God's Incredible Power

God's power should not be scary to his friends.

Ephesians 1:19-23  I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power  20  that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms.   

21  Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else--not only in this world but also in the world to come.  22  God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.  23  And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.

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God's power is incredible, the force that created everything out of nothing and gives life to man may seem like something that you should be afraid of but we don't have to live in fear that we will be hit with a bolt of lightning from the sky, God's incredible power is actually for our benefit.

Instead of being scared, God wants to have a loving relationship with his children, his power is our ally and is used for our benefit, instead of coming at us in judgment against us. God's power is manifest in our lives through his written word, his power to save us and redeem us from sin is through his blood, his power to change us is worked out through the Holy Spirit.

The unlimited power of God that raised Jesus and took him back to heaven to sit at God's throne is the power that we can count on in our lives. There was power exerted for the believer at our conversion. There will be power exerted in keeping us. There will be power in raising us up from the dead and power to take us up with Christ to heaven.

Since Jesus is at God's right hand as our advocate we know that we do not have to live in fear of God's judgement. That doesn't give me freedom to sin, God wants me to be so much more righteous and holy than what I will ever be here on earth, but my failures should not make me live in fear of him. Jesus is at the right hand of God for the benefit of the church which he loves so much that he died for her.

Is Jesus your friend?

John 15:12-17  This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  13  There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.  14  You are My friends if you do what I command.  15  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in His slaves. Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me.  16  You didn't choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name.  17  This is My command: Love each other. Romans 5:8-11  But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  9  And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation.  10  For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.  11  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

There isn't any way that you will find a better friend than the friendship that you can have with the one that gave you life and wants to give you life that will last for eternity. God has done everything necessary to take away the barriers that stood between him and man.

Thank you Lord for making it possible to have a relationship with you; your mercy and forgiveness toward man are priceless. I am so glad that your awesome power is being used to benefit me to shape me and make me more like you.

Thank God For A New Life

My God is eternal and so am I.

1 Peter 1:23-25 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass;their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. 25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

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The miracle of life is worth celebrating, everybody likes to see a new born baby, all of the friends and relatives of the family have to go see the baby. It is time to have a party! Life is fragile and so very temporary, that is the reality of our sinful condition, it doesn't take long for the party to end.

The good news is that there is new life that will never end. Our time on earth passes so quickly, the Bible often compares our existence to plants in the field, human life is compared to the plants in the field, they look pretty for a season and then they fade away.

Have you had a spiritual birthday?

John 3:5-6,16 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life."

When we are born into God's family we gain this life that never ends, Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish" (John 10:28) God loves us so much that he wants to spend eternity with us! If people that are fading away celebrate new life which will also fade away then how much more should we celebrate new life that will last for eternity?

God promises that eternity for me includes:

✔ Eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9)
✔ Eternal prize (1 Corinthians 9:25)
✔ Eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10)
✔ Eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15)
✔ Eternal home (John 14:2-3)

Best of all you can have all of this for free! Thank God, I didn't have to pay for this gift with money, or by being good enough, it is mine through having a relationship with Jesus. (Romans 6:23)

Thank you Lord for giving me a new life that will never fade away. Thanksgiving time is a great time to remember your blessings.

Trust Jesus For Your Eternal Destiny

A series on Jesus final teachings before his betrayal.

John 14:1-3 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me."

2 "There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?"

3 "When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."

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Jesus has been predicting his death to his disciples and with the end of his ministry coming to an end soon, he gives them some words of encouragement for the days of trouble that are just around the corner. Jesus wants to give them peace for today and security and hope for the difficult days to come.

Jesus tells them that if they are already trusting God then they should be able to trust in him as well. Trusting God shouldn't be all that difficult to do, just take a look at his record for keeping promises, the Bible is full of examples of God's promises fulfilled.

The fact that Jesus was here on earth was one of the promises that God made that came to pass. We have heard it said that Jesus coming the first time fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, did you know that there are more prophecies of the second coming than there were of the first? We have every reason to believe that the second coming of Jesus will happen just as the Bible said that it would.

Don't worry about your future.

2 Timothy 1:12 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

The future is a scary thing for a lot of people, there is a sense inside of us that the physical life that we are a part of right now isn't all that there is. God knew that we would be anxious about our next minute, tomorrow and for our eternity.

I need to remember that the Bible is full of promises that I will be taken care of and that Jesus will return to take me home just as he promised. I need to live without fear of the future.

Thank you Lord for the promises that are in your word, the fulfillment of your promises thus far is proof that you will do what you have said that you will do. You are worthy of my trust for my eternal destination.

We Will See Them Again

If the Lord is their Savior the end is not the end.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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Don't get as upset as the rest of the world when you experience the loss of a loved one, sure it isn't easy and you should mourn but it shouldn't be the same as those that have no hope of ever seeing their loved ones again.

When you witness the funeral of a person that has a personal relationship with Christ and contrast that with the funeral of somebody that doesn't have that relationship, what an incredible difference in funerals.

Since Jesus took care of the sin problem in my life I have the opportunity to spend eternity with him and with my family and friends. There is no greater comfort than knowing that the end is not the end, I will meet my creator face to face and I will be with my loved ones that know him, as the song by Big Daddy Weave says:

"When I say my last farewell oh, please don't forget to tell them, that I'm not really dead I'm just changing neighborhoods"

Thank you Lord for the most awesome gift ever! Give me opportunities and give me boldness to share with those that don't have the gift yet.

Father

What family are you in?

James 1:17-18  Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  18  He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.

Matthew 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Ephesians 1:2  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

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One of the revelations about God that is found mostly in the New Testament is that God is our Father. How cool it is that we can say that God is our Father

God has adopted us into his family, something that was only possible because he first made us right with him through the redeeming sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, we are now his prized possession, sons and daughters of the King.  Imagine being treasured far above everything else in all of creation, it is a pretty awesome creation and very fascinating, it is hard to believe that God loves me and values me above everything else that he made.

It is a love that we can count on forever because we know that our father never changes, he choose to make us his family and there isn't anything that can change his mind, I will always be his son.

Thank you Lord for adopting me into your family, I must not forget that you are in love with me and will never forsake me.

No Wonder I Am Happy!

Do you need a reason to get happy? 

Psalms 16:8-11 I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

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Sometimes David forgot about what he wrote in this Psalm but for the most part he knew that he had a tremendous reason to be happy.

David had a rough life and yet he didn't let his circumstances get the best of him. Despite being hunted down and having his life threatened he could rejoice, he knew that God was right there with him and as Jesus was raised from the dead so it will happen for David and for all of those that know God's "holy one" namely Jesus Christ.

No matter how bad the circumstances, ultimately we win, no matter what is going on God is right there by our side. The knowledge of his presence with each of now and the fact that we will always live with him for eternity should make a difference in our attitude. Does it really sink into our heads how wonderful that it is to experience a relationship with our creator the great God of the universe is right here with me for any struggle that I am going through?

I need to remember how good I have it, what could be better than to have a relationship with my creator and to know that this life is only a temporary assignment.

Lord Jesus thank you for "granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." I need to live each day with this in mind so that I can keep my joy no matter how things are going for me.

Power Over Death

scripture

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John 12:9  When all the people heard of Jesus' arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10  Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11  for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.

12  The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13  took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, "Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!"

14  Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15  "Don't be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey's colt."

16  His disciples didn't understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

17  Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18  That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

19  Then the Pharisees said to each other, "There's nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!"

observation

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Jesus arrival at Jerusalem for the Passover celebration leads to the fulfillment of prophecy and it helped the disciples to know that Jesus was the Messiah.

It looks like every time that the Pharisees have a problem their first thought is to kill off the trouble maker. Jesus is getting too many followers because Lazarus was dead but now he is walking around as living evidence that Jesus has the power to give life.

John 14:6  Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

application

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If Jesus can raise Lazarus from the grave in this life then I can rest assured that he will rescue me from death and give me the eternal life that he has promised. The grave is not the end, it is a new beginning.

prayer

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Thank you Jesus for giving up your life so that I can have eternal life with you, you have proven your power over death as evidence of the hope that I have in you.

God Didn't Hold Anything Back

SCRIPTURE

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Genesis 22:1 Now after these things, God put Abraham to the test, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. 2 And he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge. 7 Then Isaac said to Abraham, My father; and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, We have wood and fire here, but where is the lamb for the burned offering?

Genesis 22:15 And the voice of the angel of the Lord came to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 Saying, I have taken an oath by my name, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not kept back from me your dearly loved only son, 17 That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them; 18 And your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, because you have done what I gave you orders to do.

OBSERVATION

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“Take your son, your dearly loved only son.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

You see from the previous chapters in Genesis just how much Abraham wanted a son and how much love he must have for him now that he has Isaac.

God’s love for us is bigger than that of Abraham for Isaac yet he was still willing to give him up for ugly, undeserving filthy rags. We needed a Savior and the God of the universe provided the only sacrifice for our sins.

APPLICATION

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I thank God that he is the ultimate expression of love.

PRAYER

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Thank you God for your gift of Jesus sacrifice for us.

In The Family -Part 2

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 8:29-39 For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him--and all along he knew who would--should become like his Son, so that his Son would be the First, with many brothers. 30 And having chosen us, he called us to come to him; and when we came, he declared us "not guilty," filled us with Christ's goodness, gave us right standing with himself, and promised us his glory.

31 What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won't he also surely give us everything else?

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself.

34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us there in heaven.

35 Who then can ever keep Christ's love from us? When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because he doesn't love us anymore? And if we are hungry or penniless or in danger or threatened with death, has God deserted us?

36 No, for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death at every moment of the day--we are like sheep awaiting slaughter; 37 but despite all this, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. 38 For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels won't, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, 39 or where we are--high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean--nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.


OBSERVATION

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“God’s son would be the first with many brothers” yep we are indeed a part of the family just as we said yesterday that we have a lot of benefits that come to us as a child of God and they just keep on coming, here are some more.

When we stand in God’s courtroom there will be nothing to worry about. Who could possibly condemn you?

Will it be God? No, remember He is the one that made us right in His sight through Christ.

Will it be Christ Jesus? He is our advocate in heaven and besides why would He suffer and die for us if it didn’t have any affect?

Will it be anything else? No way! There is nothing that can keep us from God’s love now that you are in His family.

When the hard times come did He stop loving us? No, remember we said that this new life is hard, we are slaves to righteousness, it is a battle as we saw in Romans 6. Remember that we saw yesterday that we must share in the suffering here on earth if we are going to share in the glory that is to come.

We are more than conquerors and nothing can throw us out of God’s family.

APPLICATION

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No matter how bad things get I will remember that I am in the family of God and that I will overcome.

PRAYER

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Thank you Jesus that you take care of your children in this life and beyond.