are human beings that are made in the image of the Living God and are deeply loved by their Creator.  Sometimes we tend to treat people differently based on their job title and even look down on them.  Sometimes we are surprised if they step outside of the bubble that we have placed them in.  For example, I work in the produce department of a grocery store, but I am also a Pastoral Intern at my Church which has opened doors of opportunity to preach at some area Churches. 

Some people have been shocked that I can preach a sermon because all they know of me is that I work in a grocery store.  Why are we shocked that God can use anybody He wants to use to proclaim the truth of His Word to others.   We don't need the best job.  We don't need so extra large bank account.  What we need is to love the Lord Jesus and love others no matter what our job title is. 

A person could have a great job title and still no be a very godly person.   We do tend to look on the outside of people and judge them based on outward appearances,  but the Lord takes a deeper look directly into the person's heart. 

What is in our heart? 

Our mouth's speak from what lies in our very hearts.  When our hearts are full of awful worldly things then we shouldn't be surprised that our words aren't very uplifting to others.  When our hearts have been made knew from having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us then shouldn't our words be honoring to the Lord and bring Him Glory.

Sometimes even as believers in Christ our hearts may not be right.  We must repent of anything that is in our heart that doesn't honor the Lord and turn our hearts back to Him.

Lord,
Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast Spirit within me.
Lead us and guide us according to Your Holy Spirit.
Help us to feed upon Your Word.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.