Sunday, January 31, 2010
Hidden in My Heart
And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17; NKJV)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday Morning Starters
Shortstops - a few suggestions of some things we would do well to stop shortly:
1. Stop complaining. Nobody likes it and few people pay much attention to it. Know the difference in concern and complaining.
2. Stop criticizing. Few things are accomplished through this means. If you have to criticize, be sure you have decided to do it in love.
3. Stop stopping. There’s no sadder thing than a half-done job.
Dee Bowman
Friday, January 29, 2010
Christ Died For Me
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6; NKJV)
When I come to see Christ on the cross because of my sins…
My pride will be broken. Pride has to do with having a high or over bearing opinion of one’s worth or importance. No one is worth more or more important than Him. How can I have a high opinion of my importance as I stand at the foot of His cross with the realization that He is dying for my sins?
My guilt will be expunged. The broken and contrite find forgiveness at the Cross. The sins of the poor in spirit are erased, removed, and remembered no more at the Cross. I am free from the bondage of sin and death. Jesus relieves my guilt at Golgotha.
Love will be kindled. Love is the response of the good and honest heart that gazes at the love expressed at Calvary. Love for Him because He is expressing love for me. Seeing Him bleed and suffer and die for my sins moves me to love Him, to worship Him, to serve Him.
Hope will be restored. Sin destroys. It robs me of hope. The Cross communicates the most profound truth of all – Jesus loves me. I have confident expectation now and forever because He died for my sins.
My character will be transformed. Jesus died for me so that I might live for Him. To gaze upon His glory is to become like Him. The more I go outside the camp and see Him suffer for me, the more conformed to His image I become.
"…and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24; NASBU).
Jason Cicero
When I come to see Christ on the cross because of my sins…
My pride will be broken. Pride has to do with having a high or over bearing opinion of one’s worth or importance. No one is worth more or more important than Him. How can I have a high opinion of my importance as I stand at the foot of His cross with the realization that He is dying for my sins?
My guilt will be expunged. The broken and contrite find forgiveness at the Cross. The sins of the poor in spirit are erased, removed, and remembered no more at the Cross. I am free from the bondage of sin and death. Jesus relieves my guilt at Golgotha.
Love will be kindled. Love is the response of the good and honest heart that gazes at the love expressed at Calvary. Love for Him because He is expressing love for me. Seeing Him bleed and suffer and die for my sins moves me to love Him, to worship Him, to serve Him.
Hope will be restored. Sin destroys. It robs me of hope. The Cross communicates the most profound truth of all – Jesus loves me. I have confident expectation now and forever because He died for my sins.
My character will be transformed. Jesus died for me so that I might live for Him. To gaze upon His glory is to become like Him. The more I go outside the camp and see Him suffer for me, the more conformed to His image I become.
"…and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24; NASBU).
Jason Cicero
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Christ as a Worker
God’s idea of Paradise included work. God created man with a view toward work (Genesis 2:15; 4:2). God never told man to do anything that was not best for him (Deuteronomy 6:24). Man needs meaningful work to complete his life (Ecclesiastes 2:24; 5:18-20). God didn’t need a gardener; man needed a garden to tend.
Jesus gave dignity to honest labor as He worked as a carpenter. Jesus was a carpenter, a son of a carpenter (see Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55). The Greeks and Romans despised manual labor giving it to slaves. Carpentry was considered “demeaning” (Cicero, What Life Was Like When Rome Ruled The World: The Roman Empire 100 BC – 200 AD, p. 92). It was into this time and culture that God became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ, my all in all, “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7-8).
Jesus knew how to rest and how to work. There must be a balance. Jesus was not a workaholic nor was he a slacker. The seriousness of work is described for us in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 in which those who will not work are to be withdrawn from because they are walking “disorderly.” Idleness results in waste, boredom and want, but the Lord is not calling us in 2 Thessalonians 3 to be “workaholics.” Vacation and rest refreshes us for the work God has given us. Jesus and the Apostles took rest: “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31; NKJV).
The great need of the hour: A rediscovery of the joy of the harvest! God would have us rejoice in our labor (Ecclesiastes 3:10-13)! Once a man has lost any sense of the meaningfulness of his work, he will not longer do good work. Perhaps there is nothing more meaningless than work done apart from the Lord (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23). Perhaps too much of a distinction is made between “secular” and “sacred” work. In his book, The God of the Towel, Jim McGuiggan expressed it this way: “A job isn’t secular because you do it with your hands. A ministry isn’t holy because you minister in holy things. A job is sacred or secular depending on the heart” (96). When “life under the sun” is lived in Him, in Christ, our all in all, labor is elevated from a position of senseless servility to a plateau of sacred service (Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 6:5-9)! Life in Him gives glory to the grind! The Disciple of Christ should be an exemplary worker because a disciple follows his master in every walk of life. If we can keep before our minds the constant conviction that the common work we do is being done to the glory of God, that which men call menial will continue to hold for us great meaning.
Jason Cicero
Jesus gave dignity to honest labor as He worked as a carpenter. Jesus was a carpenter, a son of a carpenter (see Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55). The Greeks and Romans despised manual labor giving it to slaves. Carpentry was considered “demeaning” (Cicero, What Life Was Like When Rome Ruled The World: The Roman Empire 100 BC – 200 AD, p. 92). It was into this time and culture that God became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ, my all in all, “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7-8).
Jesus knew how to rest and how to work. There must be a balance. Jesus was not a workaholic nor was he a slacker. The seriousness of work is described for us in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 in which those who will not work are to be withdrawn from because they are walking “disorderly.” Idleness results in waste, boredom and want, but the Lord is not calling us in 2 Thessalonians 3 to be “workaholics.” Vacation and rest refreshes us for the work God has given us. Jesus and the Apostles took rest: “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31; NKJV).
The great need of the hour: A rediscovery of the joy of the harvest! God would have us rejoice in our labor (Ecclesiastes 3:10-13)! Once a man has lost any sense of the meaningfulness of his work, he will not longer do good work. Perhaps there is nothing more meaningless than work done apart from the Lord (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23). Perhaps too much of a distinction is made between “secular” and “sacred” work. In his book, The God of the Towel, Jim McGuiggan expressed it this way: “A job isn’t secular because you do it with your hands. A ministry isn’t holy because you minister in holy things. A job is sacred or secular depending on the heart” (96). When “life under the sun” is lived in Him, in Christ, our all in all, labor is elevated from a position of senseless servility to a plateau of sacred service (Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 6:5-9)! Life in Him gives glory to the grind! The Disciple of Christ should be an exemplary worker because a disciple follows his master in every walk of life. If we can keep before our minds the constant conviction that the common work we do is being done to the glory of God, that which men call menial will continue to hold for us great meaning.
Jason Cicero
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
But We See Jesus
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9; NKJV).
We live in a world that has not bowed the knee to Jesus. That world is to come. But what of this world? We see acts of terrorism, child abuse, crime, drug abuse, the list goes on. What keeps us going? Hebrews 2:9 does. “But we see Jesus...”
We might be tempted to lose hope if we focus on the world about us. The Hebrew writer reminds us that Jesus is. And because Jesus is, we can rest assured as we look to Him that everything is going to be all right – “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2; NKJV). If we are in Christ we have nothing to worry about. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...” (Romans 8:1; NKJV). When we obey the gospel of Jesus Christ we are baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27). As we walk in the Spirit we remain in Christ (Romans 8:1). The happenings of this world can get us down, but they cannot separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35). When I focus on the things I can see I am out of focus. I must focus on “the King eternal, immortal, invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17; NKJV).
Let us pray for faith that we might see Jesus more clearly (Hebrews 2:9).
Jason Cicero
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Assembled in Heaven
“...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:6; NKJV)
As we come before our God and Father through His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit in worship, let us remember that we are assembled in Heaven (Ephesians 2:6). Christ is in our midst (Matthew 18:20; Revelation 1:9-20). He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebrews 2:11). Christ declares the name of our Father to us, “in the midst of the assembly” He sings praises with us (Hebrews 2:12). Through the Holy Spirit we access our Father and our elder brother (Ephesians 2:18).
As we glorify our GOD in worship, let us edify one another. Let us seek not to be a distraction to one another as we seek to “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Give some thought to what you wear to worship (1 Timothy 2:8-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4). Come into the assembly with your heart filled with reverence (Hebrews 12:28-29). Turn off all modern day blessings (cell phones, beepers, etc.). Let us approach our GOD and one another in such a way that those who visit with us will “worship God and report that God is truly among” us (1 Corinthians 14:25; NKJV).
Jason Cicero
As we come before our God and Father through His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit in worship, let us remember that we are assembled in Heaven (Ephesians 2:6). Christ is in our midst (Matthew 18:20; Revelation 1:9-20). He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebrews 2:11). Christ declares the name of our Father to us, “in the midst of the assembly” He sings praises with us (Hebrews 2:12). Through the Holy Spirit we access our Father and our elder brother (Ephesians 2:18).
As we glorify our GOD in worship, let us edify one another. Let us seek not to be a distraction to one another as we seek to “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Give some thought to what you wear to worship (1 Timothy 2:8-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4). Come into the assembly with your heart filled with reverence (Hebrews 12:28-29). Turn off all modern day blessings (cell phones, beepers, etc.). Let us approach our GOD and one another in such a way that those who visit with us will “worship God and report that God is truly among” us (1 Corinthians 14:25; NKJV).
Jason Cicero
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Family Plan
“…according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…” (Ephesians 3:11; NKJV).
The Eternal Purpose. Before time began, GOD had a plan. From Genesis to Revelation we see that GOD worked His plan. The Father planned. The Word executed. The Spirit organized and arranged. GOD’S eternal purpose has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:10). Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow (Ephesians 1:3-14)!
“Go to Heaven.” Often when the question “Do we have a plan?” is asked, the response is “Yes. To go to Heaven.” Heaven is the endgame. GOD’S greatest passion is to get His children home (2 Peter 3:9). But GOD is concerned about what we are doing now. Jesus taught us to pray about what goes on while we patiently wait for Him to return: “…Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10; NKJV). There is work to do now. GOD wanted those in Babylonian captivity to know that he had plans (plural) for them: “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11; NASBU). GOD longs for us to execute His plans (plural).
A Family Plan. There are two types of people: Folks who watch things happen and folks who make things happen. GOD has called us to redeem the time, to be doers of His word, to be active in His vineyard. Don’t just watch your family grow old. Follow the lead of your Father in Heaven. Have a family plan. Work your plan. Purpose to be a godly husband and father. Plan to glorify GOD in your role as a wife and mother. Raise your children with a purpose. Plan to succeed at home. Purpose to glorify GOD in your home with your family. Set aside time to read the Word and pray GOD’S will for your family. Pray as if everything depended on GOD. Work as if everything depended on you.
Jason Cicero
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Hidden in My Heart
"For God is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters." (Psalm 74:12-13; NKJV)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sunday Morning Starters
When you smile, mean it.
When you sing, worship.
When you bow, pray.
When you partake, remember.
When you hear, listen.
When you read, reflect.
When you leave, apply.
Jason Moore
When you sing, worship.
When you bow, pray.
When you partake, remember.
When you hear, listen.
When you read, reflect.
When you leave, apply.
Jason Moore
Friday, January 22, 2010
A Faithful Saying
“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13; NKJV)
"For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him." To die with Christ is to be baptized into His death - "...who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death" (Romans 6:3; NASBU). He died for us that we might live for Him and with Him.
"If we endure, We shall also reign with Him." To endure is to abide up under whatever burden comes our way because of Him - "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12; NASBU). He endured on our behalf so that we might reign with Him.
"If we deny Him, He also will deny us." To deny is to disavow, to reject - "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23; NIV). He would have us treat Him as we would long to be treated by Him.
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." To be faithless is to betray the trust of the Faithful One - "...for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12; NASBU). As faithful as Jesus is to save those who believe in Him, He is equally faithful to judge those who do not.
A faithful saying...am I faithful to the saying?
Jason Cicero
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Blessing or a Curse
"Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28; NKJV)
Created in His image, each of us has the freedom to choose. The Creator has set before us a choice. He would have us see fully how desirable the blessing, how dreadful the curse. I am free to be a blessing. I am free to be a curse.
A Blessing. Am I a blessing to my Father in Heaven? Am I a blessing to my Savior? Am I a blessing to the Spirit? Am I a blessing to the Kingdom? Am I a blessing to my family? Am I a blessing to my neighbor? Am I building people up? Am I leading others to Jesus? Am I a blessing?
A Curse. Am I a curse to GOD? Am I a curse to the Kingdom? Am I a curse to my family? Am I a curse to my neighbor? Am I building people up or am I tearing them down? Am I leading others to Jesus or causing them to flee from Him? Am I a curse?
The Choice. I am free to choose. Free to choose to be a blessing. Free to build up others. Free to praise my Father. Free to be spent for the Kingdom’s sake. I am free to choose to be a blessing to you.
Beloved, choose wisely: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20; NKJV)
Jason Cicero
Created in His image, each of us has the freedom to choose. The Creator has set before us a choice. He would have us see fully how desirable the blessing, how dreadful the curse. I am free to be a blessing. I am free to be a curse.
A Blessing. Am I a blessing to my Father in Heaven? Am I a blessing to my Savior? Am I a blessing to the Spirit? Am I a blessing to the Kingdom? Am I a blessing to my family? Am I a blessing to my neighbor? Am I building people up? Am I leading others to Jesus? Am I a blessing?
A Curse. Am I a curse to GOD? Am I a curse to the Kingdom? Am I a curse to my family? Am I a curse to my neighbor? Am I building people up or am I tearing them down? Am I leading others to Jesus or causing them to flee from Him? Am I a curse?
The Choice. I am free to choose. Free to choose to be a blessing. Free to build up others. Free to praise my Father. Free to be spent for the Kingdom’s sake. I am free to choose to be a blessing to you.
Beloved, choose wisely: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20; NKJV)
Jason Cicero
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
In Everything Give Thanks
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NKJV)
To give thanks is to express gratitude. Thankfulness is gratefulness expressed to another. Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude. Tis the season of thankgiving. Our Heavenly Father is to be the recipient of our thanksgiving.
Our GOD created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). We share in His likeness. He is worthy of praise because He is the Creator: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11; NKJV). Thank Him!
Our GOD sustains us (Colossians 1:17). In Him we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Apart from Him there is no life or breath (Acts 17:25). He upholds us “by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Thank Him!
Our GOD has redeemed us through His dear Son (Revelation 5:9-10; Ephesians 1:3-14). Created in His image with the ability to think, reason and choose, each of us has defaced that image by falling short of His glory (Romans 3:10-18, 23). Sin defaces the image of GOD in our lives. Love compels Him to restore His image in each of us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)! Christ Jesus has “redeemed us to God” by His blood (Revelation 5:9). Thank Him!
Indeed, “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17; NKJV). It is all about Him, it is all from Him, it is all returning to Him! Thank Him!
Jason Cicero
To give thanks is to express gratitude. Thankfulness is gratefulness expressed to another. Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude. Tis the season of thankgiving. Our Heavenly Father is to be the recipient of our thanksgiving.
Our GOD created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). We share in His likeness. He is worthy of praise because He is the Creator: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11; NKJV). Thank Him!
Our GOD sustains us (Colossians 1:17). In Him we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Apart from Him there is no life or breath (Acts 17:25). He upholds us “by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Thank Him!
Our GOD has redeemed us through His dear Son (Revelation 5:9-10; Ephesians 1:3-14). Created in His image with the ability to think, reason and choose, each of us has defaced that image by falling short of His glory (Romans 3:10-18, 23). Sin defaces the image of GOD in our lives. Love compels Him to restore His image in each of us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)! Christ Jesus has “redeemed us to God” by His blood (Revelation 5:9). Thank Him!
Indeed, “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17; NKJV). It is all about Him, it is all from Him, it is all returning to Him! Thank Him!
Jason Cicero
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