Archive for January, 2010
The Last Step
by PRRussell on Jan.31, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
The Last Step
He will change our simple bodies and make them like His own glorious body. Philippians 3:21
Which word describes your body? My cancerous body? My arthritic body? My deformed body? My crippled body? The word may be different but the message is the same: These bodies are weak. They began decaying the minute we began breathing.
And, according to God, that’s a part of the plan. Every wrinkle and every needle take us one step closer to the last step when Jesus will change our simple bodies into forever bodies. No pain. No depression. No sickness. No end.
This is not our forever house. It will serve for the time being. But there is nothing like the moment we enter His door.
“Traveling Light” by Max Lucado
Love for the Least
by PRRussell on Jan.25, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
Love for the Least
“I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.” Matthew 25:35
What is the sign of the saved? Their scholarship? Their willingness to go to foreign lands? Their ability to amass an audience and preach? Their skillfull pens and hope-filled volumes?Their great miracles? No.
The sign of the saved is their love for the least.
Those put on the right hand of God will be those who gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, warmth for the lonely, clothing to the naked, comfort to the sick, and friendship to the imprisoned.
Did you note how simple the works are? Jesus doesn’t say, “I was sick and you healed me…..I was in prison and you liberated me….I was lonely and you built a retirement home for me…..” He doesn’t say, “I was thirsty and you gave me spiritual counsel.”
No fanfare. No hoopla. No media coverage. Just good people doing good things.
“And the Angels Were Silent” by Max Lucado
Applaud Loud and Often
by PRRussell on Jan.25, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
Applaud Loud and Often
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Psalm 105:2 NKJV
God has never taken His eyes off you. Not for a millisecond. He’s always near. He lives to hear your heartbeat. He loves to hear your prayers. He’d die for your sin before He’d let you die in your sin, so He did.
What do you do with such a Savior? Don’t you sing to Him? Don’t you declare, confess, and proclaim His name? Don’t you bow a knee, lower a head, hammer a nail, feed the poor, and lift up your gift in worship? Of course you do.
Worship God. Applaud Him loud and often. For your sake, you need it.
And for heaven’s sake, He deserves it.
“Cure for the Common Life” by Max Lucado
A Heart Like His
by PRRussell on Jan.21, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
A Heart Like His
We are like clay, and You are the potter, Your hands made us all. Isaiah 64:8
[God] wants us to be just like Jesus.
Isn’t that good news? You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You aren’t condemned to “grumpydom.” You are tweakable. Even if you’ve worried each day of your life, you needn’t worry the rest of your life. So what if you were born a bigot? You don’t have to die one.
Where did we get the idea we can’t change? From whence come statements such as, “It’s just my nature to worry” or, “I’ll always be pessimistic. I’m just that way.”…. Who says? Would we make similar statements about our bodies? “It’s just my nature to have a broken leg. I can’t do anything abou it.” Of course not. If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn’t we do the same with our hearts? Shouldn’t we seek aid for our sour attitudes? Can’t we request treatment for our selfish tirades? Of course we can. Jesus can change our hearts. He wants us to have a heart like His.
“Just Like Jesus” by Max Lucado
Ask and Believe
by PRRussell on Jan.20, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
Ask and Believe
“If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:24
“If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
Don’t reduce this grand statement to the category of new cars and paychecks. Don’t limit the promise of this passage to the selfish pool of perks and favros. The fruit God assures is far greater than earthly wealth. His dreams are much greater than promotions and proposals.
God wants you to fly. He wants you to fly free of yesterday’s guilt. He wants you to fly free of today’s fears. He wants you to fly free of tomorrow’s grave. Sin, fear, death. These are the mountains He has moved. These are the prayers He will answer. That is the fruit He will grant. This is what He longs to do.
“And the Angels Were Silent” by Max Lucado
God’s Good Gifts
by PRRussell on Jan.16, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
God’s Good Gifts
Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. James 1:17
Ever feel like you have nothing? Just look at the gifts [God] has given you:
He has sent His angels to care for you, His Holy Spirit to dwell in you, His church to encourage you, and His word to guide you……
Anytime you speak, He listens; make a request and He responds.
He will never let you be tempted too much or stumble too far.
Let a tear appear on your cheek, and He is there to wipe it.
Let a love sonnot appear on your lips, and He is there to hear it.
As much as you want to see Him, He wants to see you more….
You have been chosen by Christ…..He has claimed you as His beloved.
“When Christ Comes” by Max Lucado
Just the Way You Are
by PRRussell on Jan.15, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
Just the Way You Are
In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5
It’s dangerous to sum up grand truths in one statement, but I’m going to try. If a sentence or two could capture God’s desire for each of us, it might read like this:
God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.
God loves you just the way you are. If you think His love for you would be stronger if your faith were, you are wrong. If you think His love would be deeper if your thoughts were, wrong again. Don’t confuse God’s love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you right where you are.
“Just Like Jesus” by Max Lucado
Our High Priest
by PRRussell on Jan.10, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
Our High Priest
Our High Priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When He lived on earth, He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin. Hebrews 4:15
Read how J.B. Phillips translates Hebrews 4:15:
For we have no super human high priest to whom our weaknesses our unintelligible – He Himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that He never sinned.
It’s as if he knows that we will say to God…..: “God, it’s easy for You up there. You don’t know how hard it is from down here.” So he boldly proclaims Jesus’ ability to understand. Look at the wording again.
He Himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus Himself.
Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully.
In all our experience. Every hurt. Each ache. All the stresses and all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes. Why? So He could sympathize with our weaknesses.
“In the Eye of the Storm” by Max Lucado
A Yoke of Kindness
by PRRussell on Jan.09, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
A Yoke of Kindness
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 NKJV
Farmers in ancient Israel used to train an inexperienced ox by yoking it to an experienced one with a wooden harness. The straps around the older animal were tightly drawn. He carried the load. But the yoke around the younger animal was loose. He walked alongside the more mature ox, but his burden was light. In this verse Jesus is saying, “I walk alongside you. We are yoked together. But I pull the weight and carry the burden.”
I wonder, how many burdens is Jesus carrying for us that we know nothing about? We’re aware of some. He carries our sin. He carries our shame. He carries our eternal debt. But are there others? Has He lifted fears before we felt them? Has He carried our confusion so we wouldn’t have to? Those times when we have been surprised by our own sense of peace? Could it be that Jesus has lifted our anxiety onto His shoulders and placed a yoke of kindness on ours?
“A Love Worth Giving” by Max Lucado
We Need a Big God
by PRRussell on Jan.07, 2010, under ♥ My Spiritual Blog
We Need a Big God
“I am Yahweh ” Exodus 6:2 JB
The Israelites considered the name Yahweh too holy to be spoken by human lips. Whenever they needed to say Yahweh, they substituted the word Adonai, which means “Lord.” If the name needed to be written, the scribes would take a bath before they wrote it and destroy the pen afterward.
The name I AM sounds strikingly close to the Hebrew verb to be-havah. It’s quite possibly a combination of the present tense form (I am) and the causative tense (I cause to be). Yahweh, then, seems to mean “I AM” and “I cause.” God is the “One who is” and the “One who causes.”
Why is that important? Because we need a big God. And if God is the “One who is,” then He is an unchanging God.
“Traveling Light” by Max Lucado