"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray." (Mark 1:35 NLT)
When was the last time you were alone with no distraction. Think about it. When was the last time you were somewhere where you couldn't be distracted by external factors? When was the last time you spent time with God in His presence? Solitude is the state or situation of being alone. For some this concept may be foreign. In our culture it's nearly impossible to be alone. There is something always in our presence to distract us. Many of us are so wrapped up in the busyness of life that we don't realize that our souls are suffering. All of us are busy. We're busy with careers, we're busy being students, we're busy trying to accomplish goals and to achieve dreams, parenting and all the other stuff that engulfs our lives. If we're honest, even with all the things that we accomplish, we still feel empty. Personally I've felt a void even when I've had some great successes. Even when I've done what I love to do, preaching and teaching others, I've felt a void after I was through. I've discovered that there's only one think that can fill that void and that is God Himself. My Soul is satisfied when I spend time with God. Culture has pushed us away from the practice of solitude. Our lives have become saturated with technology and information at our fingertips. Smart phones and Tablets provide for us great convenience, which I'm grateful to have to accomplish work. However, with that convenience comes immediate accesses to distraction. For the sake and health of your spiritual growth I encourage you to take regular times of solitude. Unplug from technology, get off of social media, go some place and get quiet. In these times of solitude allow God to speak with you. Allow Him to help you work through some of the struggles that life sometimes throws at us. We can agree that Jesus' s life was full. He dealt with difficult situations on a day to day basis. He also spent a lot of time serving with the people. I've often wondered how did He keep it all together. The Bible paints a picture for us a habit, Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, practiced on a consistent basis. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." (Mark 1:35 NIV) "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16 NIV) Just in these two verses we see that Jesus had a habit of getting away and being by Himself. If Jesus who is the creator of Heaven and Earth, took times of solitude, how much more should we. This week put into practice solitude. Make a plan and execute it. See what difference it makes in your life. God Bless and Choose Life. Comment below and let me know how it went.
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"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16&17 NLT
If we're going to grow into mature followers of Christ we need to study the scriptures. In fact the scriptures tell us to "desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2 NKJV) It is through the study of the scripture that we get direction and guidance for our lives as well as learn about the God who created us and the purpose that He has for each of our lives. How should we study? Below is a three simple step process to studying the scriptures. There are many different types of study but the one below would be basic and easy. 1.) Observation- After you have selected a verse that you want to study. Simply read and observe the verse. At this point you don't want to try to figure out what the verse is saying, that will come later in interpretation. Read and reread the verse. Observe what's going on, note names, and places. Observe the details. 2.) Interpretation- In this step you're trying to discover what the verse means. For this step you may need other study tools, background commentaries, exposition commentaries, bible dictionaries and a good study bible will be helpful in this step. All these tools can be found online. Ask the question, in light of the context of the scripture, what does it mean? Many times we get through this step and think that we're done. We not only need to know what the text means but we also need to know how it applies to us. That brings us to our final step. 3.) Application- In this step we're trying to discover how does this biblical truth apply to our lives. We don't just want to learn what the scripture is saying. It's good to have information, but if we want transformation to take place in our lives and if we want to grow spiritually, application is key. Transformation doesn't come by information it comes by application of information. I hope this simple method has given you a place to start. It's best that you take some time each day and spend some time in study in order to foster spiritual growth. As you continue to study my prayer is that you cultivate an intimate relationship with God and discover who He made you to be and begin to live a life of purpose. God Bless ad Choose Life! If you were raised in a Christian home like me you were taught to prayer, read your Bible and go to Church. Three very basic and simple things right. These are things that should not be too difficult to accomplish everyday, well at least praying and reading your Bible anyway. The way life is set up, sometimes these things become neglected, and are seldom apart of our daily routines. Spiritual disciplines can make a big impact on the way we live our lives and they can even affect the impact that we have on the people around us. This week I'm going to start a series on the spiritual disciplines, what they are, how to do them, and the impact they can have on each of our lives. Today I want to talk about prayer, even if you're not a Christian or a religious person, I'm sure you've heard of it. Prayer from the christian perspective and at it's basic level is communication with God.
Prayer is vital to the spiritual growth of every Christian. It is in prayer that we communicate with God and get instruction, direction in guidance in our everyday lives. It is also a tool to be used as we operate in our spiritual gifts. Without prayer we will be less effective in our Christian walk and especially when ministering to others. Its vital that we are intentional about cultivating a healthy prayer life. In order to be effective we need to make a consistent effort to spend time in prayer on a daily basis. If you haven't already let me give you some practical advice on how to get started. 1. Find a quiet place- Its important that we find a private space where we will not be distracted. Turn your phone off and remove anything that will steal your attention away from God. Treat it like your going on a date with someone you love. Set the atmosphere so that it is conducive to the God that you love so much. 2. Sit in silence for a few moments- Before you begin to pray it's good to sit in silence and clear you're head. I suggest you sit silently for 20 minutes to let all your thoughts clear out. Our minds are use to thoughts going through our heads 24/7. It's important that we clear our heads so that we can hear God clearly. 3. Seek God with all your heart- It's important when we spend time with God we give Him everything we are. We should be open and honest. We can share with Him our hurts our struggles, are deepest secrets and most importantly our sins. There is nothing that we should be afraid to bring before Him in prayer. Scriptures says that we will seek Him and find Him if we search for Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29: 13 NKJV). 4. Listen for God's response- Prayer is communication, think dialogue not monologue. Many times when we have a prayer time or quiet time, whatever you prefer to call it, we offload all our junk, we make a few requests, and then we get up and walk a way. How would you feel if that's how someone communicated with you? We do this with God often. It's important that after we have opened our hearts to God in prayer that we wait for His response. I suggest you have a pen and paper or a journal to write down what God tells you in prayer so that you always have it to return to when your applying His instructions to your life. Listen God desires intimacy with us. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. How much more joyful would life be if we walked in lock step with the Creator Himself? I want to encourage you to start today, don't wait. Take some time today to take your intimacy with God to the next level through prayer. God Bless & Choose Life. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Today will be the final blog in this weeks series.....well for now. So far we've talked about how we can move forward and live with purpose because God values us. We are His masterpieces. We've also talked about how we can move forward from the bondage of sin. We no longer have to stay stagnant and live mundane lives because of the sin of the past. Jesus has taken care of our sin through His sacrifice on the cross for mankind. He has made us new in Him. Now we can move forward into the destiny that He has planned for us since the beginning of time. Today my encouragement to you is simple.Get to work! God has made you for good works. Ephesians 2:10 says, "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God has given each of us gifts and talents to make an impact in the world. These gifts aren't to be used for our sole benefit, but they are also to benefit the world. 1 Corinthians 12: 7 says, "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." (NLT) God intends for us to have impact on our circle of influence. He wants us to use the gifts that He's given us to bless others. Many people gain a lot of "success" in life and they are the sole beneficiary of it. God wants others blessed because of your success. Lets back up for a second, in order to go to work in your destiny, you first must know what your purpose is. How do you find it? In my experience, purpose is usually connected to passion. What is it that breaks your heart? Whatever breaks your heart you should seek God about it. Ask is these anything that He wants you to do about it? The following may also help has you are on your journey of discovery. 1. Membership to a local church- It's necessary that every believer be connected to a local assembly where they are consistently being fed the Word of God from a Pastor. The church is necessary for your spiritual growth. Every Christian needs a Pastor who will equip them for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11&12). 2. Consistency in prayer- Through prayer we have access into the knowledge of God. It's through prayer where we receive instruction and direction in purpose (Jeremiah 33:3). It's impossible to find and function in your purpose correctly without talking to God about it consistently. 3. Consistency in study of the word- Not only do we have access into the knowledge of God through prayer but also through His word, the Holy Scriptures. As we consistently study and obey the word we grow, and as we grow we grow into our purpose (2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Peter 2:2). Purpose is not something you just choose to do or go into, but grow into. As we discover through prayer and study of the word we will be able to live lives of purpose. As we operate in our purpose not only will we be blessed but others will be as blessed. We will accomplish what God has created us for, our lives will no longer be mundane, but extraordinary. I want to encourage you today, find your purpose and get to work. The world is depending on you. God Bless and Choose Life! Sheldon "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 NLT
As we continue the series on living with purpose, let's review. Many of us are not living with purpose and as a result some of us our miserable. Many have jobs they don't like and pursue careers that they aren't necessarily passionate about. Others sit home and dream about the life that could be but it is not. Earlier this week I told you about how you are God's masterpiece, and I encouraged you to remember your value and how much God cares about you and how He sees you. Today I want to encourage you with the second part of Ephesians 2:10. "He has created us anew in Christ Jesus," If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. Once we made Jesus the Lord of our lives we were born again (Romans 10:9, John 3:3-6 NKJV). Why is that so significant? Many of us live mundane lives without purpose because we allow how we've lived in the past to keep us from moving forward. We allow the sin that we've done to hold us in bondage. When we make Jesus Lord and repent of our sin, we receive new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." Through the sacrifice of Christ we have access to a new life in Him. We don't have to worry about the sinful life of our past.It doesn't matter what you may done in the past, He paid for our sin on the cross. Because He has paid for our sin (1 John 2:2) we now can walk in the newness of life. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." I want to encourage you today to walk in the freedom that Christ has given us through His sacrifice on the cross. You know longer have to be bound by your sin. Jesus has paid the price. You can now walk out the destiny that God has planned for you since time began. You have been created anew in Christ, walk in the newness of life. God Bless & Choose Life. Sheldon "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Have you ever wondered why you are here? Have you asked God, why He created you and placed you on the earth? I believe that the world is in the shape that is in because millions of people have not asked this question. There are millions of people on the planet earth that are living mundane lives. They are miserable and bored. They wake up every morning and go to a job that they don't particularly care for and work for and with people they don't particularly like, they work eight to twelve hours and go home, many pursue careers through education that they don't necessarily desire. At home they dream about a better life, about a job or career they would love to have. They dream about a life that could be, but is not. If this is you I want to encourage you that it doesn't have to be this way. This week I'll be covering a series about why we don't have to go through life living this way. God has a plan for each of us. God didn't create you to live a mundane life. He didn't create you to go through life going to a job you hate and to be miserable. No, God created you uniquely to have an impact on the world. God thinks the world of us, and expects us to live in such a way that we impact the world for His Kingdom. He expects us all to live with purpose. Many of us are miserable because we're not living in our purpose. We are God's masterpieces- God looks at you with awe! Ephesians 2:10 says that "we are His workmanship" through study of the original language you will find that workmanship works out to be masterpiece. God looks at you and me as His works of art. God has created each of us specifically and uniquely, we're beautiful in His sight. Just like thousands of people travel the globe to search out masterpieces like the ceiling of the Sistine chapel and are awed, God looks at us with that same pleasure. When we don't live with purpose we sometimes forget our value. We get in the rut of mundane living and we feel like there's nothing that we can contribute. We get down on ourselves and we get comfortable and complacent in our ineffectiveness. If we're going to live with purpose we must first recognize our value. God loves each and everyone of us and has created each of us for greatness. You are created in the image and likeness of God! He expects greatness from you. I want to encourage you today, remember your value. remember that you don't have to stay where you are, you have the power to change and walk into your destiny through obedience to God being led by His Holy Spirit. You are God's masterpiece! God Bless and Choose Life! Sheldon "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." I Corinthians 6:20 NKJV
I was spending time with God this morning, and I came across this familiar scripture. As I began to reflect on these words I began to think about the value that we place on ourselves. Many of us Christians fail to live in such a way that shows how valuable we actually are. We were bought with a price. All of us were in need of a Savior and God sent His Son Jesus to die and shed His blood on a cross for the sin of mankind. We were purchased with something valuable. The Apostle Peter says it this way in 1 Peter 1:18 & 19, "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (NLT) Because we were purchased with something so valuable, we owe God our lives. The verse says, glorify God in your body and in your spirit. In other words because we have been bought with a price we should glorify God by the way we live and the way we think. Our lives are to be a representation of Christ and what He has done for us and what He can do for others (Acts 1:8) When people see us they should see and feel the love of Christ. How do we live in such a way? By simply loving people. There was a pharisee in the scriptures who asked Jesus what was the greatest command, Jesus's reply was amazing. Matthew 22: 37-40 says, "Jesus replied, 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (NLT) This world needs Jesus. With the latest events and racial tensions here in the United States it has become even more abundantly clear. As Christ followers each of us has a role to play. Now more than ever the body of Christ needs to stand up and let the love of Christ exude from our lives and remedy this hatred that is running rampant. Each of us is valuable, each of us has something to contribute. We all need to live lives that represent how much God values us. Sheldon "Then He said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:23 NLT
With so many denominations and sects of Christianity there is, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate the true way of following Jesus. Many people think they can believe in Jesus and not change. Many think they can go through life and do whatever they want to do and claim to be a Christ follower. Some of this thought comes from lack of biblical teaching. Some of it is because of poor teaching, then some of it comes from no teaching at all. I'm grateful that we can look at the scripture and actually glean from Jesus the actual cost of following Him. The first cost of following Jesus is your life. You have to die. Don't flip out. I don't mean literally, He already paid that price. You do have to die spiritually. You have to give up your will. One version says you must "deny" yourself. The New Living Translation helps us understand clearly, "you must give up your own way". When we follow Jesus, we make Him the Lord of our lives. That means we give Him the reign's of our lives and submit to His Will for us. In other words, our lives are submitted in obedience to His Word. It means my sole purpose in life becomes to please Him. The second cost of following Jesus is servant-hood. Jesus says, "take up your cross daily". Each of us that has been placed on the earth have a cross to bear. What kind of cross? Do I mean you have to be nailed to a cross? No. Each of us has been given a purpose that is supposed to impact the world. God created each of us uniquely in order to solve a problem in the earth, serve our fellow man, and to give God glory. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them" (NKJV). The New Living Translation says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."(NLT) He's created us to do good, to serve. Every person in Christ has a job to do and a purpose to fulfill. It's our responsibility to discover and accomplish that purpose, through consistent study of the scripture, consistent attendance in gathering with a community of believers where you are being taught the scriptures, consistency in prayer, and consistent service to others. The third cost of following Jesus is loyalty. Jesus wraps up this verse with two words. "follow Me". The original word used for "follow" in the verse means, to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, to be his disciple and to side with his party. Before we made Jesus the Lord of our lives we were apart of the kingdom of darkness. But through His sacrifice we have been moved into the Kingdom of God. Now that we are apart of the Kingdom of God we should be about our Fathers business. What does that mean? II Corinthians 5:17- 20 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ's behalf, 'Be reconciled to God.' (HCSB) We are to be about reconciling people back to God. We are to preach the Good News of Jesus every where we go and be a witness of the transformation that has taken place in our lives because of Him. (Acts 1:8) We get to take part in God saving the souls of men in the earth. Yes, it does cost to follow Jesus but the cost is nothing compared to the price Jesus paid on the cross for our sin. The cost of following Jesus is worth it. Sheldon "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:6-8 ESV
Many of us when we face negative situations, get stuck in a rut. We allow it to keep us from moving forward. Negativity begins to consume us and we begin to have a very negative outlook on life. For Christian's in particularly, when we have a negative outlook on life, it keeps us from being effective in building the Kingdom of God. Every Christian is called to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). We're all called to teach others about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how to grow in relationship with Him. When negative things happen to us, it throws us off of our game. We forget about our purpose and we stop doing what we're called to do. The Apostle Paul in the verses above is dealing with a difficult and somewhat negative situation. As he was writing this he was sitting in a prison cell. I would say that's a pretty negative situation. As he's sitting in his cell he gives some pretty good advice on how to deal with difficult, stressful, and negative situations. The first thing that Paul tells us is that when we face negative situations we need to Relax. He says in verse 6a, "do not be anxious about anything". In other words, when we face negative situations we need to chill out. Don't overact, don't get anxious. A lot of times when we face negative situations we lose it and fly off the handle. When we fly off the handle we make things a lot worse then they really are. When we face a negative situation we need to relax and stay calm. The second thing that Paul tells us is that when we face negative situations we need to make our requests to God. verse (6b) says, "but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." When we face negative situations we need to talk to God about our situation. Many times when we face difficulty we forget the relationship that we have with God. Scriptures says that we as Christians are the children of God (Romans 8:16&17). If we're His Children, He our Father and we have access to everything that belongs to Him. In other words, God has everything that we need to deal with any circumstance that we may face. We just need to call out to Him (Jeremiah 33:3, James 1:5). As we talk to God about our situation the scripture promises us peace. The Third thing that Paul tells us is that when we face negative situations we need to Remember the good things. When we face negative situations it's very easy to just focus on the negative. If we just focus on the negative the situation will never improve. If you're like me, and you're a Christian you probably have a history with God. When we face negative situations we should reflect back on the things that God has done for us in the past. We've faced negative situations before and He's taken care of us then, He can do the same thing now. We shouldn't just focus on what He's done but we should also focus on who He is. In v.8 Paul tells us "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things". Jesus is all of these things. When we get face negative situations we should focus on the person of Christ. As we focus on Him and we meditate on the good that He has done for us we should be able to stay positive in negative situations. I hope this encourages you today. When you face negativity, and you will, remember to relax. Don't lose it and overreact. make your request known to God. Remember the relationship that you have with the Father as His Child and talk to Him about your situation in prayer. Then focus, remember the good things. Don't focus on the negative, focus on person of Jesus and what He has done in your life. If He's done it before, He can do it again. Sheldon |
AuthorHusband, Father, Red-Letter Christian, Preacher of the Gospel. Archives
June 2021
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