Author: Thomas E Meyer Jr

Formerly Homeless Sinner Now, Child of God, Saved by Grace.

Do We Really ‘Feel’ What This Means Anymore: “We Love Because He First Loved Us?” 1 John 4:17-21

Sometimes, one too many times, believing God loves us so deeply can be hard.

When we mess up, we make bad choices, it can be difficult to believe God cares.

We are likely to ask of ourselves “why should God care about me anyway, I know what I have done, surely God knows what I have done, so why should He love me?”

The thing of it is – we are only likely to be asking this of ourselves, to ourselves.

In the real world we encounter today, we do not openly express such thoughts in an outward manner – we are not likely to be shouting this on the city streets.

We will be internalizing these ideas, blasting them against the walls of our souls until even the most ardent believer will find themselves poking very substantial holes, if not trying to dig vast canyons into their steadfast and immovable faith.

When we see all our failures and flaws we can often think that we’re unlovable.

Vulnerability overtakes us – we can’t help it nor can we seen to slow it or stop it.

However, in the midst of all our failures and shortcomings, and sudden onsets of unconquerable vulnerabilities – guess what – God chooses to love us anyway!

1 John 4:17-21 The Message

To Love, to Be Loved

17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Sometimes, one too many times, believing God loves us so deeply can be hard.

When we mess up, we make bad choices, it can be difficult to believe God cares.

We are likely to ask of ourselves “why should God care about me anyway, I know what I have done, surely God knows what I have done, so why should He love me?”

The thing of it is – we are only likely to be asking this of ourselves, to ourselves.

In the real world we encounter today, we do not openly express such thoughts in an outward manner – we are not likely to be shouting this on the city streets.

We will be internalizing these ideas, blasting them against the walls of our souls until even the most ardent believer will find themselves poking very substantial holes, if not trying to dig vast canyons into their steadfast and immovable faith.

When we see all our failures and flaws we can often think that we’re unlovable.

Vulnerability overtakes us – we can’t help it nor can we seen to slow it or stop it.

However, in the midst of all our failures and shortcomings, and sudden onsets of unconquerable vulnerabilities – guess what – God chooses to love us anyway!

God’s love for us should energize us to love other people.

When we focus on all God has done for us, it makes loving other people easier.

God’s love is empowering.

God’s love is an overcoming love.

It gives us the strength and motivation to truly love others.

So when you have those onset moments when you struggle with vulnerability, struggle with loving a “someone” who is less than lovable (including yourself), realize that you have got the power to yet do “love” because God loved you first.

When you were your own first and worst enemy, when you were convinced that didn’t deserve anybody’s “first love” and were an enemy of God, God loved you.

That knowledge gives you first burst of knowing what you need to love others.

What Does the Word of God Say of “First Loves?”

First love. 

The phrase evokes powerful feelings.

For many this phrase evokes the image of a newborn baby just placed on its mothers chest immediately after birth and the two make their “first contact.”

For some this phrase evokes the image of a new father looking at their very first newborn child for the very first time, and all the love in his world becomes real.

For many, the term conjures images of a first crush when a toddler recognizes mom for the first time or as a teenager, or impressions of “love at first sight.”

But first love is a much more intimate concept than simply a first recognition of of mom or dad or any raging hormones and pictures of pulsing cartoon hearts.

It’s God, Himself. 

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love.

This means that any worldly love falls short of the true definition.

Think about the most dynamic couples, real or fictional, that are well known throughout history—Romeo and Juliet, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Billy and Ruth Graham, President Jimmy and, Rosalynn Carter to name a few.

Now think about current celebrity match-ups in the media that make you sort of swoon – Bob and Betty Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fred Astaire and the incomparable Ginger Rogers, Humphry Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

As romantic as any of those might seem right now, those examples aren’t true love.

Without God involved in the process, without that cord of three strands that is not so easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), no human relationship could ever be real love – it will always and forever “miss the mark.” 

1 Corinthians 13, known as the “love chapter,” states that “faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 

I believe it’s important to note the greatest of these character traits only comes from God!

He is the source of love—not romance novels, not sonnets and poetry, and certainly not Hollywood.

Here are three things the Word of God reveals to each of us about “first loves.”

1. God Loved Us First

Everything springs from this. 

Such a beautiful message of hope is found in 1 John 4:19.

“We love, because He first loved us.” 

We don’t love because we manage to “dig deep down” and “conjure up our best effort”—no, we love because God put it in us first, via the Holy Spirit, to do so.

Any desires toward love, holiness, purity, etc. toward others or toward the Lord only come from God.

We are incapable of love on our own—yet we love because God first loved us.

What a relief!

Don’t you feel the burden rolling off your shoulders?

Love is a gift from God, who is love Himself—Who became love in the flesh through Jesus Christ, who came to “deliver us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” (John 15:16)

Let the depth of this truth saturate your weary and vulnerable soul… let it seep in, let it comfort you and hug you with all the coziness of your favorite quilt. 

You are held.

You are loved. A

nd it has nothing to do with you or what you bring to the table, and everything to do with the God who created you, who knew you from before the foundations of time (Jeremiah 1:5), planned every one of your days way long before you were even in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:16).

2. We Often Leave Our First Love (GOD)

As comforting as it is to sit and bask in the reality of God’s love for us, we must also acknowledge and recognize the sobering concept of leaving our first love.

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:4)

Even as believers, we are not immune to apathy.

Sometimes, we lose our fervor and passion for the things of the Lord.

When we are busy catering to our sin rather than confessing it, we are blocking communication with the Holy Spirit.

Conviction becomes fewer and farther between.

We grow farther away from Christ.

We stop praying, we stop reading and studying the Word, disciplining our lives and start listening to the lies that we can never love or worse—be loved—again.

Rather than heeding the dark deceptions from the enemy, we should recognize our behavior, turn, and repent.

Do we have unconfessed sin in your life?

Admit it already.

God already knows.

Avoiding prayer will only keep you feeling more and more disconnected, leaving ample room for the enemy to continue to tempt you.

There have been times in my Christian walk where it felt like my prayers hit the ceiling and stopped and splattered there and it made me prone to not pray at all.

In those times, the only prayer we need is “Lord, give me the want to want to.”

Rather than hide in our vulnerability and shame when we’re “prone to wander” and aren’t feeling a desire toward the things of God, we must shine truth on those dark thoughts, bring them to the light, simply ask for God’s desires again.

The Holy Spirit is infinitely more than capable of filling us back up.

In my experience, believers tend to occasionally disregard various disciplines of the faith because “that’s not what saves them.”

I agree—it’s not.

But I also realize when we only go through the motions of daily Bible reading, daily prayer, consistent fellowship with the church, we’re more prone to stay in communion with the Holy Spirit and on the right path in our Christian walk.

Sometimes, sitting down with the Word of God despite “not wanting to” will be exactly what’s needed to bring forth the desire.

Actions often breed feelings, and this is one of the greatest offenses we have against spiritual warfare.

The Word of God is our sword! 

Ephesians 6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart…” (Hebrews 4:12)

Even when we don’t feel like it—maybe especially when we don’t feel like it—pick up your sword anyway and start swinging it against your vulnerabilities.

Psalm 84: 8-9 The Message

8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
    O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
    our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

Standing tall, Steadfast and Immovable, Protect and Fight for your first love.

3. We’re to Stay with Our Second “First Love”

“Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth.” (Proverbs 5:18)

Christ is and should always be our first love.

But on earth, we are granted the blessing of marriage between a man and a woman (that won’t be recognized in heaven –Mark 10:5-9) that reflects the union of Christ and His bride—the church.

It’s a holy and sacred covenant before the Lord himself, because it reflects His relationship with His beloved.

To participate in that reflection is a gift and an honor.

It’s not to be taken lightly.

Unfortunately, in our current culture, marriage today is often considered to be “open to man’s socio-cultural interpretation” or an extreme version of dating, where choices of divorce are made as recklessly as high schoolers speed dating.

Mark 10:9 says, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

This verse does not mean that all divorce is forbidden.

There are unfortunately circumstances of abandonment where spouses didn’t have a choice (Malachi 2:16), or marriages of physical abuse and unrepentant adultery (Matthew 5:31-32), the Bible allows for the dissolving of a marriage.

It’s impossibly painful to those involved and indescribably messy, regardless of the circumstances, and every story is unique to the person who then carries it.

But far too often, marriages dissolve solely for the lack of commitment and desire to keep them going—lack of reverence for the covenant they represent.

“For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2)

“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” (Revelation 19:7-8)

While our ultimate first love is the Lord, our first love on earth—or what I’ve termed our “second first love” is our spouse.

They deserve to be respected and treated as such.

They are worthy to the utmost to be maximally protected, cherished, guarded, and loved for as long as both spouses shall live.

It’s so vitally and critically important to remember that it’s impossible to follow through with our role in a godly marriage if the very first truth of our very first love, about first love isn’t recognized—that “God is love, that He first loved us.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God, you are LOVE! Absolute, from everlasting to everlasting , perfect, unconditional, incomparable, pure, incomprehensible. And all creation is of your love. We are all born of this love. And your splendored love, ever existent, commands us to love you unceasingly, wholly, with all our minds, hearts, souls, strength. And to love our neighbor as ourselves. Lord, we are your chosen people and as Christians, who are born again, of the Spirit, as your children, we are set apart and identified by our love.

Jesus, in obedience of your Will, has taught us the meaning of true love, in serving our fellowmen with humility, and with compassion, without prejudice and without judgement. Father, you are the fountain of love, which emanates from you to us, and if we love as you do, it is because you are the source and origin of selfless love. Love, not just to our own, but also to our detractors, our enemies and our persecutors.

Loving Father, Precious Savior, Intercessor Holy Spirit, nothing more animates and inflames our love, than the One truth of the existence of your love for us, before ours, which shows that it is free, true, sovereign, and unmerited. Living in Savior Christ, aspiring to work and obtain salvation by our faith and your free grace, we know that when we stand before you, it will be because we have lived in obedience to your Will, have finally risen above pride, arrogance, ego, and have decreased ourselves in the purity of love, thereby increasing Christ, living in the counsel of the Spirit, in Christ.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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What Might Jesus “Make” of Our “Mother’s Day?” Mark 3:31-35

More than one hundred years ago, just before the outbreak of World War I, Congress passed a resolution to honor mothers on the second Sunday in May.

For the last century, we have celebrated Mother’s Day as a day of reverence for the unique and sacred institution of motherhood.

But, let us recall there is more to God’s Family than just the basic family unit celebrated by “Mother’s Day.”

Jesus’ family can be found where the words of Jesus and the will of God are cherished and obeyed.

This is not said to slight those with whom we have biological family ties.

However, it is a reminder that our family relationship in the Spirit of God is stronger than even our ties to our physical families.

Jesus’ family is the forever-family of people who love him, obey him, and allow his Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and empower them.

Mark 3:31-35 English Standard Version

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers[a] are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

More than one hundred years ago, just before the outbreak of World War I, Congress passed a resolution to honor mothers on the second Sunday in May.

For the last century, we have celebrated Mother’s Day as a day of reverence for the unique and sacred institution of motherhood.

Today, however, our culture is increasingly confused about a mother’s role.

Some influential voices disparage motherhood in the name of liberation: “The home,” they say, “is your prison! Free yourself by joining the job market!”

At the same time, women who pursue the privilege of motherhood are not always valued as the sacred and beautiful gifts to humanity Scripture declares them to be.

God, in response to such a confusion, gives us the Bible, which unambiguously affirms that the freedom available only through Jesus Christ extends to all areas of our lives—including the details of of God’s gift to humankind: motherhood.

Mothers are one of the greatest signposts God ever fixed on the earth, carrying on daily with indomitable strength, love, consistency, the healing art, and just knowing exactly the right words to say at just exactly the right time to be said.

The amazing love and effectiveness mothers display demonstrates, in tens of thousands of ways, that forever behind them there is a God who also cares.

And where even the best of mothers cannot reach us, heal us, or offer the right words, there is someone even infinitely stronger, and more perfect and more availing.

Loving mothers point us to a loving God.

Being a mother, God reminds us, is a God-given privilege that is worthy of all honor and respect.

Through important responsibilities such as loving her family, making a home, and following the leadership of her husband, a Godly mother has the potential for great influence in her holy calling in the Godly life of her biological family.

Yet, we must also remember that God cannot be limited by our definitions and our celebrations of who and what we believe and hold sacred as “Our Family.”

Jesus’ family can be found where the words of Jesus and the will of God are cherished and obeyed.

This is not said to even minimally slight those with whom we have biological family ties.

However, it is a reminder that our family relationship in the Spirit of God is stronger than even our ties to our physical families.

Jesus’ family is the forever-family of people who love him, obey him, and allow his Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and empower them.

What Might Jesus “Make” of our “Mother’s Day?”

Mark 3:31-35 The Message

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31-32 Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him. He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you.”

33-35 Jesus responded, “Who do you think are my mother and brothers?” Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, “Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Though most of us love our families, we know there can be times of making mistakes, hurting one another, and dis­agreeing with each other.

When conflicts come up, we should try to resolve them.

And when we need wisdom, it can help to be able to rely on the family of God, which can offer love and support as well.

Today’s episode took place early in Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus was attracting large crowds because of his teaching and healing.

His family members had heard some reports, and they thought Jesus might be “out of his mind”—though he wasn’t, of course.

When he was told they had come looking for him, he gave what might seem a surprising answer.

Jesus began with a question: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

He was not disrespecting his biological family here; he used this as a “teaching moment” for all his listeners—including us.

He pointed out a much larger and more important family, the family of God.

Then he explained how to become part of this family: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus, God’s Son, invites all of us into his family.

And to all who receive him and believe in his name, he gives “the right to become children of God.”

Trust in Jesus today as your Lord and Savior, and you will be part of his forever family.

Who is My Family?

Again, in today’s Gospel Narrative, we find Rabbi Jesus sharing life and ministry with the people in his closest circle, the ones who believed in him and had given up everything to follow him.

Together they were doing the will of God the Father.

They were Jesus’ spiritual family.

The point of Jesus’ naming his followers as family was not to dismiss the importance of his biological relatives but to show that the connection with fellow believers was vitally important.

God wills for his people to be in community, to strengthen one another in faith, to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15).

Our witness to the world as Christ-followers, as God’s family, can be that we clearly reveal our love for our family of God: “love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Sometimes our biological families disappoint, discourage, or dismiss us.

But we also need to remember that God also calls us unto a higher and wider network—to be the family of God to­gether.

When we love and support one another, seeking to faithfully do God’s will and faithfully come together, to walk and work together, we follow Jesus’ example of cherishing our spiritual brothers and sisters as we each fellowship together.

We Are All Related to God by Faith in His Son Jesus

In many countries at some time of the year there is a focus of gratitude and celebration for the life and influence of mothers.

Today is such a day as we come together and we celebrate Mothers Day.

On this day we generally celebrate the mothers who gave us birth, or adopted us, or stood in a mother’s place for us (such as an aunt or grandmother).

We give thanks to God for and rightly honor the people who have faithfully, sometimes not so faithfully, gave us her womb, cared for us and loved us.

In God’s family the basis of our relationships is Godly love and care as well.

Being part of God’s family is about recognizing the love and provisions we receive from God, coming to faith by God’s grace, and then connecting with others who have a similar relationship with God—and inviting still others whom God wants us to take the time to invite and welcome into his family.

As we learn about how the early church developed, we see that the mother of Jesus became part of the household of his faithful, faith-filled disciple John.

By tradition, She also became a “mother” unto John and took care of him.

Before he died, Jesus made sure that this relationship of mutual adoption framed both their futures even as he paid the ultimate price for all our sin.

Let’s not forget about this important link between Mother Mary and John.

The early church was noted for their faithful love for one another in Christ.

“Jesus formed a new family, no longer based on natural ties but on faith in Him, on His love which welcomes us and unites us to each other, in the Holy Spirit.  All those who welcome Jesus’ word are children of God and brothers and sisters among themselves.   Welcoming the word of Jesus makes us brothers and sisters, makes us Jesus’ family. Speaking ill of others, destroying others’ reputations, makes us the devil’s family. Jesus’ response was not a lack of respect for His mother and His brethren. Rather, for Mary it is the greatest recognition, precisely because she herself is the perfect disciple who completely obeyed God’s will.  May the Virgin Mother help us to live always in communion with Jesus, recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit who acts in him and in the Church, regenerating the world to new life.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 10 June 2018

May we follow that faithful example today too, live into, out of, that legacy.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God, today, we celebrate mothers, but the truth is, we ought to celebrate them every single day. Their love manifests in small, subtle ways each day–in the mundane that sometimes we can take for granted. We thank you for their sacrificial love and ask you alone to uplift them today. Thank you for the gift they are in our lives. When our mothers are tired, Lord, give them strength. When they feel alone, give them comfort. When they feel overwhelmed with the challenges of parenting, help them to know peace. In their darkest moments, be their Light. At times in our lives, our mothers are everything to us, meeting our every need. We ask You to provide them today with whatever gift they need. In gratitude, we pray. In Your name alone we pray. Amen.

Heavenly Father, how amazing to realize that by grace through faith in our Savior Christ I have become a member of Your holy, heavenly family and that in Him I have mercy and the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Lord, give us your eyes to see and your heart to love all who are walking in faith along with us. May our love for you finally unite us as your family. Father God, in your family help us to live by love, hospitality, and generosity for Jesus’ sake. Thank You for this amazing relationship that I have in Christ Jesus and I pray that by Your grace I may present my body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to You – for Your praise and glory. in Jesus name.

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The Gift of Godly Friends. Acts 27:1-8

Godly friendships are those special relationships between friends that are based on mutual respect, trust, support and a love for God.

These types of friendships are built on a strong foundation of shared values and common interests, and they are typically characterized by a very deep sense of loyalty and companionship with Christ directly at the exact center.

Godly friendships are not always easy to find, but they are definitely worth the effort to cultivate.

These are the types of relationships that can help you weather the storms of life and come out stronger on the other side.

You pray for each other through the messes of life.

If you are fortunate enough to have a godly friendship in your life, cherish it, always and forever exceedingly abundantly value it, never take it for granted.

Acts 27:1-8 English Standard Version

Paul Sails for Rome

27 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

How Godly Friendships Work

Godly friendships are those special relationships between friends that are based on mutual respect, trust, support and a love for God.

These types of friendships are built on a strong foundation of shared values and common interests, and they are typically characterized by a very deep sense of loyalty and companionship with Christ directly at the exact center.

Godly friendships are not always easy to find, but they are definitely worth the effort to cultivate.

These are the types of relationships that can help you weather the storms of life and come out stronger on the other side.

You pray for each other through the messes of life.

If you are fortunate enough to have a godly friendship in your life, cherish it, always and forever exceedingly abundantly value it, never take it for granted.

What Is The Importance Of Godly Friendships

The Bible tells us that as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).

In other words, we need godly friends in our lives to help us grow in our faith.

Just as our physical bodies need exercise and healthy food to stay strong, our souls need spiritual nourishment to stay healthy.

Godly friendships provide that spiritual nourishment. When we spend time with friends who love and follow Jesus, we are encouraged and challenged to do the same.

We learn from their example, and they help us to see things from a different perspective.

They also help us to hold on to our faith when things get tough.

So if you’re looking for ways to grow in your faith, seek out godly friendships.

These relationships will be a blessing to you, and you will be a blessing to them as well.

Because our relationship with God should be our priority, we should be seeking to please Him above all else.

Having godly friends means that we will have people in our lives who share our values and who will encourage us to grow in our faith.

This is an understated undervalued and ever so vital part of the Christian life, and it is something that we should, in these days of isolation, all be striving for.

Characteristics Of A Godly Friend

God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is a God of perfect friendship and sets the only tone of how we should be friends to each other.

A godly friend is…

  1. Encouraging
  2. Focuses you back to God’s Word
  3. Walks in love, forgiveness and healthy boundaries
  4. Prays for you
  5. Brings out your best
  6. Sticks with you through the best of times and the worst of times.

Placing Proper Value on God’s Gift of Godly Friends.

The day had finally dawned, and Apostle Paul’s great longing to go to Rome was nearing its realization.

He was one of a number of prisoners whose destination was the great city at the center of the known world.

But at the outset of their journey, narrator Luke provides us with details that appear at first glance to be completely extraneous and mostly irrelevant.

He and Paul, he tells us, were “accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.”

Aristarchus is not a well-known Bible character.

From the few places where he’s mentioned, we know that he was a good man to have around at any time, but especially during difficult times.

He first appears in Acts 19:29, where he ends up in harm’s way when Paul and his companions are set upon by a mob.

He is also mentioned at the end of Colossians (Colossians 4:10) and of Philemon (Philemon 24).

If these two epistles were written from Rome, while Paul was a prisoner there as is likely, then this companion named Aristarchus evidently remained with Paul throughout his entire journey to Rome and likely his subsequent imprisonment.

The mere mention of Aristarchus’s presence with Paul reminds us that even this great apostle to the Gentiles was not at all beyond the need of friendship.

Paul is such a significant figure that we may be tempted almost to deify him, assuming that he was echelons above and beyond such “worldly necessities.”

But in actual fact, he very much cherished friendship.

When he wrote his second letter to Timothy at the end of his life, he finished the epistle by asking not only for scrolls and his cloak (2 Timothy 4:13) but also the quick arrival of his young protégé Timothy (v 9).

The scrolls would stimulate his mind.

His cloak would deal with the cold.

But he needed Timothy because, to Paul, his friendship really mattered.

Paul’s need for friendship is revealed again when Luke tells us that, upon reaching Sidon on the way to Rome, Paul was allowed by the centurion Julius who kindly oversaw the prisoners; “to go to his friends and be cared for.”

Was it out so very of place for the mighty apostle to be cared for by others?

Not at all! Paul embraced his weakness and dependence on others because he knew that Christ’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The sooner we discover how powerless and weak we really are alone, the sooner we learn the value of friendship.

No matter how strong or gifted you and I may be, you and I are not Superman, nor are we expected by God to be Superman.

If this mighty apostle needed friends and companions in his life, then you and I do as well.

Friendship is a wonderful gift God has given so that we might be encouraged and supported as we journey through this life.

Today, then, consider the godly friends that the Lord has placed around you.

Offer thanks for their love and support.

And above all, do pray for their endurance and encouragement in the faith, knowing that just as you need them to point you to Christ, so they need you.

How Do You Build Godly Friendships

There are many ways to build godly friendships, but here are five key ways:

  1. Pray together. This is a great way to get to know each other and to build a strong bond.
  2. Study the Bible together. This will help you to grow in your faith together and to learn more about each other.
  3. Serve together. Doing things for others is a great way to build friendships. You can serve at your church, in your community, or even in your neighborhood.
  4. Hang out together. Just spending time together is a great way to build friendships. You can go for coffee, go for a walk, or even just have a conversation.
  5. Encourage each other in the Lord. This is a great way to show that you care about each other and to build a strong friendship.

How Do We Know If A Friendship Is From God?

First and foremost, a friendship that is from God will be rooted in love, kindness, and respect.

It will be a friendship that honors God and seeks to reflect His character.

This means that your friend will encourage you to grow in your faith and will pray for you regularly.

They will also be a positive influence in your life and help you to become a better person.

Another sign of a friendship that is from God is that it will be based on mutual trust and transparency.

You should be able to share your thoughts and feelings with your friend without fear of judgment or condemnation.

Your friend should also be willing to share their own struggles and weaknesses with you, and together you can support each other and grow in your faith.

Finally, a friendship that is from God will be one that is marked by love, and joy, patience and peace, self-control and mutual understanding and contentment.

Even in difficult times, you will be able to find comfort and encouragement in your friendship.

Your friend will be a source of strength and encouragement to you, and together you can overcome any obstacle.

Ultimately, the best way to know if a friendship is from God is to pray about it and seek His guidance.

Ask God to reveal to you whether this friendship is from Him, and trust in His wisdom and guidance.

Remember that friendships that are from God are a gift, and they can be a powerful source of inspiration, support and encouragement in your life.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Abba Father, everlasting BFF, I pray for godly friendships in my life. I pray for friends who will be there for me through the good times and the bad. I pray for friends who will encourage me in my faith and help me to grow closer to You. I pray for friends who will be honest with me and who will challenge me to be the best that I can be. I pray for friends who will make me laugh and who will help me to enjoy life. I pray for friends who will be there for me when I need them, and who I can be there for in return. Also, Lord, make me this kind of friend. Thank You for the friends You have already given me, and I pray for many more blessed friendships soon. In Jesus’ name,

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Wisdom of the Wiser: What God Chooses to Accomplish His Will. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

In 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2, Paul assigned his readers an important task: the confident preaching of Christ crucified.

The Gospel message, he wrote, is foolishness to the world (1:18-25) and yet the undeniable truth of the message means quite literally everything to believers—and God chooses to use not the most powerful but the very weak to proclaim it.

Beginning in a process of conversion, the core of being a Christian is living a life of discipleship — of following Jesus in everything we do — so that we can step up and step out to help change the world into the Kingdom Jesus told us about.

This is the lifestyle Jesus chose to attract others to him that they might come to the moment where their desire to know Him and His Father, God is priority #1.  

Stepping up and stepping into this lifestyle of witness ourselves prayerfully attracts others to our faith, gives us opportunities to explicitly share our faith.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New American Standard Bible

26 For [a]consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to [b]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the [c]insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no [d]human may boast before God. 30  But it is [e]due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, [f]and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

In 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 2, Paul assigned his readers an important task: the confident preaching of Christ crucified.

The Gospel message, he wrote, is foolishness to the world (1:18-25) and yet the undeniable truth of the message means quite literally everything to believers—and God chooses to use not the most powerful but the very weak to proclaim it.

Beginning in a process of conversion, the core of being a Christian is living a life of discipleship — of following Jesus in everything we do — so that we can step up and step out to help change the world into the Kingdom Jesus told us about.

This is the lifestyle Jesus chose to attract others to him that they might come to the moment where their desire to know Him and His Father, God is priority #1.  

Stepping up and stepping into this lifestyle of witness ourselves prayerfully attracts others to our faith, gives us opportunities to explicitly share our faith.

What God Chooses to Accomplish His Will

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 New American Standard Bible

27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the [a]insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no [b]human may boast before God.

When have you not ever felt the nudge to do something, say something, or try something that felt even .01% outside your ability to conceive?

As soon as the thought came into your head another did as well, discrediting your so called self perceived, self-conceived time limited “qualifications”.

Yet, somehow the very idea brought a momentary quickening in your heart.

The undeniable feeling this could be great.

The undeniable feeling this could be exciting.

The undeniable feeling this could be transformational.

The undeniable feeling this could be life changing to the utmost and uppermost.

The undeniable feeling this could be a major league professional difference maker.

These are those miracle moments when God wants to step in to do something bigger than what “we believe” is possible with our seemingly unqualified lives.

Isaiah 57:13-15 New American Standard Bible

13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And possess My holy mountain.”

14 And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
15 For this is what the high and exalted One
Who [a]lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

The amazing truth is that we are never left to ourselves in these moments!

Miraculously, when God plants the thought into our thoughts, our souls, God lays something on our heart to do or brings on a challenge for us to conquer for Him, then God is the ONLY one who is going to be sufficient to see us through!

God pushes us into uncomfortable places so that we are able to recognize it is time for a difference to be made somewhere and recognize His power at work.

If God only called us to what we felt only barely capable to do, then would we even recognize God’s hand at work in our lives?

When we feel like we have it all together, when things make sense in our own minds then we stop seeking God for his help.

Our worldly malignant pride so easily raises up, steals our need for a Savior.

It is for this reason God allows us to face obstacles that feel insurmountable at the moment.

In these moments we must be faithful to take a step of faith.

God will meet us and miraculously provide so His glory can be seen in our lives.

God enables his people to accomplish what He desires them to do with their lives.

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7 NASB)

Making Sense of the Value of our Christian Witness

God’s plan for humanity is not one that we can make sense of on our own.

God came in a form that no one expected, performed miracles no one would have considered to be possible, died a criminal’s death, and yet used these lowly circumstances as the tool to free humanity from the chains of sin and death.

If we are to be ones called away by God, separated by God from the world who accomplishes God’s plan or even be among those few who are able to accept the truth of the cross, we have to be obedient, willing to lay aside our expectation, known limitations, and step out in faith that God will meet us where we are.

Two thousand some years ago, God used a foolish cross to redeem our lives.

He gives us the strength we need to minister to those who need His love in our daily lives.

God will carry us through dark days.

He will provide for our families when we see no way forward.

God is infinitely able and uses our vast measures and degrees of powerlessness to show His great ability to carry us through whatever it is that He calls us to.

Pause for just a few precious moments to prayerfully consider how you need to invite God to “tap your shoulder” to show His mighty hand at work in your life?

Are you only relying on what “makes sense” to you or is there an area in your life in which God is nudging you to step out in faith so He can do something great?

God only gave the Israelites in the desert the manna and Quail they needed each day so that they would have to learn to trust in God as their only true provider.

Pray and Learn: how is God teaching you to trust in him as your daily provider?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Father, God Almighty, Creator of all things, you alone of whom we now boast,

Why have you chosen the weak, the foolish, the despised? You have done this so that no human being can boast. And we do not! We cast our lives at your feet. You alone are worthy! You are above all things, you alone are the source of our lives in Christ Jesus, whom you made to be everything to us. He alone is our wisdom and He alone is our righteousness. He alone is our sanctification and He alone is our redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” – and we do! In the name of Savior Jesus, by his wisdom and authority, I ask these things. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Authentic, Transparent Christian Living and Ministry. Acts 20:18-27

In his meeting with the Ephesian elders, prior to returning to Jerusalem, Paul reminded his brothers in the faith that the manner of his living and teaching among them had been authentic, transparent and sincere.

In no way had his conduct resembled that of a dishonest salesman who desperately hopes you will purchase the used car and then drive it away from the lot before you notice the brakes do not quite brake and the rusted floor beneath the mats.

Acts 20:18-27 English Standard Version

18 And when they came to him, he said to them:

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of  repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.[a] 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by[b] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

In his meeting with the Ephesian elders, prior to returning to Jerusalem, Paul reminded his brothers in the faith that the manner of his living and teaching among them had been authentic, transparent and sincere.

In no way had his conduct resembled of a dishonest salesman who desperately hopes you will purchase the used car and then drive it away from the lot before you notice the brakes do not quite brake and the rusted floor beneath the mats.

Let Our Lives Preach Louder Than Our Lips

Paul’s time in Ephesus wasn’t a flying visit by a traveling evangelist who shot into town, like a carnival, endearing himself to the people, and then left again.

No, he had spent at least two years there, staying involved, teaching the gospel, planting and building the church (Acts 19:1 – 20:1).

The people in Ephesus had seen him in the streets and in the marketplace.

Many had seen, heard him, teaching and preaching in the local synagogues.

Many of them had had the opportunity to have private conversations with him.

They would have known that when he said that he served the Lord with great humility, he was telling the truth.

They had seen and heard about the tears he’d wept over them and the trials he’d faced among them.

In other words, Paul’s ministry and Paul’s heart were openly transparent.

There was nothing to hide, and he would never have sought to do so.

Paul later wrote to the Corinthian church about the need for transparency, saying,

“We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2).

He also has emphasized the great importance of transparency to his protégé, Timothy: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Paul exceedingly, abundantly fervently believed that Christians ought to close the gap between what they said then, what they say now, how they now live.

The power and effectiveness of preaching God’s Word can be undermined if there is not any transparency on the part of the one bearing the good news.

When one shares the hope and truth of the gospel, those who listen should be able to investigate the authenticity of your life and confirm that you genuinely believe the truths you are proclaiming – your Christian talk is also your walk.

Inside and outside the church, the way you live should commend the gospel just as much as the words you say.

This doesn’t mean you will be without errors in judgment, failure, mistakes both small and large and sin; it does mean, however that your life will reflect that you a “work of God in progress,” have been transformed by God’s grace.

Pray that God would lead, guide, direct and help you, by His grace, to be a living testimony, defender of the faith, the truthfulness of the message you proclaim.

Authenticity, Transparency in Paul’s Words?

There are many things Paul says in Acts 20:18-27, but I just want to point out authenticity and transparency, humility in trials and and serving like Christ.

Being authentic, transparent, is not something that many of us Christ followers allow ourselves to be these days.

We live lives of seclusion and don’t want anyone holding us accountable for how we can become stronger in our walks or stop letting ourselves sin.

Paul was authentic.

Paul was transparent.

As a leader he needed to be transparent.

As a leader he needed to be authentic.

He was an example of what it was to walk in the Holy Spirit and follow Christ.

He repeatedly tells the elders of the church in Ephesus that they watched, they observed, know how he lived since he lived among them in Asia (Acts 20:18).

Paul also selflessly served.

I know that sadly is not something common in this “gimme gimme” society we live in, but a leader of the church spreading the word of Christ was serving.

He served with humility and with visible tears and trials for all the things that happened to him while spreading the word of Christ and avoiding capture from the Jews (Acts 20:19).

Authentic Transparent Christian Ministry

Acts 20:32-35 English Standard Version

32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

In verse 35 he really breaks down the true essence of serving and quotes Jesus.

He says he has shown them that when you work hard you must also help the weak, remember what Jesus said that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

For anyone who is a believer and is not authentically serving from their heart to honor God’s will for their lives and show love and be caring be loving to others, then they may have missed the most authentic point of being a Christ follower.

Philippians 2:1-11 English Standard Version

Christ’s Example of [Authentic] Humility

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any  participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

As Paul continually, repeatedly reminds the Ephesian elders about his ministry with them, he is also giving us all a good list of the traits of authentic ministry:

  • Humbly doing the Lord’s work.
  • Willingness to display emotion and love for those one serves.
  • Faithfulness in the face of adversity, opposition, and persecution.
  • Doing ministry both publicly and privately as circumstances and opportunities warrant.
  • Consistently teaching the full message of Christ to all who will listen.
  • Calling people to turn from sin and commit to living for Jesus.
  • Giving the highest priority to one’s mission given by God.
  • Commitment never to stop life’s mission of sharing the Good News about God’s wonderful grace.

I don’t know about you, but that list is an authentic challenge worthy of my life!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, thank You for my great salvation. Thank You that when I was deep in sin, I was convicted of my sinfulness and turned to Christ for forgiveness of sin and life everlasting. Thank You that the gospel of grace is not complicated, but simple to understand. Keep the eyes of my heart on Jesus, I pray, lest I turn away from Him and dishonor to Your holy name. I pray that when I allow myself to be enticed away from my focus on Christ that I would be authentic enough to quickly repent, acknowledge my sin, and return to You for forgiveness, knowing that if I confess my fault to You – You are faithful to forgive and return me into fellowship. Thank You for showing me that repentance towards God is synonymous with faith in Christ. May I authentically live and authentically work for Your praise and glory. This I ask in Jesus’ name.

God, my Father, Author of Consolation and Mercy forgive me when I lose sight of my goal as your child. Pray Convict me and reawaken me to the high purpose you have for my life. I want to live with purpose, mission, and meaning. Stir my passions and pray teach me how to fulfill your mission for me. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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A Lifestyle of Urgency. Acts 20:22-24

As Paul took his leave of the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, the Apostle felt an urgent compulsion from the Holy Spirit to go back to the city of Jerusalem.

He declared to all present he had no idea what would happen to him when he got there, but he had a clear sense hard times and imprisonment awaited him.

Then he made this incredibly valuable and impossibly staggering statement:

“I do not account my life of any value.”

Acts 20:22-24 The Message

22-24 “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

As Paul took his leave of the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, the Apostle felt an urgent compulsion from the Holy Spirit to go back to the city of Jerusalem.

He declared to all present he had no idea what would happen to him when he got there, but he had a clear sense hard times and imprisonment awaited him.

Then he made this incredibly valuable and impossibly staggering statement:

“I do not account my life of any value.”

“I do not account my life of any value.”

What an incredibly shocking statement summarizing Paul’s own deep, abiding passion for the urgent way he personally views the sum total of his valued life.

“If my life isn’t of any value, it’s not precious to me, I got one thing I’m focused on, and that’s the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus, testifying to the gospel of his grace.”

This was not first century mindset of masochism—some strange utter hatred of personal joy, happiness, self control, peace, or spiritual health, or physical life.

So what, then, did Paul mean by declaring his life completely valueless?

Simply this:

that solely for the sake of His Savior Jesus and the Kingdom of God, he did not regard his own life as so precious a possession as to be held on to at all costs!

What value we assign to our lives is summarized by people often nonchalantly saying, “Well, as long as I have got breath, and health, that’s all that matters!”

“I am happy I am still breathing, my heart is still beating and I am standing!”

Yes!

Absolutely!

Value all of these things and so much more!

Be happy you are still breathing, your heart is beating and you are standing!

But that is not all that is to be valued, all that matters in the Kingdom of God!

Be Comforted but also recall our invaluable bodies are steadily passing away. (Isaiah 40:1-9)

We are crumbling even as we live and breathe.

We may have our health today, but a day will come when we do not.

Unless we are able to say with Paul, “To live is Christ,” we cannot legitimately affirm with him, “and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

The only way that death can be a valued gain is if Christ is urgently everything.

And if Savior Christ is valued as urgently everything, as Paul says He is, then we can declare with him, My life is not ultimate. I don’t need to protect it as the most precious thing I have. I want to spend it for the most precious person I’ll ever know.

What mattered most to Paul was that he finished his life trusting Christ and carried out to the best of his abilities the ministry Christ had given him.

He felt a compelling, overwhelming resolve to complete the task of testifying to “the gospel of the grace of God” everywhere he could reach by foot or by boat. 

There’s a task! 

There’s a purpose, significance, an agenda, a calling!

There is a Christian lifestyle which matters to the Kingdom of God!

There is a Christian lifestyle worthy of being valued!

And this is the task entrusted to all of us—the Great Commission to (Matthew 28:16-20) to let everyone we meet know the good news of God’s amazing grace.

Matthew 28:16-20 English Standard Version

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in [a]  the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

“If Only I May Finish My Course …”

Acts 20:22-24 Amplified Bible

22 And now, compelled by the Spirit and obligated by my convictions, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly [and emphatically] affirms to me in city after city that imprisonment and suffering await me. 24 But I do not consider my life as something of value or dear to me, so that I may [with joy] finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify faithfully of the good news of God’s [precious, undeserved] grace [which makes us free of the guilt of sin and grants us eternal life].

From time to time, I will silently pray about each of these verses in Acts 20:22-24 and as I do quietly pray through them I will find myself constantly driven, then more urgently praying for the spread of the gospel through all our lives.

It then feels like every chapter and verse I can recall and prayer that flows from every verse and every chapter has got to help me to faithfully share the gospel.

That’s exactly what Paul is expressing here.

Think about it.

Paul knows he’s on this earth specifically for the spread of the gospel.

He urgently desires, and he says later, “I want to depart and be with Christ, but it’s better that I’m here.

Philippians 1:21-24 Amplified Bible

To Live Is Christ

21 For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. 22 If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. 23 But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; 24 yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake.

In God’s wisdom. He’s left me here for the spread of the gospel. This is what I want to do. I want to testify of his grace.”

Acts 20:24 Reminds Us of the Bible’s Teaching

Let’s look at our lives in a similar way.

I’m not saying this is the only thing we do in the world.

This is obviously not what the Bible is teaching, but the Bible is teaching that this is primary.

We are here on this earth for the spread of the gospel of the grace of God.

We are here exclusively to help other people know how good, and great, and gracious, and glorious and invaluable God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are to all.

This is the opportunity God has given us every day and the place where he has put us in the world to make this good news to others.

A billion years from now what’s going to matter most is whether or not we have made this good news known to as many others as is possible in ones lifetime.

Acts 20:24 Leads Us to Have a Right Perspective

God, we ought to be urgently praying:

“Please give us a right perspective on our lives here.”

“God, Help us not to miss this glorious purpose you’ve entrusted to us.”

“We want to be a part of testifying to the gospel of your grace, telling other people about your love in Christ.”

“Lord, we don’t want to get to the end of our lives and look back and not have done this, not have given our whole lives to this, not having spent our lives doing this.”

In all the places I find myself, and I think about my life, my schedule this week.

I think about each person who’s praying this and their lives, their schedule, the different workplaces where they are, the different places where they live, the different people around them who probably don’t know Christ as their Savior.

“Lord, help us all. Help us all, we pray, to be faithful to testify to the gospel of your grace. And, Lord, help us not to neglect this most important ministry.”

This Reminds Us of Our Duty to Proclaim the Gospel

Obviously, we know we are not Paul in the same way that he was an apostle in the New Testament.

But we do know that, like the Apostle Paul, we have been urgently sent out by Christ with an urgent message, a gospel of God’s abundant and eternal life so to proclaim.

“Dear God, Help us urgently, we pray, to do it faithfully.”

“May I say in my own hearts my life I don’t count of any value.”

“Precious unto myself.”

“If only by your grace, I may finish this race and complete this ministry that I have been given from you, this opportunity that you have given to me, to urgently testify to, and witness exclusively unto, the gospel of your exceedingly amazing grace.”

“God, help me to be faithful to run that race today and to do this work today.”

“For the exclusive glory of your name and for the exclusive and urgent spread of your gospel, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.“

Living Out and Into A Lifestyle of Urgency

In these most contemporary of “lets hurry up and wait” how are you and I, like Paul, to live a life of urgency so that you and I might keep going until the end?

You and I must run our race with all our might, with the finish line in view.

Do not look for any opportunity to bow out or slow down before the final lap is over and urgently run with all our strength and running right through the tape, gripped by Christ’s love, energized by God’s Spirit, and guided by God’s Word.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly God, Author of my life, Perfecter of my faith, be with me as I run the race of becoming more like your son Jesus. I pray God that you remove my selfishness so I follow what’s best for You, not what’s best for me. When I am tired, please give me strength to finish the race with joy. Let my actions, my witness and my testimony show the meaning of the gospel, reveal the invaluable message of Christ my Savior.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Simply Learning How to Live! Simply Learning How to Serve Others with Love. Romans 12:10-13

“Be Devoted to One Another in Brotherly Love …”

These commanding words of Paul are so simple and yet so very profound.

As Children of God, as Christians, we are all to covenanted by God to love one another and be devoted to each other as cherished members of the same family.

We should consider each other over our own self interests and give precedence, shared support, uplifting and honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

There should be no quarreling or factions between us, and we should consider how to build up in the faith and encourage each other continually in the Lord.

This image of God’s family is what we are expected to outwardly portray to the world; united by grace, loving, caring, and abundantly devoted to one another.

Romans 12:10-13 New American Standard Bible

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; [a]give preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12  rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the [b]saints, [c]practicing hospitality.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

“Be Devoted to One Another in Brotherly Love …”

These commanding words of Paul are so simple and yet so very profound.

As Children of God, as Christians, we are all to covenanted by God to love one another and be devoted to each other as cherished members of the same family.

We should consider each other over our own self interests and give precedence, shared support, uplifting and honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

There should be no quarreling or factions between us, and we should consider how to build up in the faith and encourage each other continually in the Lord.

This image of God’s family is what we are expected to outwardly portray to the world; united by grace, loving, caring, and abundantly devoted to one another.

Called Away, and Separated by God, to Serve Others with Love

Mark 1:16-20 English Standard Version

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”[a] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Many new cars today are equipped with a global posi­tioning system (GPS).

These little gadgets-with soothing voices and readable maps-once these things are programmed with an address, it can tell you how to get from here to there.

Except that Jesus did not provide Simon and Andrew with anything like a GPS or even a map.

Instead, without social media he simply walked by the lake where they were conducting their day to day business of providing for their families and their community, invited them to follow him on an adventure with a risky Teacher.

Our passage from Mark’s Gospel today pulls us into our immediate response to the call to “come away,” following Jesus, without knowing the way ourselves.

In Galilee, Jesus began telling others that God’s kingdom had arrived in him.

The good news of Jesus came after a four-hundred-year silence since the last Hebrew Testament prophets had brought the words of the Lord.

Immediately Jesus wanted to announce, to introduce people to God’s plan: in him, God is among us; in him, God’s kingdom has come; and the call to believe in him is the best invitation people will ever receive, be honored to respond to.

This Itinerant Master Rabbi Jesus was intervening into their lives, calling men and women into places where there would be little, if any, comfort and security.

An intervention, an adventure with Jesus led his disciples to places they would never have imagined, witnessing to all of God’s miraculous redemptive work .

Could they have known what miracle signs and wonders were ahead of them?

Despite their not knowing the magnitude of what they would witness, they all would testify that following Jesus would mean plenty of risk and inconvenience.

They would testify “inconvenience with Jesus” makes living life worth living.

Learning to Serve Others with Love

Romans 12:9-13 The Message

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

“Ministry” is derived from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve.”

Every believer is called into ministry to serve Jesus and His body.

Jesus came to earth to serve others and calls us to follow His lead in selflessness and compassion for others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is human to seek after the cravings of our flesh, but in Christ Jesus, we can turn away from old ways (Colossians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24).

The Holy Spirit empowers us to set our selfishness aside to follow Savior Jesus’ example of being in service of others.

That Kind of Lifestyle Begins by Giving Our Mindset Unto God.

Psalm 119:1-8 The Message

119 1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

Bible study and prioritizing spiritual discipline of prayer allow the Holy Spirit to go to work, renew our minds, shifting our focus to eternal and spiritual matters.

The longer we walk with the Lord, the more we discipline ourselves to walk with the Lord, the more we train and retrain our eyes and ears, hearts, minds, souls, hands and feet and the rest of our bodies the more able we are to hold up under the impossible array of temptations of our worldly thinking and fleshly desires.

Our behavior and attitude change as God gives us the desire to love, obey, and serve Him fervently!

Selfish living isn’t an option for Christ followers!

The Apostle Paul encouraged believers to become committed to the Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ:

Romans 12:9-13 English Standard Version

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[a] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” ( I Thessalonians 2:8 ).

The Gospel is what brought them together and gave them a common bond.

What grew from that foundation was a great friendship with Savior Christ as the center.

The Apostle Paul rejoiced that he was able to share in their lives also because these people were so dear to him.

This bond transcends time and distance because it is based on the groundwork of God’s redemption, salvation work, through His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary.

This is why it is so important to surround yourselves with other brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, who are readily willing and able to share of their lives.

Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

“As for reputation, though it be a glorious instrument of advancing our Master’s service, yet there is a better than that: a clean heart, a single eye, and a soul full of God. A fair exchange if, by the loss of reputation, we can purchase the lowest degree of purity of heart.” Reverend John Wesley (founder of Methodism)

Being in the company of other believers will encourage you and everyone who is around you in your personal connection, fellowship, relationship with the Lord.

It is impossible to be around another person who is excited about God and not have a measure of that excitement rub off on you.

“I have seen (as far as it can be seen) many persons changed in a moment from the spirit of horror, fear, and despair to the spirit of hope, joy, peace; and from sinful desires, till then reigning over them, to a pure desire of doing the will of God.” John Wesley (Founder of Methodism)

We are called to speak to each other, see each other, hear each other, listen to and love each other and to be devoted to one another, as a close knit family.

We now belong to one another.

We have been adopted into the family of God and our lives now reflect His life.

No longer do we ‘go it alone’, instead we are called into fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

The writer of Hebrews said, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We are to share our lives, encourage and serve each other in the Word and spur each other random acts of radical hospitality, and towards love and good deeds.

This is a most wonderful thing about being part of God’s family, having other brothers and sister to encourage us and help us grow, that we may reciprocate.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

In dying to our selfish ways, our lives bring glory to God.

We may feel pain and joy as the light of God shows up in other people’s lives.

He does not leave us to our strength to follow the command to love and serve one another.

God empowers us to surrender to Him and His ways entirely. Our love for Him and others will steadily grow stronger and disciplined with each obedient step.

Every passing day, by God’s grace, we mature and cultivate a heart to serve others for His glory!

Who is God asking you to serve?

What selfish desires do you need to put aside to put someone else’s life before yours?

Are you too busy or distracted to serve or pray for others?

Let’s take some time and write down those who might come to mind.

Being “devoted to another in brotherly love” requires our church talk — we are family, brothers and sisters, children of God — must be more than mere words.

We must enter each others lives, getting to know one another so that we can serve, love and bless each other.

What have any of us done lately to get more involved in the lives of your fellow Christians?

Devotion to others follows a commitment to know and be known by them!

Who can you minister to, even if it is just a simple phone call to encourage someone or simply invite a new couple from your church over for dinner?

May God empower us His Children to choose others above ourselves and show their love of Christ over their love for the world, with ever greater compassion.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty Father, thank you for giving me a world wide family. Thank you for loving me so completely. Father I ask that you help me be more open with myself and my time to those in your family. Lord, help me to assess my value in terms of living for you. I need your courage to lead me and guide me into places where I can make a difference today. Give me a contrite and disciplined heart which burns to bless others and be blessed by those you have made your children. Through Savior Jesus I pray.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Abundantly Prayerfully Exceeding Your Expectations: Expecting Infinitely More From God. Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message

20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

A lack of, or troubled faith may make us expect far less than God is willing to do.

An unexpectant faith may make us feel far less able to be bold and courageous in these days when too many people do not hold God in high regard or at all.

Too many people, believers and non believers alike have the idea that with so much turmoil going on, so much division and rancor, strife of every imaginable description behind every single blade of grass every weed, both alive and dead, it is simply not possible for everyone to believe God cannot raise to the moment.

Yet the Word of God from Paul’s letter to the new followers at Ephesus is clear when it tells us to exceedingly expect our God to answer when we pray in faith.

But, nowadays, who is it with any exceeding boldness and abundant courage does anything to go above and beyond to raise OUR expectations beyond ZERO?

What are your expectations?

Specifically, what are your expectations of God and what are your expectations of yourself this day?

Consider these words from Ephesians chapter 3:

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV)

Apostle Paul is writing to both believers and skeptics God is able to accomplish infinitely more or do exceeding abundantly more than we can ever ask or think.

Matthew Henry commenting on this truth wrote:

“There is an inexhaustible fullness of grace and mercy in God, which the prayers of all the saints can never draw dry. Whatever we may ask, or think to ask, still God is still able to do more, abundantly more, exceedingly abundantly more. Open your mouth ever so wide, still he has the wherewithal to fill it.”

What are your expectations?

What are your all too human expectations of God?

What are your eternal expectations from God

Do your all too human expectations of God include the steadfast belief God is able to do more in your life and mine than we can hope or think or imagine?

There may be many things we believe we can not ever do in our own strength or our own ability as we acknowledge what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26 “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

When we pray according to God’s will all things are possible.

Perhaps our problem when we pray is we often put limits on what God can do.

Often we can think our problem or circumstance or situation is beyond the scope of God’s ability.

If we think that our problems are bigger than God is able or willing to handle,

then we show a lack of faith in the God who loves us and cares for us.

A lack of faith may make us expect far less than God is willing to do.

Yet the Word of God is clear when it tells us to expect God to answer when we pray in faith.

Luke 18:1-8 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Listen to these verses to encourage your expectation:

Psalm 16:11 – You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Isaiah 43:1-3 – But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Jeremiah 33:1-3 –

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth,[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Matthew 18:19– “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Matthew 21:22 – You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Mark 11:24 – I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

John 14:13 – You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

John 15:7 – But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

John 15:16 – You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 16:23-24 – At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

James 1:5-6 – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:17 – Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

1 John 3:22 – And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.

1 John 5:14-15 – And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.

Fellow Children of God, the eternal truth of the matter is this: when we pray, we need to pray in faith, we all need to pray expectantly, expect God to do infinitely more, exceedingly and abundantly above all that we all ask or think or imagine.

Be exceedingly and abundantly honest with God who 100% already knows what is going on, when you pray, what are all those things you think about, that you do not, wont, pray about because you are too worried that God will not answer?

Are there things that you do not pray about because in your heart you do not want or do not expect our exceedingly abundant God to answer your prayer?

What?

Let me give a couple of examples:

What if the thought of sharing your faith with other people scares you, you may choose not to pray for God to provide those exceedingly abundant opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with others.

If you are exceedingly, abundantly comfortable being in a small church where everybody knows your name, you will never pray for God to grow your church.

The truth is we may expect many things of God, but He also highly expects us to be abundantly willing to follow His purpose for us, our church, our community.

We need to pray in an abundantly expectant faith, trusting God, obedient to His plans, His Word, His Truth, His life, His covenanted precepts, His perfect will.

We can expect God to answer prayer in the right way at the perfect time.

One thing God keeps teaching me through prayer is patience.

His timing is perfect in every situation.

God will act at the right time and He is willing to do far more than we ever ask, or think, or imagine.

What is going on in your life right now that needs a touch from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Your health… your relationships… your family…

your work… your prayer life… your faith…

your daily walk… your witness for our Lord.

Don’t try and carry it on your own, don’t let it draw your attention away from God.

Joseph Scriven wrote some very appropriate words in his hymn ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!

Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstances, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Pray and ask God to speak, to act, to move, to bless.

Pray in faith and expect God to move.

Here is another question:

How Big are Your Expectations of God?

How big is your expectation of God?

When you pray do you limit your expectation of what God can do?

Are you praying for someone in your family who as yet does not know God?

Are you praying in faith that God will change their heart?

Or have you given up praying for that person because your expectation is they will never turn to Jesus and be saved?

The Bible from our passage from Ephesians 3 is clear when it says God can and will do infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Don’t let your expectations limit your prayers.

Don’t limit what God can and will do!

Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:20,

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Throughout the Bible, we can read of many people who dared to ask God to do make the impossible possible.

God answered their prayers.

Maybe in your own life you have experienced God doing the impossible.

When you thought there was no hope,

when you thought the odds were against you,

when you thought it was impossible for circumstances to change,

when you expected the worst,

God stepped in and everything changed.

God stepped in and did infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine.

God is Almighty, God is exceedingly incredible, God’s mighty power works an exceedingly abundant array of miracles in this messed up world every day.

God’s love and mercy is poured out into our lives every day; we are His children; our salvation is secure and certain in Jesus Christ; we are empowered by the Holy Spirit; God listens when we come to Him in prayer, God answers prayer.

God can abundantly exceed our expectation in every area of our everyday lives.

As I was reflecting on this devotional message, God laid an important truth on my heart to share with you:

Philippians 2:5-11 English Standard Version

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by  becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

With the Like Mind of our Savior Christ, We must always make time to pray.

It is equally important for us to pray in times of joy as well as times of trouble.

Expectant Prayer Builds Abundant Relationship With God

Romans 12:12 simply tells us we should:

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying (Romans 12:12)

This is an essential command for each of us to follow isn’t it?

Joyful hope and patience in afflic­tion go against the grain of our own natures.

Excessive Despair and exceedingly abundant self-pity come much more easily.

In times like that, it’s important to turn to God in prayer.

We pray for many reasons: to thank God for blessings, to praise God, to confess sins, to seek God’s exceedingly abundant leading, guidance and direction for us.

In good times and bad we are to speak to God,

we are to draw near to Him,

grow in our relationship with Him.

The truth of the matter is this: Sometimes God answers our requests for help exactly as we ask, but sometimes not – sometimes the answer comes back: NO!

Either way, the Bible calls us to be faithful in prayer.

Prayer—thanking, praising, confessing, asking for help—connects us with God.

Prayer builds relationship.

Prayer strengthens the bond between God and us.

When we all have a good relationship with someone, hopefulness and patience become a little easier, especially when Someone is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

We can have a confident and expectant hope in God.

The fact that you are here this devotional suggests that you have hope in God,

it suggests you want to know more of our exceedingly abundant God,

that you want to draw exceedingly and abundantly closer to Him,

that right now you want to be in a real relationship with Him,

that right now you are expecting God to be abundantly active in your life today.

How is your relationship with God?

Have you felt His presence and experienced His touch upon your life today?

When you woke up this morning was it with an expectant heart?

Were you thrilled by the thought God would work in you, through you today?

Did you come to this devotional writing today with an utterly expectant heart?

Expecting to worship an exceedingly abundant God…

Expecting to feel His exceedingly abundant presence…

Expecting to the Word of God speak into your life…

Expecting to see and believe in the exceedingly abundant miracles of God …

Expecting to feel your life changed, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit…

Expecting to be uplifted, refilled, renewed, restored, revitalized…

Expecting an exceedingly abundant revival get all revved up inside you …

Did you expect to come to “church” today expecting infinitely more, far exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine?

What is God’s Abundant Expectation of You Today?

What is God’s exceedingly abundant expectations of you today?

As disciples of Jesus, God expects our daily commitment to Him.

God expects us to trust Him.

God expects us to follow Him.

God expects us to love Him.

God expects us to serve Him.

God expects us to speak to Him in prayer.

God expects us to learn more about Him.

God expects us to think about the things of God.

God expects us to tell others about Him.

God expects us to give Him first place in our lives.

God expects many things of each and every one of us.

Are you meeting God’s expectation of you?

One more thing God exceedingly and abundantly expects is for us to fill our minds, hearts with the #1 hard core Truth of God’s Word: “God is 100% #1!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty God, we serve and worship you, the One, True, Everlasting God, Who, when we are in absolute surrender to your Holy Will, show your incredible Power, your Omnipotence, Omnipresence and Omniscience, which is beyond limits of description and human comprehension. Your exceedingly abundant wonders and miracles, your exceedingly abundant love, goodness and mercy, exceeds all known perceptions and expectations goes beyond borders and boundaries into unlimited infinity.

You can create, recreate, do or undo anything, for the end of the greatest length of any of man’s abilities, is just the beginning of the endless possibilities and the wondrous working of your Mighty Hands. This amply demonstrates that for those who walk exceedingly abundantly according to your Holy Will and find favor in your eyes by their dedicated faith, your great outpourings of graces and blessings manifest your vast Glory and are exceedingly and abundantly visited upon them endlessly.

Lord, we are grateful beyond measure to worship and serve you, who dares the impossible and does the unthinkable. You work in us through the power of your Holy Spirit to increase our faith, and preserve to salvation all believers in Christ our Lord. His immense sacrifice of washing us pure of all sin, has made the gift of eternal life available and attainable by all who give Christ the glory in his Church, and in his far exceedingly abundant Name forever and forever and forever more. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Finding the Courage to Be Different. John 15:18-19

John 15:18-19 The Message

Hated by the World

18-19 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

A Hated People

John 15:18 Amplified Bible

Disciples’ Relation to the World

18 “If the world hates you [and it does], know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

This may be one of Jesus’ hardest teachings—especially if anyone of us tends to prefer being a people pleaser.

Jesus wants us to understand that his followers will sometimes be at odds with the values of the world.

As a result, there will be times when we pay a relational price for following him.

But will we be hated?

Disliked? Probably.

Misunder­stood? Sure.

But hated? That sounds pretty extreme.

Well, hatred is a pretty extreme and polarizing emotion.

Hatred is a high energy radically divisive way of immediately shutting down the course of events of that moment – say the words “I hate you” and life just stops.

Yet Jesus deliberately chooses this strong language here for a reason.

And Jesus knew that it absolutely had to be said and Jesus knew his disciples had to be prepared to receive the hatred – even to the point of their death on a cross.

Putting God first in our life will absolutely create friction—being different from everyone around you — well, guess what? it’s going to be a significant threat to people and unto world systems which have a deep and vested interest in their own selfish ambitions and much preferred ways of doing “their own” things.

Jesus invited people into the kingdom of God, to hate the world, and this will result in his arrest, public humiliation and his suffering and death on a cross.

Why? Because his teachings represented a threat to the religious leadership.

Following Jesus meant great personal sacrifice, having less power, status, and attention, so their response was to get rid of the competition and protect their own interests (see John 11:48 Amplified).

48 If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our [holy] place (the temple) and our nation.”

Since we read in Scripture this is how Jesus was treated, should we be surprised to encounter such a hardship in our own lives because of our faith in him? No.

Yet, in spite of resistance in this world, God remains faithful to his people.

Through the Holy Spirit, we can be emboldened, empowered and inspired and refreshed to continue the most challenging of Kingdom work God calls us to do.

And in community we can find the prayer and support to keep following Jesus, no matter what it costs us.

John 17:6-12 Amplified Bible

6 “I have manifested Your name [and revealed Your very self, Your real self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept and obeyed Your word. 7 Now [at last] they know [with confident assurance] that all You have given Me is from You [it is really and truly Yours]. 8 For the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received and accepted them and truly understood [with confident assurance] that I came from You [from Your presence], and they believed  [without any doubt] that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them; I do not pray for the world, but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and [all things that are] Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; yet they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and protected them, and not one of them was lost except [a]the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

With the power and strength of Such deep Prayerful Support – what becomes possible?

The COURAGE to be DIFFERENT!

John 15:19 Amplified Bible

19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you.

Against the Grain

My father who grew up in the Depression era and was a combat veteran of the Korean Conflict, used to say the times have changed, a sentiment I now echo.

A child of the sixties and seventies, the world looked so very different during my own childhood; some resulted from my idyllic imaginings, and some from a much darker more brutal and bullied reality now most thankfully long past.

Today, the world, especially whether it is my country, or most anyone else’s country, looks darker, uncertain, bullied, terrorized and war-like and divided.

My Judeo-Christian faith now shines brighter than ever, and too many days I have never felt so alone, misunderstood and out of place. 

Born and baptized a Christian, My family and I grew up Jewish when being Christian was much more in fashion, even ubiquitous.

Kids pretended to be Christian even when they weren’t.

I do not guess that is as true now as it was then – Not anymore.

It was the sixties and seventies – Haight Ashbury, the Vietnam War, Protests, Anti War Sentiments and campus riots were 5 minutes from my parents home.

There was the iconic transformative Woodstock on a farm in Bethel New York.

There was the Watergate Scandal and a US President was compelled to Resign.

This was our era – which we and my family lived, grew up in, were shaped by.

Each era seems to have its own iconic mind-bending, setting, transformative events which served to change the thinking of those who were born and raised.  

Nowadays, many people hide their faith for fear of being offensive.

There seem to be fewer open prayers when out in public and less mention of God in school. 

The challenges are mind bending, mind setting, controversial, transformative, divisive, politically high charged: Abortion. Homosexuality. Race. Transgender.

Violence, school shootings, walk into a church or any other place and spray bullets and bombs all over, among many other things which could easily take their place in bending, breaking, shaping, transforming billions of minds.

Uttering an unpopular opinion or a fact that goes against the grain is far more consequential than just merely taboo.

So for those of us seeking to stand firm in the faith, our absolute belief in God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, what exactly are we left to do?

Finding the courage to be different today comes with consequences like job loss, public ostracization with threats of physical violence, legal repercussions, fines, and maybe at some point, death. 

From those first century days, it is not too far fetched to believe or wonder if it’s not significantly more counter-cultural to be that faithful, faith-filled, hopeful hope-filled, publicly prayerful, publicly praying Christian in today’s society.

The question is, do we have even the the minimal courage to be max different?

Intersecting Faith and Life:

The world hated Jesus.

There should be no surprise when we receive the same treatment.

If you are a Christian who finds yourself in harmony with the world, that’s an indication to rethink your faith.

We are called live differently, like Christ. 

He didn’t have an easy life.

Why would we? 

Why should we?

Christ told His disciples there would be suffering in the world.

Yet, despite suffering, through Him, they could find peace.

Through Him, they found the strength needed to live out their faith.

That same peace and strength are available to us today. 

We’ll need it if we are to be different.

Different in the Way We Talk

Scripture prescribes a certain way to communicate.

Our words are supposed to build another up, those in the faith and outside.

That doesn’t mean every word spoken from our mouths is soft and gentle, but that also doesn’t mean our words should be extremely harsh and ultra divisive.

Where the world seeks to offend, we should make peace.

Where the world stresses peace, we should boldly speak the truth of the Gospel of our Lord, Savior Jesus Christ in “tough” love to people who need to hear it.

Different in the Way We Walk

Modern society glorifies the value of an individual’s happiness, priorities, needs, and wants. Our faith prioritizes the values of God.

We recognize we are not the center of the universe, which causes us to value getting married and starting families.

We value impartially serving others as opposed to serving ourselves. (James 2:1-13)

We value children in and outside of the womb. (Psalm 139:13-18)

Different in How We Think

Our primary motivations as Christians should be to love God and, secondly, to love our neighbors as much or as little as God commands us to love ourselves.

These are the greatest commandments.

Society commands the love of self.

If we aren’t happy, the culture encourages us to change our circumstances through divorce, jobs, etc.

Scripture helps us understand happiness is not just transitory but something we are not entitled to for simply existing.

God blesses us with good, but He also blesses us, allows for the bad and even the catastrophic and for very good reasons!

Different in What We Believe

Those in the world reject God when they can’t see the evidence but are quick to believe science without viewing the evidence – the methodology, the variables, the data, etcetera.

Knowing ‘the science’ proves something is enough for some people.

As Christians, we believe science helps us understand the natural world, but we also recognize there is also a supernatural one.

God allows us to see where conventional insight fails or deceives. 

Being different is a challenge today, but walking with God was never meant to be easy.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are proof. 

Proverbs 29:18Amplified Bible

18 
Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;
But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

Choosing courage over comfort means embracing the unknown.

It pushes you to new experiences and makes you open and accommodating when you are tired of working for world instead of working for Savior Jesus.

Serving as Jesus did? It requires courage and confidence to do what your mind would otherwise assume and ignore because it anticipates failure or challenges.

Comfort will keep you back from pursuing your goals, fulfilling your dreams, and living up to your potential.

Courage, on the other hand, gives us prophetic vision (Proverbs 29:18) to see what others cannot see, to pursue what others would not dare to go after.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God Almighty, God my Father, I come before you now with a fresh anointing of your Gospel from John 15:18-19, with a plea and a prayer for courage. Please be with me on these dark and challenging days. No matter how alone I may feel, remind me you are my ever-present company. Whatever obstacles I face and my mindset faces, help me to live out the faith consistently and constantly. When the world seeks hate me as it hated your Son Jesus, seeks to deceive and sell me on falsehoods as Satan did your Son, direct me again towards truth. Please direct me to you. Being different is hard and scary, and some days God, I wonder what life would be like to be of the world. But I want to remain steadfast. I wish to remain with you. So, Lord, please give me the courage to be different, especially when I need it the most. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Where Can We Find Hope if ‘All Is Vanity’ According to Ecclesiastes? Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 The Message

The Quester

1 These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem:

2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
    There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
    a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
    but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
    then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
    Around and around and around it blows,
    blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
    but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
    and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
    no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
    boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
    what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
    Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
    Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
    And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
    Don’t count on being remembered.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The timelessness of Ecclesiastes is evident in our modern, existential age of excess with every possible pursuit, pleasure, and provision readily available through the click of a mouse or touch screen, and yet, people are still miserable.

Money cannot buy happiness.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes clearly demonstrates this point by cataloging all his attempts to gain meaning and joy in life, and still concludes, “All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

But what is vanity?

Is vanity just a piece of bathroom furniture with a countertop and mirror for getting ready in the morning? 

My mental image for vanity is the witch in Snow White, seeking affirmation for her beauty and worth with her magic mirror every morning, expecting to be the center of attention to her daily request of “Who is the fairest of them all?”

Does vanity mean that life is empty, worthless, or meaningless?

It is like washing your car in the rain or polishing the brass on the Titanic as it sinks – “What’s the point?”

The first chapter of Ecclesiastes seems to present a hopeless image of life, reporting “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). 

All Is Vanity

The author explains the cycle of life, noting how each generation will come and go, striving and seeking meaning and purpose, but die all the same, not even leaving behind a lasting memory (Ecclesiastes 1:11).

The author proceeds to detail his vast wealth and pursuits for pleasure and meaning, describing how nothing was outside his access or ability, and yet, he concludes this pursuit of pleasure by saying,

“What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night, his heart does not rest. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes. 2:22-23).

If all of life is meaningless and we simply strive to suffer and struggle each day, what is the point?

Where is our hope and where is our purpose to be found in life if ultimately life is meaningless?

There seems to be no hope in life.

If this were the meaning of vanity, life would be meaningless, but the Preacher is instead explaining a critical truth that we have yet to grasp these thousands of years later.

Vanity does not refer to absolute meaninglessness, but instead to a cyclical repetitiveness.

Our experience of life is such a small slice across all of human history, the value of our contribution and purpose for living gets utterly lost in this broader scope without an anchor for context to the bigger plan across time. 

Hope is found in the meaning and purpose God provides to connect us to His story as integral players for His purpose and glory.

The theme of Ecclesiastes is that life is short, death is certain, and seeking meaning apart from God is like attempting to grasp the wind or wrangle vapor.

Meaning is not something we can control. Hope is found in the meaning and purpose provided as a free gift in love from God through His Son.

The Genre and Authorship of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes sits at the end of the Wisdom literature in Scripture, preceded by Job and Proverbs, but all three tied together to provide critical lessons about the meaning of life.

Mirroring the virtues of faith, hope, and love, with love as the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13), Ecclesiastes, Job, and Proverbs provide meaning to these ultimate questions of boredom or empty pursuit with the necessity of faith in God’s provision (Ecclesiastes), suffering is resolved through hope in God’s care (Job), and love as the ultimate meaning of life (Song of Solomon) demonstrated through God’s pursuit of us as His beloved.

Proverbs unites all these themes with a contrast between Wisdom and folly, or pursuit of God versus pursuit of self, proclaiming faith, hope, and love are found in a life lived in pursuit of Wisdom (Proverbs. 3:1-8).

Historically attributed to Solomon because of the opening credential of the author as “the son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes. 1:1), the writing style, language differ from Proverbs and Song of Solomon, which are directly attributed to Solomon within the texts (Proverbs. 1:1; Song of Solomon 1:1).

While the exact dating and authorship are uncertain, the timelessness of Ecclesiastes is evident in its vivid descriptions of our modern struggle for meaning and purpose.

The book introduces the content of the book as “the words of the Preacher” (1:1), used alternatively throughout the book as Qoheleth (which is the Hebrew word for preacher, convener, or collector), suggesting that an editor or disciple of Qoheleth has compiled his teaching for this book at an uncertain date.

This authorship does not negate the possible influence or content from Solomon, but just that the book is not directly from Solomon but compiled and edited by another to provide a call to elevate faith in God for the people of Israel.

How Does Hope Play a Part in a World of Vanities?

If life is just vapor or breath, like “chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes. 1:14), from where does our hope come from?

The Preacher described his ceaseless pursuit for knowledge, self-indulgence, and pleasure, wisdom for wisdom’s sake, and work, concluding that everything comes from the hand of God and attempting to live apart from God is “vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 provides the context and answer to this issue.

The Preacher combats the cyclical repetitiveness inherent in vanity by proclaiming there is a fixed and appointed time for everything and it is according to this timeframe, which is outside of our control, that God orchestrates His purpose and plan provided to us as a gift (Ecclesiastes 3:13). 

Life is short with our appearance on the planet like a breath compared to eternity, but this awareness of scope is given to us by God to provide an unsettling or discomfort in this place as a distant reminder of a home we have lost, a motivation to pursue God who controls time, place, purpose (3:14-15).

As C. S. Lewis stated, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world” (Mere Christianity).

Eternity in our hearts is the echo of the Garden, the place of perfect relationship with God, self, others, and creation.

We were made in the image of God, designed to be “naked and unashamed” (Genesis 2:25) with the purpose to image God through our creating, ordering, and sustaining His creation (Genesis 1:28).

Hope is the recognition of this glimmer, this reminder of God’s continued connection, continued relationship with all of us, as is realized through the incarnation and provision of new life through Christ’s death and resurrection. 

Ecclesiastes is the echo of the Gospel message that we are more sinful than we ever thought but more loved than we could ever imagine.

In the Fall, we sought independence from God in desiring to define good and evil for ourselves, seeking meaning and purpose apart from our Creator.

God demonstrated mercy and grace by limited our lives in this empty pursuit in blocking continued access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24), providing hope in the promise of a Savior (Genesis 3:15).

The message of the Gospel is the message of an upside kingdom because our values and desires have flipped with the influence of sin. 

Our pursuit of independence and pleasure leaves us isolated and in despair while our dependence on God provides a connection to Him in His love for us and for the world (John 15:9-12).  

Mark 8:35-37 summarizes Ecclesiastes well by noting,

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?”

While our lives feel short and quick, our hope is found in the timing and plan of God, who has ordered our lives and “every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

How to Live with Hope in the ‘Already but Not Yet’

Hebrews 11 provides a glorious parade of faithful followers of God designed to bolster the endurance of the author’s audience and reinforce their faith in God’s promises.

The author of Hebrews is speaking to an audience struggling to retain the truth of God’s promises within the overwhelming appearance of reality as enveloped by meaninglessness and vanity.

Suffering and struggles are real and in the midst of these experiences we lose sight of the bigger picture and the “now” feels all-consuming.

The author of Hebrews seeks to encourage his audience by reminding them of God’s bigger plan and purpose while providing concrete examples of those who lived according to this faith and assurance in unseen things.

Hebrews demonstrates scope and context for God’s provision and plan, opening our eyes again to the hope of our calling to something greater (Ephesians 1:18). 

The suffering, struggle, and death of these saints did not consume their vision.

They did not lose sight of the bigger purpose of God even when the breath of their life exhausted without receiving what was promised, their faith remained (Hebrews 11:39) because their hope was on something more permanent, an “anchor within the veil” (Hebrews 6:19).

The faith and hope of these saints looked backward to the promise of the Messiah (Genesis 3:15) with a culmination in their future, fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Mark 8:29).

Our faith and hope also look backward to Christ’s death and resurrection and forward to His return (1 Peter 5:10-11; Revelation 22:20).

We live in the joyful expectancy of the “already but not yet.”

We live in the Saturday of passion week, assured in the provision of redemption through the cross and resurrection while awaiting our own resurrection and glorification to follow Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

In the same way that the saints of Hebrews 11 endured in their faith, waiting in “the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1), we retain our purpose and meaning in time, awaiting our own resurrection, looking to Jesus as the anchor point to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Because we only perceive life through this finite experience, it is so easy for anyone and everyone to get caught up inside the vanity of repetitive pursuit, feeding our desire for independence and pleasure.

The Preacher calls us to attention, however, to remind us that because life is short, this reality should spark our motivation to get working and make sure our direction and desires align with God’s purpose and plan for us.

It is easy to become distracted and lose sight of the hope of our calling and the author and perfecter of our faith.

The scope of our task and role is bigger than us and extends beyond us.

Just as we have the hopeful, hope-filled example and encouragement of a great crowd of witnesses who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1), so too we are all now leading others in the hopeful, hope-filled treads of our footsteps as well.

Maintain your hopeful, hope-filled, faithful faith-filled perspective as meaning it all comes from God and in spite of all the “vapor-ness” of life, motivates us all to significantly fruitful, fruit-filled Kingdom of God action in this short time.

Our hope in God is unaffected by circumstance or situation because God is always in control and we receive what He provides as from His hand, both, whether good or bad or completely catastrophic all is for His glory alone. (Ecclesiastes 7:13-15; Job 2:10; Romans 9:22-24).

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Look full into His Wonderful Face.

And the Things of This Earth Grow Strangely Dim.

In the Light of His Glory and Strength.

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, my teacher, I’m often confused when I need to make important decisions about my life, my family, my work, my relationships, my health, or finances. Show me the way I should go when I don’t know which way to turn. Help me remember to come to you, rather than trying to figure everything out on my own. Guide me along the best pathway, your pathway for my life. Lead me and Advise me and watch over me. Help me to give both of my ears to listen to your guidance and not resist it as much as I have been. I thank you that your unfailing love surrounds those who trust you. Amen.

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