live2bless

Luke 24:1-12 (NIV) 1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright th...

What is love? I find it clarifying to use that precious word interchangeably with the word helpfulness. So that you are loving yourself when you do anything that helps you be more helpful. You are loving others when you do anything that helps them be more helpful. So when we read, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” I take that to mean, help others be more helpful by doing for them the kinds of thin...

In Genesis 2:15 we read that after creating Adam, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Then in 1 Corinthians 14:33a, 40 we read,  “For God is not a God of disorder….everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” The context is a church service, but it’s applicable, I would suggest, to all aspects of life. To bring order to any...

Romans 11:33-12:1 (NIV) 33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. 1 Therefore, I...

In Exodus 33:18 when Moses was in the process of receiving the Ten Commandments, he made a request to the Lord, he said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.” Notice how the Lord equates Moses’ request to see his glory with his goodness: “show me your glory…and the...

Have you ever wondered how a believers trials and difficulties differ from that of an unbeliever? At the heart of an unbelievers sufferings is the frustration of, “ things are not going my way. ” At the heart of a believers sufferings is the preoccupation of staying focused on pleasing Christ more than oneself when “things aren’t going my way.”

Isaiah 50:4-9 Here’s a principle: the higher your aim in life, the more committed you will need to be to reach your goal because the reasons to quit will be greater. Climbing 4-Buttes vrs. climbing Mt Everest. If all you want in life it’s to make things relatively comfortable for yourself and your family and friends well then, OK, you’ll face some adversities along the way, all right, but you migh...

It seems to me that in the realm of the spirit as with any relationship, proximity is determined by shared interests. In his love, God extends his arms to every human heart. He wants every man, woman, and child to live forever within his embrace. But someone can only experience that closeness to the degree that they share God's interests.

Isaiah 33:5,6 (NIV) “The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.” “The Bible uses the word fear at least 300 times in reference to God…” Christianity Today Article I think it could rightly be said...

Every sin is either a subtle or an overt rejection of the love of God. How so? Because God in his love for us has committed himself — and signed it with his own blood — to care for our every need. He insists on it and delights to do it. Hence, when we look to something other than him to meet the need, we are rejecting his loving care for us.  That is what sin is and does. Spiritual maturity,...

To love is to value. The more you value (love) something the more motivated you will be to sacrifice anything or do whatever it takes to have it or keep it in your life. It will increasingly fill your thoughts. God the Father supremely values friendship with you.  Therefore he is boundlessly motivated to sacrifice anything or do whatever it takes to have you or keep you as his friend. You are...

Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV) 12 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” ************************ Why fear and trembling? Because it is so easy to lose sight of these two truths:...

Seven All-important Responsibilities in a Growing Friendship With Jesus personal worship — praise, thanksgiving, rejoicing in the Lord prayer — structured and on the go Bible reading and reflection — even if it is just a few verses that you then think through corporate worship — gathering with God’s people for worship corporate fellowship — being together to think with fellow believers about the k...

For what it may be worth, let me share with you a dream I had about exactly a year ago. It is the best dream I’ve ever had so I took time to write it down. In it God was carrying me throughout the universe to show me what he had made and what people were doing. In his arms we sort of “flew” from earth into space and as we passed what seemed to be a “planet” I asked if there was anything on it beca...

A person’s god is whatever they ultimately rely on in order to make themselves feel better. But if it is something other than the Lord, then the Psalmist is clear: “ The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply. ” Psalm 16:4 In other words: without exception, so long as we keep relying on that god, we are making matters worse for ourselves — more painful and frustrating.

Next to Jesus himself, perhaps the most awe inspiring and precious gift God entrusts to us is the measure of positive influence we can have in the lives of others and the order we can bring to things around us. Someone has pointed out that, “…sociologists tell us that even the shiest introvert will influence 10,000 people over the course of his or her lifetime.” -Maxwell I can envision no greater...

Every adversity in life is intended to be responded to in a way that protects us from something worse. So either we make good on it, that is, grow with it, or we make matters worse. Hence the questions: What does it mean to grow? And how do we keep growing no matter what’s going on? Whether we are growing or not is known by its fruit: we know we are growing when we are becoming more helpful to oth...

I am determined to have the last day of my life on earth also be the most helpful day I’ve lived, which is to say, the most prayerful. But if that is going to be possible, I need to practice now how to keep growing in helpfulness even under circumstances of extreme duress when everything in me wants to quit. Why? Because the chances are good that barring a sudden fatal accident or event, the time...

What the Bible refers to as the fallen “self” in us is whatever in us would favor what we want to think, say, or do over what God wants us to think, say, or do. Hence Jesus’ call to “deny oneself” or “hate ones own life” or the apostle Paul writing that we are to “put to death” whatever belongs to our earthly nature is directed at that fallen “self” in us.

In Psalm 31:15 the Psalmist writes, “My times are in your hands.” What does he mean? It sounds like pure security to me. Let’s see if we can spell it out. The length of my life is in your hands. The quality of my life is in your hands. Who you would like me to be every moment of every day is in your hands. Where I need to be and when I need to be there is in your hands. What you would like me to t...

“After extensive study, professor and author Dr. J. Robert Clinton concluded that more than 70 percent of [Christian] leaders do not finish well.” — McCooey Why? I suggest the following two reasons: (1) They had no ultimate and defined goal for themselves sufficiently lofty as to make its presence felt in the most mundane moments of each day. (2) If they did have one, they increasingly allowed the...

How do you know if you fear God? Here’s a question that you can ask yourself that I think can answer that: “ Am I growing more careful to do what I know would please the Lord than what I know would please me? ” If so, then be assured, you do fear God.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” says the apostle Paul. Notice, not by the renewing of your lifestyle but your mind. Transformation is rooted in where we direct our thoughts, and the options are one of two: the desires of our selfish self, called “the flesh” or the desires of the Holy Spirit. Here’s what I think the sequence looks like in either case: a desire that we think about abou...

So what is going to be the primary reason for doing all that I do today? What’s going to be my dominant motive? If it’s going to be something other than indulging myself in five minute increments with what feels good, then three conditions seem absolutely essential. First, I need to define for myself the kind of person I aim to be at all times and in all circumstances. That is, the kind of person...

The more we practice something, the more impulsive it will become for us to do it, and the more control it will gain over our lives. That goes for bad habits as well as good. Consider: Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV) — 7 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the...