Beyond Ourselves

Lord, Most High God, forgive us for asking but not worshipping You with thanksgiving. Holy Spirit, prompt us to be grateful, thankful believers who worship more than we ask. 

Does sin weigh you down? It often does me. As long as we’re in our earthly bodies, we’re going to sin. But, and this is big – because Jesus took our sins, we’re declared righteous and we’re also called to be righteous.  In other words, sin is to be “dying off” in us as we purposefully draw close to Jesus, learn His ways, practice His teachings, and look at our sins through His eyes. The bottom line, we recognize we have an upward calling and we don’t want sin to be a part of our life. Here’s how  1 Peter 2:24 explains it. “…He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” Jesus bore our sin in His body on the cross “so that…”  Jesus suffered so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

WATCH JOHN 5

Have you ever wished you had a mentor, someone to follow, to teach you how to do your job better, be a better spouse, or how to walk in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father? Many lack a good “example” as seen by the normalization of arguing, lying, materialism, and trusting in “self” rather than God. Yet our Heavenly Father gives us a good example – His Son. Jesus shows us how to stand against temptation, how to live for God’s will, how to treat others, and even how to suffer when following God’s Word rather than the world. Jesus is the ultimate example of how to entrust ourselves to our Heavenly Father’s care. First Peter 2:21 reminds us of the importance of following Jesus’ example. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,” In a world filled with bad examples, our Father provides a mentor in Jesus and tells us to follow His example.  Will we this year?

Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Jesus as not only our Savior but also as an example to us. Jesus, help us follow Your example increasingly every day. We love You!

Have you been battling something and you’re tired?  If so, we do well to remember that as believers we don’t stand alone. We have each other as we battle our flesh, the world, and Satan. Exodus 17:8-15 records a great visual of how we can come alongside each other, and under the banner of the Lord, defeat the enemy.

Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. 

So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sunset.

So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 

Moses built an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner; and he said, ‘The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.’

In this passage, we learn that the Israelites won the battle as long as they could see Moses’s staff which represented God’s power.

What can we learn from this account?

• We must station ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
• We must lift one another in prayer.
• We must keep our eyes on Christ, the Victor.  

God is our Banner. Lift Him high before the eyes of others. How? Share “365 Days of Praise” with family and friends each day. Each devotional focuses on a different aspect of God’s divinity, power, and sufficiency.  Or, take 30 seconds and click the FB or Twitter share link at the end of each post.

Will you join me in daily holding up God’s name and power?  Who in your family and which of your friends could use the daily reminder that God is in the battle with them?

Heavenly Father, we often feel there is little we can do to make a difference in our world. But there is something we can do. We can lift high Your name so others are reminded of Your presence and power. Thank You, Jehovah-Nissi, our banner.

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. 

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. 

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.