Rose Coloured Glasses

 Isaiah is a wonderful book because in this book you find over a hundred different Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ.  Matthew reveals in Matt 12:18, that Jesus was chosen of the Father.  He was beloved by the Father and the Father was well pleased with Him.  These three characteristics should be the testimony of every follower of Jesus Christ.  I believe that all people are called but you have to make yourself chosen.  Let me explain, the call for salvation is universal.  The whosoever will come but it is the person who responds makes themself chosen.  You make a decision to follow Christ.  It is an intellectual decision because you hear the message and through the filter of your mind you weigh all the pros and cons.  It then goes into your heart and you make a volitional decision.  You say yes to the Lord.  That is how you become chosen.  That is how  you become His beloved.  God loves all people but when you chose to give your life to Christ you become part of His family.  You become a son or daughter with all the rights and privileges of family.  Lastly, the Lord is pleased with your decision and from then on He looks at you through rose coloured glasses.  He looks at you through the blood of Jesus.  It is so wonderful to allow the full effect of salvation to become part of you and have these views of you in the sight of God.  

Jesus as the Intercessor

One of the most powerful times of prayer that Jesus had is the time He was in the Garden of Gethsame.  Here He prayed that the will of God would be done in His life.  This phrase, "Not my will but thine, rings through out the ages.  It should be the prayer of every disciple of Jesus Christ.  For a moment I want to bring the difference between a believer and a disciple of Christ.  A believer is someone who believes in Christ but does not necessarily gives every area of their lives to Christ.  They believe in the tenets of the faith.  They acknowledge that Jesus is Saviour and He has a great plan for life.  A disciple is one who follows Jesus with everything they have.  They know that Jesus is Savior but He is also Lord.  Whenever you find the word Savior in the Bible and it is talking about Jesus, He is known first as the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus cannot be Savior without being Lord first.  A disciple knows this and they want that Lordship.  A disciple is also one who prays the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsame.  "Not my will but thy be done."  Whatever you want, wherever you want me to go and want me to be, that is who I will be.  It is loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbour as ourselves.  Today you face a challenge and an opportunity.  Will you just be a believer or a disciple?  I love how Joshua put it in Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."  Will you serve the Lord? 

A word of Thank You

This morning before I start this devotion I wanted to give a word of thank you to all the wonderful friends I met this weekend at Missions Fest.  It is always a privilege to meet the wonderful friends who listen to me on Am 930 the light.  It is such a privilege to serve in this capacity.  God has opened many doors and I wish to thank Him for His kindness and goodness.  Your many compliments and kind words are so appreciated.  I wish to also thank the leadership and staff of Touch Canada Broadcasting for allowing me to do what I do and for being part of this wonderful family.  I spent time with some of our staff from Calgary and heard some wonderful testimonies of how God brought them into the field of broadcasting.  There is no doubt that what we do is a God thing.  One story, I share this morning is about a young lady who was in grade eight when she came on a field trip to Shine FM studios.  From then on all she wanted to do was become a broadcaster for Shine FM.  Her dream was recently fulfilled and she is now part of the staff at one of our Shine FM stations.  God is so good.  My devotion is from the words of Jesus this morning.  It is simple and direct.  Matt 6:33, says that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness all things will be added unto us.  If you want to really fulfill your dreams and destiny, Seek God first.  If you want to make an impact on your world then seek God first.  If you want to live a free and fulfilling life, seek God first.  If you want to have eternal and an abundant life, seek God first.  I think you get the point.  God is first and then all things will be added unto you.  My last thought is this.  When I was 13, I knew that I wanted to be involved in Broadcasting.  I have had the privilege of being both a pastor and broadcaster.  Today I sit in the studios of Am 930 the Light writing this blog and I am living the dream.  How did it all start?  By seeking God first. 

How to be a Disciple.

In Matt 8:18-22, Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee and He met Peter and Andrew.  They were fishing and He called them over and said that He wanted to make them Fishers of Men.  They immediately left their nets.  He came along and did the same with James and John and they did the same as the others.  We learn that Jesus was a well known prophet and teacher, His message was that the Kingdom of God was near.  He told the people to repent and believe with all their hearts the Good News.  Jesus called His disciples to be Fishers of Men.  It is beautiful to see how these men were willing to give up all to follow Jesus Christ.  Peter put it this way, "Where can we go, only you have the words of eternal life."  There is some irresistible about Jesus that when we first meet him, the first thing we want to do is follow Him.  It was an act of faith and obedience on the part of the disciples to leave all and follow Jesus.  We must be willing to do the same.  Jesus taught the word from Peter's boat.  Jesus was with them and Peter was reminded of His sin.  He was and so we will be as well.  When we come into the presence of Jesus we must be willing to get rid of all our sins and follow Him.

Move to Capernaum

In Matt 4:13-16, Jesus moved to Galilee's main fishing centre which was the town of Capernaum.  Peter, Andrew, James and John were from this community.  Jesus made this community the base for His ministry in the Galilee.  Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy found in the book of Isaiah.  Out of Zebulun and Naphtali the people would see a great light.  Jesus came to give light to those living in the shadow of death.  Jesus was aware of the Old Tesatment prophecy and He would fulfill it.  Jesus by the time He had finished his ministry fulfilled some 200-300 prophecies.  I love the Book of Matthew because Matthew started off as a tax collector but He improved Himself and became a formal Jewish scholar and powerful teacher of the Lord.  You can as well, study the word and rightly divide it for the glory of God.  Your promises today are:  Prov 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Cor 10:13 and James 4:7.  Your Insightful Saying is:  Never get in a rut because it is a grave with both ends kicked out.

Jesus has a Message

Jesus had a message for the people of His day and a message for the people of today.  The Kingdom of God is near.  When Jesus preached His message here on earth He was talking about how soon He would usher in salvation with all its benefits.  Through His death, burial and resurrection mankind would be able to have forgiveness of their sins and fellowship with God.  Through His broken body we could have healing in every area of our lives.  Through His shed blood we can be cleansed of every sin we have ever committed in our past, present and future.  I love redemption because if we sin all we have to do is confess it, renounce it and receive God forgiveness.  John made this concept clear in 1 John 1:9.  Today more than any other time man needs to draw close to God.  We need to have the Kingdom of God within us.  Paul tells us what the Kingdom of God is composed of in Rom 14:17.  He said it was composed of righteousness, peace and joy, in the Holy Spirit.  Let these qualities flow out of your heart to others.  The Kingdom is not to be just enjoyed personally but to be shared with others.  It must never be about us but others.  That was the motto of William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.  It must also be our motto.  Go change your world for Jesus Christ today

Jesus the Revolutionary

Jesus was a man that changed the way we look at God.  First of all He claimed to be God with a face.  He was 100% man and 100% God.  He was the God incarnate.  He said things such, "You see me, you see the Father."  "I only do what the Father does,"  Jesus also introduced the concept of a loving Father who instead of condemning people to a lost eternity provided for them a way of escape.  Jesus of course would become that way through his death, burial and resurrection.  He would produce salvation through His broken body and shed blood.  Jesus was truly a revoutionary.  He changed everything.  When Jesus talked about love it was not just a concept it was a lifestyle.  Jesus dealt with all who came to Him for help with love.  People knew that Jesus loved and cared for them.  Even how he dealt with Judas the traitor was in love.  Hanging on the cross He made a powerful statement about mankind.  He said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."  I absolutely love this man.  He has changed my life from the first moment I really met Him. He can do the same for you.  Let Him create a revolution in your life.