"What's Missing?"

"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." Mark 10:21 

"One thing thou lackest"-- in other words, "Something is missing." I have figured out what is missing in the lives of many believers. The answer is pretty simple-- we say a lot but do very little. What do I mean by that? We sing about worshipping the Lord, but rarely worship Him. Worship is not a song you sing in a Sunday morning church service about worshipping God. It is a lifestyle. When was the last time you found a secret, quiet place alone with God and just spent unrushed time loving on Him, pouring your heart out in adoration to Him, being intimate with Him? Do you do it at all outside of church? Do you do it once in a while? Do you do it a couple of times a week? Do you do it everyday (which is the correct answer)?

Another area that is missing concerns the Word of God. You may read it, you may confess it, you may quote it but are you living it? You may can quote verses like, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness", but are you seeking His Kingdom first above everything else? Are you putting it first? Is doing the work of the Kingdom, following its King, abiding by its government your priority? Does it come before the cares of this world?

The Bible constantly repeats that we are to be "doers"-- not hearers only, and certainly not professors only. When we talk about the things of God but don't do them, something will always be missing. The fullness that God desires for us to have will be missing-- the fullness of joy, peace, wisdom, revelation and victory will all be in a state of lack. The key to remove the "lack" is to start doing what is missing instead of just talking about it.

Have a great day. We will always lack when we only talk about the things of God instead of applying them to our lives.

For further reading:

James 1:22
John 15:7

"What Direction Are You Thinking?"

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

The word affection is translated "mind"-- set you mind on things above. In other words-- think about things above not things below. Does that mean we aren't to think about the responsibilities that we have here on earth? Does it mean that we shouldn't think about making a living for our families, or think about what we are going to do today? No, it doesn't. It does mean that your primary attention and what you think about should be more focused on "above" instead of "below".

What do you spend most of your time thinking about each day? Do you spend it thinking about the movie you watched on television last night; the trip you are going to take next month; the wrong that someone did to you; what you are going to wear tomorrow? Do you spend it thinking more about heavenly things, the Kingdom of God, what Jesus did for you at the cross, the promises of God, His Word?

If your thoughts were placed on a scale, which would be the heavier? Would your earthly thoughts outweigh the heavenly ones, or would the heavenly ones outweigh the earthly ones? You become more like what you think. You act out what you think. Your words are in accordance to what you think. And we wonder why we struggle with our Christianity. The problem lies in our thought life. "As he thinketh in his heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) Whatever you spend your time thinking about gets into your heart, then it comes out of your mouth, and shows up in your actions.

The key to victory, the key to being a bright light and staying salty starts in your thoughts. So think about what you are thinking about, and if your thoughts are more earthly, then change the direction you are thinking and start thinking on things above.

Have a great day. Which direction are you thoughts heading? Above or below?

For further reading:

Philippians 4:8
Romans 12:1
2 Corinthians 10:5

"God's Perfect Strength"

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 

God's strength is perfect strength. It has no weakness in it. It will never reach a point of weakness. It will never diminish. It won't wear out. It won't need something else to come along beside it and energize it or help hold it up. It won't ever need "refueling" or "recharging". It is just as perfect today as it has ever been. There is nothing that can be added to it to make it any stronger. It is perfect all by itself. It will accomplish what it sets out to do. Though it be passed around time and time again to those who are weak, it will never run out. There will always be plenty and more than enough to go around-- each and every time.

Our strength is not like that. Our strength diminishes with the passing of time. The older we get, the weaker we get. Situations can drain us of our strength. Our strength needs to be replenished. It needs help. It has to be recharged and refueled. There are times when once our strength is gone it is gone. It can be used up. While our strength may start a task, it doesn't always have the ability to finish it. It can give up and give out. It may be here today and gone tomorrow.

Without God's strength we will remain weak. But when His strength is added to our weakness, our strength is revived. His strength added to our weakness doesn't make our strength perfect, it adds what is missing and lacking so that we can accomplish whatever task is at hand.

Are you weak today? Has the situation taken your strength? Do you feel as if you can't go on- you can't go another mile or one more minute? Do you feel like you are on the verge of caving into the weakness? You don't have to. That's when God's strength is needed most. Let Him come along beside you and strengthen you in your time of weakness. His strength is like that breath of fresh air, that second wind, that shot in the arm, that boost that you need to get up and keep going. You can keep going when you draw on His strength. It is perfect and it will take up any slack where your strength has let you down.

Have a great day. God's strength is perfect and added to your weakness, you are made strong again.

For further reading:

Ephesians 6:10
Colossians 1:10,11
Psalm 68:28; 86:16; 28:7; 118:14

"Remembering His Sacrifice"

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

A friend and I were talking one day, and she shared with me that before she became a Christian, she knew of Christians that would meet for prayer around five o'clock every morning. She didn't understand how they could do that and that was something she would probably never do. But then she went on and said that after she became a Christian her opinion and the way she looked at that changed. She realized that after what Jesus did for her that was such a small sacrifice for her to make for Him.

A few days ago we celebrated Memorial Day- a time for remembering the sacrifice that countless numbers of men and women have made in this nation's history by giving their lives so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we have.

Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. He laid down His life so that we could have life and freedom. Christians are called to be living sacrifices to our God and before the world. I don't see much "sacrifice" portrayed by those professing to know Christ. One reason, I believe, is because we have forgotten the sacrifice of Christ. We have forgotten what He did for us. We have forgotten that He shed His blood and died. We have neglected to remember that the horrific beating, the cruelty, the mocking, the pain that He suffered was underserved by Him. He only did it for us, because we were the ones with the need.

When we truly consider, and remember, all that He did for us we will be willing to make sacrifices. No price of obedience is too big or small for us to pay. No act of gratitude will be left undone. We will want to do all that we can for Him and to glorify Him out of loving appreciation because He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Have a great day. When I remember the great sacrifice Jesus made for me, no sacrifice that I make for Him is too big.

For further reading:

John 3:16; 10:18
Hebrews 12:2

"Be At Peace In His Peace"

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

There are times when we all find ourselves in a "struggle". We struggle when faced with a decision as to what is the right thing to do or which direction we should take. The Bible does tell us that it is not within us to direct our own steps. We don't have that ability. We don't know which way is the right way without the help of God. There is a way that seems right to us but it often leads to destruction. We can't see into the future so we don't know the outcome ahead of time to help us make a wise choice.

Having said all that, I really feel impressed by the Lord to give a word to someone this morning. You are struggling with a decision. You don't know what to do. It looks good, it seems like the right thing to do, but you aren't sure. The peace you need seems to elude you. Each time you think you have the answer settled, something else comes up to make you doubt or wonder if it truly is the right thing. At that point you start trying to lean to your own understanding. The Lord wants to speak to you from the verse above this morning. This is His word to you. Don't let your heart be troubled- don't let it be anxious and burdened. He has promised to guide you as you acknowledge Him in all your ways. You are His sheep, you do hear the voice of your Good Shepherd. Let Him give you His peace. Let His peace settle it for you. Let His peace give you the faith to know, that you know, that you know this is the right decision. And once you make the decision that is guided by His peace, then just stand in it. Stand at rest in His peace even when confusion tries to come and steal it from you later and make you doubt this is the right thing.

Have a great day. Stop struggling, let God's peace guide you, then stand in His peace.

For further reading:

Jeremiah 10:23
Proverbs 3:5,6; 16:25