Abrogate (1 Peter 4:12-16)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is "abrogate.” The Bible has a lot to say about suffering. God's people have always gone through crazy stuff and come out as winners on the other side. The writers in the New Testament understood that Jesus was returning and all suffering would eventually be abolished. But this would not happen until the Savior came back to reclaim his people.

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”

~1 Pet 4:12

My question is: how do you view suffering in your life? I know that there is a lot of bad stuff out there, and especially stuff that does not make sense. This world is filled with suffering and sometimes Christians forget what is on the other side. The truth is, Jesus is coming back and will abrogate, or do away with, all suffering. We must only wait with expectancy and rejoice in the fact that we will be on the receiving end of that perfect plan. My prayer is that you are witness to everyone around you of God's power through his only son.

Praying for you,

Mo

Loup-garou (1 Peter 5:8)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “loup-garou.” This is got to be by far one of my favorite words of all time. I'm just going to start out by letting you know exactly what it is, instead of make you wait like I usually do. This is another word for werewolf. The Bible depicts the evil one in different manners throughout the different books. One of my favorites is in the latter part of the New Testament…

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

~1 Pet. 5:8

Make no mistake about it, the evil one is always looking for a foothold in your life. You must continually be alert and on your guard and ready for anything that is thrown your way. My question is: are you living your life in a manner that gives you the best opportunity to fight against the attacks of the enemy? My prayer this morning is that you take all means and ways necessary to be ready for the attacks against you. They're coming your way, and much of the time we do not know exactly what we will face. But, whether the devil comes as a roaring lion, a serpent, or even a loup-garou… you will be ready.

Praying for you,

mo

Cantrip (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “cantrip.” When the church was first constructed in the old days it was very fragile.  The evil one had schemes up his sleeve to keep the believers from following God’s word. The writers of each of the books of the New Testament knew that they were up against a great battle, both in the physical realm as well as the spiritual. In this passage today the apostle Paul gives us the reason we must always keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

~2 Cor. 11:3

My question is: are you the type of person that makes the gospel more difficult than what it could be? I guess what I'm saying is that many of us rely on our own instincts and knowledge to make God's words more applicable to our lives. When in fact what we really should be doing is keeping God's word simple by following it… and that's it. My prayer is that you do not make God's plan for your life more complex, and that you do not believe the cantrip, or sham that the evil one presents. It is when we take our eyes off of Jesus that we leave the simplicity of the word.

Praying for you,

Mo

Supernormal (John 17:17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “supernormal.” Jesus did some pretty crazy stuff during his ministry. I always like to read his words in the New Testament because he was always interesting, and he liked to throw people for a loop. In this specific passage Jesus is talking about sanctification. You really have to have some guts to come out and say much of what our Savior did.  The following seems pretty normal, but roll with me…

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

~Jn. 17:17

By saying this, Jesus was saying that one who does not rely on God was at a disadvantage. My question for you is: where do you put your trust? We have a savior that is more than just supernormal; he is supernatural. God sent his son to die for us and because Jesus chose to take on this task we are capable of sanctification. My prayer for you is that you go beyond your personal sanctification, and move others to become more like Jesus daily.

Praying for you.

mo

Delate (Mark 15:3-4)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is "delate.” Jesus led a pretty intense life. If there's one thing that you could say about him, it is that he never had a dull moment. From the time he was a kid and he taught all of the old guys in the Temple, to the very last moments of his life, all the way to reappearing and beating death, I would have to say that is pretty exciting. Throughout his ministry Jesus was often accused of a ton of different stuff. Towards the end of his life he stood before one of the most powerful men of the day to give account.

The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

~Mk. 15:3-4

Even when Jesus chose not to use words he still amazed people. My question for you is: where you stand when your faith is on the line? In this particular passage the chief priests delate, or accuse him, of a lot of stuff that was not true. Through all of this Jesus remained calm and collected. My prayer for you is that when your faith is challenged that you would be affirmed by the fact that Jesus has called you to follow him and live a life worthy to that calling.

Praying for you,

Mo