The Name Above All Names

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus 
There's just something about that name 
Jesus Jesus Jesus 
Let all Heaven and earth proclaim 
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away 
But there's something about that name.

Acts 2:21 states. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  

Note that this scripture doesn't say "if the unbeliever", or "the sinner call",it states. .. "whoever calls". 
Also note, that it is not specifically stated what the person is saved from.  It could be death, it could be from a temptation, it could be an abusive partner/spouse/relationship.  It could be any number of things.   Granted, this scripture mainly refers to being saved from sin and death, however it also includes everyone else and every problem we need saving from. 

Remember that if you struggle today, call on Jesus' name. Just say it in your hearts, or even out loud if you want. But He will hear His name, understand what you need, and will show up at the most opportune time. 

May we all feel His love towards us today. May we keep our eyes and hearts on Him. May we bring glory and honor to Him. Amen

Help my unbelief

Good Evening!

I trust you had a great weekend and are rested and ready for the coming week. Don't forget to keep your eyes on Jesus. 

Mark 9:23-24 says “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 

One of my first Wednesday night sermons was on this verse, and it came back up in my devotions recently.

Do we truly believe that God can do anything that we ask?

Do we truly believe God WILL do when we ask of Him?

 If we look at the difference between these two questions, that difference is our unbelief. I admit it, there are a lot of things I doubt He will do if I ask. Sometimes, I even wonder if He is listening or cares enough to listen 
I know in my head, that He is, but that little bit of doubt sometimes raises its ugly head.   

I believe that if we are honest with ourselves, We will find that we don't believe in God as much as we say we do, or even as much as we want to. I want the level of belief (the faith) of the apostles in the book of Acts where they look at a crippled man and tell Him, out loud to get up and walk, in front of crowds. That's faith that God won't leave the apostles hanging and looking like a bunch fools. I want that kind of faith. 

We should ALL have faith that is strong like that. Jesus says that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, that we can tell a mountain to be cast into the sea, and it will be so. Did Jesus mean that literally? I believe so. It gets interpreted in a spiritual lesson most times, but remember, God SPOKE this world into existence. He can do it. How do we get that level of belief or faith? Through Christ. 

Father, help our unbelief. Forgive our unbelief. If we look back over our lives, we can start to see the God has ALWAYS been faithful to us and has proven that we can believe in Him. The interesting thing, I find, is that the more belief we have, the more we can truly rest and abide in Him. 

May our belief in Him grow today. May we keep our eyes on Him and rest in Him today. May His favor ever be upon us today. Amen

Hey everyone,

I apologize for the lack of content for the past couple of days.  I am a volunteer firefighter and was in training all weekend.  I will post another update this evening and be back on track tomorrow! 

Have a blessed day!

Always Triump

Good morning, brothers and sisters! I hope you are rested for today.

2 Corinthians 2:14 says "Thanks be to God, which ALWAYS" causes us to TRIUMPH in Christ, and makes manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in EVERY place.

Notice the words of totality in the verse, ALWAYS and EVERY. They are all-inclusive.... leaving nothing out.

Understand this... WITH God, we will Always (with no exceptions) triumph (be successful) in whatever He commands us to do. Not even the gates of Hell can prevail against us, when we are walking with God in obedience to Him.

What is the savor of His knowledge?  --  It is the enjoyment of His knowledge.
When we walk WITH God in obedience, we are promised joy, joy that is beyond anything we can express and fathom. Not only do we feel this joy, but we will experience it no matter where we are. We could be in the deepest dungeon as prisoners, being spit upon or mistreated by those of the world, shunned by friends and family, fired by our bosses, etc.  Or we could be on the mountain with all things good happening. No matter where we are, we will have overwhelming joy, if we walk with God in obedience.

May you experience that joy today in your lives. May His Spirit fill you to overflowing. Amen

Blessing or Shame?

I hope all of you have been blessed in some way every day this week. 

Proverbs 10:5 says “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”  

I just want us to notice a couple of things in this verse that jumped out at me today. 

1) Both sons had the tools to do the work. They both had their needs met. They both had their health, the ability, the command, and the time.  

2) The time for harvest and work is upon both sons, whether they were ready for it or not. 

One son was wise, giving of himself, his time, and his energy. Thus bringing his father an abundant harvest and happiness. The other took all and gave nothing, thus bringing his father only shame.  

May we ever be the diligent children of God who bring Him joy.

Hope, Courage, and Strength

Good morning 

The other morning, as I lay awake very early, I was reading in Psalms 27 and ran across these two verses which seemed super appropriate. 

Psalms 27:13-14   --  I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” 

Vs 13 shows hope. The psalmist says that he would have fainted (or in modern terms, fallen to pieces) if he hadn't believed the promises of God.  In the same way, we cannot lose sight of the hope we have through Jesus.   We must have faith that no matter what comes in the future, that God will strengthen and keep us until He calls us home.

vs 14 encourages us.  We have nothing to fear, for with God, there is no such thing as the "unknown ". He knows all, and will guide us step by step.  He is able to strengthen our hearts, if we are only patient and wait on Him.  If we try to rush into things, without waiting for His guidance, then we will mess things up.  The Bible is full of examples of people both rushing and waiting.  Care to guess which ones work out better in the end?

I know that I keep encouraging us all to focus on Jesus and to Abide in Him. Truly, I believe, that unless we abide in Him, it is impossible to live the life God has called us to. Only through Him, can we truly live. 
May our eyes and hearts be opened to The Holy Spirit today. May we grow in Spirit and in Truth. May the Spirit of God flow through us to accomplish His will today. 

Transformed not conformed

Good morning everyone!  Another beautiful day is upon us. 

Romans 12:2 says. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Being transformed is a continuous thing, just like in Matthew 6:33 when it talks of seeking the kingdom of God. There is no stopping. Always higher towards heaven, closer to Jesus, deeper in love with God and more of His Spirit. There is no end to this, because God is infinite. 

There are times that we don't know what to do, or are overwhelmed by life. 
Stop, take a breather, focus on God and focus on becoming transformed. 
This is a compass if you will, always guiding, but also helping us find our way when we wander away, or we are in a storm so great, we can't seem to see what is around us. All we have and need is Jesus. 

Always seek, always grow, and always, more of Him. 

May God show you more of Himself today. May you grow bolder and more Christ-like today. May your hearts be glad and full of joy. Amen 

Overcome! The work is already done.

Happy Tuesday to y'all!  I pray that you all feel His presence surrounding you today. 

1 John 4:4 says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 

If you read the passage here in John 4, it becomes obvious that John is talking about spirits. Some people would call these spirits demons or angels.  This passage tells us to test them. 

But, in the middle of this passage (vs 4), we see this little dose of encouragement. We can't read this as just overcoming demons or the devil in a very obvious way, but we have to look at it in the light of a personal struggle.  We can recognize the spirit of doubt, spirit of greed, spirit of gluttony, spirit of loneliness, spirit of fear, spirit of addiction etc. 

According to this scripture, we HAVE ALREADY overcome them through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Claim your victory and walk in it. Be aware!  The temptation to succumb to the lies of these evil spirits is ever present. 

Abide in Jesus and let the Holy Spirit guide you. 

May you know His rest today. –JP

Behold - What a word!

Happy Monday Morning!

I can almost hear your groans from here.  It's Monday!  I trust you all had a wonderful weekend.

John 3:1. BEHOLD .. what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (and daughter) of God. 

The first word is a commandment. Behold -- to ponder, wonder, meditate upon. 

I want you to use your imaginations with me for a moment.  I want to try to put the love of God into a format that we can wrap our minds around.  I am sure that we can all agree that we have only a limited understanding of everything.  So, lets try to bring the love of God into a size that we can understand.

Imagine, if you will, that the universe were the size of the earth.  According to scientists, the universe is expanding, and we cannot count the number of galaxies, stars, planets, etc.  Now, imagine that each grain of sand is a galaxy. Each atom in that grain of sand now represents a solar system, and each electron represents a planet. 

Now put 7 billion people on the surface of an electron.  Note: (We can't see an electron, even with the most powerful microscope).  In the grand scheme of things, the 7 billion humans on the face of this earth are so minuscule, that they make no affect or difference in the whole universe.

Now, understanding that God is infinite, we know that He observes the whole universe.  But, according to the scriptures, He attunes His ears to each of our voices and makes a way for us to be His Children. 

Think of the Love He has for us. 

BEHOLD!! 

Abide in Him and you will find rest. JP

How does a Name make you Safe?

Happy Sunday Morning!

Proverbs 18:10 says "the NAME of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runs into it and is safe"

So, How does a Name make you safe?

It isn't the name so much, as what you do with it. Imagine a small child calling out , "Daddy!" .  How fast does daddy respond? If there are tears, how fast does he scoop up the child and wrap them in his arms? 

All it takes is one word. 

A name  

So it is with God. His ears are attuned to our voices. He knows the content of our cry as soon as His name is spoken.  Whether we are happy, sad, scared, uncertain, lost, or just want to talk, His answer to our saying His name is to let us know He is right there.

If you read vs 11, you can see the contrast between the righteous and one who is worldly rich.

Who or what do we call on first when the need arises?  Do we call on God, or our friends and family?

May the Lord bless you and keep you.. make His face shine upon you today. 

Amen -- JP

Who is Leading?

Good morning! 

I trust that you all had a restful evening! 

Today's verse is John 12:26. "If any man serve me (Jesus), let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor.

The question that comes to mind is.... "Are we with Christ or, are we expecting Christ to go with us?" How often do we as Christians act like the ones in charge, like we are the boss! How presumptuous of us! 

Where is God leading you? Don't make God your co-pilot. Make Him the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator. Then, become one of the flight attendants.

That is when joy, peace, and love will flood your life as never before. Amen

Friday is Here! Thanks and Praise

I hope you have all had a good week. I'm happy it is Friday, though. 

Psalm 7:17 says, I will thank the Lord because He is just, I will sing praise to the name of the Most High. 

Stop and think... how often do we thank the Lord for who He is? Do we ever praise His name? 

The scriptures state that we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. If we aren't walking in thankfulness and full of praise for God, then, we are not walking in His presence. Yes, He will never leave us Or forsake us, however, we cannot experience the joy of His presence first hand without thanks and praise being in our hearts. 

I encourage each and every one of you to try this today... Set some time when you can be alone and thank God for what He has done for you. Count those times He has extended grace and mercy to you. Thank Him for each one. Praise Him for His attributes, love, grace, mercy, patience, faithfulness, persistence, provision, and ever listening ears to hear our cry. Be sincere. And watch how quickly His presence surrounds you. I guarantee that you will experience a joy that you can't explain. For God inhabits the praises of His people. 

May you experience that joy and peace today. May you walk closely with Him and shine as a beacon wherever you are today. --  JP

Restarting the Blog!

It has been 3 years since I posted.  Since then, I have moved to NE Texas, bought a small farm, changed jobs twice, and quit smoking the tobacco pipe.

To say that life has been crazy, is an understatement.  God has been good to me and has moved me on to better things (and to better areas).

I am going to restart this blog into a "mostly" daily blog with an encouraging word and scripture.  I hope you enjoy.  I will be posting every day but Sunday, most times.  I will try to post on Sundays too, but no promises.

--JP