God is with us.

Friends, the prophet Jeremiah was called by God before he was formed. Before he was formed God had a specific purpose for his life. I believe nothing could divert or stop the call and purpose that God had for Jeremiah, but his own actions. In Jeremiah 1:5 it states "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart, for my holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations."(GWT) I believe that God deals with us in the same way as He did with Jeremiah. Friends, God knew us before we were born, and He has a specific purpose for each one of us before we are formed. God's power working in us has set us apart from this world and a life of sin. It was not our self-effort that did this, but it was God. Our part is to agree, believe, and submit to His will for our lives. At first Jeremiah resisted God's will. He said in Jeremiah 1:6 "Almighty Lord, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!"(GWT) Today we might resist God's will by stating that we have little experience or that our personalities don't fit the task. However, one thing is for certain if God calls us He will not leave us to fend for ourselves. God will be with us. God reassures Jeremiah of this by saying to him in Jeremiah 1:8 "Don't be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you..."(GWT) God never told Jeremiah that his call would be easy or that it would be free of hardships. What he did tell him is not to be afraid because He would be with him every step of the way. As with Jeremiah, God is with us in our calling as long as we are obedient to His will. So, don't be afraid, God is with us!!!!!

Who is your god? (part 6)

Who is your god? My God is my shield. Roman soldiers used shields that were as tall and wide as a man as defensive tools that protected them from the arrows of their enemies. If you believe in Christ Jesus you have a very determined enemy that wants to destroy you. The devil is not only interested in wounding us but his ultimate goal is to kill us. Arrows come from many different directions and places in life. They come as doubt, fear, unbelief, sickness, stress, and hurt. They come as thoughts into our minds attempting to pierce us so that we question our trust in God. If we put our shield down for one instance we risk being fatally pierced by one of the enemies arrows. He watches for an opening to strike us especially when we are tired or exhausted. What does it take for me and you to keep the shield from falling? How can we keep the shield up after having a bad day at work? How can we keep the shield up after feeling stressed out? How can we keep the shield up when everyone at home, especially our kids, wants our attention? How can we keep our shield up when we have lost our job or are working two jobs with no benefits just to pay the bills? The Bible states in Psalms 18:3 "All I need to do is cry to him--oh, praise the Lord--and I am saved from all my enemies!"(TLB) When we feel like we have come to the end of ourselves and when we feel like we have no more strength in us left, we cry out to Him. We cry out to Jesus. JESUS HELP US!!!! We cry out in faith not seeing but believing in our mighty God. We cry out to Him believing that he has the power to save us from ALL our enemies. Everyone of them will be defeated. Every part of us will be protected as our shield is lifted up. No arrow of doubt, fear, lust, hurt, unbelief, sickness, or stress will fatally penetrate us. Jesus already took these arrows for me and you when he died on the cross, and faith in what He has aready done keeps us safe from the destructive plans of the enemy. Don't be fooled, the devil will not stop battling against you if you believe in Christ Jesus, because you are a threat to him. You will need to use your shield. As the Bible states in Ephesians 6:16 "In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan."(TLB) Praise the Lord!!! He is my shield. Is He yours?

Are you clean?

Have you ever been so filthy that your entire body is covered with dirt? I am a father of three boys. My youngest (Andres) is 4 years old and my oldest (Matias) is 13 years old. Benjamin, who is in the middle is 7 years old. If you have boys then you know they love getting dirty. They run around outside in the mud and dirt, and in no time at all they are totally covered in filth. When they come inside the house in this condition I tell them they have to take a bath or a shower. I want them to be clean. Imagine if I let them run around the house without being clean. The dirt on them would be passed on to me, the furniture, the floor, and all over the house. Dirt has a way of sticking and spreading all over. Our Heavenly Father also dislikes dirt (spiritual dirt). Sin is like spiritual dirt it has a way of spreading and contaminating everything it touches. The dirt of pride, anger, lust, greed, can affect us and others if we resist the cleansing power of Jesus. The dirt of any secrete sin makes us filthy if we play around in the mud of things like adultery, pornography, stealing, and pride. God tells us take a shower! In other words, repent. Turn away from the dirty stuff and turn towards the cleansing hands of Jesus. Praise the Lord!!!! The cleansing power of his blood that was shed for you and me. The blood that can make us whiter than snow. This not an external cleaning, but rather an internal cleaning were he totally changes us into a new person like Christ daily. Daily we need his cleansing stream to wash over us. Getting back to my kids, one of the hardest parts of the body to clean is their feet. Dirt has a sneaky way of getting in between their toes and underneath their toenails. Also, feet are generally more exposed to dirt because of the consistent contact this part of ones body makes with the ground. In the same way there may be parts in our life that seem to be too dirty for cleaning. Let me encourage you by stating the truth that nothing is to difficult for the Living God!!!! No area of your life or my life is out of His reach. The only thing that can hinder His cleansing power is our unbelief. Do you believe he can cleanse you? If you do, submit to Him. Repent and turn your life over to Him totally. In John 13:5 Scripture states that Jesus "poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to whip them with the towel that was tied around him (NRSV)." He still desires to clean us in the same way today. He still desires to cleanse us from our most filthy sin. Will we let Him? Will you let him?

Who is your god? (part 5)

Who do you trust? Lot's of people trust in their money. However, that can vanish during one bad day at the stock-market. What good is that. It's not stable or certain. It changes depending on market forces. Other people trust their friends. They tell their friends everything. They even tell them their secrets, but they hardly ever talk to God. It's good to have close relationships with people that understand what one is going through. It's fine to have fun with your friends, but not at the expense of ignoring your best friend, Jesus. Remember, friends are good but God is the best. Other people trust in their abilities and talents. However, even abilities and talents fade as the years pass and one gets older. Some may possibly trust in their good looks. External appearances eventually wither, but the internal and eternal life of Jesus never fades away. Psalm 18:2 states "........my God my strength, in whom I will trust....". I can trust God because I know He loves me. I can trust God because I know He never changes or fades with time. I can trust God because He is my best friend in great times and dark times. I can trust God because He never has left me or forsaken me in tough times. I can say these things about God because I have a deep, intimate relationship with Him. I know Him. Do you know Him?

Who is your god? (part 4)

Did you know that the living God is a fortress and deliverer? In Psalm 18:2 it states "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer...."(ESV). I need Him. Life is hard but I know I have a fortress in God. To Him I go too when my enemies (external and internal) are trying to drag me down. To Him I go too when I have a tough day at work or at home. To him I run too when I am sad or hurt. A fortress is a place of protection. It's a place were one is safe. Safe in His presence, love, mercy, compassion, and justice. Friends, He does not only protect us but He also fights for us. Praise the Lord!!! He is our Deliverer!!! He fights with our enemies (external and internal) in order to set us free. Freedom from fear. Freedom from condemnation. Freedom from doubt. Freedom from lack of purpose. Freedom from selfishness. Only He has the power to set us FREE!!! Don't run from Him but run too Him today.

Who is your god? (part 3)

Psalm 18: 2 says "The Lord is my rock...". A big rock. A giant rock. He can't be moved. His character never changes. He is always the same. He is merciful. He is love. He is full of justice. He is patient. He is non-selfish. He puts the interest of others before His own. He is holy. He is always right. He never lies. He is an awesome God!!!! I hope he is your God as well. If He is your God you should be very excited and blessed. We can trust Him. We can be filled with His mercy and love. We can depend on Him. He will make things right. We can allow the Holy Spirit to work in us patience. We can allow His word to cut away all selfishness. We can allow His holiness to make us more like Jesus ever day. The rock never moves, but it also is used as a weapon to break the sin in our lives. My God destroys all the self-life in those who submit to Him and he fills us with His life. Praise Him!!! Is this your God? Is he this awesome? Don't ever limit Him. Nothing is impossible for Him. A giant of a problem is nothing compared to my Rock. A dark, deep valley of sorrow can not stand against my God. The storms of this life are shattered by his mighty presence. Get the picture. Turn to Him. He loves you.

Who is your god? (part 2)

Psalm 18:1 says ".....O Lord, my strength." Friends, when I think of strength I think about an athlete. An athlete trains very hard to get strong in whatever sport they practice. A swimmer has to develop certain muscles in his body to become an excellent swimmer. As the swimmer trains he/she develops the endurance, speed, and muscles needed to compete. If you are a believer in Christ Jesus you may think that like the swimmer you need to train harder to become like Jesus. Do you think you will become stronger if you try to be like Jesus with all your strength and with all your power? You wont!!! In fact to be strong in Christ means that you must become weak in self. This means that all of our self-effort must die so that He can be my only source of strength. If we pray, fast, read the Bible, and attend church motivated and driven by self it means Jesus is still not our strength. My friends in this wicked world that we live in I need supernatural strength to make it. How about you? The key to having His strength and becoming more like Him is to die to self. The key to dieing to self is to obey the Holy Spirit and totally submit (have faith) that His power will give you the supernatural ability to overcome any obstacle in your life. Do you believe this? My God is my strength!!! How about your god?