Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Foundations

"When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil,
I am the one who keeps its foundations firm."
Psalm 75:3 NLT

I get great comfort from this scripture. Our world is shaking. We just experienced a huge earthquake in the Samoan Islands. Floods, fires, crime, wars, the economy, and more, effect us collectively. On top of that, health issues, hurts, habits and hang ups effect us individually and with those around us.

Our world, our very lives are shaking. But, in the midst of the shaking we can find strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible. God promises to protect, provide, lead and care for us during these difficult days.

What are you building on today?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Who's Will?

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15 NIV

I come from a background where goals and strategies dominated my way of doing business. I created a business plan, executed it and was rewarded for doing so. There is nothing wrong with makings plans or having goals; just don't make them God.

The apostle Paul had a goal; to preach the good news about Jesus. His strategy was to travel to every place he could and tell everyone who would listen. He even spread the good news in prison, while being a prisoner. I don't know if that was a part of his original ministry plan. But he submitted his plan to the will of God, resulting in the spread of the good news through the Roman prison system.

Here are some of the dangers of being so focused on plans and strategies. Your focus can drift away from God. Your plan takes the place of God. Your strategies take the place of faith. You can become self-reliant and overwhelmed. You can fall into pride.

I was the pastor of a single's ministry at a church in Colorado. I spent a lot of time preparing a complete ministry plan for the single's ministry. I even prayed. But God had other plans. The ministry died, only to be resurrected about a year later in a new way.

Remember, planning isn't a bad thing. In fact it is very good. The Bible writer James didn't say not to plan. He just said to submit yourself and your plan to God's perfect plan. In fact, God will prosper His plan for your life--when He's first in your life.

Like Jesus said; "Not my will, but your will."

Monday, September 28, 2009

Who Are You Following

"He quoted a proverb: 'Can a blind man guide a blind man?' Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.'" Luke 6:39-40 (The Message)

I love the way that The Message Bible puts this out. Bang! It's too the point--no gray area there.

It is SO important to be careful whose company you keep or whose advice you seek. It's one of the many warnings those of us who have kids, give our kids isn't it? And here is our own heavenly Father giving us the same warning.

Pray for discernment. Pray that the Lord brings the right people into your life. If you are in a bad place, hanging with the wrong people, taking wrong advice, and in your spirit, you know it is wrong--pray for strength to stand up and leave. It's never too late!

You are worth fighting for. Jesus died for you didn't He?

Friday, September 25, 2009

Invisible Lines

"Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you."
Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

I was at my Wednesday night Bible study and the issue about conforming to what the world thinks is acceptable and what we as Christians should think is acceptable came up. It's so different than it use to be. I don't know about you, but at times, the lines seem almost invisible.

We as Christians should take a stand and not conform to the standards of this world. We are such a society of must have, must watch, must do--that simple Christianity has gotten lost.

The above verse is a great reminder that this is all God wants--for us to take our everyday occurrences and offer them up to Him. I think if we did that, wouldn't that keep us from doing something that we know our Father wouldn't approve of? Don't you agree? If we knew that at the end of the day, we would be putting all of our thoughts, actions, feelings--upon the lap of our Gracious Father--would we take a second thought about what we were doing, saying & thinking? I would hope I would.

So, please don't be conformed to this world. Don't be afraid to be different--at times society tries to make us feel bad about being different. For not blending into the crowd. Be a light that brings God's sunshine to your relationships, your workplace, your home--wherever the Lord has placed you. Be something that people will wonder, "What is different about you?" And not be ashamed of it.

God has such plans for you! Honor Him with yours.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Come On Up!

"Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” Revelation 4:1 NLT

This verse really spoke to me the other day. It speaks of two things. Perspective and revelation. The voice from heaven told the apostle John to come up. Come up to heaven. Have you ever heard the saying; "You can't see the forest for the trees?" Sometimes we get so caught up in our situation, that we can't see the forest for the trees. We cannot see clearly. We need another perspective. We need to see clearly.

Sometimes our knowledge and understanding is limited at best. We don't have the answers. We need help.

As a pastor I face these challenges. But I'm also a husband, dad, brother, son, uncle, and friend. I need help. We all do. The wonderful news is Jesus offers us the help we need to gain His perspective and revelation.

But when He says "Come up here and I will show you," I have to leave where I'm at to come up to Him. Not geographically, but spiritually. In humility and faith. I have to leave my way of doing things and let Him do things His way in my life. I even have to obey. I have to let go of my paradigms, traditions, and experiences, and receive His revelation. I have a choice. Jesus invites, "Come up here." Not "Get up here!"

What about you? What do you need a fresh perspective and revelation for? Will you choose the invitation to "Come up?"

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Gift of Tongues

"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29 NLT

As you read this, you may be saying to yourself, "You know, this doesn't apply to me. I never curse." Well, I beg to differ.

I don't know about you, but when I first read this, I felt the same thing. But then a thought came. What really does the words foul or abusive mean? I went searching. In the International Bible Dictionary, foul means: The verb "foul" (defile) occurs as the translation of raphas, "to trample" or "muddle". In Noah Webster's Dictionary, "abusive" means: Practicing abuse; prone to ill treat by coarse, insulting words or by other ill usage.

So, if you understand the two main words that we are being warned about in the beginning of the scripture--foul and abusive--aren't necessarily the normal four-letter words that we would get our mouths washed out with soap. It changes, at least for me, the whole concept.

I think that it is saying that anytime that you use a word or tone that it is hurtful, degrading and unkind it is foul and abusive. If a person feels trampled upon, or insulted after you have spoken to them, you have used foul and abusive language. In that light, we are all guilty.

And you know, it isn't always words. A tone can impart a message that you may not even be aware of. You can be using normal words, but the tone in which that message was spoken in, may crush a spirit faster than anything.

The gift of speech is that--a gift. We should use it wisely. The Lord knew the temptation to speak without thinking. The Bible is full of warnings. Read Proverbs. There are many references to the power of the tongue and it's affect on the human spirit. At one point, He even warns that; "Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." Proverbs 15:4 NLT.

Are you guilty of this? Do you speak and after think about the affect? Do you feel that it doesn't matter what you say, people understand you and know that you didn't mean it? Stop it! Stop and pray. A good practice to get into is to begin your day with a prayer that includes praying about your speech and tone--to help you to use this gift to encourage, uplift and spread the love of Jesus to everyone that comes into your path that day.

Oh, and one last thought--how's your words and tone when you direct them towards your Savior? Do you talk to your dog in a tone that is kinder than when you speak to Him? Do you care how they come across to Him? He deserves the best you can give and that includes your gift of speech. Don't you agree?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Road Trip--Part Two

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." Romans 8:28 NLT

Hello! Thank you for coming back today. I just wanted to share a couple of the things that I learned on my road trip.

One is that you know, it is easy to get where you are going when you know the road. It takes faith, sometimes leaps of faith, to travel on a road where you have never traveled before. But isn't that what faith is all about? I wasn't necessarily proud of my spiritual behavior yesterday. No, no one else knew the turmoil I was in, except maybe Joey at that one point. But whether the whole world knew or just I, I knew I was spiritually, at first, not trusting the Lord.

I wanted to easy way out. I wanted to go home. I didn't want to be tested. That is my second lesson learned. The importance of surrounding yourself with Godly friends that will not be afraid to push you out of your comfort zone. And you the same. You be that friend that when someone calls you and asks you to help support them to take the easy way out of a growing situation, be gently, godly strong and say, "No, my friend. You need to go forward. I will pray you along."

When I saw Laurie, later that afternoon, I did thank her. I thanked her for not only pushing me, but for also having faith in me, knowing that I could make it. Because of her encouragement, of her thinking I could make it, gave me courage to think so too.

What a feeling of elation when I got to the other side of the detour! I had made it and was back into familiar territory. And I came to the conclusion that detours can be fun when you look at them as adventures. Joey and I saw little towns that we had never seen before--Walnutgrove, Istleton, Twin Cities. We admired different scenery--on one side of the road was the Sacramento River, since we were driving on the top of the dike. We saw houseboats and fishing boats, ski boats. On the other, open fields of alfalfa, corn and wheat. Isn't God's creations beautiful!

You can feel the same type of elation. No, your detours may not be as simple as a road block on Hwy 12, but it is the same outcome. You give it to Jesus, you give Him the control and as they say, leave the driving to Him. He will get you to the other side.

And then, one important last step--thank Him. We don't always remember to thank Jesus for detours, but we should. Because if He didn't take us through them sometimes, I think life would have the tendency to become a big old pothole.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Road Trip

"As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands." Psalm 119:143 NLT

Yesterday Joey and I was driving up to Santa Rosa to our monthly homeschool meeting. I always go Hwy 99N to Lodi and hit Hwy 12W, with a short stint on Hwy 80, where we catch Hwy 12W again. I can do that with my eyes close practically. Well, we get to Lodi,we're on Hwy 12W, we go under the I-5 overpass and BAM! Road block. We are informed by a nice CALTRANS lady that the road is blocked from there to Rio Vista. Here's the map for the detour.

Well, as you can imagine, I was not a happy lady. I was a nervous lady. I don't like detours. I like my regular routine. I know what to expect. I know how long it should take, I know where I am going. Detours mean strange places, unknown situations and heaven knows about timing.

So, I call George, he says come home. Yeah! I totally agree. I don't have to take the detour. I call Laurie, my homeschool coordinator, and explained the situation, expecting her to understand my dilemma, release me from my obligation and send my home. But no, she didn't.

Oh, she understood and she was very sympathetic, but she said, "Come along. You can do it. You have a map, don't you? Let's pray and I'll see you this afternoon." So, we prayed and I called George, told him the new plan, with the promise of if anything weird happened, I was to come home.

Long story short, I got lost. I had got it in my head that I needed to get onto I-5S to get the detour to Walnutgrove. So here I am on I-5S, crying and talking to the Lord about being TOTALLY out of my comfort zone, and I am not very happy and please make all of this go away.

All the while, Joey is in the backseat. Of course, I am not letting him see me crying or upset because it upsets him to see me cry, so he is totally unaware of my crisis in the front seat. As we are driving through Stockton--again--I hear him say, "Mom, are we almost there yet?" Well, that did it. All my adult, mother composure went out the window. I wailed," Nooooo, Joey, we are not. We are lost and we need to pray for insight." So we did.

I know I said long story short, but there is so much God in this. So I apologize ahead. As we got off the interstate and headed back towards Lodi, hoping to find the detour before we came upon the Hwy 12W exit, which we didn't. I was at my wits end. I had to take the Hwy 12W exit--again. I just said "Jesus, what should I do?" I realize I needed gas. He had me pull into the Shell station. It was huge, about 15 pumps. I spotted this lady and the one on the other side of her wasn't being used and I felt I needed to go there. I just had the feeling to show her the map and ask her if she lived there. She said she didn't. She said that she got trapped in the road block also but on the Rio Vista side. She told me that I needed to go I-5N and then everything is well marked. I could have squeezed her with joy. I did hug her, but just ever so gently.

We got back onto the interstate and sure enough, a couple miles UP the road, there was the sign and we made it. What a flood of relief and joy and peace!

I need to finish this for today, but please check in tomorrow for the lessons learned.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

It's a Trust Thing

"The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in Him." Nahum 1:7 NLT

He is close to those who trust in Him. When you hear the word "trust", do you know what it means? Noah's Webster Dictionary has many definitions because the word "trust" is used in many different ways. In this instance, I believe it means: To place confidence in; to rely on, to confide, or repose faith in.

When you are going through a trial, a valley, a growing period--this is a great verse to have memorized in your heart and spirit. Because, as we go through those times, it is easy to feel that God has forgotten us, abandoned us, turned His face away from us. But He hasn't.

Our Lord is a wonderful Father, and He--just as our earthly fathers--need to stand aside sometimes and allow us to live out our choices. If our choices cause us to go through times of trouble, we need to experience them so that it is a lesson learned. But God is still there. We can still turn to Him in those times and gather strength, encouragement and wisdom. He will be there to be our Refuge. He may not take us out of our trouble until the lesson is learned but He will NEVER abandon us.

With this in mind, just please remember, that He is your strength and your refuge and all you need to do is to put your TRUST in Him and His sovereignty. He will get you through.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Where is Your Hope?

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before Him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,'Where is this God of yours?'

My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God!

Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life.

'O God my rock,' I cry,'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies'” Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, 'Where is this God of yours?'


Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!"
Psalm 42 NLT

Troubles surround us. Sin buries us in guilt and remorse. Pain wears at our spirit, soul, and body. The human condition. It's not always easy or fun. Our pain and conflict can take our focus off our strength and hope in Jesus Christ. It is so easy to become self-focused and lose sight of God. Sometimes we can even feel that God has lost sight of us.

The psalmist felt this way. He was overwhelmed with grief and pain. What did he do during this time? He admitted his feelings to God, others, and himself. He was honest. No minimizing the situation. No pretense. He made a conscientious decision to remember God's love and grace. No matter the circumstance, he knew that God's love was greater and he would be restored.

In the days we live in, it is crucial that we renew ourselves with confidence in the Lord. Not only is it important to be able to focus our own thoughts on God, but to be encourager's for one another.

Jesus promises to be with us in the trials of life. He gives us strength. Will we receive it? He offers us strength for today and a living hope for tomorrow.

What's your focus? What or who are you putting your hope in?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Equal Faithfulness

"Then the Master said, 'Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for His chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't He stick up for them? I assure you, He will. He will not drag His feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when He returns?'" Luke 18:8 (The Message)

The verse before this was about a widow who kept coming before this judge pleading for him to help her get justice from her adversary. This judge was neither a lover of God or of the people under his jurisdiction. She kept coming and coming until the judge finally said to himself, "I will grant this woman what she wants only to keep her from wearing me down." So it was done.

This is a parable that Jesus was telling his disciples. The passage you see here is the one where Jesus is telling us that God sees and knows and hears us when we come to Him in prayer. And He will come and save us from whatever our 'adversary' is.

But the last question. That stopped me in my tracks and I had to reread it a couple of times. Do you see what it is asking? Do you get the grasp of the deep, spiritual meaning of it?

This is how I interpret it. It is saying, at least to me, that we come to God, asking all these things--protection, salvation, wisdom, whatever--and He gladly comes and takes our needs and requests because He is our loving Father. And in a way, don't we expect Him to take care of them for us? After all, isn't that what He does? Isn't that what He says He wants us to do?

But what about us? Do we do the same for Him? Do we defend Him when others curse Him or use His name to curse something they don't like? Do we come and build Him up when others are trying to tear Him, His kingdom, His power, down? Do we assure Him of our love and faithfulness to Him in spite of our circumstances?

I just find it sad that, even before He knew us, He had to question our faithfulness. The sadder truth is that He did know us and already knew the answer.

In this case, let's prove Him wrong. I am asking this with total respectfulness. Let's prove to Him that He can trust us and that He will find us faithful to Him when He comes back to this earth. It's the least we can do, don't you think?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Stickiness

"As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

'Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked. 'Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’

'Teacher,' the man replied, 'I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.'


Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. 'There is still one thing you haven’t done,' he told him. 'Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'

At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!'” Mark 10:17-23 NLT

When I read this passage it got me thinking. I've been on the same road as this man--have you? You try so hard to follow all the rules. Not only because you have to, but because of your love for Jesus, you want to.

So, here you are, thinking that you are on the squeaky street to heaven, when you run into Jesus. There He is, standing right by the side of the road, as if He is waiting for you. You're feeling pretty assured of your heaven bound position--so you ask Him--is there anything else I have to do?

Do you ever do this? Do you ever ask a question, thinking you know that answer? Do you think that the young man asked the question, thinking that maybe Jesus would say, "Oh, you are already so saved that there is nothing that you need to do", or something like it?

I think the young man was caught off guard. But what catches my heart was the part of the verse that I bold--Jesus felt genuine love for him. I picture Jesus standing there, knowing the young man's eager heart and true wishes, but also knowing the one thing that would hang him up--his love of riches. Jesus loved him for desiring to be with Him in heaven--but was saddened knowing that there was one thing stronger than the young man's love for Him.

Are you like that? I know I am. We try so hard and then there is this one last thing that just keeps hanging onto us like lint on a pair of black jeans or foxtails in your socks. You can shake and pull and even buy special gadgets to get rid of stuff we don't want on us and they are still there. Keeping us from our heart's desire--Eternity with Jesus.

There is only one gadget that you need in your life to get or keep the sticky stuff that we don't want in our lives away from us and I think you know what it is...you're right...Jesus.

Jesus just needs your open, willing spirit and heart to enter in and the rest, as they say, is history. Invite Him in. Give Him all your sticky stuff and don't take it back. Can you do that? Will you do that? Even if you have done it before, and for some reason, it's come back and stuck on you, give it to Jesus again. He will release you again and look at you with genuine love.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Something To Hold On To

" For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything He does."
Psalm 33:4 NLT

I love this passage. It gives me encouragement and hope. I can trust God's word. In a world that accepts lying and truth as subjective, God is a constant. If He promises to never leave me, I can trust him. If He promises living hope, I have hope. If He promises to give me strength, I have strength. I can trust what He does in my life, even if I don't understand it. I know that He is love, that is enough.

To know His word, I must spend time in His word. I can trust Him, because He is faithful. I know He is faithful not only because He says He is, but I have a relationship with Him. He has proven Himself to be loving and faithful.

What truth are you holding on to? How trustworthy is your truth?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Unconditional Love

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.' No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.


And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39 NLT

I don't know about you, but these two paragraphs give me great comfort. Have you, like me, experience that love can be conditional? That people in your life can give or take away their love to you. You don't do what they want, and so they take away their love for you.

Our God is so gracious. He loves us no matter what. If anyone should show us conditional love, shouldn't it be Him? But He doesn't. Do you find that hard to accept? Have you been so conditioned that you are only lovable when you are a certain way?

I have. I find it very hard to believe, especially in the beginning. Now, I accept it, but I find that I have to fight the feeling of having to "earn" His love or to keep His love. He loves me NO MATTER WHAT. I don't need to be perfect or beautiful or do anything. There is nothing that I can do that will change His love for me. Even if I deny Him, He still loves ME.

Please know the same is for you. You are loved no matter what. Don't let Satan talk you into believing anything less. You can claim your inheritance in the Lord's love and care and graciousness for you.

Be A Peter

"This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.

Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea."
Isaiah 48:17-18 NLT

When I read this, I get the picture of a Father that is bemoaning the fact that a child of His hadn't followed His instruction and now that precious child is reaping the consequences.

Is that what you are picturing? Are you that child? Have you been feeling your heart and soul being tugged at but you turned away and did what you wanted instead? Have you allowed fear and uncertainty to stop you from doing what you know your Father wants you to do?

Be a Peter! Stop allowing your humanity from keeping you from the peace and righteousness that your Father has planned for you and wants to give you so badly. Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the waves--as long as he was focused on Jesus and had faith in Jesus and himself, he stayed on top of the water. It's when he took his focus off of Jesus and starting doubting his purpose that Jesus had for him and gave into his fears, that he starting sinking.

If your Father in Heaven has faith in you, so should you have faith in you. God doesn't make mistakes! So give Him your fears and insecurities and watch what amazing things He will do through and in you.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Attitude

"Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though He was God,
He did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;
He took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When He appeared in human form,
He humbled Himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor
and gave Him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 3:3-11 NLT

There's a lot to chew on in this passage. I'd like to focus on two points that have me "pondering" today.

Point 1. We are called to be humble, as Jesus is humble. He was humble to the point of death on the cross. Humility is not popular today. We have our pride. We live in a self-sufficent and self-serving culture. That in itself breeds pride. When pride is out of control, we go from confident to arrogant. We become judgmental, predjudice and self-absorbed. We dethrone God, and put ourselves in His place.

The Bible says that God actually opposes the proud and gives favor to the humble. The Bible tells us that if we humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, He will lift us up. Imagine God honoring you! God will defend, provide and bless you. The key? Humility. It is a decision of humilty to accept Jesus into your life. To admit you need someone or something greater than yourself. His name is Jesus. It takes humilty to humble yourself every day. To express your need and gratitude for His blessings in your life.

Point 2. Every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord. On the great day of judgement, we will all have to bow before Christ as Lord. But will we all bow before Him as our Lord and our Savior?

Jesus is offering you a life giving relationship. He loves you and gave Himself up for you. Will you invite Him into your life and circumstances today? Right now?

Will you be humble?

"But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior." Philippians 3:20 NLT