Ephesians 3:20

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us,"

It's been quite some time since this devotion has been updated. Make no bones about it, I am completely at fault. No excuse. In that time though, I have learned some lessons from different situations. All in all, God is still on the throne, and still in complete control! This verse happens to be one of the lessons I have gleened some great wisdom from. It was a verse I used in the past for this devotional, but it deserves another look. It says basically that God is able to do above and beyond anything we could imagine. I don't know about you, but I can imagine a lot! Notice though it doesn't say will. It says able. What's the difference then? Will means He is going to do it. Able means He want's to do it, but at times he does not. Why? When we are in need, why doesn't he just snap His fingers at our beckon call? Doesn't He care? Of course He cares. In my own life I have seen time and time again, God come through just at the right time, but I didn't know it because I was so focused on the problem and not Him! When He does, it is more than I could ever have imagined or deserved. It also states that there is a power that works in us. The word for power is dunamis. It's the Greek word we get Dy-no-mite! from. The word for work is energeo. we get our word energy from. It means there is a power in us that is working for us. It's the power of the Holy spirit. If we are operating more in the flesh, how can God do exceeding abundantly in us? The flesh or the man, will get all the glory. If we are operating in the spirit, that's when people will look and say, to God be the Glory, because there is no way that guy pulled that off. That's the way it should be. The bible is clear, God want's to bless and provide for us. How can he though if we are not walking with Him? There have been times in my life where I have just flat out been being stupid. I would wonder why things have gone awry and then complain to Him about it. When I look back though, I see no power. All I see is me. The opposite is true when I am abiding in Him. Now here's the kicker. Someone is going to read this and say, " your saying then, that faith and God's blessings are works related. The more you do for God the more He can bless you." Let me be clear. NO I AM NOT. What I am saying is that, He is able to greater things and more of them when we are submitted to His authority in our lives. Trust me, because there have been times I have have received blessing from Him and have broke down weeping due to my arrogance and disobedience. That's the difference. He is a loving Father who is always extending His hand to us no matter what. The funny thing is, we put a nail through it 2000 years ago, and it is outstretched still. This week, ask God to do exceeding and abundantly in your life. Maybe in your marriage to heal it. Maybe in your personal walk to straighten it. Maybe someone who doesn't have a personal relationship with Him yet will pray this and be transformed. Have a great week.

Bob

Hebrews 9:27

"And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this
the judgment."

The bible is very clear. You live, you die. The more important question is what happens after. This verse makes it crystal clear. Everyone that lives, will eventually die a physical death. Spiritually, you will live forever. The question is where? Reincarnation, soul sleep, disembodied spirits, etc. just isn't true. You don't "hang around" watching over people. You don't haunt houses. It just simply is not the way it is. God's word states, when you die physically, you will stand before him to be judged. Now hold on a minute there. Yes I said judged and people can't stand that word. I used to not like it until I understood it. You see, If you truly are saved and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the judgment is different than for an unsaved individual. You will be judged at that point on your works for the Lord and receive the crowns and rewards he bestows upon you. If you are not saved, the only thing you will be judged on is if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. All your "good works" deed, etc. won't get you in. You will be cast into outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus himself spoke on this in Matthew 13. I know, by this time you are probably saying, this is way to narrow and way to heavy for me. Jesus also said, "straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:14 The fact is, God does not want anyone to go to hell. He does not send anyone there, we send ourselves. Hell was never intended for us, but due to the fall in the garden it's now in play. Listen, this is a pretty large topic that would require some real bible study to fully grasp it. The simple jist of it is this. God, through His son Jesus, has shown us love, goodness, grace and compassion. His death on the cross is evidence of that. I heard a preacher say the other day, in order for a person to go to hell, they must first climb the hill that is Calvary and go past the cross not accepting Jesus for who He was and is. The savior of the world. God said on that day, with arms outstreched, over my dead body will you have to go to hell. That's the truth. The question you as an individual have to ask today is this. If I died tonight, where would I go. If you are not sure, then you need Jesus. If you know Him, praise God. Someone asked me that 13 years ago and I realized that all my life I had been searching for the one thing that would fill me and be lasting. Drugs, alcohol, carnal living, all eventually left me empty. Jesus filled me with His Holy spirit and the rest is history. Am I perfect? No. Are there things that I need work on? Yes. Thankfully with Christ, I am victorious. Prayerfully consider the words I have typed tonight. Be blessed.
Bob.

Psalm 139:7

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or
whither shall I flee from thy presence?"

Psalm 139 was written by one of the greatest men who ever lived. King David. David was a man that God declares, was a man after God's own heart (acts 13:22). In this Psalm, David gets right to the point. He says in a nutshell, God is everywhere and you can't run or hide from Him. It's rather comical if you think about the topic. Man trying to run from the one who created the whole of everything. The sad part is, man has been running from God since the fall in the garden. He has gone everywhere and tried everything and still, God pursues us with His unconditional love. We all at times, I believe, try to hide from God. Whether it's not doing what He has called us to do, or just plain not seeking him and going deeper in our relationship with Him. We have all sorts of excuses too. Life is so busy, the kids take up my time, work is crazy. The list goes on and on. The truth is, we don't want what God has for us because we are scared it will radically change our comfortable lives. That's the point!!!!! A true encounter with the living God should radically change our lives! He has not called us to be the same once we surrender our lives to Him. No, He has called us to be set apart. Holy unto Him, for His good pleasure. Someone said to me today in conversation, that people are afraid to be in ministry or to walk after God wholeheartedly , because they know they have to give up some good things as well as bad things. Things we enjoy sometimes have to take a back seat to serving Christ daily. It totally blew my mind. When was the last time I did that? People have such a wrong view of who God truly is. He is not some cosmic killjoy trying to put us in bondage and make our lives miserable. He is the one that is trying to set us free from all that. The world has twisted it up so that people fear the Lord in a bad way. We should fear the Lord in a good way. Stand in awe and amazement of who He is and what he has done. David realized that in this Psalm and went on to praise Him and seek Him in the rest of it. Running from God. It just doesn't make sense. All the while His nail pierced hand is outstretched trying to pull us in saying, " I love you and I have what is best for you. Come." I'll end with this. It was a lyric from a song I heard. It said this: " Lord, if you judged my sin, I would never stand again, but in your hands I see mercy." Our sin was already Judged on the cross. He paid for it in full. Now all we have to do is accept it and enter in to His rest.

Be blessed. Bob.

Humble King

"You are the God of the broken,
the friend of the weak,
you wash the feet of the weary,
embrace the ones in need."

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:" Isaiah 9:6. This week I did something different. I used the lyrics from a song as the devotional. This is a bit different but it goes with the season. You see, all of us at some point have been the subject of the songs lyrics. No, I don't mean we have been God. We all have been broken, weak, weary, and in need at some point. Ann, who leads worship at church, played it the other day during service and it really hit me. This is why He came. I mean, I always knew it but this was one of those "moments of clarity" that it all really clicked in a deeper level. Christ came, and was born in a stable, and He himself, was all of these things. When as a baby, He was weak, weary, and in need. Physically speaking. Being fully God, He could have overcame these in a second. Instead He took the form of man, and came down to us and lived like us so that we would see, it is possible to live for God if we just surrender our will over to Him. When His life was coming to an end, He was broken for us, so that we would not have to be. Really though, these lyrics are two fold. The other side of it is, He is God, He is a friend, He came as servant, He embraces us with unconditional love. To be honest, I am more blown away now than when I first started typing! God is everything! He knows are deepest fears and needs, and supplies what we lack. If you really think about it, God is painted in a light that makes Him somewhat of a galactic hit man. He'll get you if you don't act right you know. That is so opposite the nature of the true and living God. Don't get me wrong, the bible is clear that if your not for Him, your against Him. Though people who are wicked in this life and don't accept Him as the Savior prosper and get away with all manner of things, justice will be served one day when those people stand before the judgement seat of God. The God of the bible, is loving, caring, just, and merciful. The problem people have with Him is that His methods are sometimes brutal. I mean come on, how many people did God have the Israelites wipe out from the face of the planet? Then comes the why about that. Listen, God knows what is and what isn't good for His people. He can see the future and also the heart. If you think God would wipe out anyone who He knows would turn to Him given the opportunity, your mistaken. His ways are not ours. When this life is over and those of us who know Him personally get to heaven, we will understand. For now, we trust and obey. The fact is, He loved us enough to come down and be one of us, and to show us the way back to intimacy with God. That's real love. Then to top it all off, being beaten, bloodied, whipped, kicked, punched, then nailed to a cross? I think He was trying to tell us something. People separated from God and going to hell, over my dead body. That's the truth. In order to actually go to hell, you will first have to face the lamb slain and decide. Who is this, and do I believe? I know this may be a little heavier message than what the season calls for, but truly, the time is short and the return of the King is soon. This time though, He is coming back to rule and reign forever. I can't wait.

Merry Christmas: Bob

2nd Chronichles 7:14

"If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land. "

Even now as I write this, I am struggling with this very tall order. Humble, pray, seek, turn. This is our responsibility. God in turn will hear, forgive, and heal. This was His promise to the nation of Israel. It's our promise because we have been grafted in through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This truly is the blueprint for a real relationship with God, but more importantly, obedience. There's that word. As people, we hate to think that anyone can control our lives. We are the masters of our own destinies! How many times have you heard that? Well, to a point that's true. We have the freedom to choose and do what we want, but with all choices, there are consequences. Good and bad alike. This verse is dealing with a people who are in open rebellion to God. The funny thing is, their His people! What a sad commentary on the state of affairs at that time in Israel. I mean, the history for them speaks for itself. Released from bondage from Egypt, the red sea parting, shoes that didn't wear out for 40 years in the wilderness, the list goes on and on. Here they are now, far from where God wants them spiritually. I can't help but make the comparison to the modern day church. Just flip on the T.V. and you can see just about anything claiming to be "Christian". Then there's the real church. The ones who believe. Just how far have we as His people, gone from God? I know if I examine my own life, it is a miserable failure almost on a daily basis sometimes. Now multiply that times the number of church goers and it has the potential to be a major disaster. I think what we see in the country as a whole, let alone the world, gives us a good indication of where we are. So what's the use your probably thinking right? Sign me up to that line of thinking. My flesh says that a lot. My spirit though says otherwise. It yearns for a real and meaningful relationship with the one who created me. Well the answer is in the text. If we do as it says, God holds His promise and will turn it around. Individually and corporately. Just look at Nineveh. One man's call for repentance and a whole nation turns there heart toward God. This is the truth of who God really is. He is a healer. He heals brokenness and replaces it with what is good and right. Who doesn't that? With another year drawing to a close, the upcoming year is unstable at best. Why not turn now and seek Him? I know for me, this is the most important thing to realize when I stumble and fall. I just grab His hand that is there waiting for me, get up and dust off, then keep moving forward. Sure, we take detours from time to time, but the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. God knows the way and has illuminated it by the light of His glorious son, Jesus Christ. Be blessed this week and pray for us as a country and a people. We need it more than we think.

Bob

Romans 5:8

"But commendeth His love towards us,
in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us."

Funny how things work out. I have been thinking about this verse all week, and yesterday my pastor touched on it in the service. Like my pastor said, we are no longer under condemnation. The death of Christ satisfied God for the payment for sin. The word used for commendeth means, to represent as worthy. (vines new testament definitions) How can we be worthy? It's due to the imputed righteousness of Christ we now receive when we surrender our life over to Him. God looks at us now with that covering on us. He received the punishment, we received the pardon. That's great news!!!! The mere fact that even while we were in our sins, God loved us enough to do this, should boggle the mind. To this day I am still trying to wrap my head around it. God knew us and could see us as filthy, unregenerate sinners, yet He made a way so that He could once again have fellowship with His creations. That's love. I know on a daily basis, if I was God, there are some people that wouldn't make it. That's conditional love. God has unconditional love. No strings attached. The only way this is accomplished though is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's like this. I am a mechanic. When I have a car that is not operating as designed, I have to look at it and find the best way to fix it so it works properly again. I can do a number of things to help it, but only one thing will fix it for good. That's what God has done. He fixed it for good. There is nothing else we need to do to gain His love or acceptance. All we have to do is accept Him as Lord and Savior. The rest is just information to be provided later after we are born again into His Kingdom. Why don't or can't we have that info now so we can decide if we want to accept Him? We can't understand it. Before I was a saved Christian, many people tried to tell me about the Love of God and the plans He wanted for my life. I couldn't and didn't want to understand it. It wasn't until I got to a point in life, where I was so empty inside that I wanted it. Then, there was a desire for something more out of life. That's where the Love of God stepped in. Once I realized He loved me all along and was just waiting for me to come to Him, it was a no brainer. My pain and sorrow taken in exchange for eternal life with Him one day? Done deal. As a side note, I would like to state that everyone will have eternal life, it's just a matter of where you will be. Smoking or non smoking. To be real honest guys, the Christian walk is not exactly easy at times. I don't particularly exemplify it at times to my shame. What I can tell you is this. When those times of desperation, fear of the unknown, etc come in life, I have a Father in Heaven who is right there taking care of me and providing guidance. On the flip side, those times of joy and happiness are so much sweeter than what life ever offered before. Why? Jesus Christ. This holiday season, when people often get depressed and sad, ask yourself this. Do I want peace and fulfillment in life once and for all? If the answer is yes, then look no further. He bids all who seek to come to Him. He is the one who gives rest. If the answer is no, then keep trying to find that in the world and let me know how it works out. The world can't offer you what God has and never will be able to. Have a great week and be blessed.

Bob.

Isaiah 61:3

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

I'm sure we have all heard the term beauty for ashes. What I don't know is if we truly understand what it means. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word is an ornament, tiara, or turban. Another word could be a crown. That's what God has done for us. By sending His son to die on the cross, he exchanged His beauty for the ashes of our broken lives. I personally have had quite a bonfire of a life before and sadly after I got saved. Before I didn't care or think about the consequences of my choices or actions. After, I became aware and realized how stupid I still am at times. To think, we who gave our lives to Christ are still making bad choices, baffles me. We have the imputed righteousness of Christ and sadly, we take it for granted. He took my ashes and gave me a crown. A crown of life. I/we are His. This whole passage in Isaiah is amazing. It tells of what God was going to do for the nation of Israel. More importantly, the amazing thing is, His promises are for us as well. I am not going to make this a long devotional this week. I just want it to sink in that what we have received at His expense, is more than we could ever imagine. I want people to know that if you are in a bad place and feel all burned up, your ashes of a broken life are redeemable for something more beautiful than can be described. Is it always easy being a Christian? No. Do I always act like one? No. I can tell you this though. In those times of trouble or despair, I can turn to the one who loves me, and will always be there for me. Even when I bring an offering of ashes that are worthless, He still See's me as worth it. Why? Unconditional love. I will never understand it fully, but I accept it and am thankful. Be blessed this week.

Bob.