Practicality Here: Philippians 1:21

Praise God and Amen for our brother Paul, the apostle, for 'him' saying

"TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN"

but now the question of practicality...

If 'YOU' live this out... how do you do it, practically?

If 'YOU' don't... i think we're in good company,

though i believe we must strive (with all we are) to live in agreement with those who do do this.

and...

Do 'YOU' really, really believe that the end of your life would be of gain to 'YOU'?

shoot straight in answering these questions, prayerfully considering the implications,

REALIZING - 'YOU' ARE LOVED BY GOD.

speak truth

Mark 5:26-29

Hey guys, love this idea-hope that we can get some thoughts on here and stay connected.

I'll start with a legit meditation from this morning over Mark 5:26-29 and the story of the woman who was healed by touching Jesus' robe.

"She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."

What an incredible example of the faith we need to develop in Christ! How often do we 'suffer a great deal' (sometimes unknowingly...) because we are 'spending all we have' (time, money, energy, thoughts) on things that WILL NOT LAST. We are 'suffering under the care of many doctors' when we have access to the one that actually matters! I feel so stupid how often I turn to other things besides Christ when I am down or suffering...it would be like paying to go to a doctor that will make your sickness worse when the doctor who is all-knowing and has all the resources in the world to help you is standing right there offering to do it for free!

Unfortunately, my attitude is rarely 'If I just touch his cloths, I will be healed." It is too often 'if I can just get this new car, then my life will be awesome!' or 'If we win the national championship, then my life will be awesome' or 'if I marry a super-model, then I will be healed and my suffering will be gone!'

I want my faith to develop to the point that I truly believe that as soon as I TOUCH the robe of Christ that I will be relieved from my suffering and put back on track by the one doctor who can actually heal and restore! If only I can receive faith like this, then my life will truly be awesome!

Keep praying for me and I am always praying for you guys

Read the Gospels

What if Jesus meant what he said...?

Wouldn't our lives surely change?

So be it...

Conform no longer... Die to live, Live to die... I love you

I am an IDOLATOR

We can look at the idolatry of the Romans, Jews, Gentiles, etc. in the time of Christ's ministry through the Apostle Paul and be very disgusted. We can mourn for them because of their blindness to their idolatry of wisdom, temples, or statues; for by grace we were saved and can praise "the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)." We see the TRUE idol... Christ. Whew! Praise God because we don't idolize things of this world anymore. We have seen, heard and know that the gospel is EVERYTHING we must live for, so we do something like go into the ministry. Now we are REALLY safe because of the call to ministry! But wait... if we were to NEVER preach a sermon, NEVER to lead a small group, NEVER to write a book, NEVER to give a talk or a devotional in front of more than one soul, NEVER to be accepted into Seminary, but... only were able to share the gospel with one person at a time, NEVER to see one convert, and NOT A SINGLE PERSON knew of the work you were doing except God. Literally EVERY SINGLE fruit Christ EVER produced through you was NEVER seen by your own eyes........................... Is Christ still enough? I AM AN IDOLATOR OF MINISTRY. Are you?

O Father, protect us from this idolatry. Grant us repentance from this idol. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Perfect Timing of Christ

Romans 5:6 "For while we were still weak, AT THE RIGHT TIME Christ died for the ungodly."

O Father, Your plan was perfect. Christ did not die early, late, randomly, or even calculated at the last second. It was Your perfect and glorious sovereign plan, firmly established before the foundations of the world. The ungodly would be rescued from your righteous wrath within the exact nanosecond that Your hand predestined it would. Why, O God, was I placed within this perfect plan of Yours. What have I done but drown in Your "glorious grace" when deserving eternal separation from the Almighty? All we can do is fall down and worship You as we are sovereignly guided by Your grace and loving-kindness, looking to the one that was placed at the pinnacle of "THE RIGHT TIME." For the glory of Christ, Amen.

Labor for Christ, our Bread of Life

God provided and blessed the Israelites with bread they did not know. They named this bread manna, which means "What is it?" What's interesting about God's provision through manna is that God commanded the Israelites to gather a day's portion every day, except on the day prior to the Sabbath. Any manna that was left over for the next day bred worms and stank. "Morning by morning they [Israelites] gathered it, each as much as he could eat..." (Exodus 16.21). I can't help but think the reason why God created the manna to last one day was so that the Israelites had to rely on God daily. If anyone did not labor and gather the manna they did not eat. To him that did he had his fill.
As it pertains to us, we too must come to the True Bread of Heaven (John 6.32) daily and receive our fill. Had the Israelites collected a week's worth of manna none would have lasted past the first day and people would have starved. The same is true for us, if we attempt to "gather" a week's worth of Bible reading in one day we will starve ourselves.
Jesus says that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus quotes this from Deuteronomy 8.3, of which the text says, "And He [God] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." This passage itself confers that God gave the Israelites manna in order that they might know they live off of every word that comes from God. How does giving the Israelites food make them realize they live off God's word? Simple, the food itself was provided apart from them. They did not do anything to make the food. The manna was the extension of God's promise and word to the Israelites. To those that embraced this promise of God they received the manna. Sometimes God provides physical food (i.e. manna), but He always provides spiritual food - this food that humans long for more deeply than physical food. So I plead with us, with you, don't read the Bible once a week and think that you will be supplied for the whole week. Rather, come daily to the Word and have your fill and find life.

Having said that about our need for Christ daily, I urge us: Don’t labor for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, namely Christ, which the Son of Man will give you by faith. Labor to be in the Word daily. We receive our food and drink in the Word. How is this? Because in the Word God gives Himself.

Genesis 1 and Sovereign Grace

Genesis 1:3-4, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness."

Could the beginning of life itself be evidence for God's "Sovereign Grace"? Just as the beginning was full of darkness, our hearts are also full of darkness. There is no light in our sinful hearts. We are born as "children of wrath" because of the pure darkness in our hearts. But while all of our hearts are replete with darkness and deserve eternal punishment in hell, God looks upon some with infinite mercy in His eyes and lavishes grace upon them... and behold, there is light in their hearts and they see the glory of Christ. By grace we are saved, not by anything that we have done, "for it is the gift of God." And those whom He has mercy on He separates from those who continue in darkness. We are saved by God's infinite grace, let us praise Him.