Month: June 2020

God’s blessings to you on this excellent Tuesday morning, my friend!

Read Proverbs 4.

Our relationship with our earthly fathers varies (or varied) – some of us had a relationship with our earthly father that was, for the most part, loving and healthy; while for many of us, that fatherly relationship was difficult and lacking, or perhaps even non-existent.

But this proverb opens up with loving instruction from a good father to his son – a reminder that we have a Good and Perfect Father in heaven that desires to teach us and wants the best for each of His sons.

The fatherly instruction in this proverb:

Pursue wisdom, which brings promotion, honor, grace glory, and longevity.

Choose the right path, and avoid evil.

Embrace instruction.

Keep your heart with diligence.

And the benefit of embracing this father’s wise and Godly instruction? “Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.”

We each have a Good Father – He loves us – He knows us intimately – He teaches us – He knows the beginning and the end, and He desires the best for each of His sons. Be encouraged!

Good Monday morning, my friend, and may our Good God bless you as we start this new week!

Read Hebrews 7:15 – 28

We know that Jesus is our High Priest, but this passage details for us several key points about how His priestly ministry is better:

Jesus came in the power of eternal life, to fulfill prophecy.

He is our better hope.

We draw near to God through His ministry.

The LORD swore an oath to make Him our High Priest.

He is the surety of a better covenant.

His ministry is eternal and unchanging.

Jesus is able to save us to the uttermost.

And, the writer of Hebrews says that “such a High Priest was fitting for us” because He “is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;”.
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Finally, this passage reminds us that Jesus, our High Priest, LIVES to make intercession for those who come to God through Him.  What a picture – Jesus, our perfect and eternal High Priest, is standing before the LORD, always interceding for you; and for me!

Think about this. Pray about this.

And let us live our lives in a manner that reflects Our High Priest; and acknowledges the intercession He is making in Heaven for us, even right now. Amen!

Brother, good morning. Let us give the LORD our thanks as we complete the week and go out on this Friday morning.

Read James 5:13 – 18.

In this portion of the letter written by James, brother of Jesus and one of the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem, we receive Spirit-breathed direction on prayer. As you read these few verses, notice that prayer is not only supposed to be an integral part of our lives, prayer is to become our primary response to the challenges we face, particularly sickness.

Why is prayer so important? Well, let us just consider three points this morning:

Prayer builds relationship; both with our Good God and with those people that we are praying for (or with). A life of prayer becomes a life of conversing with the LORD, and a life of sharing in the concerns and needs of others!

Prayer helps us exercise and strengthen our faith. We pray with expectation, knowing that the LORD hears our petitions, and He is willing to move in response to our requests.

By praying (and by praying FIRST), we invite our Good God to become the fulfillment of our needs, the solution to our problems, and healing for our body and our soul. By the very act of placing our concerns in the hands of Our Good Father through prayer, we set the stage for Him to be glorified. When He answers, we can truly say “Glory to God, I prayed and He heard from heaven!”. And when we see Him move in answer to our prayers, we build personal testimonies of His greatness.

So, my brother, as you go out today, be the man of prayer that this world desperately needs! And remember:

“pray without ceasing,”
‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭5:17‬

And

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4:2‬

To God be all glory! Amen!

My friend, greetings to you in the precious Name of Our Lord Jesus on this Thursday morning!

Read 1 Pet 1:3 – 21

This passage from Peter’s letter to the early Church dispersed in Asia beautifully details the inheritance all of us have received from our Good God through Jesus. As you read this morning, look for all of the “distinct treasures” He has given us, including:

A LIVING HOPE. The implication here is that the hope we have been given as Believers is active, growing, strong, and vital.

GENUINENESS OF FAITH. Peter describes this part of our inheritance as being much more precious than gold! And this particular gift gives us the ability to give Jesus praise, honor, and glory; and most importantly, to love Our Savior Jesus through grief, trials, and testing.

REVELATION. We have been given the understanding that Christ is THE fulfillment of the grace and the salvation that was promised to us by Our Good God; and He is the completion of all that was foretold by the prophets in the scriptures.

Finally, just like our earthly lives would likely change if we received a huge inheritance; Peter closes out this passage by reminding us that our lives should change as a result of this inheritance we have from Heaven.

So, let us walk today remembering that we are already the recipients and beneficiaries of a wonderful Heavenly inheritance! And “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”. Amen!

Good morning, my friend. It is Wednesday, another day given to us by our Good God. Let us bring glory to His Name today!

Read Psalm 146. Selah.

This simple psalm of praise is also a declaration and recognition of some of the many benefits we receive as lovers of God. In just a few short verses, this passage reminds us that He provides…

…happiness.

…hope.

…truth.

…justice.

…provision.

…healing.

…comfort.

…restoration.

And in a very direct and succinct caution, the psalmist provides instruction that is so applicable to our current circumstances:

“Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps TRUTH forever,”.
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Brothers, what a blessing! Our Good God has established for us His truth; a truth that is both holy and eternal; a truth worthy of our trust; a truth that is not relative; ONE TRUTH that extends above and beyond the life of any one man and across generations.

Let us praise Him today, and confidently go forth in the knowledge that the LORD, and His truth, shall reign forever! Amen!

Blessings and felicitations to you on this fine Tuesday morning, my friend!

Read 1 Tim 6:3 – 16.

This inspired passage, part of a letter from the apostle Paul to a young minister of the Gospel named Timothy, is full of application for each of us in these days.

We are to abide in the pure doctrine of Our Lord Jesus, obeying His commandments and His words.  And this charge of following Christ’s commandments is given such importance that we are told to even withdraw from “useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth”.

Then, Paul addresses the issue of contentment – we are to be content with what we have, because “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”.  Yes, this is the very essence of the saying that we have never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer!

Finally, Paul closes this passage with a strong exhortation and summation of the very foundation of our faith, that we are to walk in a manner worthy of our Lord and Savior Jesus, knowing that He is surely returning. When He appears, we will see Him and know Him as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,”!

So today, my brother, I make this declaration over you (from vv’s 11 and 12 of today’s scripture):

“But you, O man of God, …pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”.  Amen!

Good Monday morning, brother!  As we begin this new week, I declare that you are an overcomer in Christ Jesus!

Read Psalm 34.

As you read this psalm of David, take note of the overall structure of the passage.

Importantly, it opens with praise, and an acknowledgment that the praise that is offered to the LORD shall be never-ending.

Then, a call to others to join in the exaltation of the LORD.

Next, we have acknowledgments of what God has done for us – testimonies!

And the remainder of the passage is filled with…

…declarations of God’s goodness.

…exhortations to revere the LORD.

…instruction on how to walk righteously before the LORD.

…reminders that God hears the petitions of His people.

…assurances that the LORD will deal with every form of evil.

As we go forth into this day, into this week, be uplifted by these 2 specific promises from today’s passage:

Our Good God is with you through every circumstance and every sorrow – “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit”.

He hears your cries and He will respond to them – “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”.
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Thank You, LORD!

Friday morning, my brother, and greetings and blessings to you as we end another week!

Read Eph 2.

This passage opens up by presenting the magnificence and wonder of God’s mercy and love and grace towards each of us as expressed through Christ Jesus. And because our Good God has shown us such love by giving us His Son, not only are we saved, but we receive additional blessings. As you read this morning, take note of how God’s gift (His Son) also provides:

Hope.

Relationship.

Peace.

Unity.

The Holy Spirit.

Access to The Father.

Identity.

Citizenship.

Membership in the household of God.

Friends, we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and provides for us – and His provision is “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”. Eph 3:20.

Let us, each of us, always remember our Good God’s provision and make a practice to look for “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (vv 7).  Amen!

Good Thursday morning, my friend!  Let us rejoice and be glad in this day that the LORD has made!

Read Isaiah 9:1 – 7

This is a familiar passage to us – we hear it read during Christmas Eve services, and vv 6 appears on many of the Christmas cards that we receive.  It is remarkable that this prophecy detailing the birth of Our Lord Jesus was written about 700 years before that glorious day that the actual event occurred.

But as you read and ponder this prophetic scripture today, keep in mind that these foretold events are still being fulfilled.  Yes, in a wonderful fulfillment of this promise, 2000 years ago a Child was born; and that Child became the Son who was given on the cross as an atonement for all of our sins.  And because the given Son was obedient unto death, He overcame death for all of us, and He now reigns forever!  Amen!

But as the television commercials used to say, “Wait! There’s more!”.  Jesus will return to earth again, and He will, according to Isaiah “order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.”.

As you read news of this world’s governments struggling to maintain order, unable to protect their citizens, and failing to provide either rational or workable responses to what seems to be one crisis after another, take heart. There is One coming who will rule righteously, “And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” and “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end”.

As we face today, let us remember the promise and pray in agreement with the second to the last verse in our Bibles: “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”.

And Amen!
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Midweek felicitations to you, my brother!  And blessings to you in the precious Name of Our Lord Jesus!

Read 2 Cor 3.

As you read today, take note of how Paul opens this particular passage by referring to fellow believers as individual “epistles of Christ”, and “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”.  Brothers, think about the implications of this picture!  If we could truly consider each of our fellow Believers as a distinct and unique and extraordinary testimony being crafted and written by the very Spirit of God, powerful blessings and unparalleled unity would flow throughout the Body of Christ.

So, the challenge for today and going forward:  as you encounter and interact with your Brothers and Sisters in Christ – look at them as special epistles, written by the Spirit, and sent into this world by our Good God as a testimony and for a specific Gospel purpose. And encourage them and exhort them and assist them as they walk out their Kingdom calling.

And as for you, my brother, be encouraged today, knowing that YOU are “with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”.  Amen!