11-24-2018 Take it Through the Week

Monday– Colossians 3:14–15 Everyone loves the holiday season because it brings the entire family together to celebrate, whether it be Christmas or Thanksgiving. It is always a time to see some of your extended family that you have not seen for some time. However, at times the joyous occasion can turn frustrating and bitter because with that same extended , you might not see eye to eye with on every issue.  Maybe that football game has stirred up some old rivalry, or Aunt Betsy will not stop talking about politics. In Colossians, Paul talks about the opportunity for unity in the church. As believers, we have been given the tools to keep or restore unity with other believers. We are instructed to “put on love” and “let the peace of the Messiah… control our hearts”. With this instruction, the perfect bond of unity will be formed. Lastly, we are instructed to “Be thankful.” There is nothing more encouraging and beautiful in this life than being perfectly unified as a body of believers through Christ.
Tuesday– Psalms 105:1 Through our thankfulness, we proclaim His deeds to the world. Our thanksgiving is actually a testament to everything that the Lord has blessed us with. God has provided us a means of salvation, something that we should constantly be in thanksgiving about. That thanksgiving can proclaim the Gospel that saved us. Take a moment to think about what you have to be thankful for in your life. Now, think about how those things can be a testament to what God has done in your life. Jesus has provided the ultimate source of thanksgiving, through the cross. We all go through hard times in this life; the physical is fleeting and does not last forever. But, God’s love for humanity will never fade. We will never be snatched out of his hand. No matter how hard this life gets, we will always have something to thank God for in our lives. The consistency of the cross will always trump the vanity of this world. In your life today let the gift of salvation be a proclamation of thanksgiving to the earth.
Wednesday – Colossians 3:17 What did you do yesterday? Think back on what you accomplished. Was it done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.  It is difficult for us to think in terms of whatever you do, in word or in deed it should be done as though we were actually serving Christ. Did you clean the kitchen yesterday? Change the oil in your car? Did you take your kids somewhere? Did you work all day at your job? Whatever you do in your everyday life, should be done as well as you possibly can. Why? It is because He has done so much for us. It is because He has been so good to us. It is because we have been given everything that really matters, through the sacrifice of Christ. That changes everything we do, everyday. Pray with me. Lord I love you and I serve You in everything I do. Even the most menial things are holy and precious when given to you and done for you. Be exalted in my life. Be exalted in my job. Be exalted in my home. You are everything to me. IN Jesus Name, Amen.
Thursday – 1 Timothy 4:3-5  There has been a trend in recent years to treat certain food, as though it were inherently evil. Not eating meat can be a spiritual statement and there are those who today would say it is wrong to eat meat.  There is also a trend to discourage a man and woman from marrying, but rather to live together. It is much more common, in Hollywood, to see someone living together, than choosing to get married. It is interesting that God said almost 2000 years ago, that this will be a sign of people departing from the faith and embracing “the doctrine of demons”.  Both marriage and various types of foods were created by God to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. But you can be sure that all the forces of evil in the world have tried and will continue to try to get people to see the world through jaded eyes. Measuring how food is produced by counting “carbon credits” is a radical approach only developed in recent years. Treating homosexual “marriage” as though it is normal and even approved by God is contrary to the Word of God. God calls marriage between a man and woman good and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. Remember, anything God tells us is good is given to make our lives a blessing and to give us what we need to make it through this life. If He calls something bad 2000 years before it actually begins being accepted by the whole world, then we should pay attention. Take a few moments and find something in your life to thank God for. Pray to Him. God blesses a thankful heart.
Friday – Hebrews 13:15 So many believers have sacrificed so much for the Good News to be passed on to you and I. First the Catholic and then the Calvinists, were quite comfortable with persecuting any believer who believed in being baptized as an adult. Infant baptism was enforced for hundreds of years. Also, thousands of believers died so that you and I could have a Bible in our own language. That was opposed in Europe and also in Great Britain. At one point even owning a Bible was considered heresy.  There have been great sacrifices so that you and I could worship freely. So how are we to sacrifice? We are called on to continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. That God would consider our praise a sacrifice is pretty incredible. That the fruit of our lips would be a blessing to Him is so easy for us to do. Simply praise Him. Simply confess His name. Call out to Him and tell Him He is your Savior. Know that your prayers right now, ascend to heaven and please Him. Think about one place in your life you would normally complain about. Then offer it to Him. And instead of complaining about it, in the future, offer up a sacrifice of praise. 
Saturday – Hebrews 13:16 Don’t neglect to do what is good… For the most part, we know the difference between good and evil. We who have been raised in a Judeo-Christian culture, know the inherent evil in aborting a baby, or abusing a child. No one had to spell it out for us, we know it. When we choose to do good and to share we are pleasing to God. We have freewill and we can choose to do good. We have all heard the term a “do-gooder”. Most of the time that was considered a negative term. But God is pleased with such sacrifices. Pray with me. Lord help me to know and to do good, in Your eyes. I sacrifice my today to your tomorrow. I want to be a missionary to a lost world in everything I do. I want them to see You in all I do. Help me today to invest in eternity, by the way I see all those around me. I want to be the bright spot in their day, because You Lord are the light of the world. In Jesus Name I pray, amen.