I am sure about this

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , ,

“I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.” ~ Phil 1:6 CEB

When I read my Bible I like to highlight, circle, mark in some way things that stand out to me. What stands out to me in this verse is “I’m sure about this”. I would mark this phrase so that in times when I am feeling unsure about life in general I can skim through my Bible to remind myself of the things I know to be true.

What do I know to be true of the rest of this passage? Paul tells us in Phill 1:6 that God saved us and started a good work in us, and His work in us will come to full completion. As we think about God in work in us, we must remind ourselves that as imperfect as we are, God is perfection. Perfection may seem impossible. It is! God’s plan isn’t perfect because we’re perfect. The plan is perfect because God is the One who designed it. The perfection comes from Him alone.

I am thankful as I try to move on toward perfection that I do not have to rely on my skills alone. God knows me better than I know myself and He has designed and set into action a plan engineered just for me. I don’t have to know the whole plan yet. I just have to take those first steps of faith and follow Him.

Thank you Heavenly Father for sending Jesus into the world bringing You closer to me. As I step through this day may I be sure about this: you will go each step of the way with me if only I ask You to be with me. Help me to keep my eyes on You and not my circumstances. Amen.

The gift of ourselves

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: ,

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. ~John 10:11 (MSG)

Part of being a Christian is following Jesus’ example. Even to lay down our life for other people. We are called to be Christ to others and here we see in this passage that Jesus is willing to put his life on the line for those He is in relationship with. When we are willing to share with others our sorrows and joys, our despair and hope, our loneliness and experience of intimacy it makes our lives available to others as a source of new life.

It can be easy to be overwhelmed with all the pain and suffering I see around me. I have to remind myself not to put on blinders of protection. I am not here to solve the problems of the whole world, but I am here to be a helping hand to those God has put me in relationship with.

In his book Bread for the Journey, Henri J.M. Nouwen says, “One of the greatest gifts we can give others is ourselves.  We offer consolation and comfort, especially in moments of crisis, when we say:  ‘Do not be afraid, I know what you are living and I am living it with you.  You are not alone.’  Thus we become Christ-like shepherds.”

Father in heaven,  may I not be so busy in my life to notice the pain and suffering of those I have been called to be in relationship with. Help me to be willing to share out of my life in order that someone else might be able to fine hope in You. Help me to be a light pointing to Your love. Amen.

The Bible tells me so

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags:

We have known and have believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them. 1 John 4:16 (CEB)

 

When my son was little and starting to say his bed time prayers on his own, he naturally began his prayers with no prompting from me, “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so” and then he would move into blessing everyone he could think of, ask for good sleep and for safety through the night. Until I heard the words from my son’s mouth I never really thought about the fact that we know God’s love because the Bible tells us so.

It is so easy to go about our everyday life saying the words that God loves us without ever really knowing just what it is that we are saying.  The knowledge of God’s love should not be just some biblical fact which we adsorbed as a child but it should be a living reality in our lives. Look again at verse 16, God is love. He doesn’t just love me, He is love. The verse goes on to tell us that those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them.

How do I remain in God’s love?  John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” What are the commandments to keep? Matthew 22:37-39 says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself”

It is not enough just to know that God loves me. I must live my life in such a way that I remain in God’s love. To remain in God’s love I should love my neighbor as myself. When I love others, I am in God’s love.

Gracious God, your commands are stated simple enough for a child to grasp but sometimes it slips right by us and we forget what you want of us. You want us to love each other in all we do and say. Lord help me this day to love those around me as the Bible tells me to love. Amen.

The cost of sin

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: ,

So it is also written, the first human, Adam, became a living person, and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ~1 Corinthians 15:45 (CEB)

 

Even though I have been born into sin, I am set free through Jesus. This is not just one of those cliché sayings. It is not just fancy words that Christians throw around. Jesus’ life blood conquers and overcomes the death that works in us through sin. Because Jesus came into the world we can have new life.

God in the beginning created a world where humans had authority over their lives, but Adam and Eve gave away their authority when they took a bite from the “tree of knowledge”. With knowledge came self-awareness and death. God sent Jesus into the world to give us back authority over our lives. He came to conquer each of our deaths that we may have abundant life. To be able to harness the power of Jesus’ blood over our lives we need to understand that through Adam sin entered the world. David confirmed this truth in Psalm 51:5 “Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me.” Adam passed down this sinful blood to us. Jesus because he was born of God and not man has life in his blood. Our lives have been purchased though Christ’s life blood when he died on the cross. Christ is the last Adam and because he became a spirit that gives life.

Sin has a cost. If I hold onto my sin the cost is my life. If I can accept that Jesus paid the cost for me I can live. There is another twist to this. If I don’t accept that Jesus died to give me life did he die for nothing? That reality is a little harder for me to bear. I can easily say I am not worthy, my sins are too great or not now but later I will listen to Christ’s teachings. The truth is Christ died so that even I might have life. When I think about Christ’s suffering on the cross, it pains me to think by rejecting this truth it is as if I am saying, “You suffered this horrendous death for nothing.” This puts any rejection of him in a new light.

Lord, may I not let you have suffered in vain! Help me to accept your truth in my life. Set me free so I may live. Amen.

God fights our giants

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , ,

“The LORD, “David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!” ~1 Samuel 17:37(CEB)

 

I like the story of David and Goliath. The boy verses the giant and the boy wins. It isn’t the underdog theme that I love it is the confidence that David shows us in the story. He had such an intimate relationship with God that he KNEW that God would take care of him. How did he know? David knew God would take care of him because they had a history together. David tells us some of this history. “The Lord, who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David had confidence to fight the giant because he had a history with God where God had delivered him from the lions and bears. To him it was a natural assumption that God would take care of him in this situation as well.

It is important for us to be aware of the times that God has worked in our lives. Even the small things He has done for us. Recalling the small things He has done bolsters our confidence for the big things in life. If God only came waltzing through our lives at the big events we might not have the faith we need to believe that he will show up in great times of need. But I think he blesses us even in small things so that we can learn to trust him and as our trust grows and our relationship blossoms we gain the confidence that we need for the big battles in life.

The challenge for us is to look for those small blessings that God bestows on us. Sometimes they might be easy to overlook or to say that it is just coincidence. When we learn to look for God in the small moments of our lives we will gain the knowledge we need to see him in the crucial times as well. God is always with us. We have to train our eyes to see him at work in our lives.

Heavenly Father, I know the Bible tells me that you are always with me. Open my eyes to see you in the small ordinary moments so that I will be confident to find you in the trials of life. Amen.

Satan’s games

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

But the LORD is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!” ~ Deuteronomy 31:8

 

One of the biggest battles that Satan wages against us is getting us to believe that we are alone. I find myself falling into this trap often. This is a good verse to carry around in your heart. Deuteronomy 31:8 says that God will go before me, He will be with me and He won’t abandon me. This verse tells me that God won’t abandon me so I shouldn’t be afraid.

Recently I read something Joyce Meyer wrote, “Satan wants you to believe you are alone. He wants you to believe that no one understands how you feel, but his claims are false. In addition to God being with you, many believers understand what you are experiencing mentally and emotionally.” Satan wants me to lose sight of the simple truths found in the Bible. It is easy to forget that God wants to comfort us and deliver us when we are in the middle of pain and loss.

Part of the loneliness trap that Satan sets for me is playing the game of not sharing what is going on in my life. Then I get mad when no one notices that my life is falling apart. It is as if I just expect people to see the pain that I am going through but if I don’t open up and share what is going on in my life, then how do they know to reach out to me. I have a responsibility to meet people half way in relationships. Finding people that are “safe” to share my hurts and sorrows with takes time. But if I do not get involved and discover the people that God has placed within my reach then I am falling for the lies that Satan tells me and I will continues to find myself alone.

Heavenly Father, help me to hide in my heart the truth. You are with me and will never leave me alone. You provide for all my needs. Open my eyes to know the friendships you have set in place for me and close my ears to Satan’s lies. Amen.

Dissapointments

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. ~ James 4:7 (CEB)

 

Another area that Satan can get at me is in my disappointments. Satan is right there waiting to attack me when I am at my lowest, at the end of a broken dream. I wonder “why did I get my hopes us so high”, “I know better”, “I am worthless”, “I should have known nothing good is meant to come my way”. These are lies that Satan feeds me. This is not life as God means for us to live. He wants us to have joy, even among the pieces of our shattered hopes and dreams.

Jesus came to minister to the broken hearted, the oppressed, the hopeless. He came so that I might have life. Here is another phrase that I have heard through the years. Jesus came so that we might have life. Satan doesn’t want me to live, so he feeds me lies to keep me in death. Jesus wants me to live so He came into the world to breath new life and hope into my heart. If I believe the lies that Satan feeds me then I will stay defeated and my heart dies slowly bit by bit every day. If I hear God’s truth that I AM worthy and that He wants to bless my life beyond what I can ever imagine than I can LIVE. My disappointments don’t define who I am. God’s love for me is the only definition that I need to know.

Jesus is waiting on the sidelines offering me hope amidst the disappointments of life. Satan wants me to stay defeated. Christ came so that I can have hope. Christ came so that I can live. I need to hide these truths deep within my heart so that I can resist the lies that Satan wants to feed my soul.

Sometimes Lord, the lies seem louder in my ears than your promises. Help me hide your truths deep in my heart so that when the noise of Satan threatens to overwhelm me Your truth will bubble up and overflow until I can no longer hear anything but Your love for me. Amen.

God is Love

08 May 2012 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags:

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ~1 John 4:8

 

Some people dismiss Christianity because God cannot be proved, cannot be seen, but here in 1 John 4:8 it says that God is love. The results of love ARE something that can be seen. It can be seen in my behavior and how I treat people. Love causes me to put someone else’s needs ahead of my own. Love has stirred people to do things for me that have blessed me beyond what I could imagine.

First John 4:8 says God is love. To know God I need to love. Gal 5:14 says “All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.” When I do as Jesus commanded, loving my neighbors I will see God’s love. How do I love? If we look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we can find many examples of how to love:

Love endures long; it has the ability to put up with stuff for a long time.
Love is never envious; it doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love is not boastful or vainglorious; it doesn’t call attention to itself.
Love is not conceited or rude.
Love doesn’t insist on its own way.
Love pays no attention to a suffered wrong.
Love never gives up!

When I live a life of love there are plenty of opportunities to see love in action. Love can do some pretty unexplainable and amazing things! In those moments I can get glimpses of God.

Heavenly father, I thank you for loving me, I thank you for Your word that guides how to love and instructs how to live. May I not miss those moments that you have given me to catch a glimpse of You. Amen.

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