Tag Archives: Life

The Good Stuff

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We only have so much time in our lives. I’m not just talking about big picture, total heartbeats in your life type of stuff. I’m also talking about the fact that there are only 24 hours today.

There’s only so much time that we have. And are very busy people. There’s so much we have to do. So many places we have to be. So many things we have to be about.

We can feel overwhelmed, tired, and give out sometimes. We can feel so give out that we want to give up. We can feel so worn out that we don’t know what to do next.

We can feel tired, hungry, and broke. Both physically and spiritually.

Listen to what Isaiah 55:1-3 says today:

“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.

Today you don’t have to “work” for real life. You don’t have to “labor” for real water and real food.

Are you thirsty? Come drink.

Are you hungry? Come eat.

Are you tired? Come rest.

Today, don’t waste your time, your effort, your money, on that which isn’t life-giving. Come get the good stuff. And the good stuff is free.

It’s not found anything in life, but in Jesus. He is our water. He is our food. He is rest. He is our life.

Today, our life will not found in our labors, in work, in our money, in anything else. It will be found in Him. Today, find your life in Him.

If you are hungry. Angry. Lonely. Tired. Exhausted. Give out. Giving up. Beat up. Worn out. Hopeless. Cynical. Weary.

Come. Drink. Eat. Rest. Find life. Find it in Him. Don’t waste your precious time on that which is not life. Find life in Him.

He is the good stuff our heart desires. Today, may we find our all in 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.

Where Life is Found

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In John’s Gospel in particular, Jesus says over and over that if we love Him and follow Him, we will obey His commandments.

Ok, that we know what we are supposed to do. So, then, what are we supposed to do? He tells us today in this passage.  Listen to what He says in John 15:12-13, 17:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Love. Greater love has this than you lay down your life for your friends. That’s what He did for us. Through the cross, He laid down His life for us so that we can live.

He laid down His life for you. He loved you enough to choose the cross for you sake and for my sake. Because of His action, we can live, we can love, we can know the power of life.

And He tells us to do the same. As He loved us and laid down His life for us. We are to love each other.

Ok, well, what do that mean? We talk about a lot, but what does it mean? To do the same as Jesus. Place others ahead of ourselves. Value each other. Humble yourself. Put others ahead of ourselves.

That’s love. To serve. To care. To place others needs of ourselves. Jesus loved us enough that He sought to serve and to save.

And in doing this – this is where life is found.

We are to do the same. Let’s love each other. Let’s serve. Let’s care. Let’s live. In loving, serving, caring, and forgiving, we find life.

Today, let’s really find life. Let’s follow Jesus’ command for us. Let’s love each other. In that we show that we are His disciples. And in that we show the power of His love to 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 phones.

You Matter

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One of the things I think we all struggle with is that for most of us, we know that we’ve got it pretty good. We know that our troubles, as real as they are, aren’t the worst in all the world.

And so, that makes us feel bad when we pray for the things in our own lives. Why should we pray about the things in our lives; there are so many others that have it so much worse off than we do. I mean, it’s not that. We shouldn’t bother God with our problems.

We all feel that way sometimes. We feel as though the things going on in our lives can be a bother to God.

Listen to what Jesus says today in Matthew 10:30-32:

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,

You matter. You are important. You matter to God. He knows you. He loves you. He even knows the number of hairs upon you head.

If something maters to you, then it matters to God. If it’s a source of pain in your life, then it matters to God. If something is causing you worry, then it matters to God.

These things matter to God, because you matter to God. Don’t ever feel bad about taking these things to God. Don’t ever feel bad about giving your real worries and problems to God. Don’t ever feel like you aren’t important to God. You are. You matter.

Now, we should keep things in perspective in life. Yes, for each of us, there is someone who has it worse than we do. And we should always be in prayer for them. We should always keep our sense of perspective.

But today, and each day, take you concerns to God. He care about them, and about you. Today, you matter to 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.

It’s All Worth It

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Christianity doesn’t promise the moon and the stars. It doesn’t promise that everything will be perfect. It doesn’t promise that everything will be great.

Paul says today that we will toil, we struggle we work. There are and there will be tough times in our faith and in our lives.

That’s simply reality. It’s what you and I know, it’s what you and I deal with. Being a Christian doesn’t make those tough times disappear.

But you know what? It’s worth it. It’s worth it all. Why?

Listen to what Paul writes in Colossians 1:27-29 today:

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Paul tells us today that we have the beauty of the mystery of God, Christ in us. That’s the hope of glory.

Our hope doesn’t like in jobs or careers or relationships or hobby or reputations or anything upon the earth.

Our hope is in this. Christ, the very Word and Truth of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lives within. Our hope is not found in anything other than that. That is our rock, our hope, our faith.

That is the greatest thing we can can ever know. That’s the greatest thing we can possess. That’s the greatest thing that our minds, our hearts, our lives can know.

Christ in us, that’s the hope. That’s the rock. That’s the foundation. Christ in you.

That’s what all of life comes down to. As I’ve said before, everything in our lives comes back to our walk with Christ. Everything. Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Today, if you are in Christ, if He is your hope, it’s all worth. Every trouble. Every slight. Every worry. Every defeat. Every pain. Every tear. Every broken heart. Everything.

Christ in you. The hope of glory. That’s what it’s all about.

Today, may we keep that the main thing in our lives. And may we know that it’s all worth 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.

Watch Me

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Paul says something really big and scary in today’s reading. Something I’m not sure I’d want to say or any of us would want to say.  It’s some big words.  But, it’s something that we each say, each day of our lives.  Listen to what he writes in Philippians 3:17-20:

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul says this – you want to know what a Christian is? You want to know how you walk the walk God has set before us? You want to know how a Christian is supposed to live?

Watch me. Follow me. Imitate me. Do what I do.

Wow. That’s a big statement. That’s a powerful statement. I tell folks I’m afraid to put one of those fish on my car because I’m such a bad driver that I don’t want to embarrass God.

That’s how we all can feel sometimes. We see our shortcomings. We see our mistakes. We see what we do wrong.

Paul says, watch me. Do what I do. If you want to see what a Christian does, watch me.

Two things then – first, let’s make sure we surrond ourselves with those that are an inspiration, that are a role model, that help us to know how to live.

Who do you look up to? Who do you follow? What crowd do you associate with? Are the folks in your life helping you to live the life that you’d like to live?

And second, realize that there are always eyes watching us, to see what we do and how we live. These are the little eyes of our children, our grandchildren, our nieces or nephews, those little ones in our lives.

They are watching us. They are seeing what we do. They are seeing how we live. Let us not forget that. Let us remember.

Let’s make sure that we are doing what we need to do in our lives, so that those little eyes can have examples to follow.

Paul says, watch me. In our lives, that’s already happening. May we each live in a graceful manner and set that same example.

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 Good Life?

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Paul tells us in Thessalonians today to live a good life.

Gulp. That sounds hard. That sounds like it might be impossible. That sounds like it might be too much. I’m not sure I want to do that.

I mean, a good life? Does that mean I have to be perfect? Move to Africa? Do everything right? I can’t do all that! If that’s what a good life is then I can’t do it.

Before we go down the road of what a good life may look like, let’s see what Paul actually says today.  Listen to what he writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

What is a good life – love each other. Live quietly. Mind your own business. Work with your hands. Walk properly before others. Take care of yourself.

Simple things. Honest things. Good things.

God doesn’t expect greatness out of us. He expects faithfulness. And if we are faithful, He will take care of the greatness. He will take our faithfulness and make it great.

The key to a good life is be faithful in the small things. Your work. Your school. Your family. Your friendships. Your prayer life. Your study. Be faithful in the common, every day things.

And God will make it great.

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 is a Worthy Life?

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One of the most powerful scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie was near the end of Saving Private Ryan. Many of you have seen the movie, but for those of you that haven’t, the movie is about a unit of soliders in World War 2 that is sent to save Private Ryan, the only remaining brother of a family that has lost all the other children in war.

Ryan is saved, and in the end of the movie he is standing before the graves of the fallen men that saved him, and he stands up crying. He turns to his wife and says – tell me I’ve been a good man.

That scene always gives me a lump in my throat every time I see it. What a powerful moment, to realize all that he had been given and that desire to life a worthy life.

Listen to what Paul writes in Philippians 1:27-28:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

We ask Christians have the same burden in lives. We are called to live a worthy life.  So much has been given for our sake. Christ was betrayed, suffered, and died for our sake. He endured the shame, the agony, and the pain of the cross for us.

For me.

For you.

So much has been given for us. Let us remember that.

So, then, what is a worthy life? What does that look like?

I’ll sum it up in one word – grace. Christ suffered to give us grace, mercy, and forgiveness. He desires to see us give that same grace, mercy, and forgiveness to each other.

A worthy life is not a perfect life. A worthy life is a life of grace. Today, and each day, with the grace given to us, may we seek to live a life worthy of the gospel!

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.

First Things First

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Just a reminder, 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.

Jesus must be first in our lives. There is no other way that life works. Jesus must be first. Only when He is first, does everything else fall into place.

Listen to what happens in Luke 9:57-62:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

We see in today’s text that different people respond to Jesus’ call to follow Him. One says, I’ll follow, but Jesus warns, it will be tough. You will have no place to lay your head. Scripture doesn’t say, but it implies that He does not follow.

Jesus is saying – I must come first.

Next, Jesus gives the call and the other says, I must bury my father. Jesus response sounds cold, uncaring for family. That’s not who Jesus is, through. If you remember at the cross, one of the last things that He did was that He made sure His mother Mary was taken care of.

Jesus is not uncaring for family. He is just saying – I must come first.

Finally one says let me go and say good by to my friends and family, and Jesus responds – no. I must be first!

Jesus does not desire to separate us from those that love us. He does nto desire to separate us from those that we love. What is saying is this – first things first. I must come first.

In every relationship, in every moment, in every thought, in everything in our lives, He must come first.

That’s where life is found. And when He is first, everything else makes sense. When He is not, when something or someone else is first things don’t make sense. But, when He is first, life is as it should be.

Today, in all your life, keep first things first. Keep Jesus first. And everything else will make sense.

Staying Connected to Jesus

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Before devotional – a quick note. Yesterday, Asbury released a mobile app for smartphones. You can download this app and listen to my weekly sermons, read this devotional, and find out all that’s happening here at Asbury. To download the app for iPhones/iPads, click here. To download the app for Andorids, click here.

Now, on to today’s reflection!

Life is found in Jesus. That’s a simple statement. But it’s an incredibly powerful statement. Life, life that matters, life that can weather a storm, it is found in Jesus.

Jesus shares this with us today, in a powerful concept.  He is the vine. We are the branches.  Listen to what He says in John 15:4-5:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Today, in this passage Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and we are branches. He is the source of our strength, our life, our power, our everything. We get our very life from Him.

And this is so important for us to not only understand, but to live by as Christians, to say that He is our life is to say that He is the source of power, our strength, our ability to fight through pain, or doubt, or fear, or worry, or troubles, or trials, or anything like that.

He is the vine. He is our life.

But, that means as the branches, we have to be really plugged into Him. We have the amazing source of power and life at our disposal, and we just have to turn to it.

How? How do we acces this power? The ways we can do it have been called by folks like John Wesley, the means of grace – prayer. Studying the Word. Communion. Christian Conversation. Fasting.

By being active in these things, we receive grace. And we stay plugged into the Vine. We get His power, His life, His hope. His everything.

So, today, when you grow tied, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend. When you get frustrated, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend. When you think you can’t do it, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend.

Stay plugged into the vine. And in doing that, you will find life. He is our life. And as we stay connected to Him, we will find all the life we could possible need!

Do Not Be Afraid

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I’ve read the story of Jesus calling the first disciples many times in my life. I’ve preached on it a good many times in my ministry. It’s a story that I feel like I know pretty well.  It reads in Luke 5: 8-11 like this:

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

So, when I started reading today’s passage, I thought, well, I wonder what’s there. I’ve read it so many times, I just don’t know what’s there this morning to reflect on and share. And then I read verse 10 again.

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

And when I read it, I noticed something that I had never noticed before (it’s funny how God has a way of doing that!).

Peter realizes who Jesus is, and his immediate response it to say – I am sinful and not worthy of being in presence. Just like Isaiah in Isaiah 6, when Peter has an encounter with the Holy, he realizes how unworthy he is.

Jesus then calls the disciples to follow Him. But before He calls them to go and catch men, He says this – do no be afraid.

Do not be afraid. What a message we need to hear. These disciples were beginning to head out on a journey that would take them far from home. They would see things that they never thought they would have ever seen. They would experience things that many of them would have never through possible. They were literally going to do the impossible.

And I’m sure if they realized on the front end all they were going to do, they’d have been terrified.

So, Jesus says, don’t be afraid.

I don’t know what your day holds. I don’t know what your life holds. I don’t know what challenges await you. I don’t know what all callings Jesus has on your life. I don’t know what the future will be.

I know that there will be joy and pain, laughter and tears, challenges and triumphs. And I know in all things, today, tomorrow, and always this message we hear today rings true.

Do not be afraid. God is with Jesus. He never leaves us. He is with us. He calls us, He loves us, He cares for us.

Do not be afraid. You are His beloved child. He will neve leave your side. You have nothing to fear. Today, or any day.

Do no be afraid.