Category Archives: The Love of Christ

Only Jesus

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Only Jesus. It’s #FiveMinuteFriday and the word prompt is Only. That word just had to go with the Name above all Names…Jesus.

I am not a sports authority by any stretch of the imagination. I like baseball, but it’s slow and boring to watch. I used to like to watch basketball, when there were rules such as no traveling. Football? I can leave it any day of the week. Too violent and they never make any progress! It would drive me crazy to have ten 250 pound bodies pile on top of me to find out we had only moved two feet. Not worth it. (Okay, they do make millions of dollars so maybe some would say it is worth it.)

Sports figures, speaking generally, are overpaid and over-privileged. Some do use their fame and fortune to make this world a better place and we thank you.

Then there are those such as LeBron James, who has christened himself with the nickname, The Chosen One. He made this statement recently, “There’s only three people in this world that can score on me in the post,” LeBron said. “Shaquille O’Neal in his prime—who else was it? Oh, it’s two. And Jesus Christ.”

Now, you may argue his remark was tongue-in-cheek, and I hope it was at least that but it was still highly disrespectful and definitely insulting to Christians everywhere.

I have news for LeBron: Jesus doesn’t play basketball.

Jesus came for one purpose; to seek and to save the lost! (Luke 19:10)

  • Only Jesus can fill that empty void in your life.
  • Only Jesus can give you peace that passes all understanding.
  • Only Jesus, as the song says, can satisfy your soul!
  • Only Jesus can take everything that is wrong and make it right.
  • Only Jesus can give you favor with your co-workers, classmates, neighbors, etc.
  • Only Jesus can heal your physical body and your anxiety-ridden mind.
  • Only Jesus can save your lost loved one that you have prayed over for ten years.
  • Only Jesus can deliver from addictions.
  • Only Jesus can forgive sins.
  • And Jesus is the Only Way to heaven.

It is true; Jesus is capable of doing absolutely anything. And it is also true that He could play basketball if He really wanted to…and LeBron James would be left holding the towel. But Jesus didn’t come for superficial things; He came to save the world! He died so we might live and He empowered us with His Spirit so that we could be His hands and feet in this world.

Tell the world, Jesus is the ONLY GOD who died, rose again and is coming back for those that love Him. If you only have Jesus, and nothing else in this world, you have everything.

What would you add to the above list? Only Jesus ______________________________________________. Encourage one another with your addition!

Enjoy this song by Matt Redman, Jesus, Only Jesus.

Who can command the highest praise?
Who has the name above all names?
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus

Count It All Joy?

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Every time I hear the phrase “Count it All Joy” I can’t help but go back in time and hear a little girl in the fictional town of Odyssey sitting on a bar stool in a malt shoppe. A wonderful older man, Mr. Whitaker, would be counseling her about the “trial” she was going through at the time, and her little doubt-filled voice would remind you of Eeyore of Winnie-the-Pooh fame. “Count it all joy, count it all joy.” She could barely lift her head up, it was all such an effort…(if you are an Adventures in Odyssey fan you can hear the music in the background…”Hi this is Connie!”)

It started out with Erica complaining to her friend Kim about practically everything in her complicated middle-school life. Kim gets so tired of hearing it she “blows up” and tells her friend she doesn’t know how good she has it and she should, “Try being happy once in a while!”

When Erica shows up at Whit’s End, the favorite hangout for the kids, she runs into Jenny, who is blind. Erica asks her how she always seems to be so happy even though she cannot see. Jenny tells her that she lives by James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4 NKJV.

She said whenever she gets down or starts to feel sorry for herself she just starts saying, “Count it all joy; count it all joy…” and it usually works!

So, Erica gives it a try. In every situation that comes up she tries to use Jenny’s formula. Every time she gets upset she says, “Count it all joy; count it all joy.”

She loses her homework, “Count it all joy.” But it doesn’t work. She is still mad. Every time she tries it she only gets more agitated and what works for Jenny seems to backfire on Erica.

Mr. Whitaker offers some wise advice that we all can learn from. Erica has confused joy with happiness. Joy has nothing to do with the way that we feel.

We cannot always be happy but we can always be joyful!

We count all things joy because God is working in all situations, even when we think He has forgotten us, they are for a purpose.

Our instinct is to avoid conflict, turmoil, anxiety and personal pain at any cost. We even spend a good deal of time and money on counseling, exercise, nutrition, anything that will help us to avoid things that will bring us discomfort.

But according to scripture; trials, heartaches and suffering WILL COME in the life of a Christian.

Looking at the tenth chapter of the book of Hebrews, it seems that they approached their struggles a little differently: “Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.” Hebrews 10:33-34 NLT.

These things happened all the time for the early Christians; they were daily occurrences! So how did they get through?

They kept their eyes on the reward!

“They knew that the persecution, that was only temporary, could not begin to compare to the eternal reward. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18.

This is what our Lord and Savior did. He was able to endure the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV.

There is still joy in the everyday living. You can and will get through each trial if you are trusting in the living God.

Trials produce steadfastness in your life, making you unmovable!

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“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love… for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-10 NKJV.

You cannot always be happy but you CAN always be joyful if you know Jesus Christ.

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Do you CHOOSE Joy? What we go through on this earth will not be able to be compared to what is waiting for us in heaven! As the old song says,

It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus,
Our trials will seem so small, when we see Christ!
One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase,
So bravely run this race, ‘til we see Christ!

Were you an Adventures in Odyssey fan? Come on, I am admitting I loved it as much as my boys! We all listened to it as a family on vacations. Let’s get the conversation going!

 

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If the Blind Lead the Blind…

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If the Blind Lead the Blind… Who will you follow?

There was an article in the Washington Post that told the story of some shepherds in the village of Gevas in eastern Turkey having their breakfast early one morning.  Their sheep are all grazing nearby when one lone sheep wanders off,and before they can do anything about it, that sheep jumps off a 45 ft. cliff to its death.

Then, if that isn’t bad enough, as the shepherds watch in horror, the rest of the flock follows…1500 sheep carelessly stagger off the edge of the cliff!

The small ray of good news was that because of their heavy wool, the lives of 1,000 of them were spared that day because as they fell, their fall was cushioned by the comfy, cottony wool of their brothers and sisters in the pile underneath them.

Follow the leader…a fun game as a little kid but not so smart as an adult unless you know who is leading the way.

The Pharisees were blind guides according to Jesus. They appeared to have all the answers, they walked around with the look and presented themselves as the authority but Jesus said they were just the opposite. “They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Matthew 15:14 NKJV.

They were clearly spiritually blind but were trying to teach and preach to others. In Matthew 23:16-24, Jesus continues to list all the different ways in which they MIS-represented themselves. The problem was that they were highly thought of and, strangely enough, well respected.

In other words…they were smooth-talkers. They fooled the people.

It is no different today. Our culture and religious world is full of spiritual teachers who misrepresent the Word of God. They are blind guides leading and teaching those that are spiritually blind themselves! They claim to follow scripture and teach God’s Word but yet, in reality, they pick and choose what they want to use for their benefit and leave the other untouched.

Or worse, they change the Word to fit their lifestyle or their need for the moment.

From such turn away! “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15.

We have everything we need right in The Book. We must be careful about who and what we listen to. If it doesn’t line up with the Word of God we must separate ourselves!

follow me

When Jesus came on the scene over 2,000 years ago, one of the first things He said to His disciples was, “Follow Me…”.

Those two simple words from the Master were so powerful that twelve men dropped everything they were doing. They quit their jobs, left their families and walked away from their lives to follow this leader that they had never even met! He had power, authority, wisdom and influence. They knew there was something different about this man called “Jesus”.

Who are you following today? Whose voice are you listening to?

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Make sure you take off your spiritual blinders so you can see the Word of God clearly. This is the most important game of Follow the Leader you will ever play.

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