Are You a Craftsman?

Exodus 31:1-11

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!

6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:

7 the Tabernacle;
the Ark of the Covenant;
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
8 the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
10 the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
11 the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.

The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”

What I find very comforting here is that gives gifts to each of us. Some are gifted in the area of finance, some in public speaking, some in teaching, some in dealing with people and some in crafts. Basically, God gives gifts to those as He sees fit to give. I do not have a gift for working on mechanical things. I am not a handyman when it comes to carpentry or to working on a vehicle. I praise God for those who are gifted in those areas because they take care of the things I am not good at.

When you go on to read the rest of Exodus and you see the detail in what God had planned for the construction of what He listed in verses 7-11 above you can see that it would take those like Bezalel and Oholiab to complete the work. God would not have asked me to construct those things. He has gifted me in other areas. Just last night our furnace wasn't working properly and I sat and looked at it and could not figure out what was going on. I called a neighbor who is in that field and over the phone he had me do two simple things and the furnace was working again. That is the wisdom of God flowing through that person to assist me in an area that I am not gifted in.

It is no surprise that God used the word wisdom when discribing what He had gifted these men with. A definition of wisdom is that one is skillfull. One truly does need to have wisdom to be skillfull. Since true wisdom starts with fearing God, one can tell where a persons wisdom comes from. The devil does try to imitate the wisdom from God, but all his wisdom is good for is to detract, disguise, deceive, destroy or detour people from following God's plan for their lives. You can tell the difference between the two.

Another area where you can tell the gifting from God is in the area of musical talent. As Keith Moore says, "Everyone should sing, but not all should record." There are so many people that God has gifted in the area of music. Some use their talent for the purpose of furthering God's Kingdom here on earth and some use it to lead people towards destruction.

My questions for you today would be these:

Have you identified what area God has gifted you in?
If so, are you working and using those giftings for God?
If not, why not?

If you ask Him to show you or reveal to you what He has gifted you to do He will show you. It may be through the Word it may be through another person. Listen and He will direct you. Once you have identified those areas where God has gifted you, ask Him how you can use those giftings to serve Him. It may be a new profession, it may be a volunteer opportunity to serve at your church or it may be a revelation that what you are doing now can be used to serve Him.

Heavenly Father, I thank You that You give gifts to each us and that those gifts are designed to serve You. I know that You have created me the way I am to be doing the things that I am doing to serve You fully and completely. All that I am is because of Your love for me. You know my beginning and my end and everything in between. You know the numbers of hairs on my head, even if I try to conceal them by shaving them. You have given me specific gifts and talents to be used to serve You and carry out Your plan here on earth. Holy Spirit continue to guide me and direct me as to where and what I need to do to follow His plan for my life and how to use the talents He has given me to their maximum effect for His Kingdom. I praise You this day, the last day of 2008. I thank You that Your direct for me to start the new year is to get into areas of the Word I have not been before. I praise You for leading me, directing me, creating me and gifting me to serve You. In Jesus name, Amen.

A False Apreciation Will Get Its Reward

Genesis 30:25-43

25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”

27 “Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. 30 You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”

31 “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.

Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. 32 Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. 33 In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

34 “All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, 36 who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

37 Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. 38 Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. 39 And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.

41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. 42 But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. 43 As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, male and female servants, and many camels and donkeys.

What I see happening here in this story is a man who had very little, swindled another man into working for him for 14 years, becomes wealthy because of another man's work and still tries to swindle him again. Apparently Laban thinks the only way to get things in life is by swindling others. Jacob was known to swindle a blessing from his father, but in his dealings with Laban he appeared to be a hard working man. Because the blessing of the Lord was on Jacob his father-in-law prospered greatly.

In verses 27 and 28 Laban pretty much admits where his wealth has come from, but they appear to be empty words. The Word speaks about what will happen if you do this:

Proverbs 28:11

11 Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.

Proverbs 29:6

6 Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

Laban thinks he is wise by trying to hide all the goats and sheep that matched what Jacob had said would be his payment for the work he had done. Not only did this plan backfire on Laban, but Jacob saw right through his father-in-law's worthless words and became more wealthy than him. Why would Laban think that Jacob would not have known that he had done what he did? Jacob was the one who was tending to the flocks and knew what was there.

I know that he would have known because when I was growing up on the farm we knew what animals we had, we knew when a calf was born who their mother was by looking at them and we knew if there was anything wrong with our herds. When you spend time with the animals that you tend you get to know them. You know their markings, their way of how they do things, etc. You learn when something is wrong with them and try to prevent bad things from happening to them.

I don't know how Laban thought he would be able to get away with his plan. Jacob saw what had happened and the Lord gave him wisdom as to how to handle the situation. Notice what Jacob didn't do, complain. He didn't run to Laban and accuse him of swindling him, again. He didn't pray to God to smite Laban. He didn't run around and tell everyone what Laban had done to him and how unfair that was. He stayed and cared for the rest of the flock. He was rewarded for his loyalty to his word with his father-in-law, despite the way he was treated.

Proverbs 27:18 speaks to this:

18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.

These words in Proverbs were written many centuries after Jacob had lived his life. Maybe it was Jacob who inspired these verses to be written?

Lord, I pray that I have the discernment to see through the devilish wisdom that some will use to entrap me or swindle me. I pray that Your wisdom will flow through me in my everyday life so that I will increase in all areas of my life. It is by Your plan that I will succeed and by Your grace that I have the ability to increase. I thank You this day for Your Word and for Your revealing timeless truths to me each day. Continue to reveal more of Yourself to me through the Word and Your Holy Spirit. I praise You and glorify You more today than I did yesterday. Amen.

What’s Your Reputation Like?

1 Samuel 29:1-11

1 The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. 3 But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish told them, “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.”

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry. “Send him back to the town you’ve given him!” they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him? 5 Isn’t this the same David about whom the women of Israel sing in their dances,

‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”

6 So Achish finally summoned David and said to him, “I swear by the Lord that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today. But the other Philistine rulers won’t hear of it. 7 Please don’t upset them, but go back quietly.”

8 “What have I done to deserve this treatment?” David demanded. “What have you ever found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 But Achish insisted, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle. 10 Now get up early in the morning, and leave with your men as soon as it gets light.”

11 So David and his men headed back into the land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army went on to Jezreel.

David had fled from Israel and the pursuit of King Saul, who was trying to kill him, and had settled in the land of the Philistines. This was the same people to whom Goliath was a warrior. David lived among them for over one year and the King never had an issue with David or his men with him. As far as King Achish was concerned David would live in his country forever. King Achish either did not know about David being anointed as king over Israel or he thought that it wasn't going to happen.

I can see why the commanders of the Philistine army would not want David to join them, even though he had not attacked them or their army since he lived amongst them. They were right in their thinking that David could turn against them at any time.

What I saw in this story that standed out were the statements made by the commanders and by King Achish himself about David. The commanders cited a song that is sung by the women of Israel while the dance, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands." King Achish said, "As far as I'm concerned, you're as perfect as an angel of God." How many of us could have a group of people say this about us? This was coming from people whom David was very familiar with, especially after having killed their greatest warrior when he was a boy. That's a great reputation. It's no wonder why he had that reputation though. He was following the Lord and seeking Him in what he was doing. This is the same type of reputation we should have with our adversaries and colleagues alike.

Heavenly Father I thank You that You were able to use a vessel like David to show me an example of the type of reputation that I can strive to have with my adversaries. May my conduct be a good reflection of You in everything I do. I pray that Your love flow through me to those I come into contact with each day and may their interaction with me lead them to get to know You in a more personal way. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

A Lesson Learned From Grandpa

Genesis 28:20-22

20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

I really like this story because it reminds me of lessons I learned from my grandpa. When I was one year old my mother divorced my dad and moved my older brother and me to Minnesota from New Jersey, where we were born. She re-married my step-dad when I was three years old. I grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota and lived much of that time on the same farm site as my step-dad’s parents. My step-dad went from being a single man to a husband and a father of two boys when he married my mom. His parents did not have to show us love or even like us, but they did. Because I was so young when my mom moved us to Minnesota I only knew of my step-dad and his parents as my own, until I was around 7 years old. Then I realized that I had two dads, three grandpas and three grandmas. That was pretty cool.

Back to my step-dads father, Hjalmer. Everybody called him Jim. He raised 6 kids on the farm and had already lived for 72 years before I came into the picture. At his age and being Norwegian he was not one to show emotion a whole lot. He never really discussed his faith with me or with anyone else that I knew of. He was the kind that just lived it. You could see in his actions the faith he had. It wasn’t until he died that I found out he used to read the bible everyday before he went to sleep. He had read through it many times. At some point in time he had accepted Jesus as his savior and it showed by the way he lived his life. I wrote something that I shared at his funeral that the Lord gave to me in the middle of the night. I would like to share that with you today. (I will get to the verses after that.)

Thank You

I have a lot to be thankful for this day. I’m Thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know grandpa for over 25 years. I’m thankful that he accepted me into his family and treated my and loved me like I was one of his own. I’m thankful that he cared enough about me to discipline me when I needed it. I’m thankful that he loved me, even though he didn’t have to say it everyday. I know that he loved me. I’m thankful that he loved his family and worked hard to provide for them. He set an example for his children and grandchildren that many in this family have followed. He was a hard worker. I’m thankful he was married to grandma for 64 years. That is an awesom example for me to try and follow. I’m thankful he was an avid reader. Although he probably didn’t read all kinds of books, he read the most important book anyone can read many times. I’m talking about the book that has the answers to life’s questions, the Bible. He used to read it when he went to bed. He didn’t just read it once, but many times. He knew more about the bible than most people.

I’m thankful he found it important to bring his family here to worship on Sundays. He did everything he was supposed to as the spiritual head of his household for his family. Even though some of the pastors and teachers probably weren’t too thankful for having some of the Finstad boys in their classes. I;m thankful that he not only attended Albion, but he was an active partner in its ministry. He didn’t preach or sing, but he served on many boards and committees. He never aspired to have the spotlight.

I’m thankful that everyone here was able to share in his life. He obviously touched many people’s hearts to have all of you here. I’m thankful that he was able to make it to my wedding. I wanted him to see me make a commitment to my wife that I will be with her through anything that life can throw at us. I’m thankful that he was alive to see my son. Almost every time we went to the nursing home, he would hold Brady. One of the things I said to myself when I was growing up was that I wanted to provide grandpa with a great grandchild. Maybe it wa because I wanted to show him that I could a father like him. Although I don’t think I can convince my wife to have five more kids. More than anything though, I wanted to show him that I could raise my family the way he raised his.

I’m thankful that grandpa had the one thing he could never ever give to anyone else. He had, at some point in his life, accepted the gift of salvation, which is taught and preached here every Sunday. With the knowledge of having this gift, he wasn’t afraid of dying. He knew that when he died he was going to a better place. He knew that God loved him so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for him and take away all of his sins.

On Monday at 11:45 in the morning he walked through the gates of heaven and looked into the eyes of Jesus. What an awesome experience that must be to see that place and to be able to talk to Him face to face. He knows now the answers to all of the questions he ever had. I’m thankful that when I die and go to heaven I will walk through the gates and after meeting Jesus face to face, I will get to see grandpa and all of the other relatives and friends who have gone there before me. If there is one thing you want to be thankful of today, let it be that you have also accepted this free gift from God, so that when you die you know that you will get to see grandpa again when you go to heaven. So grandpa, all I can say today is THANK YOU.

I do not know to this day if anyone in my family committed their life to the Lord through this, but it was an opportunity that God brought about for me to share the Good News with them, all of them, in one spot at the same time. I pray that they did learn from grandpa just like Jacob did from his grandpa.

Jacob has just had his dream about a stairway to heaven and the Lord promised him that all the families of earth will be blessed through him and his descendants. Jacob was on his way to Haran to find his uncle Laban and marry one of his daughters when he stopped and slept in this place with his head on a stone. He decided after the dream that the Lord was in that place and named it Bethel.

Verses 20 and 21 are more like a challenge to God than they are a statement of his faith. He used the word "if" when he should not have. Notice in verse 21 he makes a statement that comes from learning from his dad and grandpa, "I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me." This is a statement about tithing of what God has given to him and the law had still not be given through Moses. This is another sign that the tithe is a measure of our level of worship to God. If we can't acknowledge Him by bringing to Him one-tenth of what He so freely gives to us, then we are not truly following Him.

Heavenly Father I bring to you today my tithe, joyfully and without restraint. I offer to you one-tenth of what You have so freely given to me. I give to You one-tenth of my time, my talent and my money. May the other nine-tenths be blessed beyond measure so that You get all the glory and honor and praise. Amen.

Stewardship Basics

Proverbs 27:23-27

23 Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24 for riches don’t last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls.

These verses speak volumes on how our stewardship of what God has given to us should go. We are to be wise with what we have and not be wasteful and irresponsible.

Verse 23 is one that is a little harder for most to grasp since they would say they are not into agriculture and don't have flocks and herds of any animals. What the Lord is saying here is that we should know the state of our assets. What I get from this would be like this, I should know, if someone would ask, how much I owe on any loans I have, what the interest rate is, what the principle balance is and how long it will take to pay it off on the current schedule. I should also know what I have in any retirement account, what the rate of return is on the investment and where it is headed. I should know what condition my house is in, my car, my furniture, my appliances, my yard, my tools, etc. I should know what is going on with my relationships, family, friends, work, etc. As I know the state of my flocks I then put my heart into caring for all of that "stuff" so that I can be aware of what God may need me to use for His plan and purpose for my life and that if He asks me to give my car to someone I know any issues there may be with it and inform that person.

Verse 24 is one that should be more realistic to a lot of people in this day. Riches don't last forever so stop acting like they do. Riches in this world are available for rust, destruction, loss, theft and swindle. This is why Jesus instructs us in Matthew:

Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

If we persist in our thinking that we need to accumulate for ourselves the stuff of this world then we will not be storing up for ourselves in heaven where we will have true riches. This doesn't say that we are not to be rich here on earth. As with all things with God it is our heart condition that He is most concerned with. If God knows that He can entrust me with $1,000,000.00 because He knows that most of that will be used for increasing His Kingdom then when I earn that much I will know what to use it for. If He knows that I will be wasteful and irresponsible with it then He will not bring it into my hands. The devil does this with people all the time. Most people who win money in lotteries or through inheritance don't use the money for what it should be. Winning a lot of money doesn't change a person's attitude towards money, it just magnifies their thoughts about money and the problems they have with it.

A study was done on the first 20 winners of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes and only one of the 20 still had their winnings and the rest were in worst conditions than before they won the money. Here are some more insights from the Word:

Proverbs 10:16
16 The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.

Proverbs 11:4, 18, 24-26, 28
4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

18 Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
26 People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

28 Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

Proverbs 12:10-12, 27
10 The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.
11 A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense. 12 Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

27 Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.

Proverbs 13:4, 13
4 Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.

11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.

These are just a few but the last one emphases what I was saying before. The supposed wealth one gets from get-rich-quick schemes (lotteries, insurance frauds, etc.) doesn't change the heart of the person about what money they have or how to handle it, it only magnifies any issues they have with it.

Verses 25-27 are the ones that really excite me. I know that by working hard and having the right heart attitude towards what God entrusts me with that I will have clothing, I will own land and I will have enough food for not only my family, but for my servants as well. Did you see that? I have servants!

This can be looked at in a way that I think I know I hadn't thought of until the Lord just showed it to me. The word "servant" in verse 27 doesn't necessarily mean what I would envision it to mean. A servant is defined as a person in the service of another. Would someone who handles my investment portfolio be considered as a person in the service of another? Would an employee who works for me be considered a person in the service of another? Would a person who picks up and delivers my mail be considered a person in the service of another? Would the pastors at my church be considered a person in the service of another? I would answer all those questions with a yes.

This means that because of the hard work and heart condition of the flocks, herds, crops, goats, sheep, etc., that the Lord entrusts to me that those who work in the service of another will also prosper. Because I am paying my bills on time, my taxes that are required, my tithes and offerings or my employees proper wages they will also be able to prosper, if they too are learning from the Word how to be good stewards.

Heavenly Father I thank you today for what You have entrusted to me. Continue to reveal to me any areas that I need to improve in when it comes to the "stuff" You have given to me. All that I have is available to You to use for Your purposes here on earth so that more can be added to Your Kingdom. Reveal to me anything I have that You need and how You want me to use it for You. I praise You for Your Word and for the Holy Spirit revealing to me and drawing me to Your love for me and for those I come into contact with each day. Let me be a blessing to them and may You get all the glory, honor and praise for what You accomplish. In Jesus name, Amen.

Be Not Prideful

2 Chronicles 26:5, 7, 14-21

5 Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.

7 God helped him in his wars against the Philistines, his battles with the Arabs of Gur, and his wars with the Meunites.

14 Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones. 15 And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful.

16 But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. 17 Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!”

19 Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the high priest and all the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the Lord had struck him. 21 So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.

What a turn around in Uzziah's life. It shows early on that when he sought God for guidance he was successful. God helped him in time of war and he won his battles. Through doing this he became very powerful and also grew in pride.

Verses 16-21 show the result of his pride and how sin is dealt with in the old covenant. Praise God for Jesus and His sacrifice for my sins. I thank Him every day that I am not subject to the way sin is handled under the old covenant. I praise Jesus for suffering on the cross for me to death and being raised from the dead. He bore all my sickness, disease and sin so that I could rule and reign on earth and in heaven as a righteous child of the King. I am not full of pride when it comes to knowing where my source is for every good thing in my life. I also know the source of every bad thing in my life and it's not God.

Father I praise You today for Your plan for all mankind. I praise You because You are the creator of all that is good and You want to have a relationship with all of Your creation. I praise You Father for sending Your Son to earth to do the work of redeeming that which was lost. I thank You that through Him there is healing, wholeness, love, kindness, peace and restoration. I thank You that Your Holy Spirit is here with me to guide, direct and lead me to all truth and to the knowledge of You and Your plan for me. I praise You for Your Word and for what it means to me to be fed by Your Word each day. You are my rock and my salvation. You are my fortress and my deliverer. You are the reason that I am alive at such a time as this to be used by You for Your Kingdom to be manifest here on earth. You are my God in whom I put my trust and allegience. I pledge to You everything that I have and everything that I am or will become. I am a piece of clay to be molded by the Potter who will shape me and mold me into the vessel that will carry His Word forth to the nations. Here I am Lord! Ready to answer Your call and do what You want me to do when You want me to do it. Lead me, guide me, direct me Holy Spirit to know the next step God has for me. I praise You Jesus! Amen.

Do You Repay Evil with Evil or Love?

1 Samuel 25:2-38

2 There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. 3 This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.

4 When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: 6 “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! 7 I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. 8 Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David.” 9 David’s young men gave this message to Nabal in David’s name, and they waited for a reply.

10 “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. 11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”

12 So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. 13 “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.

14 Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. 15 These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. 16 In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. 17 You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”

18 Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. 21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. 25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent.

26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. 28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.

29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! 30 When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, 31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”

32 David replied to Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! 33 Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. 34 For I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would still be alive tomorrow morning.” 35 Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.”

36 When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. 37 In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died.

What lesson to learn. I can fully understand how David felt when he received the response from Nabal. How many times have you worked your tail off for an employer only to have them not only not acknowledge what you did for them, but to insult you in the process? There were times in my dealings with employers where I really wanted to seek a way to take revenge on them. Thank the Lord I never did. I would say that David was pretty glad he didn't respond in that way either.

What I also see in this story is that a good wife is a jewel to have that is precious and worth more than any real jewels could be. Abigail is seen here as one who is wise. She knows the proverb, "A soft answer turns away wrath." She also knows what love is. 1 Peter 4:8b says this, "for love covers a multitude of sins." She was covering for her husband who was not an easy man to deal with. She pleaded for him and apologized for his transgressions and saved him and all the servants. What a woman of love.

Heavenly Father I praise You this day for a wife who shows me the kind of love Abigail showed for her husband each day. I pray that You increase inside each of us and that we decrease. May Your love flow through each of us more and more each day. May we pursue peace and understanding with each other and with our kids. May we extend that love to everyone we meet and use us Lord to calm the wrath of those who would want to repay evil with evil and show them Your love and compassion. I pray that You continue to guide me and show me Your ways and what You would have me to do in each situation so that You get the glory, honor and praise that is due. I thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to earth so that we may be saved. I thank You Jesus for following God's plan for Your life and paying the price for my sins. I praise Your holy name! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Do You Present Free Offerings?

2 Samuel 24:18-25

18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20 When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 “Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked. David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”

22 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23 I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

25 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

What struck me most in this story was the heart of King David. I can see why he was such a good king. He had recently sinned against the Lord by taking a census of his people, which cost the people to do it. David was not acting on the direction of the Lord and did this to punish the people. This is not the way God wanted him to deal with them. In the verses leading up to these the Lord had given David a choice of three punishments.

13 “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

David chose three days of severe plague. After 70,000 people died David pled with the Lord to stop and He did. David saw the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and then the Lord directed David to build an altar there. When David went to buy the threshing floor the owner wanted to give it to him, but David would not have it. His comment in verse 24 is very telling of just why David was a great king. "I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing." That is awesome teaching for today. I wonder how often people present their offerings to the Lord that don't cost them anything.

When I was growing up my parents were not tithers, that I was aware of. They would give $5.00 per week into the offering and $25.00 on holidays. I know my parents made more than $3,000.00 per year so it didn't take long to know that they were not tithing. I would say that an offering like that is one that cost them nothing. This is why the Lord requires the tithe. A person who offers 10% of the income to the Lord is sacrificing. It shows Who is in control and who is not. It shows an acknowledgment that everything comes from God and my tithe is to be used for His Kingdom work on earth. God doesn't need my money He wants my heart. The Word says this in Matthew:

Matthew 6:21

"Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

If my treasures (money) is not subject to the Lord to be used as He sees fit then it will be consumed by me and used for nothing of lasting value or worth. Everything on earth is subject to decay, theft and swindle. Why would I want to invest in that? I believe in investing heavily into the Kingdom and for His glory. I thank King David for setting an example that I can follow when it comes to my offerings to the Lord. May it never be said that my offerings cost me nothing.

The Good Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.

Although I never had sheep growing up, I can understand what the Word is saying here in these passages. Verse 1 lets me know that the Lord will take care of me and I will have all that I need, not want.

The vision I have in verse 2 is when the cows we had growing up would lay down in the pasture was when they were full of the grass they had consumed. This tells me that the Lord will provide for me in a bountiful way that I do not need to consume everything he gives me and to stop when I am satisfied. When He leads me beside peacefule streams He is telling me that I should be at peace with Him and that He will not lead me into turbulent waters. He is the Prince of Peace not chaos and destruction.

If I allow Him to minister to me my strength is renewed as I follow His path for my life. Learning to listen to His voice and obeying His voice allow honor to go to whom it is do, which is not me and all on the Lord. For He is the one who directs me and guides me. If I tried to do this on my own then I might as well be blind and deaf because I would not be able to function properly.

Verse 4 used to trouble me somewhat. It wasn't until pondering this for a while that it finally made sense to me. The fact that I am going through a dark valley is probably due to my wanting to do something my way and not the Lord's way. Even though I may choose to do this He is saying to me that He will be close beside me and will protect and comfort me when I need it. Praise God for His faithfulness!

I love the ending of verse 5. Doesn't God know when our glass is full? Of course He does, but He is a God of the overflow. He has so much for us that He wants to get into our hands so that it can be used for His Kingdom that we can't take it all in and it overflows our lives. That is the idea that He has for us. He will provide so much for us that anything above and beyond our needs we will desire to sow it into His Kingdom.

I find the though of God's goodness and love pursuing me and interesting word picture. I vision a game of tag where God is wanting to be in relationship with me, Erik Vakula, so much that He will pursue me as long as I live. Why? Becuase He wants me to live in His house with Him forever. Praise God!

An important thing to remember is that God wants to have a relationship with you just as much as He wants one with me. The only way to be in relationship with Him is through His Son, Jesus. You must be willing to believe in Jesus work on the cross for your sins and confess it with your mouth to someone else and you too can be in relationship with the One who knows everything about you and still wants to be in relationship with you. There is nothing that you have done that surprises Him or is too bad that He can't forgive you for what you have done. When Jesus died on the cross He took and bore ALL your sins, including the ones you haven't commited yet. He took your sickness and your diseases upon Him and by the stipes on His back from the whips you ARE healed. Take the gifts He gives to you of total salvation and healing and walk in them as a child of the King. Own them and walk securely in them. Seek His Wisdom and He will give it to you richly and abundantly. Praise and glory belong to Jesus forever and ever! AMEN!

The Father of Faith

Genesis 22:1-19

1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

I love this story! This is such a powerful one to illustrate what it means to have faith in God and also shows the kind of obedience we are to show to God when He asks us to do something.

So the story starts out with Abraham receiving some interesting news from God. He wants Abraham to go and sacrifice this son that was promised to him in his old age. Some commentaries place Isaac's age at around 17 when this takes place. This means that Isaac was very capable of running away once he finds out what is going on. First to note here is that Abraham knows that it is the voice of God telling him to do this. When God tempts us to something it is to test our faith, not to lead us into sin. Notice that Abraham doesn't say a word to Sarah, he doesn't form a committee and he doesn't start a prayer chain. He knows that when God asks Him to do something he needs to obey quickly and quietly.

Verse 3 starts off with showing us how quickly Abraham listens, the next morning he does what God asks. What is not relayed here is that the journey he takes is 3 days long. This would give him plenty of time to think about God's request and ways to get out of it. He is also not only to supposed to kill his son, but offer him as a burnt offering. There were a lot of things that needed to happen in order to offer up burnt offerings and Abraham would have follow all of them on his own son. What Abraham says in verse 5 is the key to the end of the story. He says this, “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” Notice the last sentence. "WE will worship there, and then WE will come right back." WOW! Did I miss something? God never told him that his son would live. He told him just the opposite. The key to the outcome was Abraham's faith. He knew that if God had promised him this son, that the son arrived and this was the child that would lead to Abraham's blessing of many descendents, the God would have to resurrect Isaac. That would be the only way for God's promise to be fulfilled. What Abraham may not have known is that by his being willing to offer up his son of promise as a sacrifice that God would then be able to offer up His Son to die for our sins.

Verse 6 is also a foreshadowing of what would happen with Jesus. When Isaac was loaded down with the wood that would be what he would be sacrificed on is a symbol of Jesus carrying the cross that he would die on.

Verse 7 was probably the hardest question Abraham would ever have to answer. His son, whom he intends to sacrifice, asks him, "where's the sheep for the burnt offering?" Notice that Isaac is very aware of what it was like to offer up burnt offerings. He knew that they usually used a sheep for this offering, yet they had no sheep with them. Abraham's response is another sign of his faith. In Verse 8 he says it with these three words, "God will provide". That should be our response to questions we have about provision. When it comes to doing what God called you to do the appropriate response is God will provide.

I can speak to this firsthand. When my son, Brady, was 4 turning 5 we started praying about where to send him to school. My wife attended a mandatory meeting for Sunday school teachers at our former church. They were having a guest speaker for this training, who we later found out was the superintendant of a Christain private school. The first guest speaker ended up to be unavailable due to an injury. The guest speaker ended up being the principal of the elementary section of this school. Just before she took to the podium the Lord told Dawn this, "Where this woman works is where you are to send Brady to school." Dawn did not know who this woman was or even where she was from. Her first impression was, "I don't know where this woman lives. What if she is from Oregon or some other state?" She discovered that she was the principal at Maranatha Christian Academy. She asked the people at her table where this place was and they told her is was through Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park. Dawn came home after the meeting and told me what had happened. My response was, "I guess we know where Brady is going to school." We then sent away for information and found out how much the school would cost. Dawn thought this would be the reason why she did not think that she heard properly. I told her that if God said this is where Brady is to go then He would provide the financing for it. Praise God he has provided not only the financing for Brady but for Tiffany to attend as well.

Verses 9-10 speak to the commitment Abraham had to the instructions God has given him. He had to build the altar, tie up his son and then prepare to offer him up as the sacrifice. Praise God that the Lord stepped in and told Abraham to wait. What the Lord said to Abraham is key in verse 11, “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” The Lord knew that Abraham was the man of faith he knew he could be. He also knew that by Abraham's actions that He could then one day sacifice His only Son.

Verse 13 shows that God did provide. I have a question here, "What was the ram doing in the hours leading up to this?" God must have been leading the ram to be in that place at that exact moment so that Abraham could see it and kill it instead of his son. How awesome is that!

Verses 16-18 show that God acknowledges the obedience of Abraham. He will be rewarded for his faith in what God instructed him to do. Nothing that Abraham owned, even his own son of promise, was unavailable for God to use for His purposes. This is exactly what God has in store for each of us if we have the faith to follow what He asks us to do and to make everything we have available to Him if He needs it for His Kingdom.

Lord I pray today that I have the faith of Abraham and I make everything I have available to You for Your purposes to be met here on earth. I pray that Your will be done on earth, just as it is in heaven. Use me Lord for what every You want and for what ever purpose You deem necessary. I thank You that You are the Lord that does provide for me and my family. I thank You for offering up Your Son as a sacrifice for the sins of all and that anyone who believes in His sacrifice will enjoy eternal life with You in heaven. PRAISE GOD FOREVER!!

Don’t Get Too Impatient With God’s Plan

Numbers 21:4-9

4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

In these verses the children of Israel were impatient with the time it was taking them to get to where the Lord had told them about. They don't seem too much unlike people of today. They thought it was taking too long and they were getting sick of eating this manna from heaven. Apparently having food dropped outside your door was not convenient enough for them. All they had to do to get food was to walk outside their door, pick up what they would eat for the day and go back inside. I understand that their menu was very limited, but if they had actually listened to God in the first place they would have been in the land that He promised them and they would be enjoying the fruit of that land.

Most of the time, when it comes to following God's plan, it is our fault for the length of time it takes to get to where God is taking us. We become impatient and then start complaining about how long the journey is taking. We never think it's our fault for the length of the journey, we just assume it must be God's fault. Every time we complain or grumble against God's plan for us we set ourselves up for more waiting, more time and a longer journey. Which one of us wants to assist our children out with something if all they do is complain about what is going on and how long it is taking? I know that I don't exactly jump to my feet to assist them if they have an attitude with me like that. I know that God doesn't do things the way I do them, but our complaining doesn't help things.

Notice that God did not just let them all die by the poisonous snakes. He provided a way out for them once they repented of their ways. He is still doing that today. Once we are humbled enough to realize that it is our fault and not God's and that we need to repent, He is right there with a way out for us. That way out is usually through Jesus and His Word. All our answers to life's questions are found in the Word. Praise God for that!

My prayer today is that I be patient with God's plans for my life and work hard to not be a stumbling block for His plan for me. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, and His sacrifice for me so that I can come to You with my requests. Amen.

Why Did He Come?

Luke 20:1-18

1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

PRAISE GOD!! In this season of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is a great refresher to read and ponder the reason for His coming. He came to conquer sin, death and the grave so we didn't have to. He came to provide a way to everlasting life in heaven through His shed blood. He came to save that which was lost in the garden when Adam sinned. He came to restore the creation He helped create. He came to die so that I may live. PRAISE GOD!!

What a turn of events for the followers of Jesus. They had recently witnessed His betrayal, His crucifixion and now some where witnesses of the confirmation of His resurrection. I still don't think they had truly realized what this meant for their future here on earth and their future in eternity. I am thankful that they wrote down these events so that I could learn about this man, Jesus, who I call Lord and Savior. I am truly thankful and blessed to have Him in my life and I do not want to even think about where my life would be if it weren't for Him. I am nothing without Him.

PRAISE GOD!! Thank You Father for sending Your Son to earth to live as a human so He could truly understand what we go through here on earth. Thank You Jesus for giving up Your place in heaven to make Yourself poor so that I could be rich. Thank You Holy Spirit for coming and staying until Jesus comes back again so that I could understand the Word and how to apply it in my life each day. PRAISE GOD!!

My prayer for today is that I live out the blessings that He bought and paid for on the cross and redeemed by His resurrection. I pray that during this season that everyone who reads this will also be truly humbled by what Jesus has done for them. Just saying thank you is not enough, Lord. Reveal Yourself to me in a new way today and may Your love shine through me today so that others may see what I see in You. Thank You for coming and saving me. I know that Your love for me is unconditional and that Your love changes lives for eternity. I thank You today through my words, my actions and my attitude. PRAISE GOD!!

How's My Personal Conduct?

Leviticus 19:1-4, 11-18, 26-37

1 The Lord also said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

3 “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.

4 “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

11 “Do not steal.
“Do not deceive or cheat one another.

12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.

13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.
“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.

17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

26 “Do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood.
“Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft.

27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.

28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.

29 “Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with prostitution and wickedness.

30 “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

31 “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.

32 “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.

33 “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. 34 Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

35 “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36 Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.”

The Lord starts off here with and awesome statement in verse 2, "You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." We cannot go to God with any prayers if we are not holy in His sight. Thank God for Jesus and the holiness He bought for me on the cross. The verses following that look like a long list of rules that most people don't like to be confined to following. I look at them as a guide to living the way God wants me to live.

The first part of verse 3 I do better at than I do the last part. I do respect and honor my parents, but I do not totally rest on the Sabbath. I try to rest as much as possible but I have a wife with a never ending to-do list that reminds me of what is on it and that the tasks need to get done. Verse 4 seems to be an obvious one, but we don't normally consider things as idols when we really treat them that way. For me an idol in my life is the TV. I like to sit and watch TV. I should spend the time I watch TV with the kids or reading the bible or working on that to-do list.

Verse 11 is obvious. Verse 12 is one that many people use, mostly when they are in trouble. The verbage I can relate to that is, "I swear to God that I didn't...." This is what I think the Lord is talking about here. Verse 13 is also very obvious. Apparently in the times of Moses people got paid daily for their work. They must not have had HR departments or payroll or taxes to worry about.

I can't imagine who would do what verse 14 says, but if someone does then they should be ashamed for their actions.

Verse 15 has special meaning to me in the line of work I do with collections. It also has applicability in doing evictions and will be very applicable when I start doing mediation work next year.

The first part of verse 16 is hard to do sometimes. I usually try to justify it by saying to myself that I was only telling my wife because I should tell her everything. I didn't see the Lord put in an escape clause in that verse so I shouldn't try and use it to justify my actions. The last part of that verse is very obvious to me. Growing up in a small town community this becomes very real to you. If a neighbor is in need you go and help them out. I can remember a neighbor who was diagnosed with cancer and he had four children and the crops in his fields needed to be tended to. The community gathered around the family and worked in their fields until the work was done and then tended to their own fields. This was a normal way of life for me growing up.
Verse 17 is one that is very hard to do sometimes. When you have an uncle who was a convicted child molester how do you naturally not want to hold a hatred in your heart towards him? I had to learn to forgive him for what he did to the family and realize that hating him did nothing to him and only hurt me.

Verse 18 is very key in walking in love. My flesh wants revenge if it feels that it was harmed in some way. I must not seek revenge and learn to show God's love to the offending party and let God's love minister to them.

The first part of verse 26 is comforting to me because I like my steaks cooked medium well to well done. I have a friend who likes his steak to be introduced to the grill enough for the flames to kiss the meat on each side and then call it done. The last part of the verse is common sense to me.

I obviously don't follow verse 27, but for those who are under the old covenant must follow it.
I have not done verse 28 and don't have intention of doing it either. I definitely will not allow my daughter to participate in verse 29. I am working on verse 30. I will not do verse 31, which means no horoscopes for me. Why look to the stars for answers when I can look to the One who made those stars?

I have to work on verse 32 because my parents now qualify for this and I need to get better at it. Verses 33-34 applies to me in my vocational endeavors. It is hard to bridge the language and cultural barriers but I must do so in order to get to the desired solution for all the parties involved.

Verses 35-36 are also very applicable to my vocational pursuits. I must not use dishonest standards when I deal with the people I deal with each day. I need to be accurate and fair in my dealings or I can get sued and pay huge fines.

I strive to live up to verse 37 because this means that I would be doing what God wants me to do and in the way He wants me to do it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

Matthew 18:1-10

1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

These verses are very eye opening to me. When I look at my children and see their complete trust of their teachers and what their teachers are telling them I can see what the Word is talking about. I am also thankful that my kids go to a school where the Word is taught in every subject so they are incorporating a biblical world view at an early age. I also think about the teachers themselves. They have a lot of influence on the development of the children in their care each day and the Word here is pretty harsh on what would happen if they cause any of them to sin.

When you think about why Jesus uses a child as an example of who is the greatest in the Kingdom it doesn't take long to figure out why He chose them as His example. When kids are in their pre-school years they are very dependent on their parents for almost everything. This dependance is how we are to be with Jesus. We are to be dependent upon Him for everything. We are to trust everything He tells us to do and do be obedient to do it when He tells us to do it. Just like my kids did when they were younger. I can't count how many times a day they would ask for help or guidance or have a question about what they wanted to learn. They obeyed more quickly than they do now, but I attribute that to their independence growing. Whe we are dependent upon someone we are more obedient to their request for us to do something.

WOW! Thank You Jesus for bringing that revelation to me this morning! How awesome You are to reach out to me and show me this from Your Word. My dependence on You leads to greater obedience on my part, which leads to greater measure of Your blessing upon me. Lord, renew within me the desire to follow You more closely than I did yesterday and the day before. Stir up my spirit to be in tune with the Holy Spirit so I can be in Your will for my life more and more each second. Lord, use my tongue to bring Your life into the lives of others around me today and may I reap the bountiful goodness You have for those Who follow You and Your plan for their life. I thank You that You cared enough for me to leave heaven, come to earth, reveal the Father to us, take my sins upon Yourself on the cross, die for me, defeat death, hell and the grave by coming to life on the third day, ascending to heaven and being my Advocate with the Father. I thank You that You did this not just for me, but for everyone. I thank You that You sent the Holy Spirit to be with me until You come again and that the Holy Spirit will reveal to me the plans You have for me. May I be obedient to You leading and obey quickly and quietly when instructed to do so. May all the praise, honor and glory go to You this day. Amen.

The Everlasting Covenant

Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

One thing I know about God is that He doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When He says to Abraham in verse 7 that He is making an "everlasting covenant" with him, that must mean it is still in effect today.

I know that many religions teach what's called replacement theology today. If you're not familiar with it here it is in a nutshell; when Jesus came and died on the cross and was raised from the dead He brought a new covenant. This covenant is taught as replacing any covenants God made prior to this one. Since that is what is taught, the believers of the new covenant must replace the believers of the old covenants. It's no surprise that this teaching would take place and people would grasp onto it. It basically tells them that they are now God's favorites and the others aren't. It is this same mindset that caused the settlers of this country to all but wipeout the people who were living here when they arrived. It was the settlers thoughts that since they weren't like them then they were heathens and needed to be wiped out. Very dangerous thought process.

Since God doesn't change then His covenants don't change either. If God made a covenant with Abraham and said that it is an everlasting covenant then it is still in effect today for any of Abraham's descendants. The new covenant is what the Gentiles fall under. I live under the new covenant of Jesus but I am also under the covenant God made with Noah. God told Noah that He would never destroy the earth with a flood again and His symbol to Noah was a rainbow. I still see rainbows when it rains so that is a sign to me that God's covenant is still in effect. It didn't get replaced because Jesus came.

The descendants of Abraham alive today still enjoy the covenant God made with him, as long as they fulfill their end of the covenant. One thing I notice about God's covenants is that there is usually a part for us to play in that covenant. If we don't do our part, then we are not a part of that covenant. For example, with the new covenant with Jesus, the only way one qualifies to be under that covenant is that they must believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, was resurrected on the third day, ascended to heaven AND they must confess it with their mouth. Upon doing that one is under the new covenant, which is a wonderful and life giving covenant.
Since the descendants of Abraham still enjoy their covenant with God we must not be a stumbling block to them. We are "grafted" into the family of Abraham by our faith and are beneficiaries of the existing covenants God made with Abraham and his descendants.

When the Word says this in Genesis 12:2-3:

2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

I want to bless the descendants of Abraham. I definitely don't want to curst them and say that my covenant has replaced their covenant. God's Word doesn't go away because I think that I am better than someone else. If God said it is this way then that is the way it is. My job is to bless the decendants of Abraham so that I too can be blessed.

My prayer today is that I embrace the descendants of Abraham and bless them any way that I can so that they can fulfill their covenant with the God of their father Abraham. Lord show me ways that I can be a blessing to them and how my resources can be used for your purpose in fulfilling Your covenant with them. I thank You and praise You for Your Word and Your faithfulness to fulfill Your Word. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

Are You Spirit, Flesh or Both?

Matthew 16:13-28

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

You have to love Peter for his willingness to grasp who Jesus was and, within seconds of being praised by Jesus, his ability to be completely in the flesh and get reprimanded by Jesus. Peter is a great example of who I am. There are times in each day that I can sound like my life is in order, I am sounding like a spiritual giant, then something goes wrong and my flesh cries out in anger. It can be a huge swing sometimes. This is the unfortunate state we are in as long as we live in these flesh suits. We can greatly reduce these swings if we learn to follow the spirit more closely, but our spirits are willing and our flesh is weak.

In verse 16 Peter got the answer to the question right. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus came to earth to save that which was lost when Adam sinned in the garden. Adam did not realize just how much like God he was. Satan's bait to Adam then is just like his bait to us now. He poses options to us that are laced with partial truths in order to get us to do or say something that would cause us to stumble. He then jumps on our back with condemnation to try and get us to give up.

I like how Jesus responded to Peter's faith response. Jesus said that Peter was blessed because the Father reavealed to him who Jesus was and he listened to that voice. No man told him who Jesus was. In verse 18 when Jesus said this, "upon this rock I will build my church," he was talking about the revelation that Peter had in regards to Jesus' identity and the source of where Peter got his revelation, not Peter himself. Jesus was not saying to Peter that the church was going to be built on a sinful man. He was talking about the source of and the revelation that Peter received about His identity. The church is to be built on the fact that Jesus IS the Messiah, the Son of the living God and that this revelation is to come to us from God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, and not by what any man will tell us. People can only come to this realization through the drawing of and testimony of the Holy Spirit. No words that I can say of my own can cause any person to believe these truths. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of truth and will draw people unto the love of God by revealing to them the identity of who Jesus is and what He did for them. This is why in verse 20 Jesus instructed the disciples not to say anything to anyone yet about who He was. They had not been empowered by the Holy Spirit yet and were not ready to defend their claims of Jesus' identity.

Jesus goes on to tell the disciples about the plan for His life on earth and where it was going to go and they did not like that plan. Peter shows a lot of guts here by reprimanding Jesus about what He just said. Peter was acting in the flesh when he did this. He was not listening to the witness of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus did not do what He was born to do, we would still be sacrificing animals to cover our sins and would be living under the law, which leads to condemnation. Thank God Jesus followed the plans for Him. I am now righteous because of what He did, not because of anything I do. I could never make myself righteous enough to approach God's throne, but through the blood of Jesus I can boldly come before the throne and talk to God. I can give Him praise and honor and glorify His name without having to go through an earthly high priest. Jesus is my High Priest, He is my advocate with the Father and He is my savior!

Verses 24-26 are really powerful. Through these verses the plan for each of our lives is spelled out. We are to turn from our selfish, sinful nature. The Amplified Bible gives us greater insight into these verses:

24Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

25For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]?

For those unfamiliar with the Amplified Bible the words in brackets [ ] are there for further clarification of what the message is trying to relay.

Take a look at verse 24 for a moment again. See that when Jesus says in order to be a disciple of His that we must deny our selves he is speaking of our flesh. Our flesh is concerned with itself. It is very selfish and does not care for the needs of others. It wants to be satisified and it wants it now. If we listen to our flesh we would never help anyone else out, except if we get praised for doing it. I really like the last statement here where it says that to follow Jesus we need to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to His example in living and to die for Him if necessary. The word cleave is defined as, to adhere closely; stick; cling or to remain faithful. This is what we are supposed to do when we get married. We are to adhere closely to and remain faithful to our spouse. Another definition for the word cleave is to part or split or to penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting. This is also indicated in the words of Jesus. We are to part or split with our fleshly desires and ways and are to adhere closely to and remain faithful to the Holy Spirit and His direction for our lives.

Verse 25 puts into perspective what gets most people who never accept the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We must be willing to separate ourselves from the comfort and security of this temporal, sinfilled, flesh driven existence for the leading of the Holy Spirit and the way He instructs us to live.

For example, when I was growing up I always accepted the teachings of the bible and believed early on that Jesus was who He said He was and did what He said He did. I grew up in a small church and have always found it easy to talk in front of groups of people. Many in that church would tell me that I should be a pastor. I felt a calling to be a pastor, but only knew of one way in which to do that. When I told my new bride about this "calling" 13 years ago I did not get the reaction I was expecting. She did not want to be a pastor's wife. Mainly because of how she saw her pastor's wife and kids were treated and lived under the microscope of those in the church she grew up in. I listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit that revealed to me that if the Lord will call me to be a pastor then He would call my wife as well.

It took the Holy Spirit 8 years to re-define within me what it means to be a pastor. I feel that when Jesus called me to do the businesses that He has entrusted to me that I was to be a pastor to my clients and those I come into contact with on a daily basis. He also called my wife to join me and work beside me. Praise God! The call on our lives is no different than the call on Kenneth Copeland's life or Mac Hammond's life. God has instructed us how to operate our businesses and to be sowers into His Kingdom. We had to give up the comforts of a steady paycheck and regular hours in order to follow His leading. We have learned to trust entirely on His provision for us and our family and not to rely on anyone or anything else for that provision. Praise God that He is faithful to provide for our every need.

My prayer today is that I cleave more closely to Jesus and His direction and plan for me today that I did yesterday. May I continue to give up the comforts that the flesh seeks in order to follow the true comfort of following Jesus and living my life for Him. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me from my selfish desires and providing for me and my family all that I could ask or dream. Amen.

It's the Inside That Counts

Matthew 15:1-20

1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”

10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

Who would have thought that these words from Jesus 2,000 years ago would still be applicable to today? Apparently people don't learn from mistakes made in the past. There are still a lot of people, even whole denominations, that still worry about man made rules and regulations that they think they must follow, yet don't worry about the words they say. We need to learn from what Jesus is saying to us here in these verses.

The Pharisees were worried about whether the disciples washed their hands before they ate and Jesus was concerned with what was in their hearts. People who love legalism will always be more concerned with the "rules" (usually man made ones) and who breaks them and what their punishment should be instead of what is going on in their hearts. The words from Isaiah say it the best: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God." That is what is at the heart of any religion that focuses on what you do, what you don't do or when you do something instead of what is your motivation for doing it. A religion of "works" will not lead to salvation. The Lord is very clear that you cannot work your way into heaven. There is one way and one way only into heaven and that is through the redemptive work of Jesus and His shed blood on the cross for our sins.

When Jesus was talking about the words we use in verse 18 He was right on with what He said. If you think about your words being containers that can either create or destroy you tend to think before you act. I was sadened last night watching the finale of Survivor because three of the people who had been voted out were plotting ahead of time what mean and nasty things they could say to the three remaining tribes people. That does not reflect well on them as people, but it is exactly what Jesus said in verse 19.

Think about this question for a moment, How did God create the universe? If you read the first chapter of Genesis it will be very apparent that He created everything with His words. Since we were created in His image we too can create with our words. We can build people up, encourage them, edify them and we can also destroy people with our words. We can tear them down, discourage them and cause great harm to them by the words we speak into their lives. When I was a kid growing up I would do almost anything to get attention from others. One of the things I excelled in was making fun of other people. I would say what ever I could to get a laugh from others and often times it was at the expense of someone else. I wished I had not acted in that manner. I was not aware of the power of my words nor was I aware of the damage that could come about through those words.

I thank God that Jesus cleansed me from those mistakes by hanging on that cross for me and for all people. I thank Jesus that He followed the plan for His life and through that plan He revealed to us how we should live our lives so we can spend eternity with Him. I thank God for working through the scribes who wrote down what the Holy Spirit instructed them to write so we could learn what to do, what to say and how to act and also learn from what not to do, say or how to act. I thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells inside me to provide direction and instruction into the ways of life. I am thankful for all those who call me friend and I pray that I input more of Jesus into their lives each day and that God will continue to work in me and through me until I go home to be with Him. I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.