Without Fault

I got excited about Ephesians 1:3-4 this morning: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”*

Wow! I am “united with Christ” and “in Christ,” so these verses apply to me. I wrote: “I praise You, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! I praise and thank and love You, our Father in heaven, because you see me (and all Christ-followers) as holy and without fault, and you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, and You loved and chose us before You made the world. And You are the One who placed us in Christ and united us with Him (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)! May Your name be ever praised!”

I heard a radio preacher say that God has “in-Christ-ed” us. He encouraged everyone to look in Scripture for the results of being in Christ. Besides Ephesians 1:3-4, one of my favorites is 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.”*

*New Living Translation

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Taste Test

          “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 New Living Translation)
I always thought of “tasting” in this verse as “taking a little sample” of God, like tasting the soup to see if it has enough salt. Since the rest of the verse says that the taste reveals God’s goodness, that understanding is probably right.
However, today I thought about “tasting” God like I taste my favorite foods. As I eat them, I savor and enjoy them. They satisfy me and give me energy and nourishment. Today I think I’ll savor and enjoy God. He will nourish and satisfy me. As I wait on Him, He will renew my strength (Isaiah 40:31). I will delight more and more in His goodness.

 

None Like God

Verses from Psalm 86: 1-5, 8, 12-13, New International Version, with my thoughts:
1. Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Am I poor and needy? Maybe not financially since any American is rich compared to most people in other parts of the world. But I am spiritually poor when my faith is small and I get discouraged. I’m needy because I am a broken person living in a broken world and both body and soul can be wounded and/or knocked off balance.
2. Guard my life, for I am faithful to You; save Your servant who trusts in You. You are my God. The key to receiving God’s help is for me to faithfully seek Him instead of other answers and to trust His power and care. I will have no other gods besides the living God, Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. I will be faithful to You, Lord.
3. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to You all day long. I will be persistent and patient in prayer.
4. Bring joy to Your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in You. I will trust in You, Lord, with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). (In Your presence is fullness of joy—from Psalm 16:11.)
5. You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You. Thank You, Lord, that You abound in love to me as I call on You.
8. Among the gods, there is none like You, Lord; no deeds can compare with Yours. For example, what other god could cause a dead stick to bud, blossom, and bear almonds as You did with Aaron’s staff?
12-13. I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever. 13 For great is Your love toward me. You have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. Yes, I will glorify Your name forever and praise You with all my heart, Lord, for great is Your love for me!

(Image from Pinterest)

A Spirit of Power

In the New King James Version, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” It is almost the same in the New Living Translation: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Yes! God has given me His Holy Spirit. He, being the third Person of the Holy Trinity, certainly is full of power and love, and He works in me to get my wild thoughts under control and to take my upside down thinking patterns and set them right.

Because this Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (or self-discipline) lives in me, I can:
 Do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
 Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
 Keep my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. (Hebrews 12:2)
 Keep my mind stayed on God, trusting in Him. (Isaiah 26:3)
 Go into each day with courage and confidence. (Joshua 1:9)
 Bring glory and honor to God every day. (Isaiah 61:3)
 Consider the interests of others as more important than my own.(Philippians 2:4)
 Develop the humility of Christ in thoughts and attitudes.(Philippians 2:5)

Ephesians 5:18, Amplified Bible: “…Ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.”

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PETER AND JUDAS?

This sermon by Pastor Tom really helped me. One thing he points out is that we need to seek repentance, and beware of regret. He says, “If you find you are regretful but not repentant, I encourage you to ask God to help you repent instead.”

Clear Bible

Peter is my hero. He seems to mess up more than any of the other disciples, but he is my hero because of what he does afterhe makes mistakes. Every time, he repents, and goes back to Jesus in humility and faith. It’s not about how often you fall down: it’s about what you do after you fall. And Peter always does the right thing after he falls. He’s a terrific example for us.

To listen to the sermon, click the play button:

To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer:
Download Matthew Part

Matthew #96. Matthew 26:69-27:10

There is a lot going on here. Matthew tells the tale as it happened, so we are jumping back and forth between various events. So far, I have not spoken about the physical suffering that Jesus experienced…

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Search and Find

In Deuteronomy 4:26-28, God warns Israel (through Moses) that if they break His covenant with them, He will scatter them among the nations, and only a few of them will survive. But then Moses tells them in verses 29 and 31 of that chapter, “But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. …For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.”
 What a wonderful promise from You, O merciful Father. Your mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:23) Faithful Father, You won’t abandon me either (Hebrews 13:5). And You won’t forget the promises You have made to us who are in Christ Jesus. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Amen.
Isaiah 56:4 “For this is what the Lord says: I will bless those …who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.”
Psalm 62:8 “O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.”
(Scripture verses are from the New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Stay Alert

    Exodus 24:9-10 says that Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s sons) and 70 of Israel’s elders climbed Mt. Sinai and “there they saw the God of Israel.” Verse 11 says, “And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!” (Quotes are New Living Translation.)
Verse 12 says that God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain, so I guess at some point the group must have gone down to the people.
When Moses and Joshua climbed the mountain this time, Moses told the elders that Aaron and Hur were present, and if there was a problem, to consult with them. Moses was with God getting instructions for 40 days and nights.
Exodus 32 says the people got impatient and said they didn’t know what happened to Moses. They asked for gods who could lead them. So Aaron made the golden calf.
After Aaron and his sons and those elders had eaten and drank with God, how could they do that?! But don’t I do the same thing sometimes? I stumble off God’s path into my own way even after I’ve experienced Him in marvelous ways. I’m so thankful for God’s forgiveness and that He draws me back to Himself!
   Oh Father, please help me watch and pray so I won’t enter into temptation. Amen. (See Matthew 26:41.)