Path To Knowledge

"God knows that I love you dearly with the love of Christ Jesus, and in my prayers I ask that your love may lead you each day to a deeper knowledge and clearer discernment." - Philippians 1:8-9

The Holy Spirit is alive in scripture. If we ask Him to open our minds so we can understand the Word, He teaches us amazing things we never noticed before. I was just blown away by this verse in Paul's letter to the Philippians - "that your love may lead you each day to a deeper knowledge and clearer discernment"… love is the true way to knowledge and discernment! It's not how much we study or the school we went to, or even any kind of street smarts, but all perfect knowledge and enlightenment is attained by love. And it makes sense because only when we love do we see that no one knows the human heart except for God, so we have compassion for others instead of holding them accountable for what we judge as wrong or annoying. We act with patience which leads to understanding, instead of anger which leads to darkness. If we have love, we are self-less, and only seek what is truly best for people instead of a tainted result. Best of all, if we love we are walking closer to God, who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge. And God, who is pleased with a humble and loving heart, will reward us by opening our minds to the knowledge and truth to understand and appreciate all of His creation.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, thank You for teaching me that love is the path to knowledge. I pray that You fill my heart with love for You and others, and lead me down the path to true wisdom. In Your Name we pray, amen.

The Space Between

"Christ Jesus is the same today as yesterday and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

When we're little, God is the old man with a long beard. We ask Him to protect us and give us sweet dreams. When we get a little older, we ask Him to watch out for us, to help us in school, with friends, and for other things we really want, like a new bike. As we get even older, though, we seem to leave our old friend and protector behind. A teacher once told me a story of a newly wed couple who would sit closely together in their truck as the husband drove home. Years passed and the distance between them in the truck got wider and wider until one day, the wife complained to her husband, "why don't we sit close together anymore?!" to which the husband replied, "honey, I've always been in the same place, you're the one that's moved away!"

In this story, God is the husband and we are the wife. God is the same with us today as He was when we were innocent, trusting children. He still sees us in the same way, why don't we? When we suffer and go through hardships and all sorts of problems and blame Him for it to the point where we don't even count on Him for anything, realize that it's that you forgot to trust in Him. You forgot to believe in Him like you did when You were younger. We often go around trying to create these worlds for ourselves without ever asking Him what He thinks and if these things are good for us. God hasn't gone anywhere, He's still waiting for you to come back and run everything by Him! Stop and take a look at your life and how close or far you've gotten from Him. Remember the total trust you had as a child that God would take care of you. Anyone that knows a child knows they speak the truth because they don't complicate themselves with all of the things we do. Therefore, go back to the way you were, and to the God who is still waiting for His child to get close so He could offer His protection.

Today's Prayer:
My God, as a child, You were my great protector and as I got older, I thought I didn't need You anymore. Oh, my God, allow me to return to You with the same innocence I had back then, and also with the same trust. Help me to see that You have been there all along while it was I who moved away from You. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Seeing Is Not Believing

"If today you hear His voice, do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on the day at Massah, when your fathers challenged me, and they put me to the test. For forty years they wearied me and I said, 'They are a people of inconstant heart; they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'Never shall they enter my rest.'" - Psalm 95:8-11

My mom and I were talking in the kitchen the other day about how good God is and she said, "I really can't judge Moses, but I don't understand how he saw the power of God and how He released the Jews, yet he doubted in God in the desert." After seeing a staff turn into a snake, rivers turn into blood, many other plagues and the red sea part, Moses doubted God and because of this he never saw the Promised Land. This got me thinking about faith and signs. So many people want to put God to the test and make Him prove His existence or His power as a condition for them to believe, but this really goes against all God is. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. No where in there does it say that faith is the result of what your eyes tell you. Jesus said that only an evil and unbelieving people want a sign. This tells me that those who are going to believe in God do not need any visual proof, all they need to do is let their hearts experience the truth when it comes across it. If even Moses, who witnessed so many wonders doubted, what are signs going to do for us if we don't accept God in our hearts and minds? So many people were healed when Jesus asked "do you believe?" Only after they said yes were they actually healed.

Instead of working on what our eyes tell us, let's work on what our hearts tell us. When Jesus resurrected and went to visit the apostles, He told Thomas that he believes in Him because he touched and saw His wounds, but fortunate are those who have not seen and yet believe - that could be me and you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, forgive my weak nature. Overlook my doubts and failure to trust You when I put my reliance in my own senses over confidence in Your power. Build me stronger so that I can truly be fortunate before Your eyes. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Filling Yourself with Good

"Brothers and sisters, fill your minds with whatever is truthful, holy, just, pure, lovely and noble." - Phillipians 4:8

Most of us are familiar with the phrase "you reap what you sow," and it definitely has a lot of truth to it. There are things that can poison your minds, hearts, and souls if you allow yourself to be contaminated by them. I have a friend now who let herself slip into a bad situation and now she is hurt and bitter. What she surrounded herself with has brought her down and killed her joy and her heart. God doesn't want this for us and instead, through this verse tells us to keep ourselves surrounded by good. If we want joy and peace in our lives, we need to keep ourselves free of anything that can contaminate us. We need to surround and fill ourselves with whatever is truthful, holy, just, pure, lovely, and noble. Being out in a club one night can be fun, but what truth or purity is in that? What joy can it bring about if there's emptiness the next day. Cutting class one day can be fun, but one can never find truth in that. Or hooking up with someone we're attracted to can be pleasurable a few times, but what nobility is there in that? These things bring harm to your soul when the good that God intends for us brings life. Look for this good, seek it and you will see how it brings more substance to your life.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, although I do not always see it, help me to seek the pure and good things for my life. Help me to avoid the cheap thrills and the things that are only good for the moment and later bring me harm. Help me see what You want for me and not just what I want. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Lies

"Do not take an oath for any promise. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God's throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great king. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil." Matthew 5:34-37

We tell lots of lies; big lies meant to deceive and little lies to not get in trouble or hurt someone's feelings. If we know that Jesus is the Truth, then lies, no matter how small, have no place in Him. When I read this verse, it really scared me. I thought about all the silly little lies I tell in the day but I really need to take this seriously if its what the Lord commands. The fact that Jesus said that we need to answer yes when yes and no when no unless we let the devil work through us should serve as a stern warning for the next time we speak to someone. And when the Lord tells us to do something, we need to remember that its for our own good. Lies, even the smallest ones, can get us into trouble that we have to keep lying about to get our heads over water. Being able to answer someone with truth merits more respect from others and makes us people of dignity and honor. It doesn't happen overnight and there's no way we could probably never lie again, but what matters is that we try to walk in faith, as Jesus did, and work with honesty instead of deceit.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, give me the strength and conviction to speak the truth at all times. Give me the courage to speak honestly and that although the truth may hurt at times, I always follow through with what Your will is. In Your Name we pray, amen.

The Truth Hurts

"Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and daughter against her mother; a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies those of one's own family." - Matthew 10:34-36

This really does not sound like something Jesus would say, but it is. It goes along with what I said yesterday about the difference between believers and those that live in the world. Jesus came to bring a sword and division within our families because if we respond to His call to righteousness, then it is our job to do what's right and set an example for those around us. But many times, those within our own families do not believe and mock us. Or, you see those in your family commit sins and they don't want to hear you correct them. I was listening to a Christian radio station yesterday and a man called up to say he was converting to Christianity but his wife refused to convert and said she would divorce him if he converted.

These are the divisions that sprout up when we choose to follow Christ but we have to continue to imitate Him no matter what. Jesus wasn't popular with a lot of people because He always told the truth to those He loved. He spoke out against hate, against prostitution, against storing riches, against all the sins people were commiting even though they didn't want to hear it, and that's what He needs us to do within our own families. Remember, you are the light and salt of the earth and need to shine. Unfortunately, the truth hurts, but if you pray and stay firm in Him, He will guide you to do what's right, starting within your own family.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You call me to tell others within my own family what they need to hear. It's not always easy Lord, but please help me to be the light You need me to be and turn those closest to me back to You. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Only One Truth

"For the time is coming when people will no longer endure sound doctrine but will be so eager to hear what is new, that they will never have enough teachers after their own liking. And they will abandon the truth to hear fables." - 2nd Timothy 4:3-4

This verse from Paul's letter to Timothy describes so many people today. They don't want to give up certain things in their lives, things that lead to sin, so they search for new beliefs, mantras, and religions that suit what they want to believe and justify their sinful actions. They search for psychics and read horoscopes when it's a complete lack of trust in the Lord Almighty. Your life is not your own, you should never ever conform it to what you think works out best for you, especially when you know deep down that Jesus Christ is Lord and you know what you should believe and how you should live your life. The people Paul describes are confused and only long to fulfill their own desires, they waver about from new idea to new idea.But you, recognize that there is only one God and that His son Jesus Christ paid for the freedom of your soul with His own blood. He died so that you may know truth and love in Him. Stand firm in your hope and your faith so that you can be preserved through out your life and not waver.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, help me to stay firm in You and not waver about with the excitement of new doctrines and people promising to offer me what only You can. I recognize You as the way, the truth, and the life…Yours is the only path I want to follow. In Your Name we pray, Amen.