Right in Front of Your Face

Mark 12:32-34

And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth:for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

I can remember getting directions before and thinking we were so close to something only to find out that we were miles away from our destination. On the flip side of that, I've asked directions before thinking we were miles away from somewhere and finding out we were just around the corner from it.  

Imagine this man and the question he had for Jesus.  He asked what the greatest commandment was?  He wanted to know about true life and the source of truth. He wanted directions and found out he was so close. Notice what Jesus said about the man's response of keeping all these things. He said, "Thou art not far". "Not far", not there, but not far. You are so close but yet not there just yet. 

You see, keeping commandments are for those who are His servants or are enlisted in service. Following Him is an act of trust and love.  We are saved by His Grace alone. There is nothing, nothing good that we can do.  No greatest commandment can get us in right standing with God. Only the blood Jesus shed for our lives gives us a righteous standing before our God. 

This man was so close, so close that the Son of God was standing right in front of him. The Savior of the world was looking him in the eyes. How close are you? You are closer than you think. 

Do You Believe?

John 11:25-26

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Have you heard the story of Lazarus?  He had passed away from sickness and been placed in a tomb where has now laid four days. Jesus tells his disciples that this has happened so God could receive the glory. When He arrives in town, many of the Jews had come out to mourn with the family. They were gathering when Jesus came closer. Martha ran out to meet Jesus and ask him for help. Then she went and told Mary to come out because Jesus called for her. Everyone there was down and discouraged. They knew Jesus had the answer and the power to do whatever He wanted. 

As they were weeping, Jesus began to weep.  He wept because of the faithlessness of the people. They saw Him weep and thought that it was because Lazarus was dead, but Jesus was there to raise Lazarus. His tears were for them and their disbelief. 

Look at what he told Martha... "I am the resurrection, and the life:". Jesus told her that he was the answer to death and living. He was telling her that he could handle anything. Then he asked her something... "Believest thou this?"  He said , "Do you believe this?"  

My question this morning is, "Do you believe Jesus?"  Has he ever lied to you? How much faith do you have? Do you believe? Not as demons believe.  Not as the world believes he was here. But do you believe He can do it?  Do you believe He can speak life into you and your situation?  Then why are you crying?

Only believe, only believe... All things are possible, only believe. 

That Kind of Faith

Matthew 8:1-3

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Just to simply believe!  That's the kind of faith we need. Jesus told us to believe as a child would believe. This means we must totally depend upon Him and not upon ourselves. When we believe totally, God can do great things in our lives. 

Look at this man in the scripture. The leper came and worshipped Him. What power and liberty there is when we realize who Jesus is. When we stop and realize that our Lord Jesus is much greater than our problem or situation at hand. When we come to this kind of worship we can find the solution to every problem. In his worship he made the statement, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean". Notice what he was saying?  "If you will, I know you can do it". 

So many look for healing, solutions and answers and then when God answers in a different way than they expected, they are disappointed and walk away from Him. This leper was sick with a physical disease. His life was in a mess because of his condition. But remember, he was in worship!  He was worshipping God even though he was a leper. He said, "If you will..." This means he was fine with either way. He knew Jesus would still be Jesus even if he had to live as a leper the rest of his earthly life. He knew that his request was one that would help his life, but that it was more important to worship through adversity in his life. Notice that he didn't say, "If thou canst make me whole, I will worship you". 

How many of us today are willing to worship Jesus even when it's difficult?  Even when it's pouring rain?  Even when our snares seem delayed?  Boy, to have faith like that! 

  

Hope in the Word

Romans 15:4

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

What do you think of the Word of God?  Some people view it as a rule book full of "do's and don'ts". Many see it as a book with allegories of spiritual meanings. But Peter said, "We have not followed cunningly devised fables". How do you view the Bible?

When I read the Bible, I see love. Love in the cross, Love in the tomb, Love in the Old Testament, Love in the New Testament, Love is sewn throughout the entire book. But also there is patience and comfort in God's Word. Think of John chapter fourteen, "Let not your hearts be troubled..."  Think of what He told us in the book of Thessalonians, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words..."  God's word is full of comfort, peace, promises, instructions, correction so that we would be ready to face the world. 

Where does your hope and comfort come from today? What about peace and patience?  Maybe you should try opening the Word of God more instead of those novels and other books. Maybe read the Bible for thirty minutes instead of watching that television show that you so love. 

Notice what our scripture says... For our learning and our hope through patience and comfort of the scriptures. 

Take time today to search His scriptures. Take time right now to thank Him for His word that has been given to us. Lord, I thank you for the precious words that you gave to these men. Thank you for the Jewish scribes that thought of it so highly that they protected it for years. Thank you of how it applies to everything in my life. When I need instruction, I find it in your word. When I need Grace and help, I find it in your word. When I need comfort and patience, I find it in your word. When I needed salvation, I found it in your word!  Thank you Lord for my Bible. 

Losing Our Minds

Philippians 2:5

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Have you ever felt like that rubber band stretched to its limits is your mind?  I have many times. The old "Calgon" commercial comes to my mind. The woman is burning something on the stove, dog is barking, children running though the house and the phone is ringing. Then she says those famous words, "Calgon, take me away". (Please tell me that you just read that part out loud)  

I feel this way at times. Even in Christian ministry it gets stressful. Life is stressful. We feel like we get so many things going at once and we couldn't possibly take on something else. Our minds are so busy on family, children, work, church, etc...  

Sometimes our minds are so preoccupied that we forget things. Have you ever walked into a room only to find out that you forgot why you walked into there in the first place?  Hahaha, so many times. It drives you crazy and you say those words, "I must be losing my mind". 

Well I want to tell you something. Losing our minds isn't a bad idea. We need to lose our minds and search for the mind of Christ. How great would it be to have His thoughts in our minds? To have His wisdom in our decisions?  Take time this morning to ask in prayer for the mind of Christ to be in you. Phone ringing? children yelling? ministry stressful? marriage tough? work difficult? big decisions? Say these words, "Jesus, take me away". Crawl up into His arms and lose your mind in His love. 

Joy in the Small Things

Matthew 25:23

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

As I was about to start my run one morning I was stretching these old muscles and listening to the snapping and crackling. I was putting my headphones in and trying my best to get excited about the run, when I noticed something shining out of the corner of my eye. (This was before I even started running today) As I approached the shiny object, that I knew was a coin, I started laughing because it was a nickel!  

My first thought was, "Wow, moving on up!"  Many other thoughts went through my mind, because I truly believe God will speak through any thing in your life if you will only listen. I thought... You mostly only find pennies right?  Many people will drop a penny and leave it but not a nickel. They will battle the struggle of bending over to pick it back up because of its value. 

I also thought... "God, why a nickel today?" The scripture above came to my mind. If we are faithful over the small things (like looking for pennies) then he will reward us with greater things (like a nickel). 

Look at that last part of the verse... "Enter thou into the joy of The Lord". God really helped me today to realize that my joy, true joy, comes from being faithful and looking for the pennies. If you never look for the pennies, then you will never find the nickels, dimes, quarters or even dollars. Some people are quick to look for the paper money, just as people are ready to share the gospel with the wealthy and friendly. But what about the one who hasn't bathed in weeks? What about the drunk who is mean and hateful? What about the poor and lonely?  But they are just pennies Steve... 

Faithful over the small things!  Keep looking today...

Remembrance

Luke 24:8

And they remembered his words,

There are times that we go through our everyday routines and we are blindsided by a thought from our past. You know what I mean?  We could be at work, minding our own business, and a thought from years ago come across our mind. We wonder, "Where in the world did that come from?"  It came from the files of our memory bank. 

We store emotions, thoughts and feelings in those banks. Things like, our first crush, our first time driving a car, our first touchdown, or our first day of school... It's amazing at times what the memory banks can bring to our attention. (But then at other times we can't recall something a simple as our name, haha)

An amazing thing is when we recall those powerful words of our Lord Jesus right when we need them. You know... When we are struggling and He sends us a word. When we are discouraged and He brings to our memory that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That is so powerful!  We read and study, study and read... Days or even years may go by and then all of the sudden, when you least expect it, He brings them to your memory. 

Thank you Lord for searching my memory banks and giving me the right scripture at the right time!  Thank you for using my memory to teach me the truths of your word. I remember Lord! I remember. I love you Jesus and I love your word!