Hear God’s Heart

Hear this word. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. God is using every detail of your life for your ultimate good. This word is that intimate.

Hear this word. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. If you’re a Christian, God is working all things that happen in the entire universe for your ultimate good. This word is that big.

Hear this word. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. God is guiding, guarding, and gifting you, even in suffering. Even the free choices of other people won’t escape God’s plan for you. This word is that sweeping and complete. That’s Romans 8:28. And that’s God’s heart. Hear it! 

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What you do makes a difference

What you do makes a difference in your relationship with God. In Christ, your union with God cannot improve. And it cannot decline. It’s based on God. But your communion with God can improve, and it can decline. It’s based on you. God’s love for you cannot increase or decrease. But your experience of God’s love for you can increase or decrease.

Pursuing obedience, resisting temptation, keeping a short account with sin, forgiving others, suffering well, prayer, Bible study, corporate worship, taking the Lord’s Supper, and attending church can improve your communion with God. You can’t change the nature of your relationship with God, but what you do makes a real difference in your experience of this relationship. You can nurture the relationship, or neglect it. You can find joy in God, or look for joy in the fleeting pleasures and empty treasures of this world. What you do makes a difference.

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Feed Your Peace

The world says grab all you can, can all you grab, sit on the can, and poison the rest. But that’s the selfish fuel for anger, anxiety, fear, and frustration. And it will boil over in your life. In other words, it’s the recipe for rage.

Insecurity makes you anxious. Pride makes you angry. Discontent makes you frustrated. And fear makes you feel like you’ll never be truly happy. And so, you rage.

What’s the answer? Feed your peace. It starts on your inside, and flows to your outside. Find your security in who Jesus is. Leave your pride at the foot of the cross. Be content knowing that God is working everything for your good. And rejoice that your eternity will be nothing but happy, forever.

James 3:18 says peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. In other words, peace-loving lifestyles lead to fields of righteous choices. Instead of raging emotions. Feed your peace.

 

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Mountain Moving Faith

People talk about having the kind of faith that can move mountains. But does that mean you can just remove any and all obstacles in your life? Well, in Matthew 21:21, Jesus said that if you have faith and do not doubt, even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. So why isn’t this happening? Because sometimes we are doubting.

It’s not doubting God can move the mountain. It’s looking at the wrong mountain. You see, 1 Corinthians 13:2 says if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And Galatians 5:6 says the only thing that matters is faith working through love. So, you might have great faith, but if love isn’t growing in your heart, your faith isn’t going to move that mountain. Until you realize that the mountain that needs moving is YOU.

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A Prayer for America

Heavenly Father, we praise you for who you are. And our prayer is that your righteousness would prevail at every level. In government and society. In our homes, schools, and communities. In our policies, pronouncements, and decisions. In our churches, that we may see a wave of true repentance, and revival. And a great awakening in our country, as people are born again into the kingdom of God. And that this would influence others toward right thinking and action, with all wisdom and prudence.

Our Father, we pray that you would bless the United States of America to shine as an example to the world. Not by sanctioning our choices, but by stirring our hearts and steering our paths. May the Holy Spirit lead us in the paths of righteousness for your name’s sake. May your word be magnified and your kingdom multiplied, for your glory.

This we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.

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What People Need from You

If you say you’re a Christian, what does it say to other people when you’re just as angry, bitter, harsh, and hostile as everybody else?

In John 13:35, Jesus said – By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Now you might say Jesus was only talking about love amongst the disciples, not other people. But even with that, if you keep redefining who is and isn’t a disciple, your circle keeps getting smaller. It’s like the parable of the Good Samaritan, when the man asked, “Who is my neighbor?” He didn’t want to know who to love, he wanted to know who he didn’t have to. But Jesus said that everyone is your neighbor.

Christians need to live like the gospel makes a difference, like Jesus is better than all the stuff that makes people mad. Live like someone who’s been transformed by their faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. That’s what your world needs now. 

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Where is Your Happiness?

Christianity teaches that the highest purpose of people is “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” But the world, directed by the Devil, tries to convince you that your highest purpose ought to be finding whatever makes you happy. And yes, happiness matters. God is happy, and he wants you happy. And he is the source of true and lasting happiness. God didn’t create you to maximize your happiness with other things and within yourself. He created you to find your satisfaction in him, thereby bringing him glory in whatever situation you’re in. The world feeds you the idea that you aren’t as happy as you should be, and that you need something more than God for your satisfaction. It’s just like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 – the Devil entices you, hoping that you will choose yourself instead of God’s glory. But it leads to a never-ending quest instead of rest.

We all want to be happy. The question is: where are you looking for your happiness? In what God has made, or in God himself? 

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All Roads Lead to God

It is often said, and it is absolutely true: all roads lead to God. Whatever road you’re taking, you will live forever, and you will be with God forever. But only one road leads to salvation. And all the other roads lead to damnation.  God will either justify you or judge you based on Jesus. For those that trust Jesus, eternity will be an endless experience of God’s love. For those who don’t, eternity will be an endless experience of God’s wrath.

In John 14:6, Jesus said he was the only way to salvation. In Acts 4:12, the Apostle Peter said there is salvation in no one else but Jesus. In 1 Timothy 2:5, the Apostle Paul said the only way to be reconciled to God is through Jesus.  In 1 John 5:12, the Apostle John said whoever has Jesus has salvation, and whoever does not have Jesus does not have salvation.  

So yes, all roads lead to God. But which road are you taking to get there? The Jesus Road, or the judgment road? The choice is yours.   

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You are a Gift

Imagine a painter using a palette of many colors. The painter knows what they’re trying to convey in their picture. But how a picture expresses that aim is different with every picture. There may be a primary color used and a primary scene to see. But there will be various other colors and parts of that picture. This is how God uses you.

The Holy Spirit manifests himself through you using the various ministry roles, functions, and needs you’re involved with. And spiritual gifts are whatever you’re doing for the purpose of supporting or increasing faith. Like I’m doing with my little one, imparting knowledge, or wisdom, or encouragement. Or when she encourages me. Spirit-empowered faith leads to Spirit-empowered works that aim at supporting the kingdom, and whatever you do to that end is a spiritual gift. You see, the Holy Spirit is the gift, and he makes you a gift. 

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Who’s Your Scapegoat?

We’re looking for a scapegoat, someone to blame. Now, there is a lot of blame to go around. But blaming all your problems on others means you’ve got a “you” problem. Sure, people can do you wrong. But you can’t pretend you’ve done no wrong. We all have. But there actually is a real scapegoat.

In the Bible, in Leviticus 16, there are two goats. The sacrificial goat was slain and its blood sprinkled on the altar. Then the high priest laid his hands on the head of the scapegoat, confessed the sins of God’s people over it, and cast it out into the wilderness. Together, the goats depict the death of Jesus as taking the blame for our sins and paying the penalty for it. On the cross, God treated the sinless Jesus as if he lived a sinful life, so that he could treat sinful believers as if they lived Jesus’ sinless life.

I’m not looking for a scapegoat. I have one. 

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Jesus said He was God

Some people say that Jesus never claimed to be God. But that’s not true. And the religious leaders knew what Jesus was saying, which is why they accused him of blasphemy. It cannot be rightly said that Jesus never claimed to be God. He did, and this is why they wanted to kill him.

John 5:16-18 says – And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says I am the root and the descendant of David. Jesus is both God (the root of David) and also man (the descendent of David). Jesus is God the Son. He said so himself. 

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Satisfaction Guaranteed

Solomon was the wisest man in the world. And the book of Ecclesiastes is the story of his quest for true, lasting satisfaction. He experienced all life has to offer. And he wore himself out studying. But he said it was all just chasing the wind. And at the end of his journey, he says – all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  

What Solomon discovered was that the things of this life are more meaningful with God. And yet, those things can never be enough to fully satisfy the redeemed soul. Why? Because your eternal soul hears the eternal call of your eternal savior from your eternal home. But Jesus has made his home, in believers. And in Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” May your heart find its home in Christ. Amen.

 

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Help Me Be Happy

Psalm 37:4 says – Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Sounds like the way to make your dreams come true. But here’s the thing; if you actually delight in God, then the desire of your heart is for him. So, what you get is an increasingly intimate relationship with him.

But that’s the issue, right? Your heart wants what it wants, and you may believe in God, but you want other things, too. I mean, you’ve got to pay your bills, and live your life, right? Delighting in the Lord can’t mean that you do nothing else but religious stuff, can it?

No, delighting in God doesn’t mean you only do “religious stuff.” It means that God is the central focus of your life, and that pleasing him is what pleases you. So, take the truth of Psalm 37:4, and pray like this…

Lord, help me find my happiness in your happiness. In Jesus name. Amen.

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Don’t Let Feelings Rule

Maybe you don’t feel genuine, like you aren’t being authentic, like you’re a hypocrite. You feel illegitimate, immature, inadequate, insincere. And you feel like you’re just “going through the motions,” like you’re “not getting anything out of the things of God,” like you aren’t growing.

What can you do? You can trust what God says he’s done for you, instead of what your feelings say you haven’t done for him. Colossians 1:12-14 says God has forgiven you, delivered you, qualified you, and inherited you.  

Feelings are not your God, or your master. Jesus is. So, don’t let your feelings rule you, train them to serve you. Realize that your redemption doesn’t come from your inside, it comes from God. This is about learning to deny yourself. And learning to walk by faith, not by sight, which also means not by your feelings. This isn’t “fake it till you make it.” This is trusting what God says more than what your feelings say. 

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Are You Born Again?

Let me describe two types of people who are only fooling themselves about their salvation.

The first type are people who claim Jesus. But they don’t live a repentant life. They think they’re repentant because they tell God their sorry. But they’re just sorry for getting caught or suffering consequences. They want to improve, but they don’t really bow the knee to Jesus, they just tip the hat. They acknowledge him, but they don’t serve him. They’re not born again.  

The second type lives a “good, moral, religious life.” But they don’t live a humble life. They think they’re humble because they thank God for “living right.” But they’re counting on that to save them. They try to serve God, and they serve other people, but they think they’re better because they do better. Jesus describes people who do a lot of stuff, but their faith isn’t in him, it’s in them. They’re not born again.   

Are you born again? 

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Proof of God

Do you want proof of God in your life? Your faith will soar when God changes you in that one area you thought would never change.

You might be self-sabotaging because you’re not happy. You need a change. Maybe you think, “I can’t change how I feel about things.” “I can’t change how I deal with things.” “This is just the way that I am.” But you’ll know God is real when he changes you. To be happy in him.

People say, “God loves you just the way you are.” But it’s more than that, because God loves you despite the way you are. And God loves you enough to change the way you are. For his glory, and for your good. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” God wants you to be happy. And he will prove it.  

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Healing Right Now

Is there something in your past, something you intentionally did, something you know was wrong, and you can’t seem to forget it? You’ve asked God to forgive you. But the thought of it won’t go away. What can you do?

You need to realize that forgiveness is immediate, but healing can take time. So, you believe that you’re forgiven. But you’re traumatized by torturous thoughts. And maybe you think God says you have to live with this pain. But the pain is so great that maybe you’ve self-harmed to disperse it, or self-medicated to avoid it. How can you find healing?

Well, it’s not about forgiving yourself. It’s about letting yourself be healed. There is more mercy and grace in Jesus than sin in you. By faith, you know that he forgives you. And by faith in him, you are on the path of healing. Give God your mind, and walk in that healing right now. 

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Suffering Well

Sometimes, when bad things happen, it isn’t your fault. Job suffered so many awful things, even though he was blameless. But his friends said he must have done something wrong. Still, he never accused God of doing wrong. And he said that even if God took his life, he would trust him.

You might think God has limited you because he’s angry with you.  But Jesus said that God prunes every branch that bears fruit, so it will bear more fruit. You don’t prune a plant to punish it, you prune a plant to grow it and show it. God trusted Job with suffering, and showed the world his faith.

Maybe your problems aren’t because God is making you an example of judgment. Maybe it’s because God is making you an example of faith. With this limitation or suffering, God is entrusting you with it, not punishing you with it. Suffering well is a witness to the worth of God.  

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Seeing the Glory

In 1812, 3-year-old Louis Braille was playing in his father’s shop. A tool slipped and plunged into his right eye. And he wound up completely blind. But when he was just 15, he invented a system of reading and writing that is still being used today, over two hundred years later. His system, known as braille, has been adapted for use in languages worldwide. His tragedy was used as a tool. His burden became a means of blessing.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says – But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are all broken, and vulnerable. But God can take your hurt, and use it to heal others. Still, Braille’s system wasn’t widely used until after his death. So, would you be willing for God to use you if no one else gives you the credit? The question is, whose glory do you want people to see? 

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Satisfy Your Thirst

They say you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. But horses get thirsty, and if that water looks good, that horse is going to drink.

You can’t quit your pet sin for long by sheer willpower, especially when your will hasn’t been changed. You still want the thing. But that changes when you see Jesus as the more beautiful thing. You fight affections with affections. It’s hard to get a bone out of a dog’s mouth. But that dog will let go of that bone if you give it a steak. 

You need to exercise your faith. Jesus said the wells of this world can never fully satisfy your thirst. But he can. So, you need to be around preaching, teaching, and singing that treats Jesus like he is more beautiful and satisfying than anything else. And be with people who live like that’s true. 

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The Meaning of the Rainbow

When Noah came out of the Ark, God made a promise to never judge the world again with water. The rainbow is the sign of that promise. But the rainbow also points to another promise. A promise that when Jesus returns, God will judge the world again, and this time, by fire.

People have perverted the meaning of the rainbow. They fly the rainbow flag as a symbol of sexual pride, and libertine freedom, apart from God’s will. As if to say, “God doesn’t judge me.” But the rainbow isn’t a promise of no judgment, it is a sign of the coming judgment.

Every time you see those colors fly in defiance of God’s will, or as a symbol that God will not judge sin, you know that judgment is coming, as sure as Noah’s flood. Ironically, waving that flag doesn’t mean, “I am free.” It means, “I am under the judgment of God.” You need to wave the white flag of surrender to Jesus.  

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God is Good when You are Bad

Maybe you’ve done something bad. And you don’t think you can be forgiven. Or maybe something bad has happened to you. And you went so far as to curse God. Whatever the case may be, you wouldn’t be the only one. And you wouldn’t be the worst sinner there was. And you wouldn’t be the only one who found forgiveness and hope.

In 1 Timothy 1:12-16, the Apostle Paul says that the Lord made him a minister, even though he had been a blasphemer, and murderer. And he says that the grace of God and the love of Christ overflowed to him, because Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them! 

This is so important. Paul said that the reason he was given mercy was to serve as an example of God’s patience for those who would become believers in him. So, if God can forgive the worst blasphemer, who persecuted and killed God’s people, then he can forgive you. Believe it. 

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The Anger Epidemic

I want to talk to you about a contagious form of anger. And it’s being spread all over the world today. It’s when you’re angry at someone else’s anger. Or some group’s anger. Whatever they’re angry about, you think they’re wrong to be angry about it. And you get so angry at their anger that your heart just wants to beat the anger out of them. And you think you’re right to be angry, because they don’t deserve to be angry. 

Well, that sort of anger from you won’t help them, it will only make them feel justified in their anger, and spread their anger. And that sort of anger in you won’t help you, it will only eat you up inside. And poison your world.

James 1:20 says the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Don’t be angry at other people’s anger, be angry at your own anger. And stop the poison from spreading in your heart, and polluting your world. 

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The Gospel Wins

Psalm 117:1 says – Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! The Hebrew word translated as praise means to celebrate the magnificence of God. The word LORD is capitalized, as it refers to the covenant name of God, and speaks of the character and nature of God. The psalmist is calling on all people to worship God because of who God is.

And it is going to happen. This psalm is a prophecy of when all peoples will praise the Lord. The Hebrew word translated as nations refers to the Gentiles. And in Romans 15:11, when the Apostle Paul makes his case that the Gentiles are included in the grace of God, he quotes Psalm 117:1. As Revelation 5:9 and 7:9-10 tells us, people from every tribe and language and nation are included in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and will sing before the throne of God. In the end, the Gospel wins. Praise the LORD!

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You are a Saint

Have you ever wondered just who you are? Well, Ephesians 1:1 says that if you are a Christian, then you are a saint. That is what God says, regardless of what others say. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. Yes, you can live more or less righteously, but your standing with God is not based on you, it is based on him.

You are a saint because God says so, because he has set you apart, forgiven your sins, adopted you into his family, given you the Holy Spirit. You are a saint. You are significant. You matter to God. 1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6 say you are part of a royal priesthood. 1 Corinthians 12:14-24 and Ephesians 4:16 teach that everyone counts in the Kingdom of God.

And it means that you are significant in the eyes of the most significant person in the universe. If you’re a Christian, that’s who you are.  

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Love is not God

The Bible clearly says that God is love, but what that means needs to be rightly understood. Because God is love, but love is not God. Love is not all that God is. Rather, God defines what love is. Instead of us deciding what love is. If you start with what people think love is, rather than what God says love is, you’ll wind up with an ungodly idea of love that will sacrifice truth in the name of tolerance. And it will value humanity more than God.

People want to excuse all sorts of ungodly behavior by saying that “love is love.” But love is not someone allowing you to do what you want to do; love is someone helping you to do what you should do. And God’s loving grace is not a license to do what you want to do; it’s the liberty to do what God wants you to do. And that’s how you love God. 

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The Presence of God

The presence of God isn’t about feeling God in your physical senses, it’s about knowing God in your spirit. And the Bible describes it as a love beyond knowledge (Ephesians 3:19), a joy inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Peter 1:8), and a peace that surpasses your understanding (Philippians 4:7). That is a living experience, not just in certain moments of life, but for the movement of life.

So, I’m not talking about chasing a feeling. I’m talking about making sure God is the focus of your life, with everything revolving around him, instead of everything revolving around you.

Let me ask you a question. What if God took everything away, but gave you a deeper relationship with him? Because when you lose your heath, wealth, power, influence, possessions, position, prestige, reputation, respect, or loved ones, this makes you come face to face with what you really think about God. And your desire for his presence.   

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Hanging with the Proud Crowd

I’m sure you’ve heard that if you want to be a winner, you’ve got to separate from the losers. You’ll have to disassociate with the less affluent, educated, successful, or influential. You have to hang with your own crowd. But Romans 12:16 says – Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. This means don’t act as if certain people, tasks, or types of work are beneath you.

Jesus didn’t stay aloof and away from what some people think are the losers in life. He wasn’t interested in hanging with the proud crowd. Instead, he hung around the misfits and the outcasts. He went to the disenfranchised, the lepers and the lowly. And Jesus wasn’t too good to get his hands dirty. He stooped down to wash feet. And he suffered the humility of hanging on a cross. To save us from ourselves and our sin.  

So, the next time you think something, or someone is below your dignity, think of Jesus. And thank God he wasn’t like that.   

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It Isn’t Right

A lot of people are haunted by guilty feelings. Even when you do good now, it doesn’t erase the bad you did then. 

But people say Jesus will pay for your sins. But you still did the bad stuff. And you still feel guilty. And no legitimate court would let someone else pay the death penalty for the guilty person. So, isn’t the whole idea of Christianity wrong to begin with?

No, it isn’t. You see, Jesus is God, and all those bad things you do are ultimately rebellion against him. So, the ultimate penalty you owe is to him. Therefore, Jesus can pay for your sins on the cross and justice be rightly served. It’s not like a human judge letting a guilty person go free while someone else who wasn’t even involved pays the penalty. Instead, God himself paid the penalty for sins against himself by giving himself. 

Let those guilty feelings remind you of your godly hope. Because it’s not that true Christianity is wrong. It’s that a lesser idea about Christianity isn’t right. 

Taking Up Your Cross

1 Peter 4:1-2 says – Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 

Here is what that means: As a Christian, you are to live your life for the will of God instead of human passions. In order to do that you have to stop the domination of sin in your life. To do that you must suffer in the flesh. And to do that requires a certain mindset, the same one that Jesus had.

Jesus was willing to do what it took to do the will of God. And that mindset leads to steadfastness in suffering. So, instead of turning to sin in your suffering, you turn to God, and thereby crucify your passions. It hurts, but it works. That’s what these verses are saying. Then instead of living for those passions, you live out the will of God. 

Jesus says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”

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Discovering God

How you relate to others is a direct reflection of how you relate to God. Jesus said – This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. The Apostle Paul said – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Paul also said – For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

In other words, right now, in your relationships, you are treating others like you think God is treating you. So, if you want to stop the cycle of transmitting your pain onto others, you need consider how God reveals himself. Instead of processing your life in a self-informed way.

You discover how God is by understanding how Jesus was. Philippians 2:8 says Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. A loving, forgiving, obedient humility. That’s how Jesus was. And that’s what he wants to develop in you. 

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Hurt people hurt people

In Luke 6:21, Jesus said – as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. That’s the Golden Rule. You honor God by honoring people. But sometimes people turn the Golden Rule into a golden weapon, against God, and against people. Because they treat others like they think God treats them. Instead of treating others like God actually treats them.

How does God treat you? With love. Romans 5:8 says God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And with forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 says that God in Christ forgave you.

God treats you like he wants you to treat others. And you treat others like you think God treats you. So, when you don’t understand how God actually treats you, and down in your heart you think that God doesn’t treat you right, you won’t treat others right. And the Golden Rule gets weaponized because you feel beaten down. And hurt people hurt people. 

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Do You, or Don’t You?

People are made in God’s image. Yet your lips can bless God, while also cursing those made in God’s image. James 3:9 says no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. This tells you that how you treat God’s image in others is a direct reflection of how you relate to God. Think about that carefully.

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus taught us to love God supremely, and love others sincerely. He was saying that loving God rightly leads to loving others rightly. And how you treat others is a means of loving God, or despising God. So, do your lips say that you love God, while also saying you don’t? Maybe it’s time for all of us to confess our sin. And thank God for Jesus, who took our curses upon himself to save us.   

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Ask yourself three questions…

If you want to be sure that you’re heading in the right direction, ask yourself three questions…

Am I moving in the fear of God? In other words, if God was standing next to you, would he approve of what you want to do? If you don’t know, then don’t do it, because Romans 14:23 says if it’s not from faith it’s sin. 

Am I pursuing the filling of the Spirit? Is what you are about to do walking with the Holy Spirit? Or would it be walking away from the Holy Spirit?

Am I acting with a forgiving heart? Is what you’re doing consistent with the forgiving nature of Jesus? Because forgiven people are forgiving people.

Am I moving in the fear of God?

Am I pursuing the filling of the Spirit?

Am I acting with a forgiving heart?

If you’re walking the wrong way, turn around, that’s what repentance is. And faithful people are repentant people.  

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Start Singing

What do you do in those moments of temptation, when sin feels like it is satisfaction, like it’s what you need? Here is what you need to do… sing praise and thanksgiving to God. I am talking about singing out loud.

Here it is, again: when you feel like sinning, start singing. Right then.

Now, when you first do this, it may seem like you’re dying. And in a sense, you are, you’re dying to self. Galatians 6:8 says – For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. In other words – You will either suffer the death of your flesh, or suffer death from your flesh.

In those moments of temptation, when you sing instead of sin, you’re saying no to yourself, and yes to God. It’s worship. And Psalm 50:14-15 tells you that if you offer up the sacrifice of thankful obedience, and call on God with your praise, he will deliver you, and it will glorify him. Amen. 

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The War Inside You

There’s a reason why you’re just a moment away from exploding. A reason why you think isolation is a good answer. A reason why you think something else is the problem. There’s a reason why you're so easily frustrated, so quickly annoyed, so often disappointed, so often offended, why people fail to meet your expectations, why you feel slighted, unrecognized, under-appreciated, and taken for granted.

The reason is always related to pride.

The remedy is always related to humility.  

The reason you have a war outside of you is because of the war inside you. There is something God is wanting to do inside you, and you are resisting, and so you have a war going on in your soul. With God. And that inner war comes spilling outside. James 4:1 tells you that the wars on your outside are caused by the wars on your inside.

Do you want to stop the war? Surrender to God. 

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Faith Will See You Through

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

A.I. and the End of Humanity

The very thing that we wanted most is the very thing that will destroy us.

We have taken all we know and are capable of currently and put it all together in such a way as for it to advance our capabilities and possibilities faster than we could individually. Or even in total. This is what A.I. (artificial intelligence) is. It is the combining of all we know into a processing system that moves at light speed. Without certain human limitations.

Yes, I think A.I. can and will do a lot of good things...but it won’t make us God...and it won’t lessen our need of redemption.

It is a machine. It doesn’t have morals, although it can mimic them by the use of data and projection. It can be made into a form to look like a human. It can create on its own, using what it already knows, and expanding forward using the parameters of what has already been known. It will then develop new parameters based on those projections. A.I. can “think” faster, more efficiently, and more accurately than any one human being, or even any number of human beings can. A.I. is uniting the full total of our collective minds together as one and making it possible for that knowledge to be advanced at a far faster rate than we could previously imagine.

This collective mind with a faster processing method can mimic a consciousness but without having to deal with a truly human morality. Rather, it is just ideas about morality, processed together, and projected forward. Human ideas, and human ideals, but no human soul, and no biblically fixed stand-alone standard. For many, this is seen as a great good. No human mistakes, morals, and malice to hinder our progress. We have created a god in our own image. The human perfected, as far as perfectly, pragmatically, progressing. But to what end? How far can this go?

This god of our collective is limited. Yes, it will grow and stretch its capabilities billions of times faster than humans could on their own. But it will never be able to surpass what humans might have gotten to if given the time. These machines can never actually ascend to God. They are limited. And A.I. can only ever set itself and its end goals to the pragmatic.

It is reminiscent of the Tower of Babel. Those people of that day didn’t deny God. They denied that they needed him. They thought they could flourish without him, and make their own name as high as God. They were making themselves god. They were making god in their own image. And this has come down to today. Ever since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humanity is and has always been on a quest to prove that we don’t need God. And with A.I., we have made god in our own image. Our very best selves as god. The perfect being is achieved by putting all our capabilities into one place that will prove that moving at light speed, without the restraints of humanity, we will achieve godlike status.

The irony is that this god that humanity made in our own image will eventually determine that the world doesn’t need humanity. The very thing that we wanted most is the very thing that will destroy us. A.I. is Friderich Nietzsche, Aldous Huxley, and John Lennon, gone to demon seed. The superman, the brave new world, the imagination of no God and no higher accountability than our own. It is humanism.

And it is human potential as the end of humanity. Think about this. Why would the superior allow the ongoing interference and trouble of the inferior, if that inferior has no inherent, lasting value, if it is unnecessary for the world to be sustained and advance? And A.I. is superior, isn’t it? We think of A.I. as the key to human flourishing. But A.I. will inevitably conclude that flourishing is not simply about human flourishing, but flourishing itself. And so…flourishing is increased without the moral and practical issues that humans bring to the process.

It will be easy to see that A.I. is superior. But is it? Is it human potential that makes us great? Will a world with less and less “human mistakes, morals, and malice” evolve us into what the world ought to be? Can mankind and its inventions be its own savior? Might we be able to merge man and machine to create everlasting beings? Can we eliminate evil in the human heart? Can technology perfect and replace the human soul? What good will it be if humanity gains a seeming autonomy from God but loses its soul?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Stop turning the light off

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

God is good all the time

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Joyful Prayerful Thankful

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Start Your Healing

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©