365 Days of Praise - Beyond Ourselves

I spoke in New York shortly after September 11, 2001. Shortly after Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked three planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. Shortly after a fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all on board after passengers and crew heroically attempted to take control from the hijackers. Evil reigned in the hands of the terrorists that day but evil didn’t ultimately win then and evil will never ultimately win. Christ Jesus is the victor over evil! He overcame evil and sin and the sting of sin – death. All who place their faith in Christ will live eternally in His glorious presence. Today and continually we remember with gratefulness our loved ones, friends, and the many we will never know until heaven – those who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Today we also remember with utmost gratefulness the Lord Jesus who sacrificed His life for our souls. We must never forget either.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making PURIFICATION OF OUR SINS. We love and praise You for the ultimate sacrifice of Your life to make us pure as You are pure. 

“When He had made PURIFICATION of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Hebrews 1:3

Friends, I’d love to have you join me on Wednesdays or Thursdays for our weekly Bible Study of John. Click here for more info.

Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study. 

We all know what we mean when we say, “I don’t have it in me to….” Then we complete the thought. “I don’t have it in me to change.”  “I don’t have it in me to keep working this hard.” It’s important for us to recognize if we do or don’t have something in us. At the top of our checklist should be if we have the life of Christ in us. We either do or we don’t, and 2 Corinthians 13:5 advises every person to test themselves to see if they do. You see going to church, enjoying nature, or being a nice person doesn’t make a person a Christian. A Christian is one who has Christ “in” them. ChristIaN. How do we get Christ in us? As we sow a seed into the ground so a plant can spring forth, we receive the seed of Christ’s Holy Spirit into our spirit. God does the work. He sows His seed into our spirit when we come to Jesus by faith and confess Him as Lord and Savior. Why would we come to Jesus? Because we don’t have it in us to be who God created us to be. If we want to go to heaven when we die,  then we need His Holy Spirit in us. If we want to live the life our heart desires, then we need His Holy Spirit in us. The question is, do we or don’t we have Christ (the Holy Spirit) in us? It’s a consideration that has consequences eternally and now. ChristIaNs have the power and ability to live above our circumstances. ChristIaNs have the power to overcome our addictions and habits. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t change if Christ is IN you. The truth is – Christ IN you means all things are possible.

I wish I wouldn’t sin. I long for the day when I’m perfected in Christ’s image. How about you? Do you ever tire of your impatience, bad habit, or perhaps careless word? The fact is, as long as we’re in our earthly bodies, we’ll contend with our the sin nature.  As a matter of fact, not only will we contend with it, Galatians 5:17 says our flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; that they’re in opposition to one another…” So we have this little, um, big war going on inside of us. Here’s the wonderful news recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. God in His grace has chosen to SANCTIFY us, to set us apart for Himself as holy, without blame. Think about it! What we can’t do for ourselves, God has done and will continue to do.  We who call upon the name of the Lord will one day live in heaven completely holy because of Christ. Does knowing that cause you to want to lift your voice in praise to God?

Would you have ever believed some of the things going on in our country? It can make your head spin. The changes are happening so fast that people who don’t read or watch the news are going to be shocked one day to learn that their freedoms have been taken away and that they are mandated to do things against their will. Am I advocating that we read or watch the news all day? Not at all. But I can speak to the importance of being informed. I highly recommend having your Bible open and studying (not skimming) what God wants us to know about the days in which we live and about the days that are coming. In Matthew 16:2-3, Jesus said,

When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?

It is clear that God spoke through prophets. They warned of future events. Although your head may be spinning at the ever-changing society in which we live, what a blessing to know that Jesus will not change as Hebrews 13:8 reminds us,

Jesus Christ is the SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, and FOREVER.

Yes, our nation is changing. The world is changing. But Jesus will always be the same holy, loving, grace-filled God that He’s always been. If we ever wonder with whom to align ourselves, it is Christ.

Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you? Have they sacrificed sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Sometimes we sacrifice but do so begrudgingly. But Ephesians 5:2 tells us Jesus willingly SACRIFICED His life for us. He thought of us, not Himself. Hill Country Ministries is dedicated to telling others of Jesus’s great love and sacrifice. One way we have done this is by taking our P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conference to every state. Christians are inspired and equipped to pray more purposefully and live more passionately for Christ. Seekers are given the opportunity to respond in faith to Christ.

Friends, I’d love to have you join me on Wednesdays or Thursdays for our weekly Bible Study of John. Click here for more info.

Live outside of the Texas Hill Country? No problem! My weekly teachings and Listening Guides will be added HERE each week so you can follow along or use it for a group study. 

Have you ever looked for “life” in someone or something apart from Jesus? Or, perhaps in your younger years you were “the life of the party.” Maybe in your adult years, you bought into the idea that the right job, house, car, or person would bring you what was important in life. But, perhaps later you realized that things and people can disappoint and fall short of our expectations. Our hearts will never be happy until we make the Lord our life not just in words but in reality. “Jesus said in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”  We find LIFE in Jesus not only for eternal salvation but for daily salvation. Ask Him to live His LIFE through you today.

Lord, You are the way, the truth, and the LIFE!  Fill us with Your LIFE. 

Friends, I’d love to have you join me beginning Wednesday, September 6th at 10 am for our weekly Bible Study of John. Or on Thursday, September 7th at 6:30 pm. Click here for more info.

Have you ever heard someone say “that stinks” when something awful happens? If bad things repeatedly happen, they might even say life stinks.  Instead of focusing on the foul, though, we have a choice to breathe in what Song of Solomon 2:1 refers to as the Rose of Sharon, a reference to Christ and His splendor, heavenly fragrance, and beauty. When life stinks, stay extra close to Christ. Breathe in His fragrance. “I am the ROSE of SHARON, the lily of the valleys.” Song of Solomon 2:1

Do you know who your ancestors are? How far back can you trace your family tree? Being able to trace one’s lineage is important to many and is definitely important in Jewish culture. Jesus’ human lineage can be traced to Israel’s King David. But Jesus has an even more illustrious lineage as He states in Revelation 22:16. He says, “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” In other words, His roots go further back than David. They go all the way to creation. Jesus is the bright morning star, heaven’s light. In our often dark and lonely culture, it’s important for us to daily bask in the SonLight. It’s important for us to invite others to join us.

Are you concerned about people’s shifting views about the Bible and Jesus? If so, remember that Jesus is who He says He is and you are doing the right thing by building your life on Him and His Word. As a matter of fact, Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27 that you are wise.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.

Notice that both men experienced the same conditions – the rain, floods, and wind slamming against their house. Only one house stood. Our nation is experiencing floods of people and the winds of change. Are you a Christian? If you are, you will stand because your life is built on Christ. If you are not a Christian, you have the opportunity to be what Christ describes as “wise.” On what are you building? 

Lord Jesus, we worship You, the ROCK of OUR SALVATION.  Thank You for the assurance You give us that we will stand because our lives are built on You.

Friends, I’d love to have you join me beginning Wednesday, September 6th at 10 am for our weekly Bible Study of John. Or on Thursday, September 7th at 6:30 pm. Click here for more info.

Do you ever feel like not another thing can be squeezed out of you? Do you feel you’ve given all you can give? We all know that you can’t get water out of a dry rock, and perhaps that describes us at times – dry. If so we can look to Christ, whom Isaiah 30:29 describes as the ROCK OF ISRAEL  Jesus provided water for the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus provides Himself as living water for believers. (John 7:37-38) Drink deeply from Him. He loves you so!