Have you ever been boogie boarding, riding the waves and having a good old time at the beach and then you look at the shore and see that the current has pushed you far away from your towel? You didn’t even realize it, but you were drifting away!
Hebrews 2:1 warns against “drifting.”
We get so wrapped up in our lives and before we know it – we’re a long ways from our towel! Be diligent, keep your focus on Jesus!
Paul tells us in Romans 13:8 that we have an outstanding “debt” to love one another. I’m not indebted to love you, am I? One loves because one loves, right?
Is Paul being unreasonable?
Like everything else in scripture, look to Christ. Whenever in doubt, the answer is Jesus. Always.
Our Savior lavished us with such a gushing, pouring, drenching, and FLOODING love that it could never possibly be duplicated. It could never possibly be repaid. In fact, the only way to even scratch the surface of His tremendous love is to look out for one another. That’s it.
We are not instructed to do some incredible feat. We are just asked to show simple kindness to people who are in the same boat as ourselves. We are commanded to show our fellow man just an inkling of the likeness of Jesus. Our job as Christians is to point people to Christ. Then the Holy Spirit steps in. That’s it.
If Jesus felt it important enough to give his life for others, the least we can do is honor that great sacrifice by showing others that we care for them.
In this, we remind people. We remind them that Jesus lives, that He loves them, and that He loves us. How could He not? After all, He is love.
Thank you, Jesus for showing us what love is and how to love!
So, yes – I owe you love. You owe me love. We owe love to each other. It’s a debt neither one of us can repay. We are always in hock.
I’m so human and humans are weak and flawed. However, there is someone we can turn to who is not weak and who is not flawed. Exodus 14:14 tells us that the “LORD” will fight for us. When you see the Lord written in all caps like that, it means YHWH; the one true Creator God. It’s refering to the God through which all things are. (Thanks to Rev. Dr. David Cyphers for that explanation.)
If the Author of the Universe will fight for us, let’s let him. God has never, nor never will fail and He won’t fail you.
You can live without food for 3 weeks, but take away your water and you can last only 3 days. 65% of our body is made of water. Try growing something without water and see how that goes for you!
It’s easy to see that water is essential for anything to survive. Our spiritual well-being is no different
John 7:38 tells us that rivers of living water will flow from the heart of whoever believes in Jesus. Rivers! How refreshing does that sound?
I am not the wise man on the mountaintop dispensing knowledge. Far from it! I am the exhausted guy caked in dirt trying desperately to climb that very mountain as it repeatedly kicks my sorry butt back down to the valley. I am in the trenches, just like you.
The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God (Oswald Chambers). When you are on the mountain you can believe anything. But in the valley, you only have Jesus to get you out!
Pray with me Mark 9:22 – “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us!”
Work is work, right? Or they would call it play. Everyone has something they would change about their job. In Col. 3:23 Paul tells us that as Christians, we are not working for our bosses, we are working “as for the Lord.”
We are to work with good cheer.
Hey, at least you have a job that you don’t like. Many Americans would love to have a job… that they would not like.
Bosses, you are not off the hook either. There is plenty of scripture about treating your employees well (Eph. 6:9).
One of my favorite accounts in the Old Testament pertains to Gehazi. Who in the world is Gehazi?!
Let me set the scene: 2 Kings 6, The Syrians had put a hit out on Elisha. Their army ambushed him and his servant, Gehazi. Understandably Gehazi was freaking out. Elisha prayed for Gehazi’s eyes to be opened. He immediately saw the mountain full of angels on fiery chariots ready to do battle on Elisha’s behalf.
I truly believe that is how it is today. We feel we are alone in a battle against a whole army. When in actuality, we have a heavenly host at our ready. Make no mistake, there is a spiritual battle constantly raging all around us. The only question is: Do you have the spirit of Gehazi or Elisha?
I was talking with my mother-in-law today about the “Your Red Sea” blog and she brought up an interesting point. The blog positioned that the Red Sea could represent your problems and that by relying on God, your problems could be solved in a way that you couldn’t even imagine. She said not only that, but the Red Sea then destroyed the Israelites’ enemies. In essence, what was once an obstacle became a tool for deliverance! Not only did God create a door for the Israelites to escape, but He also used that door to vanquish their foes.
With God, the thing that would destroy a person can be transformed into the thing that destroys the person’s problems.
Now, most of us today don’t have what we would call “foes” or “enemies.” We don’t have a Dr. Moriarty… unless you count the enemy of us all: that old serpent. But, we do have abstract enemies like fear, hate, and worry.
If a person is up against their Red Sea, then they have two options:
1, Rely on themselves and… risk drowning, or go broke buying boats, or weary themselves by traveling all away around…
Or
2, Rely on God, calmly walk across dry land to the other shore, and then watch as the waters crash down and drown your foes.
A Verse A Day 