"From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psa 119:104-105
There are so many today who are lost within their own lives. A variety of decisions, circumstances and situations have put us all where we are but what next? We sometimes stumble around in darkness thinking we know the well worn path only to bump into an obstacle for which we did not account.
Beloved there is a light that shines brightly. That light provides guidance in the middle of the night, illumination in the middle of confusion and direction in the middle of uncertainty. It identifies obstacles and makes the way forward obvious. It is the word of God that shows us the way that we should go. Just as we would grab a flashlight in the nighttime wilderness or turn on a light in our home in the middle of the night, let us always avail ourselves of the brightness of His word to guide our every step.
Rejoicing in the Lord,
Lee
Showing posts with label Help.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Help.. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2012
Friday, July 22, 2011
Closer Than You Think-7/22/2011 (rp)
"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace." John 1:14
This verse establishes two critical truths about our Savior; Jesus is Divine and Jesus is simultaneously human.
Jesus' divinity is clearly established in a number of scriptures, however; nowhere is it more clearly stated than in John 1:1. Although this fact is foundational to our Christian belief, how is it that we lowly, dirt made creatures can ever hope to be in communion with the Creator of the universe and all it contains? Paul writes in Col 2:9 that "...in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." I don't know about you but that is an awful intimidating thought. I suggest that it would be for anyone. Nevertheless, if Jesus was Deity only, there would have been no perfect and atoning sacrifice for us and therefore no hope of salvation. This brings me to the second truth and the point of this message.
Jesus was also fully man. John indicates this by saying not only was he flesh, but he lived with them and they were able to see, observe, hear and touch him (as was also indicated in 1 John 1:1-4). This was critically important to establish because there was operating at the time, a sect of individuals known as the Gnostics that questioned the existence of Christ or at the very minimum his humanity as it relates to him being flesh and blood. They maintained that nothing made of matter could be divine, but only inherently evil, therefore Christ was not a man. Clearly, if this were the case, he could never have been the atoning sacrifice and again we'd fine ourselves with no hope of salvation.
Christ indeed suffered. More importantly, he didn't suffer for the sake of suffering, nor did he suffer for himself. He suffered for us, 1 Pet 3:18. Now this is very important. Jesus being man suffered both as a man and for mankind. "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:14-16.
This has all been said to remind us that Jesus, now at the right hand of the Father in His Deity knows all and loves completely, but that as the Son of Man, knows intimately all that we endure and is our very present help in a time of need. Jesus our Savior; he is closer than you think.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
This verse establishes two critical truths about our Savior; Jesus is Divine and Jesus is simultaneously human.
Jesus' divinity is clearly established in a number of scriptures, however; nowhere is it more clearly stated than in John 1:1. Although this fact is foundational to our Christian belief, how is it that we lowly, dirt made creatures can ever hope to be in communion with the Creator of the universe and all it contains? Paul writes in Col 2:9 that "...in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." I don't know about you but that is an awful intimidating thought. I suggest that it would be for anyone. Nevertheless, if Jesus was Deity only, there would have been no perfect and atoning sacrifice for us and therefore no hope of salvation. This brings me to the second truth and the point of this message.
Jesus was also fully man. John indicates this by saying not only was he flesh, but he lived with them and they were able to see, observe, hear and touch him (as was also indicated in 1 John 1:1-4). This was critically important to establish because there was operating at the time, a sect of individuals known as the Gnostics that questioned the existence of Christ or at the very minimum his humanity as it relates to him being flesh and blood. They maintained that nothing made of matter could be divine, but only inherently evil, therefore Christ was not a man. Clearly, if this were the case, he could never have been the atoning sacrifice and again we'd fine ourselves with no hope of salvation.
Christ indeed suffered. More importantly, he didn't suffer for the sake of suffering, nor did he suffer for himself. He suffered for us, 1 Pet 3:18. Now this is very important. Jesus being man suffered both as a man and for mankind. "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:14-16.
This has all been said to remind us that Jesus, now at the right hand of the Father in His Deity knows all and loves completely, but that as the Son of Man, knows intimately all that we endure and is our very present help in a time of need. Jesus our Savior; he is closer than you think.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
Friday, July 8, 2011
Know It For Yourself-7/8/2011 (rp)
"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11
In this day and age of skepticism, fact checking has become the national pastime. During the coming election season, cable news networks and internet sites will be buzzing 24 hours a day checking, verifying, rechecking and reverifying claims and statistics by those who are running. It seems that we don't want to take anyone's word for anything and that we want to know it all for ourselves.
Why is this mentality so prevalent regarding all things secular, but so noticeably lacking in the spiritual aspects of our lives. Put another way, why do we not study our bibles (more)? It has become our habit to be lazy when it comes to the word. This leads to biblical illiteracy. The end result is that we rely totally on what we think and what we are told rather than what we can learn for ourselves. In fact, we are more likely to look into the church finances and demand an accounting for every penny, than to spend an hour studying the holy writ of God.
Beloved, Heb 9:27 states, "...it is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment." Our entire lives will be judged by the things found in the word. Does it not make sense to be as familiar and compliant with the bible as possible?
It is good to have knowledgeable men of God as preachers and teachers, but even they (we) will be judged out of the book. When it comes to your eternal soul, it is best to know it for yourself. Judgment will not be like an IRS audit at which you can call your tax preparer to come and answer questions on your behalf. We will all stand for ourselves. If we are wise, we will stand on the word.
For this reason, Jesus has said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
In this day and age of skepticism, fact checking has become the national pastime. During the coming election season, cable news networks and internet sites will be buzzing 24 hours a day checking, verifying, rechecking and reverifying claims and statistics by those who are running. It seems that we don't want to take anyone's word for anything and that we want to know it all for ourselves.
Why is this mentality so prevalent regarding all things secular, but so noticeably lacking in the spiritual aspects of our lives. Put another way, why do we not study our bibles (more)? It has become our habit to be lazy when it comes to the word. This leads to biblical illiteracy. The end result is that we rely totally on what we think and what we are told rather than what we can learn for ourselves. In fact, we are more likely to look into the church finances and demand an accounting for every penny, than to spend an hour studying the holy writ of God.
Beloved, Heb 9:27 states, "...it is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment." Our entire lives will be judged by the things found in the word. Does it not make sense to be as familiar and compliant with the bible as possible?
It is good to have knowledgeable men of God as preachers and teachers, but even they (we) will be judged out of the book. When it comes to your eternal soul, it is best to know it for yourself. Judgment will not be like an IRS audit at which you can call your tax preparer to come and answer questions on your behalf. We will all stand for ourselves. If we are wise, we will stand on the word.
For this reason, Jesus has said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
Monday, March 28, 2011
Being There-DD 3/28/2011
"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Gal 6:2 Beloved, none of us are Christians in isolation. When we obeyed the gospel, we became members of a family; the family of God. More importantly, we became members of the body of Christ. In every body, each member has its place and its function. Each one depends on others to provide functions it cannot provide itself. Each member also finds its purpose in being able to provide the functions it is uniquely qualified to provide. The fact is, we need each other. Each of us knows what it is like to hurt and to be alone. Each of us knows what it is like to have need. As Christians, united by a common faith and a common Father, we are siblings in the best sense of the word. Who better to be there in a time of need? When things get a bit heavy, it is our Christian brothers and sisters to whom we should be able to turn. Let us remember that a big part of our Christianity is other Christians. As God is, we must also be a present help in a time of need. Loving Like Jesus, Lee
Thursday, February 24, 2011
When All Else Fails-DD 2/24/2011
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Ps 46:1
There are times when we all find ourselves at the end of our own resourcefulness. During those times, we would have done everything we could ourselves do, taken all the advice we could listen to from friends and family and even found that professional help has come up short. These could be issues of grief, relationship woes, financial troubles, legal concerns, work problems, spiritual woes and any number of other things that send us to the end of our rope.
Beloved, it is often at times like these where we find God. This is not to say that He has not been there the whole time, but we so often fill our lives with things that crowd Him out of our awareness that we miss him altogether. It is unfortunate but sometimes it takes situations like these to put us (back) in touch with the Father. It has been famously said that, "we don't realize how much God is all we need until God is all we have."
When we have exhausted all of our other options, we will find that He is a limitless resource. Once this is truly experienced, it is seldom if ever forgotten. When He has delivered us as no one or no thing possibly could, we learn to increase our reliance on Him and our faith in Him. The hardest learned lessons are the most permanent. Learn to make Him your first (and only) option instead of your last resort.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
There are times when we all find ourselves at the end of our own resourcefulness. During those times, we would have done everything we could ourselves do, taken all the advice we could listen to from friends and family and even found that professional help has come up short. These could be issues of grief, relationship woes, financial troubles, legal concerns, work problems, spiritual woes and any number of other things that send us to the end of our rope.
Beloved, it is often at times like these where we find God. This is not to say that He has not been there the whole time, but we so often fill our lives with things that crowd Him out of our awareness that we miss him altogether. It is unfortunate but sometimes it takes situations like these to put us (back) in touch with the Father. It has been famously said that, "we don't realize how much God is all we need until God is all we have."
When we have exhausted all of our other options, we will find that He is a limitless resource. Once this is truly experienced, it is seldom if ever forgotten. When He has delivered us as no one or no thing possibly could, we learn to increase our reliance on Him and our faith in Him. The hardest learned lessons are the most permanent. Learn to make Him your first (and only) option instead of your last resort.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
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