"Speak Well Of Them"

28, April 2017

"Speak Well Of Them"

‘Do good to those who hate you.’ Luke 6:27 NKJV

When General Robert E. Lee was asked by Confederate US President Jefferson Davis to give his opinion about a certain officer, he gave a glowing report. One of the officers in attendance was amazed at his words and said to Lee, ‘General, do you know that the man of whom you speak so highly to the president is one of your bitterest enemies, and never misses an opportunity to criticize you’?  Lee said, ‘Yes, but the president asked my opinion of him. He didn’t ask for his opinion of me’.

It takes character, compassion and courage to speak well of a critic.  But when you do, three good things happen:

(1) You increase your own value. You show you’re able to rise above criticism by bestowing praise on another.

(2) You defuse your enemy’s criticism of you.  When people hear your praise of a critic and their disdain for you, their respect for you rises and they see you in a different light.

(3) People see you as fair-minded and generous. It takes very little effort to respond in kind to a critic, but it takes Christlike character to turn the other cheek and bless them.

Jesus said: ‘Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also… And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise’ (Luke 6:27–31 NKJV).  You say, ‘That’s a high standard’.   It’s the one Jesus set, practiced throughout His life, and is calling you to live by today.  

"Keep The Fire Burning"

15, April 2017

"Keep The Fire Burning"

‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us …?’ Luke 24:32 NKJV

After the resurrection Jesus met two of His disciples who’d seen Him crucified and didn’t know He’d been raised from the dead. Then later as He ate supper with them at their house, an interesting thing happened: ‘Their eyes were opened … they knew Him … and they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”’ (Luke 24:31–32 NKJV)

This story has much to teach us about keeping the fire of love and devotion to Christ burning in our hearts. As you walk with Jesus and spend time in His presence, He talks to you and reveals Himself through the Scriptures. We all know that to keep a fire burning you must tend it, stoke it, and keep fueling it.

Why do some of us go on to higher heights and deeper depths in our walk with God, while others seem to go around in circles without getting anywhere?  Because one group commits itself to pursuing God until His presence becomes a daily reality in their lives, while the other group doesn’t. It’s that simple. The question is, which group are you in?  If you’re lukewarm and half-hearted in your walk with God, today He is saying to you, ‘Return to Me … and I will return to you’ (Zechariah 1:3 NKJV) .... Or in layman’s terms: ‘Turn around and come back ... You’ll find Me where you left Me.’

So the word for you today is:  keep the fire burning.

"Peace Comes By Trusting In Christ"

02, April 2017

"Peace Comes By Trusting In Christ"

‘Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’  Romans 5:1 KJV

Charles Stanley tells of asking his waitress, ‘If you could ask God for anything, what would that be’?  Instantly she answered, ‘I want to feel at peace’.  Through tears she spoke of painful losses that turned her life into intense emotional turmoil.  Many people, like this young woman, want inner peace without a relationship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. They seek it in ways that don’t work—physical fitness, improving their appearance, financial security, fame, social status, or human relationships. Some seek it in alcohol and drugs. But none of these things can provide peace of heart and mind; only a relationship with Jesus can do that.

Before we meet Jesus we are slaves to sin, living in opposition to God (Romans 6:16). And our sins separate us from God so we live with guilt, stress, and shame ... But He has provided a remedy.  ‘God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8 NIV), removing our sin, guilt, and shame, and ending our separation from God.  When we trust in Christ as our Savior He promises, ‘Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:1 NIV).

If you have placed your trust in Christ, read this:  ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand' (Philippians 4:6–7 TLB).

"Christ Is In You" (Part #1)

29, March 2017

"Christ Is In You" (Part #1)

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.’ Ezekiel 36:26 NKJV

When God said, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you,’ you could call it ‘a spiritual heart transplant’.  Tara Storch understands this miracle.  In 2010 a skiing accident claimed the life of her thirteen-year-old daughter, Taylor.  What followed for Tara and her husband, Todd, was every parent’s worst nightmare: a funeral, a burial, a flood of questions and tears.

They decided to donate their daughter’s organs to needy patients ... And few people needed a heart more than Patricia Winters. Her heart had begun to fail five years earlier, leaving her too weak to do much more than sleep. Taylor’s heart gave Patricia a fresh start in life. Taylor’s mom had only one request: she wanted to hear her daughter’s heartbeat.  She and Todd flew from Dallas to Phoenix and went to Patricia’s home, where the two mothers embraced for a long time. Then Patricia offered Tara and Todd a stethoscope.

The question is:  when they listened to the healthy rhythm, whose heart did they hear? Did they not hear the still-beating heart of their daughter?  It indwelt a different body, but the heart was still the heart of their child ... And when God hears your heart, does He not hear the still-beating heart of His Son?

Paul said, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).  The apostle sensed within himself not just the philosophy, ideals, and influence of Christ, but the person of Christ.  Christ moved in—and He still does.  ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27 NKJV).

To Be Kind Is To Be Godly

28, March 2017

To Be Kind Is To Be Godly

‘That … He might show … His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.’ Ephesians 2:7 NIV

The Bible says:  ‘raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms … that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus’  (Ephesians 2:6–7 NIV).  God sent Jesus from Heaven to earth, so that we can leave earth one day and go to Heaven. This is evidence of God’s kindness, even to those who aren’t yet believers.

Beyond that, enjoying the presence of Christ in Heaven will remind us of God’s great kindness for all eternity.  God places so high a premium on kindness that He never wants us to forget it. So if you want to be ‘godly’ you must endeavor to be kind.

Sometimes Christians are so committed to the tenets of their faith that they come across sounding harsh, and end up turning people off.  Be careful; you can have the right doctrine—and the wrong spirit!  God’s grace attracts people, it doesn’t repel them.

In The Lion and the Mouse, Aesop said, ‘No act of kindness, no matter how small, ever is wasted’. It costs to be unkind, but it pays to be kind.  So take every opportunity today to be kind to others. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:  ‘You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late’.  The apostle Paul puts it like this: ‘Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves’ (Romans 12:10 NIV).  Today remember that to be kind is to be godly.