30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Matthew 24:30-31
We are in the middle of a series at church entitled “Deck your Heart”. The idea is that in the middle of all of the hustle and bustle of this holiday season that we would take time out to reflect and understand and even to live out the real meaning of Christmas. Our time on earth here is so short and we have so little time to make a difference in our sphere of influence. We read here of Jesus’ return which will happen in the blink of an eye before we know it. For me, it is easy to dream big and to let my attention and focus be centered around the big things in life like my career track, or my next book or just dreaming about all of the exciting things that God has planned for Paula and me. In the midst of getting lost in the “big” things of this world, I sometimes miss out on the small things that are happening all around me, the small seemingly insignificant things where God is moving. Part of the deck your heart series discusses this idea that God cares less about the “big” things in this life and more about the small, insignificant people and happenings of your day in which He strives to make His love known. The big things in life will take care of themselves if you indeed make a conscious effort to focus on the day to day activities, encounters, acquaintances and divine appointments where God can use a heart that’s tuned in to Him and ready to reflect His love in order to make the most of our short time here on this earth. Deck your heart this Christmas season by focusing on others and looking for the miracle of Christmas every minute of every day for it’s in the smallest of things that Jesus can be found and He will be back before you know it in the blink of an eye to take you home.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Pure Heart
25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Matthew 23:25-26
How is the condition of your heart? Is it like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. They had wretched hearts that were power hungry, full of greed for money and self-indulgence to the point of even crucifying the very One who could fill and restore their empty hearts that were broken and bruised? It is easy in this world that focuses much more on the externals to get wrapped up in spending your time, attention and energy in an effort to look the part on the outside when at the same time your inside is thirsty, hungry, broken and longing to be restored and renewed by the love of Christ. It is from the heart that we speak words of destruction to others that cause pain and put up walls of anger in relationships. It is from the heart that selfish desires long to be fulfilled by things in this world that could never satisfy but only cause more brokenness and more pain and emptiness. It is from the heart that the love of Jesus is reflected if indeed you have spent the time with Him in an effort to let His incredible touch of healing and restoration begin to happen in such a way that your life will overflow during this Christmas holiday in celebration of the One who has made you whole. Pray now that God would fill your heart today with His restoring love as you draw near to Him and learn to love Him more.
Matthew 23:25-26
How is the condition of your heart? Is it like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. They had wretched hearts that were power hungry, full of greed for money and self-indulgence to the point of even crucifying the very One who could fill and restore their empty hearts that were broken and bruised? It is easy in this world that focuses much more on the externals to get wrapped up in spending your time, attention and energy in an effort to look the part on the outside when at the same time your inside is thirsty, hungry, broken and longing to be restored and renewed by the love of Christ. It is from the heart that we speak words of destruction to others that cause pain and put up walls of anger in relationships. It is from the heart that selfish desires long to be fulfilled by things in this world that could never satisfy but only cause more brokenness and more pain and emptiness. It is from the heart that the love of Jesus is reflected if indeed you have spent the time with Him in an effort to let His incredible touch of healing and restoration begin to happen in such a way that your life will overflow during this Christmas holiday in celebration of the One who has made you whole. Pray now that God would fill your heart today with His restoring love as you draw near to Him and learn to love Him more.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Kiss the Son
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and you and your ways will be destroyed,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalms 2:12
To “kiss the Son” is to accept Jesus Christ into your heart of hearts in such a way that you trust Him to be the Lord of everything that you do in this life. What an incredible gift that you and I have as sons and daughters of the Most High! We have the opportunity as God’s children to take refuge in our relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, each and every day, in such a way that all worry, doubt and our insecurities in this life can be lifted as He promises to take away our burdens. Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” All that Jesus is asking of you and me today is to hand over the wheel of the ship to him in order that His love and His power can be reflected through our lives in such a way that His light will shine on this dark and broken world in order that others may see and believe. Whatever it is that you are facing today, take heart and kiss the Son for the Son will carry you through as you live your life for the King!
and you and your ways will be destroyed,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalms 2:12
To “kiss the Son” is to accept Jesus Christ into your heart of hearts in such a way that you trust Him to be the Lord of everything that you do in this life. What an incredible gift that you and I have as sons and daughters of the Most High! We have the opportunity as God’s children to take refuge in our relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, each and every day, in such a way that all worry, doubt and our insecurities in this life can be lifted as He promises to take away our burdens. Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” All that Jesus is asking of you and me today is to hand over the wheel of the ship to him in order that His love and His power can be reflected through our lives in such a way that His light will shine on this dark and broken world in order that others may see and believe. Whatever it is that you are facing today, take heart and kiss the Son for the Son will carry you through as you live your life for the King!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Enter In
13"I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either.
Matthew 23:13
As Paula and I have visited several churches here in our new home of uptown Charlotte, we have seen some similarities of the rigid man made system of religion that was clearly present and clearly frowned upon by Jesus. Most of the churches that we visited really only catered to the unchurched, to those who have yet to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and upon inquiring as to how the Journey Bread ministry might be of some use within their ministry, we really had very few replies as we, already being believers, did not really fit into their man-made structure of how the church should look and act toward newcomers. To me, life with Christ is much more than just the initial step of trusting in Him as life with Jesus can be an awesome day by day experience of realizing God’s power and direction in your life all while enjoying His peace, love, joy and grace as you live out an abundant life that rests solely in the incredible gift of God’s Spirit who lives inside of all who believe. I guess that my heart is longing for more. My heart is longing for a body of believers that is less concerned about superficial growth and finances and more concerned about the quality of living out this life with Christ in a very real and genuine way, each and every day. Discernment,discipleship,encouragement and direction for filtering every decision that I make through the full proof lens of God’s Spirit is my heart’s desire and what I long to find in a body of believers that Jesus calls His church. God has a plan and a place for both you and I to serve and to receive all that He promises to those who dare to enter in to His loving grace and Lordship. I pray that we would both find that place today because three cords are always better than one.
Matthew 23:13
As Paula and I have visited several churches here in our new home of uptown Charlotte, we have seen some similarities of the rigid man made system of religion that was clearly present and clearly frowned upon by Jesus. Most of the churches that we visited really only catered to the unchurched, to those who have yet to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and upon inquiring as to how the Journey Bread ministry might be of some use within their ministry, we really had very few replies as we, already being believers, did not really fit into their man-made structure of how the church should look and act toward newcomers. To me, life with Christ is much more than just the initial step of trusting in Him as life with Jesus can be an awesome day by day experience of realizing God’s power and direction in your life all while enjoying His peace, love, joy and grace as you live out an abundant life that rests solely in the incredible gift of God’s Spirit who lives inside of all who believe. I guess that my heart is longing for more. My heart is longing for a body of believers that is less concerned about superficial growth and finances and more concerned about the quality of living out this life with Christ in a very real and genuine way, each and every day. Discernment,discipleship,encouragement and direction for filtering every decision that I make through the full proof lens of God’s Spirit is my heart’s desire and what I long to find in a body of believers that Jesus calls His church. God has a plan and a place for both you and I to serve and to receive all that He promises to those who dare to enter in to His loving grace and Lordship. I pray that we would both find that place today because three cords are always better than one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
