Beautifully Perfected

While we live on earth as God's children we will experience annoyances by the devil. Think of this like a person getting braces--they can be put on at any age, they are not pretty, they are not comfortable, and they are in need of constant painful adjustments. All this is done to ensure that a part of you is transformed to something that is beautifully perfected. After the braces serve their purpose they are cut off, torn from the glue, and thrown in the trash; any remnant of their presence is finally scraped and buffed away. This is how our earthly trials and tribulations work for us. God has created every tightening, loosening, and twisting for our growth in His beauty, strength, and love. Thank you LORD!

AMEN

Betrayal and Redemption

Didn't we all at one point or another sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver? That question may sound offensive, but the thought came to me in prayer today. The Holy Spirit invited me to reflect on my own role in history, and as a human I am not much different than anyone else. One thing humanity is, is corrupted. We live in a fallen world and are influenced by powerful invisible forces that seek our demise. Nothing makes this more clear than the betrayal of Jesus by one of His own apostles. But, when we look at the gospels, that was not the only betrayal. Fear and weakness came over His followers. This is evidenced in many scenes; one that comes to mind is the inability of the apostles to stay awake in the garden and pray while Jesus went to pray (Matt. 26:36-46). He gets frustrated after needing to wake them three times. We see a final show of strength later when Jesus is still among them, and Peter cuts off a soldiers ear (Mark 14:47), but as we see later, Peter does not maintain that allegiance when His Master is taken (Luke 22:56-60). When we accept Jesus as our Savior we accept that we too crucified Him by our sin. We betrayed Him by our selfishness, by our pride, by our ambition, and in our own personal weaknesses. At this repentant realization we are saved, and at that same time we can see that the sacrifice Jesus made for us is priceless and never loses value. When we are still of this world everything is transactional, but in a world of transactions the values are constantly fluctuating. What we hold dear in the world today may have zero value to anyone just a few years from now. Our redemption, on the other hand, will never waiver. The love God has for us is realized through that saving grace supplied by Christ. In Jesus name I give thanks and praise!

AMEN

No man left behind...

Try to imagine the worst possible life you can. Maybe there are parts you have experienced, or seen news about something a person has been through. Now think about all the horrible things people have been put through over the history of the world. Next, attempt to grasp this--you'd have to combine every one of these circumstances and situations to even begin to peer into a day in the life of a single demon. We often think of heaven, but we should be having thoughts of what is waiting for the lost and working on ways to spread the good news of Jesus. In Jesus name I pray.

AMEN