The Secret to Happiness

It is not that we think we are qualified
to do anything on our own.
Our qualification comes from God.
He has enabled us to be
ministers of his new covenant.
This is a covenant not of written laws,
but of the Spirit. The old
written covenant ends in death;
but under the new covenant,
the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NLT

Unfortunately, most folks who claim to follow Jesus miss the incredibly radical claims of the apostle Paul. We are not under law. It’s not that the righteous demands of law are bad, but they have no power to change us — not down inside where the problems in our behaviors really reside. Instead, when we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. With the gift of the Spirit’s presence come both the power and the urge to be more like God — holy and righteous, gracious and compassionate. Written laws ultimately convict us of our failures, but this “law,” the principle of living by the Holy Spirit of God within us, is life-inspiring and enabling. Rather than a law demanding us to be holy, we have the presence of the Holy One inside us urging, leading, empowering, convicting, and transforming us to be like Jesus.

Holy God,
I appreciate the Ten Commandments
and the rules, regulations, and laws
you gave your people through Moses.
I hear your call to me to be holy —
to be righteous and compassionate
like you are. Yet I know, dear Father,
that without the empowering presence
of your Holy Spirit and the gift
of your grace in Jesus,
I would never measure up.
I ask that you give me life,
hope, holiness, joy, peace, passion,
endurance, and grace as I seek to yield
to the Spirit’s influence in my life.
I ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

 

What’s in a name?

Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12 (NIV)

While many substitute saviors have been offered, only the True Messiah saves. While we often live for many masters, but only one Lord liberates and sets us free from sin and death. While many ways are claimed to bring us close to God, Jesus insists that he is the only way, the truth and the light.

By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are
filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV

So we’re driven to one ultimate reality: do we believe salvation is in Jesus alone, or do we not. It’s our choice. But what we decide about Jesus is really deciding about everything. Is Jesus your Lord? Is Jesus the name above all names in your life? Is Jesus your Savior? If not, then please reconsider, for the Bible says: “Salvation is found in no one else.”

Thank you, Almighty God,
for choosing to share your
grace with me in Jesus.
May I never take the precious
name of Jesus in vain.
May Jesus himself come and reign
as Lord in my heart and in my life.
May Jesus be seen in the
way I treat others.
May Jesus know that there
is no other rival for
my allegiance to him.
In that precious name of Jesus,
your Son and my Savior, I pray.
Amen.

Are you talking to me?

“It’s no good to sit up and take notice
if we just keep on sitting.”
– Author Unknown

But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
“Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

To do what I want, not necessarily what is best or most expedient for those around me or for the good of the Kingdom. I don’t like to hear that God told Paul that he had asked enough about deliverance from his problem. Instead, Paul needed to learn that God’s gracious strength and mercy were enough to sustain him even in trial. While I know I need to learn this same lesson, it is daunting. I want God to keep things nice and tidy for me. But then I remember I am a follower of Christ. If I am to become like my Savior, then I have to let go of my requirements on God’s answers and open up to God’s work to redeem others through me, no matter the personal cost. Only then can I truly know that his grace is sufficient for me!

Patient and loving Shepherd,
guard my heart from discouragement
in tough times and guard it
from arrogance in good times.
I know that without you
I have nothing that is permanent.
Thanks for giving me a permanent,
steadfast hope of heaven with you,
because of your grace and
strength shared with me.
In the name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

 

 

Quality Assurance…

You know that when
you were still unbelievers,
you were led astray
and swept along in
worshiping speechless idols.
So I want you to know
that no one speaking
by the Spirit of God
will curse Jesus,
and no one can
say Jesus is Lord,
except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:2-3 NLT

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit spoke through human writers to give us some absolute truths. When the Holy Spirit lives inside people, they are not going to curse Jesus. Instead, the Holy Spirit impels them to confess Jesus as Lord and Master — not only as the Lord and Master of all creation but also as the Lord and Master to whom they yield their hearts! Because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the Holy Spirit declared the Lord Jesus Christ as the powerful Son of God (Romans 1:4). Do people see Jesus in your words and deeds?

Almighty God,
I confess that I believe
that Jesus Christ is your Son,
my Lord and Savior.
I yield my heart to Jesus
and pray that my life reflects
his character and compassion.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
always be guided by your Holy Spirit
and lead me to confess the
glory and grace that I have found
in my Lord and Master,
Jesus Christ,
in whose name I pray.
Amen.

Who can you trust?

“Nothing is too great and nothing is too small
to commit into the hands of the Lord.”
– A. W. Pink

Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? – Isaiah 2:22  NIV

How many times have you been disappointed by someone for whom you voted, betrayed by a friend, been abandoned by a loved one, or let down by a church leader? While we love others and care about them, every other person in our world is just like us — a flawed human being who breathes the same air and walks the same ground as we do. Only God is worthy of our ultimate trust. He showed us by sacrificing what was most precious to him so we could know his love. Let’s not put our hope in other mere mortals; only God can safeguard our trust. Let’s put our hope in him!

Father, you know the broken places in my heart that were caused by the failure of people in my life. I confess that I have sometimes become disillusioned with your way because of the failures and inconsistencies in your people. Deep down I know, dear Father, that their failures do not mean your failure, but it is hard for it not to feel that way. Call me close to you. Give me a more gracious heart toward those who fail me. Establish my faith, strong and firm in you, O LORD. In you I put my trust.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Slip Sliding Away…

This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.  Dear children, the last hour is here.  You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us.  When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.  But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.  So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies.
– 1 John 2:17-21 NLT


Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit, whom he called the Comforter (Counselor or Advocate depending on the translation), would come and lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit, who inspired the writing of the Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:16-17), is alive in us and helps us discern, know, and understand God’s truth (1 Cor. 2:10-16). The Spirit of the Living God lives in us and is at work in us — in me! So each of us needs to ask our self if we are inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us discern, know, and understand God’s truth. Am I yielding to the Spirit and am I in the word of God seeking to be informed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? Am I asking the Holy Spirit to filter, correct, challenge, and redeem what I think, read, hear, and see? Rather than succumbing to the lie that all truth is subjective, let’s subject what we think, read, hear, and see to the Spirit of truth!

O Father, I join my heart with the words of your servant David, who said: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Please transform my thinking and my living by your Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

Let’s Just Praise the Lord!

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
Psalm 98:1 (NIV)

“It is the acknowledgment of our humanity and our frailness that places us in a position to have a personal encounter with the living God.” (Os Hillman) Songs can stir us up or they can bring us comfort. Songs can take us back to a special time, or songs can give us hope for things to come. Unfortunately, we usually leave the words and the music of our songs only for someone else to write, never taking time to write our own “new song.” But today, why not make up your own new song of praise and thanks to God. It doesn’t have to be great, just heartfelt and offered to the Father from whom all joyful songs come.

Father God,
thank you for the gift of song.
Please receive my song of thanks
and praise from a heart you
have filled with your delight.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Milk, Dark, or Semi-Sweet?

“All you need is love.
But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
– Charlie Brown (Charles M. Schulz)

Therefore, anyone who refuses
to live by these rules
is not disobeying human teaching
but is rejecting God,
who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
But we don’t need to write to you
about the importance of loving each other,
for God himself has
taught you to love one another. 
1 Thessalonians 4:8-9 NLT

God keeps on giving us the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the great blessings about this presence is that God pours love into our hearts through the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). Along with the great example of God’s love in sending Jesus (John 3:16-17), the Father uses the Spirit to teach us to know how to love each other. This is part of the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) as well as the work of the Spirit that brings us into fellowship (2 Cor. 13:14), that holds us together in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3-4), and that fills us as we submit to one another (Eph. 5:17-21). Loving each other is not only a command; it is also part of God’s continuing work in us through the Holy Spirit. The reward for this obedience is kind of like good chocolates… heavenly!

Dear God, I confess
that I do not always love others as I should.
I ask you to make me more like Jesus
in my love for others.
I am thankful for the presence
of the Holy Spirit
to help me see those
whom I need to show your love
and to empower me to love them
when it is difficult.
In Jesus’ name I pray for this grace.
Amen.

 

Who is in charge?

Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all
who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ, 
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything
in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
 Colossians 1:18-20 NLT

We sometimes think we have control over our lives and have the ability to save the day by our own efforts. We must be reminded that God is in control… of absolutely everything. Jesus is the living leader and head of his church. There is no man who has this right. No one but Jesus has earned this position. Jesus is supreme. Even though supremacy is rightfully his because of his divinity, he has earned his supremacy by what he has done for us. He was there before there was a beginning, he was the Creator of all that is, and he was the one who passed through death victoriously for us.

Lord Jesus,
I ask you to take control of my life,
your church, and your Body.
Please glorify yourself in us
and permeate our leaders’
hearts with your will.
We want the world
to see your supremacy
because of our unity
and devotion to you.
And Holy God,
please glorify yourself
in Jesus through the Church.
To you, Lord God,
and to your Son and our Savior Jesus,
be all honor and glory
and praise for now, and forevermore.
Amen.

 

Shaped for a Mission

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
— Ephesians 2:10

Martin Luther once said, “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” Every task we accomplish in life is an opportunity to use our creativity to produce “good craftsmanship” that is pleasing to God and useful for advancement of the kingdom.

Did you know that God is an artisan and the ultimate craftsman? Even more importantly, did you know that you are one of his masterpieces? God has designed us to be beautifully useful for doing good things! So let’s not let anyone, especially not the evil one, convince us that we are not worth anything to others or to God. His grace has made our lives canvases upon which he will provide the world more masterpiece works of his artistry! Let’s live up to God’s high opinion of us.

Thank you, dear Father, for knowing me and re-making me by your grace in Jesus. Use me to do your will and lead me to the appropriate people so that I can most effectively minister to them. In Jesus’ grace-filled name I pray. Amen.