Obtaining Real Faith

Have you ever wondered about what we are really suppose to be doing here on earth? I mean what is our primary purpose? If you are a Trekkie, meaning a Star Trek fan then you will automatically know what I am talking about. The prime directive was to observe but not be noticed, they were called to sometimes help without changing the sequence of events. So is this what God had created us for, to simply observe His creation without partaking?

I believe that as Peter did in his time that we are to have, "grace and peace in the fullest measure,"(I Peter 1:2) and that we "greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory"(1:8).

WOW, grace and peace to the fullest and greatly rejoice with inexpressible joy full of glory!!! Can you imagine such a life? Most of us can't simply because we don't live close enough to the source. We see that in verse 9 he continues, "obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." You see to have that type of peace and joy we must have that type of faith.

Today let's pray for a stronger faith. Meditate on the fact the God can strengthen your faith and give you this type of life. Then listen to what He wants you to do with this new strengthened faith.

Hope

There is hope out there on the horizon.

Isaiah 42 says;
He will not be disheartened or crushed...

And then Isaiah continues that thought in verse 6;
I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You...

So, we have a promise to not be disheartened and also that we have been called in righteousness. What an incredible thought. Today just reflect on the fact that we have a promise to not be disheartened and that we have been called in righteousness. All God to refill you today. Pray that He gives you strength to get through the day and righteousness to fulfill His calling.

Proof

Yesterday we looked at how we have hope, we have problems, and we have a future. Satan will attack, he will do everything that he can to destroy your intimate relationship with Christ Jesus. We have to prove our faith by who we turn to when the trials hit. It is easy for us to praise HIM when things are going well and we fell close to HIM, but what about when the trials hit? If you find that you can't have children, or you've been terminated from your position, or you are informed that you have something that is life threatening and can't be cured, or worse a loved one has it? What then? Who do you turn to when you are at the end of the road? It is in these moments that Jesus wants to give you a hug and let you know that HE has endured all so that we can turn to HIM in these moments. Just remember when you are at the cross in the road and the tears are coming down your face, that there is a nail scared hand reaching up to a thorn pierced brow to wipe away a tear shed for you. Because while we are at our cross roads we must remember that Christ HIMSELF defeated the cross and won the battle. So although we might go through our struggles we must always remember that HE is with us and HE has already won the war. So it is Jesus HIMSELF that we need to turn to.

Remember what Matthew said in chapter 11 as he closes out that chapter. "Turn to me all who are burdened and heavy laded and I will give you rest, for MY yoke is easy and MY burden is light."

Right now spend some time mediating on Jesus and turning our problems over to HIM. Just spend some time relaxing in HIS SPIRIT. Turn your yoke over to HIM today.

Hope

Sorry there wasn't a post on Wednesday this has been one of those weeks that we hear about from time to time. But that is where our blog was headed today anyway. We have been talking about having hope and that our hope is in Heaven. But we must understand what Peter is saying in I Peter 1:6-9 is that problems will come. Especially if we draw closer to Christ, Satan will attack harder. Problems will occure, they will happen, but we have hope that it will pass. Paul said "it will pass." No matter what it is, it will pass. Christ is in control of everything and His will will be done. So we now know:

1) We have hope
2) We have problems
3) We have a future

Number three is what we are going to talk about this Sunday. We have a future that is in Heaven if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ. We have future that will far exceed anything that the world could ever offer. On a building in Washington D.C. is written the phrase, "What is past is prologue." Someone asked a cab driver what that meant. He said, "It means, You ain't seen nothing yet!"

And that is our message today. As Christians, we ain't seen nothing yet. The best is yet to be!!!

Today let's focus on loving God like never before. Don't tell others about Christ today, today just work on your relationship with Him. Make him the center of your life and work on an intimate relationship with Him and Him alone.

Good Sunday

Yesterday was a Very good Sunday. It is always great to watch God move isn’t it? Having Ramon Chaves Jr. and his two boys Robert and John join was a exciting.

We are in I Peter right now and it is fun to watch how he handles the pressures and trials that life brings. One thing that we need to understand is that trials in life will come, and the stronger in your faith that you get the hard Satan will bring your trials. But as we saw yesterday in church it is where we put our hope that is the most important thing, that is next to our faith. If we put our hope in ourselves then we will surly fall, but if we put our hope in Christ then we are sure to succeed.

Right now meditate on Christ, allow Him to motivate you and Him alone. Look at I Peter 1:3, and rejoice and praise God for allowing us to receive such an inheritance as described in verse 4. Allow your heart to rejoice and praise God and God alone for the next few minutes.

A New Hope

If you are an advid Star Wars buff then you will know that A New Hope is the name of one of the episodes. Man has a continual search for hope. We all want something to hold on to, something that says it will get better, something that helps get us through the day. As we embark on this new journey in I Peter that is exactly what you will find. Peter is talking about hope, and the hope that he is refering to is far greater than anything we will ever find here on Earth. He is refering to the hope that we will find in Christ Jesus. We can become born again, a living hope is how verse 3 of I Peter I puts it. That is what we can obtain. That is what we have to look forward to. So if you are like the other 7 Billion here on Earth then let's look through this study together and gain A New Hope!!!

Read I Peter 1:1-5

Today Meditate on what are you really looking for in life? What is it that you need hope for and from? How today can you let part of your life go and just simply let God? Meditate simply on Him!!!

Christ: The Teacher

As we conclude our discussion on the Cross I hope that you have been as blessed as I have been. There have been may things that have come up along the way to try and distract us from our goal of Marching to the Cross but we remained faithful.

Jesus showed us so many things that we could take home from His example:
1) The Crown of Thorns showing the consiquenses of our sin
2) The water and the blood that flowed from Christ, blood for Salvation and water for being made holy
3) John's not leaving

to just name a few.

I believe that we could spend an entire year studing and not even scratch the surface.

Now we are moving on to I Peter and his message of Hope! We are going to camp out in this book for several months. This is going to be a very exciting study!!!

Look at I Peter 1:3-5

William Barclay says of these verses, "There are few passages in the New Testament where more of the great fundamental Christian ideas come together."

Simple Rules to Live By

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk..

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.