Beyond Ourselves

Are Your Feet Dancing?
05/28/2021
Can you imagine being told that a relative you barely knew passed away and left you all his money? “That’s nice of Uncle Fred,” you might say, thinking of the last time you’d seen him with his modest clothing and car. But then, the executor of the estate continues, “Congratulations! You’re a billionaire!” Stunned, you realize that you never knew how much Uncle Fred possessed. Psalm 16:5 is such a comment to the Christian. “The Lord is the portion of my INHERITANCE and my cup; You support my lot.” In other words, upon Christ’s death and our confession of Him as Lord, we received an inheritance in Christ: His Holy Spirit, divine nature, mind, power, and heaven!” Friends, that ought to set our feet to dancing and put a smile on our face. Do we realize all we have in Christ? Are we living joyfully and mindful of our INHERITANCE with praise on our lips to Him?

Lord, You are our INHERITANCE. What more could we want? We love You, praise You, and rejoice in YOU!

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Get Rid of the Cat Clinging Guilt
05/27/2021

Have you ever felt guilty? Isn’t it a horrible feeling? What do you do with guilt? You can’t hide it, shake it, or bury it. It clings to you like a cat. Nails dug in, it’s determined to not turn loose of you. However, there is One who never experienced guilt. Hebrews 7:26  says this about Jesus, “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, INNOCENT, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;” Can you imagine being holy and INNOCENT one moment and the next moment experiencing the guilt of the world?  Jesus did that for us. Never question His love… “while we were yet sinners, He died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  Instead of languishing over sin, confess it and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. The next time you’re tempted, quote Scripture to Satan like Jesus did. Walk in God’s grace with His Spirit in your spirit and His Word in your mouth.

Wonderful, Savior, INNOCENT ONE, thank You for taking our guilt and giving us Your Spirit and Word.

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Unstinkable
05/26/2021
Have you ever let something spoil in the refrigerator? You meant to eat it but didn’t. Later, you discovered the leftovers, opened the lid, and whew – it stunk!  It had perished. It was ruined. Not so with God and His Word.  First Peter 1:23 says “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” God and His Word are IMPERISHABLE. They’re always good, always fresh. And, the great news is that Christ is in believers. Christ lives in us. He won’t die. We won’t die. We’re indwelt by the IMPERISHABLE Jesus through the living and enduring word of God. Hallelujah! Celebrate!

Lord, we celebrate YOU! You are IMPERISHABLE. Your word is alive, fresh, and enduring. We’ve been born of Your imperishable seed. Thank You! We praise You!

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When No One Understands You
05/25/2021

Do you ever feel like no one understands you – truly understands you?  Or have you ever said to someone, “I don’t understand why you….”? Or maybe you thought, “I can’t understand how you could…”?  No doubt, as much as we may love or know someone, we can never get inside another person’s head. But God can.  Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is INFINITE.” God’s understanding is limitless, endless, and impossible to measure. And the most amazing thing is He loves us. How can we not run to Him in love and gratitude? Why would we not talk to Him about everything on our heart and mind? Why would we not quietly wait and listen for God’s instructions and guidance?  (By the way, it helps to have our Bible when we pray so as He stirs our heart we can look up verses He brings to mind.). When no one understands you, remember – God does and He loves you. Run to Him. Pray to Him. Stay near Him.

Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ, You have INFINITE UNDERSTANDING of me and my situation. Thank You for guiding me as I wait in Your presence.

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Jesus Isn’t a Cavity
05/22/2021
Have you ever had a cavity, a tooth that decayed? If so, you know it isn’t a good thing. Can you imagine what an eternally bad thing it would have been if Jesus’s body had decayed in the tomb? It’s what the Jewish leaders expected to happen. It’s what the Roman government expected.  It’s what many in our day think or hope happened. Why? Because they don’t want the Lord Jesus in their lives. They want to do their own thing without consequences for violating God’s eternal laws. Romans 1:18-25  points out the seriousness of this mentality, of those who ignore the glory of the incorruptible Christ who will never undergo decay. “
21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image…24 
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…”
Some people ignore their teeth. Some people ignore Jesus.  There are consequences for both.
Lord, You are incorruptible. May we who are saved represent You to others so they turn to You and are saved.
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Are You a Low Viewer or a High Viewer
05/21/2021

Do you need a place to go that is higher than you  – where you can look at life from an eternal perspective? If you said yes, that’s understandable. The daily grind can become just that – a grind. The thrill of the chase ends. Romance changes. The kids grow up. The job ends. The money runs out. The other side wins. Sin gets the best of us. We’re disappointed with our life. What do we do in those cases?  Isaiah 33:16 tells us we can go to a place to gain perspective.  “He will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the IMPREGNABLE ROCK.” If we know we can scale the heights and see life with an eternal perspective, then we must ask ourselves if we are going to God and doing that.  Or, are we trudging through our day bemoaning our circumstances?  Today, let’s scale the heights of the Lord, our impregnable rock, and consider things from His eternal perspective.

LORD, You are the IMPREGNABLE ROCK, our spiritual refuge. Thank You that we can scale heaven’s heights and view our life with Your perspective. 

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Unchanging God
05/20/2021

Have you ever been with a person whose convictions changed as often as the seasons? Perhaps they read a book and decided to follow that person’s opinion and philosophy of life.  Then they read another book and decided to follow a different view. Thank goodness believers don’t have to worry about God flipping His opinion every other year.  Thank goodness and thank God that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) In other words we can depend on Him. Christ and His teaching are  IMMUTABLE. They are unchanging. What He called holy yesterday is holy today and will be holy tomorrow. What He called sin yesterday is sin today and is sin tomorrow. And, the grace God extended yesterday is the grace He extends today and extends tomorrow. We follow and serve an unchanging, IMMUTABLE God.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, IMMUTABLE, unchanging Lord God!

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On Level Ground
05/19/2021
One of the ways my ministry has spread the Word and love of Jesus is by taking it to inmates at Lockhart Prison. Most of the ones I’ve taught are mothers and their hearts are heavy with guilt. They feel badly that they aren’t with their children. They feel horrible about the kind of mother they’ve been. Yet many of them have come to have faith in Jesus. They have come to believe what  Romans 2:11 says; that even though they have sinned, they can be forgiven.
“For there is no partiality with God.” 
They hold to the fact that because God is impartial, He hears their prayers just as He does the most faithful Christian’s prayer. How wonderful that we stand on the level ground with one another – looking in praise to our impartial Heavenly Father who forgives us on the basis of His grace.

Heavenly Father, we praise You that You do not show partiality. Rather, You IMPARTIALLY judge us in light of our response to Your Son. Stir our hearts to a greater passion to share Jesus with others. 

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If You Want to Be Immortal
05/18/2021

People long to be immortal.

“If I can drink from the Fountain of Youth….”

“If I can exercise and eat right….”

It’s in the human heart to want to live, not die. However, we will physically die. Jesus alone possesses immortality.  The good news is… the IMMORTAL ONE offers immortality to us. Yes, it’s possible for us to live forever in heaven. But, we have to drink from Christ, the Fountain of Life. (John 7:37)  We have to enter heaven through Jesus,

“who alone possesses IMMORTALITY and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”(1 Timothy 6:16)  

Who do you know who needs a drink from the Fountain of Life? Will you offer them Christ, the living water?

IMMORTAL LORD, we praise you and thank You for inviting us to immortality in heaven!  Stir our hearts and open our eyes to those with whom we can share You.

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With Us
05/16/2021

Can you imagine someone telling you what to name your unborn child? How about being told that your fiancé was going to have a son who would be born BEFORE the two of you came together sexually? While your head is spinning, add another piece of information: your fiancé is going to be pregnant not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit. At this point, it’s too much to absorb, but before you can ask a question, you’re told, “you will name Him Jesus.”  Before you can protest that you had planned to name your firstborn son after you, you’re told “Jesus” was selected because he would “save His people.” Your heart is racing. “Save our people?” That thought is a good one! But before you can finish the thought, the messenger continues, “…from their sins.” You want to blurt out, “What? Save people from their sins? But only God can do that.” And, that is exactly what Jesus did. “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.'” Matthew 1:23

Lord Jesus, IMMANUEL, we praise You! You’re not a God who is far removed. Nor are You one who has left us to die in the guilt of our sins. Rather, You’ve come from heaven to earth, IMMANUEL…GOD WITH US. Thank You, Lord Jesus.

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