Verse of the Day Ephesians 6: 5-6

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the hear,"

Every so often I come across a verse that I always knew was in the Bible, or HAD to be in the Bible and although I had heard this verse many times before, I really looked at it and studied it as it became one of those verses.
Pretty much everyone in their life struggles with people pleasing and I am no exception, when I was younger and even still now, there have always been a few people in my life that everything has to be perfect for, and I sometimes stop at nothing to make sure this happens. No it's not a bad thing to be kind and caring and sacrificial to the ones you love but if the purpose of those things is to make sure they like you then it is wrong
Our service to God requires kindness to others, but it does so in the form or a slave, in obedience with fear and trembling and here is the hard part, with a sincere heart.
No I could go on missions and build houses and give money to the poor and be kind to the elderly and all those other great things that we are called to do, but if my heart is that of gaining praise and not in service to Christ, then it would have been better not even to do those things...would it?
Well it is a hard question because good is getting done, but clearly from scripture God has taught that it is about glorifying Him in whatever is done, so if in good actions we seek our own glory it would have been better to let someone else do the good that would bring glory to God
In the end the blessing that comes from doing good with a sincere heart and not as eye-service will 'receive' it back from the Lord and those who do it for eye-service are attempting to give themselves glory and dimish God's (impossible) and that surely won't end well

Verse of the Day Ephesians 5:15

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise"

Today it was really hard to pick a single verse. I was reading from 5:11-21 and it all fits very well together but I chose this verse because of my first reaction to it
Like DUH of course we should be wise and not unwise
And although I think that there's more to the verse than just that surface but I also think that Paul is playing at the obvious here
But lets start with the beginning
"look carefully then" what is the word 'then' there for. Well Paul has been talking about the light, being Jesus, exposing darkness. Paul is telling us that in order for us to expose darkness in the world and specifically in our own lives, then we are to look carefully and allow Christ to shine in them and expose them IN ORDER THAT we might be wise and not unwise.
So think of it like this. At camp there are plenty of opportunities to go exploring and at night time you definitely need a flash light. Now if you are in the middle of a forest and your shinning your light behind you or to the right or left then your not going to be able to be wise about where you put your feet. But if you let your line shine directly in front of you, then you can see how to avoid any obstacles. On top of that, if you have your light shinning in front of you but your not looking at where your light is how stupid is that, the light is serving no purpose at all
In the same way as we walk with Christ and keep Him at the centre of our lives He will expose our obstacles and make it clear to us how we can be wise, but how foolish it is for us to look else where when Christ has provided us with a clear way to go.
So step 1 let Christ shine in you and expose all darkness
step 2 look carefully at the path that Christ has cleared that you may not be unwise and stumble

Verse of the Day Psalm 22: 8

He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him

I was at a prayer meeting last night and loved to hear as a man prayed from God's word
God loves His word and it is amazing what wisdom and encouragement He brings as we read it to Him in prayer
I was struck by psalm 40:13 which says "be pleased, O Lord to deliver me"
psalm 22:8 assures us that God does delight in us and to deliver us
How amazing is that!
So often in my prayers I have found myself hesitant in repentance or in bringing my trials before God because I thought God to be one who forgives and listens but not exactly delighting in it
Not only does God forgive all sins and give strength and perseverance during trials, He loves to do it
He finds delight in seeing us, as followers of Him, be delivered from hardship
This should bring me to pray more often and for so much more knowing that God wants me to call on Him
So be encouraged and pray for so much more this week knowing that it is what God desires and delights in

Long overdue verse of the day Ephesians 4:28

"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

It is pretty easy to become a thief, and everyone is familiar with stealing personally. Whether it is a car or simply not returning something you borrowed knowing they would forget about it, stealing is stealing. I know it is a cliche to say that, but we forget these simple things to often. So why do we steal? Well it most often comes from laziness and greed. "It takes to much effort to make the money for this" or "No one will notice it is gone" are common to why people steal.
Paul has used this 'thief' image to show the transition of a sinful person who is 'lazy' and 'greedy' to the regenerate person who is called to labor doing honest work.
As Christians, no matter what we do, it should be with a full effort in honesty so that there is no need to steal. But this is only part of the reason we work hard. God is glorified in the servant who works hard, but He is also glorified in the servant who works hard in order that he may share with those in need.
As I worked last summer I knew that it was for the Lord and I worked really hard, but I rarely ever thought of helping others with the provisions that God had granted to me, I just thought about the work and the paycheck. This can so easily lead back to the laziness and greed that a thief is characterized with because if a hard work saves up lots of money then less work may be needed and no generosity is seen.
We are called, as Christians, to labor honestly in order that we may share with those in need, and this is for all Christians not matter where you are in life.
So make sure that you are not getting lazy, or that the honest labor you are doing is not only for a check and a pleasing of the Lord but so that you can share with others...not only with your money, but with time and encouragement as well

Ephesians 4: 22-24

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness

It doesn't take much in a day to see the corrupt sinful nature in us
Paul knew it, and knew that it wasn't a simple thing that you can just decide one day to stop sinning and live for God
Even with the strongest will and faith it will be impossible to keep from your "old self" if you are not following this word of God
It seems obvious now but I have so often missed the two parts to this passage
I get the whole "putting off of the old self" meaning getting rid of temptations and keeping myself from sin, but the second part is just as important and even more so..
"Putting on the new self"
Our new self with is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness is the complete opposite of the sinful nature within us, and if I am ever to keep myself from sin and follow God I must be putting on my new self
What is this "new self"? Well Paul talks about this all throughout the book of Ephesians.. it's about being unified in the body of Christ, being loving and kind to everyone, and humbly walking with God
This is the righteousness and holiness that God has originally purposed us for
So as I call myself a Christ and desire to live that way..
Am I living according to my sinful nature
or Am I living according to my new self in true righteousness and holiness the way God has purposed me to

Verse of the day - Romans: 11:36

It's more like the verse of the week or pretty much lifetime
I was reminded this morning as my dad texted me this verse why I had been studying this whole past week
My goal of study is not, contrary to popular belief, to get a good mark, it is to bring glory to God.
If bringing glory to God was about getting good marks then wouldn't that mean if I did terrible God would get less glory
Of course not
As I studied and as i wrote each of the three exams i had this weekend, God was glorified in my acknowledging His sovereignty and His provision.
I learned a lot this week, mostly that as I hear of my family and friends praying for me and as I remember to come before God, He provides much more that I could have imagined.
As He gave me strength through the week and kept me focused, and provided me with a memory to recall things as I wrote each test, I knew it was not of me
Now as the weekend is over I must continue to acknowledge and worship God for His great love and provision.
I am reminded that God is not glorified in giving bad gifts but in the provision of good gifts, that we may praise Him
For from Him...I received patience, endurance, and wisdom as I wrote my exams, and through Him I live and breath and finished all three, and to Him are the results of all three and my praise and worship to Him with thanksgiving
Forever and ever
Amen

Verse of the day 2 Timothy 4:8

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

I just read an email that my dad sent me of a kind of written sermon almost talking about the coming of Christ
As I read through it I felt convicted as I started to read some parts a little faster in order to get it over with. I'm busy and it was long. But he was talking about Christs return and the reasons why he loves it and thereby telling others why we should love it. As I kept reading, I slowed down and really started to think about what he was saying. The Bible speaks of Christs return many more times than of other doctrines that I have felt much more passionate about at times and is clearly something that God loves. I remember a conversation I had with my whole society class in gr. 11 about the return of Christ, at a Christian school you'd think there would be at least a few people pumped up about it... one guy said "well as long as its after my tv show tonight",
To be honest I thought myself to be excited, well in comparison, but really I do think much more this world and all that I have to do, instead of longing and praying for the return of Christ
This man who wrote this quoted several of the most influential evangelists and Christians used by God, all of whom were fired up for Christs coming
I want that to,
At the end of the paper he said
"But the best is yet to come, for there is this above all: we shall meet our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and actually look upon His face"
This truth is so amazing that there really are not words to describe it and I pray that it will continually be made more evident to me and to every Christian as we wait for Christ to come
Pray for His return, long for it, and from that a life truly devoted to service in Christ will emerge and as Paul wrote in 2 timothy will have a crown of righteousness laid up

here's the sermon.. read it, http://www.swordofthelord.com/onlinesermons/LoveChrist%27sAppearing.htm