Perfection

    Colossians 3:10-11 - Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

     What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see all your mistakes and failures? Do you see more "second chances" than any one person deserves? Sometimes it's hard not to see these things. But this isn't how God sees us. God sees us as perfect through Jesus Christ.

     God doesn't enhance, He completes. He doesn't fix, He re-creates. He doesn't improve, He perfects. God doesn't see us as working toward or trying to be better. God sees us as his children. He sees us as his greatest creation. And through the sacrifice of Jesus, He sees us as ... "Perfection".

God Is In Control

    Psalm 27:1-3 - The LORD is my light and my salvation so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me,  my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.

     I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need to hear that God is still in control. I need to understand that it's not over until God says that it is. Sometimes we just need to truly understand that life's mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply all the more reason to sit still, hang on and let God be God.

     Jeremiah 32:27 - “I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? Regardless of the situation, God is in control. No matter the size of the mountain, God is in control. When the valley seems to deep and too wide, God is in control. Don't panic and run away. Sit still and be calm. Allow the Holy Spirit to whisper in your ear and remind you that ... "God Is In Control".

Guilt

    Colossians 2:13-14 - You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

     A lot of us carry the heavy load of guilt with us everyday. But is it guilt or shame? Guilt is not a negative emotion and is actually good for us. Guilt is our body recognizing that we have done something wrong. We must admit wrong doing before God can forgive us of the transgression. How can God forgive us of a sin that we won't take responsibility for? Acknowledging our wrongs is not approving of them, yet simply laying them down at the foot of the cross for our Savior to pardon. 2 Corinthians 5:17 - This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

     But just as healthy and necessary as guilt is for the process of salvation, so is the destructive power of it's opposite emotion shame. Shame is a very unhealthy emotion and is like a cancer to your soul. Shame has no place in our lives. Where guilt admits that we have made a mistake, shame tells us that WE are the mistake. We must let go of the shame and remember that our mistakes, failures and shortcomings were all nailed to the cross. The penalty for our sin has already been paid by Christ Jesus. Let go of your shame and embrace your "Guilt" and let it lead you to the foot of the cross.

Resentment

    1 Peter 3:8-9 - To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

     I've said it before but harboring unforgiveness and resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Resentment can become addictive. The chief emotion found with resentment is anger. When we become angry, our heart begins to race, our blood boils and we see an increase in energy. But just like any other addictive substance, we begin to "need" more and higher doses. This is when anger changes over from an emotion, to the driving force in our lives. When we are bent on revenge, we move further and further away from the ability to forgive. Because when we let go of that anger, we lose that energy "high".

     Romans 14:10 - But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. We are so quick to point out the flaws of others but blind to the shortcomings in our own lives. We should all strive to be more Christ-like with our emotions. We need to treat others with the same kindness, forgiveness and love that Christ has shown us. 

     Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on it's owner. Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter. And mercy is the CHOICE that can set them all free. So today, make an increased effort to let God be God and release your ... "Resentment".

Hope For The Hopeless

    1 Peter 1:3-4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to  obtain  an inheritance  which is  imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.

          It's hard to find hope in the world we live in today. It's easy to find ourselves in a place of hopelessness when surrounded by so many negative events both in the outside world and within our own lives. Possibly the heaviest burden we try to carry is that of past mistakes and failures. Even if you've fallen, even if you've failed, even if everyone else has rejected you, Christ will not turn away from you. He came first and foremost to those who have no hope. He comes to those that no one else would go to and offers eternal hope and peace. 

     Only you can cast your burdens, your hopelessness on to the Father. No one else can take away your mistakes and failures. Only God can erase them. Only you can cast your cares on the one who cares for you. Know that there is hope for the hopeless. God has told us not to put our faith and hope in the world or others around us, but to put our faith and hope in Him because only He is the  ... "Hope For The Hopeless".

Jehova Rophi - Our Healer

    Isaiah 53:5 - But He  was  wounded for our transgressions,  He was  bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace  was  upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

     

     Sickness and disease is something that affects each and everyone of us on a daily basis, either personally or with someone we know. If you spend anytime on social media such as Facebook, you'll see the tremendous number of prayer requests for healing. God is ready and willing to supply healing to every aspect of lives. God's healing does not just mean physically though. 

     God is prepared to speak healing to you mentally and emotionally as well. God is ready to heal your finances in these difficult economic times. God wants to heal your marriage and bring you and your spouse closer to Him and each other. God wants to heal your home and restore your family. The Bible tells us that the same God that has taken our sins, also takes away our sickness. Isaiah says that "We ARE healed". Not that we might be healed or could be healed if. The price for our healing has already been paid. The same blood of Jesus that cleanses you of your sins is that same blood that flowed from the stripes on His back. The very same stripes with which we are healed. Stand in Faith, believing and receive your healing today from "Jehova Rophi - Our Healer".

God's Love

    Romans 8:37-39 - 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.

     When our children's feelings are hurt, we tell them how special they truly are. When our children are sick, we do everything possible to make them feel better. When our children are afraid, we will not sleep until they feel safe and secure again. When our children make mistakes we correct them and provide guidance but we never stop loving them. Does that make us heroes? No, just parents. We would do anything for our children because of our love for them. God tells us that if we as sinners would do these things for our kids, how much more does our Heavenly Father love us and want to do these things for us.

    Romans 5:6, 8 - When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. God loves us so much that he gave his only son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we would be able to spend eternity with him. What greater love is there than that. God cares when the world hurts our feelings. God cares when we are sick. God cares when we are scared. God never stops loving us no matter how many mistakes we make. We only need to allow him to show his love to us everyday. Look to God in all things and at all times and bask in "God's Love".

The God Of All Comfort

    2 Corinthians 1:3-5 - All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

     The Bible tells us that God is the source of all comfort. When we are facing the seemingly unbeatable giants in our lives, He is there. Regardless of the obstacles that stand before us, He is with us. Psalm 23:4 - Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. He is our comfort even in the most painful times in our lives. But the Bible tells us that we should comfort others just as God has comforted us. When we see others going through the same struggles that we have gone through before, it is our duty to comfort them the same as Christ has given us comfort.

     Psalm 34:17-18 - The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. I'm sure we've all read the poem Footprints. I believe it is very true. When we look back on our lives we see that in those times were it was impossible for us to make it on our own, God carried us through. God is there in our despair, our heartache, our trials and troubles. All we have to do is call out to him. Call out to ... The God Of All Comfort.

      

God Is Able

    Psalm 27:1-3 - The LORD is my light and my salvation, so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.

     Why is it that on Sunday morning we are all prayer warriors, devil killers and mighty Christian soldiers ready to storm the gates of Hell and fight any battle that may arise but come Monday morning when the first trial comes across our path, we tuck tail and run? Every time you drive through a tunnel and it all goes dark, do you jump out of your car? God has promised us that He will never leave or forsake us. We only need to look to him in our times of trouble.

     We serve a mighty God. No matter what the problem, our God is able. No job? God is our provider. Sick? God is our healer. Stress and anxiety? God is our peace. Fear and doubt? God is our protector. No matter what we face, God is there. God goes before his children preparing the way. We just have to trust His Word and believe that WE ARE what it says we are. WE CAN do what it says we can do and HE WILL do what is says He will do. Give all your cares to Him everyday because ... God Is Able!

Faith

         2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18 - We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

     Ask any Christian what Faith is and the answer you will probably receive is, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. This answer is correct but do we really know WHAT Faith is? We say that we have faith yet we spend the majority of our days worried about tomorrow, myself included. The Bible tells us that if we only had Faith the size of a mustard seed that we could say to a mountain jump and it would jump. 

     Faith is not an emotion but rather a belief. A belief that God is real and that He will do what He has said that He will do. The more hopeless our situations, the more likely is our salvation. The greater our cares, the more sincere are our prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light. We don't truly know that God is all we need until God is all we have. It's in our darkest hour that we need Faith all the more. The greatest way to build our Faith is to starve our doubts. So when the crisis and storms of life come, know that God has already overcome it all. Trust in God and stand firm in ... Faith.