"GREED"

"Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:15 (NASB)

How will we ever be satisfied or fulfilled when we never seem to have enough? Not just things and money either. Not enough time, energy, peace, happiness, hope, love, support, affirmation, respect, etc. etc. I could go on and on. I know what my three are. How about you? We want more because we are selfish, self-focused, and self-indulged. Our expectations for self-fulfillment and satisfaction leave us wanting and needy. We who have so much want more and more. There is never enough. We live in a world where three things are primarily stealing our joy and we pretend we don’t see it.

Who We Are!

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

We not only learn from the Word of God by what it says, but also by what it does not say. First of all, this verse makes it clear that it is God who gives life, He creates each individual and we in effect are unique masterpieces. This, in and of itself is a bit overwhelming and humbling. I think everybody wonders why they are here at some juncture. What is our purpose? Are we just random whimsical notions of a distant Supreme being battling boredom? Do we have a distinct purpose, a reason, a task or goal for our lives? Because of “free will” we have a choice as to how or whether we respond. But, what did God have in mind as he grants us life? This verse does not say that we were created in Christ Jesus to attain success or fame or wealth or even freedom. It does not say we were made to find happiness or satisfaction. What it says is we were created to do good works. I shouldn’t need to tell you essentially what “good works” are. We all know. As we often say, “It is not about us, right?”

"Look For Jesus In Your Trials"

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, many be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

1 Peter 1:6-7

Previous verses explain that what we rejoice in is our salvation. These verses remind us that though our eternal reward is wonderful, this life brings any number of trials and a fair share of grief. The purpose of our earthly suffering is refinement. We need it. We must have our faith tested and tried, because that way we understand the deeper value of what we have. We go through the fire and we come out purer and truer and more genuine.

Be A Light

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:14-16

Another year is coming to an end. The older I get the faster they seem to fly by. This year was full of challenges, joy, love, family, friends, loss, grief and grandkids.

God Came Near

"His kingdom will never end" Luke 1:33

This devotion is taken from a devotional book I have been reading each morning, "Grace For The Moment, Volume II" by Max Lucado. I found this so precious that I wanted to share it with you, on Christmas day.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

""And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary, His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."" Matthew 2:11

A lot of Christian songs have stories. Even the Christmas Carols. John Francis Wade wrote "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1743. Under persecution he had fled England as streams of other Catholics did, to France and Portugal. At age 32 he produced a copy of a Latin Christmas carol beginning with the phrase "Adeste Fidelis, Laeti triumphantes." Seven original hand-copied manuscripts of this Latin hymn have been found, all of them bearing Wade's signature. He was a renowned copyist of musical scores. As Catholics returned to Britain after Wade had passed away they brought his beloved hymn with them. Another Catholic, an Anglican convert, by the name of Rev. Frederick Oakeley came across the Latin version and after several awkward attempts finally, in 1845, translated more accurately into English, the opening phrase as "O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant." This caught on quickly and spread as a favorite among Protestants and Catholics.

Our Inheritance

"..an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade---kept in heaven for you."

1 Peter 1:4

The preceding verse tells us that the gift of new birth in Christ is this inheritance. I have never received any kind of inheritance other than the spiritual kind and probably won't, but I wouldn't trade my eternal reward for all the money in the world. You see, in my life I have been in plenty (at least by my standards) and in want (again by my standards).

An Open Letter to All Christians, from John C. Adams III

"[BIBLE VERSE]" [REFERENCE]

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL CHRISTIANS: Therefore, I encourage all Christians this year (and from now on) to openly, lovingly and joyfully celebrate Christmas and enjoy a Merry and Blessed Christmas, share it enthusiastically with others, sharing the real reason why we celebrate this glorious and wonderful Holy Day (from which the word "Holiday" was derived); which God's angels proclaimed as "...Good News of Great Joy to All People. Today in the town of David (Bethlehem) a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord!" (Luke 2:10-11)

A Living Hope

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

Peter knows what he is talking about. Not only because he is being led of the Holy Spirit as he writes his epistle, but because from personal experience he knows what it is like to feel "dead", to feel "done", to feel "hopeless". As I read Peter's general epistle to us all I have to remind myself that this is also the man that was overly exuberant, zealous to a fault and at the other end of the spectrum denied Christ, ran away, quit and practically could not go on.

The Gift of Love

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5

This Sunday, the last Sunday of Advent, Pastor Fred will be teaching on love, referencing one of the most frequently quoted passages of Scripture, John 3:16-17--"For God so loved the world that he gave is one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Who We Are

"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance." 1 Peter 1:1-2

In the opening words of Peter's epistle to all of us, he uses some fascinating words to describe who we are in Christ Jesus. Between the places that are not easy to pronounce, and Peter's rather 'over the top' proclamation to introduce his epistle, there are some key clues to our identity as believers. Let me pick them out and list them so we can be encouraged about who we are. We are God's elect, chosen, foreknown-this is very well said when referenced to passages about predestination.

Woe to Those

"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey." Isaiah 10:1-2

Again and again in the Word of God, He refers to a certain group of people that He defends, upholds and cares about deeply. They are the poor, the oppressed and widows. Not mentioned in this passage but often included in passages like are also orphans and prisoners. God has a special disdain for those who oppress the poor, who put their boot on the oppressed and who prey upon widows and lack compassion for orphans and prisoners.

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

"For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

We recognize these words from Handel's Messiah, from Christmas programs and Christmas cards. Of course it is prophecy about the coming Messiah. Today you probably need Him specifically by one of the names that He is referred to in Isaiah 9. As our devotional I am going to ask you to consider them all, then allow yourself to focus on one. I will make a list and you and He will do the rest. He will be there for you. He will meet you how you need Him. He is like that. So, again, how do you need Him today?

This People

"The Lord spoke to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people." Isaiah 8:11

This passage is specifically referring to the Assyrians. As I read Isaiah 8 again and again, I could not help but think that the Assyrians represent the way of this world. This people as verse 8 refers to them, are fascinated and swayed by this world. They believe in conspiracies, they seek out mediums and spiritists, they have rejected the Only One True God and have sought the gods of this world. Why? Because they do not like what God says so they invent ways to do as they please.

Jesus is the Reason for the Season, by Ron Hodge

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. " Matthew 10:32

It amazes me that every religion can openly celebrate their religion except for Christians. We can’t even celebrate our Savior’s birth in the open market or public place anymore. We can’t say Merry Christmas anymore because it might offend someone. I guess our feelings don’t matter. Merchants want to have the Christmas business, but don’t even mention Jesus or Christmas. Everything is happy holidays, season’s greetings and Santa Claus. The more our society needs Jesus, the more any mention of Him is suppressed. When was the last time you heard a politician or government leader mention God or Jesus? No wonder our country is in such bad shape; without God we will always have moral decay, division and turmoil. I just saw on the internet, a bill board from an atheist group stating “Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is to skip church. I’m too old for fairy tales”. Let’s not let that happen this year. Mention Jesus every chance you get. When someone says Happy Holiday, just say “It’s okay to say Merry Christmas. I’m a Christian.” Remember, sometimes just giving someone a little time and love means so much more than a gift.

Standing Firm

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9

The Bible is not to be read like a fortune cookie. As tempting as it is to take the sweet platitudes of scripture and make them our mantra for the day, we really should study the Word and understand its context. Most verses are not taken out of context by most believers, but some are and it trivializes the Word of God. In the preceding verses God is promising protection for His people. He then states the way it will be instead of the way they think it will be and closes with these encouraging words, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." These words stand in principle on their own. It is true that we cannot stand without Him and we must trust Him to keep standing, especially when things are stacked against us.

Here Come Da Judge!

"The Lord takes His place in court; He rises to judge the people." Isaiah 3:3

Some of you will remember the phrase that is the title of the devotion. It was a comic spoof from the old “Laugh In” T.V. show that parodied the legal process with a silly judge character. Sometimes the legal system is mocked and the judicial process is made fun of, or even disrespected, but when God as judge takes His place in the court of judgment, it is guaranteed that justice will roll down.

The Arrogance of Man

"The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear. " Isaiah 2:17-18

I continue to read Isaiah. In chapter 2, God speaks through Isaiah about The Day of the Lord. You know eventually God is going to bring everyone to their knees. I am often shocked by the arrogance of man. Not because I stand in judgment of anyone, but He can. I recognize it from experience with my own arrogance. I fight the pride battle like all of us. If you totally strip away all my worldly idols and poke a hole in my puffed up attitudes, my humility is far more genuine. I sometimes battle false pride and insincere humility. But, it is the Lord alone who sees through me and I exalt Him and have to literally get on my knees before Him and keep things in perspective. I am so grateful for His grace. It allows me to serve with any shred of dignity. I indeed, with Paul, see myself as the chief of sinners and with Isaiah; I too, am a man of unclean lips. I can be equally lazy and ambitious and should replace that with true rest and holy zeal. My heart is glad to be hardest on myself. God, uses me, I am your servant. I rejoice in your anew.

Forgive as the Lord Forgave You

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

Sometimes it is good to begin with the ending of a verse and then go back and try to understand more by rereading the passage many times. The directive that Paul is giving us from the Lord is simple. Forgive. Period. It is our duty and responsibility to forgive. It is a sin not to forgive. We know what forgive means. It means to let it go. It means to put it in the past. It means to get over it. How did Jesus forgive us? He died forgiving us. He bled forgiving us. He suffered forgiving us. He bore our sin forgiving us. He bore not only our sin, but every sin of everybody else forgiving us all. He actually died for the sins of others that hurt me personally. I must forgive or I am doomed to be bitter, limited, trapped and unfulfilled. Unforgiveness is the sin that cripples the church today. So many folks have left churches without forgiving. So many believers have put a happy face band aid over the sins that others have hurt them with and are pretending that everything is just fine. It isn't fine. It is why we are dysfunctional. It is why we are prone to repeating our errors. It is why we are swapping sheep between churches. It is why we don't enjoy church as much as we should. Now let us go back to the beginning of the verse and highlight some words.