Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hidden in My Heart
"The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a great light has shined." (Isaiah 9:2; NKJV)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday Morning Starters
Look up. It’s His day.
Look up. It’s His worship.
Look up. It’s His assembly.
Look up. Self gets too much attention.
Look up. At Him, not your neighbor.
Look up. You won’t go where you’re not aimed.
Jason Moore
Look up. It’s His worship.
Look up. It’s His assembly.
Look up. Self gets too much attention.
Look up. At Him, not your neighbor.
Look up. You won’t go where you’re not aimed.
Jason Moore
Friday, March 19, 2010
Beginnings
The Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3; NKJV). The true and living God wants to communicate with us! Words express our inner thoughts. Words reveal what cannot be seen. The Word reveals the nature, character, and will of the invisible God!
The Light. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5; NKJV). Light shines, makes manifest, illuminates. Jesus came to enlighten us. To shed some light on who God is and on who He would have us to be. What we need in all this darkness is illumination. What we need, He is: “I am the light of the world…” (John 8:12; NKJV).
Flesh and Blood. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; NKJV). He became flesh because we are flesh. He “dwelt” among us as one of us. He came to where we are because He wants us. God desires our companionship. The personal God longs to have a personal relationship with each of us…forever: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3; NKJV).
See Him. Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Imitate Him. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see. To see His glory and to imitate Him, that is the sum of Christianity. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18; NKJV).
Jason Cicero
Thursday, March 18, 2010
In Search of Christ's Church
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18; NKJV).
Search. To search is “to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something” (Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary). Jesus commended the Jews of His day for searching the “Scriptures” (John 5:39). The Bereans were commended by the Holy Spirit in Acts 17:11 because they “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether” the things taught by Paul and Silas were so. It is the will of God for me to search, to look, to be careful and thorough in an effort to find Him, His will, His love.
Christ. “Christ” is a title. It literally means “anointed.” Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed of God. The prophets speak of an anointed of God who would occupy the office of prophet, priest, and king, a Messiah. Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of each and every one of those prophecies: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36; NKJV). Jesus was anointed by the Father to “save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15; NKJV). It is the will of God for me to find His anointed, to be saved from my sins.
Church. The anointed of God, the Christ, came to build His church. He came to construct, to erect, to found a church. Not a physical building mind you, but a church, an ekklesia, a people. Not a structure confined to a place, but a people of “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6; NKJV). It is the will of God for me to search for Christ’s church, to be careful to find the people that the Christ has called out of the world into His marvelous light.
God’s Promise. If I search for Christ’s church I will find: “Ask, and it will given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8; NKJV). Even evil men know to give good gifts to their children (Matthew 7:9-10). Our Heavenly Father, who is good, will “give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11; NKJV).
Our Prayer. Father, as we search for Christ’s church, may we find. May we be Christ’s church. As others search may they find us to be what we hope to be: Christ’s church. In His Anointed Name, Amen.
Jason Cicero
Search. To search is “to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something” (Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary). Jesus commended the Jews of His day for searching the “Scriptures” (John 5:39). The Bereans were commended by the Holy Spirit in Acts 17:11 because they “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether” the things taught by Paul and Silas were so. It is the will of God for me to search, to look, to be careful and thorough in an effort to find Him, His will, His love.
Christ. “Christ” is a title. It literally means “anointed.” Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed of God. The prophets speak of an anointed of God who would occupy the office of prophet, priest, and king, a Messiah. Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of each and every one of those prophecies: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36; NKJV). Jesus was anointed by the Father to “save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15; NKJV). It is the will of God for me to find His anointed, to be saved from my sins.
Church. The anointed of God, the Christ, came to build His church. He came to construct, to erect, to found a church. Not a physical building mind you, but a church, an ekklesia, a people. Not a structure confined to a place, but a people of “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6; NKJV). It is the will of God for me to search for Christ’s church, to be careful to find the people that the Christ has called out of the world into His marvelous light.
God’s Promise. If I search for Christ’s church I will find: “Ask, and it will given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8; NKJV). Even evil men know to give good gifts to their children (Matthew 7:9-10). Our Heavenly Father, who is good, will “give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11; NKJV).
Our Prayer. Father, as we search for Christ’s church, may we find. May we be Christ’s church. As others search may they find us to be what we hope to be: Christ’s church. In His Anointed Name, Amen.
Jason Cicero
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
You Have Won Your Brother
"15 If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17; NASBU).
Go to your brother. These words follow Jesus’ parable of a lost sheep: “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (Matthew 18:16; NASBU). Your Father in heaven does not want your brother to perish. Win your brother. Save your brother from the consequences of his sin.
Take one or two as witnesses. If he does not respond to your act of love, take one or two others with you to admonish him. The witnesses will serve to confirm your innocence and his guilt if he does not repent.
Tell it to the local church. Next, the Head calls upon us to tell the entire body. If the brother fails to repent after steps one and two, the entire local church is to be made aware of the situation for the good of the sinning brother.
Let the church speak. The church is to admonish the sinning brother to repent. This is the will of “the Head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18; NASBU).
Do not fellowship him. The expression “a Gentile and a tax collector” speaks to the subject of fellowship. If a brother sins and he is unwilling to repent the local church is to view him as he is in truth, a sinner in need of forgiveness from GOD which comes as a result of repentance. He is not in fellowship with the Head, therefore, remove him from the body.
Discipline is about love. Love the Father and do His will. Love your brother and go to him. Love the Father and your brethren and repent. Always remember the heart of the Lord: “…not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; NASBU).
Jason Cicero
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
When You Are Not Who You Thought You Were
"I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9; ESV)
Saul was a “Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (Jerusalem – JHC) at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God” (Acts 22:3; NKJV). He spent his days persecuting Christians “to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:4; NKJV). Consider his words about himself and his behavior: “This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:10-11; NKJV). He did so believing himself to be a servant of the true and living God. He did so believing that He was doing the will of the great I AM.
Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 for the purpose of shedding some light on his person and behavior. For three days Saul was “without sight, and neither ate nor drank,” thinking about what he had done “in all good conscience” (Acts 9:9; 23:1). Once Saul’s sins were washed away by the blood of the Lamb, He immediately “preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20; NKJV).
When you realize you are not who you thought you were, there is only one thing to do: Change! Saul explained to King Agrippa that he “was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:19-20; NKJV). When Saul realized that he was not who he thought he was he changed. He turned. He repented.
Saul changed “having obtained help from God” (Acts 26:22; NKJV). Help is available for you too! Saul obtained mercy, grace, and love (1 Timothy 1:13-14). Mercy, grace, and love are available for you too! The mercy Saul of Tarsus received serves “as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (1 Timothy 1:16; NKJV). Like Saul, you can change. Like Saul, you can obtain mercy, grace, and love. Like Saul, you can be a living example for others.
Allow Jesus to shed some light on your person and behavior. If you are not who you thought you were, submit to His loving help and change! Become the person He knows you can be by His grace: “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” (1 Corinthians 15:10; NKJV).
Jason Cicero
Saul was a “Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (Jerusalem – JHC) at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God” (Acts 22:3; NKJV). He spent his days persecuting Christians “to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:4; NKJV). Consider his words about himself and his behavior: “This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:10-11; NKJV). He did so believing himself to be a servant of the true and living God. He did so believing that He was doing the will of the great I AM.
Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 for the purpose of shedding some light on his person and behavior. For three days Saul was “without sight, and neither ate nor drank,” thinking about what he had done “in all good conscience” (Acts 9:9; 23:1). Once Saul’s sins were washed away by the blood of the Lamb, He immediately “preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20; NKJV).
When you realize you are not who you thought you were, there is only one thing to do: Change! Saul explained to King Agrippa that he “was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:19-20; NKJV). When Saul realized that he was not who he thought he was he changed. He turned. He repented.
Saul changed “having obtained help from God” (Acts 26:22; NKJV). Help is available for you too! Saul obtained mercy, grace, and love (1 Timothy 1:13-14). Mercy, grace, and love are available for you too! The mercy Saul of Tarsus received serves “as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (1 Timothy 1:16; NKJV). Like Saul, you can change. Like Saul, you can obtain mercy, grace, and love. Like Saul, you can be a living example for others.
Allow Jesus to shed some light on your person and behavior. If you are not who you thought you were, submit to His loving help and change! Become the person He knows you can be by His grace: “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” (1 Corinthians 15:10; NKJV).
Jason Cicero
Monday, March 15, 2010
What's Not In Ephesians 6:4
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4; KJV)
The state is not in Ephesians 6:4. It is not the responsibility of the state or the society in which I live to teach my children about GOD.
The local church is not in Ephesians 6:4. While the local church has the responsibility to preach and teach the word of GOD, I am not to abdicate my responsibility to my children to the local church to whom I have joined myself.
Mom is not in Ephesians 6:4. While my wife, the mother of my children has responsibilities to teach my children about GOD, Ephesians 6:4 does not speak of her role in their lives.
Ephesians 6:4 speaks of the responsibility of Fathers!
Bring up. I am to bring up (ektrepho – to rear up to maturity, i.e. to cherish or train” my children (Strong's)
Nurture. I am to nurture (paideia – tutorage, i.e. education or training; by implication, disciplinary correction: KJV - chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture) my children (Strong's).
Admonition. I am to admonish (nouthesia – calling attention to, i.e. (by implication) mild rebuke or warning: KJV – admonition) my children (Strong’s).
Lord. I am to teach submission to the Lord (kurios – from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority) to my children (Strong's).
Be a Joshua! Submit to GOD’S authority. Obey His will for you in Ephesians 6:4. Lead your children to the Lord Jesus. “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)
Jason Cicero
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