Luke 8:35 – A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Continue reading
Luke
Friends of the Faith
I am a friend to anyone who fears you—anyone who obeys your commandments. Ps 119:63
The best part about being a Christian, besides salvation, is the fellowship of other Christians.
I love being in church. Continue reading
Missing? How long?
I have been doing an email devo and recently quit sending it to someone. It took 5 days before she asked about it.
That got me to thinking about how long it would take anyone else.
So, I stopped!
On the first day two people asked about it but no one else asked the rest of the week.
Over the weekend at woman came up to me at church and asked, “Where is my daily devotion? Have I done something to offend you? I need my devotion everyday!”
I told her what I had been doing and I was waiting to see who would ask. She told me, “I’m not going to text or chat you! I’m going to ask you to your face!”
And so she did!
Do you recall the story of when Jesus was 12-years old and stayed behind in Jerusalem?
After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. Luke 2:43-44
It took a day to miss the Messiah and another three to find him.
Though Jesus will never leave you or forsake you, there are times when you will drift away from Him.
Jesus will be missing from your life but only because of you.
How long does it take before you notice?
Betrayed!
Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47-48
You couldn’t look at Judas and just say bad things about him.
He was trusted enough by the others to carry their money, although it is revealed later that he often stole from them.
But nothing indicated that he would be a traitor.
Jesus told all the disciples that one of them was a devil. It probably came as a big surprise to the others when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Have you been betrayed and hurt? It’s hard to get over – whether it’s a family member or a friend.
You trust them with your love, inner thoughts, and secrets. Then someone else reveals to you what you entrusted to another.
There have been many divorces because one spouse felt betrayed by the other.
Some of the worse betrayals come in anger. You get mad enough to start spouting things you shouldn’t. The Bible actually has something to say about that; When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another person’s secret. Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation. Prov 25:9-10
Enough about others; how about betraying God?
But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. Hos 6:7
Is it betrayal to not pray to Him, not thank Him, or not praise Him?
Does He feel betrayed when you don’t share His love with someone else?
Is it betrayal to call yourself a Christian and allow horrible language or jokes to come out of your mouth?
Jesus loved the church and gave His life for her. So is it betrayal of His love to not go?
As for me, I do not want to be a betrayer of my Lord and Savior. I do not want to betray those that trust me with their thoughts and confession. Confession leads to healing. Betrayal leads to heartache and pain.
David knew about betrayal. He had some good friends try to kill or capture him. He knew the feeling of broken trust. He had such a conscience about betrayal that he said this – O Lord my God, if I have done wrong or am guilty of injustice, if I have betrayed a friend or plundered my enemy without cause, then let my enemies capture me. Let them trample me into the ground and drag my honor in the dust. Ps 7:3-5
If you feel like I have ever betrayed you, then please forgive me!
The Authority of the Lord
Even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) Jude 9
I have always been fascinated by this verse. Continue reading
I Remember
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” Luke 22:19
Last Saturday we had a waterslide and a snow cone maker for Vacation Bible School. The slide would be picked up but I had to return the snow cone maker on Monday. Continue reading
What does it mean to “take up your cross”?
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Luke 9:23-24 Continue reading
Transformed by Prayer
You may spend an incredible amount of time on the phone, texting, or on Facebook.
If you were to guess how much time you spent doing these things – what would be your estimation.
I know some that always get close to the limit on their thousand minute plan. Continue reading
Transformed by spending time!
What you would be like if you could build the ultimate you.
What would you look like? What kind of house would you live in? What would you drive?
And if you could be given a super power, what would it be? Continue reading
Renew
What a week!
Last week’s Ark-La-Tex-a-Bama Family Church Camp was the most reviving, renewing, restoring church camp that I have been to! Continue reading
Morning Thought with Pastor Tim 