Oh, I See

Luke 24:24-25

And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

"I'll believe it when I see it..."  Have you ever heard that?  How many times do we need to see something in order to believe?  If I said I had a good coin in my pocket, how quick would you ask to see it?  

The Bible teaches that seeing it isn't faith. 

Romans 8:24

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

WE SHOULD BELIEVE...

  - That He is Christ

  - That He was Dead

  - That He is Alive!

These men that saw Jesus couldn't believe their eyes. They had just seen Jesus crucified and buried. They had lingered around for days after and heard the women say that he had risen. They listened to the stories about the angels they saw at the grave. But yet they believed not. They needed more for some reason. 

Then Jesus appeared unto them and finally revealed himself and they believed. But as they told others...the people they told didn't believe. Jesus then appeared unto them. He said, "Touch me and see". Then they believed. 

You may say I'll trust Jesus and believe in Him when I can see Him. Well look at me!  (No I'm not Jesus). I am saying look at what happened in my life. Look at how I was dead in my sins, but am now very much alive through Jesus. I was a drunken teenager without hope in my lost condition and now a child of The King!  I was broken and now I'm fixed. All because I believe He is the Son of God. I believe He was crucified and died on the cross for my sins. I believe He is now alive forevermore and I will live because of His resurrection. 

I never saw Him like the apostles. I never touched Him like those men that day. But I believe! 

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I'm found,

Was blind but now I see.

Playing in Tune

Psalms 37:4

Delight thyself also in the Lord;

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

I love playing musical instruments. There is great peace in just strumming a guitar or sitting down at a piano and playing. It's just relaxing. Even listening to music is soothing and takes you away. But something can happen at times. We could be playing and then all of the sudden a wrong note is struck and it makes it sound so bad. Or you could be driving down the road, listening to the radio, and the service just turns into static. Nothing is worse than this!  Your favorite song is playing on satellite radio, the windows are down, everything is going your way, and then it happens...boom, nothing. 

You see, God's word tells us that our relationship with Him is like sweet music to our soul. Our hearts beat to the same rhythm. Our desires are His desires for us. Our delight is actually His delight for us. We become so tuned into the will of God that it's like music to us. There is peace, joy, love and contentment in this sweet music.

But then it happens, a distraction for selfish desires or a demand of something you think you should have, and the music stops. The wrong note has been struck. The satellite feed becomes blocked. All because of our hearts desire. 

That seems to be an attitude among people (Christians) today. We have this sense of demand toward our Heavenly Father. Too many are wrapped up into what they want. Selfish desires of the heart seem to be priority. 

Pray today that we will be in tune with Jesus. Pray that nothing you desire gets in the way of what God desires for you. Stay in tune! 

Come Back Around Rejoicing

Luke 15:9

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

I was running this morning, and at a mile in and I saw a penny on the ground. I told myself I would pick it up on the return (even though it was not on the return). But when I came back through that way I couldn't find it. My eyes were scanning every area I thought I was at when I saw it. But I had to keep running, I couldn't stop. So in my mind I was thinking, "I should have picked it up when I first saw it, I will probably never find it now". 

By this time, my heart rate was up even greater because God started teaching me a lesson. I found myself thinking about that penny the whole time I was trying to finish my run. I was second guessing myself if I had actually seen it there in that particular spot or not.  It was almost a worry if I would find it or not. (I know that you must think that I'm crazy)  

Scanning, scanning and more scanning. I would look at my watch and think, "I can run pass there one more time before I finish". So I told myself that I would look harder this time. So as I approached the area where I thought it was the search began again. My heart pounding because of the run and anxiety of the search. Then it caught my eye... I FOUND IT!  Immediately I looked at my running watch. As I approached the penny, my watch turned over and the run was now completed. I stooped down an picked it up, relieved that I found it and excited that my run was finished. 

What if the penny had no value? In a previous devotion, God dealt with me about the value of a penny.  (Many people think they don't have any value)  But in this devotion God dealt with me about the search and rejoicing. What if I had decided not to come searching again? How many times do we pass a life everyday and not see its value? Are you willing to come back around?  

  - Pray today that God first moves on your heart and causes you to be 

    concerned and broken about the value of a soul. 

  - Pray that God gives you the eyes to see them in their condition. 

  - Pray that as you run your race in life, you don't forget to pick up that soul 

    and bring them to Jesus. 

If you live this way, will you rejoice with me today?  Hallelujah!

Clearly Visible

Romans 12:9

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

There are three clear and visible things found in this scripture...

First of all it tells us that love should be without concealment. It should be visible and evident in the life of a Christian. Love is how we are known for being a follower of Jesus. He told us that they would know you by the love you have for one another. We should show the Love of God to all we come in contact with. 

Second, we should abhor that which is evil. The word abhor means, to regard with disgust and hatred. A child of God should hate sin and it's destruction it could do in our lives. Too many Christians today are playing with sin as someone who plays with a snake. Any snake handler (which to me must be crazy) will tell you that when you lose the fear and awareness of what the snake is capable of doing, then you shouldn't be around them anymore. Christians have lost sight of the damaging effects of sin and its destruction it can do. We are told to stay away from evil, to abhor it!

Third, we should cleave to that which is good. Good in this scripture means that which is holy and right in God's sight. We should hold onto that which is good, knowing it is from God.  Knowing that it is for our benefit and growth. 

God tells us these simple truths and maybe we should write them down today on a small piece of paper. Place it in our pockets and study it throughout the day. 

  - Show the Love of God Clearly

  - Hate Sin (not sinner) and its Destructing Power

  - Hold on to the Good Things that God Sends Our Way

Pep Rally

Mark 9:38-39

And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.

At the microphone our beloved student leader would stand and point to the seventh graders and make his way across the whole assembly doing the Roll, Jordan, Roll wave. The band would be playing and the cheerleaders would be chanting their cheers. "2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar, all for Jordan, stand up and holler..."  Then as the band played we would sing Roll Jordan Roll... 

Then the greatest time of the pep rally came when we would compete with the the "other side". As a seventh grader it was us junior high students against the varsity students. We would scream at the top of our lungs... "We've got spirit yes we do, we've got spirit how bout' you?"  The scene didn't change as we grew older. I can still remember being in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade scream at the junior high students. 

You know many people do that today in Christianity. They stand on their side of the guitar and shout that their worship is the best. While the others stand on their side of the piano and declare theirs is the way. We are so quick to pick and choose. So quick to forbid people, when Jesus says let them alone. Let every man's work be tried by Christ. 

So stop trying to keep tabs. Stop trying to compete or forbid. Follow Jesus. Serve Jesus. Preach Jesus. And realize that if someone else has Jesus there is no possible way you could have more of Him. He's the same forever and for every one.  

God Fixed Him

Psalms 147:3

He healeth the broken in heart,

and bindeth up their wounds.

Remember this?... 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings horses and all the kings men, 

couldn't put Humpty together again.

My Dad said, "If we could have gotten Humpty to Jesus, he could have fixed him. This has to be the most profound and simplest statement of who Christ is and his power he has. Of all the wisdom I have searched for in the last twenty years if my Christian life, I have not heard a statement so true. I have not heard a summation of who Jesus is than this one. If only the kings horsemen and the kings men could have brought him to Jesus he could have been healed like the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years. He could have been saved just like the young boy we he raised from the dead and gave back to his widowed mother. He could have been fixed like Mary Magdalene's heart. 

Jesus, He is the only one who can heal the broken heart. 

I can't take a heart that's broken, make it over again

But I know a man who can

I can't take a soul that's sin sick, make it white as the snow

But I know a man who can

Some call him Savior the redeemer of all men,

I call him Jesus for He's my dearest friend 

If you feel that no one loves you and your life is out of hand

Well, I know a man who can

My "Good Thang"

Proverbs 18:22

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,

and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

When God created all f creation he said everyday that it was good. But when he created man, He said, "It is not good that man should be alone". So then God created woman out of man to be his helper. To be his "good thang". 

I ain't bragging, but praising God this morning. Praising Him for my marriage and my "good thang". I have been blessed by our God with a beautiful, talented, softball playing, Glory to God singing, making me fat cooking, absolute awesome woman of God. There is absolutely no way I could have found this on my own, believe me I tried! This is a blessing from God. 

How many times do we get bogged down in this life and let things, or people, take a back seat to our burdens?  We can be so distracted by the bad things in life that we lose sight of our good things. I only wish people could hear the testimonies of spouses who are hear on earth while their "good thing" is in Heaven awaiting their arrival. It's sorta like the old preacher always said, "We sometimes don't miss our water till our well has run dry". 

How do you treat your "good thang"?  How do you talk to your "good thang"? 

Disclaimer:  I am not in any doghouse or trouble with my wife. This is straight from our Lord and my heart. I have in no way been influenced to with the above words because of my failure as a husband. It is simply because I love my "good thang"!  Hahahaha