Take this bread for it is My Body

**Note: Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday. This is one of the two I will post today. Thanks for your patience.**

 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. - 1 Corinthians 11:28-29

Yesterday we had a wonderful sermon on Communion, great job Pastor Keith Potter. Churches all over earth perform this ceremony in remembrance of Christ and what He did for us. This ceremony, depending where you come from has similarities and differences. The core of the message is usually the same, that we are remembering the last supper when Jesus celebrated the Passover. 

For those who don’t know, Passover is a Jewish (remember Jesus was a Jew) holiday remembering when Pharaoh was being stubborn. The story is laid out in the Old Testament or the Torah in the book of Exodus Pharaoh said no to Moses in letting the slaves go, and God kept sending plagues to Pharaoh to convince to let him to let God’s people go, each one getting worse than the previous one.  The tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born. The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-borns in these homes, hence the name of the holiday.

Now as Pastor Keith said yesterday, People read this bible passage in 1 Corinthians and think that non-believers should not take communion, and I believe the same thing that Pastor Potter believes, that it is actually written to believers. 

As Keith said yesterday, “This Ceremony should be a thoughtful celebration, a knowing joy, a sober reflection, as if to say, Lord I am so sorry this happened, but oh how good it is to have access to your throne.” 

When you take the bread, don’t demean or put down the celebration of communion, examine yourself and think about what it means to you. What Christ did for you? This is a word to believers to not take communion carelessly. 

Lord I pray that whenever I take bread and remember your body that I am happy but am somber in my reflection. And I thank you for the awesome gift you have given me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Have a Happy Heart in Jesus

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." Proverbs 15:13

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Have you ever been around someone who is laughing so hard they can’t stop? Even if you have no idea what they are laughing at or about, usually it will at the very least bring a smile to your face, and if you are anything like me, you will start laughing yourself as well (that is if I am not the person who was laughing to begin with). Now you are laughing yet you don’t know why, you just are, you are enjoying the moment. The happiness has rubbed on to you. 

I am also reminded of my grandpa. He is a short full-blooded German who tends to come off a bit gruff, but is actually quite the opposite. And even though he may pretend to be grumpy, anyone who been around my grandpa, particularly in the mornings, knows that he whistles all the time. He always wakes up smiling and whistling and it doesn't' matter what kind of mood I am in, I smile and my mood improves.

Now, the Bible tells us that we should have a “happy heart” or “cheerful heart” and having them can have a world of difference on the outcome of our circumstances, and make it easier to get through the hard times as well as make the good times that much better. Our attitudes and how we handle situations in this world can give us cheer, or tear us down. They also affect the way people feel when they are around you.

When you are happy, just like when someone can’t stop laughing or when I listen to my grandpa whistling in the morning, it is contagious. Our cheerfulness usually causes other people to have a cheerful attitude as well. "Happiness breeds happiness." 

And not only does the Bible tell us a “cheerful heart” is good for the body and soul, but it is God’s will for us to be joyful and happy. Like the second verse above, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, God lets us know what He wants for us in just three short commands. But let me point out that “Be joyful” comes first, before “pray” and “give thanks,” which are two big repeated commandments to all Christians.

As Christians, in the midst of trials and tribulations we always have something we can be “cheerful” or “joyful” about. We can rejoice because of God’s forgiveness for our sins, His presences in our lives, the blessings He provides daily, the gift of salvation, the promise of eternal life with Him; the list goes on and on. So not only should we take time to find the happiness in life but also have the joy of Christ’s love and forgiveness and just as the laughter and happiness, this joy will also be seen and acknowledged by others.

For example (and this is just one example as we should be share the joy of Christ in many different ways), what if upon hearing that someone accepted Jesus into their hearts, we just responded with, “Oh, that’s nice, I am glad for him.” How would others, especially non-Christians, who look in on this conversion view the importance of that miracle? Not much, not when we ourselves didn't seem to think much of it. Now, we know that repenting our sins and receiving Christ’s forgiveness is the most important thing we could ever do in our lives and I hope we would never react in that way, but it just goes to show how vital it is for people to see our joy of Christ’s saving grace and how important it is.

Now, I’m not saying that we should be happy all the time. That’s physically impossible. I struggle with depression and I am in a near constant state of pain, both physical and emotional and have my fair share of bay days. However, my prayer is that everyone, me included, takes time to fill our minds and hearts with joy, laughter and happiness whenever we can as well as no matter what’s going on in our lives that we don’t forget to always show the appropriate joy for Christ. Not only will it put ourselves in a joyful mood, regardless of the circumstances, but may also plant a seed in someone’s heart that may lead them closer to a relationship with Christ. 

And this song was a song I sang as a kid all the time, and it is appropriate too. :) 

Only here for a little while.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14


After listening to the song “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney I found this bible verse. How many have gone a week, a month, a year, a decade and not accomplished something. Has life slipped past you like a runaway train? The song has this line in it “Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think, So "don't blink” If you have let life slip past you, the beautiful thing is that you can still be used by God. The whole understanding with God is not to really focus on your past, but turn from it and more forward. 

So what are you to accomplish? What do you need to do? Well it is a one word answer that Jesus has given us long ago. The greatest commandment, “LOVE” and the most powerful word. 

Matt my friend that I mention a lot in this blog helped me define Love. He said when he is communicating with his wife and he wants to see if what he is saying is love, he bounces it off of First Corinthians. He starts with just the first two criteria. “Love is patient and love is kind” He said that if what he is saying is patient and kind then it probably loving. So if I am to love I start with First Corinthians and see if I meet the principles laid out in that passage.  

You have been made to love and to Love in the unique way that only you can. John Mason said, "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." God has made you unique to accomplish only what you can in the way you can. So again, what can you do? You can - holding a hand, give food to someone who needs it, listening, not complain when you have to do something difficult for someone else and just be there for someone. Be important to someone else, that’s how you can love someone.

Lord, I thank You for the love You give us. Thank you for giving us great instruction on how to love. I pray that in the short time we are here that we let you take control and do your will. I pray that we love unconditionally like You have modeled for us.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Love Song for a Savior

"For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body." James 3:2-3, NKJV

My mouth gets me in trouble a lot. If I could control this one thing then over half my sin would dissolve away and I would be a better man. It also seems that if I don’t actually say it, I think it. And when I think it, I am sure my face shows exactly what I am thinking. Jesus really changed the situation when he mentioned that it was not only action but impure thought that was just as bad. Like Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  

I share my friend Matt’s ability when he says, “I am a Black-Belt in Sarcasm”. And of course I came up with another formula, “Sarcasm ≠ Love” and we all know that Jesus gave us the greatest commandment of all time as He laid out in Luke 10:27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 

If I would learn to control my heart and mind then the rest of my whole body would follow.

Lord- I pray that you hold me accountable for my actions, speech, and thought. Keep me grounded in love and help me show respect to those I love. I pray the world holds your greatest commandment “Love” in their heart. In Jesus name, Amen.

Safety in Our Savior

"The LORD will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:7-8

So this week, I started school. I am going for my degree to be a  Veterinary Technician and I am excited for this new chapter and adventure in my life. But that is not what this post is about. You see all 6 classes this week had me read and study the same thing… safety.

Safety is imperative in a medical environment as so many lives depend on it and there are so many things that are harmful and can cause harm to us. The same thing could be said in the spiritual aspect of our lives. Our safety or salvation from the things that can harm us is vital for survival.

Lucky for us, we have someone who is prepared to offer that to us. Just as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the authority on providing safety to a workplace, God is the authority of the salvation and safety of our lives, not so much physically or emotionally (as we need those to bring us closer to Him) but safety from the temptation and trap of the sinful world, the Devil and our eternal salvation.  

The mission of OSHA is to "assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance".

Let me change the wording a bit to illustrate how God is our OSHA. One of God’s missions is to “guarantee safe and healthy living environment for His children by giving and enforcing standards and providing guidance and education (Bible and church), outreach (church and fellowship) and assistance (always being there) to keep us safe from the sinful world around us and from eternal damnation in hell.

Not only is He our OSHA in life, but He even provides us with a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), our own personal warning label. For those who don’t know what an MSDS is, it is a document from the manufacturer of a product (God made us) to help give us information and instruction on how to prevent mishaps (keeping us away from the Devil) what to do if there is an accident and we slip and fall (make a mistake and sin) and just everyday procedures on how to keep us safe (from sin, Devil and hell)... I don’t know about you, but that sounds an awful lot like the Bible.

Just as in a work environment where you are the only person that can fully control your own safety, the same goes for our lives. You are also the only person who can make the decision regarding your complete and eternal salvation. You have to believe and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, trusting in Him and obeying His safety manual, His word, the Bible.

God is the protector of His children and the keeper of our lives. I pray that we would commit ourselves to His care, trust in Him and follow his instructions for our safety. He wants to shield us from sin in this life and give us salvation in the next and not only does He want to, He WILL if we let Him. Let us all remember God's love and promise to keep us safe today and always. Thank you Lord.

The Rooster Crows for Me

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." "Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” -Matthew 26:33-34

Most of us have read that passage and for those who haven’t let me tell you that Jesus was right (duh). As soon as Peter denied Christ the third time the rooster crowed.

I think about that and the times I have denied Christ in my words or actions. I wonder how much would I continue to deny Him if that every third time I did I heard a rooster crow. How would my heart sink that every time that i denied him one way or another I was reminded some way with a sound. Maybe my phone would beep or something, just to let me know that I denied him again three times. I am willing to bet that it happens more than I think.

And how do you define denying him? I have made my personal list, because in my mind it doesn't always mean that I am just flat out saying, "No I do not follow Jesus" it is also inaction that is also denying him.

1. Not taking a chance to witness to someone when it's on your heart to minister to someone.
2. Being afraid to mention that you love God when it's not popular
3. Not saying grace in a restaurant because it is in public
4. Having an atheist parent and not taking a chance to witness to them because you are afraid of your relationship for them
5. lowering your standards to fit in, instead of standing out as an advocate of God
The list could go on and on.

Now we can learn a lot from Peter in you continue on verse 74 when the story continues with the third time Peter denied Jesus and the rooster crowed. Peter went out and wept bitterly. Denying Jesus you would think is the one sin that can not be forgiven. But Peter proves that as long as you repent (turn 180 degrees from your previous action) and confess and feel remorse for what you did, anything is forgivable.

My prayer:

Lord, I pray that I am aware of my actions and that make decisions that are brave. Lord I pray that when I mess up and deny you that you make me aware of it and I repent and turn toward you. Please forgive me for the past when I have denied you because of my cowardness and I pray that You make me strong in the future. In Jesus name, Amen

Guilt be Gone!

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:12

Have you had huge guilt over something you have done and feel as though you would never be forgiven? 

I don't know about anyone else out there, but I sure have and more than once. We are all sinners and so everyone of us have done things that we should not have done and have felt some sort of guilt in our lives. 

For me this is a struggle because I not only feel guilty; I let it get to me. I allow myself to dwell and think about how badly I've messed up and the sins I've committed which leaves me feeling unworthy, discouraged and beat down. That feeling robs me of my relationship with God and just what Satan wants to do. The Devil loves to remind us of all our past and present failures so that we keep thinking about them and forget about what God tells us. Jesus not only came to cleanse us from our sins, but also to set us free from the guilt of those sins. 

This verse says that He will not only forgive us but then also forget what we have done. We don't have to worry about God holding a grudge about past, they are no more, gone, wiped clean. We so often talk about our spiritual "clean slate" and it is true. Our sins are washed away and so should the guilt follow.

There are 4 steps that I heard one time about guilt. I often forget these when I need them the most but I pray that we all will read these and remember them. 

1. Understand the nature of God's forgiveness towards you and that He has come to set us free in that area as well. 
2. Repent of your sin. Acknowledging your mistake and then truly repenting to God and asking for forgiveness is vital. 
3. Know that you are now forgiven, you have a clean slate and God will not remember or dwell on anything you have done in the past.
4. Forgive yourself! (This is the one I struggle with the most) Jesus makes it clear that we are to be forgiving and that also includes ourselves.  

My prayer is that with this reassurance that God not only forgives us but completely forgets and clears away our past sins, that we all will remember God's words and these 4 steps so that we do not let guilt tear us down by dwelling on the past and what we have done. Praise God that our salvation does not depend on what we do and that we have such a forgiving, gracious and loving Savior. Thank you Lord!