“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:7

My dad passed away about 8 months ago. I had the privilege of being the minister at his funeral.  He had full military honors, since he had been a US Army Captain.  It was a very touching experience being able to send him off to glory in such a wonderful and solemn way.  After the proceedings, my sister was tasked with handling the will and all that came with it.  As his children, we all got a small portion of what our dad had after his almost 83 years here on earth.  It wasn’t much, but it was meaningful.

That got me thinking about our Heavenly Father and what He has in store for us. The Bible says that if we are believers in Christ, we have been adopted into His eternal family.  As God’s children, we are heirs to His glory.  The book of Ephesians says that we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing.  That’s very reassuring, especially in today’s world of pain and uncertainty.  We can know that God is not only willing to help us, but has accepted us as His own to be partakers of all of His goodness.

God’s goodness knows no bounds. We as worldly and fallen people still know how to give good things to those we love.  We sin and have evil in our hearts, but we would still give our children a cool glass of water if they asked for it.  Granted, there are those times that people didn’t have a good relationship with their own fathers or mothers.  If you are one of those people, rest assured that God is not that way.  He is the father that you should have had.  When the world gives you suffering, God gives you relief.  When your earthly circumstances are a mess, God is there to pick up the pieces.  When you have no hope and everyone has turned their backs on you, God will always be there with His arms outstretched to accept you into His peace. He promises you an undying love that is not affected by the ways of the world.

The one and only stipulation to this adoption is that we believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. There is one way only to the Father and that is through His only begotten Son, Jesus.  When we accept Him and His payment for our sins, we are then taken into God’s family.  We shake off the stain of that sin and accept His grace and His Holy Spirit into us; and it is the Spirit Himself that testifies that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)   Jesus Christ paid for that adoption.  He paid the cost of our eternal salvation and entry into Heaven.  It’s all available, as long as we receive Jesus into our hearts and lives.

My dad’s will amounted to promises that we would receive since we were his children. That is much like the Bible, which sums up all of the promises of God our Heavenly Father.  It’s amazing that the King of Kings promises us an inheritance beyond compare.  We are children of the Most High and through Him receive a crown that never tarnishes, riches that never depreciate, and a kingdom with no end.  This world is passing away quickly, but we place our faith in that which is eternal.  That faith will be rewarded when God’s will is done.

Consider the New Testament of the Bible to be God’s ‘last will and testament.’ And just as with any other will, the promises of the Bible was only in effect after death. That death was Jesus on the cross.  Jesus died, was buried, then raised from the dead in order to fully execute God’s will.  Because of Jesus, our inheritance is now available.  Christ’s glory becomes our glory.  When Jesus received His crown, we received ours as well.

Please, if you have not done so, accept Christ into your heart and be born again into God’s family. He has offered us eternal life and an inheritance that is beyond compare.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

In the Bible, the book of Luke chapter 5 shows Jesus telling Peter to take his boat out and cast the nets into deep water.  Peter complains a bit, saying that they’ve tried all night and hadn’t caught a single fish, but agrees to it declaring, “I will do as you say.”  When Peter does what is asked of him, the fishing net caught such a large amount of fish that Peter called for some of his partners to come over.  They all had so many fish that they were able to fill both boats, almost overflowing them both.

There are a few points to be taken from this story.  The first one is that no matter what the circumstances look like, trust in what God says.  Peter and others had been fishing all day with no luck. Their chances for success that day looked dim, but that didn’t stop the goodness of Jesus Christ.  Your situation may look dark, you may think there is no way possible, and you may have tried as hard as you could with no result.  Realize that God is bigger than your problems.  He is the God of power and plenty.  This is the same God who empowered David to defeat a giant with a sling and a stone.  He’s the same God who led Joshua to tear down the walls of Jericho.  He’s the same God who even now offers us victory over death through the cross of Jesus Christ.  There is nothing our Heavenly Father can’t do and that also includes helping you with your problems.  Focus more on God rather than on your circumstances.

The second point is that when you follow the Word of God, you will be blessed in ways you don’t realize and in amounts you can’t yet comprehend.  Peter did what Jesus told him to do and he was blessed with more fish than he had ever caught before.  Peter could have given up and disregarded Jesus, but he followed Christ’s directions and got the catch of a lifetime.

Lastly, Peter did something that is worthy of a special note. The nets were overflowing with fish, so much so that the nets were breaking.  At that point, Peter could have let the excess fish loose and think that it was enough. Instead, Peter called his friends over to share in the blessing. Together, they worked hard on the nets and hauled in enough fish to almost sink both of their boats.  We need to actively pursue this principle in our own lives.  Whenever we experience God’s favor and blessings, we must not forget to include those around us.  Don’t just take the money and run, so to speak.  Invest those blessings in others as well.  It’s easier to give blessings such as money or even your time when you realize that those blessings are God’s to begin with. It all comes from Him. Through our blessings, we need to become a blessing to others.

If you follow Jesus, no matter what the situation may look like, God’s blessings and abundance will soon follow you in amazing ways.  May those blessings be upon you and your families forevermore.

DH

“The mother of Jesus said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” – John 2:5

The wedding feast at Cana was the site of Jesus’ first recorded miracle. Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding, where His mother Mary was helping in the kitchen.  They ran out of wine for the feast, so Jesus told the servants to bring 6 water pots to Him.  Jesus then changed the water into wine, and not just any wine, but the best of the best.  The book of John says that Jesus performed this first sign and thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. This started His earthly ministry.

This beginning miracle was significant in many ways, but it remains relevant for us in today’s world. Jesus didn’t tell the servants to go out of try to find some wine quickly.  He also didn’t just make wine appear out of thin air, although He could have.  Instead, Jesus asked the servants to bring the most simple of items, clay pots of water.  Jesus then took the simple and made it into something amazing.

Jesus is looking to do that with us as well. When we accept Christ and His finished work on the cross, our souls are brought from death to life.  But that doesn’t mean that our physical lives are drastically changed.  That’s exactly what God wants.  There’s an old saying of “Get in where you fit in.”  You are made by the Creator of the Universe to fill a specific void.  You are a missing piece to someone’s puzzle and have certain traits and skills that can benefit them.  God made you to be you.  Simple, straightforward, you.  Realize that somebody needs you and what you have to offer.  What you take for granted is exactly what someone else is praying for.  You are a blessing waiting to happen.

Like the water in the earthen vessels, Jesus is just looking for the plain and simple you. No false fronts, no trying to make yourself into what you think is best, Jesus just wants you.  If you try to make yourself into something you are not, it is like telling God, “You messed up and don’t know what you’re doing. Now I’ve got to make me right.”  The fact is that nobody sees the big picture like God does.  We have a very limited view of things and can’t see what’s coming up next.  God sees it all and knows what we need better than we do.  We see the natural, but God sees the supernatural.

One thing to note is that those clay pots didn’t have anything else in there but water. No fillers, just water.  Our problem is that we try to add things to our lives to make them more “flavorful”, but what ends up happening is we focus more on the filler materials than on God.  We add so many fillers to ourselves until that’s all there is.  It’s too easy to make something you are passionate about into your idol, if you focus on that day and night to the detriment of everything else.  The bible says in everything you do, let it be done for the glory of God.  If you can’t dedicate what you are doing to God’s glory, you are wasting your time with it.  It’s nothing but a filler material just taking away your time and focus.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, told the rest of the servants to, “Do whatever He tells you.” Those words ring true.  Jesus will be knocking on the door to your heart and pushing you into a specific direction.  Don’t wait for the time that you feel ready or good enough to fulfil your destiny.  When Jesus says you are ready, there’s nothing that can hold you back.  In the servants’ minds, the water pots were not ready to be drank.  The pots were for Jewish ceremonial washing and not necessarily for drinking, but Jesus said that they were ready.  He changed the water into wine; the average into the remarkable.  Jesus is looking to do the same with you and your life.

You may think you are just plain Jane, but Jesus Christ says you are so much more than that. He sees you not for what you are, but what you can become.  It’s time for you to see yourself as God sees you, not as the ordinary, but the extraordinary.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

“Study to show yourself approved unto God” – 2 Timothy 2:15

Back in high school and college, just like many people, I used to do just enough to get by. That is, until the day before the final exam.  I would then spend hours and hours cramming knowledge into my head that I should have gotten well before that time.  Then, I would come into the final exam feeling a little less than confident.  Thankfully, I would do well, but it was an extremely stressful time that I never quite knew if I’d make it or not.

Don’t let this be the way you live your life! So many people I meet every day, whether they are unbelievers or lifelong Christians, are a little less than confident in where they are going when this life is over.  People often fear the unknown, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  God placed before us all of the knowledge that we need in order to see the truth.  And the truth is not a something, it’s a somebody, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Don’t get me wrong, even solid believers have questions sometimes. That’s OK.  Questions are fine and God welcomes them, just as any good father does.  For those questions, God has given us the textbook to study from for the answers.  Our lives are an open book test.  If we don’t use the book, it’s nobody’s fault but our own.

That being said, the Bible is just a collection of words without the Holy Spirit placing that word in your heart. You can memorize the whole book and be able to spit it out word for word, but are you living that word?  Is the Spirit of God’s Eternal Word helping you your everyday life?  Make sure to read your Bible, but it is just as important to spend time with the Word Himself.

I had one class, humanities oddly enough, that the professor wrote the textbook. She knew when we hadn’t read the text and tried to “fudge” the answers.  It used to make her so mad.  Don’t let God feel the same way.  Make no mistake, you can’t “fudge” your way into Heaven.  You’re either saved or you’re not.  No amount of burning incense or standing on one foot three times a day will make you free.  Accept Christ and His finished work on the cross.  Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He paid the cost that we couldn’t pay.  Those that the Son have made free are free indeed. The least we can do is come nearer to God through His Word.  Read your Bible and spend time with Christ in prayer so that when the time comes, you are confident going into your last assessment.

Jesus is the answer to the final exam. Don’t get that one wrong.

DH

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

I feel like giving God some praise today!

I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch recently. I’ve felt hurried, frustrated, and tired like the pressures of life have been dragging me down. My family has felt it, my co-workers, and especially myself. But there’s also one other person who has felt it, Jesus.

It’s hard to understand, but God “feels” for us during our trials. He knows us inside and out. He knows our pain and our frustrations, but take heart. God says that we are not alone in our trials. When we accept Christ, He lives in us and through us. His Holy Spirit is with us as our comforter and He is a comforter like no other.

In order to be a good comfort in the midst of a struggle, you must be familiar with those struggles. To help deal with a friend’s pain effectively, you must be familiar with the pain. Take comfort that our Savior is no stranger to pain. The bible says he was tempted in all ways and that He bore our sins on the cross. When His friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept even though He knew what would happen next. He went through all of the pain because of what waited on the other side of that pain. And in all things, He kept looking up and praising the Father.

Before breaking bread and handing it out to the multitudes, He looked up and thanked His Father in Heaven. Jesus blessed the bread through His praise. We need to truly understand that. Our struggles will bend us and sometimes break us, but the bible says in ALL things give thanks to God. If we foster a habit of constant praise, no matter the situation, we will be blessed far beyond what we could imagine. The bread was blessed and then became a blessing to many. The bread fulfilled its ultimate purpose because of it breaking, not in spite of it. Jesus will bless us through our trials so that when we come out of them, those trials will in turn make us into the blessing that many others need to help them through their own trials. God likes to use the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

So this day and every day, no matter the situation, we need to give praise to God our Father. We need to come to Him even when we don’t feel like it. Smile up at God because He’s smiling down on us. Take comfort that He is here with us and has something wonderful in store for us. It may be a rough road for us now and then, but Christ is there to offer His love and His comfort to us and through us.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” – Revelation 21:4

Give God the praise for it right now!

DH

In biblical times, the Jews had been waiting for their savior and expected him to be coming out of the clouds riding on a war horse. They expected thunder and shouting and all the pompous regalia that such a king would bring with him. But God had different plans for His story.

Had it been thunder and a festival of fury, everyone would have taken notice. Instead, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came on a truly silent night. His announcement was only to a select few who were deemed trustworthy enough to keep the secret.

Later, after Jesus came through the area on His earthly ministry, He came riding into the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem. Christ was not on a large white war horse, but instead He came humbly on the back of a donkey.

So why did the King of Kings enter our world like this instead of having trumpets blaring and thunder roaring?  Because our God gives favor to the meek and humble and not to the pompous.  A person who thinks of themselves as “high and mighty” would only bow to someone who showed themselves as bigger and more forceful than they are.   The Jews were expecting that everyone would be forced into doing God’s will and accepting the Savior.

That isn’t Gods way though.  Many times in the Bible it says that God is love and wants your love in return, but love that is forced isn’t love at all.  He isn’t going to force you to love or believe in Him, God will simply ask for it. The Jews expected a God to strike down all who opposed Him, but instead He sent an invitation for all to be saved, not just the Jewish people.  God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Make no mistake, when Jesus arrives the second time it will be with the force and thunder of Heaven.  For now, Christ just simply asks for your love and acceptance.  He paid the cost for your sins so that you would have the opportunity to come freely to his throne.  Not out of fear, but of love.  Not as a subject of the king, but as a child of the King of Kings.

It’s a different story than what was expected. The story of Jesus is a story of peace, not war, and it is truly the greatest story ever told.
DH

Life is a tough road sometimes. Through everyday problems, we are all faced with times of trials. We feel like we can’t work hard enough to get through our issues, but as soon as we see light at the end of the tunnel, here come even more problems to work on. Quite often, it’s that way in business as well as personal lives.

After eating of the tree, God said to Adam that because of his sins, Adam as well as humanity would have to work for their sustenance…. Genesis 3:19 says, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” I don’t know about you, but when I read this statement it sounds pretty miserable.

DH

“Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.” – 1 John 2:6

If you’ve ever seen a newborn horse or deer try to walk, it’s a funny but heartwarming sight. It’s almost like they are trying to find their legs for the first time. Little children are much the same in that when they learn to walk, it’s a bunch of trial and error at the beginning.  After a while, walking gets to be easier.  It’s all about practice and confidence.  They see someone else walk and think, “Well enough of this crawling around stuff, I want to walk too.”  It doesn’t matter how silly it looks at the beginning, it is worth the trials and errors just to be able to walk.

There’s a lot of comparison to a little child learning to walk and a person becoming a Christian. First off, the unbeliever sees a Christian and decides whether or not to walk with Jesus.  Just like in everything in life, the first step is the most critical.  If we as Christians claim to have faith but we only act like Christians on Sundays, then we will drive people away from Jesus through our own lack of walking in God’s Spirit.  We are members of Christ’s earthly ministry and need to walk as such.  People might hear what you say, but they will definitely remember how you lived.

Secondly, as a new believer comes up in the faith, they are immediately bombarded by people all around that see the difference in them. All the slings and arrows you could imagine come at them, and many of them from their own friends and family.  Remember to take this in stride, because it is hard for people to deal with such a change.  When you start your walk with Christ and get closer to Him, your life can’t help but be different than what it was.  The unsaved person that you used to be wouldn’t even recognize the new Christian you. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Lastly, no matter how much confidence or practice you have in being a Christian, you will occasionally fall down. That’s OK as long as you don’t ever give up.  Jesus isn’t just for one time, He’s for all times.  Just like a good parent helping their children, God our Heavenly Father sees us occasionally struggle in our walk and He promises to always be there, no matter what we do, to pick us up and set us right again.  The slippery slopes in life are made into a stable footpath thanks to the blood of Jesus.

One thing that deserves a note, realize that new believers are just that, new believers. They have just spent most of their lives crawling through life, sometimes literally crawling out of bars and even crack houses.  They have come to realize that there is a better way to live and that is why they needed Jesus.  Their walk might not yet be as stable as yours or mine, so don’t laugh at them or tear them down with your words and actions just because they are still trying to find their “spiritual legs.”  Instead, use your words to build them up and confirm them in the things they get right.

The Bible says that the Gospel looks like foolishness to some people. Just because my walk seems a bit silly to you doesn’t mean it’s not the best one I’ve got at the moment.  I’m trying and getting better every day.  In the end, I won’t be crawling around wondering where I went wrong.  Thanks to Jesus Christ, I will be able to walk boldly through the gates of Heaven to hear my Father’s voice saying, “Well done.”

DH

In Luke chapter 2, we see Mary and Joseph going to Jerusalem for a feast per the Jewish custom. After the feast was over, they started home to Nazareth with their relatives. The only problem was that Jesus, who was 12 at the time, was not with them. Mary and Joseph got worried and turned their caravan around to look for Jesus, eventually finding Him in the temple speaking with the teachers and elders.

You may ask how these parents would forget their child, especially the Christ child. The wording the scripture lets you in on a big clue. It’s a problem that many people and especially many different denominations of Christians do commonly. Joseph and Mary focused on the customs and responsibilities of the church rather than keeping an eye on Jesus.

The Bible mentions about “when they had fulfilled the days” they returned home. Those words are small, but important views into the mindset of people who are trying to obey the laws without keeping their thoughts on Jesus Christ. Depending on your particular faction of Christianity, you may have numerous obligations to fulfill. While I’m not downgrading anyone’s religious beliefs or customs, I am saying that it is easy to get swept away by laws and customs and totally miss out on what God really wants you to get. Don’t just look to fulfill your days and obligations, look instead to Jesus and what He’s directing you towards.

Thanks to Moses, there were 613 laws overall, 10 of which being from God’s Ten Commandments. Jesus broke it down to just 2, which sums up all ten of the original commandments.

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40

It seems as though many people have gotten back to the addition of many supposed laws that Christ says just aren’t as important as one main law. Love.

Don’t put too much emphasis on how many times per day you pray. Instead, put your heart and soul into each prayer no matter how many times you do it. Also, don’t look forward for specific days to worship, but instead, worship God in all you do every day. Unlike other faiths where they must pray five times daily while kneeling toward the East, we as Christians have access to God our Father anytime and anywhere. The Bible teaches that God is always with us, His children, and hears our prayers. We don’t need to attain a higher level of consciousness or sacrifice enough things to get to Heaven, we only need to strive to love God, because He first loved us.

If we mess up, we are not instantly in fear of damnation and hellfire. God is God and He knows all we do. He knows for a fact that we will mess up. That is exactly why Jesus dies for our sins. In dying, He destroyed our death; in rising, He restored our life. Because of His saving grace, we don’t need to lose our minds fulfilling every single custom just to get a chance to go to Heaven. We simply need to come close to Jesus and enjoy the relationship He wants to have with us.

Christ said to His disciples that unless you become as little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. By that He didn’t mean young and ignorant. He meant loving your Father and trusting of what He says. A young child believes his parents without needing proof, they take it all on faith. The child doesn’t need to know how there will be food on the plate or clothes on their back, they simply believe that the parent will supply that need. The child knows that they mess up, but they never question whether or not their parent will still be there the next day because of that mess up. The child always comes running to the parent when the storm comes, they never try to weather it themselves because they know they can’t. They know the storm is bigger than they are and accept that.

Don’t be more focused on your works than you are the finished works of Jesus Christ. You can’t out-give God. You can’t out-work God. You can’t even be on the same level as God, so don’t kill yourself trying. Just be His child. That being said, if you feel like you connect more with God if you fulfill customs and obligations, then good for you and keep trying your best at what you believe is important. Just try not to lose your mind while doing it. Nevertheless, you can lose your mind but please never lose your heart, because Jesus is in there.

Just be His child.

JUST BE HIS CHILD!

DH