COME TO THE FATHER'S HOUSE

Come To The Father’s House  

John 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

Have you answered the invitation God sent you “to come to the Father’s house?” He sent you an invitation in the person of Jesus Christ. God the Father wants you to be a part of His family and is preparing a place for you to live. It’s a beautiful place called heaven. It’s a place with unlimited resources and beauty and the amazing thing is, it’s available to all who respond to His invitation. It is a city that doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb, Jesus, is its lamp. (Rev 21:23)  It’s a city that will never again experience night. God’s presence and the glory of His being will be its source of illumination. We will live there and reign with God forever and ever. You may be thinking to yourself, “Can this really be true?” The answer is, “Yes!” All the promises of God are trustworthy and true. (Rev 22:5-6)

Jesus is not only preparing a special place for you, He is also preparing you a special body, built for eternity. Your new body will be like His body, a glorified body perfect in every way. Your new body will not age, grow weary, get hunger, become wrinkled or become diseased. You are a new creation in Christ, the old has gone, and the new has come! You have been reconciled to God and given a living hope in the resurrected Christ. You are born into an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade (2 Cor 5:19; 1 Peter 1:3-4) One of the greatest blessings you will have is complete understanding for you will have the mind of Christ.(1 Cor 2:16)   

Beloved, Jesus wants you to come to this place He is preparing for you. He wants you to invite your family and friends. There are no limitations as to who can come. You can invite your entire neighborhood; those you know well and those you hardly know at all; in fact Jesus wants you to invite the strangers you meet as you go about your day. This invitation is given to all. The RSVP is placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

The greatest blessing of all, I saved for last. You will see the face of Christ. I cannot begin to comprehend what this will be like but one thing I know, I hunger for it. I see Him in His Word and hear His voice in the leading of the Holy Spirit but my heart hungers to see Him face to face and to know Him as I am known. At the first glimpse of the dear face of my Savior I will rejoice and exclaim, "My Savior and my God."

 I invite all of you to join me for eternity. What a day that will be. I love you in Christ, even those of you I have never met face to face. I look forward to joining you and millions of others around the Throne of God’s Grace. david

HIDDEN IN THE APPLE BLOSSOM

I Received this today and it was news to me, the part about the apple and the worm. But what a wonderful illustration. Hope you not only enjoy it but can use it in your witness and testimony to others. david

Hidden in the Apple Blossom

Contributor: Lynn Shuyler

Topics: Sin

"If you find an apple with a worm hole, it does not mean that there is a worm inside the apple. It simply means that an insect laid an egg in the apple blossom.  Sometime later, the worm hatched in the heart of the apple, then ate its way out."

 Application:

Despite the appearance, the worm doesn't work its way into the apple, it works it's way out. And so it is with sin. It doesn't work its way into our hearts, it works its way out. Although manifest much later through our words and actions, it was there all along, hidden in the very blossom of our human nature. 

"It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart" (Mark 7:15, NLT). 

Copyright © 2011 Illustration Exchange, All rights reserved.

HE CAME TO HIS OWN

HE CAME TO HIS OWN!

Jn 1:11-13 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

He came to His own in the Garden of Eden; to those whom He had created for Himself. He came to them and they hid. They listened to the voice of the enemy rather than to the voice of God.  He came to His own throughout the Old Testament.

He came to His own but His own wanted nothing to do with Him and in their selfishness, ignorance and intolerance they attempted to destroy Him.  

He came to His own in fulfillment of His revealed Word but His own twisted and contradicted His Word and listened to their god, Satan, the father of all lies.

He came to His own and demonstrated in Word and in deed that God had given Him complete authority over all creation. His authority and power is unmatched. He brought something out of nothing. He brought strength out of weakness. He brought courage out of despair. He brought life out of death and placed eternity in the hearts of those who believe in Him. But His own believed him not and challenged His authority. Rather than submit to the authority of God they chose to submit to the authority of man.

He came to His own with Words of hope and deliverance. He came to His own to show them a better way, His Way; a better truth, His Truth; and a better life, His Life. His own chose not to believe His “good news.” Instead they turned their backs to Him and went the way of their choosing. They wanted to decide what truth was and what constituted the “good life.” They chose to believe He was lying and attempting to get them to turn their backs on their religion and its practices. They chose to believe a lie. They chose the way of death.  

He came to His own with the purest intentions and the purest love known to mankind. He didn't come to judge or to condemn, He came to save. His own responded to this unimaginable love by questioning His motives.

He came to His own and they mocked Him; they mocked His claims, they mocked His miracles. They said His power came from Beelzebub and that He was possessed by demons. His own chose to reject His Kingship and to seek out another to rule and reign over them and they submitted themselves to the prince and power of darkness.

Jesus came to His own, leaving His home in heaven, putting aside His glory. He humbled Himself and took the very nature of a servant, willingly dying on a cross for our sins. God in Christ willingly submitted Himself to be slapped, spit on, mocked and beaten. He allowed Himself to be made a spectacle before others, being stripped naked and openly tormented by those calling for His death. Jesus, in dying, paid the penalty of mankind’s sins. He became man’s sin sacrifice, satisfying God’s penalty for sin. He saved us and redeemed us by His blood.  

Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

Now would be a good time to praise Him. david

FEELING GUILTY FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING

 Feeling Guilty For Doing the Right Thing; Spending Time with God 

Has this ever happened to you? You get your Bible or your devotional book and head for a comfortable place to have a time alone with God. Almost immediately, as you open the Bible and begin to read, other thoughts come into your mind. The things you need to do start crossing your mind and you begin to think you had better get up and get moving. You feel this urgency to take care of these “things” rather than stay a little longer spending time in prayer and study. You can’t get your mind to stay on track. If you want to really get distracted get down on your knees to pray! Then we feel guilty for not staying with the Lord and guilty for not getting our “things” done. After all, the things we think need doing are not bad things. 

What’s going on? Why the guilt? Of all the activities we do, why do we struggle with concentrating when spending time with the Lord? Think about it. Of all the things we do, what would Satan most want to distract us from? Right! Time with God. The fact you want to spend time with the Lord is evidence that the Holy Spirit is drawing you into a more personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  Rejoice in that fact. What we must do is train ourselves to “be still”; learn to wait and listen. And like anything worth doing, it takes working at it and practice.

Here are some suggestions that may be of help to you in your attempt to have a satisfying and fulfilling time with the Lord.

1. Make a commitment to establish a daily time to read the Bible, worship and pray.  
2. 2.   Ask the Holy Spirit to help you remain focused on what you are doing.
3. 3.   Print or write out a small card with the following on it: Jesus is with me. The Holy Spirit indwells me.  When you find yourself being distracted, read the card to yourself or out loud as a reminder that what you are doing is pleasing to God. Then, get back to doing what you were doing before you were distracted.
4. Read short passages and then stop and ask yourself the following: What truth is being revealed? How does it apply to me?

Spending time in the presence of God is not only a blessing, it is also spiritual warfare. Satan doesn't want us to get to “know” Christ. He doesn't want Christ to be our passion. He doesn't want us to grow spiritually and become all that God desires us to be so he tries to distract us. But remember, he has already lost the battle. We have the victory in Jesus, our precious Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit lives in us, always guiding, drawing, wooing us to the One who is closer than a brother.  Speak the name of Jesus – Satan will flee. Praise and thank God that He wants to spend time with you. 

Beloved, we were not designed to find satisfaction in this world. We were created in God’s image. Heaven, living in His presence, is our ultimate destiny, our eternal home.  God places a heavenly desire in our hearts so we will seek Him and when we do, it is a delight to Him (Ps 27:8).  Let His presence encourage us to relax and rest in Him; seeking Him with all our hearts, with every fiber of our being. His love will continue to transform us into His image as we become more and more like Him.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! david

YOUR PROBLEMS, HIS PRESENCE

Your Problems, His Presence

Hebrews 12:2a: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” 

Beloved, are you aware that the face of God is shining upon you as you go throughout your day? His presence will enable you to walk and live in peace and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Today you may find yourself surrounded by a vast sea of problems but don’t lose heart, He is with you and can provide the peace you need as you deal with your day. Don’t focus on the problems, focus on Jesus. The problems you will face in life are too much of a burden to bear on your own (Matthew 11:28-30). 

The circumstances you may find yourself in are like a raging sea, the waves may be reaching heights well above your head and look very frightening, but you can do what the Apostle Peter did in the midst of his storm; he cried out to Jesus for help: “Lord save me” and Jesus responded (Matthew 14:30). He will do the same for you. He will take you by the hand, lift you up and place you in a safe place. Remember He is the one who never changes. His mercy and grace will be enough to meet your every need. Stay close to Him, seek His face, His presence, and the fear of the future will not trouble you. 

At times life will be weary and burdensome for a believer. We are in a constant state of temptation and engaged in an ongoing battle against the desires of the flesh. When we keep our vision on Christ and walk in obedience to his revealed will we experience the peace of his presence and are given the strength we need to deal with the difficulties of each day. The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us. As he does our spirit will be refreshed and we will find rest in his loving care. His healing and the peace that passes all understanding will be ours. 

The rest that Jesus promises is not the end of all our labor for we will continue to labor in service to the Lord. But his rest will deliver us from the meaningless and wearisome toil that is the result of our doing battle with the world. 

On an uplifting note, there is one type of labor that will never prove to be burdensome and that labor is found in keeping  and obeying the commands of Jesus (1 John 5:3). When we obey His commands, we overcome the world and when we overcome the world we are victorious over sin and over God’s enemy, Satan. In 1 John 5:5 the Apostle John asks a question, “Who is it that overcomes the world?” His answer revealed by the Holy Spirit is, “only he who believes that Jesus is the son of God.” 

Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith! Hallelujah! We do not perfect ourselves – He does! Another hallelujah! What do we do – we obey; we listen; we pray; we study His Word; we walk with Him each day allowing Him to lead, resting in His faithfulness, truth and love. That’s a win-win as far as I am concerned. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Let go and let God!”  Well, let go……and let God! To God be the glory, Amen! david

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN

When Bad Things Happen

Romans 8:28 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.

This is a verse of Scripture written by Paul the Apostle in a letter to the church at Rome. When it was read to the believers it would have been difficult for them to understand or to believe. How can all things possibly work for the good of those who love God?

They lived in a city dominated by a madman by the name of Nero. This is the madman that in A.D. 64 blamed the Christians for a fire that started in Rome and devastated a large area of the city. He charged the Christians with the crime. Many were persecuted and killed for a crime they did not commit. It is quite likely that Peter and Paul were executed while he was in office. Nero’s thirst for power led him to kill his stepbrother and his mother. Later he banished his wife Octavia before having her killed. He was, by any judgment, an evil man responsible for much hardship, suffering and death over those he ruled. It is understandable why the people would have asked the question, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?”

It was this concern the Apostle Paul addressed and he did so to reassure the followers of God that God was aware of what was going on and he would bring something good out of all of the evil. The good would come to them in their weakness and their brokenness with the greater good coming to them when they stood in His presence. Even if they or their loved ones suffered the worst things imaginable in this life, God would work it together for their good. His promise to them and to all who call on the Name of the Lord is that they will be blessed with the gift of eternal life.

Their suffering and our suffering is to be viewed as a refining process. The Bible declares it is in the difficulties and the trials of life where faith is tested and proven to be genuine. It may not be easy for us to understand this and it is without question, something that has to be accepted by faith. We must often remind ourselves it is not going to be easy to go through this refining process. It wasn't easy for Jesus either. He will never require anything of us that he hasn't experienced himself. When he was touched by the greatest act of evil in the history of mankind, crucifixion, He trusted His Heavenly Father to deliver him. We are to do no less. Jesus faced the worst His enemy could bring against Him and it cost Him His life. We are to follow His example, even to the point of losing our lives and just as he did, we are to trust in our Heavenly Father.

It doesn't matter what evil the enemy of God throws against us our faith responds with the affirmation: God is at work in “everything” that touches us and it will work for our good. Even though we live in an evil, fallen world; a world characterized by its sin and evil behavior, God is working out His plan and purpose in our lives and our ultimately victory in Christ.  Remember dear friends, God didn’t come into this world to make us happy. He came to fulfill his plan and his purpose in our lives that leads to our redemption, forgiveness and restoration. For those who have confessed and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and been born again, they have the assurance that regardless of what happens to them in this life, they are safe and secure in Christ.

This assurance is not for everyone but only for those who have “in faith” responded to the call of God’s love and believed on His Son, Jesus Christ. They have been born again and possess a new heart, a new mind and a fresh hunger and thirst for righteousness. They walk by faith, not by sight, and when the going gets difficult they trust in God to deliver. Their security is not in the world and those who are a part of the world. Their security is in Jesus their Savior and in their Heavenly Father who is eagerly awaiting their ultimate arrival in heaven. Knowing this they too eagerly await His coming or their homegoing. The faith and trust they have in Christ will keep them secure when the trials and tribulations of life are raging around them. Their faith, though tried, will remain true in pain or in persecution because they know God is with them. Hallelujah what a Savior. Love in Christ, david   

THE DEVILS CRUSHED; DEFEATED

The Devils Crushed; Defeated

Romans 16:20 (NIV) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Back in the early 1980s Eleanor and I had the privilege of serving a church in North Florida. It was a rural setting and the parsonage and church were located in the middle of hundreds of acres of farm land. The place was well known for its rattlesnakes and alligators. Alligators are quite visible but rattlesnakes are stealthy and easy to overlook and miss.

Several men, members of the church, loved to drop by the parsonage and would pull in front of it and wait for us to come outside, especially Eleanor. She was a city girl and they loved to tease her. One day Albert and Quinteen Deas drove up in their truck, got out and waited for us to come out. Eleanor saw him and walked out to see at he wanted. They told her they wanted to show her something so she walked over to the truck without thinking anything about it. When she looked down into the truck bed there was a 5 foot diamondback rattlesnake.  Now Eleanor doesn't even like pictures of snakes, she screamed and ran for the house. Of course she had no way of knowing it was dead. They got a big laugh out of her reaction which is exactly what they wanted. They told her the snake was dead and when she looked again she could see that the head of the snake had been crushed. Albert then proceeded to prove the snake was dead by reaching in and grabbing the snake by the tail. As soon as he touched the snake’s tail the head of the snake immediately darted around as though it was trying to strike him. Albert jumped back! This is a strange phenomenon known to those who have handled snakes. Even though the head may be crushed, even completely cut off, the body can continue to move and to twitch for several hours.  Needless to say, Eleanor got the last laugh!

This rattlesnake as big and fearsome as it looked, even with its quivering and moving, was dead. It had suffered a mortal wound, a crushed head and was powerless to inflict any damage to anyone attempting to handle it. Even though its head was crushed it was still able to cause an individual to jump back in fear and to keep their distance.

Our enemy the devil is much like a headless snake. He may look and sound frightening but his bite is gone and he is a defeated foe. The evil and ungodly trials that result in great spiritual battles that often try our faith are coming from a defeated foe. Satan is an enemy of God who is consistently lying to us, attempting to mislead us and cause us to sin and live in fear. He wants to take away the joy of our salvation and our reliance upon the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit. He wants us to think our lives are out of control and there is nothing we can do about. Whenever we lose our peace, he rejoices. Whenever we doubt our salvation and question the security that is ours in Christ, he thinks he’s winning the battle. He may look formidable; he may look fearsome but he has no authority over a child of God; his threats are empty just like the quivering and striking motion of that rattlesnake. The deceptions, lies and counterfeits that have been used so effectively in the lives of countless millions of individual will one day come to an end. 

That old snake, that old serpent, the devil, will be destroyed for time and eternity. He will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the antichrist and the false prophet along with his dreams of ruling and reigning over the people of God. He will come to a dismal end and rather than ruling, he will spend eternity in torment (Revelation 20:10). PTL! 

Don’t waste your time and energy fighting a dead enemy, resist him and use the weapon, God’s Word against him and he will flee. God wants you to spend your time reading the Word and obeying it; serving the living God!

Beloved, be ready to come under attack after reading this. Satan will test you but remember you are an over-comer in the victory of Christ. david

A DAY SET APART

A Day Set Apart

Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV) "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, ¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Do you see the Sabbath celebration as a delight? Do you see it as the Lord’s holy day? Do you even question its importance? It was obviously important to Jesus and we know this because of His example. It’s important because God created the week and divided it into seven days. The day and week becomes the primary way in which we tell time. God’s instructions to mankind were for them to work six days and to rest on the seventh day. The seventh day was a day “set apart,” different from the other days, a day holy unto the Lord (Genesis 2:3).

What happened? Where did we lose sight of how God views the Sabbath? When did we allow it to be replaced with our own understanding of how God wants us to spend this day He has declared as being special?  The majority of people today, by their example, treat Sunday (or whatever day you celebrate as your Sabbath) no differently than any other day. Sunday for many, has become a weekly holiday rather than a holy day ordained by God. Sunday has become the day we can sleep late, play golf, go to the lake, visit friends, go to the Mall, do yardwork, do laundry or spend the day watching sporting events; you fill in the blank. Over the years I have observed, that we as a nation and as individuals, have completely done away with the special way in which God intended for His creation to spend their Sundays. Whenever anyone makes a decision to do things contrary to the will of God or the design of God, there will be consequences and if left unchanged, they will ultimately lead to spiritual death.  

I love the question Ann Graham Lotz posed about the Sabbath, “Has the day that is supposed to be set apart…fallen apart?” What do you think? How is Sunday spent by you, your family? More importantly, if someone used you as an example would they think Sunday was a day that was special by the way you spent it or would it look as though it was a day that had fallen apart? How does your Sabbath reflect your faith?

The Sabbath is God’s day, a holy day, a day of worship reserved by God for a special purpose and when we do it honors Him. To keep Sunday in a way that honors God is a way we can show our willingness to submit our will to God’s will. It is a day that can refresh us spiritually and physically; providing quality time for us to celebrate the presence of God in worship and much needed time with our families and friends. God will honor your efforts as you dedicate this day to Him.

I ask you again: Do you spend your Sabbath any differently from the other six days of the week? david

JOY

 JOY

Joy and happiness are often confused. Joy is a deep emotional experience that is the result of our spiritual salvation and the personal relationship that we have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Happiness on the other hand is dependent upon our outward circumstances. In other words happiness can fluctuate but joy will always be joy. True Christian joy will reflect the transformation that is going on within us; the peace we gain as a result of our relationship with God through His Son. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we demonstrate this gift it is evidence of our being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. A believer rejoices because they have been filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy that is the result of their salvation (1 Peter 1:8-9).  

The word of God reveals several important truths to us related to joy:

1.      The joy a believer experiences is directly related to their spiritual salvation.  This means they have confessed their sins and have asked Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins and come into their hearts and be their Lord and Savior.

2.      Joy is also connected to God’s Word. God’s word is truth. It will never change. It will always be truth. So, true joy does not change. It is not dependent on our feelings or circumstances, but is based on the solid foundation of what Jesus Christ has accomplished in our behalf. Just as His truth is eternal, His Word is eternal and unchanging. Our joy is based on His truths and His Word which means our joy is eternal. (John 1:1; Luke 21:33)

3.      Joy is the work of the Holy Spirit. As we submit our will in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit we grow in the knowledge of God. The more obedient we are to the leading of the Holy Spirit the more we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. His character becomes our character. The more Christ like we are, the more we will show forth the “fruit of the spirit” which is the character of Jesus Christ. Joy, and the ability to rejoice, does not come automatically. It is the result of a growing, knowing, personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. The more we mature, the more we become like Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit plants within us a deep sense of God’s presence and nearness in our lives. It is this presence, this nearness, which is the source of our joy. To have this unshakable joy in the midst of the trials, the difficulties of life, is directly connected to our willingness to submit our will to God’s will and to remain in God’s Word. (Psalm 16:11; Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22; John 15:10-11)

4.      Joy comes from the intimacy of God’s nearness and abiding presence. That is why true joy cannot be destroyed by pain, suffering, evil or trying circumstances. As God’s abiding presence is eternal so is His abiding joy. (Acts 2:28:2 Corinthians 12:9)

5.      Having experienced the “joy of the Lord” becomes the greatest motivating factor in the life of a believer as they yield themselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling God’s purpose and plan for their lives. (Ephesians 1:11)

While our joy is a direct result of our intimate relationship with Christ we also are able to find joy in the faithful witness of others. My faithfulness to Christ and your faithfulness to Christ have the power to enable others to rejoice. The apostle Paul discovered this blessed truth and wrote of this blessing to those who were members of the church at Thessalonica. What is our hope, what is joy, what is the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when he appears? Is it not you? He concludes by saying you, implying your faithful witness; your faithful walk; your desire to finish well; these are a part of our glory and joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).

I close with a simple question: today, will you be a source of joy in the life of a brother or sister because of the Christ in you?

WORRY OR TRUST WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE?

WORRY OR TRUST WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE? 

Well it’s a new year. Are things going to be different this year in the way in which you think, the way in which you respond to life? How much time are you going to spend worrying about things over which you have little or no control? 

It seems worry has become a big part of our lives and has gradually taken over much of our thinking. Its entrance has been so gradual that many are not aware they worry as much as they do. One thing is for sure, worry is costly. It is harmful to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being; in fact worry is like a malignant disease, it grows and grows. Does this sound familiar? You start to worry about one thing and that causes you to worry about something else and that causes you to worry about something else and that causes you to worry about something else and all your worry results in your being tired, irritable and with little energy. Worry is not of God. 

I don’t know the source of the following relating to worry, but if it is based on scientific inquiry the results are sobering.

·         40% of the things we worry about never happen.

·         30% of the things we worry about were things that had already taken place and there was nothing we could do about it.

·         12% of the things we worry about were things that had been shared with us by others and it turns out that what they were sharing was their own opinion, often with little or no basis of truth.

·         10% of the things we worry about are health related which most of us would agree is not good for our health. People who worry excessively are not healthy, especially when they realize they have little or no control over what is causing them to worry.  

·         8% of the things we worry about are legitimate concerns. During the course of our lives we will face many trials and some very real problems that need to be dealt with.

If the above statistics are correct or anywhere near correct, it seems that there are only 8% of the things that we deal with in life that are worth worrying about.  

If 92% of the things that cause us to worry are beyond our control or not important, wouldn’t it make sense for us to worry less? But the reality is we do worry. Can the Word of God help me not to worry? Here is a passage of Scripture that should be of great help in dealing with worry. I remind you though, to be of value it must be believed and implemented by faith. 

Matthew 11:28. This Scripture passage will help those of us who realize we have grown weary because of the burdensome nature of worry and that we need help, we need rest; it is available: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Coming to Jesus results in our receiving rest. 

Beloved, God is faithful. As we walk in faithfulness, we will discover God’s will and way in dealing with the 8% of our life that is of legitimate concern. In doing this we learn the importance of trusting God in any and all circumstances. 

Certain things that touch our lives may be beyond our control, but praise God they are not beyond His. Worry is not part of His solution. Worry may be a choice we make in life but it’s a poor one. The greatest choice we can  make is to walk with Him in faith and allow His Presence to fill us with His peace and rest. His message to all who know Him remains the same “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt11:28).  

God bless you and keep you centered in His will, david

RESURRECTION GREETING

Resurrection Greeting

Dear ones, today is a fresh start. In this coming year you will be given 364 more “fresh starts.” Every day is a new beginning, bringing with it fresh opportunities to serve the Lord and touch the lives of those around you. Yesterday is in the past, in fact, every second, minute and hour is no longer a part of the present but is now a part of the past. We can’t relive it, we can’t change it, it is what it is. The only way to deal with the past is to give it to the Lord. Surprisingly, the best way to deal with the present and also the future is to give it to the Lord. What a Wonderful Way God has made available to us to live. I hope you take advantage of it. 

I want to ask a question. Do you know what the Resurrection Greeting is? I confess, I knew it without knowing I knew it? It is recorded in the Gospel of John 20:19 "Peace be with you!"  According to the Gospel of John these were the first words Jesus spoke to His disciples after His resurrection.  I have read this passage dozens of times and never knew it was thought of as the “Resurrection Greeting.” 

Jesus took the common greeting of the Hebrews and gave it new meaning. Everything that Jesus had revealed to His followers as He spent time discipling them, was done with the intent of their being able to live at peace in the world and at peace with God. (John 16:33) God’s peace enables His followers to live without having a troubled heart because His peace is not of this world. It is from God. 

At the start of this New Year I pray “the peace of Christ (will) rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.; and for you to be thankful (Colossians 3:15).  

I pray Jesus will bless you, your family and friends with His wondrous peace; peace that will lead to happiness and great contentment. I pray once you have received this devotion the Spirit of God will testify to your spirit and you will feel His peace. I also pray you will pray for others and if led to do so, pass this on with the hope it will bless them. God wants to use you to spread His love and kindness into the lives of those you know and care about and others God brings across your path. This prayer is prayed in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, amen 

Happy New Year, David