"Boasting"

"My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad."  Psalm 34:2

As humans we tend to do a lot of boasting and bragging.  We boast of our accomplishments.  We boast about our financial status.  We don't mind letting people know about all the things we can do and what we have.  We boast about our talents.  We brag on our children's accomplishments.  And we brag about our grandchildren.  We are boasters and braggers by nature.

That being the case, do we ever boast about the greatest thing in our lives, or rather the greatest person in our lives?   Do we boast and brag about Jesus?  Do we tell others about what He has done for us?  Are we quick to tell or are we embarrassed or intimidated to talk about Him?  Are we negligent and forgetful to testify to His goodness toward us?

In your conversations begin to take note to see if your bragging and boasting is all self-centered or is it God-centered?  Centered on His goodness and grace in your life?

Have a great day. What do you boast about?

"Broken Things"

When something is broken, we usually see it as valueless and discard it. Not so with God, broken things are what He is looking for- those are the things that He can use and get the most glory from.

The alabaster box was broken and it’s fragrance filled the room. Your life is like an alabaster box. It is filled with the fragrance of Christ. Until you are broken, Christ fragrance cannot fill the room.

The stone in the wilderness was broken and water gushed from it to satisfy the thirst of a whole nation. Your life is like a stone that is full of water (the Living Water) and when you are broken those waters gush out to satisfy the thirsty soul.- “He who drinks of this water will never thirst again.” (John 4:14)

Gideon’s clay pots were broken and revealed a light that was in them. You are a clay vessel that holds the Light of the world. When you are broken that light is seen by those who are in darkness.

Bread was broken at the Last Supper. You are like bread that God desires to use to feed those who are hungry for more than this life has to offer. When you are broken and passed around to the hungry, they can “taste and see” that the Lord is good.

Jesus was broken and salvation was available to all men. We too are to follow His example and submit our wills to be broken so that the Father may be glorified. As we are broken, then we can truly say, “It is not I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me”. And He is seen and glorified by all.

 

It is in our brokenness that the Lord can use us and get the most glory from our lives.  How so?  When we are broken, we have no pride left in us.  We have no strength in ourselves.  We have nothing, it is all poured out.  Therefore, whatever is accomplished through us has to be the Lord doing it, we can take no credit.  So, don't fear to be broken.   

Have a great day.  There is value from God's perspective in broken things. 

"It Isn't Bigger"

"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Luke 18:27

 

Whatever you may be going through, or whatever need you have, may be bigger than you can believe for, but it is not bigger than God.  The walls of Jericho were big.  Goliath was big.  The fiery furnace was big.  The lion's den was big.  Deliverance from Egypt was big.  The Red Sea was big.  They were all bigger than the people who faced them.  They all looked impossible.  But, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.     

 

God is still a great big God.  He hasn't lost His power.  He hasn't grown weak, tired or weary with time.  He hasn't stopped doing miracles.  He hasn't stopped changing impossibilities into possibilities.  He is the God who brought the walls of Jericho down.  He is the God who brought Goliath down.  He is the God who quenched the fire of the furnace, who shut the lions' mouths, who delivered His people from Egypt, and who parted the Red Sea.  He is also the God who has not changed, what He did then He still does now.   So, let me say it again, "It may be bigger than you can believe for, but it is not bigger than God".  And if you can believe that-- that it isn't bigger than God and that He is able to do it-- then all things are possible to him who believes. 

Have a great day.  What is impossible for man is not impossible for God-- believe it.    

 

"What Not To Wear"

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." Romans 13:14

The other day a couple of people and I were talking about a television show- What Not To Wear. In case you aren't familiar with the show, a person is nominated who needs help with the way they dress. Once the person has been selected they are approached with the opportunity to get rid of all the clothes in their closet and buy a brand new wardrobe with a $5,000.00 gift card. Jokingly, I asked one of the people I was talking with if they wanted me to submit their name to the show. This led to a discussion. These people said they wouldn't want to do it because they didn't want to have to give up their whole wardrobe--- they liked some of their clothes. Personally, I'd jump at the chance. I am thankful for my clothes, but I am not so attached to any of them that I couldn't give them up to gain something better-- a brand new wardrobe... free.

Let me bring this into the spiritual realm. We are a lot like that. God calls us to "give up" something and we don't want to because we like it too much. He is trying to give us something better- something of greater eternal value- and we are too attached to that fleshly thing that we often won't give it up. These nominees have to give up their entire wardrobe because what they are wearing isn't flattering, it hides the "real" them, it distracts from their beauty. God deals with us to give up some things that we are "wearing" because it hides the light of Christ in us and distracts from them seeing Jesus in us.

Whatever God deals with you to give up- fleshly attitudes, wrong thinking, self-centered desires, desires of the flesh- give them up. You can't afford to be attached to them. You have to be willing to give them up. If you hold on to them, you are sacrificing the better for the worse. God wants to bless you and bring out His character in you-- He wants Jesus to be seen in you. He won't be if He's hidden under the wrong "clothes".

Have a great day. Don't be attached to the things of the flesh-- surrender them and receive the better thing God is wanting to give to you.

"Love In Any Language"

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Some of us were talking after church last night about how different the customs and meanings of words are from country to country. A word or gesture here might mean something harmless and innocent, but in another country it might represent something vulgar or disrespectful. While the meaning of a word may not be the same in every country or culture, there is one word that is universal and it's meaning is the same no matter where you go. That word is love.

Love is love no matter where you are. When we talk about the love of God- the love He has for us that He would give His Son to die for our sins- it means the same for all of us. When we talk about the price that Jesus paid for our sins by dying for us because He loves us, there is nothing lost in the translation. Love is love all over the world, and the love God has for us means the same thing to all of us.

God loves you this morning. Jesus loves you. His love prompted Him to action- He died to show you how much He loves you. Have you received His love today by receiving His gift of salvation? None of us may fully understand the gospel. We might not be able to comprehend the depth of God's love. We may not understand how or why He loves us so much. But one thing we can all understand is that He loves us.

Have a great day. Love means love all over the world... and the love that God has for us means the same also.