Peacemakers

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:8




Pastor Mike Moses gave an awesome sermon this Christmas Eve that was all about how to find peace in the turbulent times in which we live. The basic premise of his message was that peace can be found in the midst of any storm that comes your way as long as you are living your life under the direction and control of God’s Spirit who lives inside of all who believe in and call Jesus their Lord and Savior. There is something supernatural that happens when you submit to the call of God on your life, no matter what that call is or what He may be asking you to bear or no matter what He may be asking you to do or where He may be asking you to go as He will never ask you to endure anything without giving you all of the power that you will need to complete the task and to finish well, and to reflect his peace upon a lost world who is watching in amazement as you live your life for the King. Paula and I have just taken our home off of the market after having it for sale for well over a year in hopes of moving to uptown Charlotte. Over the holiday we have decided to stay here on Lake Norman, despite our crabby neighbors and long commute into the office. We really feel like for whatever reason that God would want us to stay right here and that He will give us the strength and the power to be a light to our neighbors and to make life work right here where we are. This decision would not be our first choice, however, since it is God’s choice, there is a peace that I have about this decision that can’t be explained and that goes much deeper than any superficial peace that I could muster up myself. I am excited about the journey that God has us on and I am so thankful for His strength and for His peace that fills in for my inadequacies and somehow makes me whole. I now pray that God would enable us to reflect this same peace of His to others in such a way that they would see and know that He is God. Live under the direction and control of your Savior today and you will find the peace that your heart is longing for and you too will be called a child of God as you reflect His peace to a world around you which is crying out for the love that Jesus gives!

Jesus Brings Purity

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8




More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born on this very night in a little town called Bethlehem. With his glorious birth came the opportunity to be transformed from the inside out as a result of the awesome sacrifice that he made on the cross for you and me. Don’t miss the miracle this Christmas of a relationship with Jesus Christ where he would come into your heart of hearts and begin to transform you into the beautiful and pure creation that God originally intended for your life. The journey that starts with the birth of Jesus is all about getting to know your Creator so intimately through a relationship with His Son that you will begin to see God as He opens your eyes to His love and perfection that is all around you. As you draw near to him you will begin to see His grace and power in the lives of others; in the beauty of His Creation; in the small miracles that happen every day as a result of His love that most people miss completely. A headline on the front page of the paper this morning reads “as many struggle this Christmas, the story of Christ is a reminder that we are not alone in this mess.” This is a small miracle, that a major newspaper would speak the name of Christ on the front page in today's politically correct world, and it is so refreshing and even amazing to me. You are not alone this Christmas – God is here, He has come to redeem you as His son or daughter, and if you let Him, He will make you pure and holy from the inside out in such a way that you will see God and you will know and experience His love and He will hold you in His arms, forever.

Mercy this Christmas

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 5:7




The Christmas holiday is about giving and loving and forgiving and showing mercy. God has shown you and I so much mercy that it continues to blow my mind when I consider all that He has done and continues to do for me. First and foremost to send His Son, Jesus, into this world, knowing the disbelief and cruelty that He was going to encounter and yet sending Him anyway in order that you and I could be free from the power of sin in this fallen world. Secondly, to forgive me and to show me mercy, time and time again when I choose in small ways and in big ways to live my life apart from his direction and control, His love and mercy for you and I are never-ending and incomprehensible. When have you proactively shown mercy to a family member or loved one or colleague who has harmed you or hurt you intentionally or unintentionally? Wouldn’t this Christmas be a great time for you, through the power of Jesus Christ who lives within you, to show some mercy and forgive that one person in your life who has been so incredibly hard to forgive? Be proactive today and reach out in love as this is exactly what Jesus has done and continues to do for you as he pursues and courts a relationship with you all because of His amazing love and mercy!

Appetitie For God

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6




What do you hunger and thirst for today? Are you hungry for peace and contentment in your life? Are you thirsting for some sort of purpose and meaning in this life? Maybe you are hungry for real food as you are uncertain of where you next meal is coming from. Do you know that that emptiness that you feel inside of your heart of hearts has been constructed by God for a reason? God wants nothing more than for you to hunger and thirst for Him. He wants to fill that hole in your soul that you try so desperately to fill with temporal things of this world with His awesome love and power. All it takes is a desire to let God take the reigns of your life, once you have this desire and you communicate that desire to our Father in heaven, you will see how He will supernaturally fill that void in your life with his Spirit and a love and peace that is eternally fulfilling, and He will give you everything that you have been secretly longing for all along but most likely did not even know it. Relationship with Jesus Christ is what your soul is longing for today – hunger and thirst for Him, seek Him today with all of your heart and you will experience His love and power in your life like never before and you will be filled and satisfied, forever.

Proud Owner of Everything

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
Matthew 5:5 (The Message)



I can remember a time in my life and career when I, embarrassingly enough, would try to portray an image to other people that was so far removed from who I really was that it was probably clear to everyone else but me that I was just living a lie. God has slowly but surely changed my heart to be just a little more like His in order that I could be so joyfully and humbly content with who I am in Him and who He has made me to be. When you finally discover the purpose that God has for you in this life and when you finally start living out that purpose through the power of His Spirit who lives inside, it is then that you will receive everything that you have ever hoped for or desired in this life. You see, what your heart is longing for, deep down in the caverns of your soul, is to be the man or woman that God created you to be and to live your life in relationship with Jesus Christ in such a way that His Spirit could guide and direct you, every minute of every day, in order that you could receive this great gift of love that will become your greatest desire and will eventually replace all of the other things that this world has to offer that will fulfill you for only a short time and will eventually lead to heartache and despair. Reach out for the love of our Savior today – be content with who God has made you to be and soak up this amazing blessing of life with Christ for He is indeed all that you will ever need!

Comfort by the King

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4



There have been times in my life when I have experienced deep mourning as a result of my path somehow crossing the path of this fallen world and unfortunately having to live with the consequences of wrong choices by others. I can remember one time in particular as a young man in my late teens when I had to experience something that happened in my family that for a million years I would never have imagined could have happened to anyone related to me. I can remember feeling numb and not being able to do anything else but to cry out to God with a question of “why”. That question has never been answered, however, in the midst of my sorrow and emptiness I also experienced a calmness and peace that could not be explained as it was indeed the ever so sweet comforting of my Lord and Savior in the midst of a terrible storm. You may not ever understand why God has allowed certain things to happen in your life until you are one day on the other side with Him where He will make all things clear; however, know today that you are not alone and that God loves you more than you could ever imagine and He will hold you in His arms of love and He will catch every tear that you cry on this earth until that great day when all things will be made new and the pain and hurt of this world we will be gone, forever. Jump into His arms of love today and they will never let you go!

More of You - Less of Me

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:3 (The Message)


With the uncertainty of the economy, the unemployment rate rising rapidly each day and with the reality of broken relationships and broken homes and hurting people all around, it is not uncommon to feel like you are at the end of your rope and losing control. The good news today is that this is exactly where your God would want you as His strength is made perfect in your weakness and it is only through weakness that God’s love and power can be revealed to such an unbelieving generation in which we live. Let God’s love flow through you this morning and let His Spirit give you power and direction to find your way as His love will prevail in your life and His Spirit will bear fruit through you as you surrender completely to God’s strength and power. Draw near to Him today!

For you - In you - Through you

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-20



Right in the middle of an ordinary day, two ordinary men who are doing an ordinary job encounter the God of this world, in the flesh, as the Master Designer plays out the first scene in this most important chapter of this epic script where Jesus begins to build his team of disciples that will eventually change the world as we know it. Our God was working “for them” and “for you” and “for me” as He inhabited this world through His only Son in order to redeem all of us and reconnect us with our Creator. Later on in the story you will see how God works in the lives of these men as He slowly but surely changes their hearts and lives to be a reflection of His love. And finally, in the grand finale of the Gospel as we know it, Jesus begins to work through these two fisherman and many others in order that the whole world would see and know His awesome love for mankind. Similarly, today, right in the middle of an ordinary day, doing an ordinary job, our God is working for you today and you can see the evidence of his love all around you. The chirp of a bird in the early morning or the calming sound of a pianist who is creating beautiful music in the midst of a busy airport on a Monday morning, through the littlest things you can see and experience God if you are indeed paying attention and seeking him with all of your heart. In addition, God is working in you to change your heart and mind to be even more like His in order that He can then work through you to touch the lives of lost people who so desperately need to see and experience His love. Draw near to God today with all of your heart as He is near and He loves you and He will hold you in His loving arms, forever!

Change for the Better

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Matthew 4:17


Dictionary.com defines the word “repent” as: “to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent.” The first thing that needs to happen in order to start the process of restoration and renewal in regards to your relationship with God ironically enough happens to be the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth at the beginning of His ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist. To start on this incredible Journey with God you need to “repent”. You must understand the depravity of your sin that has separated you from your Creator and then in turn be willing to let God’s Spirit change your life for the better through the power of the resurrected Jesus who will come and live inside of your heart of hearts in order to bridge the gap that has kept you from experiencing God’s power and love in your life. If you never admit that you have a sin problem then you will never accept the miracle of God’s incredible grace and love in your life. If you have never done so, then I would encourage and challenge you today to start on this incredible journey of knowing God and experiencing His power and love in your life by first being sorry and asking forgiveness for your sin that has separated you from Him and then by ultimately making a commitment to let Him change your heart and life for the better by accepting God’s free gift of Jesus into your life in order that your relationship with God could be restored and renewed - once and for all, forever.

Away from me, Satan

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Matthew 4:8-10


This temptation that Jesus faced is not unlike the temptation that you and I face on a daily basis to put the things of this world above our relationship with God. When you spend more time at work for example than you spend with your family then in a way you are communicating to your family that you love your job and that you love the accolades that come from being successful in your career more than you love your family and this is a form of worshiping the world as God has commanded you to love your wife and family with the same love and intensity that you love Him. When your thoughts are consumed with how you can get more stuff or when all you think about is getting that next promotion or buying that bigger house or how much your financial portfolio has plunged in the past year, when these thoughts replace thoughts of how you can reflect God’s love to others with whom you come into contact with today then in a way you are worshiping the world instead of worshiping our Awesome God by filling your mind with unselfish thoughts that are full of grace and love and peace and joy. This reminds me of a quote that I have heard from various people on a number of occasions that says: “The best barometer as to the condition of your heart is to identify what you think about most throughout your day and to have a look at where you spend your money.” Guard your heart today by filling your mind with God’s Spirit and God’s love; ask him now to begin to renew your mind in order that you could love and worship Him like never before by surrendering all and by letting His love reflect onto others as they see Jesus in you. God can change your whole perspective on this life by the power of His Spirit who lives inside if you would only let Him by opening your heart and jumping into this whole new life of love.