The Daily Dose

A real problem                                   

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.  1 Corinthians 5:12

This is a problem.  We know that we, as God’s people, are the light of the world.  We know that we are not of this world, just in it.  We know that we are to reach out to the lost and hurting people of the world.  Yet in today’s reading, Paul says not to keep company with the immoral, covetous, extortioners and idolaters of the world.  Aren’t these the very people that we are to reach for the kingdom of Heaven?  The ones who need the love of God and the salvation He provided for them?

In Paul’s defense, his focus in this passage is to not condone sinful habits of fellow believers.  This part makes sense, and certainly once you become a part of God’s family, there is a much higher standard of living and no room for immoral habits with covetous, idolatry, reviling/complaining, drunkenness and extortion to still exist.  Yes, this is definitely a problem.  It may happen in a church, but typically, when people have not stepped away from sinful habits, they are not spending a lot of time in church anyway.  The instruction in today’s text is not to associate with them by sitting with them in eating (which implies fellowshipping).  There are so many variables to this.  What if it is family members or what if it is a new believer that is trying to get on track?  I believer Paul’s point is directed toward those who are deliberately defiant and refuse to grow in their walk or relationship with God.

He concludes this chapter by saying that God judges the unbeliever, but we are to evaluate if another believer is walking toward God or away from Him.  Lost and sinful people are going to sin.  That’s what sinners do, they sin.  However, once you receive salvation and a right relationship with God, the fruit of that decision should be evident in living differently than when you didn’t know God.  You can look at it this way:  When you receive God’s gift of salvation, you are immediately adopted into the family of your loving heavenly Father.  You move into His house and receive all the benefits of being the child of the One true King. The other side of that is, you are now subject to the new house standards.  If you continue to walk out of your adopted Father’s house to go live back where you did before you were adopted, then you are not living as if you have gained a new family and home.  You are still living as an orphan, slave and a beggar.  God is not unreasonable and His greatest joy is to bless His family, the problem is if we don’t stay within His reach, we are actually limiting His access to or lives.

Today I want to encourage you to receive God’s unconditional love and enter the home He has paid to give you through Salvation.  Don’t be like you once were before He adopted you into His family, step away from the chains of sin that are holding back His blessings from flowing in your life.  If you have never received His unconditional love and salvation, do it today and He will bring you right home to live in His protection and grace.  Pray this simple prayer today and Jesus will come into your heart and into your life and give you a right relationship with the Father so you don’t have to be an orphan any longer.  Now you belong to the King.

Pray this from your heart: _{God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior.  I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me.  Please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new.  I know your Son, Jesus died for me.  I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead.  At this very moment, I accept, confess and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward.  Thank you, Jesus for Your grace that has saved me from my sin and has given me eternal life.  I now have a right relationship with God my Father. I also ask for Your Holy Spirit to come into my life to guide me and to empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus’ name, Amen}

Today’s scripture reading:  1 Corinthians 5:9-13

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Walk in His peace

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

Terror!  We’ve been at war with it for over 20 years now.  It is undefined and hard to track down, but it’s out there.  Terror is the use of fear as a literal weapon.  Most of us remember 9-11-2001 when terror hit our own homeland.  It put the world into an instant state of panic.  I remember specifically clinging to Psalms 91 during that time.  It was my source of peace and comfort in the days following.  Even today, terror is always out there, but it is only effective if we choose to let it steal our peace.

Jesus said, when He was about to leave this world that He was leaving us with peace and not just any peace, His peace.  The very peace of God.  The peace that calmed storms, healed sick, and raised the dead!  He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) This is a word that is relevant still today and if you read the passage closely, you can see that Jesus is saying you can choose peace.  He says, don’t be tempted to let your heart be troubled or afraid, choose to receive His very own peace.

Let peace be your faith gauge.  It looks like this:  know God, know peace!  No God, No peace!  Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule/judge in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”  According to this verse, the way to find peace is to be thankful!  Even when things are going rough and it doesn’t look like there is anything to be thankful for, look deep until you find something.  Nothing sends the enemy running faster than a thankful heart!

Today I want to encourage you to live your life in peace.  Decide ahead of time that you are going to recognize when peace is leaving, and anxiety and fear are trying to come on you.  Stop peace before it leaves you and begin to thank God for all His goodness and the many awesome things you know about Him.  Thank Him for His salvation through our Savior Jesus. Thank Him that He has an awesome plan for your life that He is still working on and will continue to work on it until it is complete.  Send terror far from you by being thankful and walking each of your life in the peace that Jesus left you!

Today’s scripture reading: John 14:27-31

 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 

30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

The Helper

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26

Have you ever needed help with a problem or situation you were facing?  What about a teacher to teach you things that are coming up in life or someone who helps you remember important things when you need them?  That’s what the Holy Spirit does.  He is our helper, and He helps in whatever way we need right now.  Later on, He will help us out in whatever we are facing down the road.

It is true and we know it is because in today’s passage, Jesus told the disciples that He was leaving, and God was going to be sending the Holy Spirit to be with them all the time.  He told them what they can expect the Holy Spirit of God to do once He was sent to live in people.  At this time, Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the helper and He was being sent by the Father in the power of Jesus’ name.  Jesus also told them that day that the Holy Spirit is a teacher and would teach them all things.  That’s pretty impressive.  Lastly, Jesus told the disciples at that time that the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrances all things that Jesus had told them.  That was what they needed, and it actually happened.  We know it happened because later on they were able to write the gospel accounts of Jesus life.

The Holy Spirit is still helping us today.  When we get saved and we receive the Holy Spirit, He comes to live inside of us to help us be successful in the mission that God has assigned for us to fulfill.  He still teaches us all things as we sit and position ourselves to learn, and He brings to our remembrance the things that Jesus and His Father have said.

This is great news and as wonderful as it is, there is so much more that the Holy Spirit does once He is living inside.  The scriptures say He is:

1. The Counselor
2. Wisdom
3. Sprit of Truth
4. The Comforter
5. He will live with you forever (Vs. 16)
6. Guide
7. Teacher

And there are many more names that He goes by.  To put is simply, the Holy Spirit has exactly what you need at just the time that you need it.  He is available to you and every aspect of His character He will share with you.  It is up to you to receive Him into your life and acknowledge Him in all your ways.

Today I want to encourage you to get help.  Walk out your days with the help of the Holy Spirit.  Let Him guide you into all truth.  Seek His wisdom in all things.  Let the Holy Spirit be your Counselor and when you have pain or grief, ask Him to comfort you.  He is available to all people, but only a few follow His leading.  Make the decision today to trust the Holy Spirit’s promptings.  Then you will know what is coming up and which decisions to make.

Today’s scripture reading: John 14:19-26   

19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 

20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 

24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 

 

Get to or Have to

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  John 14:15

I spent too many years on the wrong side of this verse.  My focus was always on “keep my commandments”.  It sounded like a contradiction to me since Jesus came to set us free from the weight of the law, but here He was saying the way to show that I love Him was to keep the commandments?  Then one day I realized the emphasis was on the first part of the verse.  “If you love me” I realized that keeping His commandments was the result of loving Him.  It’s all about my relationship with Him not a set of rules.  Jesus wants to have a love relationship with us, He wants to be our best friend.  He is saying, “if you love me like you love your best friends, it will result in you keeping my Words!”  It isn’t about works because it isn’t work when you’re in love.  

Since then I heard this concept explained as a marriage relationship. A husband and wife are faithful to each other because of the love they share for one another.  It’s not because they are keeping an agreement they made when they got married.  Although they made that agreement, they want to keep it because they treasure, value, and cherish each other and have a close relationship with one another.  When my husband asks me to do something for him, I may not always enjoy the task so much, but I enjoy doing it for him because he is so precious to me.  I’m not all about “what am I getting out of it”.  Because of the love we share, I look forward to the things I get to do for him because it is helpful or it just makes him happy and he does the same for me.

Here is a list of practical things you can do to grow and protect your personal relationship with your Lord Jesus.

1. Nurture and protect your relationship with the Lord like a most valuable treasure.  Just like you do with all your other close relationships, you watch over them, not trying to control them but making sure nothing comes against them.  Don’t let anything stand in the way of the time you spend with Him and the direction He is sending you.
2. Worship!  Spending time in worship and adoration is such a strengthener of your love.  Let Him know how thankful you are for your salvation, the things He has brought you out of, and the things He’s yet to do in your life.  Taking time to sit quietly so you can hear Him say how precious you are to Him.
3. Take Him with you all day long.  You can have a running conversation with Him throughout your day.  Whatever you are doing or facing, He is right there beside you and wants to help guide and comfort you.

Nothing is more important to God than His relationship with you!  He proved it by sending His only Son to die and pay your sin debt.  He desired you above the most precious thing He had. We know this because God wouldn’t have given His most valuable treasure for someone unimportant.

  Today I encourage you to spend some time focusing on your relationship with God.  Make it a priority.  Talk to Him like He is your best friend and confidant.  Take time to listen to the things He is saying to your heart and the words of encouragement He has for you.  Fall in love with Him and watch as your desire for Him changes into such a deep love that you want to spend even more time with Him . . . Not to check it off your daily “to do” list, but because you get to and not because you have to.  He has made Himself available to you 24/7, do the same for Him!

Today’s scripture reading John 14:15-24

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 

20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 

24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

Greater Works

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  John 14:12

Can you imagine yourself doing things that Jesus did in this world?  Things like hanging out with undesirable people  like the tax collectors?  Helping hurting people wherever you went.  What about taking time for people that seem less than important?  Or praying with people and teaching those around you the way to salvation?  These were just some of the great things that Jesus did when He was in this world.  He took time with people and showed them how important they were.  Not only to Him but also to the people around them.  Sure, He did some great signs and miracles, but His greatest works were spending time with people and loving on them.

In today’s reading, Jesus is still talking to His disciples right after His last supper.  He told them to remember the good things that He had done and that they would do these great things too and even more of them because HE was going on to be with His Father in heaven now.  He also reminded them that they could ask the Father anything in His name and His Father would do it for them so that they could give Him glory by blessing others.  He told them that when they asked the Father to help the struggling person in Jesus’ name, God would answer that request and in that way the people in the would see the glory of God through the way they reached out to others.

This promise is the same for us today.  The verse says whoever believes in Him will do what He did.  If we will do the things that Jesus did and love people around us, they way Jesus loved the people of His day, we will be doing a great work for the kingdom of heaven.  Our lives will show the world the glory of God because we will be demonstrating His love to those around us.  When we begin to teach others around us about the salvation that Jesus provided, then we will be giving God the greatest glory.  You will not have to wonder how you can do greater works than Jesus, you will simply be walking out the love of God by doing what Jesus did.  By doing that, you will have a greater impact than Jesus because the world is much bigger now to impact.

Today I want to encourage you to love the people you are around and bless all the people that you come into contact with.  Take time with people and let them know how important and special they really are to you and to God in heaven.  Share the message of salvation with those that are hurting and alone in the world and give of your time and resources to those who have needs.  You are doing great works every time you share the love of God with others.  Make loving the people of your world your priority today.

Today’s scripture reading: John 14:12-14

12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 

13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 

14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

You can trust His work

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  John 14:11

Many times, when people hear about the love of God and His plan to rescue them through salvation in the blood of Jesus, it is hard for them to believe it.  Maybe they have never been to church or around people who truly know how to love others.  Some people feel like God is far away and doesn’t really care what happens to them?  There are even those who do not even believe in God let alone that He made a way to save them.

Let’s face it, if you are looking at the condition of the world around you as evidence that there is a God who cares, it can be very hard to see through the problems.  From cyber and drug crimes to thefts and shootings, somedays it can feel scary even to leave your house.  But God is there to get you through, and He will always keep you as you trust Him for your life.  The key is:  You have to believe in Him, and you have to believe what He promised in His Word.

In today’s reading, even the disciples were struggling with believing all that Jesus said, and they were right there with Him each day.  They saw the signs and miracles that He did every time someone came to Him for help.  When Jesus started telling them that because they had seen Him, they had also seen His Father in heaven, the disciples could not get it.  Jesus patiently explained to them that He was in His Father and His Father was in Him, and that was how they were able to see God.  Then Jesus said, if you cannot believe my words, just believe the works that you have seen me do.  That in itself is enough proof that my Father and Me are one.  He was doing the works that God the Father was putting into His heart to do and helping the people that God the Father brought to Him each day.

We can be inspired by what Jesus said back then by watching Him work in our lives each day.  As you spend time talking with Him and trusting Him to get you through the hard times, you will begin to accumulate a list of times that Jesus shows up in your life and helps you out of trouble.  Write them down.  Take the time to make notes of the prayers He has answered and then when you are in your next crisis, go back and read how He showed up for you the last time you asked for His help.  If you cannot believe what He says, believe what He does.  Start today to thank Him for all He has brought you through and all He is leading you into for tomorrow.

Today I want to encourage you to believe in the eternal love of God for you.  Believe that He not only desires to rescue you from whatever trouble you are in, but He has also made a way for you to get through it.  Believe the promises He made to all people in His word and believe that He has great signs and wonders ready to pour out on your life the next time you bring a concern to Him.  If you cannot believe the written words that He gave and promised you for your life, take a look instead at the works He has done to bring you through life so far.  Then go ahead and trust Him to continue to do those works and make good out of every trial you face.

Today’s scripture reading: John 14:7-11

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 

11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

Purge out the old

Therefore, purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7

This scripture reminds me of an old saying that goes: “One bad apple will spoil the whole bunch.”  It meant that you would pick up the bad habits of those you allow into your inner circle.  If you are running with the wrong crowd, you will look and act just like their undesirable ways.  In contrast, if you are around the right kind of influences, you will begin to act in the same way as your good role models.

Today’s scripture is talking about the ingredient of leaven used for raising bread.  It is like yeast.  You only need a little bit to cause all of the dough to rise.  Paul encouraged the people of Corinth to get rid of the bad leaven, their old sinful ways and become new by picking up a new way of living.  The way Paul instructed them was by following the example of the Lord Jesus. He told them to get rid of their malice (spite and hostility) and wickedness/iniquity and replace it with sincerity and truth.

This is good instruction for us today, also.  There are many examples of daily habits around us.  At work and at school most of us are subject to an abundance of spite, hostility, destructive words and bad behavior.  If we do not recognize and guard against the pressure of fitting in, it will not take long at all before we look and act just like everyone else in the room.  I’m not saying you have to go through your day with your eyes closed and your hands over your ears, but what I am saying is determine not to look and sound like those who are far from God.  Make a stand for what is right and have an encouraging and positive outlook in every situation.  A bad attitude is like a lump of leaven, and it quickly spreads through the entire room.  However, the good news is a good heart and outlook can have the same effect in the right direction.

There is one other way I like to look at this scripture and that is what the Word of God can do in your life.  It is like a little leaven that can leaven the whole lump.  As you daily take in a little of God’s word each day, it will spread throughout every area of your life to raise it up to the highest degree.

Today I want to encourage you to get rid of the bad habits in your life and replace them with some good ones.  The best place to start is by putting the Word of God in each day.  Set quiet time aside to read and think about what the Holy Spirit wants to minister to you through that word.  Spend time talking it over with your Heavenly Father.  Don’t rush through your time together, savor it and give the yeast some time to rise.  A little leaven of the Word of God will enrich your whole life.

Today’s scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!

2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Not in word but in power

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

What do people see when they look at your life.  Do they see you living life from victory to victory or a life of problem to problem?  Is your life one that will attract others to the Kingdom of Heaven or one that will push them farther away?  The attitude you have in life is a direct reflection of the amount of God’s power at work in your life.  If you are focused on life’s problems and the people around you just hear about what is going wrong, they will see your life as no different than their own.  In contrast, if others hear the testimonies of God bringing you through the troubles, that makes all the difference.  The thing is that we are alike with those in the world in that we all go through trouble and problems.  The secret is in who we trust to bring us through to the other side of our struggles.

Today’s key verse talks about the people in Corinth coming up short in the power of God in their lives.  They were talking the talk but did not have the testimonies to back up their talk.  The apostle Paul urged them to follow his example of trusting God through all of life’s trials not to be full of arrogant speech.  There were many in the church who were bragging about their salvation but did not trust God with the details of daily living.  Paul said he wasn’t trying to shame or embarrass people in the church, but he wanted to see them living by trusting the power of God to lead them through life to overcoming victory in every area.

This goes back to living a life consistently submitting all aspects of your life to the Savior.  This is also the way you can demonstrate the power of God in your life.  By turning to Him with every care and concern and even the things you are not so stressed about, you are opening the door for His powerful hand to reach in and make all the difference in your life.  A difference that will be noticed by everyone around you.

Today I want to encourage you to live your life by the power of God.  Put away pride and arrogant speaking and most of all, stop talking about what is going wrong in your life.  Instead, turn the attention to the power of God in your life.  Let those around you hear you proclaim the goodness of God and all that He brings you through on a daily basis.  Then and only then will the outside world be drawn in to trust His goodness, love and kindness.

Today’s scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.

15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.

18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

He is preparing a place

I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2

The next four chapters of John are Jesus’ last teaching to His disciple before His death.  I know I will not be able to write about every truth that He taught them, but I will break it down into small pieces to draw out some of the key lessons He gave them as His final words before going to the cross.  These were some of the most important things that He taught so I want to go through them slowly.

Chapter 14 starts out with Jesus talking to His leadership team right after the last supper.  He started out by telling them not to be afraid or worried because He is leaving to get a place ready for them to come and live with Him in His Father’s house.  Although the disciples really didn’t understand what He was talking about at that time, He was trying to comfort them because He knew what He was about to face was going to be very hard on them and scary.  As I read the words “I go to prepare a place for you”, I immediately thought about the account of creation.  When God prepared a place for His created people to live.  He made sure that everything was just right in the world before He made Adam and put him in the garden.  He prepared everything He would need before He place man in his home.

As Jesus told the disciple that He was going to prepare a place and then coming back to get them, they were probably reminded of the tradition of the bridegroom in their culture.  Before the groom would bring his bride home, he would prepare a home for them to live in after they were married.  He worked on that place until his father told the him everything was ready and it was time to go and marry his bride.  The groom didn’t know when that time would be.  He just continued to work because he trusted his father to know the right timing and waited for his father to give the word.

I love it that Jesus wanted to give His disciples hope that even though He was leaving for a while, He promised them that He would come back.  I’m sure the disciples didn’t remember the promise at first, but after they had some time to process all that had happened, they remembered “oh yeah, He said He is coming back to get us!”

That promise still holds true today.  Even though it has been a long while since Jesus ascended into heaven, He is still preparing, and He is still waiting for His Father to give the word to come and get us.  We have hope for a future with Him and when He does come for us, He is coming for His bride to bring her to His home and join as one for all eternity!  What a great time of celebration that day will be.  I am looking forward to the day when He picks me up and takes me away from this place to the home, He has especially prepared for me.

Today I want to encourage you to hold fast to this hope of Jesus’ return for His people.  Live each day as though you are preparing for your groom.  Prepare to be with Him by getting your mission accomplished and purging out the distraction of life.  Turn your attention to getting ready for the wedding to come.  We have an assignment too and that is to live each day getting our steps aligned with His plan and purpose.  Put away the things of the world and make His priorities your priorities. He is coming back, so let’s get ready for the day when we will meet Him in the air.

Today’s scripture reading: John 14:1-6

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 

2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 

4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Unkept Promises

Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.  John 13:38

Have you ever made a promise to God that you didn’t keep?  Maybe you promised if He met some need or fixed some problem in your life that you would do something for Him in return?  Then when your problem was solved, you forgot about the promise that was made or you just never got around to keeping your end of the deal.  You may have made a promise to Him where you said “if you do this one thing for me, I will never use bad language again or I will stop losing my temper.  However, when God did His part, you maybe quit those things for a little while, but then soon slipped back into your old ways.  I would say that it happens a lot in the world.  People call out to God in a moment of crisis and promise to start going to church, reading their Bible or being nicer to those around them. But as soon as the problem is solved, they completely forget about the conversation with God and the promise that was made during the time of trouble.

If you have, there is good news today.  It is not too late, and you can still keep that promise.  Even if too much time has passed and you cannot do what you had once committed to doing, there is forgiveness available.  The truth is, God doesn’t really care so much about a one-time vow to do something.  He is much more interested in a continual communion that is never too late to enter into with Him.

If you have made some kind of an oath with God in the past that you were never able to fulfill, you are not alone.  Not only are there many today that have done this, but we also have records in the bible of God’s people making a vow to God, but then crumbling under pressure.  In the scripture reading today, Peter is one of those people.  He promised to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth even to the point of laying down his life for the Lord.  That is when Jesus told Peter that he would deny that he even knew Jesus three times that very night.  The rest of the evening goes on and later on while Jesus was in front of the council, Peter does deny that he is one of Jesus followers in the courtyard near by.  After it was all over, Peter remembered his oath about laying down his life for Jesus and it took some time for him to step back into his place as one of the apostles.  When Jesus was resurrected, he made it a point to ask Peter if he loved Him.  After that conversation, Peter was restored and goes on to have a great ministry picking up where Jesus left off, even to the point that God was able to do great signs and miracles through him.

Today I want to encourage you to repent of promises made that you were not able to keep.  The truth is, you cannot do these things on your own anyway. It takes the help of the Holy Spirit.  Trust Him today to empower and guide you to the important things is life.  Put away idle promises and begin to walk with Him continually each day.  Spend quiet time with Him getting to know and trusting His word more.  Then when the pressure is on, you will be able to reach out to Him in faith without feeling like you have to make a vow for Him to move in your behalf.  He wants to help you with no strings attached.  All you have to do is ask. By developing a close relationship with Him ahead of time, you will have the confidence to know that He is faithful to help in times of trouble and you can walk in peace knowing that He loves you and doesn’t expect some great deed to be done after.  A simple thank you will be enough.

Today’s scripture reading: John 13:36-38

36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”

38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.