Air Comes With It

1 Corinthians 2:12 (New King James Version, NKJV).

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

We have an eight year old niece that is the daughter of my wife’s brother. She recently went shopping with my wife and wanted to buy some balloons that came with a small pump to inflate them. When she got up to the counter my wife gave her the money to pay for them. As the cashier rang them up she asked him, “Does the air come with this pump?”

Have you ever stopped for a moment and thought about all the things that we take for granted that God has freely given us? You more than likely have at some point. Life itself is the free gift of God. Everything that has life is of God. He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity (John 1:4 GODS WORD Translation, GWT). From the microscopic life forms to the giant Redwood trees and from ladybugs to giraffes; God gave life to it all. There is no life that He did not create; All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:3 NKJV).

Aren’t you glad today that God does not charge us for the food He provides, the water He gives, and the very air we breathe? We pay people for access to it but they did not pay God for it. Compressed air can cost money but air itself is free. Take away air and living things die. If you have ever had breathing problems you can appreciate a deep breath but if you have never had issues then chances are you have taken each single breath for granted.

The cashier was stunned when our niece asked him if air came with the pump. He had never thought about it apparently. If you are ever asked that question you can now answer it confidently; yes, yes it does, and it is free!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6).

He Is Hallowed

Luke 11:2 (NKJV, New King James Version).

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

 The word for today is hallowed. The word means high above, set apart as holy, reverence. I would say it means “better than us; far better than us.” Our idea of hallowed is an egotistical maniac. One who thinks of himself better than anyone else. A know it all that thinks he is it! Someone that thinks he should be worshiped. Most of us have issues with people that think that way. However we should realize that God is that way; He knows He is better than we are, He is a know it all, He wants to be worshiped! If we have an issue with that then we have slipped into the pool of pride.

Here is why God is hallowed. Even though He is far above us in every way, He still wanted to have a relationship with us! Not in the sense that He sees us as just pawns that He can use and abuse; certainly not. He considers us His greatest creation. A species so special to Him that He breathed a part of Himself into! In all His Greatness (Glory) His desire was to love us, even before we came to know who He is. The Hallowed God that thinks so much of His created beings that He would go as far as making Himself a Servant in order to show us His sincere love for us. Even to the extent of taking upon Himself the blame for our sins. Doing the unthinkable for a species of beings that are so unthankful, uncaring, and so undeserving of such an action. The only One True God which said that He, “Did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Therefore Jesus said to call Him Hallowed. He created us, He provides for us, He protects us, and He gave His only Begotten Son to die for us so that we can be with Him forever. Why wouldn’t we want to worship Him? So the next time we pray let's acknowledge Him as being better than we are; because He is!

Professional Prayers Not Needed

We started up a Teen Church last week at our church. It meets in our Fellowship Hall during our main worship service in the church. The service is being structured to be led by teens. We will have teen musicians, ushers, leaders, speakers, etc. Today during the prayer time one of the preteens volunteered to take prayer requests and lead the prayer. The leader told me that the young man got several requests from kids whose grandmothers needed prayer. When he started to pray it was obvious he could not remember all whose grandmothers needed prayer so he stopped and said, “Lord . . . ., just bless all the grandmothers in general.”

Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7 NKJV). That is sure not the case for this young man! Prayer is the Christian privilege to converse with God. I think sometimes we take it for granted and at other times we really do not understand its impact upon our lives. It could be because it seems that prayer is not the same as a verbal conversation. Prayer sometimes gets mixed in with other thoughts; or maybe mine just do. Then there are the public prayers. Some are long and drawn out and are eloquently spoken. Others are loud and animated. Some are whispered and some are just thoughts directed to God. However one chooses to pray the aspect we must keep in mind is that the only rule Christ gave us was in regards to how many words we use. Don’t waste words and don’t try to impress Him with words; He knows what we are going to pray before we ever initiate it (Matthew 6:8). The Apostle Paul urged us to pray without ceasing! That simply means never quit and not continually praying a particular prayer. I believe the Lord would say that we do not need to be professional prayers.

One of the most powerful prayers ever prayed was spoken by a condemned criminal directly to Jesus as they both hang on Roman crosses. “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He only used eight words and they gained him eternal life! He got right to the point because his breath was limited. It was enough for Christ. The next time you decide to pray; just do it. You do not have to be in a special place, at a special time, on a special occasion, or in a special pose. Make your petitions known to God. Prayer is a Christian privilege; do not abuse it but use it. My prayer is that all who read this will pray; in general.

Reconciled To God

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  (Romans 5:10 NKJV)

I told the church of Draper Valley on Sunday that until we are able to fully grasp that we have a personal relationship with the Father by way of the Son we will never fully experience the benefits of such a relationship. I went on to explain that once we are able to lead someone to Christ we must ensure that they understand they have now entered into a personal relationship with their Creator.

At one time in our life we were actually an enemy of God. Some may think that because they have nothing against God they are not His enemy. Unless we have placed our belief in Christ and opened up our heart and invited Him in, we are enemies by Gods standards. Once we make the decision to accept Christ, God will accept us into the family and will no longer count us His enemy. Only God could offer to reconcile. You and I had nothing acceptable to offer God in order to gain salvation. God would only drop His enmity toward us when our sin was forgiven. Christ’s death for our sin was acceptable to God on our behalf. Therefore the Apostle says, “Having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” It was the life of Christ that saved us; the life He gave up on the Cross.

For God to take such a drastic step as to sacrifice His Son in order that I would no longer be His enemy speaks volumes of how much He loves me. It is obvious that He does not want us to be apart from Him. If we are His enemy it is by our choice and not His.

Don't Be Fooled: The Devil Does Not Play

Psalm 14:1 (New King James Version, NKJV).

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.

April Fool’s Day started a long time ago and has become a nationally recognized day in America, even though it is not a national holiday. People play pranks and hoaxes on each other in the name of fun. Some who are pranked or fooled laugh, others get angry. Everyone that is fooled is not necessarily a fool. The Bible defines a fool as one who says in their heart, “There is no God.”

Why would anyone say that? Because they have been fooled into believing there is no God. Jesus said a person that would build their house on sandy soil is foolish. The Apostle Paul wanted to know who it was that fooled the Galatian church. A fool is not just one who has a trick played on him but rather one who refuses to believe it was just a trick. If someone says your shoe is untied and you look and it is not, you were just tricked. If your shoe is untied and you look at it and refuse to tie it believing in your heart it is not really untied it just looks like it is, is a fool. Can you imagine anyone being that way? Not if they are in their right mind.

The same principle applies to the one who says there is no God in their heart. They see His creation; they see His works all around them and yet still believe in their hearts that He does not exist. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that because there were those who did not like to retain God in their knowledge, which means to think about Him and give Him serious consideration, that God would “give them over” to their thoughts. Simply put; if you do not believe there is a God then you do not believe you will be judged one day.

The devil will fool you if you let him. He will convince you, as he did Eve, that God is not who He says He is. The devil will fool you into believing that the Bible is not true, that Christ does not exist, and that this life is all there is. Don’t fall for it. Take a serious look at the Bible and give serious thought to what it teaches. Take a moment to pray about it; God will hear you. The devil is not playing April Fools; he is not playing at all.

Not Just Forgiven, But Cleansed Also!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 New King James Version, NKJV)

Having written these letters several years after the others had written the gospels, I tend to think that John believed people were in need of being reminded of the complete work of Christ on the Cross. Have you ever thought about what John may have envisioned when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen these words on the parchment?

He may have been thinking about the time Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria. Remember her? She was the one who was living with a man and had lived with others even before him. John may have remembered how that Jesus dealt with her.

Perhaps the time came to mind when Jesus was teaching in the temple and the religious guys brought in a woman caught in adultery and threw her down in front of Him; wanting to see if He would follow the Law and call for her to be stoned. Only to be surprised when He told them in a roundabout way they could be stoned for sins they had committed as well. Jesus then told her He forgave her and did not condemn her. Or it may have been what he remembered Jesus saying as He was dying on the Cross; “Forgive them Father, for they do not know what they are doing.”

I think you believe that Jesus will forgive sins; the sins of others. The hardest thing it seems for any of us to do is to believe in that forgiveness for ourselves. That is why I believe that John went a sentence further and added the words, “and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” John wanted us to know that the work of redemption was not just for a moment in history. Forgiving and cleansing go hand in hand. There cannot be forgiveness if there is no absolution of sin by the High Priest of Heaven. Sin that is present in one’s life is not absolved. Jesus cleansed (absolved) us of sin with His Blood. Today when we stand or kneel and ask God to forgive us for our sins we are also agreeing to allow Him to cleanse us from it. As the song Jesus Paid It All says, “Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

The reason many feel they are beyond forgiveness is because of the residue left behind in their heart from sin and unrighteousness. With their minds they attempt to put the sin behind them but in their hearts the stains remain. That is why the Apostle Paul told us to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” If you have asked God to forgive you He has; and Christ has cleansed you. Your sin stains have been bleached out by the Blood of Jesus!

The Lad that Had

John 6: 9 (New King James Version, NKJV).

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

Was this a little boy’s lunch or a food vendor in the right place at the right time? Scholars differ on why the boy was there.  I am not a scholar, but a student of the Bible, but I know He was there because this was set up by our Lord. Jesus is famous for doing the impossible; things which are not possible with men but are possible with God. To emphasize just how big a miracle this was Jesus gets testimony from His disciples. “Phillip, is there a market in the area that we can order food from to feed these folk?” Phillip, with a look of astonishment on his face and a bit of excitement in his voice said, “Are you kidding Jesus? Even if there was a market close by, there are thousands of people here; a year’s wages could not buy enough food to feed them! We don’t have the money to feed all these people!” Jesus asked them if they had any food at all and Andrew, Peter’s brother, saw the kid. “Here is a lad with some food. Two little fish and five barley loaves, but they will not go far in feeding this group.” This was an impossible task given to them by Christ. They wanted to please Him but this would be literally impossible.

Now it is easy for you and me to say to them, “Why do you doubt Christ? Don’t you believe He can do anything?” If you and I had of been there and Jesus said it to us, we would have said the same thing. We know what happened, after it happened. The Apostle Paul wrote that hope which is seen is not hope at all (Romans 8:24). Our belief is only affirmed when we see it confirmed. That which we believe that God can do is proven to us after He does it. Faith is made up of hope and belief that we will have that which we do not yet see. It would not be until Jesus began multiplying the fish and the bread that the disciples would experience His power. Had they only seen the lad that had differently. Jesus wanted bread, the lad had it. Andrew said it is not enough, Jesus said, “Bring it to Me.”

How many times have we hoped for a miracle only to miss what Jesus is doing? We have to get down the road a little in order to look back and see how Jesus had a plan the whole time; we just did not see it at the moment. You may be the lad with the fish, or you may be one of the people needing food, or you may be a disciple. Jesus had a purpose and a plan for each. He has a plan for you and me too. Learn to see things as Jesus does; a little is a lot if we bring it to Him! Nothing is impossible with God. Keep the faith; there is a lad in the crowd somewhere!