Tag: Darkness

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What Jesus Wants

MAY 13

MATTHEW 6:3_But when thou doest thine alms…

Jesus wants you to receive heavenly rewards. Jesus wants you to be generous. Jesus wants you to do good deeds. Jesus wants your righteousness to shine in the darkness. Jesus wants your blessings on others to salt their faith as a preservative. 

The truth is, Jesus doesn’t need you to do any of these things. Jesus loves and desires you. Jesus allows His love to flow through you. Jesus chose to let His power be a part of who you are – not something He needed to do. He chose you to do alms (charitable works and giving) for Him. To do alms for Jesus is enough in itself. How incredible is it He wants to reward you for it?

The great evangelist John Wesley caught hold of this teaching. Check out his famous saying:

Do all the good you can                                                               

By all the means you can                     

 In all the ways you can                                                 

In all the places you can      

At all the times you can                                                                           

To all the people you can                                                                            

As long as ever you can

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I want to do good in the world. Please help me use my life in a way that brings glory to the Bible. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ does good to all people—He helps me do good!

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The Wrong Light

 MAY 7

MATTHEW 6:1_to be seen of them…

Take heed (pay attention) to one simple word – seen. Your righteousness can be seen just like your light. Your light draws and guides to truth and freedom. There is another way to use light – to attract attention to you. This clarifies not doing your righteousness before men.

If your purpose for righteousness is to receive praise – you missed the mark. Showing acts of mercy, charitable giving, giving more than receiving, should all be done to bring glory to God. Any honor belongs to the One who taught you to live in righteousness. 

The purpose of being light is not to shine on you, but on Jesus – the Light of the World! 

You can’t save anyone – even yourself. You can’t bring anyone out of darkness. The light that shines from acts of righteousness reflects Jesus’ light. He saves. He brings out of darkness. He possesses the power to transform lives, break bondages, heal broken hearts, and when in His will, to heal diseased bodies. 

If your light doesn’t reflect Jesus’ light – it’s the wrong light. 

PRAYER

Loving Jesus, Please help me not to let my light shine on me, but on You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                      

Christ wants me to shine for Him—I will!

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A Salty Residue

MAY 2

MATTHEW 5:46_For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?

We like rewards, especially when we have worked hard to receive them. We like to see an accomplishment receive its due credit. 

In the kingdom of heaven, we don’t necessarily work to be rewarded – but God does use that system. Our work for God is to love His people by being salt and light in a dark and thirsting world. The fact that God rewards us for that is a blessing.

Just because we love those who love us does not win a blue ribbon. Jesus said even tax collectors (publicans) can do that. Let’s take a moment and clarify tax collectors. In case either or both of your parents work for the IRS, don’t think they are the chief of sinners. During Jesus’ earth time, Israel was occupied by the Romans. The Romans demanded taxes from the Israelites. Tax collectors were considered enemies. Hebrews who worked for the Roman government to collect taxes from their fellow neighbors were considered traitors. Rome allowed the Hebrew tax collectors to charge extra for themselves (under the table). Therefore, if Jesus wanted to leave a graphic image of the worst of sinners, tax collectors were a good choice. Jesus says even bad or weak people can love those who love them.

And for the record, Jesus taught to pay taxes – even if they went to Caesar. But He did not defend the Hebrew who stole extra tax money.

Returning good for evil leaves a salty residue.

PRAYER

God of Love, Please don’t let my love be weak, let it be powerful. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ loves those who don’t love Him—He helps me to!

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A Natural Process

 APRIL 5

MATTHEW 5:32_But I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife…

God wants a husband and wife’s love for each other to be complete – no gaps. Jesus came to stand in the gap. Let Him! When Jesus is in the gap, the causes begin to minimize. Why? The hard heart begins to soften. Sin is still present, but with Jesus in the gap battles can be won, step by step, one at a time. And it takes time!

The Great Transformer is very good at what He does – perfect! Love Him and you will learn to love His words. That’s how loving your marriage partner becomes a natural process. By loving Jesus first. None of it happens overnight.

John 15:16 (KJV), “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you …” The Holy Spirit woos you with the unconditional love of Jesus. When you respond to that love, you begin to learn true love. A love that never quits or lets go. A love that chose you.

To have Jesus choose you is amazing! There is nothing you can do to deserve it. Neither prominence, beauty, talents, nor wealth have anything to do with Jesus’ choice. The fact that you are reading this blog tells you – you are  chosen!

I John 2:8 (KJV), “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.”

Chosen people give light to the world – because they know love.

There are many who made decisions before they responded to Jesus’ love, or invited Him into their marriage. Can they chew the strong meat now?

Keep following!

PRAYER

Loving Lord, I can never thank You enough for choosing me, but I’ll try! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                              

 Christ chose me—I will respond with yes!

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The Great Transformer

MARCH 31

MATTHEW 5:29_for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Jesus’ use of graphics continues. The graphics are not only good for attention, but emphasize the importance of what Jesus teaches. Which is better, to live life with one eye, or live eternity in hell? The answer is a no-brainer. Good point, Jesus!

It is not the looking at porn which sends you to hell. However, the power of porn bondage can cause you to reject Jesus. It has power to convince you to forfeit Jesus’ free gift of eternal life, for the world’s temporary pleasures.

A life of bondage is life in a black hole of powerlessness. A life of freedom is to dwell in the light and love of Jesus.

Any time you turn to porn for pleasure, you turn away from Jesus to the devil. The devil wants you on his team for one reason – to destroy you. Jesus wants you on His team for many reasons, the first is eternal life. 

Jesus has your attention. He has shown you that to play on the devil’s team can be extremely dangerous.

Never pluck out your eye! It is not necessary. It wouldn’t deliver you from bondage anyway.

Along with being The Great Balancer, Jesus is also The Great Transformer!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Thank You I never need to destroy my life or limbs in any way in order to become free from bondage. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is the Transformer—He wants to transform me!