God's grace is personal

"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:1-7 NIV

Lord Jesus, I recognize today that I am the lost sheep you were talking about in this parable. I am infinitely lost without you. I also recognize that You are the Great Shepherd who left Your throne in heaven, to come and rescue me. I believe and trust that You are the Savior. I put my trust and hope in Your perfect life, and Your death and resurrection. You were in my place as my substitute when You were on the cross.

Lord, I know that like a sheep I am prone to wander. I am prone to wander off and try to be my own lord. I am responding by faith not only to believe and trust Your sacrifice, but to follow You with all my heart in every area of my life. I am in need of Your grace to empower me to turn from sin and live a life of sacrifice unto You. Apart from You I can do nothing. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who leads and guides me.



Lord, I agree with Your promise that says:



“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep ME from falling away and will bring ME with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.” (Jude 24 emphasis mine)

Be rich

Jogging in 104 degree temps makes you appreciate air conditioning. It got me thinking about how rich even the poorest Americans are compared to 92% of the rest of the world. Not having enough money for cable or a cell phone or a car does not make us poor. That just makes not as well off as someone else. We do not know what being poor is like until we see it up close.

I had the honor of doing ministry in the Dominican Republic this year. I saw poverty that I will never forget. We brought food to a single mom living in a 10X10 room with no running water. She had 9 children. They did not know where their next meal was coming from. Again we are richer than 92% of the rest of the world. We are rich. (I recommend reading "Rich Christians in an age of hunger" by Ron Sider)

The words of the Apostle Paul inspired by Christ are true of us all:

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

Be rich toward God by putting your hope in Him not wealth.

Be rich in good deeds by being generous with your stuff.

In faith hope and love

Scott

Let's be like the geese

There are phonies everywhere. Politicians, baseball players on steroids, actors, photo shopped models, and heck, how many were brokenhearted when Milli Vanillii turned out to be phonies?

The other day I was on a walk through a near by park where Canadian geese love to feast. Many parks put wooden cutouts in the shape of wolves to try and scare the geese away from feeding on their grass. They are hoping that the geese will not be smart enough to realize that the cutouts are phonies.

Well, as you can see these geese were not exactly frightened. They were peacefully feeding on the grass that the phony wolf was trying to keep them from.

The spiritual world is filled with a lot of phonies as well. These are phonies that the devil himself uses to cause fear, discouragement, and deception. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says: "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." We need to be aware of these fake fears and deceptive traps that he uses on us to discourage us from feasting on the truth of God's word, promises, attributes, and character. Let us be like the geese and feast in peace on what God has provided and asks us to embrace by faith.

When the government trains people to spot counterfeit money they do not spend time studying the counterfeit, but they spend all their time studying legitimate printed money. They become so familiar with real money it becomes easy to to spot a counterfeit when it comes along. The same is true spiritually. When we become so aware of what the word of God teaches and reveals about God we will be able to spot a phony fear, discouragement, and deception right away.

If you would like to know more about Who God is and what Scripture reveals about Him follow the link to listen to a series of teachings on Knowing God by Novation Church.