Liberty (Luke 4:18-19)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “liberty.” At this point in Jesus’ ministry he was a pretty popular guy. What is funny is that when he went back to his hometown is when he started to receive some scrutiny. Nevertheless, when Jesus read from the Old Testament scrolls in this instance he deliberately proclaimed the good stuff that God had in store, and left out the vengeance part. Jesus was proclaiming the kingdom and the liberty that comes with it. That particular reading should have encouraged all who heard the words that Jesus said.

“God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”

~Luke 4:18-19

My question is: do you understand the intensity of God's goodness in your life? I hope they were encouraged by the words in this passage and realize that God has good things in store for you. It's when we least expect it that God reminds us of the liberty he gives through his only son. My prayer is that you continue to live in the freedom that God has given you through Christ. Now is the time to act on your faith and show God through your actions that you believe and trust in him.

Praying for you,

Mo

Arise (John 14:31)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “arise.” Jesus knew something about getting up early in the morning. With the father before anybody else was up. This was the kind of diligence that the son had to have to spend quality time with the one who mattered. Jesus was always completely obedient to God, knowing that every step and action he would take depended on his reliance on the One who sent him.

“Arise, let us go from here.”

~Jn. 14:31

Most of us know what it takes to get up early in the morning to get things done. Whether it's training for something, going to school, working, or just simply needing to get things done we are constantly on the go. My question for you is: are you ready to go where Jesus leads? My prayer is that as God works in your life that the spirit touches you in a way that you can respond favorably with the work God has for you.

Praying for you,

mo

Anticipate (2 Peter 3:11-13)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “anticipate.” Back in the day God's people had a huge emphasis on witnessing. The reason for this was the actually believed that Jesus Christ was going to come back possibly before they even died. I mean, think about it. All these books were written within a relatively short time of the Savior's death. So, with the letters that are being written to these churches, you could imagine that they wanted to be ready for the day of the coming of the Lord.

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

~2 Pet. 3:12

My question is: when it comes to your faith, what do you anticipate? Within your relationship with God, you should have specific items on your agenda that you plan to accomplish. You need to wait on the Lord patiently, but at the same time with a proactive mindset. There are people in your life that need to see Christ. As you live as an example for them, the Lord will be faithful and just to take on his side of the bargain. My prayer is that you seek the Lord today with anticipation of the great things he will do concerning your faith in him and your witness to others.

Praying for you,

Mo

Thousand (2 Peter 3:8)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “thousand.” We see a ton of use in the New Testament of numbers to represent God and his timing. In this passage, Peter is letting the believers know that we need to understand that God works on a different schedule than his people. We see time against time, but God sees time against eternity. We can also take from this writing from Peter that we must work diligently with the time that God has given us, because we do not know when he is sending Jesus back to get us. We as Christians don't want to leave anyone out of the opportunity to have a relationship with Christ.

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

~2 Pet. 3:8

My question for you is: how do you spend the time that God has given you? As a believer in the Lord, it is your duty and responsibility to use your time wisely and invest it in things that matter. Your life is not your own, and whether God gives you one more day, or one more century, on this Earth you must take advantage of it. My prayer for you is that you would realize the transcendence of God and how far beyond our comprehension he is. Live today as if it were your last day, because we never know when that awesome day will come when we see our Lord face-to-face.

Praying for you,

mo

Meek (Matthew 5:5)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “meek.”  You might not think this to be a great one to speak wisdom on the front end.  But the cool thing is that God used this word in the Bible to describe his expectations for Christians. It is not that he wanted them to be wimps, but instead take a humble nature in relationship with the Father.  When JC was giving the Sermon on the Mount, he said some really profound statements that speak volumes, and still do today…

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

~Matt. 5:5

My question is: how is your spirit when it comes to relationship with God? I know that it is easy to get distracted and fall away from a consistent time because of all the madness in life.  But this is exactly why we need to slow down and get back to basics.  Just as the crowds sat and listened to JC, so must we take time to do the same and revisit our faith continually.  My prayer is that you learn to be humble in spirit and strive to preach the Gospel through your words and actions.  Someone out there needs to understand God’s love, and you might be the person to relay that message.  Have an open heart and be ready with expectation for the things JC will do through you.

Praying for you,

mo

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?