Sometimes Salvation

For our sake He made to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21

I still consider myself a ‘work in progress’ as it pertains to my walk of faith.   The enemy will stop at nothing to undermine our joy by constantly reminding us that we don’t measure up to God’s standard.  As believers in the body of faith,  we too must boldly declare that we are new creations in Christ and continue to press on in our Spiritual journey.

I have been in a rut lately, Spiritually speaking, and the sermon I heard Stephen DeFur deliver at Cokesbury West HVA this past Sunday, reminded me there is nothing that we can possibly do to make God love us any more or any less than He already does.  

We simply cannot be defined by our past.  To add to that thought, we also need to understand that we cannot earn God’s grace or His love; He already loves us now and always will.

God understands that our growing and learning is a process and He wants us to enjoy ourselves on the way to reaching our goals as believers! 

Good Times, Bad Times

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.  1 Peter 4:12-13

Painful trails are a part of life, in fact, Jesus assures us that we will go through them at some point.  While we all must go through some pain, but God promises us that He loves us and will use those painful times to help us grow in our faith.

Trails are also like exercise-the more we go through them, the stronger we become.  How else can we learn to endure, grow our faith, and learn patience?  The pain we feel now is only temporary but it also provides us with an opportunity to depend on God and show our joy as we share in the sufferings like Christ.

Bad times come and go, but the development of our godly character is continuous and will last until we go to our eternal dwelling in heaven.

Rescue Me

Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.  Psalm 50:15

It’s been several years since it happened, but I remember my grandfather dying of cancer like it just happened.   L. Foy Fisher, Jr., was a wonderful man, husband, father, and grandfather who lived a life above and beyond reproach.  He was someone I looked up to and during his funeral service, I tried my best to hold back the tears knowing that I had some ‘big’ shoes to fill in order to carry on his legacy.

There were many people at his service that he had worked with over the course of his career as a cotton purchaser for J.P. Stevens, which was one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world at the time.  Knowing that he was a man of faith, I have always wondered just how many people’s lives he impacted.  He certainly has impacted my walk of faith.  I seriously doubt that he and my grandmother missed a single Sunday of worship at St. Matthew’s Methodist Church in all of the years he was living.  It wasn’t just attending worship; he frequently shuttled my grandmother to and from the church to serve when and wherever they could.  They would often prepare meals and deliver them to shut-ins, the elderly, and the poor.  Knowing that God places such value on the soul, I would not be surprised to know that my grandfather led many people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

When we face difficult times, trouble, or problems, we must not forget that God will use it for His glory.  Rather than shrug off your problems, open your mind to God’s work.  Our pain, suffering, and heartaches just may have a divine purpose-to glorify God!

Go Your Own Way

Go your way...and be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

It's taken me most of my adulthood to finally enjoy "my life" rather than coveting someone else's. It sounds a bit corny, but I was looking at all of the photos of my family and friends that came scrolling by on Apple TV the other night and couldn't help but feel blessed.  There are lots of smiles, great times, and lots of love captured on each photograph.

God wants each of us to enjoy the life He has given us here on this earth. Enjoying life does not mean that something exciting is happening at all times, it just means you enjoy the simple, everyday things. Too many people wish their days away until their next vacation and miss out on the many blessings that God has in store for them in the process.

Let's face it, most of life is rather ordinary, but each of us is equipped supernaturally to enjoy life in an extraordinary way.  We should enjoy our lives to the fullest and be a witness to the power and joy from God that is available to everybody.

The Dead Heart

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. -Jesus Matthew 15:8-9

It’s almost too easy to attend worship service for a short time on Sunday and then forget what you have learned the second you pull out of the church parking lot.  Sometimes, things that begin with good intentions can become mindless routines and the same holds true with our spiritual growth and development if we are not deliberate with our walk of faith.

We regularly attend worship and serve at our church when we can, but there have been weeks and even months that have passed by that I failed to grow closer in my relationship with God.  A pure heart results in wanting only what God wants, which are things that produce eternal benefit.  Simply stated, God wants us to follow Jesus, grow spiritually, be transformed, and blessed in all ways.

Those with a pure heart desire what God desires more than what they personally want.  Seek Him daily, grow closer to Him, and fall deeper in love with Him!!

To Love Somebody

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  1 Corinthians 13:4,7

Plainly and simply put-we all want to be loved.  There are people who may claim otherwise, but we are all created with the same basic need and desire to be loved.  After six years of marriage to my beautiful wife, I am still learning what true love genuinely is.

When you love someone, you must be willing to open up and share your feelings, fears, ideas, and experiences with that other person.  When you love someone, you must be willing to talk to that person.  When you love someone, you must be willing to work on solving problems in the relationship together with that other person.

One of the most commonly read Bible verses at any wedding comes from the book of Corinthians and describes genuine love as love that is marked by generosity, willingness to change, grow and mature, and the willingness to share the good and bad over a lifetime with another person.

Just The Way You Are

Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.  Galatians 5:26

 

Paul’s words from the above passage in Galatians have been difficult for me to abide by personally.  It’s just too easy to look at what someone else has (doesn't have) or something that you have (don’t have) and boastfully compare.  Paul’s challenge to the Galatians was for them to grow in the Lord until they have the joy of doing something commendable without resorting to boastful comparisons with other people and the same should hold true for us as well.

Once we find our identities in Christ, we are set free from the comparisons and competition with others.  With this wisdom, we are to do our best to bring glory and honor to God rather than ourselves and the norm of just trying to be better than someone else.

Our loving Father has created each one of us uniquely and individually and what a wonderful freedom we have knowing that we can simply be who God created us to be!  He loves each one of us just the way we are and He never makes mistakes.