The Apostles Did It, We Can, Too

 

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ, we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

1 Corinthians 4:9-13

So, you think you are having a bad day? The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of what every day was like for the apostles. Yes, they had their church friends, but they also had a world full of enemies who killed all of them except John the Beloved.

What does this teach us? It teaches us that it is not always easy to be a Christian and to act in a Christ like manner. It teaches us that even when we do what is right, there will be people who will criticize and torment us for doing the right thing.

And, should we do something wrong, there will be people who know nothing of the forgiveness of God, who will yell at us and gossip about our shortcomings.

All this stuff happens, but we know our faith rests in God and that we are called by God to do His work. Therefore, we keep on working for God and sharing the Gospel.

If Paul and the apostles did it, we can, too.

Sing For Joy

 

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,

Let them ever sing for joy;

And may you shelter them,

That those who love your name may exult in You.

For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,

You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12

Every now and then, we get something going that is not good.  Maybe our spouse or our kids are mad at us.  Maybe we are falsely accused.  Or, it might be, through no fault of our own, we end up alone.  All these things can cause us to feel hopeless. 

But we are not hopeless because God promises us that we can take refuge in Him and He will restore our joy and He will bless us.  And, He will surround us with favor like a shield.  

We sing for joy because God is on our side.

Filled Up

 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven or on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to His be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 

If you aren’t charged up for God, after reading this prayer, you should be. 

God welcomes our prayers, in whatever words we chose to use. However, the Bible also provides us prayers we can pray. This prayer is powerful in that it opens us up to receive from God the knowledge of His great love for us and be filled up to all the fullness of God.

God’s love is high voltage and it is in us.

More Than Words

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 

 "You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.  

The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.  

But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:33-37

My Uncle Al was not a religious man and he rarely went to church, but he did read his Bible and when he talked about the Bible he said, "It's heavy," meaning it had deep meaning which made him think.

That describes this passage in which Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, and which we too can take to heart.

Jesus warns us to not be careless with our words and to think before we speak because when we stand before God we will either be justified or condemned by our words.

Remember, when we are talking, it's more than words, it is a revelation of our hearts, and we want our words to reveal the good in our hearts. 

Keep Going For God

 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

James 1:2-4

Nobody likes trials and tribulations.  They can be heart wrenching and heart breaking and at the very least frustrating, but they also make us stronger because we gain confidence by overcoming the problems we face.  Overcoming may mean victory, or it may mean that we go on serving God, even if things do not workout according to our plans and wishes. 

I won’t say shake it off, but I will say keep going for God.  Things will get better and you will get stronger. 

No Fish, No Problem

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 

Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”   

Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;  so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Luke 5:1-11 

If you know anything about fishermen, you know they like to brag about the fish they catch, so this for Simon was a humbling moment when he confessed they had caught no fish. Yet, here he was, face to face with Jesus and he did as he was told and caught so many fish, that he had to call for help to bring them in.  

I look at this and think how sometimes when we are ready to quit some failing venture, that something happens that brings us enough success that we decide to carry on. That is the way it is with God, when are down to nothing, God is up to something.   

And, for Simon, James and John that is exactly what happened - Jesus called them to be His Disciples and they left everything and followed Him.

So, when you think you are not successful, remember that God's plans are bigger than our plans, and, He will open doors for you to find success. 

Today Is For You

 

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

It's Sunday and it's your day.  Relax and do something you want to do.

Jesus said it and we believe it.

Have a good day.