Altar Sunday

What state is your heart in when you enter the House of the Lord?

It's important for our hearts to be prepared before we enter His house. All to often we walk into Church like we walk into work.

But Jesus deserves and desires more than that from us.

Can You List 100?

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28

If asked, could you list 100 things you were thankful for.

Have you ever tried to write them out?

Writing them out seems to open your eyes and heart, and makes you realize how much God loves you and blesses you.

What would happen to our hearts and thoughts if we wrote our blessings out every single day?

We would be transformed and changed. Our hearts would be softened, love would seep in, and anger and bitterness would slip away.

Our lives would be more patterned and shaped like Christ’s.

Things would be different, better, joyful.

We would react differently to our circumstances. We would focus more on His glory, His love, His character.

This is our choice! Let’s choose to focus on what we are thankful for, everyday.

Let’s not wait until something bad happens or our time is shortened to begin counting our blessings.

What are you thankful for?

Jesus we are too blessed to ignore it. We are too blessed and loved by You to not acknowledge it. Thank You for all You have given us. We are too blessed to not spend time praising You. Amen

A Similar Heart

“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
 I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful^[b] one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:5-11

We need to constantly speak God’s Word into our hearts so we are more aware of His goodness than we are our troubles, worries and fears.

That is exactly what David did all throughout the Psalms. He set the example for us and showed us the importance of keeping our hearts open and our eyes on Christ.

He taught us the importance of praise and what a thankful heart looks like.

He showed us the need for confession and repentance.

Through David the Lord showed us His mercy and forgiveness.

Is Jesus alone your portion and cup?

Jesus thank You for David’s story! He had a heart that pleased You, I pray You find our hearts to be pleasing to You. Hearts that are thankful, full of love and mercy. We love You, thank You for Your goodness. Amen

I Am Most Thankful For...

“Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Psalm 32:1-2

For me, I am not sure there is anything greater or that I am more thankful for than what Christ did for me. He took my place, He became the ultimate sacrifice, and He covered me in His blood, forgave me and bridged the gap.

There truly is joy in those of us whose rebellion has been forgiven and whose sin has been put out of sight.

Jesus thank You for forgiving me! Thank You that my sin has been put out of sight. Thank You for this precious gift of life that I now have because I have You. Amen

A Thankful Heart is an Aware Heart

"Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Is there a better way to give thanks than by living out this passage?

A joyful heart is a thankful heart.

A praying child is a thankful, trusting child

A thankful heart is a heart aware of the mercy and grace it’s been given.

Jesus our joy is found in You and we thank You and praise You for Your goodness, mercy and love. But most of all we are thankful for You and what You did on the cross for us. Amen

God Has it All Under Control-Trust Him

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.” Ephesians 1:18

The election has been on the minds of Americans today. Who will it be, who will win?

Only the Lord knows and has known for sometime. He knows who will be placed in the role of leading America.

He knows His heart, His thoughts, His every move and every intention.

The Lord knows the direction our country will go with whoever wins.

I find comfort in knowing that our God knows the future.

I find comfort in knowing that the Lord has my best interest at heart because I am His and He promises to protect His children.

Do you know the one thing that bothers me the most about all of this? The lives of those who are lost! There is more concern and talk about our new President than there is about those who are lost.

I get it, I really do, but I get Hell too. I get that in just a few short hours our new President will be named, life will go on, and we will all keep doing what we need to, to make it each and every day.

But here is what is bigger than all of that. In the end it’s either Heaven or Hell.

Salvation is the biggest and most important thing for us and it comes down to each of us individually making the choice. But it also comes down to us who are in Christ to get out and share His name and His Word with as many people as we can and as often as we can.

The two candidates didn’t waste time getting out and spreading their name and their plans for America’s future. They have been traveling and speaking for months.

Isn’t Christ worth that same effort and dedication plus a whole lot more? He is!

He is the one that determines our future, not the President. He is the one that saves us from death, not the President. He is the one that can heal us, not the President. He is the one that died for us. He is the one that is true, honest, perfect and holy. The President, whom ever that will be is human. He will fail us, but Christ will not.

All I am saying is if we as Christians keep our priorities in the right order, which is Christ first, then everything else will line up according to His will and plan.

Let’s pray for those who are lost, and let’s pray for our future President that Christ will be Lord of His life and He will seek Him first before He makes any decision.

Jesus open the eyes of the blind and the heart of our future President. May they experience You in a new and personal way. I pray You become more and more at home within their hearts and that their roots will go down deep into the soil of Your marvelous love. May they get a glimpse of how high, far, wide, and deep Your love is for them. I pray You become their first priority and that they put their complete trust and faith in You. You are our future. You are our hope. You are our every thing. Without You we have nothing! Thank You for seeing the bigger picture. Amen

Effort and Choice

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1

We must remember to give thanks to the Lord no matter our circumstances. I find this to be very hard at times.

Do you?

There are a lot of times when we allow stress, illness, frustration, hurt, money, appearance, etc to distract us from our blessings and God’s goodness.

God is so much better and greater than any of those things. Yet we still tend to focus more on them than Him.

It’s a messed up situation, really. But the more we focus on Him the more we see His goodness. So in reality if we would just stay fixed on Him, stay buried in His word, the better off we will be and the more we will realize His goodness and love.

It’s a daily effort and a daily choice.

So let’s choose to focus on Him. It is way more joyful and uplifting anyway, which I know we all need anyway.

Jesus You are good! Every single thing about You is good, perfect, holy, and beautiful. Thank You for Your unending love and mercy. Fix our eyes on You. Help us to fill our thoughts with Your word and love for us. In Jesus name amen!

Altar Sunday

“I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O LORD, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your miracles. I love your sanctuary, LORD, the place where your glory shines.”

Psalm 26:6-8

The Sacrifice that Honors Him

But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23

The greatest sacrifice is a heart full of thanksgiving. That is the sweetest aroma we could ever offer to the Lord.

When we acknowledge His goodness, love, mercy and grace and we express it through our praise and obedience, He is honored.

How often do we stop and thank the Lord for all He has done, does, and will do for us?

What changes do we need to allow the Lord to make in our lives so we can spend more time giving the sacrifice of thanksgiving that honors Him?

He is greater and bigger than any problem. He stronger and more powerful than any illness! He is more forgiving and loving than any human.

Jesus You are amazing, beautiful, holy, and perfect! Thank You for Your unending love and protection. Thank You for the gift of life. Amen

The Representation I want Seen in my Heart

“I will thank you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name. O Most High.” Psalm 9:1-2

I want this verse to be a representation of my heart. I want to constantly be sharing the marvelous things the Lord has done.

He is so good. He is the joy that fills my soul.

Jesus may I spend the remaining time here on earth in a state of thanksgiving. You are so merciful and loving. You are worthy of honor and praise.

I should constantly be thanking You for the forgiveness and mercy You have extended to me.

Forgive me for focusing more on the problems than blessings.

Keep my eyes and thoughts constantly on You and Your goodness.

Amen

A Heart that Acknowledges

"I will thank the Lord because he is just;  I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." Psalm 7:17

To offer thanksgiving means that we acknowledge God's goodness.

When our eyes are on the Lord our entire being should be in a constant state of thanksgiving.

His goodness surrounds us, let's acknowledge it! 

Jesus thank You for Your goodness. Help us to acknowledge it more an more until our hearts are full of thanksgiving. Amen

Halloween

How do you feel about Halloween?

Do you ever wonder what Jesus thinks about Halloween?

Do you even celebrate Halloween?

Jesus this is one man-made event that always leaves me feeling uneasy. I pray that we will be mindful of what is pleasing to You. Amen

How Will You Respond?

How do you respond to the Lord when He calls? When you know the Lord is impressing on your heart to do something, do you do it?

Do you share His Word when He presents the oppurtunity?

Do you forgive when He tells you to?

Do you act in love rather than anger or hate, when the situation is heated?

Do you speak in truth and honesty when asked a question?

All these things plus more are God-given oppurtunites, and He is calling us and commanding us to them as He says. Not as we think or feel.

And this can be very hard!

It can also be very rewarding.

So how will you respond to the Lord?

Jesus may our answer to You always be yes. Help us to do as You have commanded us, not because we have to but because we love You. Forgive us where we fail You. Amen

Distractions

"But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent." 2 Corinthians 11:3

Do you have distractions in your life that are causing your focus to be in the wrong place?

How can we make sure Jesus is our main focus and keep the world and self from distracting us from Him?

Jesus help me to keep my focus on You. Forgive me for being easily distracted. Amen

Altar Sunday

Maybe your heart is heavy.

Maybe your body is ill.

Maybe your marriage is a mess.

Maybe your life is out of wack.

Maybe your child has strayed.

 Maybe you feel lonely and lost.

Maybe your addiction has become too strong.

 Maybe your job is stressful.

 Maybe your soul is lost.

Whatever your maybe is, take it to the altar.

Entering Fearlessly Into His Presence

“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.” Ephesians 3:12

Do you know that feeling you get when your family or friends greet you at the door with a sweet loving welcome? It makes you feel loved, wanted and liked.

Do you feel that same loving welcome when you step foot into your Church? You should, and if you don’t, then we as brothers and sisters who are a part of that body should make some significant changes.

Christ is all about making His children feel loved and welcomed. He is the first to greet us personally. He is the first to wrap His arms around us. He is the first to let us know how happy He is that we are His. He is the first and only one who looks past the sin and sees our heart. He welcomes us just as we are and loves us unconditionally.

We are assured of that because of our faith in Him.

And because of our faith in Christ we can come fearlessly into His presence and know that He will be there to welcome us with loving arms.

Did you catch what Paul said? We can come fearlessly into His presence.

We can come to Him with confidence, boldness and assurance.

This gives me great peace. No matter what I have done, no matter the shame, I know that when I approach the Throne Room Christ will welcome me with loving arms.

There are no excuses for us, who are in Christ, to enter the Throne Room in fear. Christ took that away when He died for us.

God wants to visit with us. He wants us to come to Him and visit about anything and everything. He desires that one on one time with us.

Knowing now that we can enter His presence fearlessly we should be entering the Throne Room a whole lot more.

He is waiting!

Jesus You paved the way for us to enter the Most Holy Place where You dwell and meet with You. Thank You for shedding Your blood so that we can enter with confidence and boldness knowing that You are there to welcome and greet us with open and loving arms. Amen

It's All apart of His Plan

“When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.” Ephesians 3:14

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees in awe. I fall to my knees thankful that me, a mere speck on the face of this earth, is a part of God’s plan.

When I think of His wisdom and plan, I struggle to comprehend it. It is bigger than I can understand. It is greater and better than I ever imagined.

When I think of how much His love is in those plans, I am humbled, I am thankful; I am full of joy, and gratefulness.

When I think of how big and mighty God is I am left speechless before Him.

I have this amazing privilege of coming to the Most Holy God, who is the Creator of everything in heaven and earth and laying my life and heart out before Him. Knowing He is present and hears me.

I am thankful that He found me worthy enough to be a part of His plan. I pray I use my talents for His glory and honor.

Jesus thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your plan. Thank You for the amazing love that is intertwined all throughout Your plan. May I spend the rest of my life on my knees in prayer, praising You for Your marvelous plan for all of our lives. Amen

Are We Willing to Suffer for Others and Christ?

"So please don't despair because of what they are doing to me here. It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged." Ephesians 3:13

We know his story. We know what his life was like before the Lord called him to be His instrument. He was a persecutor of Christians. He went to many lengths to make sure anyone who followed Christ was chained and put to death.

But that was Saul on the other side of the cross. Today we know him as Paul who stands on this side of the cross. Paul went to great lengths to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So much that he experienced suffering of many kinds; beatings, thrown in jail, starved, etc.

Paul truly shared in the suffering of Christ. Just as the Lord said he would, "For Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for me." Acts 9:15

In Paul's letter to the Church of Ephesus he tells them to not despair because of what is happening to him. He is suffering for them, so that they can know about Jesus.

I find this to be so moving, so humbling, so powerful. Paul suffered so others could know Christ. Missionaries today put themselves out there to endure suffering so that others can know Christ. Many believers around the world endure suffering for Christ today.

I am encouraged by this. I am moved by this. I am thankful and honored to have such amazing brothers and sisters around the world who will stand for Christ and share His name with others no matter the suffering that comes.

Am I willing to do the same for others and Christ?

Jesus thank You for those who suffer so that others can know You. Thank You for their great faith. I pray many come to know You because of their commitment and love to You. Use me Father to share Your Word and love to others. Forgive me if I hid in fear afraid of suffering for You. You did it for me and for that I am grateful, honored and blessed. Thank You! Amen

The Special Privilege

"By God's special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning." Ephesians 3:7-9

By God's special favor and mighty power, Paul was chosen.

By God's special favor and mighty power, you were chosen.

By God's special favor and mighty power, I was chosen.

We have been given the wonderful privilege of serving Him by spreading the Good News.

Though we did nothing to deserve it, and though we are the least deserving, we were chosen for this special joy of telling others about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

That is AWESOME!

So...how are we doing in sharing this wonderful news?

Jesus let there never be an excuse in me for not sharing this amazing news. You promise to equip me with the words, help me not to ever doubt that promise or allow my fears and insecurity to get in the way. Thank You for this special privilege. Amen

God's Secret Plan

"And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God's children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus." Ephesians 3:6

There are many opinions that fly around in this space we call earth. They swirl and spread and expand into so many things.

It was the same way in Bible times. Opinions of many about Christ swirled around, spread throughout the land and expanded into the hearts of many.

It seems as though we take our opinions and try to present them as truth, when in reality the only truth that is solid and consistent today is the Word of God.

As I listen to these Presidential Debates I listen the opinions of two men and I wonder where the truth lies.

As humans we are unable to consistently hold true to our word. We will fail one another!

Both men have their opinions of how they believe our Country should be ran. All these opinions and beliefs cause division. Not only between the two but also between America.

I am not sure if you have ever talked to someone who is a strong Democrat or strong Republican, but they don't like the other very much and are quick to express their opinion on it.

We all have our own beliefs, I get that, but for us who have called on the Name of the Lord, we should be standing united as one in love.

We should not encourage or promote division or strife. Jesus is Lord, it is His foundation that we should be standing on. His Word is the Only real and lasting truth. He is Ruler and Creator of ALL THINGS.

He has the final say. What He says is the most important thing. He is not full of opinion, He is full of truth, love, mercy and forgiveness. He desires and promotes peace, kindness, unity, and love.

In Ephesians Paul makes a very strong statement to the Church in Ephesus about God's secret plan.

"The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God's children. Both groupgs have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus."

Remember yesterday we talked about Jesus breaking down the wall of hostitlity (Ephesians 2:14).

We need to make sure we are not trying to build back up the wall of hostility towards one another. Christ destroyed it so we could worship and work together as One body, which is way stronger than a bunch of divided bodies.

Let's look to Christ and His everlasting truth. Let's work together to make sure we keep the wall of hositility down. Let's not base our decisions off of the many opinions but on the Word of God alone.

Jesus You are in complete control. Thank You that we can rest in confident assurance that You have the final say in all things. Thank You that Your love never fails. Thank You that Your Word stands firm forever. Amen