Why do you act as if I am not right next to you? Aren’t I always with you?

Matthew 28:20

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Christ in You

For anyone who has been born again, Christ is in them, and they’ve been quickened or made alive in Him but dead to sin (Rom. 8:10). That means our old nature, although not completely erased (Rom. 7:14), has been changed. We are now new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Essentially, the old is gone and the new has arrived, but we still live in the world that fights against our new nature. Imagine this: If you were sitting on the couch watching TV, would you still be watching what you are watching? Since Jesus is always with you (Matt. 28:20), are you grieving Him by what you are watching? What about the Internet or movies? If Jesus were sitting right next to you on the couch or in a chair, what would He think? Would you still watch what you are watching?

He Is With You

We know that if we are God’s own children, Christ is within our midst. So I ask this question of myself and of you: Why do you and I act as if He’s not right next to us since He’s always with us? Do you remember the old WWJD wrist bands? These wrist bands had a good intention. They were made to make us think about what Jesus would do in situations that we found ourselves in during our day. A better idea is this: WWJT? That is, what would Jesus think if you understood that He was right there with you every step you took today? What would Jesus think, what would Jesus say, and how would Jesus react if you were doing something contrary to what He taught? Sort of convicting, isn’t it?

A New Heart, A New Life

When we had that time where we repented of our sins and placed our trust in Christ, He gave us a new heart. He took out the heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). This should mean that we have a more tender heart now, and what we see with our eyes and what we hear with our ears should be those things that would please the Father because Jesus always did those things which pleased the Father (John 8:29). Therefore, that should be our goal, too. Today try to imagine that Jesus is right next to you wherever you go and is hearing every word you speak, watching everything you see, and listening to everything you hear. Since Jesus is always with us, would that change your life and what you did today?

A Closing Prayer

Father God, I know that Your Word says that Jesus is with us every day, and I know I must have grieved Him many times, so please forgive my living in a way that is contrary to You. Help me to keep in mind that He is with me today wherever I go, and in His precious name I pray.

Amen

Do you give out of guilt or joy?

Luke 6:37

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Guilt Trips

Some people, even in the church, give offerings because they’ve been made to feel guilty by others. This is in direct opposition to what Paul says, that we are to give out of a joyful heart, not out of compulsion, because God wants a joyful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). Even in the Old Testament, the idea of giving out of a generous, joyful heart was present. God never wants our money if we feel guilt-laden or we’re giving it grudgingly (Deut. 15:10). God doesn’t really want your money as much as He wants you and your heart. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t give; however, we shouldn’t give if we feel like others are making us feel guilty if we don’t.

The Genius of Generosity

It is really in our best interest when we are generous with what God has given us and not just because God will bless the generous person (Prov. 11:25). God promises that whoever it is who gives to the poor will be rewarded from God Himself (Prov. 19:17). As long as the willingness to give is in the heart, God accepts it (2 Cor. 8:12). Paul never wanted gifts for the work of the Lord to be a forced or involuntary obligation but to be freely given in a volunteering heart (Philem. 14).

Secret Giving

When you give to the needy, it is best to not tell anyone about it because the only One Who needs to know, indeed the most important One to know, is God (Matt. 6:3). Those things that you give in secret will be rewarded openly someday by God (Matt. 6:4). Why would we want to lay up treasures here on earth if we can’t take them with us into the kingdom? Why not store up our treasures where they will be preserved for us from thieves or corruption (Matt. 6:19-20)? Jesus tells us that our heart really lies where our treasures are  (Matt. 6:21). It’s a complete waste of time to worry about the things in this world (Matt. 6:31-32) because the true riches are in the King of the kingdom. If that is our focus, God’s promise is that we’ll have every need of ours met (Matt. 6:33).

A Closing Prayer

Great Creator God, please forgive me for focusing on the things of this world and not on You, for You are eternal but all the things of this world will burn up some day (2 Pet. 3:10). Please help me to keep a kingdom focus and give generously for eternal rewards, not for those things that will all pass away, and in Jesus’ most precious name I pray.

Amen

Are you in Love with God, or just the things He gives you?

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Seeking the King First

If we are really Christ’s, then He is going to be most precious to us. What “things” can compare to the riches in Christ Jesus? This is what the unsaved run after (Matt. 6:32). If we are running after these things, then we are not seeking the kingdom first, and seeking the kingdom first means seeking the King of that kingdom ahead of everything else. The psalmist knew that he would lack nothing with His Shepherd being his own (Psalm 23:1).

Supplies All of Our Needs

We should be pursing Christ and not things. The question is, are we really in love with God or just the things that God has provided for us? The first time I was in love with a girl in elementary, I spent money on her for things that I knew she would love. I didn’t care if I had to break the piggy bank and spend every last penny I had on her. She was, at least I thought at the time, the most precious thing in my life, and my money meant nothing compared to her. In similar fashion, Jesus must be most precious to us or we have our hearts still set on the things of this world. We already have God’s promise of His meeting every one of our needs, but it is according to the true treasure house of riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).

Prospering in All Good Things

God is not against people who are rich or those who are trying to make a living, but the only riches that won’t burn up on the Day of Judgment will be those things done for Christ. The Apostle John said he wanted all things to go well for the church and for them to prosper (3 John 2-3), but there is a danger in riches in that we might tend to forget God (Prov. 30:8). When we seem to have everything we need, we tend to forget God, just like ancient Israel did so many times (Deut. 8:10-14). Make no mistake about it, God is obviously able to provide us with every blessing we will ever need (2 Cor. 9:8), but He wants us to pursue Jesus Christ and His righteousness because when we do, He will supply everything we will ever need in this life (Matt. 6:33).

A Closing Prayer

Father God, I tend to rely on my own pocketbook more than I do in pursuing You. Please forgive me when I fail to seek You above all things because at Your return, those will be the only things that really matter, and in the precious name of Christ I pray.

Amen

Jesus Calling

BE WILLING TO FOLLOW wherever I lead. Follow Me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation quickening your pace. Though you don’t know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but nonetheless very real. To receive these gifts, you must walk by faith - not by sight. This doesn’t mean closing your eyes to what is all around you. It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd of your soul.

 

Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you. The higher you climb, the more spectacular to view becomes; also, the more keenly you sense your separation from the world with all its problems. This frees you to experience exuberantly the joyous reality of My Presence. Give yourself fully to these Glory-moments, awash in dazzling Light. I will eventually lead you down the mountain, back into community with others. Let My Light continue to shine within you as you walk among people again.

Life Under The New Covenant

Life Under The New Covenant     Saint James Assembly of Faith

10/5/2016

Hebrews 8:10
…I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…What laws was God referring to when He said, “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts”? He was certainly not referring to the Ten Commandments, known as the laws of the old covenant, since He said that He found fault with that covenant and declared it obsolete. (Hebrews 8:7–9, 13)

The laws that God puts in our minds and writes on our hearts refer to the royal law of love (Matthew 22:37–40), the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25) and the law of faith. (Romans 3:27) These are the laws of the new covenant.
You live according to the laws of the new covenant when you are conscious of how much God loves you. And the more you are conscious of His love for you, the more your heart is filled with love. When that happens, you will love God and the people around you supernaturally and effortlessly. That is God writing on your heart the royal law of love—that we love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Secondly, when you know that you are perfectly accepted by God because of Jesus’ sacrifice, you can have the courage and liberty as a child of God to come boldly into the presence of your heavenly Father. And in His presence, He is able to write on your heart new desires. You will find yourself wanting to do the right thing at the right time. You will live life victoriously from the inside out. This is the perfect law of liberty operating in your life.
Thirdly, when you sense what God is writing on your heart and putting in your mind, and as your faith is activated causing you to trust Him and His love for you, He calls it obeying the law of faith. When that happens, whatever you believe, you receive!
My friend, God has made it easy—and you will find that it is exciting—to live life under the new covenant!

Something New (Today's Reading Ephesians 2:10-22)

It was only scrap wood, but Charles Hooper saw much more than that. Salvaging old timbers from long-abandoned corncrib, he sketched some simple plans. Then he felled a few oak and poplar trees from his wooded property and painstakingly squared them with his grandfather's broadax. Piece by piece, he began to fit together the old lumber with the new.

Today you can see Charles and Shirley Hooper's postcard-perfect log cabin, tucked away in the trees on Tennessee Ridge. Part guesthouse, part museum for family heirlooms, the structure stands as an enduring tribute to Charles' vision, skill, and patience.

Writing to a Gentile audience, Paul told the church at Ephesus how Jesus was creating something new by bringing together Jewish and non-Jewish believers as a single entity. "You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ," Paul wrote (Eph. 2:13). This new structure was "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (vv. 20-21).

The work continues today. God takes the brokenness of our lives, artfully fits us together with other broken and rescued people, and patiently chips away our rough edges. He loves His work, you know.

Saint James Assemblt of Faith 

Feeling Insignificant?

We are among seven billion people who coexist on a tiny planet that resides in a small section of a rather insignificant solar system. Our earth, in reality, is just one minuscule blue dot among millions of celestial bodies that God created. On the gigantic canvas that is our universe, our beautiful, majestic Earth appears as a tiny speck of dust.
That could make us feel extremely unimportant and inconsequential. However, God's Word suggests that just the opposite is true. Our great God, who "measured the waters in the hollow of His hand" (Isa. 40:12), has singled out each person on this planet as supremely important, for we are made in His image.
For instance, He has created everything for us to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17). Also, for all who have trusted Jesus as Savior, God has given purpose (Eph. 2:10). And then there's this: Despite the vastness of this world, God cares specifically about each of us. Psalm 139 says He knows what we are going to say and what we are thinking. We can't escape His presence, and He planned our earthly existence before we were born.
We don't need to feel unimportant when the God of the universe is that interested in us!
Saint James Assembly of Faith