Ephesians 4:22-24 - New self

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Once we have decided to follow Christ, we take off the old self and put on the new self. This is not something we do by sheer will alone, The Spirit helps us. We just have to let the Spirit guide us with a new attitude in our mind into the new creation we are meant to be.

Lord, thank you for teaching us and giving us a new self. Help us to be like you in true righteousness and holiness. Amen.

Romans 6:4 - Wanna live a new life?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

It is almost the new year! What better way to usher in 2016 than by committing to God, being baptized and starting a new life?

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to have a new life with you. Please allow me to be of assistance to anyone who is considering giving their life to you and be with those making the decision. Amen.

Psalms 51:10 - Renewal

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

At work the other day, my co-worker and I lead church services for our senior residents. Because the New Year is almost upon us, I read several scriptures discussing renewal and being new. I plan to share them over the next several days.

At the new year, it is a perfect time to renew our commitment to God and ask him to clean out our heart and "renew a steadfast spirit" in each of us.

Lord, thank you for being there for us year after year. Please create in us a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within each of us. Amen.

Job 2:9-10 - Evil vs God

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”  He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

The question presented was this...

What are your thoughts about the existence of an evil one in view of the sovereignty of God?

The answer to this question lies just a couple verses after the prologue in Job (1:1-2:8). In chapter 2, verse 10 Job says, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” The sovereignty of God is made even more sovereign by the existence of an opposing evil force. Evil exists because God allows it to. There is trouble in this world by design. If there were no trouble, we would not need God.

Luke 2:11 - The greatest gift

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Lord, thank you for sending your son to allow us the gift of salvation. Please help us to bring glory to your name today and everyday. Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Hebrews 11:1 - What is faith?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Faith is a concept not exclusive to God. It is a rational decision to believe based on evidence. I believe the world is round although I have not seen the whole thing at once. I have seen photographs and witnessed the curvature of the earth from an airplane. Based on this evidence, I have faith that the earth is round. Our faith in God is the same. I have not seen God, but I have seen his creation, read his scriptures and feel him working in my life. Based on this evidence, I have faith in God. 

Lord, thank you for giving us rational minds and evidence upon which to base our faith in you. Please help us to hold on to our faith. Amen.

Acts 17:22-23 - The natural desire to worship

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

(Full Passage Acts 17:15-34)

Paul uses the natural desire of man to worship a god to point a group of philosophers from Athens to the one true God. Paul was teaching something new, and for a group of people who were always looking for something new, I'm sure they began to listen out of the sheer novelty of the idea. He begins by complimenting them on their desire to be religious, then focuses in on the area they themselves claim not to know, the unknown god. Paul teaches them of the true God and points out why the other gods are false. Last, he challenges them with the concepts of judgment and resurrection. Some listeners “sneer”, but some want to hear more and become followers. Paul used his understanding of humanity’s innate spirituality as a way to talk to a group of non-believers who could have been considered unreachable due to their polytheistic beliefs. 

Lord, thank you for giving us an innate desire to worship you. Please help us to find that desire in others and point them to you. Amen.

A new challenge

Today I begin my study to earn a Masters in Theological Studies from Nations University! I am looking forward to this new challenge and I am sure many posts will result from this study.

Lord, thank you for this new opportunity to further develop my relationship with you. Please help my studies to not only benefit me, but to benefit others as well. Amen.

Romans 8:32 - In this season of giving...

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

In this season of giving, remember that God gave us the greatest gift of all, his son, who died on the cross to pardon our sins. God loves every person in this world and wants the best for them. He gave you his son, will you give him your life?

Lord, thank you for the gift of your son and all things. Please help us to honor your gift by giving our lives back to you. Amen.

Romans 8:28 - A benefit of being a Christian

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This passage is one of the great asurances for Christians. It is so much easier to not worry and handle the stuff of life when we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.

Lord,  thank you for working for our good. Help us to always love you. Amen.

Romans 8: 26 - Help from the Spirit

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

God takes care of us in so many ways. With the Spirit living inside of us, he know us completely (v, 27). He knows our struggles with sin, our pain and our trials. He is that best friend who completes our sentences for us and knows what is going on in our lives even before we do. He us interceding for us in a way we do not even understand.

Lord, thank you for giving us the opportunity to receive your Spirit when we are baptized. Please hear his interceding and help us to lean on him in our times of weakness. Amen.

Romans 8:18 - The best is yet to come

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

I need to remember...this world is temporary. Our struggles with the flesh and trials in this world are nothing compared to eternity with God in heaven. We might call it delayed gratification. There are so many thing to occupy our brains and bodies here on this earth. If we allow them to, they can at best overshadow our soul's main focus and at worst lead us to the path of destruction and eternal suffering.

Lord, thank you for the hope of  heaven and an eternity with you. Please help us focus on the larger picture and appropriately react to our present sufferings. Amen.

Romans 8:14-15 - Daddy issues

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

There are some great earthly dads. There are some not so great earthly dads. Regardless of our personal experience with our earthly fathers, God offers us himself as our father. He is the daddy of our dreams!

Lord, thank you for being our father and adopting us as your children. Please help us to live in the Spirit, always remembering to whom we belong. Amen

Romans 8:5-8 - Flesh vs. Spirit

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Lord, thank you for this passage this morning. Please help me to live in the Spirit, not the flesh. Amen.

Psalm 47:1 - Still feeling the joy

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

One last scripture from the class I taught on joy...

Lord, thank you for giving us your Spirit, which produces joy. Please let us not suppress it! Amen.

Romans 8:2 - Freedom from the law

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

The Old Law (Jewish Law, law of sin and death) is not the law a Christian lives under. It's purpose was to reveal sin, but since no one can perfectly follow the law, all are lost. Christ has come and offers us a new law, the law of the Spirit which sets us free from the old law.

Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to set us free from the old law. Please help us to follow the law of the Spirit. Amen.

Romans 7:24-25b - The purpose of the law

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7:7-25 is a passage I have kind of been putting off. It is so confusing to me, but I think the ultimate meaning is in the passage above. We are sinful people and we don't need to blame the law for this. The law revealed sin, not caused it. But, any time we are told not to do something, we want to do it. The law was essential because it made us aware of our sin, death and separation from God. We should be thankful for the law for revealing this to us so we can then connect with God and the only way to do that is through Jesus Christ.

Lord, thank you for your perfect plan, even if it is something we do not always understand. Please help everyone to recognize themselves as sinful and give themselves to your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

James 1:2 - Joy in times of trial

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  

As humans, life is not always perfect. In fact we will always have trials. If asked every person I came across today, I am sure everyone would have something they are struggling with. So, we will have trials, the question is how do we deal with them? Can we really be joyful in the face of trials? Absolutely. As we said, we are always facing a trial so if we allow ourselves to take time off from joy when there are trials in our life, we will never be joyful.

Lord, thank you for giving us the spirit of joy. Please help us to joyful always and in all circumstances. Amen.

Proverbs 6:16-19 - THINK

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Last night at our ladies class the teacher talked about Love by using the above verse to talk about what it is not. I really appreciated the acronym below to help me remember how to properly speak and respond to people.

Lord, thank you for giving us your word to teach us what is right. Please help us to show your love to others always. Amen.

Romans 7:4-5 - Fruit: Ripe or Rotten

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.

I went back to Romans today for my study, and a couple verses from the passage I studied last time popped out at me. I am co-teaching a Wednesday Night Ladies Bible Class. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and seven things the Lord detests (Proverbs 6:16-19). The fruit we bear is evidence of who we serve.

Lord, thank you for showing us what good fruit looks like. Please help us to examine our fruit, prune what needs to be removed and ensure we are fully serving you. Amen.