Love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “love.” As each of you probably knows, today is Valentine's Day. So I figured this word would be appropriate. One of the greatest things ever written about the subject comes from the Bible. The apostle Paul knew what it meant to live a life of passion. He challenges the church in Corinth to love one another. This is not an easy thing to do, as most of us have found out the hard way at least once in our lives. That's why the Bible is so cool; in just a few words we learn how we should be with one another.

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

~1 Cor. 13:8

So I guess my question for you today is: where do you fall on the love scale? What I mean by this, is how you treat others when it comes to your daily life? Each of us have an obligation as Christians to love other people, not just the people we want to love. As we are sinners and unlovable - yet Christ loved us - so we must love others. My prayer for you today that you would look at each person you see with the eyes of JC. Look past any frustration, hurt, bad feelings, animosity, or anything else that you might feel for somebody, and remember that God sent his son because he loved you and me. And because of this, so we should love one another.

Praying for you,

Mo

Shout (Proverbs 1:20-33)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “shout.” One of my favorite books of the Bible to read his Proverbs. There is so much good stuff no matter where you look. When I was in high school, my mentor would tell me whenever I was in doubt of what to read, to just open up to any of the Proverbs and it would pretty much speak into my life. In fact, in the beginning of the book, the author sets up the rest of the entire book with a warning and encouragement of the information that was to follow.

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech…”

~Prov. 1:20-21

My question is: a matter how spiritual or unspiritual you think you are, what role does wisdom play in your life? Even if you totally didn't believe in God or had no idea there was a God, or whatever… anything you read in the book of Proverbs will cause you to try your best to live better than you already are. I guess I'm trying to say is that anyone, that means you and me, can and should really get something out of this book. My prayer is that you open it up and take a look at the potential that it has to speak into your life. That's why the very first chapter says that wisdom calls out… or another way to say it, shouts for you and I to listen. Will you?

Testify (John 8:12-30)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “testify.”  JC had to go through a bunch of scrutiny while on the earth.  He knew that he was justified because the Father sent him.  But he still had tons of critics, as he does today as well.  Being the light of the world was a pretty tall order, and he was always ready to love on people and change a life.  Even though he needed no justification from the praise of people, he lived and loved higher than the rule…

“Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.” ~Jn. 8:14

My question is: how do you believe JC is using your life as a testimony to the Savior’s love? I know that each of us has opportunitites to spread Christ’s love through our actions and care for others.  My prayer is that you use the Gosple to love above the rule.  Give God a chance to proclaim the Son through your life.  God will use use and give you the words when you need them. Trust in his plan to testify to others.

Empower (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “empower.” The apostle Paul knew what it meant to be both a person of power and a person of weakness. Can you imagine the life that this guy led? He starts out as a prominent figure of power in Jewish life, one which hates Christians. Then JC takes a hold of his heart and he makes a complete 180° turnaround. You can envision how he felt in this specific situation. He had some kind of thorn in his side, whether figuratively or literally. And the crazy thing is, even though Paul was way close to God, he still understood how weak he was.

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

~2 Cor. 12:9

My question is: when you think about weakness in your own life, what comes to mind? I know that for a lot of you right now you are experiencing physical weakness because of all of the training that you are putting in. This is a great reminder of our relationship with Christ. When you feel like you are so weak that you just want to lay down and escape from the world through a simple nap or a full on 36-hour sleep fest, I pray that you are reminded of your spiritual weakness. This is nothing to be ashamed of. The apostle Paul tells us here that when we are weak, Christ is amplified even more in our lives - he will empower you. So, take heart… This is going to be a great weekend.

Praying for you,

mo

Proclamation (Ezra 1:1)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “proclamation.” Back in the old days when someone wanted to make an important announcement this is how they did it.  The king of Persia wanted the peeps to know that what he was about say was pretty important. This rebuilding process was going to take a lot of time, effort, and dedication from all involved.

“…the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm…”

~Ezra 1:1

My question of you is: what does your life say about your relationship with JC… is it a proclamation of who the Lord is and what his decrees mean?  You have the privilege of representing the Savior each day that you live. I pray that as you move about today and the rest of this week that you would be a living proclamation of God’s divine plan.  Be encouraged that God has called you in his power to minister to others through your actions and abilities.  He is waiting for you to do good stuff for his name’s sake.

Praying for you,

mo

Strength (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “strength.” The Apostle Paul wrote this to the church of Thessalonica; he was very concerned for the stuff that they had to deal with women daily basis. We have to understand that these letters were written because the apostle was not able to be with them all the time. We have the luxury today of having a church that has the same strong leadership presence in the world that is not completely hostile to our cause. This was not the case for this particular church in Thessalonica. Paul knew they were on the brink of losing all they had been taught because of the negative influences of the world surrounding them.

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.”

~2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

My question is: how is God strengthening your heart daily to become a more effective follower. I know that at this point in the season you are very tired, and at some points you feel as if your strength is left you completely. Everything hurts, sleeping is all that you want to do, and you are wondering why the heck you got into this crazy madness. My prayer is that you hang in there. Your coaches know how much time you're putting in, and more importantly God knows your commitment to this program, this incredible school, and to him. Allow God to comfort your heart and strengthen both your soul and your body. We believe in you.

Praying for you,

Mo

Know (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “grow.” There's always been a lot of controversy concerning the issue of election in the Bible. Within all that madness, we may not ever get complete answers on what that all means. But what we do know is that Paul understood that by God's selections, this referred to a calling from God. The church in Thessalonica received encouragement from Paul that each of them was called by the Lord to live a life for Christ.

“But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

~2 Thes. 2:13

God does not want us to preach election to people who do not believe, but instead the gospel. My question for you is: how are you using each day to preach the gospel to both people who believe and those who do not believe in Christ? Each of us who have a faith in the Savior know that we will see him one day in paradise. My prayer is that you let God use your life, whether in the pool or out, as a way to preach the gospel to others.

Praying for you,

mo