Category Archives: Spiritual Food

Practical Application of God’s Word; taking what you read and making it visible in your everyday life.

Believe or Get Off the Pot!!!

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Matt 9:27-31 (Two Blind Men Healed)

When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”  28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”  29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

I’m sure that some of you may be “Old School” like me.  I recall while growing up, hearing the extreme encouragement “Piss or Get off the Pot!!!”  This statement was used to help someone get passed a crossroad in their life.  You know what I’m talking about, in Sports a coach might say it when he needed you to push pass the pain of trying something you’ve never done before.  Maybe, it was when you had to push pass a fear, like when I had to jump of the high dive for the first time as a kid.  After climbing to the edge of the 20 foot high platform, I had to either jump or give up and make the humiliating trip back down the ladder.  If you’re not going to piss, the get off of the pot (toilet) because someone else will.

These two Blind Men understood this sentiment, because they were at a crossroad in their lives.  You see these men could not see, but they could hear.  They heard about this great teacher, healer, prophet and miracle worker.  They heard about his teachings and the miracles he’d done.  They heard the commotion in the streets as the multitudes followed this mystery man.  So when Jesus was near they had a choice to make.  They cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”   They were saying Lord Jesus pour on us this Grace that you’ve been telling everyone about.  That is when Jesus asked the question of all questions.  “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  You see the problem for most people is not the inability to know what Jesus can do, most people know that Jesus is able to change our situation, our struggle is believing it!!  Jesus asked the simple but powerful question, do you believe in my ability, do you believe I am who I said I was?

There was only one thing left now for the two blind men.  They had to Believe or Get Off the Pot!!!  They could believe everything they heard or they could give up and choose to remain in their darkness.  The text tells us that the men believed Jesus then they received their sight.  (What are you talking about it does not say they believed)  Look again, Jesus said “According to your faith let it be to you.”  They were healed according to their faith, the Greek word for faith here means “conviction of the truth of anything; belief.”  Jesus told them that they were healed based on their ability to believe.  Don’t be fooled though, their faith was not in them being healed but their belief was in who Jesus was.

God is able to do, just what He said He would do; He will fulfil every promise to you.  We just need to believe He is who He said He was.  Who is He?  The lamb that took away the sins of the world; the “Truth and the Life;” the creator of Heaven and Earth; our Savior; our Friend; our Big Brother; our rock; our confidant; our help, our shield; our everything; the ultimate sacrifice for every one of our sins.

When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we received His salvation.  My encouragement to you today is to Believe or Get Off the Pot!!

Get Some Daddy Time

Family Ministry, God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Ps 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So this morning, as it is many Saturday mornings, my industrious wife was off to the grocery store early to beat the rush and get back in time to still enjoy the weekend.  So it is up to Daddy to take care of breakfast and spend some quality time with the children.  This time is usually spent with me in the kitchen cooking, and the kids downstairs watching their favorite cartoon or TV show.  Then we eat breakfast together, typically at max speed because the boys want to get back to playing games and or hopeful that I will let them watch another show.  But today was a little different, no hot breakfast, just cold cereal and toaster’s strudel.  This was quickly gobbled up by the kids and I had not even sat down to eat my mix of breakfast and leftovers from last night’s dinner.  My 4 year old daughter was still sitting there and she said these words to me “Daddy can I keep you company while you eat your breakfast?”

Ohhhhhhhh, my heart melted so fast, I could not get the words “Of Course!!!” out of my mouth quick enough.  There was such a smile of my face that I could not wait to sit and spend Daddy Time with my little Princess.  We had such a pleasant time, we talked about questions she needed answers to, things that were fun for her, some things that I did when I was small and our favorite things about playing in the snow yesterday and even sharing some of her fears.  It was then that Jesus spoke to me and said this is exactly what I feel when my children want to spend time with me.

The bible says “In Your presence is fullness of joy” and I have always enjoyed this verse because it reminded me that when I spend time in the Lord’s presence, I will be full of joy.  His joy not mine, this Joy the world could never take away from me, because it did not give it to me.  This joy is not based on my situation or circumstances but based on the Joy of Jesus, whose Joy is unspeakable.  Knowing this makes you look forward to spending time with God so that we can be replenished or be filled.  Today, Jesus revealed to me that it’s not just my joy that will be full, but that Jesus joys in His children desiring to spend time with Him.  He loves to hear from us, He smiles when we tell him what makes us happy, the things we like about being with Him and especially the cares we want to lay at His feet.  Nothing beats Daddy Time for you or Daddy.

Know that Jesus Joys in your presence with Him.  He loves to hear from you and loves to fill you with His unspeakable joy.   In Your presence is fullness of joy

JESUS

Spiritual Food

Jesus!  Jesus!!  Jesus!!! Jesus!!!! Jesus!!!!!        JESUS

JESUS!  JESUS!!  Jesus!!! Jesus!!!! Jesus!!!!!        JESUS

JESUS!  JESUS!!  JESUS!!! Jesus!!!! Jesus!!!!!        JESUS

JESUS!  JESUS!!  JESUS!!! JESUS!!!! Jesus!!!!!        JESUS

JESUS!  JESUS!!  JESUS!!! JESUS!!!! JESUS!!!!!        JESUS

Read it, Sing it, Yell it, Think it, Speak it, Rap it, Write it….Whatever you decide to do, do it and you won’t regret it.  His name is higher than any of our situations, illnesses or circumstances and it will invoke our worship.  Don’t take my word for it……..

Phil 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It Cannot Be Wiped Away

Family Ministry, Spiritual Food

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Have you ever cut yourself and did not know it?  Or, you’ve cut yourself but cannot see the cut because there is so much blood?  What do you do?  Wipe the blood away so that you can see the injury, the hurt, the thing causing the pain, then immediately apply some type of cleanser to keep the cut from getting infected.  Now I’m sure my wife, the Pediatrician, will school me later on the technical terms and techniques, but I hope that I got the gist of it.

I highlighted this verse in 1 John, because it says something that we have to believe to survive, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  Jesus does just the opposite to our spiritual cuts and injuries.  Our sin, causes hurt and pain, but Jesus’ blood is the balm in Gilead (Jer 8:22).  His blood not only covers our sin, but it cleanses us from all sin; but doesn’t stop there, His blood heals (Lk 4:18) and gives eternal life (Jn 6:54).

So what’s up with the title?  Well, we’ve been taught that God sees all of our sin, and He is upset with us when we sin.  He is not pleased with us until we repent from every individual sin.  In essence wiping away Jesus’ Blood.  I guess we wipe it away so God can see our sin, then after we repent the blood is then reapplied.  I know that it seems like a little thing, but we mix up God’s old covenant with His new one.  In His old covenant, we indeed would have to atone for every sin, working for our salvation by offering some type of sacrifice, even putting our hope in the High Priest so that he would sacrifice on our behalf.  Then on top of all that, the offering had to be accepted by God for our sin to be removed.  That is a heck of a lot that has to go right.  Jesus died so that we do not have to live like this anymore…..

I’m so glad that God declared in Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, there was fault with the first covenant or the Old Covenant or the Law, therefor He gave a new covenant.  Paul tells us that this old covenant, was the ministry of death (2 Cor 3:7).  Be mindful of what you are receiving and believing, you may be sippin’ on a little death, which slowly kills our Faith is Jesus’ Blood.

I will not say any more, I will let the bible tell you that Jesus’ Blood is more than enough, and it can NEVER be wiped away…….

Heb 8:8-13 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “ . Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

No More Holding Back

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Ps 63:3 Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.  4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.  5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 

Today at church I heard a song that I absolutely love, it was only about the 3rd time that I’ve heard the song (which doesn’t mean that it is new, just new to me), but it had the same impact that it always seem to have….Surrender!!!  But today was something special; the words of the song are simple “I surrender all to you; everything I give to you; withholding nothing- withholding nothing.”  As I raised one of my hands and enjoyed the worship, I heard Jesus say so lovingly “You’re still holding back… when you lift up both hands in worship, you let go of everything you’re holding on to and reach for Me.”   When I lifted my other hand, the tears began to flow, not out of sadness or shame, but out of a wonderful since of peace and joy.  You cannot help but feel the love of the Jesus, when He assures you that He wants to take care of ALL, every single aspect of your life. 

Look at Psalm 63, when we lift up our hands we acknowledge the Lord’s love for us and demonstrate our faith is in His loving kindness towards us.  Our surrender causes us to want to praise and bless the Lord, then we are able to see the Lord satisfy all of our need and fill us with joy.  Give everything to the Jesus, the good and the bad, highs and lows; if it is a part of your life let Him have it and He will satisfy your every need and lovingly give you His abundant joy. 

Do You See What God Sees??

Spiritual Food

PP 1 (Click on the link)

1 John 4:15-18 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.  17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
NKJV

IT IS FINISHED!!!

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

On Friday we remembered the night that Jesus was unjustly arrested, disrespectfully slapped, viciously beaten, wrongly accused, disgustingly spit on, illegally convicted, and hung on a Cross and left to die like a criminal.  Yet with all of that being done to Him, there was only one thing on His mind at the time.  Finishing His assignment, completing the work that He was sent to do; publically displaying the LOVE that He had for each of us (we were on His mind; you, me & everyone).  But on that night, what exactly did Jesus finish?

1.  Life under the LAW: God gave the LAW to Moses on Mt. Sinai, this LAW was a covenant that God made with the Children of Israel.  The LAW was a set of rules that all had to completely uphold in order to be in right standing with God.  If for any reason any one of these rules were broken, then it was as if all of them were broken and only a sacrifice could be made in order restore one’s standing with the most Holy God.  God had put in place a standard where man would be judged by his own righteousness, a righteousness the bible reminds us in Isaiah “(Isa 64:6) but we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”  How could this be fair, there was no way for anyone to keep this LAW, why would God make such a covenant?
We need God, and the best possible way to see our need, is to measure ourselves to this unbelievably high standard, a standard nobody but God could attain.  Jesus came to fulfill this LAW, so that we could stop trying to work for His attention and start trusting in Him as our true & loving Savior.  When Jesus yelled It is finished on Calvary’s Cross, He let us know that the LAW was no longer.  He had become our High Priest and when we accept Him as Lord “(Heb 8:6)…He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.”  This New Covenant, well let me just let God tell you Himself “(Heb 8:10) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  The LAW, It is finished.

2.  Judgment for Sin:  Judgment is used 254 times in the bible (NKJV), God’s Judgment is simply put, God’s punishment for sin.  The bible shows us that God’s punishment for sin was shown numerous times, when Adam and Eve banished from the Garden; Able was sent away as a vagabond; the great flood came in Noah’s Day; 3000 died the day the LAW was given; the Children of Israel (including Moses) were not able to see the promised land; David’s son to an adulterous affair died; Israel was overtaken by the Babylonians and even the book of Romans tells us “(Rom 6:23) For the wages of sin is death.”  Yet, Jesus not only fulfilled the LAW but He also received every one of our sins on that dark day.  As if it were not bad enough, all of the beatings and ill treatment he received before crucifixion, while on the Cross all our sins, sicknesses and diseases were placed on him, “(Isa 53:6)…And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus knew that He was coming to the earth to die and be judged for our sin, yet he did it anyway.  His love for us and for His Father is amazing and was on display “Phil 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus yelled out Tetelestai, the Greek term for It is finished, the tem meant that a debt has been fully paid.  It signified that whatever someone once owed had at that very moment just been completely paid for.  God’s judgment for all of our past, present and future sins had come, He lashed it out on His only begotten Son, and even after all that Jesus was alive (He’s a powerful and awesome Savior) to let us all know that everything we would ever owe (be required to pay) was indeed PAID IN FUL!!!.  Judgment for Sin, It is finished.

3.  Condemnation:  Jesus told Nicodemus of his purpose for coming into the world, “John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  His purpose was to save us and not condemn us.  Paul also tells us this awesome truth for believers “Rom 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Condemnation is the Greek word “Krima” meaning judgment or damnation; essentially it means declaring an evil doer guilty.  Satan uses condemnation trick believers into thinking that God disapproves, blames or is angry with us because we have sinned.  We have often felt so guilty that we give up on living for Christ and choose to live sinful lifestyles.  Even worse we begin to hide condemnation so deep in our hearts that the guilt impacts our health, we begin to see sickness in our bodies, depression in our minds and pain in our hearts.  All Lies!!!
God is just and Jesus received all of God’s judgment for our sin on the Cross, everything past, present and future sin.  If we were still being judged for our sin today, then it would mean a.) God would be unjust (can’t happen), b.) Jesus’ sacrifice was not good enough (not possible), c.) We are just so bad that God is not smart enough to figure out how to cover our sin (really??).  God’s word is true, it will always be accurate, and will accomplish everything is has set out to do.  God’s salvation plan in Jesus Christ, was more than enough to cover all our sins and allow us to be loved and adored by God forever; “(Jude 24) Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise,Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.  Amen.”  All Condemnation, It is finished.

Seeing Like Never Before

Spiritual Food

Mark 10:46-52  Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”  52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

This is a very familiar text with so much meat; Jesus heals a blind man, proving that the blind can see.  A beggar named Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by and believed that Jesus could help him see.  This story is multifaceted because it speaks to both non-believers as well as believers, but what is it saying?

For the Non-Believer:  Bartimaeus represents the man/woman that does not yet know Jesus and remains in sin.  He comes to a point in life where he realizes that life as he knows it is not how he wants to live.  Many are living life without Jesus Christ as their Savior and are far from satisfied in life.  They will prayerfully come to the same realization that Bartimaeus did, Jesus can bring light to the darkest of situations.  If you have not accepted the Loving Savior, who died on Calvary’s Cross so that all of your sins could be forgiven, Jesus is your salvation.  He did everything so that all you have to do is believe in His sacrifice for you.

For the Believer:  Bartimaeus was the son of Timaeus, which means “highly prized.”  He was therefore a son of significance, yet still could not see.  There are times in our Christian journey, where we as sons/daughters of the “King of Glory” cannot see Jesus as He is.  Jesus is so much to behold that we will never be able to comprehend Him fully, at least not until He comes back to get us.  Blindness is hindrance to sight and when our sight is hindered, we are unable to fully grasp the truth found in 1 John 4:17, “as He (Jesus) is, so are we (every believer) in this world.”  When we are unable to SEE who Jesus really is, we limit our ability to have a fulfilled life here on earth.  Bartimaeus needed more, his life was limited not just because of his blindness, but because he had not seen all that Jesus had to offer.  How we view Jesus will determine how we view ourselves and how well we live our lives every day.

We recently took the kids down to Disneyland; you know the happiest place on earth.  While there, we had a ball and one of our favorite things to do was to go to their 3-D theater shows.  The interesting thing about these shows is that Disney had to provide us special eye-wear in order for us to fully enjoy the show.  Had we watched the show with our own eyes, we would not be able to see the show the way the producer designed it.  Our vision would be blurry and unable to clearly make out what was on the screen, things would not appear to us as they really were.  Bartimaeus was given his sight, but also allowed to see the most beautiful sight ever known to man, JESUS.  The very first thing Bartimaeus saw when his eyes were opened was the “Alpha & Omega,” he received so much more than just healing.  Jesus always wants to show us more of him, and like Bartimaeus we will not only receive what we ask for but our eyes are opened to see Jesus clearly.  We see His Love, His Power, His Mercy, His Wisdom, His Favor, His Friendship, His Protection, His Omnipresence/Omniscience/Omnipotence, and our Savior.   Enjoy seeing Jesus like never before.

 

2012 is a New Year

Spiritual Food

2 Cor 5:17-18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…

In case you were not aware 2011 is over.  It has passed away and there is no going back.  Yes, there were some horrible things that happened last year, but there were also some great things.  One of those great things was that you made it.  Many people did not, some gave up, some simply gave out and numerous were just not able to hold on.  But you made it and it was only because of God’s precious Grace, given to us in His beautiful Son Jesus.  If you are or would dare to be IN Christ I have a few things to share with you about 2012.
First, IN is the Greek word En, which means to be inside or with, it is a primary preposition denoting (a fixed) position. When we are inside and with Jesus Christ, then we are where He is and are given the authority that He has.  In 2012 you are seated at God’s right hand, in heavenly places (Eph 1:20 & Heb 8:1) and you have been given all authority in the earth (Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 15:24: Titus 2:15).  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ:

  1. We Become New: “he is a new creation.”  As we move into 2012, it is important to remember that when we are IN Christ you are a new creation. Kainos is the Greek word for new used in this text meaning recently made, fresh or unused.  Although each of us has a past, we have been made brand new; no damage, no cracks.  While our flesh may look the same (a few cracks here and there), we (our inner man) are made new, because we are IN (inside, with) Christ.  Now because we know we are new, our 2012 will be exciting.
  2. The Past is Finished: “old things have passed away.”  Many people will continue to bring up our past, the person we once were and even what we did in 2011.  Just remember, everything that happened has passed away, it is over, has perished and was dealt with by God.  You see everything that is in our past, Jesus bore on His own body when He died on the cross (1 Pet 2:24).  Because of Jesus and His finished work on the Cross, all of our past has passed away, and there is no condemnation for any of it (Rom 8:1).  Going into 2012, remember, the past is finished.
  3. The Future is Bright: “all things have become new.”  With all of the old passing away, what will happen in our future?  The Greek word for become means to come into existence, to begin to be, to receive; 2012 will be brand new.  Our Future is new because the Lord has carefully planned it out for us (Jer 29:11) and aspart of that plan God reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ (vs 18) and He has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  Our future is bright because God desires that others see our relationship with Him and He uses us to introduce others to Him.  Get ready to “bling” in 2012, because God plans to put you in the spotlight!!

Conclusions:  The past has faded away and will no longer cause us any harm, there is nothing we can do about it, except allow the Lord to teach and heal us from it.  Go into 2012 knowing that God is going to make it bright, not just for us but for His Glory.  This means His light in us will shine brighter than ever and it will be seen by God’s unmerited favor on our lives.  We will see open doors, new relationships, divine protection and provision, great wisdom and the revelation of God’s love toward each one of us.  I hope you are ready to shine in 2012, BEHOLD all things have become new.