Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Colossians 1:28

"Perfect in Christ Jesus."—Colossians 1:28

I know this may seem short but this truth has given me great joy. There are times in our lives where we devalue ourselves, and even devalue others. We will never live up to the calling of Christ on our own, and Satan wants hit you hard with this truth and close your eyes to Christ. Know that it is Christ who makes you worthy of his calling by his blood. Also know that your identity is at the cross, and at the cross there is Jesus who makes you perfect. Set your identity in Jesus and you will be made worthy, not by your works but his finished work on the cross.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Psalm 10:4

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;'in all his thoughts there is no room for God." -Psalm 10:4

      Pride is one sin that everyone struggles with. I look at pride thinking I'm better than other people, and I also look at it like I'm good enough to make it to God's kingdom, but we are not. We have to constantly remind ourselves through the Holy Spirit that it is the shed blood on the cross and the defeated death that were are able to have life. The Psalmist is saying the wicked man is stuck in his pride; if your stuck is pride you can't see the wrong you are doing because you think you are right all the time, and you are human so you are not right all the time. Pride doesn't seek God; it's a great sin not to seek God. Pride doesn't even believe God is there. When will we put down our pride? If you live a life which is prideful you are ignoring God. But! This is a great but. But when we repent and return to Jesus, then our thoughts will return to the Lord. 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

John 16:13

"...he will guide you in all truth..." --John 16:13

In John 14-16, Jesus is speaking to the disciples about the great comforter (the Holy Spirit) that will come after he ascends into heaven. I've been in church all of my life, and the topic of the Holy Spirit was rarely talked about, only in reference to the Godhead. Now I see the Holy Spirit as a person (Jesus) who dwells inside all believers. The Holy Spirit will guide you to the truth, he will never lead you against Scripture. Any good work you complete comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raise Christ from death lives within you by the Holy Spirit. When you sin and go away from the teaching of scripture you have either suppressed or ignored the Holy Spirit's direction. God will never lead you into sin (James 1:13). As you are led by the Spirit, will lead you to become like Christ.


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Mal 3:2,3

"...He will sit as a refiner's fire or launderer's silver..." -- Malachi 3:2,3.

All of us begin our lives dirty, and sinful. No one is able to escape the second death without Jesus. The image of Christ mining us from the ground and being refined, having all the impurities being taken away has been a breath-taking portrayal of Jesus in my mind. The process of refining silver, or any metal is a lengthly process for the metal to become pure. Christ who has begun to refine you will refine you to completion (Php 1:6). As Christians we can't refine ourselves because we are the ones who are in need of the refining. Jesus is the only one who has the power to refine you to the purest state. We know refining takes a lot of heat, please let Jesus refine you, so you are not burned in the fire forever.