RISE AND SHINE - TWO DISCIPLINES TO START YOUR DAY RIGHT

When is the best time to set your mind on a peacefully, happy and productive day? Of course, it is either before we physically get out of bed or the first act, thereof. Ideally, the first words of out our mouths should be words of gratitude to the Lord, that we made it another day. Each day many do not have that privilege and blessing, and of course, one day, it will be our turn to transition into eternity.

But for now, the best discipline after rising is not heading for the coffee pot but towards prayer. Prayer to the Lord Most High, Maker of Heaven and earth, Who regardless of what non-believers say, made the earth six literal days - yet He has existed from Eternity Past. His goings are from long ago, the Bible says. He is the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and the End Who sees the end from the beginning.

As we progress in physical age, we do need to stretch when standing downright upright and push-ups, backstretches and more are the way to go. The best stretching, however, is the one we do in order to benefit our very souls. Here are just a couple easy yet sometimes difficult to maintain, steps to begin this process more productively. These are actually a better use of time to engage the Bible with your prayer life and not lose interest or the zeal to continue.

Most Christians who follow these disciplines will sit down and start reading a chapter in the Bible, or pick out something at random. Very few, but enough actually follow a Bible reading plan. Picking a book or passage of the Bible at random to read through and then pray sometimes only lasts THAT long for the average person.

The best way to do this is:

    -   Step 1: FIRST - RIGHT OFF THE BAT - read a Psalm in the Bible and/or start reading through the entire New Testament, one chapter at a time. The Books of the New Testament are not just shorter than those of the Old Testament, but their chapters are shorter and to the point of the Life, Ministry and Expectations of Christ. If you decide to read a Psalm, read only ONE Psalm per day, or 8 or so verses of another long one, and then, close the Bible, thereby getting ready to proceed to Step 2.

     -  Step 2: In this daily morning time, we continue in  our chair or quiet living room or study, and proceed to prayer time. What the reading of the Bible BEFORE praying does is to remove the tendency for our minds to stray off into la-la land and be easily distracted. The discipline (and it is a learned habit or discipline) engaged in here, focuses our minds and spirits right away on "The LORD says" in His Word, and no attack from the prince of darkness, who rules the air temporarily, can distract from this Truth! The other way, if you pray first and have a long list of requests for others and yourself, by the time you get to the Bible, the flesh and the mind are not in full alignment and the goal is to get this over with as soon as possible. If this is the case and a hard habit to break, it is better to continue with the Bible reading in the middle of the day at work, or during the lunch hour. This way, the Word of God is never disengaged from us, and we fulfill Psalm 1:2 where Scripture exhorts to meditate on the Word "day and night".

These two steps, when activated on a daily (preferable) or as much as possible, will not only enhance our Spiritual Maturity and Growth in Christ, but will, in very short time, become second nature. The key to enabling, activating and executing these two simple steps is Time. Each Christian can spare 5-10 minutes per morning to spend with the Lord in Bible reading and Prayer. He or she can most definitely spend that and more, during a busy day, if you and I prioritize, even if the kiddos are screaming for breakfast at 6:30 am and you are unable to find even two minutes to pray. 

Make time for the Lord, when you can. It is the best investment in your day, you can ever make. The stock market is not even a close second. Rise and shine, and give God the Glory - and watch Him grant you and I, His peace, grace, love and mercy. Amen.

JOHN 3:16, PART 2 - "JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW"

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)

The previous portion of John Chapter 3 presented the foundational thinking of the Lord, as He reasoned with Nicodemus. Jesus spoke from the Law of Moses to talk about His pending appointment with the Cross, and the wellspring of eternal life which pours from it. This incredible conversation with the Teacher or Head Rabbi of Israel then tops off with John 3:16, the Bible verse which has captured the imagination of millions alive right now. It is more than important for us to examine the verse, not just in its entirety, but phrase by significant phrase to grasp what the Lord is saying. Each word therein, means the world to the salvation of those who put their faith and trust in Jesus, as Lord and Savior. These words are words of life, to us who believe.

JOHN 3:16 - IN DEPTH:

FOR GOD – In this manner or because He (the Lord) set His mind to ….

LOVED SO MUCH – The proof of God’s LOVE – AGAPE- is the many times He says He wishes all to come to repentance and faith. God did not create hell for people. Hell was created for the devil and his angels. People choose to go to hell due to their rebellion and turning away from God. But this love of God, this Agape, means one thing: God so wants the best for us, because He truly loves us, that He did what He did. The essence of God’s love here in John 3:16 is “agape”. This is a love so strong and divine that it only wants the best for another. Therefore if God is so for us, and only want the best for us, there is no one else ever in Creation, who can top this love!

THE WORLD – the world here means ALL the inhabitants of this planet…as in ALL. This renders incorrect the notion that Jesus only died for certain people or the Elect. Jesus gave His life on the Cross for the pagan politician, the dangerous drug dealer, the promiscuous prostitute, the pompous professor and the diabolical dictator as well as the nice, loving grandmother down the street who would not hurt a fly.  Of all of these, the good grandma, or the screaming, yet hardworking soccer mom or football dad, are the most difficult to convince they need to submit their lives to the Lordship of Christ. Even more dangerous for them, is their self-deception of their own “goodness” and that’s all they need, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the world of free choice, into which God the Father made His free offer of Salvation.

THAT HE GAVE – this is a powerful phrase. Sure, God GAVE, but in this word “gave”, therein contains more than one person “giving” or handing off the baton or a ball to the other person. In this offer, this word specifically implies that the Lord set in place an offer which is open to all, who will believe, from the moment Jesus said it, until the end of time. In terms of language, it is something called the "aorist tense" in the original New Testament language. To paraphrase, it is the gift that keeps on giving....for 2000 years now. This offer was permanently set in place for everyone, and reveals a level of thinking and love which no human, ever born, will comprehend this side of heaven.

HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON – This is no ordinary son. This is the unique, one of a kind Entity of the Universe. He is not a Son like you or I or our sons of our earthly parents. God’s “only begotten Son” is one Who is literally in the likeness and characteristics of our Heavenly Father. You may say that our son or child is made in our likenesses, but the offspring of humans carries the DNA of both mother and father.  Jesus, Who is God, is the Only self-existent Being in all Eternity and Creation, Who ONLY has the likeness of ONE Person – God the Father. This distinction is confirmed in Philippians 2:6 where the Bible reminds us that Jesus the Man, did not consider “equality with God a thing to be grasped”. So we know He Who was born of a woman to fulfill God’s plan of Redemption, was FIRST of all – God.

THAT WHOEVER – Whoever, to the plain eye, means what it says – “whoever”. However, whoever, in this carefully chosen word by the Holy Spirit,  means more. The original word “pas” means a lot more than all people.  It means ALL people on a CONTINUAL basis! That is, until the end of time. As century after century of the past two thousand years go by, this standing offer or order from Heaven than the Free Offer and Gift of Salvation is open, it remains that way.  Whoever (or whosoever in the King James Version) always mean all kinds of people, from all kinds of countries, backgrounds, races, levels of society etc. have the same privilege of this offer – if they wish to accept it.  When we have a chance to ponder this truth, it is absolutely a stunning thing, which only the Divine can engineer.

BELIEVES IN HIM –  A person cannot believe in the Son of God as the Savior, without a knowledge of the Gospel, our own sin and therefore, our need for a Savior. Sin is the common denominator of the equation of confession and salvation. Jesus Himself laid in out in the first gospel ever written, which is the Book of Mark. This gospel was written down by a follower of Jesus – John Mark – who wrote down the words of Peter  - yes, this Peter! In Mark 1:15, Jesus said “the time is here, the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the Gospel”. What He is talking about here, in the word "belief" is complete Trust and Faith in Him – the Son Who is himself, God.

It takes Faith to live daily life in general. It takes faith to deposit all your paycheck in a bank, and then depend 100% on it being there next week if you need to withdraw all to pay for a massive car repair bell. It takes faith to put your key in the ignition of your car, turn it and then expect the car to start. Almost everything in life runs on the engine of faith.  Yet, the most important thing – our destination after this brief life – is giving brief or no attention by the majority of this world.  

We are not talking about tradition, liturgy or religion. Belief and Faith in the One True God is what all of this is about. The Heavens declare the Glory of God. All Creation all around us testify to His power and imagination to create and maintain. We have all of this and the evidence to believe. All that is left is to now, believe in the Creator. The “Whoever”  believes will be called a son or daughter of God, bound for Glory. God has embedded eternity in the souls of EVERY person ever born. That means the atheist as well as believer. The offer is to both…even up to the point of death. Knowing this, it all comes down to Who (or what) do people put all their trust, faith and belief in.

SHALL NOT PERISH -  Everything on this side of eternity has an expiration date. The exquisite, excellent, expensive meal we plan for weeks and prepare so carefully for, when it is time for a celebration, not only is gone within minutes and just a good memory hours later, but is gone from the system within a day.  Food has expiration dates. The Bavarian Motor Works car company has a certain extended period of time where it works before it just stops (BMW).  The fresh bright colors of our hair has a time when it is in its natural color before we ALL turn grey and old. Using expensive hair colors never cover up the fact that there is grey under there. Everything expires, including our bodies. 

The bible says there is a time to be born and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:2). We can work out 4-5 times a week in the gym; bike ride for miles every weekend and eat gluten-free and kale daily…and we are still going to die.  There is another thing about this passing from life and here is where the most serious business resides. It is appointed for men (mankind in general) to die once, and then the judgement (Hebrews 9:27).  This is a big problem for the majority of human beings, who pay no attention to what the Lord actually requires to entire the Eternal Realm after this brief life is over.  It is one thing to permanently leave this fragile earth but this is just the beginning. Every human being is created with eternity in his/her heart and will spend it somewhere. Even the lost know that this world is in the last days, because this is how God made us.  So wouldn’t people want to discover the better place to spend Eternity? 

The reason is simple, yet multi-fold. For reasons known to sinful humans, they do not believe God. They know there was a man named Jesus, but only care about holding Him at an arm’s length and joining in the celebration of Christmas and Easter (observances of His birth and Resurrection). Instead of embracing the Holy Trinity, they come down on the side of the "unholy trinity", which is Me, Myself and I. 

If you ask anyone, in the majority of the population, even INSIDE the church walls, if they’re going to Heaven, the answer would be a resounding YES! If you follow up with the question of WHY they believe they’re heaven-born after this life is over, the response would include things like " it will all work out in the end". There is absolutely no basis for this dangerous (for them) thinking and “belief”. Many say they believe God but not Jesus. Read all four gospels of the New Testament about those who constantly repeated such falsehood, and then see what Jesus said to them. It was all condemnation. Sadly, those who ignore Jesus as Lord and Savior, will suffer eternal separation and punishment from God, for which there is no end.

BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: They are many baby girls with the name, Zoe, who are not aware that their names mean "life". Think of the exhilaration we feel on a wedding day of a loved one (or others); or the birth of our first baby or when we first came to know the Lord as our Savior. Think of the most exciting thing you have ever done. Now, take this same feeling and multiply it by infinity, plated with the purest of God and divine joy - and you have the basic description of Eternal Life. 

Eternal, by its very biblical definition, is the main characteristic of God. The Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have always existed, from eternity past and will always exist, into eternity future. This will only be clearer, as to the how, when and why, when we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that would be. When we all see Jesus, we will shout and sing the victory....the victory of knowing we are partakers in a forever life, which is this unfathomable!

Eternity (from whence we get the word eon) is both inside and outside the time dimension. It is outside in the sense of eternity past. We have absolutely no idea what took place, outside of the pages of Scripture, before the formation of the Earth. All we know is God, in the form of the Trinity, existed. Eternity inside of our time dimension is the present.  

The incredible thing is when at the point of conversion, from lost sinner to redeemed, born-again child of God, we immediately inherit the system which contains both dimensions. We inherit the knowledge and benefits of Eternity Past, to the Present and to Eternity future! We inherit the extremely divine quality of Godly living right here on earth, if we grow in the maturity of the Scriptures and in knowledge of the Lord. This is the process of Sanctification. We possess Christ and Eternal Life NOW, when we are born-again. We are now in the eternal realm of God and the holy angels. Then, at the point of our death, the very Gates of Heaven will open up to us, as the Lord receives us into His Royal and Eternal Home, simply because, we received Jesus Christ and the free gift of Eternal Life, into our own lives. 

None of this would have been possible, if God did not so love the world, that He gave. 

PSALM 103 VERSE 22: "HE CREATES, HE CONTROLS, HE HAS DOMINION"

Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul (Psalm 103:22)

The final verse of Psalm 103 returns to what is really important for us to learn, above all else, above the blessings, above the lessons, above the daily provision, above all, is, we are exhorted to “BLESS THE LORD”. That is, we are to remember, in the most humbling gigantic amount of gratitude, ALL He has done for us, all our lives. Then, we bless Him, by respect, awe, commitment, praise and worship.

As previously mentioned, verses 1-18, of Psalm 103, tells just some of not just the main benefits of being a Christian (the word benefits are actually used in Verse 2), but the results of what the Lord does for us.

When you look at the God has done – His Works, if you will – you and I would be more than hard-pressed to wrap our minds around it.  When we’ve been in heaven 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we would not be able to grasp the full measure of God and His Kingdom, even if we tried. It will take, literally an eternity, to grasp what He has done, and WHY!

There is so much to consider: Eternity Past will become clearer in the Eternal Kingdom (post the 1000 year Reign of Christ in Jerusalem). The Works of God in the Creation of the Angels and how the Fall happened. The Works of God in His most important work, which is the Creation of Planet Earth and all mankind will be taught. The Creation of human beings is the only time God ever regretted anything or became heartbroken at the evil conduct and beliefs of his Creation, for instance.

The Works of God will be explained in Eternity Future, when the Work of Christ on the Cross, which is referenced in Philippians Chapter 2, will become clearer.  The biblical word “propitiation” is used a couple times to explain God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross. There is more to this act of Supreme Love.

A small portion of the universe can be viewed through the Super-telescope, the Hubble. There are magnificent worlds unseen which cannot be fathomed. This will become clearer. The Work and Hand of God created ALL of this…every single atom of it. There is no detail in the intricate design of man and cosmos, which is not conceived, planned and put into place by Him.

Because He creates and created through His hard work, He controls. He controls EVERYTHING – from the raincloud directly overhead right now, to the snowfall in Austria, Paris, and Minnesota. He controls the heat in the desert to the volcano in Hawaii. He can freeze the orange groves in Florida and steam up the cool woods of Vancouver.

God creates, controls and therefore is Sovereign. He owns everything and the creation cries out to Him for the soon coming day. His Dominion or Kingdom is all around you and I. We own nothing. We are temporary stewards. He provides for us, protects us, guides us and loves us.  We are temporary residents here on this, the most significant portion of God’s Dominion – Earth. It was and is so important, that God Himself willingly gave His very Life for rebels who live on this planet. On a soon coming day, God the Son - Jesus - will be sitting on the Throne in the new cleansed Temple in Jerusalem for 1000 years, while we live with Him on this same planet - Earth!

In light of ALL of this – God's Mighty Works and Dominion – if we are His; if we are born-again and His Spirit lives in us; if we stay close to the Flame daily; if we study the Bible and pray daily; if we are in fellowship in the local church; if we serve others and tell others about Jesus….if we do ALL of this, we cannot help but bust out in praise for His Wonderful Name! We cannot help but bless His Holy Name! We cannot help but see our souls crying out to the Lord “we gave You, and ONLY YOU, the Glory!” Amen and amen!

PSALM 103 VERSE 2 - "BENEFITS OF THE BELIEVER"

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalm 103:2)
Webster's Dictionary defines the word "benefit" as "something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being". It is also described as "an act of kindness". This basically describes the Grace of Almighty God to a bunch of people who deserves the opposite of acts of kindness and goodness. But this is Who He is.

Just as we glorify our Father in Heaven for Who He is (verse 1), we bless and should be absolutely grateful for ALL He has done for us. There are so many benefits of being a child of God, it comes down to a question of "where do I begin"?! 

First and most importantly, we look at the Eternal Benefits of being a born-again, saved, being-sanctified in the Lord son or daughter of the King- the Lord Jesus Christ:
ETERNAL BENEFITS:
- Jesus saves us from Hell. Yes, He does. Salvation, however, is more than just eternal "fire insurance". It is the fruit of the Gospel manifested in the believer. Salvation is the main opening bell....to the greatest and best life a person could ever dream of having. At the point of conversion, we are immediately transferred from the kingdom of darkness, death, and the devil, to ALL of Eternity Past, Present, and Future. 

In Eternity Past, the Holy Spirit, Who takes up permanent 100% residence in us testifies to the Veracity of the Scripture. The Oracles of God are recorded in the Bible and while we see archaeology proving the Bible almost daily, Holy Spirit confirms the accounts of the Old Testament, from Creation to the Book of the Revelation. Biblical historians like Josephus, Eusebius as well as others confirm the rest. How much we avail ourselves of these eternal truths actually depends on us and our willingness to study the Bible, fast and pray.

In Eternity Present, we should be aware that everything we do has consequences. Our Faith in Jesus Christ should spur us to not just good works in the community and to our family and friends, but Faith requires us to share the Gospel with those whom we know, are lost. We take nothing from this life to the next, except another person, if we lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Eternity Future is first, the 1000 year Reign with Christ, right here on the Earth and secondly, at the end of that Age, the Eternal Kingdom forever, with the Lord.

TEMPORAL (In This Life) BENEFITS:
-  Blessed Assurance that not only Jesus is yours and mine, but we are the only ones with the sure Hope of an after-life free of Judgment which casts us away from Holy God. 

-  This Assurance of heaven brings peace, joy, contentment and if we live with the knowledge of our inheritance in Christ, we can have the life which Christ intends us to have. This is available right now, in this present life.

-  The fruits of the Spirit are for us to enjoy NOW. They are, as listed in Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness". How we love our spouses, children and our fellow man bring so much joy. This joy leads to peace and contentment in our hearts if we are patient and kind. This Christian attitude then shows the goodness and faithfulness of God, which if applied with the sharing of the Gospel, has the potential to lead many to Jesus Christ and Salvation!

-  One of the main benefits of living in the Life and Authority of Christ is the ability to persevere. Life is never meant to be easy and many are the tears, pains, and fears of the believer. Most Christians worldwide live in massive poverty due to persecution by those under atheist and other religions of those countries.  It is in these times of persecution and trial that the Lord brings the true hope of Christ which sees them through the end.  Christians everywhere, get cancer, lose children, lose jobs and get in horrible tragedies like everyone else. The main difference in this life is the Christian is prepared for Eternity if he or she is truly born-again and following Jesus Christ as Lord.

These are just some of the primary benefits of the believer. Those who are wise, will rise and thank God for every single one of those mentioned above. The gratitude we exhibit should not only be evident in our lifestyle but in our personal relationship with Almighty God. A daily consistent attitude of gratitude, humility and more should lead us to bless His Holy Name, at all times, since He has given so much to us. Amen.

NEW LIFE- A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 3, 2017

VERSE: For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

EQUATION: Zero subtracted from the world = Humble Hero ID'd in Christ

ACTION REQUIRED: Recognizing we are absolutely NOTHING without the pardon, forgiveness, Salvation and Eternal Life in Christ, we above all, must be eternally grateful. We were the real "walking dead" before the Spirit of God calls us out from the depths of despair we had no idea we were in. He then rejuvenates us, thereby breathing life into us, and then brings us into the Kingdom of Heaven safe and secure, with all the inherited blessings from Eternity past to Eternity future.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this Truth, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us for one would hardly die for a righteous man, but He gave it all for the worthless such as I! Even so, He has "hidden" us in the Palm of His Mighty Hand from Which no one, or no thing can remove us. We belong to Him and are eternally secure. Thank You Jesus, for sealing us thus, until the Day of Redemption, in Your Name, we pray, amen.

(Clip Art Credit Here)