Who's your comfort?

"This is my comfort in my trouble; that your sayings have given me life" (Psalm119:50).
I believe every person has someone or something that he or she turns to when things are tough, when life's storms seem to be overwhelming, or when you see no way out of the rut you're in. For a child, it should be their parent(s); for a spouse it should be the other spouse; for a single person, it might be a friend or relative. It's good to have other people to turn to when you need someone. However, other people are just as fragile and vulnerable as you and I are, and they are not able to give us the comfort and security we need.
There's only ONE source you and I can turn to for complete 100 % comfort and security, and His name is Jesus. He not only gives us comfort and security, He gives ut LIFE, everlasting life! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Joh3,16).
That's what I call comfort! That's what I call security in an unsecure and volatile world where everything seems to be falling apart.
Who's your comfort? If you haven't already done so, make Jesus your comfort today by inviting Him into your life. He is already standing at the door and knocks, all you have to do is open the door and let Him in.

Are you struggling to keep the Law?

I don't know who will read this, but I can imagine you're nodding and saying: "Yes, I try as hard as I can to live a good life and keep the law".
My next question is: Why are you trying to keep the law? And I can hear someone answer: "To justify myself and live a righteous life. I do want to go to heaven, you know!"
If that's your answer, you're not alone. Millions of people on this earth believe that in order to go to heaven, they have to live "righteous" lives, pull themselves together and do as little harm as possible.
I have news for you: YOU CANNOT DO IT!
No-one has ever or will never live a life righteous enough to go to heaven based on their own works, except ONE; His name is Jesus. Romans 10:4 says,
"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). Christ lived that righteous life for you and me so that we don't have to struggle to keep the Law. Jesus did all that for us. Our job is to believe in Him, and that will count as our righteousness.
That doesn't mean that we live mean and bad lives, it just means that the life I live in the flesh, I live to the best of my ability with God's help, but my righteousness does not come from my works, but from Jesus' work.
"For what the law was not able to do because it was feeble through the flesh, God, sending his Son in the image of the evil flesh, and as an offering for sin, gave his decision against sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).
If you're struggling to keep the Law because you want to please God and be counted as righteous, stop it! Your righteousness comes from Jesus and His work for you. Accept His righteousness, and you'll be free to live the life God has planned for you, in His love and in His power. That's an exciting, relaxing and rewarding life.

Bitter, bruised and broken

Sad headline? Yes, very sad. But even sadder than the headline is the fact that so many Christian people are bitter, bruised and broken, and they either don't want to or don't know how to do something about their situation.
Life is not fair, but God is good is one of many good phrases by Dr. Robert H. Schuller of the Chrystal Cathedral Ministries in California. Life is not fair. Let's just face it, things happen, people let us down, people desert us, a life and a lifestyle that we thought was stable and would last a lifetime, is shattered in a few seconds, and we're left with nothing.
Been there, done that? Ok. Then what? Settling for bitterness? That's what many people do when their life lies in ruins. And they end up bitter, bruised and broken.
The Bible talks very plainly against bitterness. And it's very clear from God's Word that it's poisenous (in the literal meaning of the word) to harbor bitterness. Take a look at these Scriptures, and you know what I mean;
"Does the fountain send from the same outlet sweet and bitter water? ... But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true" (Jakob 3:11+14).
"So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow" (Deut.29:18).
"Looking with care to see that no man among you in his behaviour comes short of the grace of God; for fear that some bitter root may come up to be a trouble to you, and that some of you may be made unclean by it" (Hebr 12:15).
According to these few Scriptures, bitterness leads to lying, a falling away from God, a poisened life, bitter sorrow, coming short of the grace of God, uncleanness.
Let me ask you a simple question: Is what you've gone through worth all these negative and deadly consequences?
Ok, your husband left you for a younger woman. Your wife cheated on you while you were in the hospital, fighting for your life. You were laid off from work after 25 years of faithfully doing your job. You were treated unfairly by your parents. Etc., etc.. The list goes on. Life is not fair! Things happen to us.
However, what we do about what happens to us, determines what kind of people we become in life. Someone has said: Whatever territory you surrender, God will fill it with His glory. Whatever territory! Bitterness is a territory. There are reasons why people are bitter, but we don't have to stay that way. Even though life is not fair, God is good. And the Bible gives us the hope, comfort and strength we need to overcome our bitterness.
"God is our harbour and our strength, a very present help in trouble.  For this cause we will have no fear, even though the earth is changed, and though the mountains are moved in the heart of the sea; Though its waters are sounding and troubled, and though the mountains are shaking with their violent motion. (Selah.) (Psalms  46:2-4).
God is my refuge when nothing or no-one else seems to be there for me. He is my very present help in times of need. Even though things happen, people desert me, I am left alone and no-one seems to care, God is my refuge. He cares. He never leaves me nor forsakes me. And because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, where He bore not only my sicknesses, but my sins (including my bitterness), I can lay my bitterness on Him and He will fill me with His glory. I surrender my bitterness to Him, and He gives me His glory in return!
I like the thought of that swap. He gets my bitterness, I get His glory! Hallelujah!
Don't go another day bitter, bruised and broken. Let Jesus into your hurting soul, and He makes everything new!

Who is your bodyguard?

"Bodyguard? Do I have a bodyguard?"
Yes, and so does everybody else. It's not only the rich and famous who have bodyguards, we all do. David was rich and famous, and he had his bodyguard: "And David put him in charge of his bodyguard" (1 Chron 11:25). However, even thou you and I are "ordinary" people, we have a bodyguard. What is a bodyguard? A bodyguard is a man or group of men whose job is to protect an important person (Oxford Advanced learner's dictionary). Bodyguards protect people. So far, so good. But who is your and my bodyguard?
Well, since Jesus is our example and our big brother, let's see who His bodyguard was. Who protected Jesus?
If we need protection, it is because someone is out to get us. And at the beginning of His earthly ministry, there was someone who definitely was out to get Jesus. His name is Satan. Jesus went out in the desert to fast and be tested for forty days before his public ministry, and Satan was right there to distract Him, yes, even kill Him. And several times he comes to Jesus with enticing words. However, Jesus answered every attack with the same weapon: "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:7).
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Matthew 4:10, my emphasises).
Three times Jesus' bodyguard went to work for Him. Three times He went victoriously out of the battle with Satan. What was Jesus' bodyguard? The Word of God. The Word of God was Jesus' bodyguard, and it is your and my bodyguard. "... withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]" (Eph 6:16). What is better than to 'quench all the fiery darts of the evil one'? If I quench all the fiery darts the evil one sends against me, I am not overtaken, I am a victor. And how do I quench the fiery darts? By holding up my shield of protection; the Word of God.
That requires, however, that I know what the Word says about my situation. So the next time a situation arises that you feel is overwhelming and that wants to render you helpless, look up Scriptures that pertain to your situation, read them again and again until they become giants inside of you, and hold them up against the fiery darts of the enemy. Nothing - NOTHING - can withstand the Word of God.

I have a shepherd

Have you ever wanted a "big brother"? Someone who could defend you, take care of you and be there for you when you needed someone bigger and stronger than yourself?
I have. I don't have a big brother in the natural, but I am happy to say that I have the best "big brother" I could ever have in the spiritual realm; His name is Jesus, and he is not only my big brother, but my SHEPHERD. David had found this out, and he says in Psalm 23:1;
"Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Since God is no respecter of persons, He is also my shepherd, and I shall not want. What does that mean to me in my everyday living?
What is a shepherd? What does a shepherd do, what are his characteristics?
According to Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary, a shepherd is a person who takes care of sheep. The verb to shepherd means to guide or direct (people) as if they were sheep.
David had been a shepherd from his youth, and he describes his experience thus;
"And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep; (he was a shepherd) and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God" (1 Samuel 17:34-36).
A shepherd watches over his sheep, conquers intruders and makes sure his sheep are safe, protected, fed and nurished. That's how my shepherd takes care of me, that's how your shepherd takes care of you.
The essential thing, however, is to stay near to the shepherd. If I run away from the shepherd, I run away from his protection and care; I am on my own.
Today I thank the Lord for being my Shepherd, and I am determined to stay close to Him.

Seeing the invisible

Have you ever seen the invisible?
"What do you mean?"
I mean exactly what I asked; Have you seen the invisible?
"How can I see something or someone who is invisible? Doesn't 'invisible' mean that it cannot be seen?"
Yes, it means that it cannot be seen with our natural eyes, but it doesn't mean that it cannot be seen with our 'unnatural' eyes.
Let me explain. We have natural eyes that see the natural world around us. We see colors, shapes, etc. If you're physically blind, you cannot see. The Bible tells us of several people whom Jesus healed of physical blindness.
However, the sight or blindness I am talking about here, is the spiritual blindness. Jesus reprimanded the pharisees for their spiritual blindness. They were not physically blind, but spiritually blind, and didn't even see it themselves.
"Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"  Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:40-41). They believed they could see, but Jesus rebuked their being blind, just like the people in Revelations;
"You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.` But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev 3:17). They thought they were ok, but they were not, they were blind.
Moses got a totally different testimony;
"By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible" (Heb 11:27). Moses saw him who is invisible! Moses saw into the realm of the unseen. And the same "seeing the invisible" is available to us. We just need to take our "spiritual glasses" on; we need to read God's Word and ask God to give us "sight".
When we see the invisible world, and see that it is more real than the seen world, that's when being a Christian becomes interesting.
I encourage you today to dig into the Word of God, become aquainted with the Invisible and begin seeing the invisible and The Invisible.

Is cooking bad?

Strange headline? Yes, I know. But I want to get your attention. And to answer the question; no, cooking is not bad. Cooking is good. Good cooks are always welcome, and good food is a blessing!
However, there is (at least) one situation in the Bible where Jesus rebuked the cook for cooking. Let's read from Luke 10:39-42,
"And she (Martha) had a sister, by name Mary, who took her seat at the Lord's feet and gave attention to his words. But Martha had her hands full of the work of the house, (she was cumbered about much serving) and she came to him and said, Lord, is it nothing to you that my sister has let me do all the work? Say to her that she is to give me some help. But the Lord, answering, said to her, Martha, Martha, you are full of care and troubled about such a number of things: Little is needed, or even one thing only: for Mary has taken that good part, which will not be taken away from her.
Jesus and His disciples were visiting Martha and her sister Mary. Two women in the house, and you would expect both women to make preparations for the party. But only one cooked, cleaned and set the table. Unfair? In our minds, yes. It seemed unfair that Martha did all the work when there were two women present. What was Mary doing? She sat at the Lord's feet. Think about that! Sitting down at Jesus' feet while her sister was doing all the household chores! No wonder Martha was angry and wanted Jesus to reprimand Mary.
But to everyone's astonishment, Jesus commended Mary for what she did. He praised Mary for her choice of action, and He rebuked Martha for her cooking.
Why on earth would He do that? What was praiseworthy about Mary's sitting at His feet? Mary gave attention to his words. She listened to what the Master said, and Jesus praised her for that.
Didn't Jesus want to eat? Wasn't He hungry after a long walk in the sun? Absolutely, there's no reason to believe otherwise. However, Jesus looked past His own physical needs and the needs of His friends, and He knew that His words were (and are) food for our souls. Mary had chosen to feed her spirit before she fed her stomack, and that was good in Jesus' eyes.
There is, however, another side to this story. What about Martha? What she did, was good; feedingJesus and His friends was a good thing to do. But was that what Jesus wanted her to do right then and there?
Good things can be distractions from God's plan! 
Serving is a good thing, but if God wants you and me to do something else, serving is a distraction. Jesus wanted both Mary and Martha to sit at His feet and "eat" His words first, and then He would have provided something to eat to satisfy the physical hunger afterwards.
Are you busy working for God? Are you doing good deeds and keeping yourself busy cumbered about much serving? Do you want other people to help you fulfill your plans and ideas? Maybe God has a better plan for you? Maybe His plan for you is that you sit at His feet and give attention to His words?
I don't know your situation, but I know that I can very easily be cumbered about much serving. But today I want to remind both myself and you that sitting at Jesus' feet and giving attention to His words is the good part. Sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to His words, will  give me the direction, peace and joy I need to live this day in His presence and in His will.