Monthly Archives: January 2013

You Will Face Temptation Today

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In his first letter to the church, Peter spends a lot of time telling the folks how they should live. How they should act. What they should do.

And so, when I saw today I was going to be reading from 1 Peter, I knew immediately. He’s going to be talking about holiness. And part of me when, ugh.

Because I don’t know about you, but most of life, I don’t feel very holy.

So, I began to thinking, ok, this is going to convict me and make me realize I’ve got a long way to go to being the person that God wants me to be. And then I read it. And something jumped out at me.

Listen to what Peter writes in verses 13-16:

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

urlIt’s that first verse that really jumped out at me. Prepare your minds for action. What a great concept. I think, at least in my life, I get myself in trouble, when my mind is not ready. When I’m not prepared. When I’m not ready. When my mind is not focused on Jesus.

Are our minds ready today?

Today, you will face temptation. It’s coming. It may be happening right now.

You will face discouragement. It’s gonna happen.

You will face troubles and trials and worries. It’s gonna happen.

Get your mind ready. Be ready. Don’t be caught by surprise. These things will come. Center your mind on Christ. Make Him your focus. Make Him your light, your rock, your hope, your strength.

Trouble will be coming. That’s truth. That’s the way that it is. Temptation will be coming.

Prepare your mind. Get ready.

And the God of all strength and comfort will give you what you need for this day.

And each day. Get ready. God will be with you.

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.

It’s Stormy Out Today

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It’s stormy out today.  Wind is blowing.  Rain is falling. Thunder is rolling. This devotional is later than usual because my kids are terrified of bad weather and I wanted to be with them, and get them safely to school before sitting down to right.

It’s stormy out there right now.

And, maybe you don’t live in Petal, or Hattiesburg, or Mississippi.  Maybe you are reading this from some other place this morning.

And it may be stormy in your life.  Maybe not a litteral storm, but emotional. Spiritual.  A real storm.

Listen to what Jesus does today in Mark 4:37-41:

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

urlMy favorite part of that passage is when they ask, do you not care that we are about to die?

Do you not care that we are in a storm?  Are you uncaring? Do you not love us?  Do  you not love us?

It’s scary out there. It’s stormy out there. Don’t you care?

And what does Jesus do?  Peace.  Be still.

He speaks peace.  Because He is peace.

Yes, it’s stormy out there today y’all.  Maybe a literal storm.  Maybe a storm of unforgivness in your life.  Maybe a storm of sin or worry or regret.

Yes, it’s stormy our there today.

And know this.  Jesus is your peace.  Peace. Be still.  He is with you.

Do not fear. Do not be afraid.  He is our peace. And He will calm the storm.

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.

You Can Do It

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You ever felt like you couldn’t do something? Maybe a task at work. Maybe a homework assignment. Maybe you just feel overwhelmed by something.

Maybe you don’t feel like you are good enough to do something.

Maybe you don’t feel like you have the skills to do it.

May you just think that it’s impossible to do it.

You want to just stop and say, I can’t do it. There is no way that I can do this.

Jeremiah felt that way. God had called him to be a prophet, and he told God, basically, I can’t do this. There’s no way that I can do this thing that you’ve called me to do. It’s impossible.

Can’t happen.

By the way, that’s the reaction that most people have when they are called by God to do something. I can’t do it. There’s no way that I can do it. It’s just impossible. Can’t happen.

Listen to the words that God tells Jeremiah 1:6-8 this morning

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, “I am only a youth”; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”

Keep calm and believe you can do itHe says, don’t say that I’m too young. Don’t say that you can’t do it.

God says, if I tell you that you can do it, you can do it.

For I am with you. I will not leave you. I will not forsake you. In the midst of the troubles, trials, fears, worries, doubts, I am still God. I am still with you. I am still your rock and safety.

Do not worry. Do not fear.

For I am God.

And I am with you.

Do not say, – I can’t do this. You can. If God has called you to it, placed it on your heart, given you the vision, the calling, the passion, the heart for it, then you can do it.

He is with you. Do not fear. Do not worry. You can do it.

He is with you.

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.

When the World Falls Apart

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What do you do when your world falls apart?

That’s a tough question. It’s a tough thing to think about. It’s not fun to ponder or think about. But, what would we do? What would you do?

Who would you turn too?

In some ways, we’ve all been there. In our lives, we are comfortable with the way that much of it is constructed. And things are good. We feel good. We like it.

And then, something happens. Some tragedy. Some loss. Some pain.

What do we do?

Listen to what we told in Psalm 46: 1-3:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

2c6b65earefuge3-bigGod is our refuge and strength. Even through the earth gives way. Even though the mountains move to the heart of the sea, God is our refuge and strength.

God is our help in times of trouble.

When our world falls apart, when things go wrong, when things go bad, know this.

God is there. God has not left. God will not leave. God is there.

He is our help, our strength, our hope, our help, our life.

Today, trust. Even when it looks bad. Even when it’s hard. Even when there is pain and loss. Trust.

God is there. When the world crumbles, He is there.

Your help is in the Lord. Even in days of little hope. He is there.

Today, no matter what is going on trust in Him. And you will no be disappointed.

He will be there. Even when the world falls apart.

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 Little Things

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The Kingdom of God is in little things. The mark of faithfulness to God, the mark of obedience to God, is not the big things.

It’s the little things. It’s the small acts of faithfulness.

That’s where it all starts. That’s where it all begins.

With the little things.

Listen to what Jesus says today in Mark 4:30-32:

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Mustard Seed FaithThe kingdom of God is like that small mustard seed that turns into a huge tree. The kingdom of God is the small things, that God turns into big things.

So often in our lives, we spend our time looking at “big” things that we should do for God. Don’t do that. Don’t wait for the “big” things to be faithful.

Be faithful with the “small” things. Because, there aren’t small things.

God, through His power, turns small things into big things.

So, today, serve, smile, laugh, care. Be friendly. Speak kindly. Show grace. Care. Pray. Read.

Small things. That aren’t small.

And when these “small” things are done for God, and His glory, He will do amazing things.

Let’s be faithful with the “small” things. And God will do amazing things.

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.

How to be Miserable

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Mr._MiserableIf you’ve been part of Asbury, or podcasted my sermons, or heard me preach any consistently at all, you’ve probably heard me a say a phrase before.

I can promise you how to be miserable. I can give you the prescription for a path that will lead you to isolation, to being all by yourself, to pushing others away, to being totally miserable.

The path is pretty easy to walk down. And truthfully, it’s a path each of us walks down a little each day.

What is this path? How do you we become miserable?

Live only for yourself. Think only of your needs, your wants, your desires, your dreams, your goals.

Think only of yourself. Live only for yourself. Focus only on yourself.

Never on others. Never on God. Only on you.

Do that, and I promise that you will be totally miserable.

Look at what Jesus says today in Luke 9:24-25:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

What does it do for us to gain everything, everything we can ever want or dream or desire, if we lose ourself?

What good is all the “stuff” we can seek after, compared to what really matters? Relationships? God. Eternity?

Faith, family, friends. This is what matters. This is what lasts. This is what is important. Not the “stuff” of this world. The “stuff” of eternity.

So, it’s laid out before us this morning. We can gain everything we want, but lose what really matters.

Or we can focus on what really matters, and have more life than we could ever even imagine.

Today, what path will we choose to walk down?

When we live only for ourselves, we wind up miserable. When we focus on what really matters, we find life.

Today, which will we choose?

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.

Mercy, not Sacrifice

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Jesus got fussed at a lot.

He did things that caused other folks to fuss at Him, or judge Him, or condemn Him. He was always doing things that folks didn’t like, or thought He shouldn’t be.

Why? Why did He do these things? And why did folks fuss at Him?

Let’s look at a text today in Matthew 9:10-13 and see why:

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

mercy-graceJesus eats with the tax collectors and sinners here in this text. And the religious leaders didn’t like that. They fussed at Him and said, you shouldn’t do that. You don’t need to do that.

They aren’t worthy. They are unclean. They shouldn’t be accepted at a meal, they should be judged for their sin.

And Jesus said – I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

That throws folks off. That notion makes us uneasy. Not within ourselves. I like mercy for me. It’s judgement I want for them.

I want God to forgive my sins. But, they deserve judgement for their sin.

Jesus says no – I give mercy.

The “law” is easy. It’s a check list. Do these things. Don’t do these things. It’s easy.

But, actually it’s not. We find that we wind up doing the things we shouldn’t be doing, and we wind up not doing the things that we should be doing. And then we are confused. Broken. Ashamed. We beat ourselves up.

So, hear the words of Jesus. He came to bring mercy.

Take that mercy on yourself today. And here, here’s the hard part.

Give that mercy to “them.” Whoever “they” are. They need that mercy as much as we do. Jesus came to give us mercy. Jesus came to give them mercy.

Today, be a people of mercy, not a people of judgement. And in that, we are obedient the law of love that Jesus gave us to follow!

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.

What to do When Found

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How do people know about things? I know, weird question.

But really, how do people know about things? Normally, they are told. They are told by a friend. They are told by some source of media. They are told by someone, or something.

How will folks know, unless they are told. Makes sense, when you think about it.

Look at what happens today in John 1:43-45:

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

53912_FoundLogo-HorizontalJPEG-577x200-featureJesus first finds Philip and says follow me. And he does. That’s first person in this story that is found, and then told.

But, the story doesn’t end there. Philip then goes and finds Nathanael. And he tells Nathanael about Jesus. And Nathanael comes to believe.

I think that’s a cool example of how it works.

First, we are found. Then we find others.

We are found by a God that is searching for us. Sometimes we get it backwards. It’s not that we are searching for God. It’s that God is searching for us. It’s not that we are seeking God, it’s that God is seeking after us.

God loves us. He has formed us and made us. And wants to be in relationship with us. God is seeking us.

And then, when He has found us, He wants us to seek after others.

Philip was found. And then he went and found Nathanael.

To those of us that have been found, that’s our next job. If we’ve been told about the goodness and mercy and God, if God in His mercy has found us, we are to go.

Go and find others.

Go and take that Good News with us.

We’ve been found. We know grace. We know love. We know hope and peace.

There are others that don’t. We’ve got to find them. And tell them.

And here’s the thing. They aren’t hard to find. Look around. Find the hurting. Find the ones in pain. Find the ones in need.

And tell them that there is a God that loves them. No matter what.

Today, we’ve been found. May we find others. And may we point all that we meet towards the grace of 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.

Come Together

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Jesus is always drawing us to Himself. The Bible says that when He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. When He is the center of attention and the center of focus, we will be drawn to Him.

But today’s reading doesn’t just tell us that. It tells us about something else that happens when Jesus is in the center of it all.

Listen to what Paul writes today in Ephesians 2:13-16:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

e72bde771d613f1e6e208766895c6af5In Jesus, those that were far off have been brought near, for He is our peace.

But, it isn’t just that we are brought near to God and given peace with God, it’s this.

We are brought together. We are one. We can be one. We can be at peace, not just with God, but with each other.

That’s God’s will for us, that’s God’s hope for us. Peace with God. Peace with each other. The wall of hostility has been broken down.

We can come together. With God. With each other.

When Jesus is in the center of all it. When we are in the center, when we are in the middle when our stuff is in the forefront, peace is hard to find.

When Jesus is in the center, He is our peace.

Today, may we live in peace with our forgiving, loving, merciful God.

And through Jesus, may we come together. We we live in peace. May He bind us to one another. May we be one. For when He is lifted up, He will draw us all to Himself.

May we come together. As Christians. As churches. As believers. May we come together. And may we live in God’s peace.

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.

Struggling with “Stuff”

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Jesus is having a conversation with the rich young man in a text in the Bible. Jesus tells him to sell all that he has, give it to the poor, and follow Him.

The young man can’t do that, and the disciples are stunned. They are unsure how to react. This doesn’t make sense.

So, they talk to Jesus, what are we to do? If that guy isn’t going to be faithful and follow, who can? Peter, as always gives voice to their fears and concerns. Listen to what happens in Matthew 9:27-30:

Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

IHeartMyStuffZipperPouchPeter says, ok, we’ve done it. We’ve left it all to follow you. What will happen to us?

Jesus tells them, anyone that has left what they have to follow me, they will receive ten-fold in eternity.

For, this world is not our home. This world is not the end. This world is just the beginning.

One of my struggles is with my “stuff.” I love my “stuff.” I love my iPad, my iPhone, all my stuff. I’m a geek. I like stuff.

Stuff is not bad. Anytime we read these passages we are tempted to think that our “stuff” is bad.

That’s not what He’s saying. What He’s saying is this. You can’t love your stuff more than you love Him.

You can’t love your “stuff” more than you love Jesus. When you do that, that’s when you get in trouble. The stuff of this world is fading. It will not last. It will pass away.

The stuff of God is unfading. Everlasting. Full of life and hope and glory forever.

So, our stuff is ok. Our hope is in Jesus.

Today, where is your hope? In your stuff? Or in Jesus? Only one is everlasting and truly gives life.

Today, may we find that life in 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.