The Next Day

John 1:29

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

John the Baptist was baptizing people in the river if Jordan. He was the prophesied forerunner of Jesus. Which means he preached about preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. John was preaching and sharing about repentance. He told the people that they needed to make the crooked paths straight and prepare to meet God. I can see him now... Long robe, soaking wet from the many baptisms. Burly beard with stains of honey and locusts. Asking people to come to the truth and to accept the message. 

John begin to tell of the Messiah who would come after him. He told of how he would one day rule all nations. Imagine the days that came and went. Day after day, minute by minute people continue and hear that we need to get ready. 

Then in a day he least expected, here comes Jesus around the side of the mountain. John catches eyes with Jesus and says some of my favorite words throughout the whole Bible. "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world". 

Behold (look), the Lamb of God (Jesus), who takes away the sin of the world. But look at something else this morning. Look at where the scripture is this morning. 

So many days we talk about Jesus coming again. What of it was tomorrow?  I imagine it went something like this.,, while they were talking of the coming of Jesus, boom, here comes Jesus walking up. 

The Bible says it was the next day. Can you stop for a moment and imagine what it would be like if Jesus comes tomorrow.  What if you knew the rapture will take place tomorrow?  Would you live like it?  What if you knew that your life would end and Jesus would be standing ready for you and He was the first one that you see?  

You know what?  It could be tomorrow. It could be the next day, the next breath, the next blink or twinkling of an eye. Jesus is coming soon!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2 Timothy 2:3

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Lionel Richie's breakup might have been easy, easy like a Sunday morning but being a Christian isn't. I have heard so many people say that the Christian life is so easy. They say that God handles everything, which is implying that He doesn't allow any difficulties to come your way. Preachers have reduced their messages of suffering for the cause of Christ, to never suffering because we are entitled. 

The Word of God reveals to us a different message. It tells us that hardness or hardships will come. It doesn't say IF the righteous are afflicted, it says many are the afflictions of the righteous (Psalms 34:19). It doesn't say that IF trouble comes, it says He is an ever present help in time of trouble (Psalms 46:1). Scripture tells us that suffering will happen as long as we are following Jesus. 

This mornings scripture tells us that we need to endure hardness. Enduring hardness does not account for righteousness before God. Salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Enduring the hard times and afflictions draws us to a closer relationship with Him. It teaches us to depend upon Jesus for our strength. Look at how the Word tells us that we should do this as a "good soldier" of Jesus. Soldiers suffer hard times and hardships. 

Do you think Sunday morning are easy?  Maybe that's where this phrase comes in to play with our churches. Many, many Christian churches today have abandoned their nightly or weekly services. Making it easy like Sunday morning. "It's difficult to be devoted to Sunday night Pastor"... "Wednesday? I work way too late, or I would rather watch my favorite shows"... Making Sunday morning easy!  

Well when we make Sunday mornings easy, what happens when things aren't easy? What about when difficulties come?  When the wind blows? If we forsake our studies, fellowship, discipleship, and prayer time we will be so weak. We are setting ourselves up for failure when we see things in God's army as, "Easy Like Sunday Mornings". Really and truly, Sunday's are easy compared to Monday when you don't feel like reading the Word. Or Tuesday, when you don't feel like praying. Or Wednesday, when you don't feel like going. Or Thursday, when you fight to stay above water all day. Or Friday, when everything has fallen apart. Or Saturday, when you have to work to make ends meet. The Christian life is not easy like a Sunday morning. It's difficult and Jesus tells us to endure hardness as a good soldier. 

God's Perfect Grace

2 Corinthians 12:9

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Have you ever felt that you couldn't take another step?  Maybe felt like you were running on fumes or even empty?  Have you ever felt that your strength was all gone? Well that is awesome! Because it's right where God desires us to be. 

This morning, Paul found himself at a place in his life where he was battling with something that bothered him very much. We really don't know what it is that was bothering him, but we do know that it was causing him to struggle. He said it was a thorn in the flesh given unto him to keep him from being proud. Some people believe that it could have been Paul's eye sight. Some lean toward the beatings he received that had battered his body. Either way it doesn't matter. The emphasis should never be put on the thorn, but on the reason and remedy. 

Prosperity preachers have a hard time dealing with this verse because God actually tells Paul "No". He will not remove the thorn. He wanted Paul to carry this suffering for a reason. The things we suffer in this world, because of Christ, are for our growth and for His glory. 

Although God did not remove the thorn, He gave a great remedy. He said, "My strength is made perfect in weakness". God tells him that when he feels like he's on fumes or even empty, that He would be his strength. How awesome! God tells us that HIS strength is made PERFECT in OUR weaknesses. 

Maybe this morning we should stop and thank Him for His strength in our weakness. We should rather glory in our infirmities (physical or mental weakness) so that God's glory could rest upon our humble lives. I would rather live with the power of Christ upon my life than to own the oceans and all the land. 

Thank you Jesus for being my strength when I have none. Thank you for filling my tank when I am way below the "E" mark. Thank you Jesus for humbling me. And thank you most of all for telling me "No" when you are working things for my good. I love you so much.  

Learning from the Scars

Philippians 1:12

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

When we fall down, how quick are we to get up and shake it off without anyone noticing?  You know what I'm talking about?  You are walking out in the yard, all alone, and your foot slips into a hole or trip on a rock. You jump back onto your feet as quick as possible, and scan the area to see if anyone saw you. It could be that you cut your flesh or had a surgery before that has left a scar. Now you spend so much time trying to cover up the scar. For some reason we don't want people to know that we have fallen or that we have scars.  

The Word of God tells us about Paul and the things he suffered for the Gospel. But God wants us to understand that the things he went through were to strengthen him. Many of us would just see the persecution he went through as a strengthener, but what about the life he lived even before Christ?  Sin can scar your mind and body. I have scars in my mind and upon my body because of the sin before and after I gave my life to Jesus. I am forgiven of all sin I committed, but I still bear the scars and effects from those sins. But like Paul, understand that I don't dwell on if because God has forgiven me of them, I confess every fall, and every persecution for the furtherance of the Gospel. 

Why do we hide our scars? Why do we hide our sins?  The Bible tells us that, "Blessed is the man who confesses his sins". We have spent countless hours on covering our scars from sin, when the world needs to see that we have fallen, that ALL have fallen. Don't misunderstand me...we should not wear our scars as badges of honor, but as an opportunity to share what Jesus has saved us from. Too many want to sit and brag on the life they lived without Jesus, and that isn't the Gospel. We were cut, bruised, battered and scarred up from sin, but they are healed by Jesus. 

You know why we have healing from our wounds of sin? Because Jesus died on the cross. He bears the scars today because of sin, and the greatest thing is... He never sinned. It was our sin. It is our sin that He has forgiven and healed us from. 

Share what Jesus has done for you today with someone. Reveal the scars from falling with humility. Sharing the Gospel is what we are called to do, but don't ever forget that we must SHOW the Gospel. (Not as hero wounds, but as humility and through the message of Jesus)

Face to Face

Galatians 2:11
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

Paul was facing a difficult situation in his ministry. He was up against the wall about something and he didn't even put himself there. Another brother in the ministry placed him there. Paul was preaching the grace of Jesus and how all are the same in the eyes of God. But Peter was doing something wrong. He was showing a difference between Gentile and Jew.

Imagine Paul and his dilemma. He was a newly saved Christian that was commissioned by Christ to preach the Gospel. Peter was a long follower of Jesus and an eyewitness to many miracles by the very hands of Christ. He was the one who had the keys to the message of Jesus and was in the wrong about something. First of all we should understand that no one is perfect. No one gets everything right all the time. We all are guilty at times of allowing the flesh to corrupt our walk or even our decisions.

Let's take note of how Paul went about this. Paul was now faced with trying to right the wrong of Peter. When Peter came to Antioch, Paul meet him face to face. Too often we want others to do these things. People so easily find fault with the walk of others but are not willing to meet them face to face about their walk. Paul didn't meet him with pride, because he would have also fallen into the same thing. Paul knew that he wasn't perfect either in saying "not as though I have attained..." Paul was also guilty of letting his flesh get in the way of a few desicions he made in life.

When helping a brother or sister in their walk, please make sure your walk is right. When helping them to come to the understanding of their faults, always remember our faults. When righting the wrong of another, make sure you're right and most of all humble. Last of all, do it face to face and not through another brother or sister.

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

3 John 1:9

I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

John was sharing with us about his writing to the church. He had penned down the inspired words of God to give His church. It seems as if the church was ready to receive these words, but then a man named Diotrephes appears in the scene. 

Never have we heard anything about this man prior to our scripture here. Usually the ones named in our God-given word are people that we need to remember. People that don't easily need to be forgotten. Diotrephes, a man whose name has never appeared in scripture until the Word begins with these people dealing harshly and not accepting people. It tells us that he spake maliciously against the people. He had the "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" attitude. 

At one of my first jobs, I worked along side of a lot of guys with different ideas and characteristics. Some that had many, many ideas, mostly ideas of how to get out of work. Some worked harder at getting out of work than they did just doing the job before them. I will never forget two of these men. The one was always trying to get out of work, and the other was always trying to top everyone. 

One day while digging in a ditch, I was doing all the work... Wanna guess which one of these men I was with at the time?  While he was walking hard at getting out of work, the other one pulled up in a work vehicle. His position was greater than ours. Well when he pulled up, my worker said, "Oh no, he is here to tell us how to do it better". I laughed because I knew he was probably right. And sure enough, he stepped out of the vehicle and told me that I was holding the shovel in the wrong hand and that it could be better if I did it the other way. He smiles real bug and gets back into his vehicle. Then all of the sudden, I heard my worker singing... "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you". 

So funny!  If your heart is like Diotrephes, then you will speak negative and indifferent with all you're around. It's a spirit of Diotrephes. Don't speak malicious to others. And also, if you have those Diotrephes around you, then leave them where they are. Walk away!  

Can I say something?  No one can serve God like you!  No one can do it but you!

I'm Not A Hypocrite!

Job 27:8

For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained,

when God taketh away his soul?

A few years ago, my son Jacob was going through a stage of wrapping his ankles and arms up with bandages. We would come home from work or school and he would have his ankle wrapped up with an ace bandage. Some evenings it would be his forearm or elbow. When we would ask him what happened he would say, "Nothing, it's just hurting". I would just laugh and call him my little hypochondriac. 

One evening we came home and he went straight to the room and wrapped his knee. I just smiled at him, his mother looked at me and rolled her eyes, and his brother started laughing out loud. Then Jacob looked at us and said, "I'm not a hypocrite!"  To which I busted out laughing as well as everyone in the house. 

Isn't it funny that we act a certain way and we don't want people to call us out on it?  Although he was young and didn't understand, he showed me a great lesson. We sometimes act certain ways and then hope for some reason our words are louder than our actions. 

 What is the definition of a hypocrite? Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which ones own behavior does not conform. In simple terms, one who says they follow Christ with their mouths but deny it in their actions. What are the benefits of a hypocrite? Earthly benefits could be many because they change in ever situation like the chameleon. Heavenly benefits are not found at all. What hope is found in hypocrisy? None!  

Maybe you're like Jacob, you spend most of your time telling everyone that you're not a hypocrite. Spending much time trying to convince people that you're not a hypocrite, only to have your actions speak much louder than your words. 

If we are of Christ, let us live as Christ.