The Big Three

MAY 26

MATTHEW 6:6_and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward them openly.

More rewards.

Openly.

Have you noticed how often God has plans to reward you? It is a definite part of His plan. 

The world is cruel, hard, and evil. Praise God that while you live in it He blesses with rewards. Praise God He works supernaturally on your behalf.

What a mighty God!

Along with awaking with God’s likeness, I also desire to receive wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Proverbs 24:3-4 (KJV),”Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

I want to build my life on wisdom.

I want to establish my life in understanding.

I want to furnish my life with knowledge.

Want to know how to live in the world, but not of it? The Big Three! That means during my lifetime I can grow into a salty-lit-up disciple and not be bound by the world’s sins. By now you know what that means—I can live free. It does not mean I will never sin again. It means I will no longer be controlled by sin. No bondages.

Freedom means I’m not captive to anything but the love of Jesus!

PRAYER

God of Wisdom, Please teach me to build my life on wisdom; establish it with understanding and furnish it with knowledge. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is freedom—I want to live free!

Pattern Your Life after His

MAY 4

MATTHEW 5:48_Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus solves the whole right-and-wrong, love-and-hate, good-and-evil, thing by saying, “Be perfect! Yeah, right! Let me know how that works out for you!

Let’s translate the word perfect. In this verse it means full grown; to reach the character of virtue and integrity, complete. You may make mistakes, but perfection comes when you make a goal to work toward integrity. And more than that, a goal to become a radical, salty-lit-up disciple of Jesus. This kind of perfection is to become full grown in your love for Jesus, to pattern your life after His. To be complete in His love.

How can you get there? Jesus just spoke forty-six verses of a step by step plan that maps it out. If you choose this path, you won’t walk alone. You will enjoy the company of other radical disciples. You also have the treasure chest key, aka the Bible. You also have the Holy Spirit. 

The Spirit within you opens the door to wisdom and teaches you how to apply that wisdom to your life. Perfection, achieving integrity and virtue, is a natural byproduct of wisdom.

There’s one more point before this chapter ends. Don’t miss it!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, Teach me how to find the path to perfection. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

 Christ is perfect in every way—He will teach me a way!

The Great Healer

APRIL 18

MATTHEW 5:40_And if any man will sue thee at law, and take away thy coat…

If there will ever be any kind of goodwill toward man in this life, it will come from Jesus’ crazy teachings about not fighting back. The reason? God’s power is released into your life when you have faith. Faith in the strength of God’s love to fight your enemies for you. Jesus taught not to seek revenge, and not to slap back.

Check this one out:  

Someone sues you. You are in the right. You tried, but were not able to settle out of court. The case goes against you—strongly against you. In other words, you lost all your savings! Now you have big money problems.

This is not easy to take, even if you were in the wrong. If you were in the right, it is heart wrenching. This can result in something worse than your money problems—the bondage of bitterness. 

Bitterness, unforgiveness, and grudge-holding, bind. Bitterness bondage chokes your spirit, contaminates your salt, and puts out your light.   

The money problems place a painful curb on your life. The bitterness places a curb on your heart, and its ability to love.  

Jesus becomes The Great Healer. He offers a radical cure.

PRAYER

Great Healer, I need Your help so I am not bitter when I am treated wrongly. I need Your wisdom to know how to respond. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ’s love holds no grudges—He will teach me!

Tell the Truth!

APRIL 10

MATTHEW 5:33_Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.

To forswear is to lie under oath. If you are in a court room and lie on the witness stand, that’s perjury. You can go to jail for perjury. When you are in the witness chair, tell the truth. For that matter, always tell the truth!

If you swear to your parents that something you tell them is true, but it is really a lie, you’re accountable for that. You don’t have to be in court or have witnesses around to be held responsible for lying. 

To swear is to make a promise—a guarantee to what you say. One of the worst decisions in life is to make a promise to God, and not keep it. If you promise God something—keep it. Be very careful what you promise—think before you open your mouth. Until you become an adult it is best to discuss with your parents any promise you intend to make. If you do not live with parents, find a Godly adult to help you make wise promises.

Life used to operate on a man’s word was his bond. That meant if you promised to do something you would do it, no matter what. No legal documents were necessary when your word was your bond. You gained a reputation for being an honest person.

Your reputation always goes before you—and follows after you!

PRAYER

God of Truth, I want anyone who has dealings with me to find me to be a person of my word. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ keeps His Word—I want to keep my word and His Word too!

The Original Plan

APRIL 3

MATTHEW 5:31_It hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.

More law transformation.

Divorce has always been a heart-wrenching, painful, experience—especially when children are involved. Jesus wants to save His disciples from this kind of pain. When someone you love hurts, you hurt as well, and Jesus loves His followers.

Mark 10:5-9 (KJV), “And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept [divorce]. 6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Jesus teaches the original plan—if two become one they should remain as one.

When the only two people on the planet chose disobedience, and sin entered their hearts, their hearts hardened. A hard heart is difficult to live with. When two are put together it’s doubly hard.

The only hope is The Great Transformer.

PRAYER

Lord of All, Please give me wisdom concerning the very difficult situations in life. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                           

Christ created marriage to be forever—He will teach me!