The most powerful legacy

Friends,

Sin has devastated the world. What was once glorious, peaceful and filled with integrity, is now ripped apart by war, strife, deceit and death. Each of us bears the scars of the result of Adam's disobedience. And each of us bears the scars of our own sin and suffering. Fortunately, the Lord God did not leave His creation in that state.

Romans 5:5 [NKJV]
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Because we come from the line of Adam, every man has followed in his flawed footsteps. That is quite a powerful legacy.

But the legacy of Christ is greater than all of the legacies of all the men that have come before us. His work has justified His followers, and we bear the weight and wages of sin no more.

Be encouraged, Jose

How you know

Friends,

Dramatic and spectacular events happen the world over, and in our time - more than ever - we can see them unfold before our very eyes. Some are thrilling, others terrifying. But often, their impact is far removed from our daily lives.

Even though they seem more mundane, the daily occurrences that shape our lives are no less compelling and impactful. We must discern the source of these events if we are to know how to respond.

Matthew 7:16 [NKJV]
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

What is the fruit of a traffic jam? Is it frustration, anger and hatred? Then the proper response is pray against those spirits, and to release patience and contemplation.
What is the fruit of an overcooked meal? Is it disappointment and resentment? We know that our Lord neither disappoints nor harbors resentment ... so we know that it is part of an attack. So we pray against disappointment and resentment; and we pray for contentment, forgiveness and grace.

The examples are endless. And surely you can see this applied in your life. Do this today, and witness the healing and strengthening of the Holy Spirit.

Be encouraged, Jose

Seeking from the Father

Friends,

We do not often discuss the dark side of holidays. Today, we'll hear all manner of "Father's Day" greetings from television personalities, celebrities, politicians, preachers, friends and perhaps even from colleagues.

But sometimes, those words only serve to remind us of difficult times relating to and with our father. Indeed, no one can wound a boy or girl like their father. Those wounds cut deep and - for some might - never heal.

What I have learned over these years is that the affirmation and unconditional love that I seek is only available through my Father in heaven.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:11 [NKJV]

Friends, the love you so desperately desire can be found... but only through Christ. When you come to be adopted in the family of God, you are given the gift of a Father who knows & provides for your every need. He gives Himself wholly and unreservedly, and can truly heal the wounds and the hurt.

Be encouraged, Jose

A bit too comfortable

Friends,

Have you been living in partial victory?
Do you find yourself struggling against the same issues, day after day, month after month, year after year?

It's not the first time for you, for me, or for anyone else.

But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
Judges 1:21 [NKJV]

The tribe of Benjamin did the same thing that all the others did. They took the land and declared victory. Indeed they were victorious. But they did not drive out the ones that they defeated. The victors therefore did not take full possession of their reward.

The Jebusites are a threshing people. They represent the weight of condemnation and self-recrimination. They beat us over and over with the guilt and reproach of our sinful past. In so doing, they drag us back to relive that past, to repeat those same stumbles, and to deny us the full experience of living under the blessing of God.

Why did the Benjamites allow the Jebusites to live with them? Who knows.

Why do we allow the sins and the weight of our carnal past to remain with us? Why don't we drive it out? Are we too comfortable with the familiarity of those life choices?

Choose today, brothers and sisters. Continue to live under condemnation and guilt and shame. Or drive out that Jebusite spirit, and live in the freedom that abundantly flows from genuine repentance.

Be encouraged, Jose

A joyful investment

Friends,

Each day, we owe it to ourselves to be reminded of just what we have in Christ Jesus. We defeat the enemy, little by little, when we recall the abundant blessing that has been purchased on our behalf.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
Ephesians 1:7-8 [NKV]

In Christ, we have redemption. He gained it by the power of His blood. And this is no small thing. He has made this grace to be abundant towards us, His people. Its value is beyond measure and imagination. Its power is eternal and enduring. And finally, the Lord did not do this thoughtlessly or carelessly. He did it according to the wisdom of His perfect will.

Brothers and sisters, have you considered this blessing today? Have you really taken the time and energy to understand what it truly means? To do so is an investment in joy.

Be encouraged, Jose

How we receive each other

Friends,

Maybe it was years ago.
Maybe it was yesterday.

Someone wronged you. They owed you something ... perhaps it was merely an apology ... and did not fulfill it. They deprived you of something meaningful ... perhaps they deprived of you of their kindness, love and affection.

No matter how it happened, you were wounded by their actions.

Philemon 1:15-16
For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave - a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. [NKJV]

The question now is this:
Can you receive them as a brother? Can you acknowledge that you've been hurt without holding a grudge? Can you accept that Christ has given them grace sufficient to repent?

This can be one of the hardest things we are called to do as Christians. But it is no more than what Jesus did for us ... and for Him, it cost Him His life.

Forgive, brothers and sisters, as we have been forgiven.

Be encouraged, Jose

Keeping a promise

Friends,

It happens so often.

Things work out, but not quite the way you expected them to. In the end, the desired result is achieved, but the path you took was far different from the one you had planned.

Mark 14:31 (NKJV)
But [Peter] spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
And they all said likewise.

Of course, we all know the familiar story of Peter's inability to resist denying that he knew Jesus. We know that Christ brought Peter back to Himself after His resurrection, and that Peter went on to be used by the Lord for great and far-reaching work.

In the end, Peter was executed for His steadfast refusal to disobey Jesus. But he did not accomplish this on his own. When he utilized his own strength to accomplish his own plans, he failed spectacularly.

But when the Lord directed Peter's steps, the fragility and limits of his strength were rendered irrelevant. And the Lord demonstrated, in spectacular fashion, His faithfulness to accomplish what He begins.

Be encouraged, Jose

When we were the enemy

Friends,

One of the hardest things for a man to do is to treat an enemy with kindness. This is not to turn a blind eye to sin, or to fail to serve the cause of justice. But in every thought, word and deed, we are to obey what Christ commanded ...

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
Matthew 5:44, NKJV

Before we were called into salvation, you and I were the enemy that Jesus prayed for. Like all the world, we hated Him. Like the typical unsaved man, we demanded that the Lord come to our aid on our terms whenever we wanted His help. We had no problem using Him one moment, and cursing His name the next.

Yet with all that ...

He persistently called us into His family
He patiently taught us
He graciously forgave us
He rightly admonished us to repent
He willingly died for us

While we were yet His enemy, Jesus loved you and me. Can we do the same today?

Be encouraged, Jose

Faultless Presentation

Friends,

When we miss the mark, keep this in mind...

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
Jude 1:24, NKJV

Our Lord keeps us upright, even through the relentless attack of the enemy.

Our Lord removes every stain, every mis-step, every slip-up.

Our Lord does this with exceeding joy.
Joy that cannot be described.
Joy that cannot be replicated.
Joy that can only be found in the presence of His glory!

Be encouraged, Jose

Come into the open

Friends,

In our study of Mark, we have been learning how the Pharisees had placed unconscionable burdens on their followers. We are seeing how they broke their own Sabbath rules in order plot evil in their hearts. Time and again, our Lord hears not only what they say with their lips, but discerns the hatred and murderous intent of their hearts. These religious leaders, who were revered in the community as pillars of piety and morality, held a dark secret ...

Jeremiah 23:24
“Can anyone hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the LORD;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.

Psalm 10:8
He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
- NKJV

Both of these verses contain the phrase “secret places”. It is translated from the Hebrew word mictar (pronounced mis·tär’, and we should understand it to mean a place where someone lies in wait, preparing to perpetrate a crime. Does that not perfectly describe what Christ is seeing in the religious elite of that era? On the outside, the Pharisees were holy and wholesome, demonstrating great indignation when someone challenged their teachings and fully believing that they were right. Inside their hearts, though, they waited secretly to accuse Christ and put Him to death.

We know, of course, how those events unfolded. Jesus went to the cross at the hour appointed by the Father (not the Pharisees). The Pharisees, along with many others, were used as God's instrument in that drama. And therefore their hearts were revealed as evil.

Today would be a good day for each of us to examine our own hearts.
As believers, perhaps we are outwardly moral and upright, but inwardly we may be harboring unforgiveness, bitterness or malice towards another. It can happen with surprising ease. It only takes a momentary lapse of concentration and vigilance for the enemy to establish that foothold. Fortunately, we have the perfect remedy. We cry out to Jesus and plead for His mercy. We rely on Him to bring us to repentance. And the love of Christ will fill us anew.

Be encouraged, Jose

p.s. You can listen to the study of Mark any time - day or night - at Bible Study Audio.

A better day

Friends,

Check your heart today. Are you holding anger inside towards another? Have you neglected to forgive in a meaningful and purposeful manner?

Numbers 35:33-34
So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel. [NKJV]

Matthew 5:21-22a
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. [NKJV]

Anger and bitterness and unforgiveness wield remarkable power in our daily lives. Some effects are obvious ... depression, lashing out, ulcers. Some are not as obvious, but they are real nonetheless.

Brothers and sisters, let today be the day you release any anger. Today, make it your business to explicitly forgive those who have sinned against you. You'll be amazed at how much better today becomes!

Be encouraged, Jose

Weight Loss

Friends,

One of the most insidious side effects of sin is the weight that it brings. Guilt. Condemnation. Self-recrimination. They are crippling. They are an unseen burden that can eventually bring to an end all progress and growth, leaving us paralyzed even as we walk through the motions of life. We go to work. We fellowship with the church. We read our Bible everyday. But they are empty motions, taking us from place to place but never actually going anywhere.

Luke 5:24 [NKJV]
But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins — He said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.

Just as Christ was making a point to the religious leaders of that time in this passage, He is making a point to you and me. The weight of unforgiven sin had paralyzed that man. He blended in with the world around him. On the outside, his situation was bad, but on the inside it was debilitating ... and no one seemed to care.

Well ... One cared.

Jesus, who sees past all of our acts of kindness and acts of cruelty, sees past this man's paralysis. He sees the broken heart. He sees the scars left by years of sin. He sees the elected creation, crying out for forgiveness.

The Lord is speaking today to you and to me.
He says, Arise!
Your sins are forgiven you.
No more shall you be crippled by sin.
By My grace, you shall be holy ... as I am holy. .

Be encouraged, Jose

The forgiveness imperative

Friends,

All to often, the notion of forgiving one another is seen as merely a good idea. We forgive because it leads to our own healing. We forgive because failing to do so perpetuates and exacerbates the pain. And as a reminder ... let us remember that we are commanded to forgive ...

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 [NKJV]

But sometimes, we hold on. We say we forgive, but in reality we do not. How many times has this happened in your heart? And when this happens, our hearts slowly but surely lose their tenderness, becoming hardened and brittle. The kindness we would normally display quietly fades into thoughtlessness and then to hostility.

Christ Jesus knows that you have been wounded. He knows that those wounds are deep and painful. And even so, He rightfully demands that you forgive those who have hurt you. It may be an instantaneous relief, or it may take a long time. But it must be done, brothers and sisters. It is vital to your heart.

Be encouraged, Jose

No Condemnation

Friends,

With each step that we take in this fallen world, we risk slipping, knowingly or not, into sin. With each sin we commit, we risk falling into the trap of self-recrimination and self-condemnation. This is because, when we realize that we have sinned, those who truly love the Lord will recall the price that Christ paid for that sin. We are reminded of how our Father is wounded by our disobedience.

But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:21 [NKJV]

God calls us to remember our thoughts, words and deeds for a specific purpose. He wants - like any good father - to chasten us, correct us, to grow us up. He has no desire that His children fall under His judgment. Therefore, when He brings to mind our shortcomings, it is specifically to prevent us from condemnation.

Examine your conscience and remember your sins, brothers and sisters. Remember them so that you would repent of them and thank God for His mercy and kindness in spite of them. Remember them ... that you would be reminded of Christ!

Be encouraged, Jose

He shows us favor

Friends,

LORD, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
Psalm 85:1-2 [NKJV]

Our Lord has taken up residence in the hearts of believers. His "land" (from verse 1 of this passage) is, therefore the heart that beats inside of you and me.

Look back upon the history of your walk with Jesus...

Has He not been favorable to you?
Has He not freed you from the captivity and bondage of sin?
Has He not forgiven our iniquity and covered all of our sin?

Gratitude is not a one-day affair. For what our Lord and Savior has done -- and is doing -- for you and me, our words and songs should be full of praise and thanksgiving every moment of everyday.

Be encouraged, Jose