Who's Being Held?

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

Don't panic, but right now something is holding on to you. All around you, entwining your whole body right now, is something that you cannot see, and it is either dragging you away from Heaven or anchoring you to it.

What is holding you right now is desire.

Listen, all of you reading this are in different stages of life. For some of you, it's like you are in the penthouse; your view of life couldn't be better. But for some of you, it's like you're stuck in the parking structure. You feel like you're five levels down and you're just struggling to get back to sea level, barely keeping your head above water.

It is to all of us, regardless of our stage in life, that Paul wrote to remind us of one great truth-that the grave is empty. No matter whether we're in the penthouse or the parking structure, the grave is empty. Jesus is alive!

And why does that matter to all of us? Because it means that there is no limit on our lives anymore. Not even death can hold us down! The Lord wants to take you further, but perhaps something is holding you back.

That's why Paul says, If you have been raised with Christ. Do you recognize that reality today? That Jesus was raised and that you have been raised with Him? If so, then seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Desire Heaven. Desire God. Desire His throne, His Lordship, over your life. Set your mind on these things! Seek them!

Why? Because it breaks off of you the things that keep you down. It busts open the ceiling on your penthouse and puts a heavenly elevator into your parking garage. Whether your position in this world is high or low, position in this world is a chain to our souls when we forget our true position-raised with Christ.

If you have been raised with Christ today, then forget the things of this world. Set your eyes on something higher, where Jesus is, sitting at the right hand of His Father.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that I am raised with You! I choose today to set my focus and desire on heavenly things and not on things of this world. You are worth more than the whole world, so I pursue You, and I know that You will store up for me true riches in Heaven.

Amen

Hijacking the American Dream

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 these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Have you heard that before?

That famous phrase comes from the Four Spiritual Laws gospel tract created by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. You know what? I believe those words with all my heart, but there's a problem.

Actually, it can be a big problem, because it can completely keep you from the wonderful plan God has for your life. The problem I'm talking about, of course, is sin.

See, if we're not careful, we'll fall short of all that God desires for us, because the only way to access God's plan is through His forgiveness. Do you know why this is so easy to miss? Because in order to experience God as our Father of forgiveness, we have to admit that we are guilty.

Now, how often do you see people in the world who actually plead guilty? I mean you'll see some of the most heinous crimes and hellish activities going on, and yet still the criminal will show up in the courtroom and plead-what?-Not guilty. It's not my fault.

Listen, you'll never experience the Father of forgiveness until you're willing to accept the fact that you've committed murder.

You're like, I haven't committed murder.

Well, let me remind you of Jesus, because it wasn't anything He did wrong that put Him on that cross. Stop giving responsibility for this away. Stop blaming it on the Jews, Romans, and Pontius Pilot. If you were the only person on the planet, God still would have still sent His Son to die on the cross for you, even if you were the only person to try Him, convict Him, and personally hang Him on that cross.

We all have to get to the point where we can say, It's my sins that put Him on that cross. And it's His love for me that kept Him on the cross, not the nails.

We'll never experience God's forgiveness unless we admit that we deserve Hell, that we have sinned, that we have fallen short of the glory of God, and that we are guilty.

Confess your guilt today. Only then can you be forgiven and free.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for Your wonderful plan for my life. Wow, have I sinned! I know I'm guilty, and that it's my sin that caused Jesus to come and die so that I could be forgiven and free. Please forgive me today, set me free, and live in me for the rest of my life!

Amen

Click Refresh

Grace to you and peace from...Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:4-6

Why do you worship Jesus? Have you ever thought about it? John gives us a perfect list in these verses from the book of Revelation to help us remember why we worship Jesus. We worship Jesus because He gives us grace, and it is by grace we are saved. He not only gives us grace, but also His peace that runs deeper than our need to understand why. His peace will sustain us through confusing and difficult seasons of life. Do you know anyone else who can do this?

Jesus is the faithful witness. He never changes. He came to bear witness to the heart of the Father and lived out the perfect image of what God is like. Everything He says is true. We can trust His word. It will never fail because He is faithful. Can you say that of anyone else?

He is the firstborn from the dead. He rose from the dead and conquered death for us. He is the reason we have everlasting life. Oh, and He's the only one in that category, too.

He is ruler over the kings of the earth. He calls all the shots. No one is above Him. Period. The next reason is that he loved us. We love Him because He first loved us. He loved us before we were worth loving. No one else is like that.

He washed us from our sins in His own blood. This is real love, and what other so-called god has done this? Only Jesus was humble and loving enough to die for people who hated Him so that He could redeem them for His name.

There's more-He has made us kings. Yes, you read that right. We are kings. Do you know anyone else out there who wants to make you a king?

This is our Jesus; this is who He is. No one else is like Him. No one else shows us goodness the way He does. That is why He is worthy, and that is why we worship Him.

Prayer King Jesus,

Thank You for all You have done for me! I am not worthy of all You have done, but I receive your gifts with thankfulness, and I choose to worship You for who You are.

Amen

The Integrity of Redemption

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Who do you want to be on your seventy-fifth birthday?

This is a great question for us to ask ourselves because it puts the choices we're making today in perspective. One of the greatest measurements for how we're progressing toward who we want to be is to look at what we love right now. I say this because what you love seizes you every single day, and that's why God says it ought to be Him, because it affects everything.

What you love is what gets you out of bed. It determines what you do in the evenings, how you'll spend the weekend, what you read, and who you know.

Every person ever born was born with a love need. And what God says to us is, I want so much for you to be complete and whole in realizing that I'm the one who can fill that gaping hole in each and every heart. I will give you the purpose and meaning you desire.

I know that, really, all of us have had bumps in life. We've had bumps in the process of searching for something to fill that love hole, because everything else disappoints us. We put our hope out there, open up our heart to someone or something, and then the hurt comes when we realize it's not what we need. But here's where God is so good to us.

Just go back and read our verse for today. You know that verse, but all of us are right now in the process of discovering that what the Bible tells us is true. And here is one incredible thing that the Bible tells us is true-that God is faithful to redeem.

Redemption is not just something that is a historical record of what happened to the Israelites as they were set free from slavery to Egypt. It isn't something that just happens to a few folks like Moses. No, this process and program of redemption is God saying to us right now that All things will work together for good in your life and in mine.

Listen, I know that better now at fifty than I knew that at twenty. And I want to stand before you and say that I hope and pray that I know it even better at sixty than I knew it at fifty. And even more at seventy-five, if the Lord should tarry.

Who do I want to be at seventy-five? I want to be someone who loved Jesus enough to stick with Him through the tough times, so that I've seen His track record of redemption. How about you?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for being the God of redemption! Thank You that You see all the things in my life that need redeemed. I choose to love You today, and ask for Your help to love You more every day as I look for Your redemption!

Amen

A Better Day Ahead

For I am the LORD, I do not change. Malachi 3:6

If you think about it, life really all comes down to our relationships, but so often wires get crossed in our relationships. We're not communicating the same way we used to. We're just not on the same page anymore.

This confusion in relationships can happen just as easily in our relationship with God as it can in our relationships with one another. In fact, this is what was happening in Israel when God gave them a message through the prophet Malachi. This message still helps us today to uncross our wires and get back on God's page.

God asks Israel a few questions:

Why do you say that I don't love you? Why do you feel this way? And God reminds them of His history with them, how He protected them, preserved them, and stuck with them the whole time, despite how unlovable they often had been. For us, if we can't recognize God's love in the cross, then the problem is certainly on us and not on Him. We need to remember His love.

Where's the honor for Me in our relationship? Where have you shown that I am important to you? See, Israel kept bringing defiled offerings-animals that were blind and lameand keeping the best for themselves. Are you giving God your best-the first of your income, the best of your time, and the most passionate of your love?

Third, why are you betraying Me? Israel was betraying God by marrying women who worshiped other gods. They were also letting divorce run rampant, of which God said that He hates it, that it covers His altar with tears, and that because of it, He won't receive their offerings anymore. Do you still think it's okay to date that non-Christian you've been seeing? And so what if you're marriage is on the rocks. Get help and fix it, but don't give up on it; it's too important to give up.

God finally gets to the bottom line. He says, I am the LORD, I do not change. In other words, Here's the problem, guys-you don't give Me the right place in your heart where you think of Me before anything else. But all these accusations you level at Me, well, I don't change. I am that I am. It's you who needs to change.

The same is true of us. No matter how we feel toward God, He's never changed. He's always loved us and He loves us today. He's always wanted relationship with us, and no matter where our relationship with Him is at today, He wants to make it better.

Will you let Him?

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You that Your love for me never changes! Please forgive me for any ways I've failed You or doubted Your love. Come today and take me deeper into relationship with You!

Amen

Choose Your Glue

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

It's time to go back to your roots. Do you know where they are?

First of all, to return to your roots means that you have been planted somewhere long enough to have developed them. If you never planted somewhere-and I mean really planted,

got involved, lived life, been active in what was going on over a sustained period of time-then your root system is dwarfed and you barely have roots to which you can return.

What are you talking about, Bob? I've had a great life and a great heritage I can fall back on at any time.

I'm not talking about your heritage in this world. As great as your family is, you cannot ride your roots in this world to Heaven. In fact, if your heritage didn't ground you in God, then your family roots in this world could actually keep you stuck in the mud, planted in things that keep you from Heaven.

What I am talking about is Christ crucified. Christ crucified is the center of our lives, the truth from which everything else flows that keeps us grounded for real life in God.

A lot of people are choosing to focus on anything but Christ crucified, thinking that somehow something else will fill that hole in their hearts. They think, Well, I just need to move; I need a different location. Or maybe it's-

I'm getting a new car. But you just got a new car last year and you weren't satisfied then, so why would you be now?

I just started dating this new person. But you've had four wives. You're on your third husband.

I need to be closer to my kids. Except that the kids used to live with you in your house. Did it solve issues then?

Maybe I just need a new church. Do you realize that this was your new church from the one you left?

I need more money, more education, a better job, a fancier title, more toys...then I'll be happy and satisfied.

No. These things are not the answers you need in life. You need Christ and Him crucified. He is your root system, your source of nutrients and strength to weather the storms of life.

Nothing else will satisfy you. It has to be Christ crucified alone.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for being crucified for my sake! I choose to turn now from looking for answers in all the things this world has to offer. You alone are my hope and my strength, and I trust in You alone for everything I need!

Amen

Joel in 3D

Now, therefore,' says the LORD, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:12-13

Have you seen a movie in the latest 3D technology? Or even more, have you seen the TV's that bring 3D right into your home? It really brings you into a deeper entertainment experience, doesn't it?

Well, hopefully today I can bring us all into a deeper experience of things that are more important than entertainment. We'll take one dimension at a time.

Layer one is this world, the natural, physical world that constantly surrounds us. We know this world well because we can't really ignore it. It's always around us, always shouting at us, always pressing on us with its wants, needs, and desires. And if we're not careful, it's easy to get trapped in this dimension.

So many people do, you know. They get caught up in the jobs, houses, cars, toys, stuff, and more stuff that this dimension offers. Honestly, this is a tragic trap, because living multidimensionally is so much better.

Layer two adds the spiritual dimension, in which we recognize that this physical world is not all there is to life. There is an unseen Creator who made all that we can see, who made us, loves us, and died for us so that we could be restored to relationship with Him and rose again from the dead so we could live with Him forever.

If we add layer two to layer one by letting Jesus Christ be our Lord and Savior, life grows infinitely richer and deeper. He removes sin and shame from us, taking away the things that lead to death, replacing them with forgiveness, love, joy, peace, and hope. We still get to enjoy His created world, but we now live for something else, something bigger. We now worship the Creator instead of His creation.

Layer three is eternity, which makes our picture complete, drawing it right into our lives until we're surrounded with our new reality. See, when we lived for the world, time was our enemy, because it's only a matter of time before the things for which we have worked so hard will decay and die. This world has an expiration date, but Heaven is eternal. And when we live for Jesus, He is our promise of hope for life everlasting in Heaven.

Turn to the Lord today. Let Him lead you into life in 3D.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving me so much more in life than just what this world has to offer! I turn to You completely right now and ask for life in 3D. Please lead me in life more abundantly!

Amen