Date: 11/25/08

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The wages for sin is separation from God for all eternity. In brilliant contrast to the wages of sin, is the Lords gracious gift, free gift, of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Meditate on this amazing truth that eternal life is a free gift – it cannot be earned! Religious activities, coming to church or performing good works cannot earn the free gift of God. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe in order to free us from a debt we could never pay. Rejoice along with the apostle Paul as he declares, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”! 

Date: 11/5/08

Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.

An understanding of the sovereignty of our God is especially precious in times like this. With the recent election and the advancement into office of leaders who may or may not be concerned with the statutes of our Lord, we can rest in the truth He is in ultimate control nonetheless. Let us pray for our country and for those who lead us, and may we all the while be mindful that the Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His sovereign rule is over all.

Date: 11/5/08

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  (John 7:37-38)

In just a few months from this invitation by Jesus to come and drink of Him, He will be facing the most horrible death anyone could imagine – the death on the cross. Not only does the shed blood of Jesus atone for the sins of the repentant sinner, but God also gives the believer the Holy Spirit! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit that resides in the believer and thus “rivers of living water” flow from the regenerate heart to live a life of godliness, holiness and humility.

Date: 9/30/08

Ephesians 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling…

When Paul the Apostle prayed for the church in Ephesus, he prayed specifically that God would give them understanding over the hope of the fact that God had called them. Brothers and Sisters, we are the chosen of God! I ask you, if He is for us, who can be against us? As I pray for you, and you pray for others, let’s have our prayers be that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to understand more of the great hope we have because of His calling us in Christ Jesus.    

Date: 9/23/08

Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. (John 9:38)

Jesus asked the man He healed who was born blind if he believed in the Son of God, and the man’s response was that of worship as soon as he knew it was Jesus that healed him. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Then set your heart today to worship Jesus because He is worthy to be worshipped. Worship Him with your entire being at church, but more importantly, worship Jesus at work, home or privately so that He becomes ever increasingly the object of your affections and your greatest desire.

Date: 8/05/08

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. John 1:40-42a

What a great example we see in Andrew! He was concerned for others to meet the Messiah. Andrew was a soul winner – and he started his evangelism at home. Perhaps you have been discouraged because your relatives have not responded to the Gospel message. Glorify the Lord by continuing to share the Gospel and continue to live a godly, holy and humble life for Jesus and trust Him for your loved ones to come to saving faith in Christ.

Date: 8/3/08

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Jesus gives us this command to love in a certain type of way. How are we to love? Like Him… sacrificially. Our Lord spoke of there being no greater display of love than one laying down his life for his friends. God measures love in proportion to sacrifice. We are commanded to love one another this way. If your love for the church doesn’t cost you anything personally, your being disobedient to the Lord’s command. You are also missing out on a great blessing, as it truly is greater to give than to receive.

Date: 7/17/08

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25) 

What a sad and tragic spiritual condition of the people of Israel. There was not a king to rule over them and they had turned their hearts to serve other gods, which led to corruption and confusion. They forgot that the Lord alone was to be their ruler (Exodus 19:5-6) and be the object of their worship, love and desire. If you are a follower of Christ and are in a state of compromise,  repent and turn from your sins, and remember that you are no longer your own, but you have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ at Calvary’s cross.

Date: 7/11/08

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; Mark 7:6

Where is your heart during worship? Your lips, and your mouth, and your vocal cords are engaged, but is your heart? You see, God sees our hearts. We can raise our hands, and raise our voices to sing worship songs, and have everyone in the church believing that we are truly worshipping God, but if our hearts aren’t in it, we’re not fooling God. If we are singing songs with our mouths, yet not truly worshipping from the heart, Jesus would call us hypocrites. I believe that if we’ve got a problem worshipping God from the heart, it’s probably because we don’t have a proper perspective of God. In order to change that we’ve got to dive into His word and see Him for all that He’s revealed Himself to be in Jesus Christ! Plea with God to open the eyes of your heart to see Him, and treasure Him, so that you can appropriately worship Him from the heart

Date: 6/27/08

 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest”. (Matthew 9:37-38)

Just as a farmer recognizes the time for harvest of his crops, so too the Lord Jesus reminds us that the harvest of the human souls for salvation is at hand today. You and I can be a part of this plentiful harvest by asking in prayer that the Lord would send workers into the harvest. Pray for those who are evangelists that they would have many opportunities to preach the Gospel that leads to salvation through Christ alone. Then be ready when the Lord answers our prayers to use us as His laborers of this great plan of salvation! 

Date: 6/17/08

likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control…with what is proper for women who profess godliness ~1 Timothy 2:9,1

Summertime is here! The weather is warming up and, as a result, people are starting to wear less and less clothing. But as Christians, we should be different; we are called to dress modestly, in respectable apparel, and using self control, even in the summertime. It is a matter of loving and serving each other and, as Romans 14:13 says, deciding never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. We are all called to consider others better than ourselves, and sometimes that means caring more about the body of Christ than we care about our own comfort. So as the weather heats up, make sure that what you decide to wear will not bring reproach on the name of Christ, or stumble someone for whom Christ died.

Date: 6/10/08

“Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust” (Psalm 40:4a).

What a great reminder that the object of the believers’ trust is to be the Lord! Since we live in a society that is man centered, there can be a temptation for the believer to put trust in the wisdom, strength and charisma of man. The bible warns us that “cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength...for he shall be like a shrub in the desert”. Contrast that with the one who trusts in the Lord “who shall be like a tree planted by the waters...and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” God is trustworthy. Trust Him.

Date: 5/27/08

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ~Romans 11:33

Our God is so big! Do you ever think about the magnitude of the God that we serve? He is inexhaustible! If we were to live to be 100 years old, and do absolutely nothing but study our bibles, 24 hours a day, for all of our lives, we still wouldn’t know all there is to know about God.

We could devote our entire lives to the study of a single attribute of God and never complete it. The universe in which we exist extends beyond what the most powerful telescope in all of technology can see, and far beyond what our minds can fathom, yet God holds it all in the palm of His hand. When we see God for how big He really is, we begin to see how small our problems really are. When we see God for how big God really is, we begin to see why He is worthy of our worship.

Oh God, grant us a clear vision of you that we might love You, trust You, and worship You more appropriately.

Date: 5/16/08

“A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression” Proverbs 19:11

It has been said that God is never more like Himself than when He forgives sinners, and that man is never more like God than when he forgives others.

If you struggle with the imperative to forgive those who have offended you, take heed to Jesus who tells us that if we forgive others, God will forgive us; but if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. Glorify the Lord in your life as you purpose to forgive others even as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Date: 4/24/08

When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them... (Judges 3:9a)

Israel had sinned against the Lord by worshipping other gods and forsaking the Lord God of their fathers. Yet we see that God is gracious and compassionate, hears the cry of his people, and raises up a deliverer. If you have sinned against the Lord and forgotten His mercy, confess your sins to Him knowing that you have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous whose blood cleanses us from all sin.

Date: 4/11/08

Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

To say that Christians never get depressed or despondent would be a lie, and downright unbiblical. Yes, unbelievers and believers alike will become disheartened from time to time. Sometimes we even have trouble pinpointing what exactly it is we’re so down about. Yet, no matter what the case, for the Christian there is great hope found in our standing with God in Christ.

The unbeliever does not have this hope…However as Christians, we can have joy in knowing that the dark caves of depression in our lives are in actuality tunnels that God is leading us through in order to cultivate greater delight in, and dependence upon Him. Joy comes in the morning because God is always faithful.

Date: 3/7/08

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" James 1:22

We are so blessed to be in a church where we hear the unadulterated word of truth taught faithfully week in and week out! The flip side to that is our responsibility to put what we hear and know into practice in our lives. We can’t get into the habit of coming to church and just “hearing” good sermons. We have to figure out how these sermons speak to our lives and apply them accordingly.

Let’s not listen to the teaching of God’s word and think about who we need to get the CD for. Let’s think about what God wants to speak to US through each message, and then go out and DO what the bible says.

Date: 3/14/08

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked”. 1 John 2:6

It is easy for us to be satisfied with how well our walk (manner of lifestyle) is with the Lord  when we compare ourselves with others. The result of this selfish comparison of who we are can lead to pride. The result of this selfish comparison of who we are can lead to pride. But when we compare ourselves in light of Jesus, we are reminded that God’s grace toward us carries us. Pray that your walk with Jesus will grow deeper as you desire intimacy with Him, the author and finisher of your faith.

Date: 3/7/08

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

God has empowered us, by His Holy Spirit, to go out into our Jerusalem (Santa Fe), our Judea and Samaria (The United States), and to the ends of the earth to be His witnesses. This is our purpose in life; to be used by God to further His kingdom for His glory. As we focus on missions this month, be praying earnestly about how God wants to use YOU to be a part of His global mission to offer salvation to the world.  

Date: 3/5/08

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9

In this life we will encounter good times, as well as bad times. In this verse we see that God is faithful to preserve His people regardless of the circumstances.

He is faithful to even allow difficulties that test our faith, because they cause growth in our faithfulness toward Him. He will preserve us, He will complete His work…So let us be encouraged, for whether the present seems to be good or bad, our faithful God is at work in our lives cultivating our very needed dependence upon Him. And that is a very good thing.

Date: 2/21/07

But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. Romans 5:20b

This passage of scripture is a reminder that God gives His undeserved saving and sustaining grace to repentant sinners. Are you struggling with sin in your life? Seek God’s forgiveness; confess and turn from your sins and God will give you grace that abounds all the more.

Date: 2/15/08

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures... 1 Corinthians 15:3

Are we majoring in the minors? We have a tendency to spend a lot of time and energy focusing on things that are of secondary importance. Paul states very clearly in this passage what is of first importance, and that is that Christ died for our sins; the gospel! Let’s get our priorities in line with what the bible says is priority.  We must never get over the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s get familiar with articulating the gospel, so that we can go out and deliver to others what we also received. Christ died for our sins! It is of FIRST IMPORTANCE!

Date: 2/6/08

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

It light of the fact that the scripture says that “God is Love”, I have had a renewed understanding of what this verse in John’s gospel implies. Jesus tells us that God’s idea of love is most clearly seen in the cross. Therefore, the amount of love we show, is dependant upon the measure of sacrifice we’re willing to give. So, with the understanding that God is love, the conclusion becomes that when we love people sacrificially, we show them Jesus. Let’s pray that God will work through us to show others our great Savior through loving sacrificially.  

Date: 1/6/08

So we are always of good courage…2 Corinthians 5:6

What do we have to be bummed out about? As Christians, we have a hope so great that, no matter what our outward circumstances are, we can always have joy and be of good courage. The context of this verse speaks of our bodies falling apart. It talks about how we grow old, and we endure sickness, and all of the very hard things that we all experience, yet, Paul says, we are always of good courage. Why? Because we will be with God forever in heaven! Any difficulty we experience in this life is not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us! We have a great hope, so be of good courage!  

Date: 12/27/07

A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor. Proverbs 29:23

This verse communicates the paradox that what the proud seek after with diligence, the humble will ultimately attain. In my pride I say "I can do it in my own strength." Yet, Jesus says, "Without Me, you can do nothing." Let's heed the Savior's words, humble our hearts, and retain the honor freely given by His grace.

Date: 12/07/07

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)

In the opening verses in her song of praise, Mary’s words give us insight into her understanding of who God is. It is evident that Mary knew God personally, and had a good understanding of the Scriptures. She uses the language of someone who has been taught by God’s grace to feel her own sins and who, far from being able to save others, recognized her own need of a Savior for her own soul. 

Date: 12/02/07

…receive my words, And treasure my commands within you…Proverbs 2:1

This portion of scripture spells out very clearly the avenue which we are to take, in order to obtain a deeper, more reverent understanding of our Lord. Do you want to know more of Jesus? If you are a Christian, you should answer with a resounding “Yes”! Receive His words, take them in and spend quality time to think them through. Let us treasure, and store up His commands within us, simply because we can’t get enough of Him. Quality and quantity, together, are to be the key in our approach to God’s word.

Date: 11/25/07

...it was the will of the Lord to crush Him… Isaiah 53:10

God crushed His perfect and sinless Son for our sin, so that He wouldn’t have to crush us. Have you ever taken time to consider that? Do you realize that God could have crushed you? Because of our sin and rebellion, God would have been perfectly just in crushing us, but He chose to crush His Son instead. How great is our God! Let this understanding stir our affections for God and increase our hatred for sin.