Unfortunately, it is more common to hear the question “It’s okay if I stumble, right?” – instead of the question “How can I walk without stumbling?”
You see, one is not only admitting past defeat, but expecting defeat in the future as well. While the other is seeking victory for their lives.
We either learn by receiving instruction from our teachers, or we learn through practical experience (or we refuse to learn).
When it comes to matters of life and death, it is much wiser to seek guidance and instruction – than for my life to eventually become a cautionary tale of practical experience that was gained “a second too late” because I foolishly insisted on learning only through life’s experiences.
What do we see when we look at the Bible?
Non-believers might say a story book or religion, but expect them to not get it because they acknowledge their blindness and separation from God.
But for those who call ourselves Christians –
Continue reading “Dude, can you turn down that light a bit?”
Today is about victory.
Today is about miracles.
Today is about life.
Today is about Jesus Christ.
John 11:25-26 ESV
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
I think about the disciples today. I think about their mourning, their grief, their confusion as they tried to comprehend that their teacher, their friend, had been crucified.
We are all touched by loss and absence of our loved ones at some time. Unfortunately, death is a consequence of this fallen world. Unfortunately, we cannot talk with those who have gone to the grave, those who sleep.
Today is about love. Not the worldly, soap opera, lust in a poor disguise – but that faithful and forever kind of love. That love that sacrifices self for others. That love that is patient, kind, good, and forgiving. That kind of love that knows joy and faithfulness evermore on times of pain and struggle and suffering.
Yes, today is about love.
He has opened the gates for us to enter. We choose whether to resist or to enter.
Psalms 118:19-24 NLT
Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord . These gates lead to the presence of the Lord , and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Am I serving, or looking to be served? Am I asking to receive without giving praise and honor and tithe and offering and service unto others and worship to the Lord?
Matthew 20:25-28 ESV
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Death can be a real challenge for us to deal with in our lives. Whether it is dealing with the absence of a loved one or the reality of our own departure.
Isaiah 25:8 NLT
He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!
TRUTH
How many of us treat God like a genie with our prayers? Only calling out to Him about the things that we want and need? Forgetting to praise and worship and honor Him for all of the blessings we have already received – and like a spoiled child only thinking about the blessings ahead that we want?
Psalms 115:1 NLT
Not to us, O lord , not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
Continue reading “Am I lifting Him up? Or just expecting to be lifted?”
Harold J. Ballinger 