THIS WORD WORKS

Read Psalm 1:1-3

Do you love the Word of God? Do you read it? Ingest it? Meditate on it?

Truth is, I have never met a person who had a deep and abiding walk with Jesus that did not have a deep and abiding love for the Word of God.  It is an absolute MUST, if a person wants to deepen their relationship with Jesus.

I pray these 3 verses in Psalms over my immediate family, almost daily.  Why? Because I want my family to love Jesus and have a deep relationship with the God of the Universe.  This psalm says to me that our depth in God’s Word has a direct connection to the depth we have in this life we live.

When we root our life in shallow things like materialism, entertainment, etc…then our life might be unsustainable, but when rooted in God’s Word, our lives will be strong. How will that happen?

John 15 Jesus tells us to abide in Him and He will abide  in us.  Abide is simply an invitation to stay close.  How do we do that? One main way, Jesus says, is to take His Words, the Bible, and have those words abide in us.

See, the Bible is not just an old historical document. It is the supernatural, inspired Word of the Sovereign King of the Universe.

One reason we should read our Bible each day, isn’t just to learn more, but to be transformed by it.

We spend way too much time in our lives listening to ourselves and the lies of the enemy and should be claiming the truth of scriptures to ourselves, and watch the Holy Spirit through the power of the Word of God begin to align our lives to His truth.

Even Jesus, when tempted by Satan in the desert, responded 3 times…”it is written”

Isaiah 55:10,11 says, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. It is the same with my word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

This means the Word ALWAYS WORKS!  ALWAYS! It works for us and on us. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

So if you want God to mold you, shape you and also draw you into a deep relationship….then prioritize some Word time!  We want to Crave the Word of God like we crave air when submerged in water. Dive deep into the Word and God will draw upon a deep relationship with you. ABIDE.

Love God – Love People – Change Your World

Crave It!

Matthew 14:23 “After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”

Luke 6:12 says “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to god all night.”

Do you have a place?  You need a place. Really, you need a couple places. 

When you read the Gospels, you don’t have to go far to read verses like the ones above. I think you will notice that Jesus made it a habit to go to a certain place and spend time with His Heavenly Father. Jesus liked the mountains, evidently.

Do you have a place where you regularly meet with God?  If you don’t, then get them ASAP. If you are going to deepen your relationship with Jesus in 2019, it's going to require you spend time with Him, regularly.What you do with that time is up to you, but you must spend time regularly with God to know God.

Lately,  have a couple places. Neither place is any big deal. One is my living room couch. Ronda leaves for work by 7am and then, Cooper (our dog) and I sit down and I dive into the Word. Daily. My other place is, randomly in Moses Lake. Currently, I go there weekly, and while Cooper is in rehab (leg stuff) I head over to Starbucks pop in the earbuds and listen to the Bible on-line and journal.

My point…do you have a place to meet with the Lord and if you don’t, figure it out…NOW!

What do you do when you get there? That’s on you a little…Jesus prayed all night….

I read my Bible…Pray…then read my Bible some more.

A person could write out their prayers. A person could memorize scripture.  Read. Meditate. Journal. The thing that is important…consistency.

Small deposits over a long period of time have an accumulative effect.

And it may seem awkward at first….just you there….but over time…you will develop a rhythm with Him you will CRAVE.  Your place can play an important role and your body will start to signal, hey its time to be with the Lord.  I think its good to have a second space you get to once a week or twice a month, a place where you simply won’t be hurried in your “God-time”.

The reason I CRAVE time with the Lord is because I am desperate for Him. I need Him, not just inspiration for a weekly teaching …I need Him! I need to Pray, and listen and meditate, and think.

I hope this year you can create a place where you lean in to God, and just watch Him draw near to you. He promised he would do that. 

So your homework…find the place….convert that spare room that has been vacant for 2 years, Go down to the river, Roasters. Whatever it takes.  Go there often to meet with God and He promises that He will meet with you.

Love God – Love People – Change Your World

Resolve 2019

Well, it’s a New Year and we all are thinking, “What does this year have in store for us?”

I don’t know if you are a “resolution” person or not, but I hope you are considering some changes. Some changes I know of for me are minor…diet…time management…but some changes we consider are often pretty significant. My prayer is that you have thought of your relationship with the Lord and what the year will look like. 

At Pasco Christian this year we are focusing on deepening our relationship with Jesus. This means there will need to be some changes in each of our individual lives. Some things need reeled in and some things the line needs to be cut completely. To deepen our relationship with jesus will require more than our activity schedules and resolutions.  It will require a mindset change. Some Resolve.

You don’t have to do the things you use to do because you are not the person that you use to be.

That’s what Romans 6:11-14 is all about its about identity that drives the way we live.  These changes are not to make us better people, but to simply align our lives with the life we have in Jesus.

Read the story of Lazerus in John 11, in verse 44 Jesus tells the people to take the cloths off Lazerus….Why?  He was not dead anymore.  He was alive. Alive people don’t wear dead people clothes.

If you are a believer in Jesus, the same is true for you. If alive in Christ, then you are dead to old ways you use to live!

Ask yourself, what are the things in my life that simply don’t fit anymore? What grave clothes need to be taken off, so to speak. Because you are alive in Christ?

I am praying for our New Year, 2019, together!

Love God | Love People | Change Your World

Chuck