We have to do what it takes to get to Jesus! 

The book of Jude is not one that we hear much about. In fact, it is literally comprised of one chapter, yet its message is as important as the rest of God’s Word. Jude verses 22-23 states, “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” This scripture is giving us a verbal roadmap of how to handle folks with different personalities in different situations.

I bet just about all of us at one time or another have heard the cheesy car commercials about bringing in your car as a trade. They say things like, “Even if your car is no longer running just bring it in..just push,pull or drag it, but get it here!”

If you think about it, this phrase that pertains to cars can easily be used about people and how they may need to get to Jesus. There are some people that you can just drop an invitation or a bit of encouragement about coming to church or about turning to God and they are in. They are already aware of the fact that they need help or a change and they just need that friendly nudge to get them going the right direction. Others, however are not so inclined to admit their need for a Savior or that their life is going in the wrong direction, but will still be persuaded with enough convincing. Then there will always be those that have to hit rock bottom, but still have to be practically drug to the Lord.

Obviously we aren’t talking about trading cars anymore are we? No, in fact the trade we are now referring to is the ULTIMATE trade, death for life. This is why God wants us to push, pull or drag (metaphorically) others to Church and to Him. Because of the completed and perfect work of the cross, Jesus takes our rotten and sinful hearts and replaces it with a clean and fully forgiven heart. What a trade!!!

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I can’t think of a better trade in all the world because we get to trade our one way ticket to death, destruction and an eternity in hell, for a one way ticket to forgiveness, security, peace and an eternity with Jesus in Heaven.

It’s not always easy to reach out to others for a myriad of reasons. Let’s face it, it’s time and energy consuming to come alongside a hurting person. Many times they treat people poorly because of the pain they are in. It’s a labor of love to put your pride on the line and to risk rejection to push,pull or drag our friends and family to the source of life that they need. However, most of us were brought into the Kingdom by our parents “dragging” us to church or a friend inviting us. How can we feel that all is well because our eternal future is secure? The Great Commission that we can find in Matthew 28:18-20 states, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I think the part we can easily forget is that it doesn’t say, “If you feel up to it” it says, “THEREFORE, GO” We need to pray that we are moved with the very same compassion that Jesus was!

Think about this today. If you and your friends and family were imprisoned and on death row yet you were pardoned, would you not wish the same for those left behind? If you knew that all they each had to do was to go to the warden, confess wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness and they could also be pardoned, would you not tell them this? Would you not be willing to help in anyway as an advocate? How much more should we want to see our friends, family and sphere of influence come to Jesus and therefore change the trajectory of their lives from hell to Heaven? Let us all keep our eyes, ears and hearts open today for what God needs us to do. It’s not always comfortable for us, but the eternal reward is so worth it. We should be on the lookout for who we might need to “push,pull or drag” to Jesus.

How can we get God’s attention?

I’m Perfect & Complete walking with Jesus!

Perfection in the secular sense can seem daunting, particularly when we look at our lives and see blemishes of regret, missed opportunities, and stains of shame. But remember, wholeness cannot come from a broken world. Wholeness comes from holiness – from being set apart.

This is where Beyonce’s song lyrics resonate, “Perfection is a disease. You’re trying to fix something, but you can’t fix what you can’t see. It’s the soul that needs a surgery.” Perfection, in essence, is an internal matter, a matter of the soul, not external appearances or accomplishments.

The Apostle Paul is an excellent example of this understanding. A Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Law, respected and feared, he relinquished all his worldly gains for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). He realized that worldly achievements, good or bad, were mere ‘fertilizer’.

The idea of perfection is not about achieving a flawless state. Rather, it’s about completeness, about being whole in a fractured world. As Paul himself wrote, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12).

Perfection is a process, akin to growing a watermelon. Plant the seed, fertilize it, water it, and watch it grow. Celebrate each stage, even when it doesn’t yet bear fruit, because it’s perfect in its progression.

And so, it’s the same with our lives. We experience good and bad, but if it’s not aligned with Christ, it’s just ‘fertilizer’. We reach for the Son, we grow, we mature. We are in process, and in that process, we are perfect, we are complete.

Remember, being ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean everything falls into place immediately, and that’s fine. The world will remain the same, but amidst the chaos, you can find your completeness in Christ.

So, let’s strive for true perfection – for completeness. Let’s strive to be whole in Christ, to grow and mature in our relationship with Him. You haven’t failed too many times. You can always reach out to Him. His love is never-ending, and His embrace can make you complete and whole.

Leave your past behind, not to forget it, but to use it as your foundation. Reach out for Christ, grow in Him, and in this process, realize that you are perfect in Him – that is the sweetest feeling of all.

Each and every one of us are called by God for a very distinct purpose. Your calling might look very different from all those around you which can cause doubt, envy or even pride. Learning to trust that God knows what He is doing when He places a specific call on our lives, can save a ton of heartache.

Today we are going to look at a man in the Bible who did NOT trust God’s sovereignty and paid a price for it. Our text can be found in Numbers 16 and it is about a man named Korah. Now this fella was the great grandson of Levi and first cousins to Moses and Aaron. He was very much familiar with the fact that Moses was rescued as a baby and adopted by the Pharaohs daughter. He obviously knew that Moses grew up being pampered in the palace while he and all the other Israelites were being beaten and enslaved by the Egyptians.

Fast forward to when God used His mighty power to make Pharaoh release the Israelites and they were wondering in the wilderness. Moses, Aaron and Korah were all descendants of Levi which meant they were all set apart to do the work of the Lord in the tabernacle. However, Moses was put in charge of Israel and Aaron was made High Priest. Korah burned with envy, bitterness and rage because he was not made a priest that could go in before the Presence of God. It was for this reason that Korah led a rebellion against Moses. It’s an incredible story that you should read, but here is the gist of what happened. While Korah along with a few other men and their families stood outside their tents in opposition to Moses, God caused the ground to open up and swallow the men, their families and all their possessions. As soon as this was finished God sent fire down on 250 other men who followed Korah. This was a mighty display of God’s power. There was also a plague that attacked the people as well. Moses instructed Aaron to take the censer and incense and run to the people and stand between them and death. It was because of this that the plague stopped. Moses and Aaron had fallen on their faces before the Lord to beg for mercy on behalf of the people before the fire and before the ground swallowed up the men and families. Even as they were being mistreated, they had compassion on the people.

There are so many amazing lessons we can take from this story. First of all, we can see from Korah that jealousy has always been a part of the human condition. Our flesh does not tend to like feeling like second best. No matter how wealthy, beautiful or talented a person is, there is ALWAYS someone more wealthy, more beautiful and more talented out there. We shouldn’t waste time looking around at what others have or what they get to be or do. We should be occupied by what God has for US to do. Your calling in life might seem less important or glamorous than someone else, but it doesn’t matter. There are things in this world that have been ordained by God for you and you alone.

Another valuable lesson is that we don’t need to get all worked up asking why people get certain things that they don’t deserve? I can tell you emphatically that all of us are getting what we don’t deserve when it comes to salvation, redemption and an eternity with God. We aren’t called to make sure everyone gets what they deserve.

Let’s talk about the nasty word…pride! We have all dealt with it at some point and it can really cause issues in life. If you are angry that someone gets to do something you don’t, isn’t that pride? We know that thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought is definitely pride, but so is begrudging success or position for someone else. This means that you think yourself better.

If you take just a moment to reflect you will most likely find a matter in your life that you treat a bit like Korah. Are you envious of someone’s position? Are you disappointed in your own personal calling because of the lack of prestige or position? Do you go to others and gossip about those you are jealous of? If the answer to any of these questions is yes…it’s time to kill Korah! You can do that today because you have been made aware of how dangerous these mentalities can be. Pray to your Heavenly Father and ask that He remove these feelings and replace them with gratitude for what you and others have.

God has picked YOU for a very specific purpose and there is great peace and blessings awaiting you. Please don’t waste another moment comparing yourself because that takes precious energy away from your purpose.

The Calling of God

He’s the God of the calling. He knows what we need before we ever get there!

If you have grown up in church or hung around with Christians for long, there is a topic you’ve likely heard about. This is one of those topics that a Christian could spend a great deal of time praying about. I’m talking about knowing the call of God on your life, recognizing that you have one and yearning to learn what it is.

First of all, if you have been born again, you have a call on your life. Matthew 28:18-20 teaches us the “Great Commission.” Jesus is instructing His disciples by saying, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is what we are all “called” to do.

You could actually say that there are three separate callings from God. The first is the call to salvation. This is the most vital call to respond to because without it, the rest doesn’t make much sense.

The second call is to consecration and that simply means to grow and mature In Christ. We were never meant to accept Jesus and just go about living the same lives. We need to spiritually grow and mature just like our physical bodies do.

Lastly, is a call to be faithful to Jesus in a way that makes a difference in God’s kingdom. We know that our Heavenly Father is so very faithful to us. I like what it says in Corinthians 1:9 “God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” Praise God!! As Christians just passing through this time on earth we can experience a lack of faithfulness in marriage, friendships and work etc. However, we cannot say the same of our Abba Father!

The matter of a call to faithfulness is not just a suggestion for somewhere down the line, but it’s for NOW. We can stop and take mental stock of our own faithfulness to Christ and I would dare to say there is somewhere that could use some encouragement.

When it comes to our individual callings, please remember that it is not about you and me. This is about God’s faithfulness in our life. Do we believe that God is that faithful, that He will use us in all of our hang ups and all of our shortcomings and failures?

God doesn’t look at us like the world looks at us, He looks at us and says, “Im not looking at the person that’s failing and the person that made mistakes and has a past history. I’m looking at somebody that has a purpose. I’m looking at somebody that has a future. I’m looking at their potential and I can see in the future that they have something great to do.” This is such a beautiful thing to know! We can trust that God sees our future and it is bright so we should see it this way as well.

You know satan is really not that clever because he seems to only have a small bag of tricks that he uses over and over. He tempts us in our weak spots and weak moments. He temps and temps and then THE second we give in, he mocks us! How does he do that you ask? He does it by immediately turning on us a filling us with shame and regret which plays out when God needs us to make a difference in this world. Now we say things like, “God can’t use me! Look what I have done in my life?” He will even make you feel like a hypocrite. If you can grasp that image of satan working you into sin and then basically making fun of you when you mess up, it could help you with temptation.

So practically speaking, how do we respond to God’s call on our lives? Well it’s by faith! Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. Faith is the way we answer the call and we say, “God, I’m here. I surrender to you.” When we do that, we start to see God do things that we know is not possible for us to do in our human ability.

In all reality, it is God who helps us bring the calling to pass. We sometimes forget that and then wonder why our heads are spinning with doubt and why we get overwhelmed so easily. God equips us with all we need to make a difference and if the dreams and callings of God aren’t huge and seemingly impossible, we aren’t letting God steer us.

Today would be a great day to answer the call of God on your life. Receive Him first of all, and then trust in His faithfulness to bring to pass what He has called you to do.

Ancient Gods

Despite mankind creating gods in our image since ancient times, there’s only ever been ONE God with ONE plan and One Design.

We are going to do a dive into the New Testament and into the book of Acts where we find that the apostle Paul makes it to Athens. Now you history buffs may know some things about Athens, Greece during the days of the early church. This visit can be found in Acts 17:13.

This section of scripture talks about how Paul immediately becomes aware that these people are inundated by a ton of gods. They had gods for everything! Some of the more well known ones are Aphrodite, the goddess of love and desire, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Zeus, the king of all the gods.

During this time there was an author from the very first century who lived the same time that Paul was living and and his name was Petronius. He was a Roman historian, author and satirist. He said this, “Athens is so full of deities that you may more frequently meet with a god than with a man.” That gives you an idea of how many gods they had.

Greece at this time was infatuated with advances in art, architecture and intellectual brilliance and worship. The people of Athens, the city of Athens was devoted to this idea of worshiping anything that they could possibly think of.

Paul speaks to the people of Athens and you may be surprised to know that he didn’t kick the speech off with a harsh rebuke about how flakey it is to have multiple gods. In fact, he starts by telling them that he acknowledges how serious they take worship. He also acknowledges that in order to cover all the bases they even have an alter to an unknown god. He tells them that there is a reason why they have a longing for more gods. He explains that we are each created with a God sized whole in our hearts that can only be filled by accepting Jesus Christ.The people of Athens were more than happy to add another god to their worship, the had so many what was one more?

The Athenians had animal sacrifices and cult prostitution. They had food sacrifices, festivals and sporting events. All these things were offered to the gods. People had some crazy ways to worship the gods and you may think, wow, that’s interesting, some of that doesn’t sound like it would quite fly in our culture. I assure you it does.

I want you to take out of this message that Paul preaches a couple of things. First of all, the appropriate response to the unknown God, the one true living God that he was telling them about is not to build a temple. It’s not to put up a statue, it’s not to make a nice plaque and put it on the city gate, or even to make a sacrifice of some kind of animal. No, He doesn’t want any of that. What he wants is repentance. He wants you to think differently about Him. He wants your life, He doesn’t want to kill you, He wants your life so He can put life in it. He wants to make you live.

Now, the way these folks lived should sound quite familiar to you. The worshipping of ever kind of idol there is. The sexuality that is so pervasive and the lust for power and the love of money etc is just as prevalent today as then.

Now the people of Athens created gods that would pander to what they wanted. They practiced a manipulation of the gods, and that is if they needed money they would sacrifice to a god that would give it to them. These days our culture has not improved on that much at all. There is the mindset that having God in our life is worthwhile for the things He can do for us. Everything’s hunky-dory as long as we don’t have to change and we can live our lives in the way that it pleases us. Basically the sentiment is if it makes me feel good surely God must be okay with it. Well, let me just go ahead and state very clearly for you that if your idea of God only reflects what makes you happy and what makes you feel good and doesn’t conflict with anything in your life, you’ve got a false God.

Paul was sent to share an unknown God to these people so that they could worship a living God not a manufactured one. He wanted them to know the same thing we need to know. Our thoughts, intentions and actions should be based off of what brings our Father joy! That should be our focus…not the other way around.

We are so blessed that our Heavenly Father wants to be know by us! Let’s tear down the false idols in our hearts and place God on the throne in our lives and watch how we grow spiritually.

Super Natural

Organic, Super Natural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

When you hear the word supernatural you more than likely think of things that are extra terrestrial or something you see in a Marvel movie. However, it can also mean…”extremely or super duper” natural! We hear a lot about natural things when we discuss things like food. It’s not a synthetic or fake product, but an all natural product etc.

It’s this kind of super natural that the work of the Holy Spirit should be in our lives. It shouldn’t be as scarce as a lunar eclipse, instead it should be something we are very used to. Sometimes we make the work of the Holy Spirit far more complicated than it needs to be. When we have to make decisions in our lives we don’t need to over spiritualize things, we just need to make a flipping choice. That is meant realistically, but the phrase will be easy to remember as well.

Some big decisions are made by flipping a coin. Think about the Super-bowl and how a game that generates millions of dollars begins with the flip of a coin to decide who starts the game. Some local elections have settled ties by flipping a coin.

Let’s look at Proverbs 18:18. “Flipping a coin can end arguments; it settles disputes between opponents.” The flipping of a coin can end arguments and not just arguments, petty little things. It settles disputes between powerful opponents and big decisions can be made like this. At first glance, it appears to be irresponsible, especially when thinking of what might be a life changing decision. There are important things in the balance here, but what if the Holy Spirit helps to simplify your choice? The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is an advocate. He is pleading on your behalf and is working for you. Life is filled with decisions big and small that have to be made. It’s an awesome feeling to know we have an advocate working on our behalf.

In the Old Testament, they would cast lots or flip a coin to determine important things, like the duties of the priest or who was going to be on duty in the temple that week. They would flip a coin.

Now there is a great example of this in Acts 1:21. The disciples had to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus and then hung himself in shame. The men needed another man who would go on to be an elder in the early church. It needed to be a Godly man who had been around the ministry of Jesus. It came down to two men, Joseph called Barabbas and Matthias. They casts lots or basically flipped a coin and it was decided to pick Matthias. This was no small decision. This was major. Here’s what we see in chapter one. Number one, they made parameters, Godly parameters because they had a dilemma and needed an answer.

What were the parameters? It says that they had to pick someone that’s been with them from the beginning. They had to pick someone that was with them when Jesus was baptized by John until the day He was taken from them. They were looking for someone particular. It wasn’t just random chance they were setting parameters.

If you’ve got a dilemma in your life and you need to make a

flippant choice, like, what do I do? Set some parameters, like these are our choices, these are our Godly, viable choices. This is what would please God.

However,some of us don’t want to be responsible for choices, so we will say things like, “Let me pray about it” as if they are not spiritually capable of making a decision.

God wants to work with you to make a plan so number one you need to make parameters. Then number two you pray about it. Thirdly you flip a coin. Then the fourth thing is give God something to work with. We can’t just flip a coin and then wait and do nothing. We have to be willing to move.

These are great steps to take when you have a decision to make. We don’t need to over spiritualize matters. The Holy Spirit is advocating on our behalf, and sometimes we just need to make a flipping choice.

A Fresh Start

God has programed into His system that every day would be a day of fresh start, not a one time thing. You get it over and over and over again.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you just wanted a fresh start more than anything? Maybe it’s to move to a new job or school or even a new state? After all even nature gets to start over. Every new season is a fresh start just as every new day is as well.

In the book of Lamentations chapter 3 the prophet says, “My mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness.” This is wonderful news for us because this means that God’s mercies are there every single morning, In fact, God’s mercies are new every time we repent of sin. We don’t have to wait for a new day or a new season to start anew, we can get things right with the Lord as many times as we need too.

I’m not talking about what is referred to as “greasy grace” where you willfully sin because you know you can repent. I’m talking about living in the knowledge of the fact that the completed work on the cross by Jesus Christ affords us the right to repent and start fresh as many times as we need.

Sometimes we can find ourselves not just having a day, but a whole season of hardships and we feel we cannot take much more. It reminds me of a great story about Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. When he was 39 years old, his wife passed away and he wrote in his journal, “My life is over.” He felt like everything for him had passed. He’d already written the Declaration of Independence and he’d been the governor of Virginia. However at this point in his life, he felt like everything was done. Why even bother going on living? Why even go any further? He didn’t realize that he was still going to be the president of the United States.

He didn’t realize that he was still going to found the University of Virginia, and he didn’t realize that he would go on to build an incredible place at Monticello, his home that now is a tourist site for many Americans. Here’s the point from Thomas Jefferson’s story. You may be at a point where you’re writing in your journal, “My life is over.” However, you have so many fresh starts ahead of you so don’t give up!

We have to learn how to have a system of fresh starts, we need to basically build them into our walk with the Lord. There are some ways to do this so that you can begin to walk in the knowledge of having fresh starts in your life. We all need this and as believers God has provided ways for us to have it.

So the first thing you have to have in your life is faith. The second thing you have to have in your life is the Word of God. If you have the Bible in your life, but no faith, the Bible is not going to be as great for your life as it can be.

If you’re a person of faith, you have to come to the Word of God with faith. In fact, if you’re praying but you don’t believe God hears your prayers, then to whom are you praying.

Everything begins with faith. And that is the same with the Word of God. One of the most shocking statistics shows that fewer than 9% of Americans read their Bible on a regular basis, fewer than 9%. 

It also says that 50% of Christians will read their Bible 3 to 4 times a year…3 or 4 times a year. If it’s the most incredible book that’s ever been written, why don’t we read it? Because we already think we know what’s in it. 

Reading the Bible needs to be a regular part of your life. It’s not as much about how much you read every day as much as it’s about putting the word of God in you every day.

Another thing that contributes to having a fresh start is the Holy Spirit. Many people are under the impression that you pray to receive the Holy Spirit and that’s it for the rest of your life. However, we can get a fresh touch from the Holy Spirit every day. I love that God gives us “free refills” as it has been called by a man of God.”””

These three ingredients are the system to having fresh starts in your life every day. Faith, reading the Bible and the Holy Spirit are some of the best ways of having a fresh start.

The Good Stuff

When life pressures us, what comes out is not always what was on the label. But if we stay under pressure long enough the “good stuff” will start to come out!

Have you ever had a time when you squeezed a tube of something and you were surprised at what came out? Have you ever squeezed a tube of lotion or medicine and because it had not been used for a while an oil of some kind comes out? It can be surprising and off putting as well.

Now let’s take a moment to ponder what could come out of our hearts and mouths if squeezed unexpectedly. Being squeezed can look like many different things like someone dangerously cutting you off in traffic with your kids in the car. It could be when your spouse snaps at you or when your kids have gotten on your very last nerve. It can also be any combination of mental, emotional, physical, financial or spiritual issues.

We all like to think that if we were squeezed we would burst into prayer…however, many times that is not the first thing that happens. We might react with anger, rage, jealousy etc.

Now, in II Corinthians 4:8-11, Paul is talking about the mature disciples when he says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.”

In summary, Paul is saying that they are going through hard times yet they are not destroyed by any of it. The reality is that it is absolutely impossible to live in this world without being “squeezed” however we have the choice of what comes out when we are.

If we are disciples of Jesus and we are to emulate His ways it’s helpful to know how Jesus Himself handled being pressured. Luke 4 is the chapter that describes the event where Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. I don’t know about you, but it is very comforting that Jesus was squeezed just like we are. Jesus had just been baptized by His cousin John the Baptist and afterwards He headed to the wilderness where He would be tempted three different times. One was for Him to turn stones to bread. Another was to throw Himself off a cliff and the last was for Him to bow to satan. In EVERY ONE of these temptations Jesus replied with the Word of God! So there it is…our example to follow is when the pressure is squeezing in on us we should respond with prayer.

We should be asking the Lord to bless our enemies when they hurt us. Matthew 5:43-45 says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

If we are feeling pressured by the stuff of life, we should respond with specific scriptures that are applicable. It’s also worth noting that the very best way of responding with the Word is if we have it IN us. Sure you can grab your Bible on your phone or nightstand, but sometimes you have a matter of seconds to respond in a Godly manner so having the Word in your heart is optimal.

Jesus was pressured in ways we couldn’t possibly understand and He still responded in a way that was pleasing to His Father. When He was exhausted and hungry and even dealing with the death of his beloved cousin John, He responded with love and compassion for others. When He was close to facing death He cried out to God but still set aside His fear and sadness to go to the cross. Even hanging on the cross He could have called down the wrath of God on those who crucified Him. However, He actually prayed, “Father forgive them for the know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

If Jesus Christ could be merciful and compassionate while enduring the tremendous pain of the cross, surely we can show compassion and forgiveness for those that hurt us.

As you ponder these thoughts and scriptures try and think of ways that you could ask the Lord for help. First, if you don’t know Him personally you can ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to live in your heart as Lord. The bottom line is that as Christians when we are squeezed we want the good stuff to come out. Let’s be sure to have the Bible stored in our hearts for when the squeeze comes. We have such an amazing example in Jesus.

All That Remains

Something that when all things are set and done, we know we can still hold on to.

I feel it is relatively safe to say that most of us if not all of us have struggled with the constant changes in this world. So much is taking place all day every day that it can be disorienting. We know what we believe and we know the difference between sin and Holiness, but we are still affected by the never ending movement towards complete chaos.

We find ourselves reflecting on that thing that is unmovable and unshakable. Let’s look at 1st Corinthians 13:13. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love,”

I’m sure I could get a hardy “AMEN!” When I say that it takes great faith to live in this world! Thanks or no thanks to social media we have real time exposure to every little thing happening around our country and even the world.

We obviously need hope as well. If we didn’t have hope of being with our Heavenly Father in Heaven, we would be racked with fear as those who don’t trust Jesus are. As wonderful as faith and hope are to us, we will only need them until we go to our Heavenly Home. Love however, now that is not going anywhere. After all God IS love.

Let’s discuss another aspect of faith. When putting faith into action, the best end result is prayer. When you pray and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and to cleanse you of sin…you are putting faith into action with prayer.

There is an awesome story in the Bible in Acts 10 and it’s about a Roman centurion named Cornelias. This man was a gentile yet he prayed fervently to God. He was visited by an angel who told him in verse 4, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” This meant that Cornelius was serious about his prayers.

It’s a great story and the reality is that our prayers don’t just float around and if not immediately answered they don’t just disappear. Our prayers have no shelf-life either. The prayers that were prayed by those before us remain even after they have passed on to Heaven.

If anyone ever told you that a life lived for Jesus is an easy one, they were blowing smoke. The Christian life is a blessed life, one filled with faith, hope and love, but definitely not easy. You do sometimes learn lessons the hard way in life. There’s times where you’re going to suffer at the hands of others. You’re going to be a victim. Sometimes you do everything right, but somebody else will come along and mistreat you just because they’re a terrible person. Its a fact. We read the stories of God delivering Daniel in the lion’s den and the three Hebrew men in the fire that were completely unharmed? Well, let’s just remember that Daniel still spent the night with ferocious lions and the three men still spent the night in a pit of fire. The deliverance happened because of the situation they were already in.

I’m Hebrews 11 we find the chapter that deals with what is called “The heroes of the faith.” These are the folks that prayed like their life depended on it because it did. They are considered heroes because of their faith, their prayers and their perseverance.

There is yet another great story in the Bible about the Prodigal Son. This young man wanted his inheritance from his father while he was still alive. This is wildly inappropriate because he is basically waiting for his dad to die to have his money. His dad gave him his inheritance and the son left. He went and lived it up by total and complete debauchery. When the money ran out and all the “friends” left him to find another fool to leech off of, he was in a desperate situation. He was so hungry he was wanting the food the pigs were eating. It occurred to him that he could return to his father’s house not as a son, but a servant. As he came walking up the road his father saw him and he told the servants to prepare a feast for him. He welcomed him home with open arms.

This is a picture of our Heavenly Father and if you have walked away for any reason He is ready to receive you back and to have fellowship with you.

Soon, in Heaven we will no longer need faith or hope, but thank God we have it now. You can put your hope in Jesus and by faith ask Him into your heart. He will pour out His love on you and with His help we can navigate this life.