In John 20, we find Mary Magdalene rising up "early" to go to the tomb where Jesus had been laid after His death. Can you imagine the emotions and sorrow that Mary felt? She was full of despair, afraid, hurting, and unsure of her future. She went to be close to her Lord. Mary was seeking refuge and was trying to find comfort in being near her Lord. It is interesting that the men with Mary left when they found Jesus gone but Mary lingered and stayed behind. What did Mary find in her despair in through her tears? She first saw the angels and they asked why was she crying. She explained her sorrow and then Jesus appeared to her. He revealed himself to her during her time of need. Jesus came to her to give her hope and assurance that He was alive!! He then commanded her to go tell the others. He sent her on her first mission to tell others what the Lord had done and that He was alive. What lessons can we learn from Mary?
1. In our sorrows and times of need, rise up "early" and seek the Lord
2. Open our hearts to him and tell him about our need. Give all our sorrows and hurts to him.
3. Linger and wait for him to reveal himself to us. Wait to hear his instructions to us.
4. Allow Him to comfort us. Allow Him to work in our hearts and lives.
5. Share with others what God has instructed us to share.
When Mary had an encounter with Jesus, she went from despair to having joy and hope and was full of excitement. She was burning with a desire to share Jesus with others. May we encounter Jesus today and share with others what He has done in our lives.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
When You Get the Blues....
In John 14: 25... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. The Spirit of Truth will show God to us and will give us peace.
Many times in life our hearts are troubled and downcast. I am going to share from the the book, All Things Are Possible Through Prayer by Charles L. Allen. In this book, the author explains that there will be periods of life where our soul is downcast and disquieted. He also gives 3 things we can do when we feel blue:
1. Never forget that you are important. No person created in the image of God is useless. Maybe you have not found the place in life you want most. But heaven has bestowed on you a personality that noone else can duplicate. Because of who you are and what you are, you can afford to believe in yourself. You are easily upset when you lean on other people. When you learn to balance yourself on your own feet, you develop a stimulating independence. If God had wanted you to imitate someone else, he would not have made you in the first place. Never let yourself forget that you are a person that God made and wanted at this time.
2. "Remember you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not be done unless you do it. God placed you on this earth to do His will and He has a purpose for you."
3. Hope thou in God. When you believe in God, there is hope and hope chases away the blues. In Matthew 14:23, it tells about Jesus hearing that John his closest friend had been murdered. Surely it grieved Him. What did he do? "He went up into the mountain apart to pray". Jesus knew that He needed the strength of the Father to help him. "When a person has a firm hold on God's hand, he has the power and strength flowing into him to keep him on his feet. " Just like a magnetic force, when we are out of line with the Almighty, we have no strength and we lose our grip. We come discouraged and frustrated. But when we come before the Father and our lives are lined up with him, He gives us the strength to hold on, grasp Him and conquer life through Him.
When we set ourselves apart and spend time in prayer, God will give us strength and the Spirit of Truth will bring us peace beyond our imagination. The Spirit of Truth will take away our frustrations and discouragement and replace it with peace and joy. We must allow Him access to our heart and our emotions. The Spirit of Truth will guide us and show Himself to us that we may see the glory of the Father and gain strength from Him alone.
May we see God today and gain strength from him. May he help drive away our blues today and bestow on us His power and strength to be used by Him today.
Many times in life our hearts are troubled and downcast. I am going to share from the the book, All Things Are Possible Through Prayer by Charles L. Allen. In this book, the author explains that there will be periods of life where our soul is downcast and disquieted. He also gives 3 things we can do when we feel blue:
1. Never forget that you are important. No person created in the image of God is useless. Maybe you have not found the place in life you want most. But heaven has bestowed on you a personality that noone else can duplicate. Because of who you are and what you are, you can afford to believe in yourself. You are easily upset when you lean on other people. When you learn to balance yourself on your own feet, you develop a stimulating independence. If God had wanted you to imitate someone else, he would not have made you in the first place. Never let yourself forget that you are a person that God made and wanted at this time.
2. "Remember you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not be done unless you do it. God placed you on this earth to do His will and He has a purpose for you."
3. Hope thou in God. When you believe in God, there is hope and hope chases away the blues. In Matthew 14:23, it tells about Jesus hearing that John his closest friend had been murdered. Surely it grieved Him. What did he do? "He went up into the mountain apart to pray". Jesus knew that He needed the strength of the Father to help him. "When a person has a firm hold on God's hand, he has the power and strength flowing into him to keep him on his feet. " Just like a magnetic force, when we are out of line with the Almighty, we have no strength and we lose our grip. We come discouraged and frustrated. But when we come before the Father and our lives are lined up with him, He gives us the strength to hold on, grasp Him and conquer life through Him.
When we set ourselves apart and spend time in prayer, God will give us strength and the Spirit of Truth will bring us peace beyond our imagination. The Spirit of Truth will take away our frustrations and discouragement and replace it with peace and joy. We must allow Him access to our heart and our emotions. The Spirit of Truth will guide us and show Himself to us that we may see the glory of the Father and gain strength from Him alone.
May we see God today and gain strength from him. May he help drive away our blues today and bestow on us His power and strength to be used by Him today.
Monday, October 4, 2010
When answers do not come quickly......
As I was reading the story of Lazarus in John 11:1-43, several things are revealed about Jesus and answers.
1. Realize that Jesus has a plan just as Jesus had a plan in reference to Lazarus. We may not see the plan that Jesus has but He has one. At the beginning of the story, Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick. Jesus tells disciples that the sickness will not end in death. Jesus already had a plan. His plan involved revealing God's glory as stated "No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified through it". No matter your circumstance, Jesus has a plan and God will be glorified.
2. When answers do not come quickly, remember to wait on Jesus. In this story, Jesus did not reveal his plan instantaneously, but he waited (4 days) for the "right moment" to reveal His plan. As in this story, Jesus waited 4 days before he went to Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha had sent word for Jesus and then waited for Jesus to come to them. Many times in life, we must call to Jesus and we must "wait" for Jesus and for his answers to come.
3. Jesus cares and understands our sorrows. In John 11:35, Jesus wept. Jesus had compassion and felt the sorrow of Mary and Martha. He comes to us in our times of need and walks with us in our times of despair.
4. We must trust God no matter what. Martha showed that she trusted Jesus because when she met him, she told him that if He had been there, her brother would not have died. But that she knew that even now God will give you whatever you ask" She trusted Jesus and knew that He would fulfill His plan. We must know that God's purpose and plan will be fulfilled completely. He wants our unwavering faith. We must trust God will be victorius and God will be glorified through all we endure. Even when we don't know God's answer and He has not revealed His answer to us, we must trust him.
5. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus went to Mary and Martha. He had a plan and part of His plan was not only to bring Lazarus back to life, but to reveal that He will be with us even in the darkest times. When we lose a loved one, our heart is broken, we are hurting and are lonely from our loss. Jesus came to Mary and Martha to comfort their hearts and to reveal that God had more in store for them than they ever could have imagined.
It is also interesting that God had already purposed to answer the prayers of Mary and Martha before He even arrived at their home. In verse 11, he tells his disciples, "Our friend, Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up". Jesus already knew that Lazarus was dead but He already had a plan in place to raise him from the dead. He revealed His plan to his disciples. Jesus had already answered the prayer before even Mary and Martha knew the answer. Would we be in despair if we knew that God had already answered our prayer and that He was on his way to bring deliverance? Let us believe that Jesus has a plan a purpose and His answers are always with our best interest at heart. May we trust God to answer our prayers and that our answer is on its way so that God may be glorified.
1. Realize that Jesus has a plan just as Jesus had a plan in reference to Lazarus. We may not see the plan that Jesus has but He has one. At the beginning of the story, Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick. Jesus tells disciples that the sickness will not end in death. Jesus already had a plan. His plan involved revealing God's glory as stated "No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified through it". No matter your circumstance, Jesus has a plan and God will be glorified.
2. When answers do not come quickly, remember to wait on Jesus. In this story, Jesus did not reveal his plan instantaneously, but he waited (4 days) for the "right moment" to reveal His plan. As in this story, Jesus waited 4 days before he went to Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha had sent word for Jesus and then waited for Jesus to come to them. Many times in life, we must call to Jesus and we must "wait" for Jesus and for his answers to come.
3. Jesus cares and understands our sorrows. In John 11:35, Jesus wept. Jesus had compassion and felt the sorrow of Mary and Martha. He comes to us in our times of need and walks with us in our times of despair.
4. We must trust God no matter what. Martha showed that she trusted Jesus because when she met him, she told him that if He had been there, her brother would not have died. But that she knew that even now God will give you whatever you ask" She trusted Jesus and knew that He would fulfill His plan. We must know that God's purpose and plan will be fulfilled completely. He wants our unwavering faith. We must trust God will be victorius and God will be glorified through all we endure. Even when we don't know God's answer and He has not revealed His answer to us, we must trust him.
5. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus went to Mary and Martha. He had a plan and part of His plan was not only to bring Lazarus back to life, but to reveal that He will be with us even in the darkest times. When we lose a loved one, our heart is broken, we are hurting and are lonely from our loss. Jesus came to Mary and Martha to comfort their hearts and to reveal that God had more in store for them than they ever could have imagined.
It is also interesting that God had already purposed to answer the prayers of Mary and Martha before He even arrived at their home. In verse 11, he tells his disciples, "Our friend, Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up". Jesus already knew that Lazarus was dead but He already had a plan in place to raise him from the dead. He revealed His plan to his disciples. Jesus had already answered the prayer before even Mary and Martha knew the answer. Would we be in despair if we knew that God had already answered our prayer and that He was on his way to bring deliverance? Let us believe that Jesus has a plan a purpose and His answers are always with our best interest at heart. May we trust God to answer our prayers and that our answer is on its way so that God may be glorified.
Friday, October 1, 2010
What does our "attitude" reveal?
Have you ever heard..... "Boy, he/she has an attitude? What does the word "attitude" mean? The dictionary says it means "disposition which means state of mind, predominant or prevailing tendency of ones spirits. In Philippians 2:5-11 the Bible states "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus". When I read these scriptures, I asked myself... If I am supposed to have the same attitude of Jesus... then what kind of person is Jesus? These scriptures reveal 5 things about Jesus.
1. Nature and Love of God - Godliness(v6)
2. Humble Spirit (v7)
3. Servanthood (v7)
4. Obedient to God's will (v8)
5. Willingness to doing "all" according to God's purpose(v8)
We must be willing to become like God. We must seek God's will. We must not exalt ourselves but serve others needs. We must be obedient to God's will and willing to give our all to God's purpose.
When others see our lives lived out before them... what attitude do they see? Do they see the attitude of Christ? At first glance, you might think that "attitude" is just a mental state. However, our mental state drives our actions. So our actions reveal our state of mind. If our mental state of mind is on God and becoming more like God then our "actions" will reveal our willingess to put others first and serve them. Our actions will show we are obedient to "do" God's will and do our very best while giving our "all" for God's purpose.
May we live our lives and reveal the "attitude" of Jesus to those around us. May others say of us.... "Boy, he/she has an attitude of Christ!"
1. Nature and Love of God - Godliness(v6)
2. Humble Spirit (v7)
3. Servanthood (v7)
4. Obedient to God's will (v8)
5. Willingness to doing "all" according to God's purpose(v8)
We must be willing to become like God. We must seek God's will. We must not exalt ourselves but serve others needs. We must be obedient to God's will and willing to give our all to God's purpose.
When others see our lives lived out before them... what attitude do they see? Do they see the attitude of Christ? At first glance, you might think that "attitude" is just a mental state. However, our mental state drives our actions. So our actions reveal our state of mind. If our mental state of mind is on God and becoming more like God then our "actions" will reveal our willingess to put others first and serve them. Our actions will show we are obedient to "do" God's will and do our very best while giving our "all" for God's purpose.
May we live our lives and reveal the "attitude" of Jesus to those around us. May others say of us.... "Boy, he/she has an attitude of Christ!"
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