Changed form the Inside

Oh how I need to be changed from the inside out. I am so glad I ran across this little devotional, and I wanted to share it with you!

Changed from the Inside

People think they can scratch their inner itches by changing their image... changing their wardrobes ... changing their cars ... changing their careers ... or even changing their wives or husbands.

But the Word of God warns us against looking for inner peace and satisfaction by making external changes!

Only the Lord can bring about true change or genuine fulfillment, and He does it from the inside out. He alone can satisfy a restless heart.

A New Time and Place

Learn His Name

You haven't done this before. Ask using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. (NLT) -John 16:24

When you meet someone and want to get to know them the first thing you learn is their name. We now have the freedom to approach God directly and call Him, personally, by name. And it's not just an ordinary name, but a powerful one. When we call out Christ's name in faith, we are calling on a force greater than ourselves who provides joy.

I couldn't have said it any better thany devotional today.  Must learn and rely on the Name that is above all others.

Serving Others

Serving Others

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me

- Matthew 25:40

There are many of Jesus' instructions that we show by our actions we have not fully comprehended or considered -- or even believed.

He exhorts us "take no thought for tomorrow" and yet we worry ourselves to death. He promises "my yoke is easy" and yet we prefer to labor under our own. He says, "If you love me, keep my commandments" and yet we ever strive to separate the two. He warns "you cannot serve God and money" and yet we always try to join the two.

But perhaps the revelation which is most widely ignored is this: if you do anything for the least of Jesus' brethren, it is as if you have done it to Jesus. Do you live like that is true?

Have you visited dingy, smelly nursing homes; given to foreign evangelism; reached out to broken addicts; taught your children the Bible -- all as if you were doing it to Jesus? So often we hurry by the hurting faces of Jesus' brothers and sisters because we consider them beneath us. And yet King Jesus says, "you have done it to me."

Did you wake up this morning with the realization that today you could do something to minister directly to Jesus? Let that revelation sink in. Live like you take Jesus' statement seriously. Help the hurting, dust the furniture, teach the Bible, give to the needy, encourage the downcast just the way you would if Jesus was the One you were encountering today. Because he is.

 http://baptistbiblehour.org

Gratitude

Amen. Something we all can't live without how do we expect it to be anything less for God. 

I want to live a life of gratitude to my Lord and Savior!

Gratitude

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

- Ephesians 5:20

We are here admonished to give thanks for all things. We know we should give thanks for our daily provisions and for the mercy of God in saving us; but sometimes we don't take the time or make the effort to truly thank him, or to consider all the things for which we should be grateful.

The Apostle Paul frequently expressed his thanks to God for the faith, love and work seen in the churches where he had labored. He acknowledged that these godly fruits were because of God's blessings on them and therefore gave thanks to God. He constantly expressed thankfulness for his godly fellow laborers, but consistently expressed thankfulness to God for even their faithfulness (Romans 1:8; 1 Corinthians 1:4; Philippians 1:3; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:3).

Astonishingly, Paul also expressed appreciation for tribulations (Romans 5:3), and even acknowledged that he took pleasure in "infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake" because God's strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10). If God's sufficiency is displayed in my insufficiency, Paul said, then I am thankful for each opportunity for his strength to be shown in my weakness.

And above all, the Apostle gave thanks for the Savior. He wrote, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). Words are inadequate to describe the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ, but we should continually give thanks for him and his love for us.

 http://baptistbiblehour.org

The Conversation of Prayer

The Conversation of PRAYER

WHAT CAN WE PRAY FOR?

It is obviously a great privilege for us to pray, bringing our needs and requests before an omnipotent God. Yet amazingly, Jesus has made it possible for us to approach God with confidence and to come before Him boldly. God hears us when we pray and it is His will that prayer would allow us to know Him more and receive His grace.

Perhaps you haven't always prayed with the confidence that 1 John 5:14-15 and Ephesians 3:12 speak of. Consider why that is and allow the truth of God's Word to replace the old mindsets you may have had about prayer.

During this time as we seek God to see a change in our lives and the world around us, let's be united in prayer for:

1. Salvations - for loved ones in our world who are yet to know Jesus.

2. Our city and nation - let's believe for our leaders and authorities to lead with Godly wisdom and counsel.

3. Revival - let's believe together for people to awaken to the things of God and for Him to move mightily across the earth.

Call to Worship

Oh how do I need to get this deep down into my soul. It isn't about what others can do to help me get closer to God it's all about what I can do. I must bless The Lord for it is only through Him that I can be saved, healed, and whole.

Call to Worship

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

- Psalm 103:2

Although we are consistently called to thanksgiving and worship by our faithful pastors, by the Word of God, and by godly friends there is another source from which we should expect this admonition -- our own soul.

David writes, preaching to himself the gospel of grace, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." We should constantly be preaching to ourselves, as David does in the Psalms. It need not be a complicated or particularly academic sermon. It can be as simple as these three words: "Bless the Lord!"

As the first point in his sermon to himself, David exhorts "forget not all his benefits." The most powerful antidote to depression is a grateful heart. And the most effective way to develop a grateful heart is to consciously, specifically recount the Lord's blessings and to thank him for each one.

Are you spiritually cold or disheartened? Preach this sermon to yourself-bless the Lord, O my soul! Are you discouraged? Forget not all his benefits.

"When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

 http://baptistbiblehour.org

Satan Stalked Him

Totally hit me like a ton of bricks when I read this. Not just one day but days. Thank You Jesus for not giving in!

Satan Stalked Him 
by Max Lucado from 3:16

He faced all of the same temptations we do. — Hebrews 4:15

You and I know what it is like to endure a moment of temptation or an hour of temptation, even a day of temptation.

But forty days? That is what Jesus faced.

The Spirit led Jesus into the desert where the devil tempted Jesus for forty days. — Luke 4:1–2

We imagine the wilderness temptation as three isolated events scattered over a forty-day period. Would that it had been. In reality, Jesus’ time of testing was nonstop; “the devil tempted Jesus for forty days.”

Satan got on Jesus like a shirt and refused to leave. Every step, whispering in His ear.

Every turn of the path, sowing doubt. Was Jesus impacted by the devil? Apparently so. Luke doesn’t say that Satan tried to tempt Jesus. No, the passage is clear: “the devil tempted Jesus.”

Jesus was tempted; He was tested.

Tempted to change sides? Tempted to go home? Tempted to settle for a kingdom on earth? I don’t know, but I know He was tempted. A war raged within. Stress stormed without.

Like Jesus we are tempted. Like Jesus we are accused. But unlike Jesus, we give up. We give out. We sit down. How can our hearts have the endurance Jesus had? By focusing where Jesus focused: on “the joy that God put before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). He lifted His eyes beyond the horizon and saw the table. He focused on the feast. And what He saw gave Him strength to finish — and finish strong.

Such a moment awaits us. In an hour that has no end, we will rest. Surrounded by saints and engulfed by Jesus himself, the work will, indeed, be finished. The final harvest will have been gathered, we will be seated, and Christ will christen the meal with these words:

Well done, good and faithful servant. — Matthew 25:23

* * *

If You're a Follower of Jesus

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you are a new creation.

You don’t live in the garden anymore, true. You were made in the image of God, and sin fractured that image, but it’s still there. Latent in your humanity. And the Spirit of Jesus is at work in your life. He’s re-creating you from the ground up.

But keep in mind that creation is a process, not an item on a to-do list. And the creative process takes time. A lot of time. What you and I call “the creative process,” theologians call “sanctification.” Don’t get scared off by the technical jargon. To be sanctified means “to be set apart” from the ugly, distorted human you used to be and remade into the real you.

Get that. The real you.

To God, your identity — what makes you you — isn’t rooted in the past (who you were) or in the present (who you are), but in the future — in who you are becoming.

Me? Are you sure? Yes.

In theology this is called “eschatological realism,” which is a way of saying you are in the process of becoming who you really are.

You are “holy,” and you are in the process of becoming holy.

You are “pure,” and you are in the process of becoming pure.

You are “blameless” (or without defect), and you are in the process of becoming blameless.

God starts with the end in mind and works backward, kind of like reverse engineering. I think of Paul’s language to the church in Ephesus. “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Put another way, “This is who you are. Now live up to it.”

God Knows Your Name

God knows your name. He created you and redeemed you from sin through His son, Jesus. 

If you have accepted Him as your personal Savior, then you can call yourself redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

For He knows you. He put together your personality and topped off His masterpiece by giving you all sorts of likes and dislikes, dreams and desires, passions and preferences. 

You are His unique design, His beloved one.

No matter if you don't feel belonged, you belong to God. He takes great joy in you. You are Hus treasure. 

He sent Jesus to die on the cross to give you abundant life. He wants to spend eternity with you! 

He calls you by name, and your name is music to your Father's ears.

Gardening

God put Adam in the garden to “work it and take care of it.” That was a part of human’s job description. The not-alone God says,

“Let us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness, so that they may rule...”

Then God says, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Human was created to rule over the earth and subdue it. So let’s take a minute to hash this out.

The Hebrew word translated “rule” means to actively partner with God in taking the world somewhere. And the word subdue doesn’t mean to exploit or harm the earth. It means to harness the raw materials that make up the planet, all that pent-up potentiality, and make something beautiful.

We were created to work. But not just any kind of work. To work for human flourishing. To partner with God to make a garden-like world in which humans can thrive and God can walk with his people in the cool of the day. What the Hebrews called shalom. Contrary to the mantra of the day, we do not work to live. In God’s economy, we live to work.

We need to recapture a theology of vocation. The word vocation comes from a Latin word meaning “calling.” I believe there is a calling on every person’s life to partner with God in their corner of the garden and to work for human flourishing.

I believe God calls architects and artists and accountants and stay-at-home moms and baristas and mortgage brokers — and on down the list. We need the full spectrum of vocations for Eden — not just “spiritual” vocations (whatever that means), but every human on the planet doing what God made them to do.

The first thing God does with Adam is put him in the garden to “work it and take care of it.”

Everybody needs a gardening project.

Put another way, everybody needs to find a calling in life. A sense of, “This is what I was put on earth to do. This is what I’m good at. This is what I was made for. This is my Eden, my corner of the earth to rule over.”

What’s your calling? What’s your gardening project?