The Death Of Sin

Sin can you truly be as strong as you seem
And to overcome you is only a dream
Are you more powerful than all of us thought?
Are you a foe better not fought?

Sin are you a monster that cannot die
An enemy so cold that hearts only cry
Are you a beast that comes from within?
Or are you a thought that speaks like a friend

Sin are you a tempter that plays with the soul
A song of the wind that make us less whole
Are you so hideous that your face you must hide?
Are you a poison that speaks only lies?

Sin what ever you are this I have come to be sure
That all that you are I have found only one cure
As precious as a cure could ever be
Yes the blood of Christ Jesus has over come thee

So you may fight on, and some battles you may win
But be sure of this He is coming again
And on that day there will be no place to run
You will be completely destroyed by the glory of the Son

So sin no matter what battle you wage
No matter the poison, or how strong the cage
Fight you I must for He fights for me
And ask me to trust that one day I'll be free

By Don Stubbs Dec 26th 2013

Fear Not

I often think of the shepherds on that day, the day that Christ was born. How would you respond to an angel of the Lord appearing? Yes I think we all would be fearful, and then to hear the angel say, “fear not. What a relief, but that was just the beginning, that great news was coming. The greatest of all messages was about to be proclaimed. A message that would change everything, yes, a message that had never been spoken before. This Christmas morning as I read the story of the Birth of Christ in Luke chapter 2 the message brings hope to my heart. 

For the angel said “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Yes on that day, God came into the world that had no hope and gave us hope. He came that we could again be with him. On that day God the Son said to all who would hear Him, “I Am here” you don’t have to be afraid, you don’t have to be alone, you don’t have to be lost. I have come that you may have life in me. All who would have life I have come.  Put your trust in me, put your hope in me, put your dreams in me, and I will give you far more than you could ever imagine. For I will give you myself and you will always be with me.

So today on the day we call Christmas, remember the greatest gift that has even been given, the gift of God himself. And for those who have never accepted this great gift, God himself invites you into a relationship with Himself, FEAR NOT receive today the gift of Christ Jesus the Lord.

The Story Line of Our Lives

This morning I was reading C. J. Mahaney’s book, Christ Our Mediator, and this line grabbed my heart, “The cross climaxes the story line of the Bible as well as the story line of our lives.

This thought really struck me.  It is so true, without the Cross my life would be a mess.  My life would have no hope.  I would be in despair.  Often I forget that the cross is not just for those that need Christ, but just as much for those who have Christ. 

When I feel there is no hope, I can look to the Cross.  When I feel like I don’t matter, I can look to the Cross.  When I want to make life just about me, I need the Cross.  When I want to not love others, it is the Cross that reminds my heart how to love.  When I feel my sin is to great to forgive, the Cross shows me that the blood of Christ is greater still. When a loves one dies, it is the Cross that allows me to know I will see them again.

Yes, it is the Cross that has become the Story Line Of My Life.  It intersects my life at every point.  It is the Cross that now gives my life meaning and hope and purpose.

Luke 23:33-35;

“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.  And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’”

Lord I thank your for what you did at the Cross, for me and for all who do and will believe.  Yes I thank you for the Cross!!!!

Win the Day

This past weekend I was at a conference in Indianapolis called Act Like Men.  Although I was not sure of what God would say to me, I knew that God would speak and challenge me in some area of my life.  That he did!  I was challenged to be a man that had a heart for the lost.  I was challenged to break the chains of generational sin, and live a life that would bring God glory.  I was challenged to do all that I do in love.  Bigger than all of these was one particular challenge that I couldn’t forget....... “Win the day! Yes, win today for Christ.”

Not worry about winning every day, not winning the week, or the month, or the year.  But to Win the Day!  It is a simple concept.   Not hard to understand. But it gave me a hope and a belief that I could do it.  I could overcome anything for the One who overcame for me.   I could Win the Day, this day for Christ.

You see, if you’re anything like me, you sometimes get defeated trying to overcome sin.  This makes you ask yourself, “What if I do great for a while, but then I cant do it any more?”   I tend to always project out and worry about what happens tomorrow.  This overwhelms me at times.

My challenge to all who are reading this is, consider learning to Win the Day.  Today, love your God with your whole heart.  Love your wife as Christ loved the church.  Reach out to those who need to be loved.  Feed the poor.  Care for the orphans and widows.  Pray without ceasing.  Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  And  “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”

Yes today, Win The Day!!

The Search…

I have often thought, “Why am I here?  What is the reason for my life?  Why does life seem so hard to figure out?”  

Genesis 1:26 tells me, that God created me in His image and likeness.  Why and what does that mean exactly?  I have continued to seek the answer to this question, and have found that the answer can be found in the search.  It leads me to ask the questions: who created us, why we were created, what does the creator want from us? 

This search for meaning and emptiness in our soul, leads us to reach out to the One who created us.  If it is true that God created me and made me in His image, believing in this truth causes me to find my meaning in Him.  It also tells me that God wants a relationship with those He created.  He wants us to know our purpose and reasons for life.  

As we reach-out to God, and continue our search, we discover more and more about Him and ourselves.  Learning more about Him, is all we need to know about our purpose, our destiny and our hope.

So continue the search, continue to reach out to the one who created you, and in the end you will find God and discover your purpose.

PS. Read the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verse 31.  You can know life and the author of life!

People

As I sit and think about life, there are so many things that are racing through my mind.  I think about my friends and the random people I meet each day.  I wonder why so many people are having such hard lives.

Just last night, I was talking with a young lady, and my heart broke for her.   She seems to be without hope.  Her life has been hard and many of the issues appear self-inflicted.  But still her heart is good and I can see she loves Jesus.

Then there is Terrance, the man I met at the gas station.  He was just standing at the gas pump with the hood of his truck open.  As I started to pump my gas, he asked if I could help him.  My first thought was he wants money.  Then I just prayed and asked God what should I do.  All that came to my mind was “what ever you do for the least of these”.   So I walked over and started to put some gas in his truck.  As I did, he started to tell me that he had his hood up because he had no money for gas.  He is from Gray Indiana, which was an hour away, and just needs enough gas to get home.  As he was talking my heart changed towards him.  He is a kind man who seemed to be down on his luck.  He has a great smile and appeared to be a good and decent man.  My heart went out to him.  Deep down inside I want his life to be easier, I want him to know that Jesus loves him, and because of Jesus he has value.  

As I stood there talking to him, he had tears in his eyes.  He has never filled up his truck before because he hasn’t had enough money.  His smile was more than worth filling up his truck and it warmed my heart.  He caused me to love people more, because God allowed me to see in Terrance what God sees in him.

What does God see in people?  I am starting to understand that people are hurting for many different reasons, but regardless, we are here to walk with them.  We may have to walk with them for years or only for a moment, but it is in the walking that we help them, and God changes us. Sometimes we can change the situations and sometime we can’t.  But what we can do is to stop long enough, ask God for direction, and do what he asks of us.  Then we will see how He changes us.