Here is a special audio of Jimmy Dean's Mom I Owe You. I wanted to share this for Mother's Day. Enjoy! elsalioness:D
From Here To Heaven
Read: Ephesians 2:1-10
We must never think, “Hey, I’m saved. I’ve got eternal riches coming my way. I don’t have to do anything for God.”
That’s partially right but very wrong. In one regard, our journey from here to heaven is paid for in full by Jesus’ sacrifice. There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation. But there’s another part of this that we must consider.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, after Paul clearly says that we do not have to “do” anything and that salvation is a “gift of God,” he goes on. Verse 10 says we indeed have a job to do. As believers, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” God has tasks planned for us to do while we are on this earth—not to pay our debt but to honor our Savior.
Life from here to heaven is not a vacation cruise—it’s a wonderful privilege and calling to serve God. We are not saved by good works but for good works.
Listen To God
Read: Psalm 119:41-48
A fascinating film made in 1950, The Next Voice You Hear, tells a story of a family with a typical amount of trials and tensions. Then, one night, the voice of God speaks on the radio. But not just their radio—God’s voice is heard throughout the world on every radio, saying the same thing at the same time.
At first people react with disbelief, then fear. After several days of hearing “The Voice,” however, people’s attitudes, actions, and priorities begin to change. The impact of what God is saying directly affects how they live their lives.
I have heard people say, “If only God would talk to me! If He would just tell me what to do, I would do it.” The simple fact is that God has already spoken to us through His Word, the Bible. Do we listen to Him as He speaks?
The psalmist desired to obey God’s Word “continually, forever and ever” (119:44). And James warned about ignoring it when he said, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
How would you respond if God began to speak to you on your radio? We can be thankful that God does speak to us—not on the radio but in the Scriptures. May we be wise enough to listen and obey. In God’s works we see His hand; in His Word we hear His heart.
Gone The Sun
Read: Isaiah 60:17-22
Your sun shall no longer go down , . . . for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. --Isaiah 60:20
In 1862, during the US Civil War, General Daniel Butterfield wanted a new melody for "lights out." And so, without any musical training, he composed one in his head.
Years later, the general wrote, "I called in someone who could write music, and practiced a change in the call of 'Taps' until I had it suit my ear, and then . . . got it to my taste without being able to write music or knowing the technical name of any note, but, simply by ear, arranged it." General Butterfield gave the music to the brigade bugler, and the rest is history.
While there are no official lyrics to the hauntingly familiar strains of "Taps," here is a commonly accepted version of one verse:
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
What a comforting lyric as faithful members of the military are laid to rest! And what hope in the acknowledgment that God is near, even--especially--in death!
At a time when death and evil reigned, the prophet Isaiah anticipated a day when death itself would die. "Your sun shall no longer go down," he wrote to Israel, "for the Lord will be Your everlasting light" (60:20).
For those who follow Jesus, the strains of "Taps" are not a funeral dirge but a song of hope. "The days of your mourning shall be ended" (v.20). All is well. God is nigh. --Tim Gustafson
Sunset in one land is sunrise in another.
God’s Word
As believers in Jesus Christ, it’s vital for us to know God’s Word, the Bible. Our goal is not to accumulate knowledge but to internalize His Word so that we can be equipped in our walk of faith.
When we know God’s Word, it keeps our spiritual walk from slipping (Ps. 37:31). It satisfies the hunger of our souls (Jer. 15:16). And it is a key weapon in facing temptations and trials (Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18).
Let’s make it our aim to know the Word. Then, when facing life’s challenges, we can be ready for any situation (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
]]>Romans 8:28 All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
We should be willing to trust God, the Great Physician, to reset our broken lives “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). One of God’s purposes in pain is to brand the image of Jesus in our hearts. Can we weep with those who weep? God may need to stain our cheeks with our own tears so that we can genuinely empathize with others as Jesus did. Are we self-sufficient? God may need to strip away our security to conform us to the God-sufficiency that Christ displayed. Are we faithless? It may require a tragedy to teach us to trust the Father as Jesus did. Next time you feel broken, don’t panic—praise Him! God is at work!
Becoming Like Christ
Read: Ephesians 4:17-24
Receiving God’s gift of salvation through Christ is a one-time event, but to become like Him often requires suffering and struggle. It involves putting off old sinful habits and replacing them with new godly ones. Paul wrote, “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt . . . [and] put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24).
What is troubling you today? God may be using the kind rebuke of a friend or a painful trial to prompt you to get rid of a sinful habit and to replace it with godly character (Rom. 8:29; 1 Peter 4:1-2).
The process of becoming like Christ is sometimes painful, but it’s always worth it.
]]>Surprise Me!
Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
Do you like surprises? Would you ever dare say, “Surprise me!” to God? A lot of us are a little scared to do that. Yes, we have faith that God is good and that He loves us. Yet we’re afraid we won’t like what He chooses for us.
God's thoughts and ways are not like ours (Isa. 55:8), and He wants to bless us. He delights in His children who trust Him and are willing to say, "Surprise me, Lord!"
]]>True Trust
Read: 9:1-11
If you didn’t know him, you might think Nick Vujicic has everything going for him. Nick has never had a sore arm. He’s never had knee problems. He’s never smashed his finger in a door, stubbed his toe, or banged his shin against a table leg.
But that’s because Nick doesn’t have a shin. Or a toe. Or a finger. Or a knee. Or an arm. Nick was born with no arms and no legs. Before you begin to feel sorry for Nick, read his words. “God won’t let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age of 15 after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was ‘so that the works of God may be revealed through him.’ . . . I now see that glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others can’t be used.” Nick travels the world to spread the gospel and love of Jesus.
Nick says, “If I can trust in God with my circumstances, then you can trust in God with your circumstances. . . . The greatest joy of all is having Jesus Christ in my life and living the godly purpose He has for me.”
Can we say that? Can we look beyond our limitations and have the same trust in God that transformed a man with no arms or legs into a missionary for Jesus?
Lord,
shape my life as only You can, guiding each day by Your loving plan.
Take what You need and give what You will;
My life is Yours to use and to fill. Trusting God turns problems into
opportunities.
Here is a special audio of Jimmy Dean's Mom I Owe You. I wanted to share this for Mother's Day. Enjoy! elsalioness:D