If Today Were Your Last…

If today were your last… where would you go?  Would you have complete peace?

This video is a short reminder of how you can know for sure what would happen… if today were your last.

The Boston Marathon and Winning the Race of Life – Weekly Faith and Health Scripture – Hebrews 12:1-4

Imagine running for over 2 and 1/2 hours in a competitive race and coming in second – one second behind the winner.  That’s what happened in the running of the 2009 Boston Marathon in the women’s division.

Salina Kosgei won the race in 2:32:16.  The second place finisher was Dire Tune.  American Kara Goucher was third. In the men’s race, Deriba Merga won in 2:08:42. An American, Ryan Hall placed third – the best American finish in many years.

I hope that in the running of the most important race of your life – your  spiritual race – that you are not doubting whether or not you will win a prize at the end of the race.

Hebrews 12:1-4 encourages us to run our race of faith – from start to finish – with our eyes set on Jesus.  If we do that… run our race of life with Jesus, then we are assured of receiving the prize of eternal life.  2 Timothy 4:7-8 tells us that we will receive a crown of righteousness and that Jesus will present it to us.  This award – this prize – is available to each person that eagerly awaits Jesus to return because they know that upon that day, they will enter into heaven with Him – and they will win their race.  In this race, all who believe in Jesus will receive the best prize – eternal life!

Are you running the race of life with Jesus?  I hope so.  This is certainly one race that you don’t want to finish second in.

Oswald Chambers’ Take of Jesus on the Cross, His Crucifixion and His Resurrection

Thankful for What Jesus Did on the Cross for Me

I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend and day!

I often read Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest devotional. His material is very thought provoking and usually causes me to think deeply about the spiritual implications to what he’s writing about.  Today I reviewed some of his daily devotionals for April in which he covered aspects of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

If you’d like to understand more in detail about what I blogged on during this past Holy Week, I encourage you to read what Chambers has to say in the following four devotionals:  What Jesus’  Resurrection Means to Us; Our Old Self Was Crucified with Him; The Spirit of Jesus in Us or Co-Crucifixion and Eternal Life: Today and Forever or Co-Eternal Life.

Reflecting on this past week and it’s meaning has renewed my desire to share the Good News about Jesus. … and that’s a really good thing!

Hope you have a terrific day.

Jesus’ Resurrection Gives Us an Eternal and Adundant Life

Jesus has risen so we can have life

We are made whole if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.  (Romans 10:9)

This is God’s promise in the Bible.  We who believe in Jesus, and in what the Bible says about who He is and what He did, will be saved.  We will have eternal life.

Jesus also wants us to have an abundant life on this earth.  He tells us this in John 10:10.  The way we can live life to the fullest is to surrender our “self” nature to God’s Holy Spirit who lives in us. The more we surrender to Him, the more we will enjoy the ‘fruits’ mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I hope that you are enjoying the full life that Jesus wants you to experience.

Yes, Jesus died a gruesome death on a cross for you and for me.  He also is risen and because of this, we can have life.  1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Jesus Died for My Sins … and for Yours

On a hill over 2000 years ago, Jesus shed His blood and died for all of my sins.   Because I believe this, I have been made right with God.  I also have deep peace, ever-lasting joy and assurance that I will live in heaven for all eternity.  Romans 3:22-26 and Romans 6:23

I hope that you know Him and have His peace and joy and assurance of eternal life in heaven.  If not, read more about Jesus.

If you don’t have Jesus in your life but desire what believing in Him can offer you, follow this link or contact me.  I’d love to share more about what Jesus has done in my life and can do in yours.

Is the Power of the Cross at Work in Your Life? – Romans 6:6

Your old nature was crucified on the cross with Jesus

Have you realized substantial victory from your old and sinful nature since you’ve become a Christian or are you still “stuck” in a major rut by your old thinking patterns and unhealthy behaviors?

Consider opening this link and listing to this song as you read this post.  Be blessed!

Romans 6:6 is a reminder that your “old” nature, your “old” manner – your “old” self – was crucified and died with Jesus when He was crucified on the cross. In reality, it is a done deal! Romans 6:7 tells us that anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Since your old nature has died, you are now free from sin and the way you used to live before you accepted Jesus into your life.

Our old nature, our old self did things apart from God. This old nature was inherited from Adam and Eve who were the first sinners. (Romans 5:12) We used to live life without the help of God’s Holy Spirit, who now lives inside of us. We were unable to live the kind of life that glorified God. We were unable to make behavior changes that we knew would be healthy for us… healthy in mind, body and spirit.

But because of what Jesus did on the cross at Calvary, we now have a new nature and we can live in triumph over death and sin and our old ways of living. (Romans 5:17-19) You and I are in right-standing with God. We are now righteous because of what Jesus did and our faith in what the Word of God says. We are free to live in the power of the cross. This, accompanied with the power that we have because God’s Holy Spirit is in us, enables us to live life more fully. It should enable us to live life with less of a struggle. Sure, we will still struggle in some areas, but we should be able to have significant victory over the way we used to live because of the cross and because of the power that we have. We have the same power in us that raised Jesus from His tomb! The Holy Spirit living in us gives us that same resurrection power. (Ephesians 1:19-20)

This power is to enable us to live in a way that glorifies God and that honors His temple, our bodies. ( 1 Cor. 6:19-20) This power can enable us to make the kind of behavior changes that we know we should make to be healthier.

I am learning that a key in this area is to admit to God, in prayer, that I am unable to make these changes in my own strength… in the abilities of my old nature.. and that I am strongest in my weakness and that I can have the ability to make these changes in God’s strength and power… in the Holy Spirit’s power. (2 Cor. 12:9 and Isaiah 40:28-31)

Thank you Jesus for what you did on the cross because you love me. … thank you for making me whole again!

If you didn’t listen to the song, consider opening this link now … and know that God loves you!

Points to Ponder:

Have you fully recognized and understood that, if you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior,  your “old” nature died on the cross with Him? Are you living life from this perspective?

Are you appropriating, or have you appropriated, the power of the Holy Spirit in your life to make the lifestyle changes you desire/desired to make?

Are you regularly admitting to God that you do not have the ability to live life to the fullest and that you need Him and His power to do so?

If you do not have Jesus in your life but recognize your need  for Him, follow this link.

Jesus’ Death Gives Us Freedom from the Law

Do you experience direct interaction with God or is there some intermediary between you and Him? In times before Jesus’ death, it was Jewish law and custom that only the High Priests could enter the Most Holy Place in the temple, where the ark of the covenant and God’s presence was, to pray to God on behalf of the people asking forgiveness for their sins.  Common people were not able to do this according to Jewish law.

The Gospels tell of how, when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the parts of the temple was torn. (Luke 23:44-46) Since that time, believers in Jesus have been able to talk with God personally and to ask for forgiveness of their sins directly. No longer, has the law of the first covenant prevented people from direct access to God. (Hebrews 9:1-14 and Hebrews 10:19-22)

The Holy Temple and The Most Holy Place

So practically, what does this mean? By Jesus’ death, the barrier that had existed between God and us was split in two. You and I are now able to approach Him directly. We are no longer bound by the law that was in place. We have the freedom to approach God in intimate conversation or prayer and the opportunity to ask God directly to forgive us from our sins.

God loves you and me so much that He sent Jesus, His only son, to die for us so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. If Jesus had not died, according to the law, we would not have personal access to God.

Things to Consider:

In the practice of your Christian faith, do you feel you must have an intermediary between you and God?  According to scripture that’s not necessary because of what Jesus has done. You can communicate with Him directly. You can have total freedom from that law because of what Jesus has done.

Are you experiencing the trials of life without a close relationship with God? Are you going it alone, without His strength and power?  It doesn’t have to be this way.  Jesus paid a dear price so that you can live life knowing that God gives you strength, power, peace and joy.

To read more about the peace that Jesus gives follow this link.

To read more about the Most Holy Place and the curtain follow this link.

God Understands the Grief of Your Losses

In this video, a 13 year old cowboy tells us how much God loves you as he shares about how he had to put a horse to death.

Have you been sad because you’ve lost a loved one or a pet? Maybe you’re sad over a loss in your life now.

God understands… He gave His Son for you and for me.  Be reminded of this as you watch this short video.

If you have not experienced and accepted God’s deep love by believing in His son Jesus but are ready to have His peace and joy you can do that now. Follow this link.

Jesus’ Pain Gives Us Peace – Holy Week Faith and Health Scripture – John 14:27

I don’t imagine that we can ever love anyone as much as God and His Son, Jesus, loves us.

Leading up to His death and on the cross, Jesus endured such deep emotional, physical and spiritual pain for you and for me.  He agonized before the crucifixion while he was in the garden knowing that He would be separated from His Father for a period of time. He was in such spiritual agony and pain that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood. (Luke 22:44)

As he was beaten by the soldiers he surely experienced excruciating pain.  Imagine the pain He felt as nails were driven into His feet and hands as He was crucified on the cross.

Just before He died, Jesus cried out to His Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) At that point, in His last spoken words on the cross, He must have been crying out to God with all His might because the man part of Him did not want to experience death,  even though He knew that was God’s will for Him.

But Jesus did die a very painful, voluntary death… for me… and for you.

In John 14:27, Jesus told His disciples, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we can experience eternal life.  Part of that eternal life includes the ability to experience the type of peace Jesus referred to in the scripture above.

Because Jesus experienced pain, you and I can have His peace.

Do you enjoy that type of peace? The deep inner peace that only comes from a personal relationship with God through knowing His Son Jesus?

If you still don’t know this type of peace or understand why Jesus had to die a brutal death follow this link.

Read my short explanation of the biblical truths about the connection between faith, wholeness and health.

Receive Daily Scripture Affirmations on Twitter

I hope to make the most of the ability to send out daily “Tweets of Affirmations” using Twitter beginning this week.

My idea is that many of you might want to receive these affirmation so that you can speak or say  them to yourself.   My first three are included in this post below:

• “I have been set free because I know the teachings of Jesus and obey them.”  John 8:32

• “Although I have many trials and sorrows, I have peace in Jesus because He has overcome the world.”  John 16:33

• “God loves me so much that His son died for me so that I can live eternally.”  John 3:16

One thing we can all do to help us live in freedom is to speak positive affirmations or confessions, based on the truths of the Bible. The idea is to find scriptures that you can personally identify with and to speak them in such a way that personalizes them.  As you do this, and believe these truths, your spirit mixes with God’s spirit and it helps to transform your mind. This transformation of your soul and mind will have a positive affect on your thoughts and behaviors.  As you keep doing this, you’ll be able to experience more spiritual and emotional freedom.  This freedom and the corresponding healthier thoughts and habits will likely impact on your health in a positive way.

Follow me on Twitter to receive these daily affirmations and be free in Christ!