Good Morning Church

RSS Feed

June 12, 2023

Psalm 27:1  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Confirmands often pick this verse as their confirmation verse. They pick it because it describes the Lord as "my light and my salvation."  A friend showed me a plaque he received. It reads: "The Lord is the strength of my life." He has put it on the wall next to his front door so he sees it whenever he heads out anywhere.

What a nice reminder that is for us all as we leave our homes - the Lord is the strength of our lives. We need his strength. He is the core, the center, the driving force that carries us forward in our lives.

When we exercise, we are supposed to "work the core," the center of our bodies around the torso, because when the core is strong, the rest of our body becomes stronger. The strength of the Lord makes our entire selves, soul and body, strong because he is strong.

Think about the strength God gives today. Draw upon that core strength, and say with the psalmist, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

June 8, 2023

The Hebrew word hesed is translated as "lovingkindness" in most Bibles, but a word so rich in meaning cannot be adequately described in English. Other translations use the words "covenant," "faithfulness" and "steadfast love." It is love that is literally beyond words.

The word reveals God's character. He loves us beyond measure, beyond what we can even comprehend. It is a love that can never be matched fully in human terms. It is a love that will stop at nothing to care for us and protect us.

Hesed is most fully realized in the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus is hesed in the flesh. And he went to the greatest lengths of love to save us. He went to the cross to suffer and die and sacrifice his life for us all. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Then God's hesed went beyond even the grave when he raised Jesus from the dead on Easter morning.

Christ is alive and living in us; God's hesed transforms us to live a new life of divinely inspired love and compassion for others. We love as we have been loved, with our whole selves, giving our all for one another in the name of the God of hesed.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

June6, 2023

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The butterfly is truly a "new creation" that comes out of a cocoon (a tomb of sorts) after a period of time. What once was a scrawny, worm-like creature crawling on the ground is now a colorful, beautiful, glorious creation that can fly to great heights.

What a wonderful picture of what happened through the resurrection of Christ! We who were once lowly, sinful creatures are made new. We are filled with Christ's life, soaring in service for him in this life and, on the Last Day, flying to be with him in heaven.

This is the wonderful news of Easter. Because Christ went through this transformation from death on the cross, to three days in the tomb, to resurrection life, we, too, will rise from death and the grave to a glorious eternal life. Every day is now an Easter Day, a day to celebrate that we are now God's "butterflies," flitting from place to place to spread the good news that Jesus is alive, and because he lives, we will live with him forever.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

June 5, 2023

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

The moon emits no light of its own. Instead, it reflects light from the sun. When the earth;s orbit brings it between the sun and the moon, the moon "disappears." It's still there, but as the Earth blocks the sun's rays, our lunar neighbor has nothing to reflect, and the world grows darker.

The same is true of believers. When we bask in the light of God's presence through consecrated living, Bible reading, and prayer, we reflect his light to others.

Any attempt to "shine" on our own is futile. We can't summon up what we don't have. God alone is our source of spiritual light. When we position ourselves before him, he provides enough light not only to guide our paths, but to light the way for others.
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

June 1, 2023

 "The names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him" (Matt. 10:2-4). 

In God's hands you can be a precious and effective instrument. 

The story is told of a great concert violinist who wanted to prove a point, so he rented a music hall and announced that he would play a concert on a $20,000 violin. On concert night the music hall was filled to capacity with music lovers anxious to hear such an expensive instrument played. The violinist stepped onto the stage, gave an exquisite performance, and received a thunderous standing ovation. When the applause subsided, he suddenly threw the violin to the ground, stomped it to pieces, and walked off the stage. The audience gasped then sat in stunned silence. 

 Within seconds the stage manager approached the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, to put you at ease, the violin that was just destroyed was a $20 violin. The master will now return to play the remainder of his concert on the $20,000 instrument." At the conclusion of his concert he received another standing ovation. Few people could tell the difference between the two violins. His point was obvious: it isn't the violin that makes the music, it is the violinist. 

The disciples were like $20 violins that Jesus transformed into priceless instruments for His glory. I trust that you have been encouraged to see how God used them despite their weakness, and I pray that you have been challenged by their strengths. You may not be dynamic like Peter or zealous like James and Simon, but you can be faithful like Andrew and courageous like Thaddaeus. Remember, God will take the raw material of your life and will expose you to the experiences and teachings that will shape you into the servant He wants you to be. 

 Trust Him to complete what He has begun in you, and commit each day to the goal of becoming a more qualified and effective disciple.  
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

May 31, 2023

Judas is history's greatest human tragedy. He had opportunities and privileges known only to the other disciples, but he turned from them to pursue a course of destruction. Yet even from his foolishness we can learn some important lessons. 

Judas, for example, is the world's greatest example of lost opportunity. He ministered for three years with Jesus Himself but was content merely to associate with Him, never submitting to Him in saving faith. Millions of others have followed his example by hearing the gospel and associating with Christians, yet rejecting Christ. Tragically, like Judas, once death comes, they too are damned for all eternity. 

Judas is also the world's greatest example of wasted privileges. He could have had the riches of an eternal inheritance but instead chose thirty pieces of silver. In that respect he is also the greatest illustration of the destructiveness and damnation greed can bring. He did an unthinkable thing, and yet he has many contemporary counterparts in those who place wealth and pleasure above godliness. 

On the positive side, Judas is the world's greatest illustration of the forbearing, patient love of God. Knowing what Judas would do, Jesus tolerated him for three years. Beyond that, He constantly reached out to him and even called him "friend" after his kiss of betrayal (Matt 26:50). 

If you've ever been betrayed by a friend, you know the pain it can bring. But the Lord's pain was compounded many times over because He knew ahead of time that He would be betrayed and because the consequences were so serious. Yet He endured the pain, because He loved Judas and knew that His own betrayal was a necessary part of the redemptive plan. 

The sins that destroyed Judas are common sins that you must avoid at all costs! Use every opportunity and privilege God gives you, and never take advantage of His patience. 
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

May 30, 2023

The twelve apostles included "Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him" (Matt 10:4). 

Hypocrisy is a spiritual cancer that can devastate lives and destroy ministries. 

On a recent trip to New Zealand David learned that sheepherders there use specially trained, castrated male sheep to lead other sheep from holding areas into the slaughtering room. Those male sheep are appropriately called “Judas sheep." That illustrates the commonness with which we associate Judas with deception and death. Pretending to be a friend of Jesus, Judas betrayed him with a kiss and became for all time and eternity the epitome of hypocrisy. 

Several characteristics of spiritual hypocrisy are clearly evident in Judas’ life. First, hypocritical people often seem genuinely interested in a noble cause. Judas probably didn’t want the Romans to rule over Israel, and he saw in Christ an opportunity to do something about it. He probably had the common misconception that Jesus was immediately going to establish His earthly Kingdom and put down Roman oppression. 

Second, hypocritical people demonstrate an outward allegiance to Christ. Many of those who followed Jesus in the early stages of His ministry deserted Him along the way (John 6:66). Not Judas. He stayed to the end. 

Third, hypocritical people can appear to be holy. When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him, none of them suspected Judas. Even after Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer, the other disciples still didn’t understand (John 13:27-29). Judas must have put on a very convincing act! 

Fourth, hypocritical people are self-centered. Judas didn’t love Christ; he loved himself and joined the disciples to gain personal prosperity. 

Finally, hypocritical people are deceivers. Judas was a pawn of Satan, whom Jesus described as "a liar, and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Is it any wonder that his whole life was one deception after another? 

Judas was an unbeliever, but hypocrisy can also thrive in believers if its telltale signs are ignored. Guard your motives carefully, walk in the Spirit each day, and immediately confess even the slightest hint of hypocrisy.   
--
 

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Posts