For Better and For Worse

You know when God created man in the and woman in the Garden and determined that the two should be together, He knew what He was doing. (DUH!)  There were some very clear instructions given as well something along the lines of leaving their home and becoming one flesh.  There is some discussion about what God has joined together, let nobody tear apart.  God intended marriage to be for real.  With a divorce rate that is nearly 50%, it seems that we as a society missed some of that.  Now, I do not intend to sound as if I am condemning those who are divorced, I am a product of divorced parents.  What I would like to do is encourage others to begin praying today for your marriage.  If you are married, pray for your spouse, that there will be a hedge of protection placed around it.  Eliminate the words divorce and separation from your vocabulary.  If you maintain the mindset that your marriage is a forever marriage, you will be hard pressed to work it out!  If you are not married, pray for the one who you will marry.  God has the perfect mate for you if you are willing to wait on Him.  And finally, if you are a parent, pray for the one your kids will marry.  God already knows who that will be.  It is never to soon to begin praying for that relationship.

See, God wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives.  He wants us to be fully dependent on Him... For everything.  Marriage and all that comes with it is a gift, let us embrace it and reap the intended benefits. The key to a successful marriage relationship is to have a successful relationship with Jesus.  When the vertical relationship is intact the horizontal relationships are as well.

God, I pray for the marriages represented here.  Would you put your hedge of protection around them.  Would you remind us that you created us and you created our mate and you allowed us to be together as one.  Help us to love each other the way you love us. Help our marriage relationships be a reflection of our relationship with You.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

70 times 7?

In Matthew 18 Jesus tells Peter to forgive a person 70 times 7 times.  Peter was fairly proud of himself for coming to terms with the possibility of forgiving 7 times.  Where would we be today if Jesus only forgave us 7 times?  I think we all know the answer to that!  The teaching in the bible on the subject of forgiveness is very clear.  In the Lord's prayer we see where Jesus taught us to pray "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"  The implication here is that in order for us to receive the gift of forgiveness from Jesus, we must forgive others. 

I had done a lot of teaching on this topic.  One thing I always emphasize is that forgiveness is for the benefit of the forgiver not the other way around.  The person who you are forgiving may not even know they have hurt you or maybe they do not even care.  Holding someone in unforgiveness ensures that you are held captive by it, it eventually turns into bitterness and before you know it there is a stronghold in your life that threatens your relationship with Christ. 

By the way, holding ourselves in unforgivenss is sinful as well.  If we ask Jesus to forgive us and he does, how is it that we can hold ourselves in unforgiveness?  Are we greater than Him?  We must not allow the devil to use unforgiveness as a tool to hinder our walk with Jesus.

Lord, help us to truly submit to you today.  If there is bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts will you please let us remember the work you did on the cross.  Help us to turn these things loose and trust you with them.  We know that it is your will for us to live in peace and harmony and love like you love.  we can only do that with your help Lord.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

95, 96, 97, 98, 99 Sheep

No, I am not trying to put you to sleep by having you count sheep. (That rhymed!)  Remember when you used to sing "Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so".  Well, I was saved at 23 so I did not really learn that song until I was an adult, however I have wondered how many children have looked for the passage of scripture that says... "Johhny, (Insert your name here) I love you.  Sincerely, Jesus.  Well, the song says that the bible tells us that right? 

I am finding that the more I read God's word and the more I spend time with Him, the more I find passages of scripture that say, "Hey you, with the big bald head and bushy gray beard- I love you.  Always have, always will.  Sincerely, Jesus."  As I was continuing my study in Matthew today I found myself in chapter 18.  After having the back of my cranium rearranged on the topic of pride I read on to verse 10 about the lost sheep.  I was reminded that Jesus loves me so much that He would leave behind 99 others to come after me.  Doesn't that scream, "I love you!"  We serve an awesome God. 

God, will you help us to rejoice in your love today, knowing that if we were the only one, you would have still died for us.  Thank you for the work you did on the cross and for your expression of love through your word.  Help us to live in humility today as we seek you.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

Stop, Drop & Roll, er… Worship

Shortly after Peter confessed his belief that Jesus was Lord, Jesus took him and a couple of their buddies on a walk.  It was likely more of a hike since there was a mountain involved.  With Jesus, you never know what you are in for.  If He had shared with them where they were going and what they would be doing there would have been so many questions and so much doubt!  Isn't that the way we are?  That is why God often times only reveals small glimpses of His plan because we have the tendency ensure that our will is done.

So they get up on this mountain and here comes Moses and Elijah.  Wait a minute...  These guys have not been around for a while.  This is a little freaky.  And why is Jesus glowing?  Peter is so impressed and decides the occasion needs to be marked by building 3 tents as sort of a shrine for each of them.  As he is making his plans God's voice thunders down and He affirms His Son Jesus. 

Well, there goes Peter's plans.  He forgets about the building plans and falls to the ground.  Not from fear, not from pain, not because he didn't get his way... HE WORSHIPPED.  Our plans are really not that important when considered in light of God and His will for our lives.  Sometimes we just need to be still and know He is God! 

God would you help us today to take time just to worship.  Help us set aside our plans and just be in awe of You.  Help us to not burdened by the cares of this world but to have our hearts set on things with eternal value.  Help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

Genetic Salvation...Um no.

When I consider how young I was when I started losing my hair and how frustrated I became when it started I have to laugh.  When I think about the lengths that some men go to in an effort to hang on to theirs I laugh even more.  There are treatments, chemicals, therapies, and various other things to help men keep hair.  Let us not forget the artificial alternatives of toupee's.  Now, I think each person has a right to determine exactly how to deal with their eminent baldness.  For me, I embraced it.  I have been (Mr.)Clean shaven for about 11 years.  I took a preemptive approach.  See, I was going to be bald regardless of how I felt.  It was in my DNA.  My grandfathers were both bald or nearly bald.  My father has been trying to cover his baldness with a dozen hairs for years.  Just like my blue eyes, and various other traits, I am a product of my parents.  I heard Louie Giglio say one time that we each get a half a set from our mom and a half a set from our dad.

Guess what DNA cannot give us.  Salvation.  Salvation is not genetic.  It does not transfer through chromosomes.  If your mom and dad took you to church when you were growing up that is wonderful, they were setting an example.  If they live Godly lives and have modeled how to pray, have devotions, have quiet time, read the bible that is awesome.  It would seem that they may have a very clear understanding of salvation through Christ.  Sadly, you are not included in their salvation, there is only enough for them.  See, we have to have our own.  In Matthew 16:15 Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do YOU say that I am?"  Salvation is personal, Peter responded that he claimed Jesus was the savior.  Who do you say Jesus is?  In Romans 10:9 tells us if we believe in our heart and confess with our mouths we will be saved.  Salvation is personal!  It does not pass through generations. A Godly example certainly leaves a Godly heritage and a wonderful example but salvation is personal. (Repeated again for emphasis)  One more thing, if you have not had a Godly example and have parents that do not know Jesus, that is not genetic either.  Ask Jesus to be your savior.  Contact me if you need to know what that looks like.

God I pray that you would help us to understand WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU HAVE DONE for us.  Allow your spirit to move and draw people to yourself.  Save now, save now.  Thank you for the cross.
AMEN

Waiting on Him,
ML

I Can Name that Tune in 2 Notes!

Some of the younger people reading this will wonder where that statement came from!  I do not mean to sound boastful... But I have a gift.  I have the gift of music.  No, no, I do not mean to imply that I can sing or play an instrument.  In fact, I can hardly play the radio.  No, my gift is in music recognition and music retention.  I can sing almost every song from the 70's and 80's word for word and better than that, I can name the song and the artist of many of those within the first couple of seconds of the song.  Before you turn green with envy, (It could happen) let me share the downside of this gift.  I have a really hard time remembering other, much more important things in my life.  Like, how to "love my wife like Christ loves the church."(Eph. 5:25)  or to "Hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11) Sometimes I forget to remember the miracles of yesterday or the day before.  How many times does Jesus have to show us how much He loves us before we really believe it?  In Matthew chapter 15 Jesus had compassion for those He was teaching and admonished the disciples to feed them.  They were concerned because they only had 7 loaves of bread and a few small fish (verse 34)  Wait, this sounds way too familiar.  Yep, we had a similar experience in chapter 14 except it was 5 loaves and 2 fish.  How could the disciples forget this incredible provision that was made.  Yet, I still myself struggle with doubting at times if Jesus will show up in my life when I need Him most.

What an incredibly difficult truth for me to grasp in my own life  I can remember the words to my favorite songs from 20 years ago, but at times I forget how much my savior has done for me!

God, I pray that you would help us to be ever mindful of your love for us.  Let us not forget the sacrifices you have made in order to save us and show your love and compassion for us.  I pray you would help us to remember to remember you in everything!  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

What are you walking on today?

The days seem to fly by don't they?  Days, weeks, months, years.  I cannot help but reflect on how faithful God has been in my life, even during times of doubt and struggle.  It seems that over the course of my relationship with Christ, I have a tendency to turn to Him in times of struggle but only after I have exhausted myself trying to fix things on my own.  Does anyone else have this tendency?  The thing that makes no sense is that I know He is the answer.  I know He cares about my needs.  I know He wants the best for me.  The same is true for you as well.  God loves us so much!  He has proven this to be true on so many levels.  Why do we struggle with trusting Him?  Surely the disciples were more faithful than we are?  Well, maybe they struggled too.  In Matthew 14 this morning I was reading about the time when Jesus was walking out to the boat to meet up with the disciples.  He was not walking down the landing, or on the dock see the boat was far off according to verse 24.  Jesus was walking to them on the water.  Remember, they got scared and doubted that it was Him.  Peter said as much in verse 28: "Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water"  What did Jesus say?- (Mike's Paraphrase)-"C'mon big boy!"  So Peter did.  Everything was going well until Peter took his eyes off of Jesus!  He allowed fear and doubt to distract him.  What is distracting you from Jesus today?  Are you walking or sinking?  Keep you eyes on Him today.  He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine if we trust Him!
God, help us get out of the boat today.  Help your people to keep our eyes fixed on you and your will for our lives.  Thank you that if we do this, you are faithful to lead, guide and direct our paths. we love you and ask that you help us show that love through obedience.  Amen.
Waiting on Him,
ML