Monthly Archives: May 2012

Choices, Choices, Choices

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Today in Galatians 5:13-15, Paul points us down two roads that we can go down.  Listen to what He says:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

He first tells us that we have freedom. Today, in your life, you have freedom. You have the freedom to do what you want in your life. You can choose to do right, you can choose to do wrong.

It’s your choice. You can do as you’d like. No one will make you.

Now, Paul today tells us though, that our choices will have consequences. We were given freedom to do right. Paul tells us to love one another. The entire law, all the bible, all we are supposed to do is summed up in that phrases – love your neighbor as yourself.

That’s what being a Christian should result in. We should each other.

Now, Paul gives us the other choice as well though. He says if you bit and devour one another, watch out.

Choosing to love, to forgive, choosing to do what is right, that will result in freedom and life. It may be the hard thing to do, but it will result in life.

Choosing to hurt others, choosing to respond with unforgiveness, choosing to respond tit-for-tat, it may seem like the easy thing to do, it may even seem like the right thing to do.

But it’s not. And it will end in destruction. It will bring harm to you, and to your soul.

Today, you have choices to make. You have been given freedom. Will you choose love? Or will you choose to respond in other ways.

Today, the choice is ours. May we choose the path of loving others, forgiving others, and showing grace.

May we use and use our freedom wisely.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

To Give Him Glory

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Today, in Psalm 50, God tells us to call upon Him in times of trouble. To thank Him and to make our vows to Him. And to call for His strength and might in our times of trial.

Listen to what verses 14-15 say:

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

God says – call upon me. I will deliver you. And you shall glorify me.

He has saved us, literally and figuratively, for that purpose. To glorify Him. To give Him praise and glory.

Because He is worthy of that praise and of that glory. He is worthy.

So, let’s tell the story. Let’s tell the story of how He has saved us. Let’s give voice to the ways that He has changed our lives for the better. Let’s talk about what He has done for us.

Does this mean you have to pin your co-worker or classmate down and make them become a Christian?

No.

But, do your words glorify Jesus? Do our actions bring glory to His name? Do we let our lives honor Him?

Can others tell the difference that Jesus has made in our lives? He has saved us. He has restored us. He has rescued us. He has changed us.

For this purpose. For this reason. To give Him glory.

Today, in our lives, we give God glory through action through, word, action, and deed. He has saved us.

May we glorify Him.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Whose Praise Matters

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Whose praise are you trying to earn today? Whose approval are your trying to get today?

Your boss?

Your peers?

Your co-workers?

Even your preacher or your church?

Today, whose approval are your desiring?

Listen to what Paul says today in 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6:

but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

Paul said, I didn’t come seeking your approval. I came seeking God’s. I didn’t come seeking the approval of man, I came seeking the approval of God. I didn’t come seeking to earn man’s praise. I came seeking God’s praise.

Your value and worth doesn’t come from what other people think of you. It comes from what God thinks of you.

He loves you. He sent His son to die for you. And He will do all in His power to help you be faithful today.

Today, in your life, whose praise matters to you? The praise of God? Or the praise of man?

Today, seek your worth not in what others think of you. Find your worth in what God thinks of you.

Because, in the end, that’s the only praise that matters!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

The Way

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Jesus Christ is the way to life. That’s it. That’s it.

That sounds too simple.

It sounds too exclusive.

It’s not smart enough. It’s old-fashioned. It’s out of date. It’s simple-minded, foolish, and not at all fashionable in the world we live in.

But it is the truth. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

That’s what He tells us today in John 14:6-7:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus Christ is the way to life. He is life. And life is not found outside of Him. So, today, a simple question for us to consider when we think about this verse.

Do we want to live? I mean, really live? Have life worth clinging to and hanging onto? Have a life worth having?

I’d think that almost every one of us really wants that life.

It’s only found in Jesus. He is life.

So, today, what are we chasing? What are we pursuing? What are we working on/working towards? Is it life worth having? Or is it life that will pass away.

Life is found in Jesus. I know it’s simple. But it’s true. Life worth having is found in our daily, consist walk with Him, through our reading, our prayer, and our study.

Today, may we truly find life worth having. Today, may we have Jesus.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.