Monday, August 31, 2015

Isn't It Exciting!

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
​​And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
​​Because He poured out His soul unto death,
​​And He was numbered with the transgressors,
​​And He bore the sin of many,
​​And made intercession for the transgressors. (Isa 53:12)

A prophecy from God written by Isaiah way back centuries before Jesus was born. Intercession, isn't it exciting! Someone came who loved us so much that He made an intercession for the transgressors. Not too hard to figure out who those are, we live with transgression of the Law of God each and every day. If you or I are not the instigating and transgressing agent, then someone near us or someone we know falls on any given day. We need an intercessor who will bear our sins to Calvary and slay them there. Praise God for His Son, Jesus, who loved us!

How easy it is to slip in a few past tense verbs in there, but the truth is that Jesus loves us now and lives with us now. As I read the Bible, the Word of God, He speaks to me in the now. The fulfillment of God's prophecy is now, even though Isaiah died many years ago. Now the Lord is risen and sits at the right hand of God the Almighty One. Because He died, now we live! Now that is exciting!

Have a great week in Christ!

Bucky

Friday, August 28, 2015

Share, Then Share Jesus

Humans like to share their stories. Wherever we work, what we do for that work, family, friends, and especially those experiences that make up life, we like to share with others. One of the more difficult persons to deal with is the one who wants only to share of himself and quite fails to listen to others at all. We don't like that person because we like to inject a story or two into the flow ourselves!

What about Jesus though? Here was a man who had the very best news, a godly perspective, and perfect knowledge. You might think that to listen to Him and Him alone would be the desire of all who followed Him and everyone who came into contact with Him. Yet, the speeches of our Lord are not lengthy and His responses are often short and direct to the point. Sometimes, as we read through the scriptures, we note that Jesus didn't even answer the question put to Him. Our Lord often saw past the spoken question and answered the unspoken need while sharing of Himself at the same time.

While we don't always have that sort of insight into the other person - the times we do being of the Spirit's making - we can share, and then share Jesus. We all have some interesting stories and experiences from our lives. We share those stories with others, then we share what Jesus did about them for us and what He did from them to us. Yes, I may have a great story of pain and suffering, but what makes it great is what my Lord did to make me a better person from that experience. You may have a great story of accomplishment, but what makes it great is how Jesus strengthened you in a moment of doubt, helped you to a wonderful idea, or humbled you even as an award was given. Sharing, and then sharing Jesus, a loving thing for each of us.

Have a wonderful Friday in Christ!

Bucky

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Fourteen Years (plus Six!)

Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. (Gen 31:41)

Back in the day it seems that time was...uh, women! Jacob served Laban for fourteen years and gained two wives, sisters at that. In place of an engagement ring of surpassing size and expense, Jacob could point to how long he worked. One year's wages, bah, I served seven years for each of my wives! The context of this verse today speaks of an aggrieved man. Jacob 'goes off' on Laban after his father-in-law could not find the household idols the man sought. He lists what he endured and how long in order to gain a life of his own with wives and sheep. Sheep?!

Jacob felt the call to return to Canaan; Laban didn't want change. Laban's flocks had grown much with the blessing of the Lord on Jacob. Family and fortune are powerful blessings. What's more, Jacob was taking off with his grandchildren, and the man left in the night without saying 'goodbye'!

We may find it easy to judge for one or the other. Rachel had in fact stolen the household gods, but managed to hide them from the search. Jacob was afraid Laban would hold the sisters by force; Laban, perhaps holding on too tightly, felt abused by the abrupt departure of what he saw as his own. It is interesting that God spoke to Laban and said, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad." That may well be a warning to us in this day to not judge for or against either side in the matter. God alone knows the heart of Jacob and Laban. So many times we run into conflicts that have good and bad, right and wrong on both sides. Holding back from judgment and turning to God for wisdom may be our best and loving response in these times.

Have a peaceful day in Christ,
Bucky

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Things Look Worst...

Good Tuesday morning! We live in an age of information, but one of difficult faith. What we see will not last, and what we do not see will last forever. The disciples faced just such a time when the Teacher they had followed for more than three years was executed before their eyes. Dead is dead, or so they thought, and even with the evidence of Lazarus they did not expect to see Jesus again. Then, strange tales began to be told, "I've seen the Lord!" Hardly to be believed, but soon to be followed by that password all Christians love to hear, "He is risen!"

Jesus indeed soon appeared to hundreds of people in and around Jerusalem for a brief time before ascending to our Father and His Father, our God and His God. It is wonderful that even as He rose in triumph over death and the grave, Jesus thought of us. He appeared to Mary Magdalene as she wept by His empty grave. He showed Himself to the disciples hidden in the locked room. All to let them know that He was indeed risen. To Thomas, Jesus gave the privilege of touching His glorious wounds. No doubt it was heartbreaking to see one so full of life killed in such a manner. Yet, there He was, filled with new life abundantly. What a change He made in their lives and in ours today! Things look worst...just before they look very good in Christ!

Give glory to God for He is Risen!

Bucky

Monday, August 24, 2015

For I Fear God

Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God." (Gen 42:18)

Typically, a ruler might say something like, 'Do this and live, for you should fear me.' Joseph says something quite different, and along the way throws us into a bit of a question. What does he mean that he fears God? Is it the fear of something that we call a phobia, that strong desire to run out of the room? That is part of it. After the sin of disobeying God, Adam felt that very thing and hid himself from God. He was afraid of the One he formerly walked with in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden. Indeed, fear of the Lord is at least partly this same fear for us, for we are born of the line of Adam and live in his fear. Joseph seems to have something else going as well.

His response to his brothers speaks of answering to someone in authority. Joseph says that they should obey him because he is answerable to the Lord. Do this and live because I am responsible to the Lord and recognize the opportunity to help the Lord's people. But is that all? No, in another way Joseph assures them that he too knows God and wants to do what is right by Him. We might say something like, "I too am a Christian" when in a similar position to help, but for some reason don't want to come right out and tell them our name. Except that it doesn't seem quite the same, does it?

People ran up to Jesus all the time with questions and needs. It just seems that we wouldn't do that with God. Jesus truly is the bridge from us to the Father across that great divide. One day, it won't be like that anymore. We will come to the Father as He makes His home with us. For now though, fear of God is that trembling in the knees and a desire to run and hide; it is also that respect that makes us want to do well under His authority and do the right thing to please Him. Fear of God can help us to stay on the straight and narrow way as we make our way with Jesus back to Him.

Happy Monday in Christ!
Bucky

Friday, August 21, 2015

Switches to Flip

Discovery of various genes seems to make up a goodly bit of our news at times. Turn this one off and, poof, no more ageing. Turn this other one off and, possibly, no more obesity. Are we then just a collection of genetic switches to flip? One wonders what then turned those switches on in the first place. Of course, the danger comes in thinking that we have no choice and no responsibility in the matter of life. If I am genetically programmed to do this thing of that other thing, then I bear no responsibility in trying to stop doing them. Set against that is the law and the prophets which speaks of Israel bearing responsibility for abusing the poor, chasing after idols, and other sins. The very words from the King James version "Thou shalt not" speak of us being able to choose to obey those commands.

John the Baptist was born under a prophecy of knowing to choose the right at an early age. In the thinking of some today, he would have been pre-programmed and unable to choose any other way in life. Somehow I think John might disagree, probably having faced down many a temptation in his life back in the day. Jesus too faced temptation, and I don't believe that it was a formality with a foregone conclusion. Our Lord fought back with the Word of God, and won through His decision to not sin. With the strength of Christ though His Holy Spirit, we can too!

I would like to abdicate responsibility for the wrong decisions and sin in my life. No regrets, no need for forgiveness, after all I was made that way and unable to do any better. Sounds too easy though, a lot like that broad and smooth way that leads to destruction that Jesus spoke of. When I gave my life to Jesus, it became a fight to the death against sin and temptation. I will make some mistakes along the way and chose the wrong path at times. More than once, Jesus has found this sheep of His with its foot in the fowler's snare, at times to the point of being flat on its woolly back. No, I need Jesus not because of some gene switches that got flipped, but because I was born a sinner and need to be washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.

Amen, come Lord Jesus!
Bucky

Thursday, August 20, 2015

A Reproach

You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.(Ezekiel 22:4)

Every citizen of the world must at times reflect on their nation. A nation whose founding document begins with "We the People" must reflect all the more often on the behavior of its elected and hired government. The princes of Israel were leading their city and nation to a reckoning, and the Lord sent Ezekiel to warn them of impending doom. Israel also hosted many false prophets who bore a different set of tales to the princes of the nation. In a similar environment, we must be watchmen as Ezekiel was called to speak against his nation.

So...here's some encouragement for you. I have seen the comments and articles you post. You are watching this nation and showing your faith. Good job! You are rightly watchful of the media outlets and don't automatically believe everything they say, including those favorites among the media we all have. Again, good job! You are shining lights in a great darkness, bought with our Savior's blood to stand for Him. Excellent work! Continue to endure in your watchfulness and love. The Antichrist may take power soon, but you will see and know him for what he is. Our Lord Jesus will return for us at any moment, but you will not be surprised or caught in sin. Be faithful in your good work, the Lord Jesus strengthens you every moment!

Bucky

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Season of Stillness

The basement air can get a bit stale or still at the time of the year when the air conditioner doesn't run yet the house is too warm for the furnace. To me this reminds of the words of the Lord: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10) A command: be still and know that I am God, is followed by a couple of interesting promises. Do you think that God is exalted right now in our nation or in the earth? Yes, in our hearts and churches, in prayer and in faith, God is indeed exalted. However, we can also point to many examples where our Lord is despised and rejected of men. Many would not have us pray in public or see the words from the Word shown in government or other public places. The promises of that verse remain though, and faith reminds us that all of our Lord's words will be fulfilled.

Many are the promises of the Psalms, and the gospels, and the prophets, and the Revelation, and any other books of the Bible. Jesus fulfilled many of those promises and those that remain are coming soon in the return of our Lord. We have much to look forward to in this season of stillness as we meditate on the Word. Our hope and joy reside in Christ. The Comforter promised by our Lord reminds us daily of Him and of His returning. The Father eagerly and earnestly awaits the coming of all whom His Son has kept from the world's evil one. Let us follow the Good Shepherd into the house of the Lord!

God's love and peace to you,
Bucky

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

A Difficult Lesson

One of the more difficult lessons to teach and sermons to minister arrives in John 19, the crucifixion of our Lord. So heart wrenching is this part of the good news that many Christians would often rather not go there. I think that as we become more aware of the state of our sin under the Holy Spirit's guidance, we become that much more aware of the price our Lord paid on the cross. Reading of the scourging, beating, humiliation, and crucifixion of our Lord becomes painful and uncomfortable to us. However, this is the cure we need for sin.

Unlike the sometimes awful cures we may endure in this age that may or may not work, this cure, paid for dearly by our Lord, does work perfectly. We must focus on the cure, the good that Jesus worked in this, or we may easily fall into despair over our former condition. Yes, former condition, for this cure works on us even now and not just on some future day. Forgiveness of sin is ours by the gift of God through Christ Jesus. We don't have to dwell long on our sin just as Jesus didn't dwell long in the ground. As up from the grave Christ arose, so must up from the doldrums our spirits soar! Trust in the saving grace of Christ and live in Him!

Bucky

Monday, August 17, 2015

The Problem I Can't See

Do you ever wish that you could see inside of someone else to see the problem? Evidence shows that there is a problem, but you cannot see the problem from your vantage point. Doctors of course deal with this on a daily basis. Some symptoms add up to normal or often seen causes and those are more easily diagnosed. However, other symptoms can point to many causes and so the medical profession has developed various gadgets and devices for seeing inside a body. Faith is much like that. We cannot see what we want to see to confirm what we believe through a physical examination. Jesus is in Heaven seated at the right hand of the Father and we cannot see that right now with our very earth-bound eyes. The price of sin was paid at the cross by our Lord Jesus, but we cannot confirm that with our five earthly senses.

Oh sure, we can read it in the Word of God, but for every one who reads and believes there is a number who read and do not believe. Faith is much like two doctors examining the same patient and coming up with completely different answers to the problem. However, unlike the physical but unseen problem of what is going on inside a body, no amount of scopes, rays, gadgets, tubes, or remote cameras will solve the problem. The two doctors can make a wager and then order a test to decide who is correct. Those who approach the Word of God must wait, that is if they want the evidence of their eyes to decide, on the return of Jesus when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, or we can believe right now based on faith and eagerly await that same event with joy residing in the heart.

Faith, it is our great opportunity to believe in Christ!

Bucky

Friday, August 14, 2015

Messages Mixed Maximally, Man!

Charge in swinging and wait on the Lord! Let go and let God while you step out in faith. All sin is forgiven, rejoice in your new freedom to do everything the Law says! We must have Jesus in our hearts so that we can meet the Lord at church. Ach! Quit taking the Christian sound bites and mashing them together! You're causing maximally mixed message mastication mortification!

Aye, watch enough Christian shows, hear enough Christian songs, and read enough Christian writings (including this one!), and you will find some mixed messages. We often search for one go-to, catch-all method to reach for every time things get tough. Reading the Bible though shows that God often worked in His various ways. One time the Israelites were told to watch and do nothing as God defeated the enemy army (story in 2 Chronicles 20). Most other times their faith went along with their marching feet into battle (many places in the Old Testament). Sometimes the Israelites of old were given seemingly harsh instructions such as Joshua at the battle of Jericho. Other times mercy was granted. What are we to think with all these messages?

Of course, watch, hear, and read enough in the Word, in churches, in songs, and in writings, and there is also one overriding theme that reaches into every thing called Christian - Christ! The love of God in the person of Jesus Christ cares for every one of His lost sheep. Every situation may not have the same answer for a method, but every trial and tribulation has the same answer, Jesus! Every prayer of the Christian ends with "Amen, come Lord Jesus!" even when we don't say those exact words. We may not know in the situation whether to wait on God or go forth in faith, to stand in Christ or kneel in prayer first, but we know whom to turn to always and in every time and place, our Lord Jesus Christ!

Rejoice in the Lord always!

Bucky

Thursday, August 13, 2015

My Grace is Sufficient For Thee

The hard-charging young Pharisee was on the way to Damascus to do the Lord's work. Saul of Tarsus thought that achieving divine favor was within his grasp. Then, he met the Lord Jesus on the road. A rebuke from divine authority when a person thinks he or she is firmly in the right shakes the very core of a life's creed. Paul had to stop and rewrite his, and God gave him the letter to the Romans that we study to this day.

We think of many things when Paul discusses his 'thorn' that he asked God to remove three times. It may well be that nothing physically was wrong with the apostle. The thorn may refer to the former Pharisee's strong desire to prove himself good enough to God. We face that same challenge these many years later. We read of God's grace, but we try to set it aside to prove that we don't need it by becoming good enough to merit God's favor. With good and godly reason God told Paul that His grace is sufficient. We too must come to realize that God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus is our only and best hope.

A perfected mind, or body, or house, or job, or anything else in this life that might somehow meet our weak and flawed standard of perfection might only serve to anchor us to a doomed world. Better by far to meet God's standard given by grace through what our Lord Jesus accomplished than to try to go it alone and fall on those thorns. Rejoice in the day the Lord has given!

Bucky

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Beautiful Countenance

In a bygone day, Abram is told to pack up the house and move. After a few adventures along the way, the mob of future Israelites arrives somewhere around the Sinai where Abram pays his wife a compliment. "And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, 'Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.' " (Gen 12:11) Sounds almost romantic and Abram was only 75 or so when he got around to saying it too! Why don't men say that more often today? Of course, the verse misses a bit without the context of the story.

In this passage, we find that Abram is afraid and hatches a plot to lie to his host in Egypt. After the princes of the land take note of Sarai's lovely countenance and make her a celebrity, God sends plagues to, well, plague the land and people. Abram's host is angered for several good reasons, not the least of which is being lied to and led into sin. It's always for the worst when God's people do the work of the enemy.

Have a truthful and trusting day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The Perfect Home

I think I was in the perfect home yesterday. If I didn't realize it at first, I certainly had cause when I was handed a pair of disposable booties to put on over my boots. As a not quite perfect photographer, I don't feel up to the task of shooting the perfect home. Inadequacy is not a comfortable feeling for us in this world, and we seem to get it a lot. Well praise God for that, because Jesus my Lord came to save the lost sheep of the human family!

We are lost in so many ways that being made to feel inadequate should make us feel rightly included in the flock of lost sheep Jesus came to save. We feel inadequate when we cannot meet the standards of this world. How much more so when the Holy Spirit reminds us of how far we fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet, Jesus loved us just the right amount to go to the cross for all those who will believe in Him. You and I may be inadequate by the world's standards, but we are just right for the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ!

In fact, when we get to the pearly gates and others are telling the Judge how they perfected the world, cured all diseases, saved a million lives, and were just wonderful people, we can say without hesitation, "Sir, Your Son came to save the lost, shameful, sinning, stumbling, bumbling sheep of this fallen world, and I fit that bill perfectly!"

Amen, Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Monday, August 10, 2015

What is Sacrifice?

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:2)

The very definition of sacrifice. God made a promise to Abraham, and then appeared to make it impossible to fulfill. Abraham would have treasured his only son and looked forward to the fulfillment of more of that big promise from God. Notice that God told Abraham the bad news right at the starting point of the journey. No mystery in why the man and his kid were taking off for the mountains. While Abraham wisely withheld the reason from the boy's mother, he had to travel with that terrible knowledge. We get a lot of bad news at the start of our Christian journey.

The world will hate you because it first hated Me; they will throw you out of the synagogues, and whoever kills you will think he is doing God a favor, and other such things Jesus said to the disciples at they began the journey. On the other hand, we don't have to wait to arrive at the mountaintop as Abraham did to learn of a substitute for the terrible sacrifice. Jesus died on the cross in our place. We get to know some great things about the mountaintop before we arrive there too. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Jesus will return and take us there. Where Abraham had to walk in faith under what looked like his son's death row stroll, we get to know that our passing from this life is only the beginning of great things to come.

Have a wonderful day in Christ!
Bucky

Friday, August 07, 2015

Mid-Summer's Day

Just when I think it is time to go south for the winter, I realize that it is the middle day of summer. The question is: am I anxiously anticipating too far ahead or depressingly behind the seasons? Fortunately for me, I'm just goofing a bit on a Friday morning. As of yesterday, the kids around here are into their final two weeks of summer. Their goofing must now take on that final desperate push to cram in all that summer should have been in less than two weeks. Dr. Carson goofed a little last night too; the problem is that all the half-brains in Washington DC thought he was referring to the other guy. Biddy boom.

Is this a Christian devotional or some sort of time to goof around? Ah, but Jesus said, "...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." (part of Matt 28:20) We tend to think that Jesus may have meant only in church, or perhaps in the prayer closet too, and maybe He would be with us in choir practice, or perhaps just at night when we are scared, at those times He would be with us. We may not realize the extent of 'always' when we consider the times Jesus is with us. Yes, goofing a bit on a Friday morning, He is here. Stressed out at work on a Monday, Jesus is there too. Frightened in a bad nightmare, Jesus is with you. Feeling the happy moment when things just can't be any better? Jesus is right there if we but realize it. Sad over a terrible event in life - yes, Jesus is with you and me in those times. All the time and every time, Jesus walks with us in a close bond that He will never break. Why would He leave us when He died to save us?

Have a great day WITH Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Thursday, August 06, 2015

Don't Dwell With Your Brother?

Good morning on this fine summer day! The Law way back in the early books of the Old Testament can make for some interesting reading. For example: “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’ "(Deut 25:5-10)

The obvious answer is to never be caught dwelling with your brother. Not sure that was possible back in the day, but is that in keeping with the spirit of the law in any case? One might also notice that the living brother's wife seems to get no say in the matter, or maybe that is the reason the man takes the public shaming. Of course if the one brother's wife is a desirable woman in the eyes of the other brother, a different sort of temptation might come up. "Hey, King! My brother really, really wants to earn a medal in this campaign. Why not put him on the front lines for this fight?" King David set a bad example in that regard when he found a woman he desired had this inconvenient husband. The Law shows the intention we all carry deep in the heart.

One may try to avoid a possible future situation, another may try to take advantage, while the godly man obeys the Law and does his duty. We have choices to make and the Law of the Lord is very good at highlighting any evil lurking in the dark corners of the heart. The godly man, however, does not become godly without God. All of us will fail in our own strength. If we want to be known as godly, we must strive to know God.

Have a glorious Thursday in Christ!
Bucky

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Connection and Coincidence

There seems to be a sort of mini-migration to and from Portland this year as the second family I know is leaving today. I'm not sure what has brought this on, but there it is. I was thinking last night about connections between me and someone far away. We are tempted to recall how close we are through technology, but there has been a way for quite some time that is closer still: God. Even in the days when a person such as King David had no idea who might be living in the lands far away, he could pray for them and God knew the numbered hairs on each head in that land across the sea. The same goes today. I may not know the name and have never seen the face, but if I pray for a brother in Christ in a nation over the sea, God knows that person as well as He knows me.

Yes, my connection seems a bit tenuous given that I couldn't identify my Christian brother by name, and if he grabbed his passport, took a flight over here, and then strolled down my street I might not be the wiser that the object of my prayer was right there. However, when God is the way of our connection we might well greet each other in Christ and give thanks to God, for my brother might well have prayed for me too!

Two families vacationing in the same city is coincidence, but the way of God is connection from Him to us through Christ Jesus, from me to you, and from each of us to a Christian brother or sister far away. One God listens to our prayers and His Holy Spirit gives all comfort and guidance. One Savior died for the sins of all who will believe, and through our Lord Jesus we have a firm connection. Paul who died these many years ago in Rome lives in us through Christ. Peter encourages us from Heaven. With a name we might direct a special prayer to Christian from far away, but even without the name we can pray and God will connect us.

Glory to God our firm connection,

Bucky

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones

Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! (Ezekiel 37:4)

What must Ezekiel have thought when the Lord took him out to a valley and told him to preach to a bunch of dry bones? A few ministers might not have to wonder what that is like even in this enlightened age. What a test for the aspiring prophet or minister though. Here, if you can breathe some life into this valley of dry bones, you can call yourself a preacher!

Some mornings, my well of ideas for the devotional seems like a valley of dry bones. No life, no ideas, nothing much going on, and all the feverish activity of dry bones slowly bleaching in the sun. Yet, as Ezekiel watched, the bones took on ligaments and tendons, nerves and blood vessels, fat and muscle and skin, and a great army stood before him. Ezekiel of course did nothing to accomplish this, he simply spoke the word at God's command. Exactly as we are to do in whatever ministry over dry bones we have in Christ. What happens after we speak the word is up to the Lord.

I can't save anyone, and neither can you. My words may be brilliant or dull on any given day, but my job is to write them as God commands. It's easy to become paralyzed with worry over writing the next great Christian devotional when all I really have to write about is how great our God is!

Have a great day in Christ!
Bucky

Monday, August 03, 2015

Thank You For Your Love

Now there is a Monday thought that works from us to the Lord, and it works from us to each other. Thanks for your love can go out from me to you, and I get a special feeling when it comes from you to me. Thank You for Your love acknowledges from you or me that God's love gives us Jesus, grace, mercy, peace, and all the other wonderful promises and gifts we have from our Lord. Through a simple thanksgiving, we place in the Lord our trust and faith. Thanking God for His love says that we believe His word.

For what is God's word but a gift of His love from Him to us? We read in His word of the word made flesh, and the word made flesh is none other than Jesus our Lord. Jesus laid down His life to save us. God loved us so much that He gave His Son that we might have eternal life. Greater love has no man than this: that He lay down His life for His friends. Jesus is God's love made flesh too. Love is a better thought on a Monday. Better by far than what will appear on the news feeds is God's love. Let us remind one another this day of God's love for us and our love for each other. Love is the two greatest of commandments that Christ gave to us. Love is God desiring that we should live eternally with Him.

From me to you on this great day in Christ: Thank you for your love!

Bucky