Recusant (James 4:7-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “recusant.” One of the main themes of the Bible is submission. When people make a decision to follow Jesus as the Messiah, what they're really saying is that they are willing to submit their lives to the Savior and follow his commands. This is a pretty tough change for a lot of people because we are so used to keeping our loyalty to ourselves. It goes against everything that we feel and believe should occur in human nature. But this is exactly what Jesus asks us to do.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

~Jm. 4:7

My question is: how are you when it comes to following Jesus and denying yourself? The word tells us that we must be humble income before the one who changed our lives. My prayer is that each of us never becomes a recusant, or one who refuses to submit, in our dealings with God. As you yourself been the site of the Lord, others will see your actions and respond to God favorably because of your actions.

Praying for you,

mo

Extemporize (John 20:34-31)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “extemporize.” One of the cool things about the Bible is that you never know what you are going to get. In fact, the people that are talked about in the Bible are in some pretty crazy situations. It is almost like a soap opera much of the time if you think about it. One of the guys that gets a pretty bad rap in the New Testament is Thomas. A lot of peeps like to give him some grief, but he is the one who had enough guts to ask the Savior what the heck was going on.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

~Jn. 20:24-31

Talk about a shocker! No one had any idea what was going on and all the sudden Jesus comes back and catches them off guard. So, not knowing what to do the disciple Thomas extemporizes, or improvises within the situation. My question is: what you do when you are caught of guard in your relationship with the Savior? How you ever been in a situation where you had to talk about God in you are not ready? My prayer is that you are always ready for the situations that God puts you in. It is not by accident that you are given the opportunities that you have.

Praying for you,

Mo

Vine (John 15:5)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “vine.”  Farming and land and all that good stuff were used often in the OT and NT because that is what they dealt with on a daily basis. JC knew that to get the attention of those around him, he would need to help them understand that following God is like anything else in life.  We need to be systematic about the way we approach spiritual things.  In this particular passage, JC is telling his disciples what it means to follow him and the word given from God.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

~John 15:5

Here’s a question: do you rely on JC to make you a better Christian? I think that when we try to do stuff ourselves, and outside of his will, we tend to make life a bit more difficult.  We need to stay close to God through the Son, knowing the Jesus is necessary for us to bear fruit.  I pray that you are a witness to others around you, using God’s love as the catalyst. Remember that we only bear fruit when we stay close to the true vine… Jesus.

Praying for you,

mo

Laconic (James 3:13)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “laconic.”  James knew what it meant spur peeps on in a way that caused them to live by both action and thought.  He wanted people who followed JC to do so with their actions first, and then by what they said.  In this particular verse, he tells his listeners that wisdom is incumbent upon the way that we apply the stuff that we know.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

~James 3:13

Here’s my question: are you doing your best to live a life of humility and wisdom?  It’s a lot more difficult than I initially thought.  Even thought it is something very simple, the complexity is brought on by the way that I approach life.  When I focus on living a good life and serve others I know that I cannot really go wrong.  James saw peeps in the church getting all caught up in fights and other madness. He wanted that to change.  My prayer is that each of you live a laconic life –  one of fewer words than actions – of humility, and learn to become wise in the Lord.

Praying for you,

mo

Sempiternal (1 John 5:13-16)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “sempiternal.” The good thing about being a Christian is we know that there is hope beyond this life. I was listening to one of my mentors on an audio recording earlier today and realized that life is pretty short. We spend time time doing things that are not very significant, when in reality we do not have much time to get the things done that would benefit the kingdom. So, it's kind of a bummer that we’re only here on earth for a little while. At the same time, it's really cool to know that life beyond this one is forever.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

~1 Jn. 5:13-14

Here's my question: do you view your life in terms of eternity? What I mean is this… If you know that you are to live beyond this life in eternity with God, wouldn't you want to do everything that you could to make sure that your friends are there with you? I know it's kind of a rhetorical question, but it needs to be asked from time to time. One of my mentors always says, sometimes it is better to be reminded that it is to be instructed. My prayer for you today is that you realize that God is sempiternal, or forever. We have the invitation to live with him and that eternity. It's my hope that you take as many people with you beyond this life.

Praying for you,

mo

Fulgurant (Luke 17:20-26)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “fulgurant.” When Jesus was done with his mission here on earth all of the chatter began concerning his coming back. Although there was a lot of uncertainty, and still is, a lot of people thought that when he came back there would be quite a rumble.

“For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.”

~Lk 17:24

I am not sure what it will be like when Jesus comes back, but I am pretty sure that it will be exciting. My question is: are you ready for the Savior to come back in this fulgurant manner, with thunder and lightning and all the other good stuff? My prayer is that each of you looks toward the people in your life who do not know the Savior. Life with Christ can be wonderful if we allow it. I know that God is working in each of your lives and will give you an understanding of what it means to be ready for his coming back.

Praying for you,

mo