Rejoice Always!!!

Good Friday to all of you. God's word is so good but yet so challenging and as we will see today His word is very hard to do sometimes! here are today's verse:


Philippians 4:4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Remember again Paul is writing this in Prison and in verse 4 he says rejoice in the Lord always?? Think about that. You see rejoicing in the Lord does not have anything to do with what situation we are in right now in life it has all to do with what Jesus has done for us for eternity!!! We should be rejoicing always in this.

So how exactly do we do this? I believe we can see how to do this by looking at these verses in Romans also penned by Paul:

Romans 11:33-36

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “ For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “ Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen

In verse 33 it tells us God has infinite wisdom and knowledge. We have no reason and not even a minute portion of enough wisdom to question God about anything...therefore rejoice in what we do know through the word!

In verse 34-35 Paul asks us a series of questions in which we have no answer. Look at them and think about them...can you answer" me"? I didn't think so because none of us can! God has revealed Himself to us somewhat but not enough that we can counsel Him. We can't control God and He doesn't owe us anything! And in verse 36 Paul sums it all up...everything is for, by, and about God. He is all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere. He deserves or worship and thus we should be rejoicing in Him always!

I can see why Paul was always able to rejoice. Paul knew life wasn't about Him it was about God plain and simple. So are you able to rejoice always? If not it may be we need to get our eyes off of ourselves and get them focused on Jesus...then you find it easy to rejoice!

God bless you and have a great weekend!

Tom

Citizenship

Hello my friends! I hope your day is off to a great start. Praise the Lord today no matter what it brings for He is worthy!

Here are the scriptures for today:

Philippians 3:17-21

17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

This is some good stuff so hold o as we go through these verses. First in verse 17 Paul tells us to follow his and the other believer's example. But make sure it is a true believer!!! As He continues he tells us that their are many who enemies of the cross. I believe what Paul is saying here is their are many folks who pretend to be believers or maybe even think themselves they are believers but are not. Paul defines in verse 19 their goal which is destruction. To destroy the true gospel. They have a different god their belly. Wow think on that for a moment. Think about how many in the world today are obese. Now for those who have a physical problem I am not referring to them. Could it be that for many today their belly is their God? I love to eat. Sometimes if I think about it I can see where my belly could be my god. We very rarely fast but it is very biblical to do so. Is something as simple as food leading us to destruction? Take time to think and maybe do a little studying on this and tell me what you think...it will be pretty obvious we got a problem with food ourselves!

Paul continues and says "glory is their shame". What he is telling us is they wanted to be the center of attention...not God. Again look at us here in America. Who is getting the glory??? God? I don't think so. It is Hollywood, singers, politicians, athletes, ect. How many of us have longed to get some glory? Our lives should be consumed with humility and giving God the glory He deserves. The Paul continues that their minds are set on earthly things. Sound familiar? My how the word of God hits home today. I see in my own community where we are so consumed with earthly things. Things that will not be worth 2 cents when we meet our maker face to face. We are in danger of this very same problem...we need to wake up! Paul tells us where our minds should be in verse 20. Oh this is so good don't miss it. Heaven! That is where our home is not here. We should be working hard for Jesus our Savior as we wait for His return! So are you? What have you done for Jesus recently?? Jesus is going to transform our old used up bodies when He returns...thank you Jesus. We are going to have a glorious body just like His!!! Did you catch that? Oh how unworthy we are but how loved we are by God. Thank you Jesus!

When Jesus returns He will subdue all things...oh I can't wait to see that. So this morning where is your true citizenship? Are you happy with these earthly things and filling up that belly both phyisically and spiritually with those earthly things? Or are you filling up with the things of God and claiming that citizenship in heaven and serving the King until He returns???

Wow I hope this devotion speaks to you as it has me!

God send Jesus soon!

Tom

Press toward the goal

Good Morning to all. I pray we have a productive day for the Lord today! Here is the scripture for today:

Philippians 3:13-16

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Well Paul starts out here saying I may be in prison(apprehended) but I don't see it that way and I am working towards heaven(goal)! What an attitude. Positive in all things was Paul. When Paul mentions forgetting those things that are behind in verse 13 there are two things to think about.

1. Forget spiritual and moral success's. If we continually dwell on our success's two things happen. The first is we start to become lazy as we think about how good we have done. The second is pride will start to build. We think look at what I have done. In reality we have done nothing God has blessed us by using us as his tool! So forget and move on and keep working for the Lord if there is any reward to have we will receive it in heaven!

2. Forget failures. We are gonna have failures in our lives both spiritual and moral. When we do get up dust yourself off and confess your sins if needed and get back to work. In our spiritual lives if we aren't failing from time to time it probably means we aren't doing anything great for God! Think about that for a bit.

The Paul says reach for what is ahead in verse13. What he is talking about here is working towards sanctification. Which means training yourself for godliness. This is not easy!!! How do you do that? Three simple things....scripture(read your Bible), prayer, discipline. All three are required. If your aren't doing these I can promise you that you are not growing in godliness. Make a plan today and stick to it!

Then in verse 16 Paul closes with let us be of the same mind in the degree we have already obtained and by the same rule. What is this degree and rule? I believe it to be the Word of God. We need to live by the same rules(commandments) and have the same mind in degree(value and meaning) which we have obtained from God. When we try to make the Word fit into our lives the way we think it should that is when we get ourselves into trouble. God has revealed everything we need to know. So let's stick to that!

So keep pressing toward that goal my friends I can promise you it will be worth it!

Tom

Grab a hold of Jesus!

As I mentioned a few devotions back I have recently taken the youth to camp. The Pastor shared some insight on Philippians and I want to pass it along to you. Today we will be looking at this one verse.


Philippians 3:12

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

In this verse Paul tells us he is not perfect as we should already know the only perfect man was Jesus. What I want to reaaly focus on is where Paul says" he presses on so he may lay hold of for which Jesus has also laid hold of me". How do we lay hold of what Jesus what Jesus wants to grab a hold of? Basically as our camp Pastor Matt Chandler shared it is called Holy discontentment. In other words you have Jesus but you want more of Him. Get deeper into your relationship with Him. This aso can be used as a guage as to where you are in your relationship with Jesus. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Look to Jesus as your goal.

If Jesus is our goal we will always be working to improve in all areas of our Christian life. Unfortunatlely we have got into a habit of looking at other people who are sinners just like us and saying to ourselves well I am doing better than so and so. No where in the bible does it say to compare yourself to others. Look to Jesus and you always be discontent and wanting to grow

2. Surround yourself with Godly people.

If you have friends that are non-Christians and you are participating with them in their activities I can promise you that you are not growing in Christ like you should. I have found that if you hang with folks who arn't believers you will be led to do things God doesn't want you to do. Very rarly will you lead those who are unsaved to do what God wants to do with our lives. This is very hard to say but their are times when you have to let friends go to be what God wants you to be...I had too and it hurts but is necessary.

3. Know God's promises.

How do you know God's promises by reading his Word. If you are in the word you will not be content of where you are in Christ because the Word will convict you daily! One of the promises of God's Word is that He will not leave you where you are. We are works in progress! Read the Word!

4. Evaluate self...often.

Where are you with your walk with God. Then make adjustments. As I just said in the previous point we are a work in progress so we will have to make changes, reevaluate and move on. So where do you stand with God this morning. Be honest. Are you doing well or do you need major adjustments.

Holy discontentment. I like this word because I think it should decsribe the child of God. If we get content we may be losing ground!

God bless...have a great day!

Tom

Loss for Christ

I am a little late on getting my devotion out today as I just got in from a long drive home from vacation. So here it is!

When we serve God we are going to lose some things....worldly things sometimes and sometimes things we just have to cut for time sake. Let's read today's scriptures.

Philippians 3:1-11

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

I n verse 1 Paul continues to tell us to rejoice...I just can't get over Paul telling us to rejoice when he is in prison. That is dedication my friends! Then he tells us to beware of those who want to lead us astray in verse 2. We need to be on our toes at all times for their are people who want us to fall on our face! Then in verses 4-6 Paul tells us that he has no confidence in the flesh which the bible also tells us not to live in the flesh. The flesh can be our own worldly desires or our status of who we are. Paul also says in theses verses that if their is anyone who could have confidence in flesh alone it would be him because of his credentials. He was a Jew through and through....top of the line but all that was nothing. Why did he says this??? Because all this is useless unless we have knowledge of Jesus Christ. Which he tells us in verse 8. Paul tells us in verses 7-9 that all the fleshly he has lost in his life....prestige, standing in the community, money, fame and fortune, is lost but he counts it gain because now He has a relationship with Jesus!! Stop and think about what he is saying here it is deep. What have you lost to follow Christ?

Paul tells us in verse 9 not his own righteousness(our works) but in faith(alone) in Christ Jesus is what has made him righteous before God!! Nothing we can do can save us from sin....it is all Jesus! In verse 10 Paul admits he wanted to suffer for Christ and one day Paul and us will know the power of the resurrection if we die before Jesus comes back. Then Paul tells us in verse 11 he will do anything to obtain this resurrection. So the question comes back to us...are we willing to do the same? Honestly? Paul proved it as he laid his life on the line everyday for Jesus.

Take time to read these scriptures again and let God speak to you. There is much more to grasp onto than what I mentioned.

God bless...Tom

Shine as lights!

Another great morning to be alive and serving the King. Today's lesson is a good one so let's get right to it. Here are today's verses:

Philippians 2:12-17

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

First in verse 12 Paul tell them to keep pressing on even when he isn't with them. He also says some thing interesting "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling". Well salvation means deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption. So I believe here he is telling us not to take what God has done for us, providing salvation, lightly. Keep up the good fight with a rememberance to who God is which should make us fear and tremble. Wow that is some powerful stuff right there. Verse 13 tells us God wants to work in us for two reasons to accomplish His good will and for His pleasure. Are you aware God wants to work through you and has jobs only you can accomplish? So are you letting Him work through you? If you are verse 14 tells us we shouldn't be complaining or disputing. If we are working for God we need to have a good attitude and remember who are Boss is. Verse 15 tells us why. When we do things God's way we become blameless and harmless, people see we are the children of God are are without fault or very different than the crooked perverse generation we live in right now and we will SHINE as lights in a dark world. In return because you are shining there is no telling how many you may bring to Jesus! That should be enough right there to make us want to do as Paul taught here.

Verse 16 tells us to hold fast to the Word of God. This and prayer are the two keys to living like Christ desires. If we are not in the Word and praying I can promise you that you are not even close to where God wants you. It is impossible. In the rest of verses 16-18 Paul tells us to pour ourselves out like an offering to Christ and then rejoice as we all work out our salvation to the King!

So my fiends let me ask you...have you had anything to rejoice about in serving King Jesus? If yes Paul says rejoice!!! If not we have work to do and we need to start today! I can tell you with complete confidence that there is nothing more satisfying in life than serving Jesus...NOTHING!

I love you ll in the Lord...Tom

Same mind as Christ???

Good morning everyone. The title of today's devotion pretty well sums it up. Do we have the same mind as Christ? I can answer that one for you...No. Not totally anyway. But that is what we need to be striving for each day for the rest of our lives. So lets get into the scripture for today.

Philippians 2:5-11

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In verse 6 Paul tells us that even Jesus was God plain and simple even though through His life he was accuse of blasphemy and being the devil and all sorts of other things He plainly revealed to us He was God in the flesh. Then in verse 7 Paul goes on to tell us that even though Jesus was God he became a bond servant which basically is some who wants to stay a slave and serve his master for life. Jesus came down here to earth to serve and He commands us to do the same....so ask yourself this morning are you serving or are you in the frame of mind that you want to be served?? It says in verse 7 it also says Jesus made Himself of no reputation. Wow. The Savior of the universe was one of the most disliked person's of His day and still is today in many places. Why? To serve His master and then to serve us on the cross...thank you Jesus! That is exactly what verse 9 tells us...obedient to the point of death...the cross. Don't think for one minute though that Jesus work here on earth wasn't recognized somewhere. Yes it was recognized by someone alright....God. God has placed Jesus at His right hand and given Him the name of above all names! Praise God. And one of these days ALL will bow on bended knee in heaven on earth and under the earth. What will they do on that bended knee??? Confess with their mouths the Jesus is LORD! And this will bring glory and honor to God.

Wow I get excited and pumped up and sing praises just writing that about Jesus! So think on that today and examine yourself and answer the question where is my mind in Christ? Strive to have his mind it is a second by second job...the rewards are awesome!

Have a blessed day and tell someone about Jesus!!!

Tom

Humility

Sorry I didn't get a devotion out yesterday and am very late today. My family is on vacation at Ridgecrest and the internet has been down. So let's jump right into our devotion.

Today's lesson is very hard as the world teaches us to look out for self and this teaches the exact opposite!

Philippians 2:1-4

Unity Through Humility

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Look at the words used in theses verses love, fellowship, affection, mercy, being like minded, one accord. The church is to fulfilling all of these to one another and also the outside world in some respects like love, mercy, and affection. Is the church doing a very good job? Some places yes and other places no.

But today I really want to look at verses 3 and 4. This is where the humility part comes to a head. Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition or conceit. That describes the world perfectly. It is all about me and what I can get and how I can get recognized. Think about that for a moment. Am I wrong? Then God's word goes on to tell us to esteem others better than himself. Who does that? That's not what I see the T.V. telling me to do. Everyman for himself, right? That is why God's word tells us to be different and not to conform to the ways of this world. Then H goes on to tell us yes watch out for your own interests but also the interests of others. I really believe here Paul is talking about the less fortunate. I mean the rich can take care of themselves but those in need can not. So church are we helping those in need? Sometimes yes. But what about those millions of babies for example that are being aborted every year or those who are staving every night? We can always do more and we can or I should speak for myself and say I can always show more humility than I have today!

God bless...have a great night!

Tom

Is your conduct worthy?

I hope you are doing well this morning. Let us continue in our study of Philippians. Today we are going to look at Philippians 1:27-30. Here they are:

27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

Think about what verse 27 says..."let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ"!!! What does it take for our conduct to be worthy? Well when we think about what Christ did for us and the example he set for us and how he tells us to live our lives it is not easy to be worthy that is for sure. These words from Paul are just another example of how we should be striving everyday to do our very best to live like Christ has commanded us to do. If you are wondering what Christ has told us to do you need to read your Bible but a few examples are love others, don't lie, meet needs, help the unfortunate, obey laws of the land, share the gospel, ect. As this verse continues Paul tells them to be "striving together for the faith of the gospel". This is what the church is for. Working together as a unit to spread the gospel and bring the lost to Jesus. This can have a two fold meaning as in your individual church and in the universal church.

In verse 28 Paul tells us not to be scared by those who oppose us. He says to those that oppose us it is a proof of their perdition. Here is what perdition is:

per⋅di⋅tion

1. a state of final spiritual ruin; loss of the soul; damnation.
2. the future state of the wicked.
3. hell
4. utter destruction or ruin.
5. Obsolete. loss.

Paul is telling us that those who oppose the gospel this is what happens...perdition. But to us who follow the gospel salvation and it is a gift from God. Praise the Lord..thank you Jesus!

In verses 29-30 Paul tells us that when we believe in Christ we will also suffer. While we may not suffer physical persecution, as they did in Paul's day, here in America if we are sharing the gospel as we are suppose to you will face persecution. People will cuss you. people will slam doors in your face, people will call you names, family will turn their back on you and call you a Jesus freak, and many other things. So ask yourself if you are facing persecution for Christ? Then ask yourself how much you are sharing the gospel. I can almost tell you for certain that the two go hand in hand. If we are sharing the gospel we will face some sort of persecution. Am I wrong?

So let us end with the question we started with "Is my conduct worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ"?

That should give us something to think about today!

God bless you my friends...Tom

To die is gain!

Good morning to all. Wow can you believe this Tennessee weather?? Never in my lifetime have I witnessed such cool weather in July...thank you Jesus!

Let's dive into some more of Philippians Chapter 1 verses 19-26:


To Live Is Christ

19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Paul is so amazing to me. I pray that we would have just a small portion of boldness and desire to live for Christ as he did. Look at verses 19-21. In 19 Paul is telling us all that he is going through will be his deliverance. I believe if we were facing the same things Paul was going through we would want deliverance from the problems but not Paul he uses the situation as his deliverance and opportunity to magnify Jesus...simply amazing. In verse 20 He says exactly that....He will never be ashamed, he will be bold and Christ will be magnified even in death!!! They key to Paul's boldness is found in verse 21. It should be our key also. Our life is Christ! Can you say that? Everything in Paul's life was centered around Christ...THIS IS KEY TO LIVING THE ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN LIFE!!! If we are centered in Jesus we can handle all situations that come our way. Even death. Remember what Paul says death is gain! Heaven! It will not get any better that that!

Verses 22-26 Paul is in a real struggle. He wants to die to be with Christ but also realizes as long as he lives he can be fruitful for Christ and bring others to knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask your self right now are you in this struggle? Heaven or staying to work for the Lord to benefit others? I dare say most of us want to live but probably not with the sole purpose of bringing others to Christ. This takes us back to where are our lives centered?? I struggle with selfishness everyday. Our purpose here once we are saved is to bring others to the knowledge of Christ if we are not doing this than the Lord has all the right in the world to bring us home...to heaven.

I hope these verses are talking to you as much as they are talking to me. Very, very challenging. Take time to do some praying and evaluating today on your life and see what is in the center and be honest. The make adjustments if needed. We need to continue to grow in the Lord until He brings us home!

I love you in the Lord...Tom

Getting Christ out!

Hello my brothers and sisters! I have missed writing these devotions. I took the youth to camp in Orange beach, Alabama. It was a wonderful week of learning, worship, and praise. The speaker was Matt Chandler who was very challenging and the worship leader was Charlie Hall. I ask you to pray for the kids to keep seeking God daily in their lives.

At this camp we went through the book of Phillipians....so while it is fresh on my mind let's look at some verses together out of this book. Lets start with these:

Christ Is Preached

12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

The first thought that comes to my mind is if anybody can say "the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the futherance of the gospel" it is the apostle Paul. Remember all the things he went through. Beaten, shipwrecked, snake bit, and imprisoned which was where he was at when he was writting this. Can we say that in our lives that good or bad Christ is being preached??? This is a very important question to ask ourselves.

In verse 13 Paul tells us he is preaching to the whole palace guard that He is a Christ follower. I ask myslef this morning if I was in prison would I be pouting and having a pity party or would I be using it to tell folks about Jesus....Jesus is the reason Paul is in Prison!!!

In verse 14 Paul tells that his brothers in Christ have become more bold because of his imprisonment. That is something that we need to remember...others watch us no matter where we are in life and can become more bold by our actions! Wow! Stop and think about that for a moment.

Paul tells us in verse 15-18 that their are all kinds of folks who preach Jesus. Some for the right reasons and some for the wrong reasons but He didn't care as long as Jesus was being preached! He even says that some are preaching just to try and hurt him in prison. What is Paul's response...He is rejoicing! Oh God give me some of Paul's insight and responses.

I don't know about you but my first response to those who are wronging me is not rejoicing but that is where I am wrong especially when they are getting the name of Jesus out! Let me give a little warning here though as I believe Paul does in another place in the bible....if Jesus is being preached it needs to be the gospel of the bible not a man made gospel. For there are plenty of false gospels going around!

Think about this lesson today...Paul is sharing some very difficult teachings to us here! Grab on to them and apply them to your life!

God bless! Tom

Do good!

Well my friends this may be my last devotion for a week or so. Just depends on a few situations. First my brother and his family are coming in over the weekend. He is bringing my two nieces and a nephew to go to Summer Youth Camp in Orange beach, Alabama. I am not sure if I will have internet there and I an not sure I will have time as I will be trying to keep up with 14 teenagers! So just keep an eye out and see if a devotion appears or not!

A couple of days ago we looked at 1 peter 3:8. Today I want to continue in 1 Peter 3 and look at verses 9-12. Here it is:

1 Peter 3:9-12 (New King James Version)

9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For


“ He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

These verses are a call for us to do good to others even when we have been wronged. This is only possible when we have a relationship with Jesus. And even then it takes the super natural power of the Holy Spirit to help us to do this. When we are wronged our natural fleshly response is to do harm back. God's word clearly tells us to try to be peaceful. God's word even tells us in verse 9 if we do this we may even inherit a blessing. Wow think about that for a moment.

Look at verses 10-11...It tell us some things if you love life and see godd days then you need to do some things. Here they are:

1. Keep your mouth speaking good things!
2. Turn from evil and do good things!
3. Seek peace and go after it!

All these are not easy to do but when you have the Lord Jesus in your heart you can do them it takes practice and love. The God's word tells us God is watching us and listening to our prayers. I believe or the Christian life should have the characteristics of the above points.

These verses close with a warning. God is against those who do evil. If he just listed some things he considers evil then we need to refrain from them. So what do we want blessings or God to turn his face from us. I think that is very simple to answer.

So let's make sure we are being like our example Jesus Christ. Talking and treating others the way He would. Speaking well of and to others, turning form evil, and seeking peace. Oh how the world would be a better place if we would do these things!

God bless!

Tom

Be very careful.

I am sure most of you are like me and are sick and tired of hearing about Michael Jackson. It is constantly on the news. Pretty much every where you look there is something about him. It really bothers me that a mere man is glorified the way he is and our Lord and Savior who deserves glorification is dragged through the mud these days! I must admit I was a fan of Michaels when I was younger but the things that he has been accused of doing over the years has taken away my admiration for him. There is no doubt he was one of the most talented singer/dancers of all time. Did you ever see an interview with him?? He seemed to me to be one of the most sad individulas I have ever seen. It was pretty obvious to me that even in all the fame and fortune, he was a very sad and lonely person.

Todays devotion is about judging others. I will be honest that when the news of his death first arrived and the news sources started to constantly talk about how great he was my mind started thinking about how sinful I thought he was. The Lord started to deal with me on this though. Of all the news reports over the years I have no proof of anything he has been accused of except the balcony scene with his child. God's word is very clear on judging:

Matthew 7:1-3

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

Wow that is pretty clear huh? Jesus will be the Judge and He tells us we are not and the way we judge others, He will judge us! Now think about that for a moment.

I heard one man who had lost his son really slam Michael and accuse him of some things. He then told about how great his son was and that his son should be the one receiving the news coverage. I had heard before his son's death many things his son had supposedly done. Here is the point of this we should not judge anyone as all of us have our own skeletons in our closets to deal with. As the verse says up above we need to deal with our own planks!

So let us be very careful not to judge as God warns we will be judged in the same manner. I pray that Michael Jackson had a relationship with Jesus and that one day will see him in heaven. In the mean time let's try to share love and help those in need and let the judging be done by the Lord. The death of Michale has been of use to me by the Lord in teaching me to be very careful about judging!

Have a great day...Tom

One mind.

Good morning to all...I hope this finds everyone doing well. As I was having my quiet time today I came to this one verse that kept coming back to my mind so I wanted to share it with you all and make a few comments. Here it is:

8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

This is really a pretty simple verse. But yet it has so much to say. I think the real question is are we obeying it? As it starts out with finally you need to go back and read what was written before this verse. I just want to concentrate this morning though on whats in this verse.

Here Peter is talking to the early church..so when he is talking about being of one mind and he says ALL of you he is refering to the church...the believers in Christ. I pray they were more of one mind than we are!! Think about the unity of churches today. How many denominations are there? How many different churches are there? As Christians...the church today we need to have that one mind. The mind of Christ working twards perfection. The church today is so worried about being "the church" that we are failing miserably at reaching the lost and loving people like Christ has told us to do.

This verse goes on to say "having compassion for one another". Some churches are great at this and others are not. Ask yourself this morning....am I compassionate? Do I really care for my brothers and sisters in Christ? Do I care for those who are lost and dying and headed for hell? If you answered yes can you prove it? What are you doing to show compassion? Words are cheap but actions are costly!

The verse then uses words like "love, tender hearted, and courteous". Think on thses words. Does it desrcibe your church....does it describe you? On the word courteos this is what came to my mind. Have you ever been to a church visiting and sat in someone's seat? They may not have asked you to move but they made it clear you were in "their seat"! Is this the love and courteousy Jesus wants us to show others??? I know this is a very minor thing in the walks of life but if we can't handle the small things we sure can't handle the big things and I believe to Christ everything is important.

So folks I guess what I am trying to say is if we are the church are those who are not of the church seeing the one mind Christ wants us to have?? Our actions speak much louder than our words!!

God bless each of you...Tom

Stay single!!!!

I am at home by myslef this week as my family has went with a youth singing group called Christians in Action as they go on a week long tour every year. It has made me think about a couple of passages of scripture. Here they are and then I will comment more:

Matthew 19:7-12
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

1 Corinthians 7:6-9
6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

I have found that being home alone makes me have much more time do one of two things. Do as I wish. Basically anything I want to. I can go fishing til dark. I can watch a ball game with no interuptions. I can eat at any given time. I think you get the picture. OR I can spend some time drawing closer to the Lord. By spending time in Bible reading and meditation. I can spend time in prayer. I can go visit or call folks on the phone with no time tables. I can give God a great amount of time. I guess as I think about it I do have third option and I can split time down the middle....serve Tom and serve God. As we look at these scriptures up above I believe you will see what I am getting too.

The scriptures encourage us to stay single. I can sum it up pretty easily....the reason being we can be more in tune with God when we are single for the simple fact that we don't have the responsibilities of marriage. In other words we can give more of our time to God, growing in our relationship to Him and serving Him with our lives!

God knew many can not hanlde being single, basically we don't have enough self-control is what it boils down to and Paul told us the same in the Corintians verse. Just think for a moment on Paul...he was a single man....what did he do for the Kingdom of God??? Many great things. A great deal of the new testament is written by him!

Just for informations sake here is what a eunuch is:

eu·nuch (yōō'nək)
n.
A castrated man employed as a harem attendant or as a functionary in certain Asian courts.
A man or boy whose testes are nonfunctioning or have been removed.
Informal An ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine man.

To make it simple....a man who can not have sex.

I have found this very interesting as i think on it....it makes so much sense that we can serve God in ways that we can't if we are single. For those of us that are married it means we have to be sure to use our time wisely so we can serve God like he deserves!

God bless....Tom

Peace!

Good Monday morning to all. I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend. On to the devotion.

My little girl has come up with shouting out "Peace". She has picked it up from some kids at church I believe but when she shouts it out it makes me laugh. As my good friend Barry Burkhead shared in his sermon last night this verse it made me think of her shouting this out. Here is the verse:

Colossians 3:15 (New King James Version)
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

What an awesome verse to start the week out with. Does the peace of God rule in your heart this morning? I am not sure what kind of weekend you had but maybe it was far from being peaceful. We can not obtain this peace unless we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. People thses days and in days past seem to search for this peace in so many different ways and in so many different things. The problem is there is only one answer and only one way to get this peace...Jesus Christ. I can honsetly say since the day I accepted Christ I have a peace that is truly indescribable. Yes I still have turmoils in my life but when Jesus is there with you those struggles just aren't near as bad. Oh thank you Jesus for the peace you provide in our lives!

I also mthink this verse is talking about the church as it says "you were called in one body". God expects the church to be a peacful place to worship with brothers and sisters in Christ. I have been in some churches where this is not so and God is not happy with this I can promise you that. We are to be different than the world.... and if you have ever been at some businness meetings at some churches we are not being different and this needs to change!!! The church should be united. Yes we can disagree but we can disagree in love and respect for one another. I also have been in churches where peace abounds and there is such a sweet spirit in these churches...I think I know why!!!

Finally this verse says be thankful. Are you thankful? I am. Gohas blessed me way more than I deserve why I don't deserve another breath but He has given me one! Thank you Jeus for the peace you have provided, my family, my friends, my health, and I can go on for days but most of all my salvation!

Can you say the same???

"PEACE!"

Tom

Happy 4th!!!!

I am out of town for Holiday..more devotions on Monday....Have a safe 4th and Thank God for our freedom!

Strength....Let God hear you!!!

Good morning everyone. I mentioned a short time ago I would like to use the devotion to praise the Lord in how He has strengthened you in a situation. Here is a verse I love:

Psalm 18:1-3

Psalm 18
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

1 I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Read it again! Can you say the same? I know I can. God has given me strength so many times I can't count that high. I am gonna share a story in my life of how God strengthened me in a great time of need. I want you to share your story and together we will praise the Lord on high for His love, mercy and strength. So here we go:

It was in March of 1998 and my wife was pregnant with my son. She had already had some complications and was on bed rest. If I recall right we had went to the hospital a couple of times with contractions and the doctors were becoming worried that she was not going to make full term with this pregnancy. They started to give her steroid shots to help develop the lungs of my son. Well sure enough at 30 weeks my son decided it was time to come into this world. For those of you who are unfamiliar with pregnancy He would be 10 weeks early and at the earliest the doctors want to get to 32 weeks. My wife went into labor on March 23 of 1998 at 2:00 p.m. They rushed us from Union City hospital to Jackson Madison as they have a Premature baby unit there. At 4:00 p.m. Tom Eric Jehnzen,JR was born. That's right in two hours!!! We call him Eric. He was only on oxygen over night and basically had no major problems. During this time and during the next 30 days in which he was in the hospital God gave me the strength each and every day to know everything was going to be ok. To be honest he gave me a peace beyond my own understanding. I should have been worried to death but I wasn't and the only explanation for that is God. Thank you Jesus for strength no matter what we are facing in life. Here is a picture of Eric today....you sure can't tell he was a premie!!





So now it is your turn...how has God strengthened you??? Tell others too I want us to give God some praise!!!

Tom