"Noticeable Difference"

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" 1 Peter 2:2

If you have ever watched a baby grow you have noticed that there is a transformation that takes place in them. As you watch the baby day after day you will soon see that it goes through many changes. You'll notice it putting on weight, its little legs start getting longer, its head gets bigger, its features start developing, and so on. How does this transformation take place in its little body? Does it happen by leaving the baby alone in its crib every day? Does it happen because you sit and rock it for hours at a time? Does it just automatically happen through the course of nature? No, to all of the above.

What causes the transformation in the baby's physical appearance is the milk/formula it takes in. When a baby drinks its "food', it takes in certain nutrients from that food. The nutrients that are in it are what causes the change. As those nutrients get into the muscles, organs, cells and tissues in that baby's body those nutrients start bringing about a change in its body. The more nutrients it takes in the more noticeable the change, until it no longer resembles a baby and eventually changes into an adult.

Our spiritual growth happens the same way- it comes through the "nutrients" we receive from God's word. When we take His word in, it is like taking "spiritual growth hormones". But I am not talking about just casually reading it and then being a "forgetful hearer" of what you read. I am talking about letting His word get down into your spirit and putting it into practice in your life. The putting it into practice and letting it govern your life is what brings about transformation in us. As we read the word and apply the word a transformation takes place in our spirits and there begins to be a noticeable difference in us. If we continue daily to read God's word and live our lives by it the more noticeable that difference will be. So noticeable that we will eventually come into the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13) In other words, we will come to spiritual maturity and look like Christ.

Have a great day. Our spiritual growth comes from the nutrients we receive from God's word.

For further reading:
James 1:22,25
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Hebrews 5:14

"You Are Not Too Bad"

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15

In sharing the good news of Jesus' love, salvation and forgiveness of sin, there is one attitude/belief that I encounter from people more often then others. It is the belief that they are "too bad" for God to forgive them. They hear what you are saying and they want to believe it but they can't get past something they have done. Their own heart condemns them and will not allow them to believe it. To them the message is just "too good to be true".

I remember going through this same thing. When I was a young girl, I was in a store one day and saw something that caught my attention. I didn't even know what it was, it was very tiny and didn't cost a quarter but I stuck it in my pocket. I knew I had done wrong. A few years later, the Lord began to deal with my heart to come to salvation. I went to the altar to pray and receive Jesus into my life but I could not get past the fact that I had stolen that item years before. I wanted God's forgiveness. I wanted to be saved. I wanted to give my life to Him, but that "wasn't" possible- I thought- because of what I had done. Thankfully, my cousin came to the altar, who was a Christian and older than I was, to pray with me. I could not get past the guilt of what I had done. I just knew I could never be forgiven. I shared what I had done years before with her. I remember saying these exact words to her, "But I stole something, I can't be forgiven." Again, thankfully, she knew the truth of God's word. I don't even remember what she told me, but before I got up from the altar I was convinced that God's love for me was greater than anything, or any sin that I had committed, and that Jesus died for my sins so I could be forgiven. I left the altar a brand new person- forgiven of my sins.... ALL of them.

Our own hearts will condemn us and tell us we are too bad for God's forgiveness. The devil will condemn us and tell us that we are too bad for God to forgive. But neither is true. The truth is that we are all "too bad" to be forgiven- even at our very "best". We are all sinners- no matter what we have done. Whatever you have done- you may have stolen something, you may have committed adultery, you may be a drug addict, you may be addicted to something else, you may have murdered someone. What you think is too big or too bad for God to forgive is not. The love of God covers a multitude of sins. The shed blood of Jesus at the cross can wash away every sin regardless of what it is.

Don't believe the lie that your sin is too big or you are too bad for God to forgive. Believe His word, which is- He loves you, He wants to forgive your sins, nothing you have done is too big or horrible for His forgiveness, and He is waiting for you to come to Him and receive His love and forgiveness.

Have a great day. You are not too bad for God to love, and your sin is not too big for Him to forgive.

For further reading:
John 3:16,17
Romans 5:8
1 John 3:20
Romans 3:23

"Sure Foundation"

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11

Everyone is building their lives on some sort of foundation. It may be ambition, dreams, hopes or a wide variety of many other things. But there is only one sure foundation upon which we can build. There is only one foundation that offers lasting "support" for our lives. There is only one foundation that can stand the test of time, withstand the storms of life and remains solid. The foundation that I am talking about is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

When Jesus is the foundation of our life, that foundation is not a temporary one, it is an eternal one. It isn't a weak support, it is a strong one- we don't have to worry whether it is going to support our lives or not. This foundation will stay firm through all the storms- even tsunami size ones- that come our way. It will stand firm when "earthquakes"- those things that try to shake us to our very core- hit our lives.

If you are building your life on any foundation other than Jesus, you are building it on the wrong foundation. One day that foundation will give away and you will be left without a foundation under you. So are you going to build your life upon the one and only sure foundation, or build it on something that is faulty and temporary and hope that it will be able to support you?

Have a great day. There is only one solid foundation upon which we can build our lives-- Jesus!

For further reading:
1 Corinthians 3:10-12
Matthew 7:24-27
Isaiah 28:16
Ephesians 2:19-21

"You Have To Do It"

"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 1 Corinthians 9:27

So you won't misunderstand what I am about to say, let me say this first- only the Lord can truly save us, heal us and deliver us, we can't do it ourselves. I do not have the power to set myself free from the bondage of sin. I cannot give myself eternal life. I cannot bring myself out of the pit of destruction. I can't heal my body when it is consumed with sickness. Only the Lord can set the captive free and open the prison door to those who are bound. I can't do it, but He can. He is able and with Him nothing is impossible or too difficult.

Now, having said that, let me say this- when we have a besetting sin in our lives, when we are going through a time of temptation, when we are wrestling with some lust of the flesh, we often think that the Lord is going to just "miraculously; magically" come down and take it away from us, slap it out of our hands or snatch it from us. We think that all we have to do is sit back and let Him just do it all for us. That is not the case.

Although He can do that there are some things that He expects us to do and He will empower us by giving us the grace and strength to do it. Paul, in the verse above, said that "he" kept his body under subjection. That meant that he was the one who disciplined it, he was the one who did not allow it to have everything it desired. He took control of his flesh and would not let it give into every desire and craving.

There are some things that you are waiting for God to do for you but He has told you to do it. You are waiting for Him to come and "take it out of your hands" but He is not going to. You have to do it. You have to lay it aside. You have to stop it. You have to turn from it. You have to decide not to do it. You have to discipline yourself. But when you do, like I said earlier, He will empower you with everything you need to do it.

Have a great day. You are waiting on God to do it, and you are the one who has to do it, then He will come to your aid.

For further reading:
Hebrews 12:1
Galatians 5:1
Philippians 4:13
James 4:7

"The Living Sacrifice"

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

When a sacrifice was brought to the priest, it was placed in his hands for him to do whatever he pleased with it. It no longer belonged to the person who was bringing it. The Bible says that Jesus is our "High Priest" and those who come to Him (have put their faith and trust in Him as Savior and Lord) are compared to "living sacrifices". As a "living sacrifice" when we present ourselves to Jesus, our High Priest, we are placing ourselves in His hands for Him to do with us whatever He pleases. It is no longer about what we want because this "sacrifice" (ourselves) no longer belongs to us. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) The priest would take the sacrifice and do with it as God had commanded him to do- he was following God's will and plan for the sacrifice. Not only was Jesus the Sacrifice for our sins carrying out the will of the Father in His own life, but as the High Priest, He too- like the priests of old- carries out the will of the Father with the living sacrifices that are presented to Him. "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38) Therefore, when we present ourselves to Him, He is working in our lives to bring about the will of God for us living sacrifices.

Are you being a living sacrifice? Have you presented yourself to Him for Him to do what He desires to do with your life? Are you in the hands of the High Priest- Jesus? Are you letting His will consume you- your desires, your goals, your plans, your ambition, your will? Or are you resisting His plan and will for your life? Are you being an unwilling sacrifice? There is only one acceptable sacrifice- a willing sacrifice totally surrendered to the hands of the High Priest.

Have a great day. If you are truly a living sacrifice, then it is no longer about you the sacrifice, but about the High Priest's (Jesus) plan for you. You are surrendered into His hands.

For further reading:
Hebrews 3:1; 9:11
1 Peter 2:5