25 Nov (Phil 3-4)

Philippians 3

(v.7) Think of all the things that the world cherishes...material things, notoriety, fame, fortune...they are worthless to God. What He cares about is my heart...is it open for Him or not?

(v.9) We are righteous in the Father's eyes, because we have the cleansing blood of His Son on us! The Father sees us through Son-tinted glasses!

(v.12) We are still sinners on this earth, but we must press on, to strive to be more like Christ.

(v.20) We believers have a citizenship that can NEVER be revoked, never taken away, and we will enjoy His presence for eternity! That is a hope worth living for!

Philippians 4

(v.1) Crowns are rewards from God...we receive them for winning others to Christ. Of course, God did all the work, but He rewards us for doing our part, and doing His will.

(v.6) Be anxious for nothing...if we have trust in the LORD, then we won't fret about things we can't change. Leave our problems at the foot of the cross, and let Him lead us.
by prayer and supplication...we need to be prayer warriors! Prayer and reading of His Word are the two best ways to grow closer to God.

with thanksgiving...how fitting that this chapter came on Thanksgiving this year! Every day should be a day of thanksgiving, for every day is a gift from God. The hard part is to do His will every day!
let your requests be made known to God...of course, God knows what we desire and what we need, but He loves for us to talk with Him and snuggle up to Him with our needs.

(v.8) If we focus on good, we are more likely to do good. If we focus on evil, then we are more likely to sin...it's as simple as that!
(v.13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. If we are on the side of the Creator of the universe, then how can we fail? Be bold in Christ!!! Rom 8:31

14 Nov (Rom 13-14)

Romans 13

(v.1) This is a hard concept for many Christians, since we don't like what the U.S. government is doing most of the time. We need to remember that God appoints our nation's leaders for His purposes.

There is an old saying that I believe is true: "You get the leadership you deserve."

I see the USA being like the nation of Israel in the time of the kings and the book of Judges...we are ourselves (as a nation, but not individually) not following the LORD. Therefore, we are reaping what we sow. We allow abortion, we allow blatant sex on our mainstream shows on TV, we allow cursing and rude behavior with our kids, and we allow the normalization of homosexuality in our culture. Once we allow or tolerate something in society that is against God's Word, we will then see the next generation embrace it as common.

With that said, I believe that God puts certain people in power to further His plan. I feel that the USA was asleep and apathetic until the current government started blatantly abandoning the Constitution and the Bible as our founding laws.

So keep Rom 8:28 in mind, and let the LORD work this out. In the meantime, be diligent, be good citizens, and stand up for good. When given bad, respect authority and pray for our leaders.

(v.8) With the world economy in so much debt, and individually we are in debt more than ever as a nation of people, we are slaves to another. Here, Paul is reminding us that we should not be in debt (except for a home) and live to love one another.

(v.10) Jesus is love, and His love of us by dying on the cross fulfilled the Law. He lived sinless and was the perfect Passover Lamb of God for us, so loving others is fulfilling the Law of Christ.

Romans 14

(v.6) There are cults and denominations in Christianity that revere certain days over another as the Sabbath and holy. The Law had sundown Friday to sundown Saturday as the Sabbath. But that was under the Law...we who are under the New Covenant of Christ are under God's grace. We should revere EVERY DAY as holy and worthy to praise and serve God!

It is spiritually uplifting to take at least part of a day, and reserve it for deep prayer and worship to God. Spend a good deal of time in the Word, and converse with God. After all, one day a week dedicated to the LORD out of seven days is not too much to ask, is it?

(v.12) Each of us will face God...whether in judgment or in rewards. In both cases, we will have our lives tested by fire. The big difference is, if we have the blood of Christ washing our sins away, then we will only have rewards leftover. But if we rejected Christ, we will be guilty by the Law in our sins, and we will be destined to hell. We all need to make the choice for Christ individually.

(v.17) Don't let your faith be defined by what day you reserve for worship, or what foods and drinks you imbibe or not...faith is not about what we do...it's about gratitude for what God did for us!

6 Nov (2 Cor 3-5)

2 Corinthians 3

(v.6) I like to take notice that Paul mentions the new covenant, and how the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. This is a direct distinction between the Law and the Gospel. Jesus made a new covenant with mankind, where faith brings life. Matt 26:28 The Law, in itself, shows us our doom to death since we can't keep it perfectly. However, the beauty of the Gospel, is that by faith, we are saved.

(v.14) The veil here has a double meaning...typology is being used again. In Matt 27:51 as Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn in two, from top to bottom. That veil was the partition that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. Only the High Priest was allowed to go in there, and only once a year, to act as intercession for the people. Jesus wiped that all away, by dying in our place, and removing the barrier between us and the Father. Now, we don't need a pastor, or priest, to pray and intercede for us...we can pray and talk directly with the Father ourselves!

2 Corinthians 4

(v.6) This is a great point to make with our kids...God created light out from the darkness, and so are we when we are born again. We believers are light in a dark world. Gen 1:2-3

(v.14) This is another reference to the Rapture.

(v.16) Even though our bodies are dying, our spirits are growing when we walk with the LORD. God is preparing us for eternity with Him!!!

2 Corinthians 5

(v.1) I explain to my kids again, that God will use our DNA to create our heavenly bodies. The body we have today is cursed with sin, and is dying. But the one He creates for us in heaven will be done by His hands, and without sin and death!

(v.8) This verse is often cited at funerals, and rightly so. If a loved one who is a believer dies, they are immediately in heaven with Jesus! That is reason to celebrate and be happy for them. But since we are still here on earth, and we will miss that loved one until we join him/her in heaven, we are sad. We must try to focus on the positive, and realize that to be in heaven is our goal, and our joyful destination!

(v.10) The judgment seat of Christ is called, in Greek, the Bema Seat. This is what we see in the Olympics when the medals are handed out...the athletes stand on this and receive their rewards. We will have the same moment with Christ. He will view our whole life, and the things that weren't done for His glory will burn, but the things we did for His glory, they will be rewarded with crowns. 1 Cor 9:25

(v.20) Our kids (and us adults) need to remember that if we proclaim to be believers and followers of Christ, then we are His ambassadors of His on earth. This comes with great responsibility. I believe this is what the Third Commandment is all about...if we take the name of our King, then we need to represent Him purely and righteously to others! Exo 20:7

20 Oct (Acts 14)

Acts 14

(v.3) The unbelieving Jews were jealous that God was blessing the Gentiles. This is natural and understandable in a way, for up until now, God was only blessing and watching out for them. This is what caused them to let their pride get in the way of God's Word. If they didn't have hard hearts towards God blessing the Gentiles, then they may have come to see God's love and believe themselves.

(v.9) Like Jesus did, Paul healed someone who had faith in Jesus. They were rewarded for their faith, just like we will be!

(v.19) They left Paul for dead, and many scholars believe that Paul was given a glimpse of heaven that is cited in 2 Cor 12:2-4

(v.22) There is a price on earth for following God, but the reward far outweighs any tribulation we endure here on earth. That is a promise from God!

9 May (2 Kings 4-5)

2nd Kings 4

Elisha does a miracle much like Elijah did with the cakes of bread...this also makes us think of what Jesus did with the feeding of the 4,000 men in Matt 15.

(v.6) The vessels are symbolic of us...we are empty vessels until we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our flesh fights the Holy Spirit in us, and it's up to us to let the Spirit guide us...not our flesh. I also show my kids that the vessels all were filled up, until there were no more. I see this as a type of the Church, when that certain number that the Father wants is fulfilled, He will send His Son to take charge over the whole earth!

(v.10) This is a nice story by itself, but it also shows us that we need to prepare a way for ourselves to let God's Spirit to enter us. What I mean is, that we need to make a choice, and stick to it, so when we ask God's Spirit to enter us, He will be enabled to work in us. Our hearts and minds need to be committed, not just our emotions.

(v.17) Like Sarai, Elisabeth and Hannah before her, God heard this woman's prayers, and defied biology and gave her a son. Nothing is impossible with God!!!

(v.27) Elisha was surprised that God hadn't told him about this woman's son. We are also surprised or sad when we don't hear immediately from God, but He will reveal His plans for us on His perfect timing...not ours.

(v.43) God works through Elisha like He did through Jesus in Luke 9:17

2nd Kings 5

(v.8) The king of Israel would've known that there was a man of God if he was looking for one. But as we see with many of these kings, they weren't walking with God, and in fact, were worshipping pagan gods.

(v.11) Naaman was angry that Elisha himself didn't come to him...isn't this like us at times? Often we think the pastor of our church needs to hear our problems, when God will send us a friend or another brother/sister in the church to encourage us!

(v.15) Naaman's servant was wise...we don't need to see huge miracles to know that God does them in our lives. Most of the time, God does miracles in our lives that are little in scope, but they influence us immensely.

(v.16) We should serve without expecting a reward on earth...our reward is in heaven. Matt 6:20

(v.26) Lying is only going to get us in trouble...we should remember that God knows the truth, and even if we deceive another person, we haven't fooled God! Again, we shouldn't wish to serve for the purpose of gaining earthly goods or treasures...we should serve others because Jesus commanded us to. John 13:14