Category Archives: Alphabet Soup

The “F” Word

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From my last post: “Stay tuned for the letter ‘F’. I am guessing that it will be a word that one usually does not ascribe to God. And, it just might be the best two minutes of your day!” For the whole post…The 5th letter is…

Words like Faithful, Forgiving, and Friendly generally come to mind when thinking about God. Is God all of these things? Certainly, he is also First, Fun, Fair, and Forever. But these are not the words I am writing about today.

Hopefully, you are on the edge of your seat, just waiting for the F word. Perhaps you have already guessed the word in your mind. Maybe you feel indifferent and don’t really care. Whatever you are feeling, I am done stalling.

anticipation

The Word – Finished

The Worth – God has already made provision for sin and provided salvation for any who will believe. This is all due to His great love for us.

The thing that I want to emphasize is the past tense of that statement. God already did the work. It is finished. In fact, Jesus said, “It is Finished!” while hanging on the cross! In an earlier post this year, I explained the concept of being finished or complete with a project or task. Click here to read it.

The following passages will give greater insight; Hebrews 1:1-3, Colossians 2:13-15, Romans 5:8, Hebrews 9:12. And these are only a sampling…

If you take the time to read these verses, you will find a common thread. They all speak of God doing something. As in, he already did it. In the past. Done. Over and complete. I only gave four references but there are many, many more.

Living for God comes down to this truth;

I cannot earn my salvation because of anything I do. I can, however, accept the gift of salvation because of what God has done. 

This is possible because He is finished.

The work of salvation has been completed.

Forgiveness precedes repentance.

The Work – So can I just coast through life knowing that my salvation is complete? If God is finished, what more can I do? Even though we are made complete in Him, we still this flesh with which to contend. It is a process.

Everyday, we can begin again in our journey to know the love of God.

Everyday, we can experience that same love that sent Jesus to the cross.

Everyday, we can go deeper in relationship with our Creator.

Everyday, despite our fears or feelings, our God can reveal His love again.

Everyday, we can know that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

God's love

Ask God to show you His love. See if that changes things. I bet it will.

The 5th letter is…

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March! I missed it! Wow, how did I not post the last month? Not sure exactly…

Regardless, I am moving forward in this series, Alphabet soup.

So far this year, I have posted 4 times (5 including this one). As you may have already noticed, I am following a pattern. There is a word for each post and I started with Absolute. Breathtaking, Committed, and Diligent followed.

All of these words describe God. Today the word will start with ‘E’.

letter e

The Word – Essential

The Worth – Sometimes people use words in the wrong context. I work at an Olive Garden. I hear the phrase, “I am starving” literally everyday! Sometimes from the customers and sometimes my co-workers but usually from both! Do these people know what starving means!?!? Starving does not mean that you are so hungry because you have not eaten since breakfast! These people are not starving so I wish they would just say that they are hungry!

Essential means ‘absolutely necessary.’ Water is absolutely necessary in order to live. It is essential. Food is also essential. These are things that needed in order to live.

God is essential. In John 15, Jesus spoke some words. In this sermon, he did not exaggerate. He did not speak out of context. The words he spoke were accurate. So much so that we need to take heed and listen. Here is verse 5 from that chapter;

5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

john 15-5

Jesus said that without God, we can do nothing. Again, no embellishment in these words. The Son of God chose these words specifically and with a purpose. God is essential!

He wanted us to know that God is essential. We would not even be able to breathe unless God gave us the ability to do so. Death would happen. We just cannot do it on our own.

That is the penalty of sin. It is death. Physical and spiritual death.

But he gives more grace.

By the grace of God, he sustains us. He lets us live. He bestows grace so that we can come to Him and surrender our lives and follow Him.

The Work – Too many times, we try to live and succeed on our own power, talent, or perseverance. Stop it! I think that you and I need to try to abide (stay connected through consistent and constant relationship with Jesus). If and when there are mistakes, we can go to God for more grace. He loves us and the Bible tells us that His anger is only for a moment but his love is forever. see Psalm 103 

Stay tuned for the letter ‘F’. I am guessing that it will be a word that one usually does not ascribed to God. And, it just might be the best two minutes of your day!

2 minutes

Thank you and enjoy His grace today!

 

 

It is finished…?

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When I was growing up, Saturday mornings were not structured. Sleeping late was common. I never really worked early on Saturdays so the mornings were free.

Many times that my dad would be out running his errands on these mornings. Almost every time he was gone, a note would have been left on the dining room table. He would have instructions or chores for us to do.

It was on one of these notes that I first learned a particular word.

Now imagine a 14-year-old boy who is supposed to do his chores. Let’s pick vacuuming. Nothing would ever get moved. I would just hit the large, open areas of the floor. It seemed that I only would hit roughly 50% of the carpet!

Ironically, my son vacuums the way I used to. Anyway…

So on this specific morning, my dad included a word that described how I am supposed to do my chores. I was instructed to be diligent.

The Word – Diligent

The Worth – Here is the definition from Dictionary.com:

adjective

1. constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything:

2. done or pursued with persevering attention; painstaking:

My dad was frustrated with my chores because I was cutting corners and taking shortcuts. Yes, I would vacuum but certainly not with any care or diligence.
Transition with me here. Diligent can be used to describe God. The work that he accomplished through sending His son to die on a cross and then be resurrected was an amazing thing. He took attention to detail. Every little problem or issue was taken into account. God did the job and saw it through unto completion.
Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” NIV
I added the underline because those words tell me that the job was complete. I do not have to work for my salvation. I do, however, continue to work out how I live for God. It is a maturing process. But my soul is saved! He loved me enough to send His son. He was diligent enough so that the work of salvation is finished.
Jesus said so on the cross. It is finished!
The Work – By all means, keep seeking God in your life. He will answer prayer for you. He will guide and direct you. You are not alone! But sometimes there can be sad or discouraging times. Be encouraged as I close with some familiar verses.
Philippians 1:3-6, ” 3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” NIV
it-is-finished

 

Bacon and Eggs

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A chicken and a pig were talking one day. They were expressing their joy of living on the farm. Specifically, Farmer Joe’s farm. Having Farmer Joe take care of them was really a joy for these animals. So much so, they decided to throw a big breakfast in the farmer’s honor. Upon reviewing menu options, it was decided that Bacon and Eggs would be served. The chicken said that he was in support of this idea. After realizing what this breakfast would mean, the pig replied to the chicken saying, “You may be involved but I am committed!”

bacon-and-eggs

 

The Word – Committed

The Worth – Does this word scare anybody? People say men are afraid of commitment. As a minister, I talk with couples about marital commitment. My dad told me a long time ago that commitment is the most important aspect of a marriage. Are you committed to your family, your job, your passions?

Did you know that God is committed? How many times does the Bible talk about His grace, forgiveness, mercy, and unfailing love? This blog would take hours to read if I put all those verses in the post. So I am going to narrow it down to two verses.

Click on the verse to read the whole chapter.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God did not do salvation half way. He didn’t just provide enough to barely pass. He was committed! So much that His own son hung on a cross for you and for me. Our sins were paid for by the blood of Jesus. Everything you and I need for life (and even abundant life!) is found in the cross.

God loves us too much to be less than anything other than 100% committed!

The Work – So how is it even possible for me to live for God in return knowing I cannot repay Him?

You can’t. Accept the gift and live for God. Do your best for Him. Daily apply grace and mercy to your situation and keep moving forward. The Holy Spirit is right along side of you. Even after Jesus left this earth, the Holy Spirit was sent so we would not be alone.

God is fully committed. Are you?

commitment-quotes

 

 

Gasp!!!

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Has something ever been so amazing or frightful that you could not even speak!?!? Have you witnessed something so incredible that the air in your lungs escaped with a whisper?

Is there anything in your life that you would qualify as breathtaking?

 

If you remember my last post (click here to read it), I mentioned a new series and a new format. This is part 2 in that series and here is a quick refresher on the new format:

The Word – The topic of the blog in one Word.

The Worth – This part contains my thoughts about the Word.

The Work – I conclude with a practical application of the Word.

The Word – Breathtaking 

The Worth – I simply typed in Google the word “breathtaking” and here are a few of the images that I was able to enjoy.

Our creation is really and truly breathtaking. But I am not really speaking of the creation more so than I am referring to the Creator!

Check out these verses from I Kings 8,

“6The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 10When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.” NIV, Underline mine.

Notice verses 10 and 11.

It was only when the priests got out of the way, that the Lord got in the way.

The Work – I want God to take my breath away. I want to see miracles like I read about in the Word. I want God to do such awesome things that my breath is stolen away.

Do you? Are you working to please men or our Lord? Is He your priority?

My prayer is that I may be like those priests;

“Lord, help me to get out of the way so you can get in the way!”

Take my breath away!!!