Tag Archives: Jesus

Not Ashamed

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Listen to the Word of God as we see in 1 Timothy 1:8-9:

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began

432693939_640This is big.  Really big.  We are called today not be ashamed of our faith in Jesus. We are called today to live boldly, live with confidence, live with peace, live for Jesus.  We are called today to not be ashamed of the Gospel.

But, be proud of the Gospel.

The title that is most important to me today is not Reverend.  Or pastor.  Or even Husband.  Or Father.  Or Son.

The title that means the most to me today is Christian. Because the title Christian makes everything else possible.  For me to be the best pastor or husband or father or son that I can be, I must chase after Jesus with all that I am.

Today, the title that has to mean the most in your life is that title of being a child of God. That has to have the most meaning.  That is the title that everything, all things, they must flow from.

Don’t be ashamed.

Don’t run from it.

Don’t hide from it.

You are a Christian.  You are child of God.  You are His.

Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel.  It’s the power of God in you, through you, and for you.

Live boldly.  Live for Him!  Take His name with you, where ever you go.  Live.  Love.  Serve.

In Jesus name.

Don’t be ashamed, today, and each day!

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 Choice

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Today’s reading from Mark 5:17-20 offers a pretty clear choice to us.  Listen to what it tell us:

And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

SocialClassChoiceIn this, we see two “people,” if you will. We first see the man who was healed from demon possession.  He had been plagued for many years by these demons, to the point that when Jesus found him, he was literally naked in a grave yard.

Jesus came to him, healed him, brought him back to sanity.  Jesus literally gave him back his life.  Now this man who was an outcast, that was not a part of the community, that was cast out, that was nothing, now he was whole again.

So, he goes out and tells people about what Jesus has done.

So, the town comes to see this Jesus that has healed this man.  And when the see Jesus, see His power, His might, who He is, they do this.  The ask Him to leave. They tell Him to get away. They want nothing to do with Him.

He is scary.  He is different. They are comfortable.  They don’t want it.

And so, today, that’s our choice.  Who will we be? Will we be the man, changed by Jesus, that can’t wait to tell others about Him, in every way possible?

Or will we be the crowd, that asks Jesus to leave, because we may not want to do what He may ask of us?

Today, we have a choice. Today, what 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.

Rules

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the-rule-bookMany of us may not like rules, but here’s the thing.  At least rules help us know what to do or not to do.  Rules keep things simple, let us know where we stand, let us know how things should go.

Rules aren’t bad.  They really aren’t.

But, rules aren’t the end all, either.  They don’t exist for their own good, but for the great good.  They exist for order, for purpose, for benefit.

Not just because.

Jesus makes this point today in Matthew 12:5-8:

Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Keeping the Sabbath isn’t a bad thing.  It’s a very good thing.  In fact, it’s one of the top ten things that God wants us to do. It’s very important. But what was happening here was that the people loved the rule more than they loved the reason for the rule.

The reason for the rule is that God wants us to have some time that is set aside for rest, and to have some time set aside for worship. The Sabbath is so important for that. God wants us to honor it and keep it holy.  Follow it.  Live it.  Honor it.

But, the people here weren’t worry about the reason. They were only focused on the rule.  And so when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, they go angry. Because the rule said no.

Jesus said focus on me.  Not the rule. When you focus on Him, you will follow the rule.  When you focus only on the rule, you may miss Him.

Today, let us focus radically, wholly, totally on Him. And in that, we will follow the rules that He has for us to live by. Let us never go so focused on keeping the rules that we miss the point.  Let us never get so focused on the rules that we miss Him.

Rules are good.  But a true rule will point us to Jesus.  Let’s make sure we are follow Him. And He’ll take care of the rest.

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.

Not Alone in the Fight

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We battle every day with temptation, don’t we? Every day, we fight and we fight and we fight.

Sometimes it feels like a fight that we just can’t win, doesn’t it?  Sometimes the fight seems too much. Sometimes it just feels like we will always be enslaved to sin, that temptation will always win, and that we should give up. Why fight? Why struggle? Why worry about it?  Just give in.  You can’t stop it any way.

That, my friends, is simply not true. Yes, we will always struggle with the flesh.  Yes, we will always be at war.  Yes, there is always a fight to fight, and yes, left to our own devices, we will choose wrong.

But, here’s the thing.  We aren’t left to our own devices.  Listen to what Paul says today in Romans 6:5-11:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

you-are-not-aloneYou aren’t left to your own devices.  You aren’t left alone in the fight.  You aren’t left alone in the war.

For, your old self was crucified with Christ, and your sin has been nailed to the cross.  Why?  So you (and I) would no longer be enslaved to sin.  You aren’t enslaved to sin anymore.  You aren’t alone against sin today.

Is your temptation big?  Yeah.  Are your struggles big?  Yeah.

But God is bigger. The power of Christ is bigger.  You are not on your own in your fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

You have something incredibly big, strong, and powerful on your sin.

God.

So, today, don’t give up.  Keep fighting. And know that’s God at work in the fight 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.

What Matters

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There are so many things that I don’t understand about faith and the Bible.  Now there’s a good bit that I do know, that I do understand.

But, if you want someone who can explain all the book of Revelation to you, I’m not your guy.  You want a complete and total understanding of free will versus God’s sovereignty?  I don’t understand it perfectly.

Now, on these, as well as other issues, believe me, I’ve got my opinions (I’ve got them on my every issue!). But I’m not going to claim that I perfectly understand these things.  And you know what?  I’m ok with that.  Listen to what it says in Colossians 2:8-11:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ

jesus-neon-sign-5What we don’t know pales in comparison to what we do know.  Jesus Christ.  Him crucified.  Him resurrected.  Him returning.  Living, breathing, dying, rising, and returning.

So, for us, the thing is this. We often spend more time worrying about what we don’t understand than focusing on what we do understand.  I had a professor in college that put it like this.  Jesus isn’t hard to understand.  He’s just hard to follow.  Loving your enemies is not complicated.  It’s just hard.  Forgiving those that hurt you is not complicated, it’s just hard.

Today, there’s a lot that you and I don’t know. But there’s a good bit that we do know. Focus on that.  Focus on what matters.  Focus on Jesus.  His life.  His death.  His resurrection.  His return.  Seek to live out His grace and love.  Seek to know Him and know Him better.  Seek to show grace to all that we meet.  Seek to pray.  To serve.  To care.  To give.

To be salt and light.

Today, be faithful.  And leave the stuff that we don’t understand to God.  He can handle 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.

How to be Happy

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Question-MarkWant to be happy today?  I mean, really happy?

Have life and peace and joy and purpose?

Want to have a life that is truly worth living for?  Let me show you how.  Listen to what Paul says this morning in Philippians 2:4-8:

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Paul is talking about Jesus, and how even through He is God Himself, He humbled Himself to death, even death on the cross.  He is God.  He is the creator of everything.  He tells us in Colossians that through Jesus Christ everything that’s ever been made was made and that all things are held together through Him.

In other words, there is no bigger deal than Jesus.  Seriously. He’s the biggest deal in all the universe.  He’s it.  There’s nothing, no one  higher than Jesus.  He’s at the very top.

And so, how did the highest of the high, what did He choose to do?  He humbled Himself.  He served.  He didn’t live for His plan, but for His father’s plan.

You want to be happy today?  You want peace today?  You want to have purpose today?  How?

Follow Jesus – humble yourself.  Serve someone today.  Live for a purpose bigger than yourself.  Live for plan bigger than yourself.  Serve someone today.

That’s where happiness is found.  Not in serving yourself.  Serving someone else.  Not in living for yourself.  Living for Him.  Not in making yourself king or queen. But in making Him king of your life.

You want to be happy today?  Serve someone. Do something for someone else.  Live like that, as Jesus commanded us to do.  And in doing that, you’ll find more happiness that you can ever imagine.

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.

Where Else Could We Go?

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Ever been really frustrated? I mean to the point that you don’t know what to do, what to say and just want to give up? Ever been there?

I know that I have. And I’m guessing almost every one of us has at some point in our lives and at some point in our faith. Sometimes we can just be tempted to lay down and not keep going.

Today in John 6:66-69, we see many people walk away from Jesus. Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks them this:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

long_and_lonely_road_by_safuanstyx-d3b0tcnPeter (bless him, we make fun of him a lot, but he knew what he was doing, most of the time) said – Lord where else could we go? You have the words of life!

It could be tempting to quit. To lay down. To stop. To not keep going. To walk away. To give up. But, there’s not life in that.

No matter how hard the road you are walking, Jesus is with you. He is the life. He is hope. He is peace.

Where else could we go? We can’t find life anywhere else in Him.

So today, don’t give up. No matter what. Don’t quit. No matter what. You can do it. Keep going. Keep walking. Keep praying. Keep pulling. Keep trying.

Don’t quit. No matter what. You can do it. Or better said, He can do it through you. Keep being faithful. Know that greater is He who is in you than He is who is in the world.

You can do it. He life. And you won’t find that life anywhere else. Keep going.

Through Him. 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.

Who are You?

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Because I have an odd sense of humor, there are certain verses in the Bible that just make me laugh. Today’s reading has one of those passages. Listen to what happens in Acts 19: 15-17 today:

But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de JaneiroToday, some people are casting out demons in their name, and basically, they get overpowered, and somehow wind up naked and wounded. But notice what they are told – Jesus I know, Paul I recognize, but who are you?

What a great reminder for us today about where our strength comes from. Jesus. In fact, look at the end of the text, what happens? What happened was made known, and Jesus’ name was extolled (or praised).

In this we can learn a couple of things. First, our strength today comes from Jesus. Not from ourselves. Our talents. Our name. Our fame. Our power. Any of our “stuff.” Our power and strength come today from Jesus.

From Jesus only. Only from Him.

Today, in times of weakness, doubt, fear, worry, don’t turn to yourself.

Turn to Him.

And, in the end, we see that this event is used for Jesus name to be glorified and praised. We see that in this, honor is brought to Jesus.

Just like, today, in your life, even in your defeats, God can and will use it for your good and His glory. He will use this, and all things, for that purpose today.

So, trust in Him today for you strength. And you will not be empty or disappointed!

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 See

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Sometimes it can be very easy to get frustrated with others when they don’t see. I am the kind of guy that often misses things that are right under my nose, the very thing that I’ll be looking for will be right in front of me, and I’ll just miss it.

We can all miss things, not see things.

This is true with the stuff of life. And it’s also true with the stuff of the spirit. Listen to what Paul writes today in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

579938003_oThere are forces working that do not want others to see the good news of the Gospel. The Gospel is freedom. The love of Jesus Christ, and His power, it is freedom. It frees the oppressed. It gives hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak.
It is life.

And as Paul says, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. Have you ever just wondered why those that don’t believe just don’t “see?” This is why.

The devil doesn’t want them to see God’s glory. He doesn’t want them to see what life is really all about. He doesn’t want them to know the life, joy, and peace that comes from Jesus.

He wants them blinded.

So, how do they see? How do we see? Not with our eyes.

With our faith. We walk by faith, not by sight. We with faith, not with our eyes. We “see” through our faith in Jesus. He allows us see things not as we “see” them, but as we really are.

I tell folks when you look just through your eyes, you won’t always see the miracles. But when you look through faith, you see miracles everywhere.

Today, for those that are blinded and cannot see, the most important thing that you can do for them is to pray. Pray that God, through the power of His spirit opens their eyes to truth and to life.

And today, for those of us that do see, let’s walk by faith, not by sight. For in that, that’s where our sight is really found.

That’s how we really see.

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

Rest

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Mark is my favorite of all the Gospels. Each one of them has a different thing that they emphasize. Matthew make connections with the Old Testament. Luke looks at Jesus love and connection with the entire world. John answers the deep questions of faith.

But Mark is simple. Mark is shorter. Mark is fast. And in Mark, Jesus is always going. As someone that’s a little (or a lot) ADD, I really like the emphasis on action in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus and the disciples are always going, always acting, always on the move.

Except for the passage we read today. Listen to Mark 6: 30-32:

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

Rest_Stop_Brown_Bear-insert-in-postThe disciples had just come back from doing ministry and they were excited. The way the text describes it, I can almost see them gathered around Jesus like little children talking fast and telling Him everything that had happened.

And He said, let’s rest for a while. They had gotten so busy, they hadn’t even had time to eat.

Let’s rest.

We are supposed to go. We are supposed to be active. We are supposed to do and take the Good News everywhere. We have kingdom work to do today! We are supposed to be on the move. Time and daylight is wasting.

But, sometimes, we get ourselves worn out. We can do too much. We can get too busy. We can get off track and sideways.

And we need to rest.

Listen to me friends, you don’t have to do everything. The fate of the free world doesn’t rest of your shoulders. I know it feels that way sometimes, anyone that knows me a little can tell you that I often feel that way. So I’m preaching to me as much as I am to you.

Rest. Rest in Jesus. Breathe. Calm down. Slow down. Rest.

He has a lot for us to do for the kingdom. He has a lot that we need accomplish for His work. But have to take care of ourselves.

Today, perhaps, today you need to rest. Rest in Him. Rest in His purpose and plan for your life.

Rest.

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