Tag Archives: Faith

What Are You Afraid Of?

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What are you afraid of today?  What is it that makes you scared? Worried? Terrified?

We all have something. We all have someone. We all something that take away our joy, our confidence, our hope. We are all afraid of something.

It’s that reason why that one of the most mentioned commands in the Bible is this. Do not be afraid. Do not fear. Over and over again in scripture we are told to do not be afraid.  Do not worry. Do not live in fear.

If God is for us, who can be against us, we are told.  Listen to what we are told today in Jeremiah:

But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

urlThe people of Israel were going to be defeated by the foreign army. Their way of life was going to change forever. Nothing would ever be the same again. They were going to lose so much of what they knew, what they expected, what they had hoped for, what was the their foundation.

They were afraid. They were terrified with what was going to happen.

And so, in that moment, God speaks these words – do not be afraid. And then again at the end, no one shall make him afraid.

No one.

Nothing.

He will not be afraid, for I, the Lord, and with him. Do not fear.

And today, no matter where you are in your faith, that is His call to you as well. Do not be afraid. Do not fear. Do not worry. God is with you. God loves you. God is for you.

Do not fear.

Today, you have nothing to be afraid of. For you God is with you. Take confidence in that fact today!

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.

Confidence

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self-confidence-300x300You can do it!

Whatever it is that you are facing today, you can do it. There is nothing facing you today that you can’t do. Nothing.

That statement is true. But, let me tell you why that statement is true. Let me tell you why today you can have such confidence.

Listen to what it says in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6:

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We have confidence today through Christ, toward’s God. Through Christ, we have been restored into right relationship with God. Through the work of Jesus Christ, we are made right with God.

Paul reminds us that we aren’t able to, in ourselves, have this confidence. In ourselves, we would find ourselves lacking. In ourselves and in our own strength, we won’t be able to do it. In ourselves in our own ability, we can’t do it, can’t be good enough, can’t be strong enough, just can’t do it.

But, through the life, death, and resurrection, through the grace of Jesus Christ, we can. We can have confidence. Through Him, we can do it. Through Him, it will all be ok. Through Him, we can know life. Peace. Hope. Joy. Victory.

Through Him.

Today, have confidence. But, know where the confidence comes from. Through Jesus. Through Him, we are restored and through Him we live.

Today, may we live fully, boldly, and with confidence. All through Jesus.

Today, you can do it!

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.

Don’t Settle

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urlIn life, we can take the easy option and settle for good, but not great. It’s very easy to do, and something that each of us in life will be tempted to do. Settle for the good, but not great.

Settle for good enough.

Settle for nice.

Don’t settle. Don’t miss what matters. Don’t miss what really counts.

What does all this mean, and have to do with the Bible? Listen to what Isaiah says today in 55:1-3:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Why do you spend our money on that which is not bread? Why do you labor for that which does not satisfy?

What is bread? What satisfies? The life that is found in God. The life found in Christ. The life that is found by walking faithfully with God.

Don’t settle for less that than. That’s the good stuff. That’s what counts. That’s what lasts and what is truly life-giving.

The other things? Nope. They are not truly life-giving. They may look fun for a while. But they will leave us feeling empty in the end. Or not completed. Or lacking.

Don’t settle for them. Don’t settle for the stuff of this world. Find the good stuff. The life found in God. The life that truly counts.

Today, don’t settle. Today, find that truly life, which is found only in God!

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.

We are One

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We as Christians, we are one. We may be part of different local churches. We many share the exact same view of every issue or every belief. We man not be the same mind on everything.

But we are one.

There is one body. There is one Spirit. We are part of the same body.

We are one.

Listen to what Paul says this morning in Ephesians 4:4-6:

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

TOSHIBA Exif JPEGThere is one body. One spirit. One hope. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father.

The same Holy Spirit calls us into relationship with the Father through the Son. We share the same faith. We share the same hope. We share the same body. We all believe the gift of baptism.

Yes, there may be differences between us all. But that’s ok. For we are one.

Now, imagine if the church would live as one. Imagine if we would work together. Serve together. Make a difference together.

Glorify God together.

There is so much for the kingdom that we can do together.

So, today, let’s not “act” like we are one. Let’s realize that we “are” one. And let’s live in that reality.

Today, let’s realize that there are so many more things that unite us, instead of separate us. We really are one.

Really.

So, let’s treat each other as family. Let’s love each other. Let’s serve each other. Let’s serve with each other. We are one.

Let’s show the world that. Let’s show the world our love, our Lord, our hope, our calling.

We are one. Let’s live like it today!

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.

Satisfied

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We are never satisfied. It seems like today, we are always searching. Never happy. Always longing. Always looking.

Looking for more.

Looking for different.

Looking for something else.

We are never satisfied.

Why is that? Why are we not satisfied? I think sometimes we aren’t satisfied because we aren’t looking to the right things.

Look at what happened today in Mark 8:6-8:

And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

urlThis the tail end of the feeding fo the 4000 in Mark’s Gospel. Lot’s of things we could talk about here. The amount of people who Jesus feed.

The meager amount of food that Jesus used to do it.

The lack of faith that the disciples showed in not trusting.

But, to me, it’s a simple phrase found in verse 8. “They ate and were satisfied.”

I think in life we are not satisfied because we are looking to the wrong things. We are seeking life in work. Or hobbies. Or success. Or any of the things.

And we find ourselves, well. Empty.

We aren’t satisfied.

And in truth, none of these things will ever do it. None of these things will ever satisfy us.

Only Jesus will. And today, they ate until they were. He provided that for them.

And He will provide that for you today. Today, in Jesus, in Him, you will be satisfied.

You will find what you are looking for.

Today, may we find that life, hope and peace. May we be satisfied. And may we find that the only place possible.

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.

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.

For Our Good and God’s Glory

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One of things that I know in life that is true, is that all things will work out for our good and for God’s glory.

All things.

God is going to use every circumstance of your life and everything that happens in your day today for your good. And for His glory.

Listen to what God says through Paul today in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12:

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1-all-things-markHe says that God will give us power to fulfill every good work, so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him.

In other words, today, in what’s happening, God, through His power, will work it out, in some way so that He receives glory.

No matter what it is. Somehow, no matter what’s happening, He is going to use it for His glory somehow.

His name will be praised through the circumstance of your life.

I don’t know how all the time, but it will.

And likewise, even if you don’t understand, He will work it out for your good as well. Somehow, someway, whatever it is that you are going through, God will work it out for you good.

You may think it’s impossible. And it may not be immediate. But, this situation you are going through, somehow, someway, God is going to work it out for your good, and for His glory.

He promised.

And He is true to His word.

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.

Charging Hell with a Water Pistol

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There’s some days when I’m reading the bible and it just says to me – Boom!

One of my professors used to talk about that sometimes when we really believe, I mean, really believe what we can do, or better said, what God can do through us, we will be so fired up that we will want to charge hell with a water pistol.

The odds may look long, but we know that with God on our side, me, you, a super-soaker, and God can defeat the power of Hell.

Today’s passage did that for me.

Look at what happens in Act 17:6-7 today:

And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.

They dragged the disciples before the leaders and said – these are the ones that have turned the world upside down.

Come on now. That’s it right there.

Don’t you want them to say about us, those are the ones that have turned the world upside down. They have this King Jesus, that they follow and the change the world.

They help heal broken families. They love the unloveable. They help the poor. They feed the hungry. They proclaim the freedom that is found in no other name but Jesus.

They are crazy enough to think that they can change the world. They have turned the world upside down.

Through following Jesus, through His power and life, through proclaiming the gospel, so can we!

It doesn’t have to be the same. It can change. We can change. The world can change. Through Christ and His power, we can turn this world upside down.

We can do it. Today. Through His power. Let’s turn the world upside down. Jesus told us that the gates of will not triumph against His church. Let’s charge hell with a water pistol today. Today, through Christ, we can do it!

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.