Jesus Calling (February 3, 2017)

I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. You face nothing alone--nothing! When you feel anxious, know that you are focusing on the visible world and leaving Me out of the picture. The remedy is simple: Fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Verbalize your trust in Me, the Living One who sees you always. I will get you safely through this day and all your days. But you can find Me only in the present. Each day is a precious gift from My Father. How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you! Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly and delving into its depths. As you savor this gift, you find Me.

ROMANS 8:31; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:18; GENESIS 16:13-14 AMP

Everybody! {Read John 12:20-36}

The gospel is not speculation but fact. It is truth, because it is the record of a person who is the Truth. ~ Alexander MacLaren ~

"When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself" (John 12:32).

     Some activities are practiced in certain cultures only. Snake charmers are peculiar to India; eating fish and chips wrapped in a newspaper is unmistakably British. Jesus was universal. He was the Savior of all people. In biblical times, some Jews and also many "heathens" turned to Him. Soon the Greeks started believing in Him and also the Romans. Augustine was one of the early church fathers, and He was from Africa. Columba, another devout church father, was from Ireland. He took the message of Jesus to the island of Iona on the coast of Scotland and used it as a base from which to introduce Jesus to the northern part of Britain. Today, millions of people believe in Jesus and He is worshiped from Fiji to Finland, Chile to China, and Namibia to New Zealand.

     Christ is universal because He personifies God's love to all people and because He died for all humankind. His cross is much more than an adornment. It is a proclamation, a symbol of life through death. It is God's word to a world of violence and evil. It looks ahead with hope for the future and declares that God loves, that God forgives and that God saves.

     If you have always believed in Jesus, devote yourself to Him anew. If you have never believed in Him, give yourself to the Man of Golgotha and to God. Let Christ's dying blood flow into your heart until it overflows with compassion toward all people. And let that love, His love, be your reason for living. 

Lord Jesus, give me the faith to reach out to all people with Your salvation message. Amen.  

Jesus Calling (February 2, 2017)

I AM RENEWING YOUR MIND. When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through this negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.

A renewed mind is Presence-focused. Train your mind to seek Me in every moment, every situation. Sometimes you can find Me in your surroundings: a lilting birdsong, a loved one's smile, golden sunlight. At other times, you must draw inward to find Me. I am always present in your spirit. Seek My Face, speak to Me, and I will light up your mind.

ROMANS 12:2; PSALM 105:4

What would you say is one thing you’d like to change in the world? Are you doing anything about it?

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Works Appointed for You

Did you know that God long ago preordained or appointed things for us to do to make a difference in the world? If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and what are you doing about it today? For one thing, I know it’s not God’s will that anyone perish outside of faith in Christ (2 Peter 3:9), and God doesn’t take any pleasure at all in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23, 32). We can change the world by entering into the harvest of human souls for Christ and His glory. We can change the world by praying for God to send forth more laborers to enter into the harvest with us because the harvest is so great (Luke 10:2). We know that’s God’s will, and we know it can change the world, even if it’s one soul at a time.

Producing Fruit Appointed to Us

Jesus clears up the misconception that we choose Him. Rather, He chose us and and appointed us to bear fruit (John 15:16). This fruit-bearing will glorify God and will change those around us. If others see this fruit, they might have the hunger for it, and we can point them to the Vine, as Jesus is the vine Who produced the fruit in us. If they crave this fruit, maybe they’ll seek out the Vine. They too can be attached and produce fruit to eternal life, which will in turn draw more people to the Vine. No one can produce any fruit unless they are attached to this True Vine (John 15:1, 5) but will be cast into the fire (John 15:6). That’s what God has purposed for us. It not only changes us but can change those around us, which can change the world, even if it’s in your little corner of the world.

Vessels Appointed by God

In Paul’s last letter written to Timothy, Paul tells him that those who are cleansed by God can be instruments for special purposes and can be useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work (2 Timothy 2:21). Paul’s point is that we can be useful vessels of God for different good works in this world, and any good done for the Master will change the world, even if it’s in small ways, but that’s okay. There are many things you can do to change the world such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the sick and those in prison (Matthew 25:42-44). Once again, let me ask you: What would you say is one thing you’d like to change in the world? If you’ve identified what that is–and there are plenty of things you can do to help change the world–are you doing anything about it?  I ask myself the same question.

A Closing Prayer

Great Creator God in heaven, help me to find at least one good thing I can do to change the world, even if it’s in the place where I live or work. I need Your Spirit’s help to change the world because I cannot change anything by myself. In Jesus’ name I pray for Your help.

Amen

Have you noticed how fulfilled your life is when you are doing what I have planned for you?

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

The Joy in His Will

There are fewer things that I have had more joy in doing than what I know to be the will of God. Everything that’s clear about His will that is found in Scripture He has planned for us to do. If we know His will, we know His plans for us. One example is that we are to share the Gospel with the lost (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8) and to glorify God in all we do, living a righteous life (Philippians 1:11), including what we eat, drink, or whatever it is we do (1 Corinthians 10:31). There is true joy in fulfilling God’s plan for your life. Joy is not anything like happiness, which is temporary and based on happenings. But joy is permanent, remains forever, and is multiplied in the life of a believer when he or she is fulfilling God’s plan for his or her life.

Making God’s Plans Yours

We may think we have plans, but the Bible says that even though the plans of the heart belong to us, it is God Who answers all things in our lives (Proverbs 16:1). Even a pagan king’s heart is controlled by God’s sovereign will, whether he knows it or not (Proverbs 21:1). The key is that we can have a more fulfilled life when we are doing what God has planned for us. We can know His plan for us if we know His Word, for His will is revealed in the Word of God. We can plan our own way, but it is truly God Who establishes our every step (Proverbs 16:9), so we should strive to have our steps in sync with God’s plan for our lives.

A Fulfilled Life Is Fulfilled in His Plan

The plans of those who are diligent, especially those who diligently seek God, will lead to an abundant life (Proverbs 21:5), but those who make haste, make waste. Life is so much more fulfilling when we are fulfilling God’s plan for our lives. Isn’t that a worthwhile goal? If you’ve been in God’s will before and you were doing what He planned for you to do, have you noticed how fulfilled your life was when you were doing this? We have a lot of plans in our lives, but only the Lord’s purpose will stand in the end (Proverbs 19:21). So why not strive to do what God’s plan is for your life, whatever that may be; if you do, you can have a more fulfilling life in Christ.

A Closing Prayer

God, I know that You have plans for me just as You did for Israel (Jeremiah 20:9), but all too often I put my own plans ahead of Yours. Please forgive me for that and the idolatry of my heart in making my plans more important than Yours, and in Jesus’ great name I pray.

Amen

Listen, God Is Speaking {Read John 12:20-30}

Words that do not give the light of Christ only make the darkness worse. ~ Mother Teresa ~

Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "I have already brought glory to My name, and I will do so again" (John 12:28).

    Sometimes people claim that God spoke to them. Jean d' Arc heard so many "voices" that people thought she was mentally disturbed. There are people who claim that God told them to do something. Many of these allegations are untrue - they are simply claiming God's authority to justify their own selfish aims. 

     God speaks throughout the entire Bible. When Jesus prayed to His Father and asked for glory to be brought to His name, "a voice spoke from heaven." Some of the people present heard it as the sound of thunder, and often in the Old Testament thunder was regarded as God's voice. Whatever sound they might have heard, God spoke to both Jesus and the crowd. God was saying to Jesus that He had already brought glory to His name by raising Lazarus and that He would do it again with the death and resurrection of the Son.

     Does God ever speak to you? Do you listen for His voice during your daily prayers and when you read the Bible? Do you listen when you worship in church on a Sunday, or in your cell group, or in your conversations with friends? Sometimes God speaks by making you conscious of a certain matter that you need to know about. At other times, He speaks to challenge you; sometimes to comfort you, and always to encourage and assure you of His love.

Father God, urge me to listen and obey when You speak. Amen.    

Jesus Calling (February 1, 2017)

FOLLOW ME ONE STEP AT A TIME. That is all I require of you. In fact, that is the only way to move through this space/time world. You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you're going to scale those heights. Meanwhile, because you're not looking where you're going, you stumble on the easy path where I am leading you now. As I help you get back on your feet, you tell Me how worried you are about the cliffs up ahead. But you don't know what will happen today much less tomorrow. Our path may take an abrupt turn, leading you away from those mountains. There may be an easier way up the mountains that is visible from the distance. If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb. I will even give My angels charge over you, to preserve you in all your ways.

Keep your mind on the present journey, enjoying My Presence. Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting Me to open up the way before you.

PSALM 18:29; PSALM 91:11-12 AMP; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 NKJV