Cast your care!

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Casting ALL your care ... Let the phrase sink in. Let it really talk to you. What do you do with your care - your worry, anxiety, fear and confusion? Do you let those thoughts take your joy? Is your worry greater than you peace? Then today's text is for you!
I have had reasons to worry in my life. Things have happened, people have been unfair and rude, and there have been situations where I have had reasons to worry, humanly speaking.
But I am so thankful to God that through it all, He has taught me to cast my care upon Him! How do I do it? The same way you can do it:

1. You see the situation that worries you, thoughts go through your mind and torment you
2. You decide (and that's important, you have to decide) that you don't want to worry. Stamp your foot, if necessary, and say out loud that you don't want to worry any more
3. Fill yourself with God's Word about your situation. God's Word has something to say about every situation we face. Use a concordance, if necessary, and look up at least one or two Scriptures that say something about your situation, and meditate on them. Let them fill your thoughts and your mind, and refuse to open the door for worry and anxiety.

It may take some time, but sooner or later you'll experience that the worry goes away and you become strong in the Lord because of His Word that you have accepted and meditated on. Why? Because "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).

God's glory - my glory

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one" (John17:22).
Have you ever thought about God's glory? When I think of God's glory, I think of smoke, fire, light, awe, reverence, thunder, stillness, miracles, wonders ... the list goes on and on.
And in light of all these wonderful descriptions (and words cannot describe God's glory, so words are just like shadows of the real thing!) Jesus said that God has passed His glory to Jesus (which I can fully understand and accept), and then Jesus has passed the same glory on to us! That's amazing! That's more than my carnal mind can comprehend. It takes heavenly enlightenment to fathom that God's glory resides in me. But it does, according to the Scripture above.
Why did Jesus give us God's glory? So we could boast? So we could "bask in the glory"? So we would have something to be proud about? No, no, no!
Jesus gave us God's glory so we should be one! One with God, one with Jesus, and - and this is very important - one with one another!
And that paints a whole other picture of the situation, because what is God? He has glory, but He is LOVE! And for you and me to be one with Him and with each other, we need to be filled with and walk in His Love!
That leaves boasting, bragging and basking out of the picture, doesn't it? Because
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails" (1 Kor 13,4-8).
These are some of the characteristics of LOVE, God's Love! And if you and I want to be filled with God's glory, which He so lovingly and generously has given us through Jesus, we need to walk in this kind of love.
Difficult? Yes, in our selves. Impossible? No, not through Jesus. It requires, however, that we give up our own, carnal lives, and live HIS life, in love, filled with His Glory!

Help! My tongue ruins me!

"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech" (1 Peter 3:10).
Good days! Who wouldn't enjoy good days? I am sure everybody would like to enjoy good days. But not all people live good lives and enjoy good days. That means there's a discrepancy between the life I can have and the life I actually have. How come?
Today's headline gives us a good answer: My tongue is the culprit. With my tongue I set the course for my life, either good or bad. "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21). Or as other translations put it: Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
That's plain and straightforward talk. With my tongue I set the course for my life. I am the administrator of my life, or the chauffeur if you like, and the steering wheel is my tongue.
Where are you heading today? Towards life or towards death? Ask God to show you how to use your tongue to His glory and towards life. He's always there to help, guide and suppport you in your good decisions. Ask Him, and He will help you!

Who is the bride of Christ?

Today's headline is an honest question, and I want to give an honest answer.
Who is the bride of Christ?
It has never resonated well in me when Christians have said that "we are the bride of Christ". I never really found that in the Scriptures. In Revelations 21 I read that the new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ: "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." (Rev. 21:2+9)
And everywhere I see in the New Testamente, I see that we, the believers, are called "the body of Christ".
To further clearify the matter, I want to quote from Dake's annotated reference Bible, page 1258:
Israel the Wife of God (from Isaiah 54:5)
Israel is often spoken of as a woman and as the wife of Jehovah (Isaiah 54:4-6). The church is never spoken of as a woman or the bride of Christ. The church is referred to as a man (Eph. 2:14-15; 4:13) and part of the bride of Christ, which is the heavenly city, New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2,9). This wife of Jehovah is the woman of Revelations 12. Here God speaks of forsaking her for the moment because of her sins; but He will again bring her back to Himself to remain thus forever (Isaiah 4-10). This is a truth that is greatly enlarged upon in Hosea.
It's a widespread belief that the Church is the bride of Christ, and I wish to clarify, and set this matter straight.
We, the born again children of God, are the body of Christ!
Let's not get confused and spread more lies about this, but let's keep our doctrine straight and let's hold fast to the truth!

Beauty for ashes

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ... To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1+3).
What would you rather have, beauty or ashes? Seems like an easy question to answer. Everybody would rather have beauty in stead of ashes, I reckon.
However, when it comes down to it, many peoples' lives show that they actually prefere ashes over beauty. Why?
Because to get beauty, you have to give up your ashes. And that seems scary to many people. "Ashes" can be old habits, sins, likes and dislikes, a bad temper, an angry attitude, and so on. We want to be gentle and meek like Jesus, but we're not willing to give up our own not-so-meek temperament.
In the verses above, it says that Christ came to give us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness. Ashes, mourning and heaviness! Have you ever felt any of that? I have, and I have trades my ashes, my mourning and my heaviness for God's beauty, joy and praise. Is it easy? No! Is it possible? Yes! Because "... greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). And He that is in you, is greater than your ashes, your mourning, and your heaviness. He IS your beauty; He IS your joy; and He IS your praise. He is all I need in this world and in the next, all I need to do is give Him my old "self", and let Him fill me with Himself.

How to become one with God

One with God? That seems like a tall order, doesn't it? How can you and I, mere men, whom Job calls "worms", be, not only like God, but become one with God?
Before we look at the answer, let's look at a few Scriptures to show man's state without God:
"The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; evil men are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree" (Job 24:20)
" ...how much less man, who is but a maggot - a son of man, who is only a worm!" (Job 25:6)
"But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people" (Psalm 22:7)
"Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you, declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 41:14).
Can you see how man in all these Scriptures is called maggots and worms? That is not a pretty picture, but that's man's state without God after Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden. No-one is exempt, we are all corrupt, depraved and "wormish". What can we do about it? Is there a "cure"? Is there a way out of this sad and desperate situation?
Thank God, He's prepared a way, and it is this:
"I (Jesus) have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:22-23).
Do you see it? Do you see the way out of our "wormish" state?
God's glory <---> Jesus <---> man (you and I)
Jesus said that God has given Him (Jesus) His (God's) glory, and that Jesus has given US, YOU and I, that same glory! That is shouting ground! Now is the time to shout HALLELUJAH!
God's glory is mine through Jesus! Through faith in Jesus I come out of my "wormish" state, and am clothed with glory from above. I am no longer a maggot or a worm, I am a child of God! I am clothed in the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness (see yesterday's text).
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke12:32).

Garments of salvation and robe of righteousness

Are you dressed?
I don't mean if you've changed from night clothes to day clothes, but are you dressed in God's apparel?
What is God's apparel?
The Bible often uses figurative speech, like we see in today's headline; God clothes us with His garments of salvation and His robe of righteousness.
"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10).Garments are used to cover us, like Ruth said to Boaz in Rut 3:9: "'Who are you?' he asked. 'I am your servant Ruth,' she said. 'Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.'"
The redeemer was supposed to cover the one he should redeem. And Jesus redeemed us: "... who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:14). Salvation is likened to a garment, it covers. Remember after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden? They were naked up to that point, and didn't even notice it, because they lived in perfect harmony and in the presence of God. But after they sinned, they became aware of their nakedness, and God clothed them with a fur coat. God redeemed them from their nakedness. In the same way I see God's garments of salvation. He clothes us with His own garments in stead of our own, sinful clothing.
What is the robe of righteousness? Abraham is our example of faith and righteousness. It says about him that "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend" (Jacob 2,23). We know that Abraham's faith walk was extraordinary. You can read about it in Genesis. But what made him righteous in God's sight, was that he believed God, and did what He said. That's what I believe being clothed in a robe of righteousness means, to listen to God, believe it in your heart and doing it.
So my question to you today still stands: Are you dressed? Are you clothed in God's apparel?
If you are, go in peace and rejoice in the Lord. If you're not, God is more than willing to clothe you and dress you up in His finest apparel. All you need to do is ask Him.