Tag Archives: Grace

Yay Monday! Right?

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Yay-Its-MondayIt’s Monday!  Yay!  That’s how we all feel right?  How awesome is Monday!

Yeah, I’m not sure that’s exactly how we all feel today, or really any Monday.  Mondays can really be a challenge sometimes, especially after a busy and good weekend.  So then, what do we do?  How do we handle a Monday?  How do we beat a Monday?  How do we make it through today?

The thing is, sometimes we are defeated before we even leave the house.  We’ve already accepted the defeat of a Monday before we even start.  Listen to what it says today in 1 Peter 1:13-16:

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.”

Peter reminds this morning – keep your mind clear, and set your hope on grace.

So often we walk out of the house defeated on Monday because that’s where our mind is.  We’ve got our mind focused on how bad Monday is, or on the fact that the weekend is over, or on the thoughts of all that we have to do today or this week.

Peter says – no. Set you minds for action. Be clear.  Focus on God’s grace and mercy.  Be obedient.

Is this a Monday?  Yeah.  It’s a precious creation by God that He has given us today.  Is is Monday? Yeah. But it’s a gift.  It’s a gift given from God to me and you today. Wow!  What a blessing is it.  That’s right. I said this Monday is a blessing. Because it’s another day we have, it’s a gift from God, and it’s chance to know Him, love Him, and show His grace to others.

Yes, it’s a Monday.  And this Monday is a gift.  Remember that. Focus on that.  Live in that.  Set your mind on grace.  And then even Mondays are awesome.

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, and you thought our app, you can now watch our worship services from Asbury too!

What Do You Remember?

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rememberI remember little things.  I can remember mistakes. I can remember words. I can remember pains.

I remember wounds, I remember slights.  I can really can hold onto things, and really lock in.  Particularly mistakes. I can remember the things that others have done wrong, the ways others have hurt me, or hurt those that I love. I can remember, remember those things.

But you know what else I can remember?  Not just your mistakes, but I can remember my mistakes. The ways I’ve blown it. The ways I’ve failed. The things that I’ve done wrong.  I can really hold onto my mistakes and not let go of them.

I can remember the mistakes of others. I can remember my own mistakes. And I bet that I’m not the only one. I bet we each are that way.

Listen today to what it says in Psalm 25: 6-7:

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

I love the prayer of this Psalm.  It’s a call to God to remember.  Remember your mercy God.  Remember your grace, remember your kindness.  Remember oh God, your love.

And remember not, O Lord, the sins of our youth. Remember not our mistakes. Remember not the ways that we have fallen. Remember not the mistakes that we have made.  Don’t remember those things.

And God doesn’t.  He does remember His mercy. And He does not remember our sins.

What about you and me today?  What do you remember?  What do you remember not?  Do you remember the mistakes of others?  Do you remember your own mistakes?

Or do you remember them not?

Do you remember the lover and mercy of God today?  Or do you forget that?

Today, may we remember mercy, God’s to us, and our mercy to others. And may we remember not our mistakes. And may we remember not the mistakes of others.

Because that’s what God does. And that’s what He wants us to do.

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, and you thought our app, you can now watch our worship services from Asbury too!

Why We are Healed

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Hey y’all, remember me?

I’ve been out of pocket a lot the last two weeks, one for a family trip up to St. Louis, the other to Jackson for our Mississippi Annual Conference.  Things should be back to normal now, or as normal as they can be the week of VBS.  If your in the Petal area, we’d love to have you join us for Night Two of our Wilderness Escape VBS here at Asbury.  You can show up tonight starting at 5:15 or you can go and register on our website.

Today as I was reading, I read this passage here in Matthew 8: 14-15.  This passage talks about why Jesus heal us, and why He saves us.  Listen to what it says:

And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.

article_images_serve_the_poor_655334095In this passage we see Jesus heal Peter’s mother in law.  We don’t know exactly what she was suffering from, but we know that she had a fever.

So, Jesus heals her, and then what happens?  The text said she rose and began to serve Him.  She wasn’t heal for her own sake, her own glory, or her own purpose.  She was healed so that she could serve Jesus.  She had a purpose in life, she had a purpose in that moment.  That purpose wasn’t hers, but it was to serve Him.

So is ours.  That’s what this whole thing called life is all about.  It’s not about us.  It’s not about what we want to do, or about how we want to do it.  But it’s about Him.  It’s about His purpose.  It’s about His plan.  It’s about His reason.

We are healed, we are forgiven.  We are restored.  Not for ourselves.  Not for our purpose. But for His.

Never forget that.  Never forget that is what this life is ultimately about; never forget where life is truly found.  In Him.  And for Him.

That’s why we are healed.

Today, may we rejoice in our forgiveness, and may we live in His power.

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, and you thought our app, you can now watch our worship services from Asbury too!

You are Free

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We are walking through Galatians in our Wednesday night Bible Study at Asbury, and man, we are having a lot of fun doing it.  Galatians is such a good mix of God’s call to be different and holy, along with a reminder, tucked into the nearly every verse, that we are saved not by any works that we ever do, but we are saved only through the grace of God.

For instance, take a look at Galatians 5:13-15:

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.

urlWe are told here today we are free!  We are forgiven.  We are not tied down by the law; we are called to salvation not by anything that we do, but we are called to salvation by the grace of Jesus Christ.

In other words, you can’t earn it.  You can’t “do” enough to be a Christian, your “morality” doesn’t save you.

It’s not about being a good person, it’s about loving Jesus. And if we love Jesus, He will take care of the morality part.

Worry about loving and following Him above all things.

So, if we are saved by grace, then what we do doesn’t matter, right?  We can do what we want to because of this freedom.  No.  Paul says, don’t use this freedom as excuse to do what you want, use it a power to do what is right.  We call, through our freedom, not to serve ourselves, but we are called to serve God.  To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  To do the right thing.

So, today, you are free. Through Christ, you are forgiven.  You can love, serve, obey.  You are free.

Use that freedom, not for your own choices and your own stuff, but use the freedom you have in Jesus Christ to do what is right.  You are forgiven.  You are not chained any longer.  You are free.

Use that freedom, that forgiveness, that grace, for God’s glory!

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, and you thought our app, you can now watch our worship services from Asbury too!

Freedom

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Freedom is an interesting thing.  In Jesus, today, we are free.  We are free from the past, we are free from our sins, and we are free from having to earn our salvation.  Through grace, through the love of Jesus Christ, we are free.

Free to live, free to serve, free to worship, free to just live.

Through Jesus, you have been set free.  You have.  You are free.  Don’t live under the yoke of slavery.  Don’t feel like you’ve got to earn anything, just life.  Live free.  Live forgiven.  Live with grace.

Ok.  So, we are free. What are we to do.  What next, then is next.  What happens with this freedom.  Well, listen to what Paul says in  Galatians 5:13-14:

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.”

Freedom-9-11So today, you are free.  You are a new creation in Jesus today.  You are forgiven.  You can breathe.  You can live.  You can laugh.  You are free.

Don’t miss use that freedom.

We have been given grace, to give grace to others.  We have been forgiven, so that we are can forgive others.  We are loved, so that we can love.  We have this freedom, this grace, this mercy, so that we can fully live free.  We are free today.  Yes we are.  We are freedom.

Don’t exchange you freedom for slavery.  Don’t give up the freedom of grace for the slavery of sin.  Don’t give up the freedom of mercy for the slavery of judgement.  Don’t give up the freedom of love for the slavery of hate.

You are free today.  Live free.  Let go of the past, no matter what it is.

But, live in that freedom, so you can love others in that freedom.  Love, serve, give.  Live.

In this, we are truly free.

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 Forgiven

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Today in our passage, we are going to look at two people praying.  Let’s look at their prayers, and see what we can learn about our own walk with God.  

Luke 18: 10-14:

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayer thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

How to GuideWe see two men pray. One was a Pharisee, one was a tax collector.  Just a little back ground, Pharisees would best be understood as sort of like preachers.  They were educated, they knew the law and the customs of the people and part of what they did was they taught the law to the people and made sure that it was kept. 

A Pharisee felt like his calling was to make sure that people correctly followed God and His law.  

A tax collector was someone that was Jewish and worked for the Roman government. They quite often would use the power of the government to extort money from their own people.  They were seen as traitors by other Jews, they were literally hated. 

So, here we see a religious man that should be looked up and respected by his peers, and someone that was literally hated.  

And yet, in this parable, who walks away forgiven?  The tax collector.  

Why?  Why was he forgiven?  

He asked for it.  He admitted his need, and asked forgiveness for it. And he received forgiveness for it. 

Why was the Pharisee not forgiven?  He didn’t ask.  

So, how are we forgiven?  First, we have to realize that we need forgiveness.  Don’t think we are perfect. Don’t think we’ve got it all figured out. Understand our need.  

And then, ask for forgiveness. And we will be forgiven.  

Today, no matter who you are, where you are, what has happened, you can be forgiven. Really.  Just ask.  It will happen. 

Today, live in the forgiveness. Live in new life.  You are forgiven. 

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.

A Slow Death

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Some of the ways that we hurt ourselves are quick and painful.  Some things that we, intentionally or unintentionally, to ourselves can very quickly cause great pain, great damage, and great hurt to us, to others, to so many relationships.

But, not all the things that hurt us are fast.  Some are slow.  Some are a slow death.  In 1 John 3, John talks a lot about love, about being there for each other, about helping each other out in whatever way that we can.

But then, he says these words in 1 John 3:14-15:

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

poisonHating others is a slow death.  It’s so slow, you may not even know that you are dying.  You may be unaware of the pain that you causing to yourself, and the pain that you are causing to the relationships in your life.

When you hate, when you don’t forgive, when you hold things against others, when you allow pain to turn into hate, you are slowly, but surly, dying a slow death.

The only way to live, to know peace, is this.  Forgive.  Let God.  Give it God.  Allow His grace to take away the hurt, the pain, the loss, everything.  Allow His grace to wash over you.

Allow His grace to make all things new in your life.  Allow to allow you to forgive.

Allow it to allow you to love.

aWhen we  hate, we die a slow death. Today, may we be truly alive.

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 phone.

Who Does God Use?

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Burning-BushWho will God use?  Who will God speak to, and speak through?  Surly God will only use the spotless.  The perfect.  Those that haven’t made mistakes.

God would never use a murderer, would He? Surly not.  God could find someone better, more suitable than a common criminal, right?

He’d never use someone like Moses, right?  Wait, what’s that you say, Moses is one of the heroes of faith, one that gets it right that does it right?  Sure, he is.  You know what happens in Exodus 3:1-2, when he sees the burning bush, right?

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

God spoke to him in the bush that was burning, but not consumed.  But, Moses was not just shepherd. He was a murder as well.  Listen to what happened in Exodus 2:12:

He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Moses was a murderer.  Yep.  Moses.  That Moses.  Under penalty of law, he should have been executed.  One of the many reasons why he ran.  He was someone that had done the ultimate wrong.   Something that many of us may consider unforgivable.

And God used him.  God wasn’t done with him.  God had a plan for him.

So today, let’s not give up on someone that God still may yet use.  If God can used a murderer like Moses, he can use anyone.  God hasn’t given up on folks.  Neither should we.

Who does God use?  Anyone He chooses.  He can, and will use anyone.

Today, may we remember that.

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 phone.

Listen to the Word

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open-bibleEvery day I try to share with you a biblical passage and a short reflection on it.  It is my sincere hope that this is a help to you and your faith.  I enjoy doing this, and I truly hope it is a blessing.

I always want the Word of God to be fresh and relevant to you, and I try to put some story or some take it on to help it sink into your life.

Today though, as I was reading this passage, it spoke to me so loudly, that I just want to let the Word speak.  Whatever it is that you are doing, please take a moment, and read this.  Listen to it.  Ponder it.

And try to apply what it says to your life today.

I know that I am.

This passage speaks so loud, about what the Christian life should be.  The Christian life is not a life of just Facebook statuses or Tweets or Christian music or anything like that.  It is a changed life.  It is about the grace of God wrecking us and changing us.  We should be changed people, by His grace.

Today, no frills.  Just stop for one moment.  And listen to the Word.

Romans 12:9-21:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.  Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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 phone.

Impact

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You have no idea the impact that you can make today. Seriously.  You could change the world, today.

Today, through some action, through some word, through something you do, you can change the world. You can do something amazing. And the the thing is this, you can do this amazing thing, no matter where you.

How?  Look at what happens today in John 1:40-42:

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

impactAndrew was impacted by hearing Jesus.  He heard His teaching.  He followed Him, he allowed Jesus to change him.

And then, with the change that Jesus made in his life, he told someone about Jesus.  He told his brother, we’ve found the Messiah.  We’ve found the one that will save us, that will change us, that will redeem us.

And Peter was the one that preached the sermon at Pentecost, where thousands were saved.

And Peter would have never known Jesus if not for his brother Andrew, that took him to Jesus.

And Andrew would have never done that, if Jesus hadn’t changed his life.

Today, you can make a huge impact.  How?  First, understand this truth. God loves you.  More than any mistake you’ve ever made.  You are a loved child of the king.

Seriously.  You are.  Hear those works.  Believe that.  Let it impact you.

And, let the impact of grace in your life, bleed over into all your life. As one affected by grace, let that grace touch others.  Let it impact others.  And you never know the difference that will make.

Just like the difference that it made in Peter.  And through Peter.

Today, you can make a huge impact.  Let God’s grace truly warm your heart today. And let that grace, through your life, impact someone else.

Today, we can change the world.

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 phone.