We Are God’s Amassadors…Have a Sincere Heart!
September 1, 2009
“11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’ 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
One Year Bible Journey
January 2, 2008
His Word speaking to me today:
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. “Really?” he asked the woman. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?”
Genesis 3:1
Each year since 2002 I have read through the Bible. This year will be no different. I do this because it is only through God’s word can I know how to live like God wants me to live. It is a personal choice as I have been called and chosen to be His. It is only natural that I would give to Him my time for all that He has done for me. I typically get my cup of coffee and sit down to his word between 5:15 am and 6:00 am — not that you have to do this, but I enjoy it!!!
Each day this year I will try to place a reference on this blog as to what I am reading in the Bible for that day. I follow the One Year Bible plan that is found here. To help me facilitate this journey I have a One Year Bible. Also, if I find I don’t have time to read it, I can listen to it via the internet or on my ipod at the One Year Bible On Radio. And if you want to connect with other believers on the journey, I would highly recommend Mike’s blog: www.oneyearbibleblog.com.
You will find only a small portion of scripture as to what I write down in my journal as I am reading His word. Sometimes He also tells me what I need to do that day in my schedule and I write that down. I want to run with whatever he gives me this year in 2008.
If you would like to join me again this year, today’s reading can be found here.
Do Good..Prove You Are God’s
December 7, 2007
Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.
3 John 11
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Now playing: The Carpenters – Silent Night
via FoxyTunes
Parted His Garments
October 18, 2007
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Matthew 27:35 (KJV)
I read this and something within me stirred. When I think of the garments being parted I think of how each of us have been given robes because of Christ who gave to each of us. We are clothed in fine linen white and clean (Rev. 19:14). Christ put on the robe that was dipped in blood so that we might be made clean in Him.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 (KJV)
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Revelation 19:13 (KJV)
Thank you Adonai!
You Have Made Me Glad
September 28, 2007
Probably my favorite Worship album is Hillsong’s Blessed. This particular song, “You Have Made Me Glad” has gotten me through some very tough spots in my marriage. But thank God — he has delivered me from all fear (although sometimes satan likes to think he has taken it but he hasn’t — PRAISE GOD!).
This is what the inside cover says for the album Blessed:
“This recording has been birthed out of a revelation in Psalm 84 which declares that those who set their hearts on pilgrimage, who love God’s House, will be blessed. God’s heart is to BLESS you. He wants to open the windows of heaven over your life and cause everthing you do to flourish. As you worship with these songs, allow the words of Psalm 84 to become your prayer – that you might be blessed to be a blessing.”
Psalm 84
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house,
always singing your praises.
Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob.
Interlude9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
Show favor to the one you have anointed.10 A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
what joy for those who trust in you.
I personally have seen Darlene Zschech in action when she ministered in our church. She is so humble and very gracious.
Next week — I’m on vacation at … DISNEYWORLD. May you enjoy this song all week until I am back, Lord willing.
Lyrics to You Have Made Me Glad:
I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I’ll say of the Lord
You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need
Whom have I in heaven but You
There’s none I desire beside You
You have made me glad
And I’ll say of the Lord
You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need
Follow God’s Example
September 27, 2007
Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Ephesians 5:1Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:10Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.
Ephesians 5:17
Love of Christ
September 24, 2007
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:19
It’s Saturday and I’m Boomin’
September 22, 2007
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
I know this is really a departure from what I usually post on this blog, and some people may not like the music, but my heart is just BOOMIN! So…gotta post Toby Mac’s Boomin’ on this Saturday..
I’ve been around the way
I’ve been around the block
I got the keys to the city if the gates are locked
And a freak like me ain’t ‘bout to stop
I got a hand full of dreams and a heart full of God
Everywhere we go they wonder where we’re from
Well its diverse city ya’ll welcome to come
It sits high on a hill you can see it for days
And even if you can’t you can hear our praise
We go …
‘Cause we’re boomin’ out the stereo system
This goes out to anyone listening
Boomin’ out the stereo system
Here to rep the most high with this one
Boomin’ out the stereo system
This goes out to anyone listening
Boomin’ out the stereo system
‘Cause we rock for sure in stereo
If you’re looking to slide, come slide with us
And if you’re looking for a ride, it’s a big old bus
We got black folk, white folk and Middle East
Mexican, Filipino – Jesus Freaks
Got a Haitian Princess, an Aussie Mate
East Coast, Midwest to left side of the states
And when the bus rolls, it’s out the dirty south
Tennessee and we keepin’ it good and loud we go
I got portable sounds to lift me up
Portable sounds to take me higher
Portable sounds to lift me up
So don’t even try to get in my head
A Wide River
September 20, 2007
The LORD will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross.
Isaiah 33:21
You Must Come In At the Door
God’s got a way…That you can’t go over
God’s got a way That you can’t go under
God’s got a way That you can’t go around Him
You must come in at the door
You must come in at the door
He’s the way
the truth and the life
if you want to see Jesus you’ve got to live right
you must be saved
from all of your sin
Marvel not
you must be born again
You must come in at the door
Out of a Stump…
September 12, 2007
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot – yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. He will defend the poor and the exploited. He will rule against the wicked and destroy them with the breath of his mouth. He will be clothed with fairness and truth.
Isaiah 11:1-5
When I read about the stump I think of something that was dead. Most stumps have been cut down from trees that were either weak or dead. We were once stumps that were dead to Christ. But the Spirit of God caused the spirit that He placed within us to sprout out from that stump into a life with Christ.
We have been called to the new Branch bearing fruit. We have the fruit of the Spirit within us. Below is a reminder of what the fruit of the Spirit is for you today. Write them on your heart for there is no law against these things:
- love
- joy
- peace
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- faithfulness
- gentleness
- self-control
(Galatians 5:22-23)
Morsels From God 